[Depth]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071119/..._book_reader_9

NEW YORK - Amazon.com Inc. is hoping to invigorate a nascent market for electronic books by introducing its own e-book reader with free wireless connectivity.

Monday's long-anticipated announcement comes as e-books remain a sliver of overall book sales, partly because they lack the comfort and intimacy of bound paper.

Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said the online retailer spent three years developing the Kindle reader, which the company is selling online for $399.

Rather than try to "outbook" the bound book, Bezos said, Amazon designed Kindle with the e-book's strengths in mind.

It is thinner than most paperbacks and weighs 10.3 ounces. Yet it can hold some 200 books, along with newspapers, magazines and an entire dictionary.

Readers can buy and download books directly to the Kindle — without a PC — through Sprint Nextel Corp.'s high-speed EV-DO cellular network without fees or contract commitments. They also can take notes on what they read and store them on Amazon's servers.

Kindle users can turn off wireless connectivity when they are on airplanes — though they also must shut off the device during takeoff and landing, prime reading time for some.

Sony Corp. already offers an e-book reader that imitates the look of paper by using an innovative screen technology.

The Kindle screen takes a similar approach and has no backlight to reduce battery use and eyestrain. Bezos said Amazon decided to make its own device so it could seamlessly build a service around it.

Best sellers and new releases will typically go for $9.99.

[thethirddiaz]

I think this thing has some significant obstacles to overcome. First, people are used to books. Second, $399 is a lot of money to invest in something you aren't familiar with.

That being said, with the books being only $10 for best sellers, it may come out almost even in the long run for people who read a lot.

I've heard the Sony ebook reader is very easy on the eyes, so if the technology is there, it won't feel like looking at a screen.

I think it will be a few more years before these things become the norm.

[Depth]

Originally Posted by thethirddiaz

I think this thing has some significant obstacles to overcome. First, people are used to books. Second, $399 is a lot of money to invest in something you aren't familiar with.

That being said, with the books being only $10 for best sellers, it may come out almost even in the long run for people who read a lot.

I've heard the Sony ebook reader is very easy on the eyes, so if the technology is there, it won't feel like looking at a screen.

I think it will be a few more years before these things become the norm.

Yeah, it's a good first step, plus Amazon, one of the worlds biggest book distributors is behind it.

I can see this taking off in colleges; cheaper books, lighter load to carry.

[Ultrashogun]

Thats cool. As a student Ive been thinking about getting a Palm to read material and books, but theyre too expensive and they suck too much at that task.

400$ is still expensive, but if the tech catches on it may get cheaper.

[Magooglie]

I sense the increasing online theft of electronic books.

[Depth]

Amazon Kindle Finds a New Use for 3G

Amazon's method for delivering e-books to its Kindle readers may present a new use for mobile data networks.

Amazon.com isn't the first company to sell an electronic book reader with an easy-on-the-eyes E-Ink display, but its method for delivering those books may have opened up a whole new use for mobile data networks.

Users of the Kindle, introduced Monday for a list price of US$399, can select and buy books with the device and download them in less than one minute, according to the company. They can also buy the day's newspaper on the spot or subscribe to daily newspapers, magazines and blogs for a monthly fee. Newspapers are delivered overnight and blogs several times a day.

To deliver all this data, Amazon is using Sprint Nextel's 3G (third-generation) cellular network. But Kindle owners will never see a bill for that service, because the cost will be included in the price of the content. It's a rare move that might be repeated as content providers and mobile operators look for successful formulas for making money off high-speed data networks.

The Kindle is always connected to Sprint's EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) network unless it's outside the coverage area, in which case it switches to Sprint's slower 1x system. Users can also turn the radio off with a switch on the back of the device, said Charlie Tritschler, director of Kindle at Amazon. That extends the battery life from about two days to one week. Books download quickly because they aren't very big: 500K bytes to 800K bytes on average, depending on length and the number of pictures. A newspaper is about the same size, he said.

Users can also buy books online and "sideload" them to the Kindle. In any case, every book is backed up on Amazon along with any bookmarks or notes the user added, Tritschler said. Books cost $9.99 unless otherwise marked and newspaper subscriptions will start at $5.99 per month. There is a small music player on the device for background music while reading, but Amazon isn't selling music over EV-DO, he said. Users will have to sideload their own songs.

When it started developing the Kindle, Amazon planned to use Wi-Fi instead of 3G, Tritschler said. But that would have required users to find a hotspot and in many cases manually log in to it. EV-DO, which is available across most of Sprint's nationwide network, is more widely available and easier to use, he said.

Amazon's wireless business model for the Kindle seems to be unprecedented, according to Yankee Group analyst Phil Marshall. It's somewhat like Research in Motion, which popularized mobile e-mail using its own servers and device, the BlackBerry, except that even BlackBerry users needed a contract with a mobile operator, he said. Other companies might follow Amazon's lead, but to succeed, they would have to be established ones like Amazon with other sales channels such as online, Marshall said.

There are book-reader applications available for most smartphone platforms, though not for Apple's iPhone. However, the Kindle, like the Sony Reader, has an electrophoretic display from E-Ink that is designed to look like paper. A phone's LCD (liquid crystal display) is not only smaller but causes more eyestrain, Tritschler said.

Sprint, struggling in third place among U.S. mobile operators, already sells wholesale access to its network to several mobile virtual network operators who resell voice and data services on conventional phones and mobile devices. Like other mobile operators, it makes heavy investments in network infrastructure. Sprint has recently upgraded its EV-DO network to a faster version of the technology, in addition to planning a separate, faster network using WiMax at a cost of about $5 billion.

About 19 percent of U.S. mobile users download content such as ringtones, games and applications to their mobile phones, according to the analyst firm M:Metrics.

[bunnyclaws]

Originally Posted by Depth

Yeah, it's a good first step, plus Amazon, one of the worlds biggest book distributors is behind it.

I can see this taking off in colleges; cheaper books, lighter load to carry.

Good point. The only thing that would interest me about this would be for using it with textbooks. I wouldn't want to use it for casual reading but there seems to be a lot of potential with textbooks. It seems it would be easier to scan for subject matter with a digital copy of the book as opposed to flipping through pages.

[JSN]

Originally Posted by Depth

Yeah, it's a good first step, plus Amazon, one of the worlds biggest book distributors is behind it.

I can see this taking off in colleges; cheaper books, lighter load to carry.

that really would be great for textbooks. not only is it a huge pain in the ass to get your books, but carrying around a shit ton is just plain inconvenient.

who knows, maybe the textbook racket could be forced to rape students a little less on books. i doubt it though.

[Sonny]

I think this is a great idea. I would shell out 400 for it.

[ShoelessRye]

But then what would I display on my coffee table and bookshelves to show everybody how well read I am?