NYT: Amazon tablet? Attorneys: Kindle or tablet? Amazon #1 best-value brand

"The Kindle Is An iPad Accessory" ?

 That's part of the catchy headline in Business Insider's story written by Dan Frommer and carried in the San Francisco Chronicle this week: "The Kindle Is An iPad Accessory, And That's Why It's Still Going To Be Huge " (Thanks to KindleToday for the first report I saw.)  I love the photo (at left) that Business Insider used.

  Frommer's take is that "The Kindle is capable on its own, and many will use it that way.  But the Kindle is now inexpensive enough (and getting cheaper), and light and compact enough, that it's reasonable to consider it an accessory to an iPad, or other larger, heavier tablet.  Or even as a larger accessory to a smartphone."

  Also, his main point in this whimsical piece is that the tablet market will be "bigger and more mainstream" than the dedicated-ereader market, and Amazon, he says, is smart to offer Kindle e-books apps on every tablet and smartphone platform.

  He suggests people with roomy bags can carry both a tablet and a Kindle.  The usual positives are listed:  the Kindle's screen in sunlight, the long battery life,  free 3G access, lower cost, and he doesn't see why people can't be using the Kindle  (UK: K3) to read while one of the tablet features (video, email, music) is otherwise entertaining you on a larger, LCD device.  But many prize quiet, relaxed reading time too.

  In the UK, Carphone Warehouse amd Best Buy will begin giving Kindles away for free "as accessories" (his concept) to customers buying new phones and signing long-term mobile contracts.

  In a survey of those waiting in line to get an iPad on its release-date (the day of the Japan earthquake -- and it was strange to watch the intense focus on Japan's set of horrors juxtaposed with the feverish focus on the new gizmo here), Piper Jaffrey found that about 24% of those interviewed in line owned a Kindle.

NYT:  "Is Amazon working on an Android tablet?"
That's a question from the NYTimes's Nick Bilton and his creative illustration) for the NY Times at the right.

  Well, Computerworld's Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, in November 2010, mentioned that Amazon sources were telling him they -will- produce an Android tablet.

  To get one working really well, it should take a while since the new (color) Android tablets present problems to some degree (the operating system programmed FOR Android tablets is new).  But if they did it, it would be not a Kindle but a different type of device that supplements the Kindle and of course would cost more.

Bilton points us to Amazon's Lab126 website and its newest job listings which include more Android developer openings.  These could be, though, he says, for software development for other Android devices.  Who knows?  They did buy Touchco, the touchscreen maker with some advanced capabilities some time ago.
  I bought a NookColor for color magazine, color-photography books, and portable color web-browsing, but I read regular books on the more relaxing text screen of the Kindle because I don't get eye fatigue from that the way I do with even a very good LCD screen.

  I would be surprised if Amazon was not working on a tablet but it would have to be an especially good one, at this point, and we've seen it's not easy yet to produce an Android tablet without some downsides.

Amazon named as 'world's best-value brand'
TechRadar.com's Internet News section has a story by Marc Chacksfield on Amazon having been named "world's best-value brand", beating Microsoft and eBay to the top spot, per a study by Millward Brown, a research agency that specialises in advertising and marketing communications.  It tops both the global and UK lists.  How does that affect us?  Not much, except it indicates an emphasis on offering value and probably quality.

 TechRadar is in the UK and announced also that the Kindle will be sold at both Best Buy and Carphone Warehouse there - available in about 400 stores.

LAW.COM - "Tablet or E-Book Reader?  It Depends"
John Edwards (no, not that one) writes about the difficulty some attorneys are having in deciding whether to get a tablet or an e-reader.

The sub-headline is, "If all you want to do is read books and documents, an e-book reader can be a cheaper and more convenient alternative to a tablet computer."
  I'll quote below the comparisons some attorneys made while considering the options:

' Like a growing number of attorneys looking for a way to conveniently access books and documents anytime, anywhere, Charles Naylor faced a choice:  buying a tablet computer or an e-book reader.

Naylor, a maritime industry personal injury lawyer in San Pedro, Calif., opted for a reader, an Amazon Kindle.  He says he doesn't regret his decision. "I have a laptop and a smartphone, and a tablet just seemed like more technology than I needed," he says. "My reader acts like a book and feels like a book."  Naylor appreciates his Kindle's lower cost, smaller size, lighter weight, and extra-long battery life. "It does what I need it to do," he says.

While some mobile technology experts expect that tablets will eventually dominate the e-book market, others -- pointing to users like Naylor -- predict that smaller and cheaper readers will continue to appeal to knowledge-hungry users who don't need a tablet's sophisticated information management and media capabilities. '

They look at Size and Weight; Usability and Convenience; Readability; Wireless Support; Battery life; Document Compatibility [Read the section there]; Cost; and Security.

Also, Edwards points out that while the Kindle screen is more readable in bright sunlight (or by windows), shiny LCD screens -- unless positioned just so -- "are also vicious light reflectors" and annoying under those conditions.  An LCD screen will be better indoors and in low-light ocnditions..

' "When I first got my Kindle, I was switching over to this job and there were some materials about our products I wanted to read," recalls Elle Byram, corporate counsel for ZL Technologies, a San Jose, Calif., company that provides e-mail and file archiving software for compliance, litigation support, corporate governance, and storage applications. "I didn't want to have to lug around a ton of papers, so I figured I could send them to the Kindle in PDF form." While Byram could use a tablet, she feels that her Kindle is easier to carry, less complicated to use, and costs less. "It's just better suited for what I want it to do," she says.
. . .
Katharine M. Nohr, a sports risk management attorney in Kaneohe, Hawaii, says that E Ink's superior readability led her toward a Kindle. "I use a computer much of the day; my eyes need a break," she says. "However, reading a Kindle is similar to reading a book." '

Under Cost, Edwards mentions, "A reader's lower cost makes it more practical and less financially painful to distribute the devices to colleagues and staff members involved in various types of research."

I was surprised that the cases described were heavily weighted toward the Kindle, but it may be that since attorneys focus most of all on words and not usually on heavy use of graphics, this makes snese.  The lightness of the device and the clarity of e-Ink seem to be quite a draw.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

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Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or highest-rated ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.