Kindle News: Kindle TV? Likely. Apple + Android (Kindle too) market share changes, smartphones and tablets.

Kindle TV ?

The news on my TV this Tuesday morning brought speculation about Amazon's apparently coming Kindle TV (that's Bloomberg News's name, not Amazons), to go up against Apple TV, and Roku 3 streaming TV boxes this year.

  And iTechPost's Jordan Mammo, whose Kindle Fire combo-graphic is used here, points us to the Bloomberg story by Brad Stone, about Amazon's "plans to release a television set-top box that would stream video over the internet into customer's homes," according to people "with knowledge of the matter."  This hasn't been confirmed by Amazon and it's not their style to do that ahead of time.

  It brought to mind that (though not the same thing) I can stream video from my Kindle Fire HDs, including Amazon Instant Prime and any webpages I vist now, by just hooking up the HDMI cable to an HDTV.
 But this kind of thing is more easily done via a box like an Apple TV or a Roku 3.
 Mammo also mentions rumors of an Xbox Mini for streaming of video content.

  The Kindle TV would likely prioritize Amazon's own services and allow it to highlight more of its own content although such a device would not be of general interest unless it streamed almost everything the other boxes offer.  People would expect the usual competitive pricing.

  Stone's source article says that the device is due later this year and is being developed by Amazon's Lab 126, which is not new to the technology.

  Stone adds that Amazon "has climbed 7.2 percent this year through yesterday, compared with a 24 percent decline for Apple" (subject of next topic here).

  Amazon has been very aggressive in the streaming television area, as shown in the TV pilots they're producing and offering for free viewing with customer feedback requested, and the payments "to secure exclusive streaming rights to hit shows" like "Downton Abbey."

  Wired's Roberto Baldwin would like a couple of extras:
1. Place a cable-card slot in the Kindle TV, "Amazon could market the device as an all-in-one media center"
2. Add a cloud-based DVR




Apple's sudden perception problem

Besides the news that its stock gave back 40% of its gains over the last 10 years and the several stories a few days ago that the iPhone was losing marketshare rather heavily to Samsung, Forbes's story by contributor Todd Hixon says "iPhone lost the smart phone market share war two years ago, and Android is now well in the lead.

See also:
  . Washington Post on this.
  . The more colorful Daily Mail Online, UK

  Other stories show market share in tablets decreasing too, but Apple is still far in the lead when it comes to tablets, and while they are losing market share in that area too, their sales of these have gone up.

  Added problem if sources for the situation are correct:
  TGDaily reports that "According to Chinese media, Apple returned as many as five million iPhones to Foxconn due to various technical problems" and that "the total number of returned phones may be as high as eight million."

  I see stories that Samsung is having problems with production because the demand is so high.

  Apple's problems are relevant here for a few reasons.  Amazon's Kindle ecosystem is one reason for a decrease in the tablets area.  Although Amazon's market share of tablets is still very small, it's growing.  They're also getting into the smartphone area, and you know that they'll keep pricing low on that and probably make deals for competitive first-year data plans.

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Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

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CNet quotes an analyst on supply-chain info re 4 new Kindle Fires. Smartphone being readied?

CNET now says that four Kindle Fire 2 tablets are on their way

CNET's Brooke Crothers cites NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim, saying that Shim gets his information from sources in the "supply chain."
What Shim sees: '

• 7-inch Kindle Fire 2:  1,024x600 display, no camera; August production.
  
• 7-inch Kindle Fire 2:  1,280x800 display with camera; August production.
  
• 7-inch Kindle Fire 2:  1,280x800 display with camera and 4G; September production.
  
• 8.9-inch Kindle Fire 2:  With 1,920x1,200 display; Q4 production. '

First, the #1 item on their listing (all these are said to be based on orders from makers) is more likely continued production of the to-be-cheaper $149 current model rather than of the Kindle 2.

  I see no reason for Amazon to be doing a new Kindle 2 with the current display resolution and no camera.  But it's been said they do plan to continue the current model as the economy model, which means they have to keep ordering it too.

  The one coming out sometime in August would be the one with a 1280x800 display with camera.

  And, as Apple did with their first iPad, they may add a 3G/4G model afterward; in this case, Shim is "seeing" - September for production.

  The 8.9" one by the yr-end 4th Qtr Holidays -- all this needs to be taken with a grain of salt, remembering that recent CNet rumors were that the 10" one was coming year-end and that they were not moving after all on an 8.9" one.  Since this is SAID to be based on orders from companies, this would seem stronger, but these things have been said before and didn't materialize.  It could go either way, but I'm pretty sure they plan something larger by the Holidays for those who are not interested in the 7" size.

One thing for sure.  Amazon won't be standing still.

Bloomberg says Amazon plans a smartphone as well
Bloomberg assigned three people to this story: Tim Culpan, OlgaKharif and Ashlee Vance
The story is that Amazon is developing an Android phone that would go up against Apple.  Foxconn International Holdings Ltd is working with Amazon on the device, according to "two people with knowledge of the matter."

  Amazon is said to be working on acquiring patents covering wireless technology, but they're not commenting on this.  The writers also say that Mark Mahaney, a Citicorp analyst, had said back in November that Amazon was planning to release a smartphone.  Many others said this as well.
  The Bloomberg story explains it quite a bit more.

  Those who want to read even more speculation on this should go to Computerworld's story by IT blogwatcher Richi Jennings, who put together a collection of information and speculation he found.

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Current Kindle Models for reference, plus free-ebook search links

US: Kindle Fire  7" tablet - $199 Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $79/$109 Kindle Touch, WiFi - $99/$139 Kindle Touch, 3G/WiFi - $149/$189 Kindle Keybd 3G - $189, Free, slow web Kindle DX - $379, Free, slow web

UK: Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £89 Kindle Touch WiFi, UK - £109 Kindle Touch 3G/WiFi, UK - £169 Kindle Keyboard 3G, UK - £149   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB

OTHER International Kindle NoTouch Basic - $109 Kindle Touch WiFi - $139 Kindle Touch 3G/WiFi - $189 Kindle Keybd 3G - $189   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB

Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button

Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

WSJ expands article considerably. WashPo-Techcrunch comments on it.

WALL STREET JOURNAL ADDS INFO TO SAME ARTICLE (LINK) NOW DATED JULY 14

The link to the WSJ article July 13 now leads to a largely-rewritten one putting even more emphasis on Amazon challenging the iPad (a dramatic angle), when, as the Washington Post/Bloomberg/Techcrunch article points out, the Amazon tablet is more of a 'threat' to Google for the reasons they give in their article.

Word changes are interesting.  Yesterday, it was that the tablet would be 'introduced before October' and today it's that it'll be "released by October."

The article now goes extensively into the battlefield aspect of it all, and you can read that at the same link, as I'm not including much of the iPad angle here.

  Newly worded paragraphs of more interest:

' Amazon's tablet will have a roughly nine-inch screen and will run on Google's Android platform, said people familiar with the device.  Unlike the iPad, it won't have a camera, one of these people said.  While the pricing and distribution of the device is unclear, the online retailer won't design the initial tablet itself.  It also is outsourcing production to an Asian manufacturer, the people said.

  One of the people said the company is working on another model, of its own design, that could be released next year. '

  I actually mentioned yesterday that a more advanced model was said to be expected in 2012.

  Then they mention (and the Washington Post does also) that an Amazon tablet might cannibalize sales of its Kindle.   Despite all the current news stories that e-reader sales have been going through the roof while tablet sales have slowed, the idea of a Kindle killer persists.

  More new material:

' A person familiar with Amazon's thinking said it [is] still figuring out how to market the tablet computer.  One issue is whether customers will want to buy both the tablet and Kindle, which is viewed as a dedicated-reading device for bookworms. '

' Amazon spokespersons have said that surveys show that many who value reading books have chosen an e-ink reader AFTER buying a tablet.  Some will want one or the other and some will want both.  I have a Kindle and a NookColor (more of a tablet), as they complement each other.

WSJ writers Stu Woo and Yukari Iwatani Kane, with contributor Amir Efrati, mention that Sony unveiled, yesterday, prototypes of a tablet and a wallet-shaped dual-screen portable device to be available later this year.  That should be interesting.

New wording re the two updated versions of its e-Ink Kindles now omits yesterday's description of an "improved and cheaper adaptation of the current Kindle," which has me hoping again that the second 'improved' Kindle is the 9.7" e-Ink Kindle DX Graphite rather than what they termed "the Kindle" yesterday, which is a term usually used by Amazon, since August, for the WiFi Kindle 3.

 Here's the rewrite:

' Amazon plans to introduce two updated versions of its black-and-white Kindle in this year's third quarter, people familiar with the matter said. One of the new Kindles will have a touch screen, which current models don't have. '

The word "cheaper" for "the Kindle" is gone.

Forrester's "Ms. Epps" mentions that "Amazon is also in a position to offer a cheaper alternative to the iPad" and "could sell the tablet at a loss while hoping to make money on sales of movies, music and books" but says that Amazon lacks a natural brick-and-mortar outlet and that the tablet "may be less refined than the iPad."

The Washington Post/Bloomberg's Techcrunch.com article explains how the tablet could be very successful for Amazon.  They consider the coming tablet a "sort of placeholder until Amazon's own version is ready."

When describing the threat of an Amazon tablet to Google, they point out that the Android appstore is complicated (Amazon's target crowd is one that doesn't want to depend on computers). Their take on this:

' Amazon needs devices they can ship with the store pre-installed.  And more importantly, their stores pre-installed.  As in, any device they ship is going to be filled with Amazon to the brim.  That includes the ability to sign in to your Amazon Prime account [to] buy things with one click...When that happens, Amazon will have an Android tablet that is more compelling than any other Android tablet on the market on day one '

They also say that Amazon will be less dependent on Google 'carrots' (Google branding, Google apps) offered to partners and this will be interesting to watch.  For sure.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's)   K3 Special ($114)   K3-3G Special ($164)   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.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Kindle v2.5 update delayed - Also, a thinner B/W Kindle may come in August

AMAZON KINDLE SOFTWARE UPDATE VERSION 2.5

From the Kindle Software Upgrade v2.5 help page today, at the top, where Amazon asks users to monitor the page for further news, we see:

' Kindle Version 2.5 Overview

We know Kindle customers are anxious to receive the 2.5 software update, so we wanted to provide you with some details about its status. We've rolled out the 2.5 software release to a set of Kindle customers and have received great feedback from these early customers. Based on this feedback, we are making some small adjustments to improve the experience further. We will be rolling out the 2.5 software update to more users over the coming weeks. '

The broader delivery of the new update was to be in late May (which is now), but as of 5/28 they're continuing to roll out the software slowly to more (not all) users 'over the coming weeks' after small adjustments.  Forum members are a bit restless.

No real bugs have been reported on the forum, but it is clear that most who received it recently really need to have the Home page listing of Collections in alphabetical order (they're shown the listing in that order when users do the Add files to Collections process).

Also, there is some slowness in load time that is probably caused by the association of any file with several Collection categories -- so, the info needs to be gathered and in place for the screen display by Collections, which are user-set and changeable -- in my case, I am changing things frequently as it's flexible and it takes time to know what works best for the individual.

A POSSIBLY THINNER, FASTER KINDLE IN AUGUST?
Bloomberg's Peter Burrows and Joseph Galante report today (May 28) that Amazon "plans to introduce the next version of its Kindle electronic-book reader in August, according to two people familiar with its plans."

' The device will be thinner and have a more responsive screen with a sharper picture, the people said, who didn’t want to be identified because the plans aren’t public. The new Kindle won’t include a touch screen or color, they said. [Emphases mine.]

...Sony also added a service that lets users download books wirelessly, matching a feature of the Kindle. '

Sony's doesn't involve free global access to Wikipedia 24/7 nor the free basic web browser in the U.S. and Japan for accessing mobile-device-optimized websites but the Sony (Daily Edition) costs $400 to the Kindle's $257.

Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos, earlier this week, said that the company was still concentrating on committed book readers who would gravitate toward very portable, less expensive dedicated e-readers and that the committed book readers comprise about 10% of households.  He seems to be lowering expectations in the face of writers who keep comparing small dedicated e-book readers that use eye-relieving e-Ink (similar to print on paper and superior when reading outdoors) to the larger and more costly multi-function iPads, including the $629 iPad that has the 3G cellular wireless capability which then requires a data plan by the month costing $15-$30/mo.

 Also, a color display screen isn't in the offing for the Kindle for some time because '“I’ve seen some stuff in the laboratory, but it’s not quite ready for prime-time production,” Bezos said May 25 at the company’s annual shareholders meeting. '  The Bloomberg report continues:

' The new version will have sharper contrast that makes e-books look more like real books, the people familiar with the product said. The delay during page turns also will be shortened... '

What's interesting is that, despite purchasing Touchco recently, Amazon says that it's not going to touch-screen technology yet (which some Kindle owners are glad about as they don't look forward to fingerprints on the screen but I don't see why Amazon can't make one Kindle with a touch screen and one without.

To contact the reporters on this story: Peter Burrows in San Francisco at pburrows@bloomberg.net; Joseph Galante in San Francisco at jgalante3@bloomberg.net Last Updated: May 28, 2010 20:20 EDT

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 See the ongoing Guide to finding Free or Low-Cost Kindle books and Sources
   Check often:  Latest temporarily free non-classics or late-listed temporarily free nonclassics. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!