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All posts tagged "kindle"


Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Kindle Updates iOS App

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Software (iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad)" @ 04:56 PM

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/arti...ndle_magazines/

"Amazon updated its Kindle app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch on Wednesday, adding iPad support for textbooks, along with support for Kindle Fire magazine and newspaper subscriptions."

It's making it even better to own an iPad with these updates. I normally use Zinio for my subscriptions but I may have to try out the Amazon method. The textbook features are fantastic too, including support for notes, highlights and linked content to name but a few of the features. Version 2.9 update is also free from the iTunes App Store.


Thursday, October 13, 2011

A 7-inch iPad?

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad" @ 03:00 AM

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...ni_in_2012.html

"Spurred by the recently announced Amazon Kindle Fire and its $199 price, Apple is rumored to be exploring a new low-cost iPad for release in the first few months of 2012."

We don't go into too many rumors around here, especially since most don't end up being true (such as the iPhone 4/5 rumors of which only about 28% were true according to at least one source, but even worse actually when taken overall as evidenced here), but this one does bring up an interesting question. Namely, would a smaller tablet aka iPad interest you at all, if it was priced comparatively to the Kindle? How popular do you think something like this would be? I find the current iPad just about right so I'm not that interested in something like this, but what are your thoughts?


Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Amazon.com Debuts a Whole Lot of Kindles

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "The Competition" @ 08:53 AM

http://www.businessinsider.com/amaz...et-event-2011-9

"Jeff Bezos just introduced the Amazon Fire, a full color tablet which will radically disrupt the tablet market."

Four Kindles revealed this morning, the not so new original Kindle with the price lowered to $79.00 USD, the Kindle Touch for $99.00 USD, Kindle Touch 3G for $149.00 USD and then of course the Kindle Fire. It's the Amazon version of a tablet, dual core processor and proprietary web browser to enhance the experience, since it isn't as powerful as most tablets out there. However, it's not bad to be honest, especially if you do a lot of stuff with Amazon.com such as using their Amazon Prime service. This is really a tablet built to use with Amazon.com services. It will retail for $199.00 USD and will start shipping on November 15th. So, what are your thoughts?


Tuesday, September 27, 2011

All About Steve for Your eBook Reading Pleasure

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Software (iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad)" @ 05:39 PM

http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/09...ous+(TNW+Apple)

"Here's a little something to tide you over until the official Steve Jobs biography is released. The editors of Fortune have compiled a selection of stories about Jobs into an ebook for Kindle called ‘All About Steve'."

And with "All About Steve: The Story of Steve Jobs and Apple from the Pages of Fortune" you get 17 stories over the last 20 years that the editors found worthy of compiling into this eBook. Available now at Amazon.com for $8.79 USD.


Thursday, August 4, 2011

Bring the Power Along with the Tekkeon TekCharge MP1860A

Posted by Ron Hostetter in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 07:00 AM

Product Category: Mobile Power
Manufacturer:Tekkeon
Where to Buy: Amazon.com
Price: MSRP $69.95
Specifications: Please see manufacturer website.

Pros:

  • Easily provides power for your devices;
  • Can charge two devices at once;
  • Long lasting battery.

Cons:

  • Cheap on/off switch can accidentally be switched;
  • Flashlight seems gimmicky.

Summary: Like power windows in a car, this little battery is the product you never thought you'd need, but once you have it, you won't want to live without it. The MP1860A gives you a pocket full of juice for your devices. Read more...


Monday, July 25, 2011

Today's iPad Kindle App Update Removes Kindle Store Button

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Apple Talk" @ 11:01 AM

I was updating the apps on my iPad today - which is a daily occurrence that I wish Apple would streamline or automate somehow - and I noticed that the new Kindle app, released today, removes the Kindle Store button. This change has been brewing for a while now because Apple wants 30% of everything sold via any app. Taking 30% for selling an app itself is a good deal compared to the 50% cut most mobile developers we used to forking over in previous years. But when it comes to content where there are multiple parties involved and everyone wants a piece, 30% is untenable.

You have companies like Rhapsody and Amazon who are resellers of the content someone else creates - so they're the middle men - and Apple put a gun to their head and said "Give us 30% or get out". Amazon did the only thing that makes sense: they made the Kindle app a read-only tool, not a purchasing tool. Anyone using an iPad, myself included, will now have a degraded experience because I'll have to grab my Kindle 3 or Android phone in order to quickly purchase a book. The alternative is to buy the book via Safari on the iPad, and while it's not exactly difficult, it's certainly a lot less slower than buying from an app that allows for one-tap purchase of books.

What's your take on Apple's demand to have a 30% cut on every piece of content sold via an iOS app?


Tuesday, July 5, 2011

iTunes is Quite the Profit Generator

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Software (iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad)" @ 12:00 PM

http://www.cultofmac.com/apple-set-...w+(Cult+of+Mac)

"Thanks to the continued growth of Apple's iOS devices, the iTunes platform that includes the App Store and the iBookstore is set to grow at a rate of 39% over the next three years and rake in a whopping $13 billion in revenue during 2013."

In a previous story, it was reported that Apple's iTunes ecosystem has a yearly price tag of $1.3 billion, so a $12 billion profit is no small figure. They also report that students are preferring to use iBook over other apps on their iPads. I am still experimenting with iBook, using it mainly to store PDF files. What are your thoughts, iBook or another app on your iPad?


Wednesday, February 16, 2011

The iOS Version of Kindle Updates

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Software (iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad)" @ 10:00 AM

http://www.tuaw.com/2011/02/15/kind...rogress-meters/

"The Kindle app for iOS (my personal reading app of choice) got a nice update yesterday that brings "real" page numbers into the app. Now, as you read along in some e-books, you'll get to see where you'd be in the printed version, so if you're reading Kindle books along with a class or book club, you can find the same pages you're all reading together."

The page number showing correctly is huge in my book, pun intended. I hated it when a page was referenced in the book but the display of course was something entirely different. Looking up words using Google or Wikipedia right from the app is a nice addition as well.


Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Apple Responds to Uproar Over Sony, And Kindle, And Nook...

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Software (iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad)" @ 10:26 AM

http://www.appleinsider.com/article..._app_store.html

"Apple issued a surprisingly timely response to a claim made by the New York Times that suggested the company might bar iOS apps that sell content outside of Apple's software market within iTunes."

It's been quite the story since yesterday, with Sony coming in late to the e-reader app game and getting shut down by Apple, while existing e-book apps such as Kindle and Nook are still allowed to go out of app for purchases. And it took less than a day for Apple to issue a response, and in fact it came out the same day as they tried to do damage control with the "end of the world" story lines that were cropping up. According to Apple, and also independent developers, the guidelines have not changed but they have changed how they are making developers comply with them. Apple wants apps to allow users to purchase in-app obviously since they get a 30% cut, so if they can purchase outside the app Apple wants the option for the same purchase to be available in-app. Seems reasonable since Apple is bringing the infrastructure for sales to the table, all they ask is the "option" for a piece of the pie. That being said, I do see why developers would be upset about it because, if the price were the same either way, why wouldn't I take the easy route and go in-app, thus cutting into the developers payment. While some would pay attention to this and make sure developers got their share by going outside the app, most people would go in-app due to convenience. What are your thoughts now that the dust has settled on this issue? Any predictions about what will happen to the existing apps such as the Kindle?


Friday, December 31, 2010

What The Geeky Got for Gifts

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Digital Home News" @ 05:30 PM

http://mashable.com/2010/12/31/ipad...-mashable-poll/

"If you got an iPad as a gift during the holidays, you certainly weren't alone. In a recent poll of holiday gift recipients, iPads accounted for a full 22.7% of all gadget or hardware gifts, making iPads the single largest category in our gift poll, outstripping the nearest runner-up by nearly 14% of votes. That runner-up was Amazon's Kindle - not surprising considering that the Kindle is the best-selling product in Amazon's history."

It's a relatively small sampling size - less than 2400 votes, and only from people who read Mashable - but among the geek-set, there are a couple of stand-out points: the iPad was the #1 gift, more people got Macs (60%) than Windows machines (40%), Android phones let the way in the smartphone category with a hefty 50.3% figure (iPhones were 30%), but Windows Phone 7 devices at 10.3% just eeked out Blackberry devices (9.4%). Not bad for a brand new platform that most people still haven't heard about! Lastly, the Xbox/Kinect one-two punch clobbered the PS3 with a 54.3% figure versus only 11.9% for the PS3. The Kinect really is driving the Xbox 360 to new heights of popularity!


Friday, October 8, 2010

Kindle for iPad Updated

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Software (iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad)" @ 07:00 AM

http://thenextweb.com/apps/2010/10/...ous+(TNW+Apple)

"The Amazon Kindle for iPad app is a must have app if you're an iPad owner and voracious reader. The app, which is tailored to the size, look, and feel of the iPad, allows one to customize background color, font color, and font size to help ease eyestrain, adjust screen brightness from within the app to make reading easier, as well as featuring page turn animation replicates the look of turning a page in a book."

The landscape view is nice, now displaying two pages, but I really like the update with their new partner Shelfari, which adds something called "Book Extras." Basically it provides character lists, summaries and other items, accessed from the "Go To" menu. Nice update to this app.


Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Kindle Comes Out Swinging Against the iPad

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "The Competition" @ 04:00 AM

http://mashable.com/2010/09/13/kind...t=Google+Reader

The ad is well done, although a bit misleading, but what ad isn't these days? I've found that when I turn up the brightness I don't have the glare issue, and so that I don't run down my battery as fast I just put an anti-glare screen protector on it. I hardly notice it, but I also am hardly ever poolside so my experience in this environment is limited. I will say this however, at $139.00 USD, that thing is cheap enough that you can own your iPad AND a Kindle. How about you, have you found glare to be a problem when you use your iPad outside?


Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Harper Collins: eBook Sales Overtake Hardcopy Sales

Posted by Michael Knutson in "Apple Talk" @ 10:00 PM

"Another promising sign for e-books. The electronic version of a recently-released mystery novel outsold the hardcover version, according to the publisher, HarperCollins.

The thriller by Laura Lippman, "I'd Know You Anywhere," which hit bookstands Aug. 17 sold 4,739 e-books versus 4,000 hardcover versions during the first five days the title was available. However, there's no mystery why e-book sales are edging out physical book purchases."

No surprise that eBook sales are in ascent, despite the somewhat misleading title of the referenced article. Harper Collins has seen their eBook sales double in the last year, (but) today comprising (only) about 8 percent of their sales. Why, you may ask? One theory: A positive review gets posted online, and readers are immediately able to buy (acquire/download) the book online, 24x7, at a variety of sources. No more waiting for the bookstore to open at 10am tomorrow. No more "out of stock." Regardless of the platform, the book is often immediately available online, whether you're using a Kindle (number one!), a Nook, a Sony Reader, something else, or an iBooks-capable device. Instant gratification. In an attempt to appease print publishers losing revenue over sales of eBooks, Apple has offered to add iAds to books sold by Apple, but this idea has been rejected by publishers - so far. I'm a pretty avid reader, and I try to find new books online before browsing the bookshelves in bricks-and-mortar stores, but I don't think that eBooks will overtake printed books until a eBook reader arrives on the scene that is affordable to everyone. What do you believe is a realistic price point for "the eReader for the rest of us?" $29? $49? $99?


Tuesday, July 6, 2010

iPad Faster/Better Than Kindle, Slower/Better Than Paper

Posted by Michael Knutson in "Apple Software (iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad)" @ 11:00 AM

http://www.electronista.com/article....for.e.reading/

"Reading on an iPad is better than a Kindle, a study by Nielsen Norman has found."

image credit: iPhone App Freelancer

An interesting study found that reading on an iPad was faster than on a Kindle, but both were slower than reading from paper. The iPad beat the Kindle in usability, with more clearly defined fonts, and an easier to understand page marker. In an enjoyability scale, the iPad won, followed by the Kindle, with traditional books last. Interesting but odd mixture of quantitative and qualitative statistics, with no indication of sample size or how the study was conducted. I prefer reading on the iPad over the Kindle, but still find that I'm still reading a lot of paper books.


Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Google to Make the Jump Into Ebooks

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad" @ 10:00 AM

http://www.cultofmac.com/report-goo...t=Google+Reader

"Add Google to the list of companies planning an ebook service. The Internet giant's Google Editions service could be up and running as early as June, the Mountain View, Calif. company told publishers Tuesday. Google would compete with Apple, Amazon and Barnes & Noble for the growing audience of electronic readers."

The big difference here, between Google, iBook, Amazon and Barnes & Noble is that the "Google Editions" is going to be available from any browser, and not just on a particular device like the iPad or Kindle. Another twist to all this is that Google Editions will be sold through other websites so you aren't tied to a particular site such as Amazon.com or the iBook store. I prefer to have my books on a reader so I don't have to depend on an Internet connection to read them so I will have no interest in this, what are your thoughts? 


Friday, March 19, 2010

Amazon Kindle App for Mac, Finally!

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Software (OS X)" @ 08:00 AM

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/arti...r_availability/

"Amazon announced Tuesday that it will be releasing a Kindle app for the Mac platform. Like its Windows cousin, Kindle for Mac will allow users to read Kindle content on their Macs. A standalone Kindle hardware device is not needed, but for those users with a Kindle reader can sync that content with their readers."

It is available now at Amazon. So far I'm pretty happy with it, it is very responsive and simple to use. They are also planning on having a version for the iPad so it looks like I will be selling my Kindle 2 after all.


Monday, February 1, 2010

Amazon Complies With Macmillan Higher Pricing Request

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Other Apple Hardware" @ 11:00 AM

http://www.tbiresearch.com/amazon-c...+Alley+Insider)

"Amazon has caved to Macmillan's demands that it raise the prices it charges for Kindle books to as much as $15. What does this mean for Amazon?"

Well I think it means they saw the writing on the wall with the iPad looming on the horizon. You may or may not have seen the story, about Amazon.com pulling titles from Macmillan due to a feud over pricing, Macmillan wanting their books priced dynamically, from $5.99USD to $14.99 USD instead of the usual $9.99 USD pricing the Amazon.com Kindle store uses (which they lose money on I'm told). Now Amazon.com has relented and agreed to the request. I think it is like all things, the pricing should reflect what the market will bear. That is the way a free market economy, or as close to a free market economy we can get with all the government intervention, should work. Ultimately the consumer will dictate what prices the books will be sold at, which is the way it should be. What are your thoughts?


Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Is This The Kindle Killer?

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Software (iPhone/iPod Touch)" @ 08:00 AM

http://www.electronista.com/article...ed.with.orders/

"Barnes & Noble today alerted Nook buyers that new orders now won't ship until December 11th (subscription required). The delay from the original November 30th date follows a recent push back for some until December 7th and is credited by spokeswoman Ellen Keating to sales that have "surpassed our expectations." The book retailer hasn't said how many pre-orders it has taken."

Kindle killer may be a bit dramatic, but competition is a good thing, especially in a market where one product has been dominating. This is the case when it comes to e-book readers and the Kindle. I know, I know, Sony has had one for awhile, but the Kindle has been dominating so if this shakes up the status quo I'm all for it! The key, in my opinion, is the infrastructure surrounding it and if they make it as easy as Amazon has done with the Kindle.


Monday, October 26, 2009

Mac to Get Kindle Program Too!

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Software (OS X)" @ 09:00 AM

http://www.electronista.com/article...dalone.devices/

"Following Amazon's announcement of Kindle software for Windows users, the company has acknowledged that it is also working on a Mac version, according to Fast Company."

It's well documented that I love my Kindle, as well as the accompanying iPhone app. This is welcome news, since I was a little disappointed that when they announced the Windows 7 version, a Mac version wasn't mentioned. I don't know how much I would use it since I have my Kindle in my laptop bag, but I'm all for having options.


Thursday, October 8, 2009

Amazon Drops Kindle Price

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Software (iPhone/iPod Touch)" @ 07:00 AM

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and...-497492/?kc=rss

"Amazon.com slashed the price of its Kindle e-reader, likely in response to vigorous competition from manufacturers such as Sony and the prospect of a huge battle with Apple in 2010."

That is if Apple comes out with a tablet, which seems to be at the forefront of the rumor mill these days. Regardless, the drop is to $259.00 USD for the regular Kindle, $279.00 USD if you want the one tied to 3G and able to download content while in the US as well as about 100 other countries. 


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