tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post4288593513566377269..comments2024-03-18T22:39:50.137-07:00Comments on A Kindle World blog: Kindle News: Kindle Basic is #2 at Amazon, Kindle app for iDevices adds more foreign-language support , Steve Jobs bio and a comic book due early, Barnes & Noble vs DC ComicsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05109282436243758435noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post-18719827302173803732011-10-11T10:55:16.621-07:002011-10-11T10:55:16.621-07:00The $15/mo 3g is for only 250Mb. Enough to check y...The $15/mo 3g is for only 250Mb. Enough to check your email, and some light web surfing, but that's about it. I'd be too afraid of going over the limit and paying surcharges to actually approach even the 250Mb allowance. But I must acknowledge my perhaps irrational aversion to phone/data contracts in general. I'd be okay with 'pay for what you use' but nobody has that option (aside from prepaid).<br /><br />Yes, I have been using the library feature quite a lot, and it's very nice. I love being able to wirelessly download from Archives, for reading illustration-rich material on my Xoom. Overdrive Media Console is pretty seamless as well for ePub, but it is not so good on Xoom's larger screen, and doesn't handle PDF at all. And NONE of the ePub readers will zoom images. Every chapter transition takes better part of a second to load up, while Kindle app just plows ahead.<br /><br />I have 2 library cards (SF and SJ) and between the two of them there are at least 10-20 titles on my wish list that are available for immediate checkout at any given time. My contrarian reading appetite serves well in that I don't read a lot of bestsellers that have the long wait lists. There was a spike when library lending first came to Kindle but it seems to have settled down, pretty much to the same level (again for the titles I want to read). I think most people just want bestsellers and get frustrated by lack of availability due to demand and the fact that some major publishers don't participate. So they go back and buy stuff from Amazon or wherever.<br /><br />The best part of library lending is I wind up reading things I would never discover otherwise, or in some cases, wish to purchase because of some 'antipathy'. So for example, I read Bush's "Decision Points" even though I didn't like the guy.Tom Semplehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05127272649086914117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post-74102913819170677232011-10-10T20:17:38.492-07:002011-10-10T20:17:38.492-07:00Not for $199. You mentioned what B&N could do...Not for $199. You mentioned what B&N could do to remain viable, and since they're rumored to come out with a 10" tab;et that would cost around $350, I thought the features mentioned could make them competitive if they could afford it.<br /><br /> Re 3G - Apple at first didn't have this option and they added it later for another $130 for the iPad (on top of $500 cost) and then they got a data plan from AT&T for about $15/mo. that was more limited than the others. Amazingly, you could use it in one month and discontinue it until you felt you wanted it again (for vacation etc). I think the higher limit data plan is $25/mo.<br /><br /> I could probably do with the $15/mo. using WiFi 85% most of the time instead.<br /><br /> The problem for BN is that Amazon is definitely working on a 10" model too and WERE looking at 3G as an add-on feature later on.<br /><br /> Have you tried the library feature? While the bestsellers are too long a wait for most, one of the books I wanted was incredibly smooth to get. I also found out that the Free Library of Philadelphia, which accepts non-residents WITHOUT making them visit in person once and which charges $35/year for the non-resident card actually gives this card free of charge to senior citizens! They have about 6,500+ Kindle books. (Sorry to change the subj but I guess it has a place in 'competitive' features since it is done via Whispernet in an unusually smooth process, vs the current ePub ways.)<br /><br /><br /><br /> - AAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05109282436243758435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post-71440193830178895852011-10-10T19:05:48.238-07:002011-10-10T19:05:48.238-07:00Yes, bluetooth would have been nice for the Fire, ...Yes, bluetooth would have been nice for the Fire, though I'd want it more for wireless audio than input devices. A microphone and webcam would have been nice for Skype, but some things had to go to get to that $199 price point. If B&N can add more features at that price point, more power to them, but unlike Amazon, they need to make a profit at something at just about everything they do, or they are dead.<br /><br />I don't think a media consumption device like Fire or NC is well matched to 3G in the current landscape, particularly if you are talking about video streaming of two hour movies as a typical use case. I know the high end tablets have that option, but they also style themselves as laptop replacements and therefore enter the rarified world of business expenses/deductions. The days of unlimited data plans are all but gone (Sprint is offering this for their new iPhone 4S customers, but it probably won't outlast the contract you'll have to sign). I don't see a prospect for anyone to offer a 'good' (i.e. affordable to the masses) data plan, especially where many people already pay for one for their smartphone (in which case paying a 'tethering' charge might be the most cost-effective way to get 3G access for these things). The only way to get the price down is to limit bandwidth, and that would kind of take the fun out of ubiquitous video/audio streaming for most people, I think.Tom Semplehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05127272649086914117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post-2407742831476160772011-10-10T05:01:00.862-07:002011-10-10T05:01:00.862-07:00Tom,
Thanks for that info on Kindle for Android. ...Tom,<br /> Thanks for that info on Kindle for Android. The NC2 -- it's in question how much that will change. If it just had a more reliable keyboard and highlight/copy/paste in web-browsing (which is very nice in pure Android), it would help.<br /><br /> It has expandable local storage - they could add bluetooth and give us an external keyboard option. Add 3G with a good data plan, I suppose.<br /><br /> The NookColor 3 (10") is rumored, and if they can really price it at $350 with a camera, and a screen that's as good as on the NC2 but for a 10" space, they'd probably do pretty well...<br /><br /> I'm with you that their updates have fallen short, so that's a point against them. But they've been ahead of the curve on the color tablet/reader...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05109282436243758435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post-83559315059776606622011-10-09T19:51:17.078-07:002011-10-09T19:51:17.078-07:00Kindle for Android has also added the same set of ...Kindle for Android has also added the same set of languages (German having been added previously). <br /><br />I'm unaccountably excited about the prospect of being able to type umlauts when I get my Kindle Touch.<br /><br />I am worried about B&N's ability to stay competitive. Where are _their_ exclusive deals? How can they get people to buy NC2? When are they going to fix their apps? (Nook Android crashes on Pocket Edge, Nook Mac won't start up most of the time, they've pulled the plug on Blackberry..) Will there ever be a meaningful update for Nook Touch?Tom Semplehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05127272649086914117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post-17606855008600499702011-10-09T17:42:27.836-07:002011-10-09T17:42:27.836-07:00Sunday evening 8pm EDT did a scan in Amazon kindle...Sunday evening 8pm EDT did a scan in Amazon kindle store for most popular items. #1 K4 ($79), #2 KF ($199), #3 KTSO ($99), #9 KKSO ($99).<br /><br />Given Amazon's clarifications on 3G "utility" going forward, I would expect the 3G devices to start to approach the KDX in popularity :-).<br /><br />The demise of 3G is not Amazon's fault, nor is it really the fault of the cellular carriers -- there just isn't enough spectrum (of the right kind) to do the kinds of things we are wanting to do with our mobile devices.<br /><br />The FCC is trying to get some government agencies and TV networks to give back some of their underutilized spectrum -- they are resisting; but this is a stopgap at best.<br /><br />Europeans are raising prices for data -- this will stifle mobile app innovation -- no easy answers I fear.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14856691481030828812noreply@blogger.com