The iPad has been announced. But does it mean Kindle will be dead? No, not at all. Remeber, iPad is still a multimedia device. You can do a lot of things including reading ebooks; but it’s not focused on reading ebooks. Those who prefer to read a lot of fiction, and text-only non-fiction still need a reader like kindle. However, iPad might be more acceptable for technical ebooks and e-textbooks. It’s for sure that young generations will prefer iPad to Kindle, and if the e-textbook market takes off through iPad it’ll be widely acceptable. If amazon can sell ebooks on iPad as they are doing with iPhone/iPodTouch, there is no reason to believe that amazon’s kindle store will be gone forever. Kindle as a reading device will still be there. However, I suspect the Kindle DX will no longer be a viable device, and it will be dead. Remeber, amazon has already tried to experiment with Kindle DX for universitites, and sadly, it failed. I think 6” kindle will still be sold, and it’ll evolve to different level as a reading device as technology evolves.
The iPad is basically a larger screen iPodTouch with tweaks here and there. It doesn’t have many more features than a iPodTouch except the integration of iWork. That basically make it a productivity device. In other words, it’s a multimedia and productivity device. On the other hand, Kindle has many unique features as a reading device that you never heard of. I think, as long as, amazon try to keep Kindle as a reading device with some social networking capability (not facebook, rather book-related) it’ll be alive for long. I would rather say, all other eInk devices other than Kindle will be dead pretty soon.
Amazon will be Releasing Kindle Developmeny Kit (KDK) for Applications
That’s a big news. Amazon has decided to release SDK for Kindle so that people can contribute making applications for Kindle just like AApple’s iPhone. It’ll be available in February as beta-test. There are some news that Amazon already gave access to SDK to some companies like Handmark to develop active Zagat restaurant guides for the Kindle, while Sonic Boom is making word games and puzzles for the device.
Here is what you expect to get in February:
A limited beta test of the KDK to download the kit
The KDK will include sample code, documentation, and the Kindle Simulator
Test the content on the Kindle Simulator
Simulates will be available for both the 6-inch Kindle or 9.7-inch Kindle DX on Mac, PC
You can see webpage for KDK on amazon here. You can also submit your email to be beta tester.
Here is more what the amazon KDK website details:
Revenue Share
User revenue will be split 70% to the developer and 30% to Amazon net of delivery fees of $0.15 / MB. Remember that unlike smart phones, the Kindle user does not pay a monthly wireless fee or enter into an annual wireless contract. Kindle active content must be priced to cover the costs of downloads and on-going usage.
Pricing Options
Active content will be available to customers in the Kindle Store later this year. Your active content can be priced three ways:
Free – Active content applications that are smaller than 1MB and use less than 100KB/user/month of wireless data may be offered at no charge to customers. Amazon will pay the wireless costs associated with delivery and maintenance.
One-time Purchase – Customers will be charged once when purchasing active content. Content must have nominal (less than 100KB/user/month) ongoing wireless usage.
Monthly Subscription – Customers will be charged once per month for active content.
Active content applications have an upper size limit of 100MB. Applications larger than 10MB will not be delivered wirelessly but can be downloaded from the Kindle Store to a computer and transferred to the user’s Kindle via USB.
Developer Guidelines
Voice over IP functionality, advertising, offensive materials, collection of customer information without express customer knowledge and consent, or usage of the Amazon or Kindle brand in any way are not allowed. In addition, active content must meet all Amazon technical requirements, not be a generic reader, and not contain malicious code.
Amazon Offers 70-30 Split For Kindle eBook Authors Like AppStore With Conditions
Amazon has finally decided to offer 70% of the sales price of Kindle ebooks to the content providers. This is the similar model followed by Apple for AppStore. However, there is a catch. Amazon put some conditions to get that 70% share. The AppleInsider elaborates:
The author or publisher-supplied list price must be between $2.99 and $9.99
This list price must be at least 20 percent below the lowest physical list price for the physical book
The title is made available for sale in all geographies for which the author or publisher has rights
The title will be included in a broad set of features in the Kindle Store, such as text-to-speech. This list of features will grow over time as Amazon continues to add more functionality to Kindle and the Kindle Store.
Under this royalty option, books must be offered at or below price parity with competition, including physical book prices. Amazon will provide tools to automate that process, and the 70 percent royalty will be calculated off the sales price.
The speculation is that Amazon has decided to go with such plan fearing Apple will follow the similar plan for upcoming iSlate to be announced next week. There is still some debates on whether such move by amazon will benefit or attract big publishers if they are forced to follow the conditions. However, amazon’s move will certainly help indie authors.
Nook Also Available From Amazon, But Not Sold By Amazon
Some people are sellingNook at Amazon.com. Nook is not currently available in B&N online store. If you order it now, you will probably get it after February 12. I found on the amazon store that some people are even selling it as high as $600. However, you can also find some rarely used ones at $275. If you’re very much interested in Nook, you can probably afford that. Here is the link to amazon store.
1400+ Newspapers & Magazines on Kindle From NewspaperDirect Aka PressDisplay
That’s good news though comes at a cost since you’ve to pay for the content. For a long time PressDisplay is offerering newspapers and magazines in their original paper format displayed on your PC or laptop. They have also application for iPhone/iPodTouch. However, you can’t download newspapers wirelessly on 3G network. Firsy you’ve to download the paper on your PC, and then transfer it through USB. I can definitely say this is a nice way to read newspaper and magazines since you can get a kind of feeling of reading a paper version though screen isn’t color. Here you can watch a demonstration video:
Speculation: A Color-screen Kindle with Mirasol Display By Fall 2010
Those who believe that Kindle didn’t evolve in last two years (I’m also one of them) would be happy to know that a lot speculation now that a color kindle will be available probably around Fall 2010. The color display would be Qualcomm’s Mirasol. Engadget reports that
We spoke at length with executives, and they’re currently predicting an ebook reader running Mirasol in Fall of this year. What we’ve heard “around” is that the device will actually be new Kindle running a Mirasol display — we can’t confirm it, but it sounds logical. What’s interesting, though, is that this panel is not only color, but it can play back video when used with the right processor.
Fox News has published a scoop with the title: “Exclusive: Tech Behind Next-Gen Kindle Revealed?”.
The Mirasol Display website also promotes the display for ereaders. You can see detail on this display from the website here.
