The new KINDLE OASIS arrives and it's a luxury/premium model. What are the added features? Physical page-turn buttons, lightness, a cover that charges the Kindle - giving 'months' per charge, enhanced page consistency. (UK, Canada, Int'l also) UPDATED Apr 16-17 with added info.

So, the new Kindle Oasis is almost here.

This luxury edition item with charging case
will be released on April 27, 2016. (UK: here,  Canada: here, Int'l: here)

What's new? (Also see Updated info.)
For one thing, physical, dedicated page turn buttons are back !

The nicely-sized 'handgrip' side is wider and thicker, while the other side of the Oasis is slimmer.

  HOWEVER, when you want to hold it with the other hand, you can just turn it around and the Oasis will auto-rotate the page orientation to match.

Amazon claims that "the tapered, ergonomic handgrip shifts the center of gravity to your palm, to rest in your hand like the spine of a book. Perfectly balanced for one-handed reading,"

It's now, overall, both thinner and lighter than previous Kindles.

Almost an inch shorter, it's a bit wider to get a more secure handgrip, and when you measure the thinness against earlier models, the NON-page-turn buttons side is at least twice as thin, which is hard to believe.

Oasis (UK: here, Canada: here, Int'l: here) comes with a removable leather charging cover included, which "boosts battery to last months."  Color options are black, merlot, or walnut.  I've read that without the battery cover, the battery life is shorter than on the earlier, larger Kindle e-Ink readers, but most use their Kindles with a protective cover and this will give battery life lasting "months" instead of "weeks" as with the earlier Kindles.

The product page explains that you can "charge the Oasis and cover simultaneously while snapped together and plugged in.  When on the go, the cover will automatically recharge the device ...Plus, a new hibernation mode minimizes power consumption when your Kindle is inactive, extending battery life to its fullest capacity.

 I haven't seen an Amazon-product option that isn't in leather (some don't want to buy animal skin) but I imagine 3rd party covers will be available, although I haven't seen if they'll be able to use Amazon's battery-charging technology.

 Amazon describes the cover as one that "fits closely around the bezel, waking Kindle Oasis when opened and putting it to sleep when closed.  Twelve magnets form a secure attachment between device and cover, while still easy to detach when the lightest possible weight is desired."

Without the cover, the Oasis weighs 4.6 oz. vs 6.3 oz. for Voyage and 7.2 oz. for the Paperwhite 3.
Display resolution is the same for all three of these, at 300 dpi.

The new Kindle doesn't have automatic light adjustments but it does have 10 LEDS vs 6 in the Voyage and 4 in the Paperwhite 3.  Amazon explains that the 60% increase in lighting brings " enhanced page consistency" -- a feature that some Kindle users will appreciate when even the slightest variance has bothered some in earlier versions.

Storage capacity is the same at 4 GB.

They promise "Sharp, dark text" (which I hope they apply to the HOME page as well, since their latest update to the older Kindles lightened the font colors for the Home page and therefore reduced the contrast -- I'm still hoping they'll fix that).  
"All fonts have been hand-tuned at the pixel level for maximum readability."

The CURRENT price showing as of today (prices can change from time to time) is $289.99, and if you want 3G cellular network capability in addition to the default WiFi, that's an additional $70 (or $359.00).

As with all the other Kindles, the default configuration includes "Special Offers," which can be good offers or sometimes just ads on the lock screen.  To get the Oasis or any Kindle with NO Special Offers on the lock screen, it's an additional $20.

Comparison of Kindle E-Readers
Here's a link to Amazon's COMPARISON CHART of Kindle e-Readers (UK: here, Canada: here, Int'l: here) as of April 14, 2016.

Who might find this premium model worth a look?
While responding to a comment just now, it occurred to me that commuters who need to stand and hang onto a strap for long rides might find it easier to hold onto this Kindle with only one hand (no stretching the hand for screen taps to turn pages). It'd be less likely to cramp the hand.

And Tom Semple mentioned earlier that people going away (camping etc) to places with no electricity will find it useful. Then there are the few who see uneven lighting even on the Voyage and post that they're very bothered by it (while others don't notice, so it's a matter of how your eyes see).

That's it for now.  Are the premium features attractive to you?  I'll be back to update this as I find out more.

UPDATES - 4/16 and 4/17, 2016

Mashable's Lance Ulanoff offers interesting points, not mentioned on the product page, from his conversations with Amazon.

• While the screen is only 3.4mm thick, the grip side with page-turn buttons houses the e-reader’s CPU, storage and battery.

• The body is made of an electroplated polymer for added strength.

• The Oasis appears sharper and brighter due, Amazon explained, to a wider white gamut and with "brand new" lighting and screen refraction.

• "The lighting now flows in through the side and is spread evenly over the screen by something Amazon called a 'cylindrical refractive pattern.'  What I noticed is that, even at its brightest, I could not see the actual LEDs.

• There's very little distance between the screen and the glass surface and you can feel as if you're touching the 'print.'

• Amazon explained that they chemically strengthened the glass after cutting it down to size rather than before.  This helps prevent weak spots.

• The page turns, for him, were quicker, without noticeable flashing.

• As mentioned above, the battery life without the cover attached is about two weeks.  The cover doesn't add much weight, he feels, describing it as 'relatively light, and brings the battery life to about 9 weeks

Ulanoff also describes how this cover works.  See that and more at the full article.


  ALSO The best Kindle Oasis photos I've seen for a good idea of what the new model AND cover look like are at The Verge article by Nick Statt.

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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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Further Amazon e-Ink Kindle eReader new software-feature updates, v5.6.5, with Kindle models further identified. Tuesday's Free Android App of the day: PianoMaster, normally $2.99.

Free App of the Day - Piano Master

Free for one day (Tues.), the Full version, normally $2.99

Further Updates on E-Ink Kindles Last week
This software update, v5.6.5 was released the day after I wrote about other software updates and it's being slowly being received over the air, receivable when you're connected to WiFi.

TIP for anyone not seeing enhancements in enabled Kindle books
The new features are available on books prepared to use the enhancements.  A couple of people have experienced no changes seen in enabled Kindle books but found that if they deleted the Kindle book from their Kindle devices and re-downloaded it from the 'Cloud' then the enhancements were shown.

  The new Bookerly font is very readable, as I've written in a past blog article on the Paperwhite 2 update that got this font earlier.  In my case, I still use the Helvetica font because it has the most contrast.  The Paperwhite 2 did not receive the new layout features at the time, however, and they're available to the mentioned models now.

 This blog article quotes the Amazon announcement made at their forums and highlights a few items in bold face, with added information in brackets to further identify the models affected.

'Software Update for Kindle Voyage, Kindle Paperwhite, and Kindle

We have a free software update available for Kindle Voyage, Kindle Paperwhite (7th Generation) [ Paperwhite 3 ], the previous generation Kindle Paperwhite [ Paperwhite 2  ], and Kindle (7th Generation) [ current Kindle basic model with Touch screen ].

In addition to performance improvements for your Kindle, new features include:
Smart Cards
A redesigned Smart Lookup makes it easier to get to the actions you want to take while reading - highlight, create a note, share a quote, and more, while keeping your favorite Smart Lookup features like Dictionary, Wikipedia, and X-Ray easily accessible.  Just tap and hold on a word, phrase, or sentence to bring up Smart Lookup and swipe right to see the next card.

Reading Improvements
   These reading improvements are:
~Bookerly, a new font specifically designed for digital screens and tailored for Kindle books, is now available on Kindle Voyage, the previous generation Kindle Paperwhite [ [Paperwhite 2 ], and Kindle (7th Generation) [ current basic Kindle model ], in addition to Kindle Paperwhite (7th Generation) [ current Paperwhite model ].  It introduces a lighter, more graceful look that's akin to the best traditional fonts found in print books.

~Improved word spacing, which results in faster, easier reading across all fonts. When words are unevenly spaced on a line of text, or the spacing between words varies from line to line, it's harder for the eye to scan a passage of text while reading. So Amazon's new technology uses advanced rules for breaking words across lines with hyphenation while adjusting the space between words, to create paragraphs that are more even and consistent line to line.

~Improved character placement, which increases word-recognition speed. Digital fonts in browsers lack the subtle variable adjustments between characters that make high-quality print materials look great. Amazon's reading technology now applies kerning, which looks at neighboring pairs of letters in context and adjusts the character spacing to suit the word.

~Large font optimizations, which reduce visual distractions when customers choose larger font. The text is automatically left aligned to reduce gaps, and margins, indents, nested lists, borders and drop caps all get special treatment to keep the page easy to read with less effort.

~Enhanced page layout with typographically correct drop caps, and images and graphics that fit the page as the author meant them to be displayed, scaling correctly to reflect the page size and the customer's preferred font size.

~Footnotes, endnotes and chapter notes are displayed in a pop up panel, either at the bottom of the page when the note will fit in the bottom-third of the page, or full screen if the note will not fit in the bottom-third of the page.

Personalized Recommendations on Goodreads on Kindle
Now you can access book recommendations personalized just for you inside the Goodreads app on your Kindle. The Goodreads algorithms analyze more than 20 billion data points and deliver surprising suggestions-all to help you find the book you'll want to read next. If you haven't used recommendations on Goodreads before, simply tell us your favorite genres and rate some books, and we'll provide you with personalized recommendations.
  To learn more about a recommended title, just tap on the book cover to see more details. The more books you rate, the better your recommendations will be.


These features will be delivered automatically as part of a free, over-the-air software update in the coming weeks, or you can visit Amazon's software update pages for the U.S. and for the UK to download the software update. '

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  For daily free ebooks, check the following links:

Temporarily-free books - Non-classics USA: by:    Publication Date      Bestselling   High-ratings UK: PubDate   Popular The Kindle Daily Deal What is 3G? and "WiFi"?       Battery Care Highly-rated under $1,  Newest: $1-$2, $2-$3

Most Popular Free K-Books U.S. & Int'l (NOT UK):    Top 100 free UK-Only:    Top 100 free USEFUL for your Kindle Keyboard(U.S. only, currently):   99c Notepad 1.1,   99c Calculator,   99c Calendar,   99c Converter

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



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Comparison of Kindle Paperwhite 3 display (2015) with my older Paperwhite 1 (2012) -- Is the increased resolution (doubled) noticeable?

fmi
The thumbnail photos above are clickable to the larger versions, of course.  These were taken after about 8:30pm at night in low light without flash, with the light just coming from the two Kindles on the table -- the older Paperwhite 1 on the left and the new Paperwhite 3 on the right.

Here's one larger example so that you can have some idea of the difference I saw without needing to click to the larger photos if you're in a hurry.
These photos were taken on the night I received the Paperwhite 3, with very little sunlight left.  Both Kindles were placed on a table top, and I tried to take photos from the middle area between them so as not to favor one over the other.

I'll repeat here what I explain on the photos page at PBase where the full set is shown in larger sizes for 'closer' examination.

These are for a comparison of my new Yr 2015 Paperwhite-3 screen display (resolution differences and display contrast) with my Yr 2012 Paperwhite-1.

Is the higher resolution (double the old model's) worth the $119 to get the newer one?

  That'll depend on the individual.  IF perceived contrast of text against background is more important than sharper text for some Kindle users, it could be better for those owners to keep using the older ones that may be less sharp but which have a dark fuzz around the font making it seem bolder, and there's less light coming from the older Paperwhite.  I've eyes that are somewhat oversensitive to light.

The Paperwhite-2 (2014) (which I didn't upgrade to) received a faster processor, but the Paperwhite-1 which I kept using is noticeably slower than the new Paperwhite 3, so I'm happy to have the higher resolution and faster speed.

  Paperwhite 2 owners are already seeing a speed improvement over Paperwhite 1.  So if you have a Paperwhite 2, the difference will be mainly in the resolution of the text, which is more noticeable if you enlarge the font or try to read a page in smaller fonts.  People reported that the Paperwhite 2 screen released last year was made brighter than the Paperwhite 1.

I do tend to increase the font size these days to '4' or '5' or even '6' when my eyes are tired -- and the new resolution with the Paperwhite-3 (UK model here) makes this even more readable than before and it's also better with smaller text because of less relative blur (not noticeable usually) in the basic font size.

  I used the Helvetica font because it is the boldest one, as I prefer more contrast.

  In the photos, you can see that the built-in light (again, both were set at Level '14' out of a possible '24') is brighter on the new Paperwhite than it is on my Paperwhite 1 (which has always had some minor blotching besides on the display when in lower light (as you'll see in the close-ups) -- and text against the brightness of the newer model can SOMEtimes appear LESS contrasty than on the older model.  The older model is on the left, the newer on the right.

  In my case, the new display is definitely easier on my own eyes.  And it more resembles the white page of a physical book than my old Paperwhite did, as you can see.  Actually, it's quite beautiful.

  I chose a low level of illumination because that's more comfortable for my eyes, but I've seen that others like the built-in light set all the way up to '24' -- however, this way, people won't be disappointed when they see the screen is brighter than shown here, which wasn't true of older models vs the ads.

Which to choose -- the Paperwhite 3 or the more expensive Kindle Voyage?
I covered that in detail in the previous blog article, "How does the new Paperwhite differ from the Voyage model?" -- and Amazon's press release, included in that article, listed everyday Kindle features that many Kindle owners aren't aware of.  Give it a look if you haven't already.

---

  For daily free ebooks, check the following links:

Temporarily-free books - Non-classics USA: by:    Publication Date      Bestselling   High-ratings UK: PubDate   Popular The Kindle Daily Deal What is 3G? and "WiFi"?       Battery Care Highly-rated under $1,  Newest: $1-$2, $2-$3

Most Popular Free K-Books U.S. & Int'l (NOT UK):    Top 100 free UK-Only:    Top 100 free USEFUL for your Kindle Keyboard(U.S. only, currently):   99c Notepad 1.1,   99c Calculator,   99c Calendar,   99c Converter

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


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-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

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Kindle News: 9.7" e-Ink DX Graphite, w/ free slow 3G web lookups, now $199. Paperwhite 2 with 3G back in stock in 2-3 weeks. Kindlestore launches in Australia, HDX's arrive in the UK. Pricing drops updated. Amazon and USPS beginning Sunday deliveries in two cities.

The 9.7" e-Ink Kindle DX Graphite is now $199.

This one doesn't carry language about a "limited time" offer.  It had been $239 for awhile after the price was lowered from $299 for the resuscitated e-Ink giant, and for a few days it was $189 before going back to $239 on Oct 15.  $199 seems to be the new price rather than a temporary deal.

This 9.7" e-Ink Kindle eReader, with more text on a 'page' and larger fonts that look as if they are etched onto the screen, made a re-appearance on Amazon's e-Ink family header in May 2013, at $299 (formerly $379 when new).

  You can see detailed information on what this device is like in the blog article from May 31 about the larger e-Ink eReader many have hoped would remain available.

  Alert: The current e-Ink family header with the discounted DXG price has an oddity on it, still: The 3G Kindle Paperwhite picture is linking to the previous Paperwhite 3G model at $179 rather than to the current and "New" 3G Paperwhite 2 3G model that is $189.
  If you click on the header link to the previous 3G model, note that the newer one will be back in stock in about 2 weeks.

NOTE: While the newer 6" touch-based e-Ink eReaders with 3G cellular network capability have 3G access to just the Amazon store and (few know this) 24/7 free access to Wikipedia from almost wherever you are as long as a cellular AT&T tower is nearby, the older keyboard (non-Touch) e-Ink eReaders work (with no-added-cost) for slow, 3G web browsing whereever an AT&T smart phone would.

  The 9.7" Kindle's 3G is the connecting mechanism for this device with a keyboard -- there is no WiFi capability on this model.  Amazon still gives, on this device, slow but free 24/7 access to all websites that offer mainly text content with few images.

  An image-heavy site should be avoided because all the images would not load in your lifetime, so you'd use the 'm' or mobile version of a website, which normally sends fewer images and focuses on text.

  Many find this slow 3g-web-lookup useful on trips abroad, where very expensive 'roaming' charges would apply, to check email, text-based news, or to get driving directions from one place to another.

  To check what countries' residents can use the 3G web-browsing feature for the e-Ink Kindle DX eReader, see the web Countries page in connection with e-Ink keyboard models with 3G.

  This larger eReader can be shipped to customers outside the U.S. also.


Amazon launches a Kindlestore in Australia.  Australians wondering whether to make the switch (from the U.S. store) should read these articles:

  * BRW report on where Kindle HD and HDX's will be sold and Australian Kindle book pricing vs U.S. prices.
  * Lifehacker's Amazon Australian Kindle Store: Everything You Need To Know
  * Lifehacker's How Do Amazon's Australian Kindle Book Prices Compare?.


Amazon's new Kindle Fire HD/HDX line in the UK
See parcel2go.com's article.  I've verified the product pages and updated the Full global Kindle list for these changes and for various pricing drops.


Amazon partners with the U.S. Post Office for Sunday delivery in two cities
Starting this weekend with the metropolitan areas of Los Angeles and New York City, Amazon will offer Sunday delivery via the U.S. Postal Service and the company plans to expand the service in 2014, with Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, and Phoenix mentioned so far.

  There'll be no extra charge for Sunday delivery, which will be for both Prime shipping members (free 2-day delivery of most Amazon-sold products) and non-Prime members, who can get free 5-8 day delivery on orders of at least $35 (up'd from $25 recently).

  An interesting factoid from the USA Today article: "...the USPS is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation – 152 million homes, businesses and post office boxes.


I received my Kindle HDX 8.9" tablet with 64 GB storage and have been making notes while enjoying it even more than I'd expected and am doing a follow-up report on the HDX line and its reception and features that have been given a lot of press recently.

 It should be done by Thursday night, but I've been experimenting with a lot of the features and changes that show Amazon was listening to its customer base.

---

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

US: New Kindle Fire HD 7" 2nd Gen - $139/169 Kindle Fire HDX 7" 16-64GB - $229/269/309 Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" 16-64GB - $379/429/479 - with 4G added: $479/529/579 Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16GB - 1st Gen $229 - 32GB w/ no special-offers: $314 Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89 Kindle Touch WiFi - $99 Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi - $119/$139 Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi+3G - $189 Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free web Kindle DX - $379 $199 (*New* price)

UK: Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £69 Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi - £109 Kindle Paperwhite2 3G, UK - £169 Kindle Fire Basic HD 8/16GB, UK -  from £119 Kindle Fire HDX 7" 16-64GB, UK - from £199. 4G/3G Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" 16-64GB, UK - from £329. 4G/3G CANADA - Kindlestore, CDN-$ Kindle Basic, NoTouch - $79 Kindle Paperwhite 2 - $139 Kindle Paperwhite 2, 3G - $209 KFire HD Yr 2012 7" $214,  8.9" $244. Yr 2013 KFires: HD Gen2, HDX line

*OTHER Int'l pages* Kindle NoTouch Basic - $89 Paperwhite WiFi $139, 3G/Wifi $209 KFire HD Yr 2012: 7" $214,  8.9" $244 Yr 2013: HD Gen2 + HDX line Australia Kindlestore France Boutique Kindle Deutschland - Kindle Store Italia - Kindle Store Spain - Tienda Kindle Brazil - Amazon Brazil China - Amazon China [?] Japan - Amazon Japan

  For daily free ebooks, check the following links:

Temporarily-free books - Non-classics USA: by:    Publication Date      Bestselling   High-ratings UK: PubDate   Popular The Kindle Daily Deal What is 3G? and "WiFi"?       Battery Care Highly-rated under $1,  Newest: $1-$2, $2-$3

Most Popular Free K-Books U.S. & Int'l (NOT UK):    Top 100 free UK-Only:    Top 100 free Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources. USEFUL for your Kindle Keyboard (U.S. only, currently):   99c Notepad 1.1,   99c Calculator,   99c Calendar,   99c Converter

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


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Amazon tablet family rumors grow, with 'Coyote' and 'Hollywood' code names

RUMOR: Amazon tablets with dual core and, later, quad core NVIDIA processors?

BGR (Boy Genius Reports) thinks so.  Following upon the AndroidandMe tablet-family rumors posted by Taylor Wimberly citing trusted sources a couple of days ago, BGR writes today that the one of the Amazon tablets is being code-named “Coyote” (probably entry-level, powered by the NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor used in the Motorola Xoom, T-Mobile G Slate and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1) and the other is code-named the more star-dusted "Hollywood," powered by NVIDIA's quad-core "Kal-E1" processor said by BGR to give a 500% performance increase over the NVIDIA dual-core Tegra 2 processer.

BGR says that a "tipster" told them that Amazon is planning on releasing "at least two before the end of the year," but there's no information yet on screen sizes.

Ad-supported version maybe and loaded tablets?
With the talk today that the new $114 WiFi-only Kindle 3 with Special Offers and Ads is currently outselling its other Kindles (at least while new), it would seem a good bet that this gives them confidence in going for an ad-supported Android tablet as well, to get lowest consumer pricing while coming with the ready Android app store and their Cloud storage and streaming video and music in place, the streaming features already working very smoothly from the start.

Expanding Lab126
Then Silicon Valley venture capitalist Dana Stalder tweeted about Lab126 "leasing LOTS more space in Cupertino...across street from Apple" and linked us to the Lab126 "our vision" page that I see has a final image titled "the next revolution" and I was interested in what they chose as a size, although I don't think it actually means that much.

Fulfillment Centers mushrooming everywhere
Amazon has been putting out calls for employees for Fulfillment centers all around the county in the last month.  Today's call is for two locations in Tennessee and mentions "Hiring for Hundreds of Full-time Jobs with Great Benefits"

What are they thinking of fulfilling in large numbers?  The last time I saw so many fulfillment centers hiring (with press releases announcing them), it was near the holiday season.

While the due date has been anticipated to be 'by the holidays' there is always the possibility that the first one could be by August-September or even before -- who knows?

The added production capacity assistance to EIH's HYDIS by CPT in producing FFS screen panels, mentioned in the Saturday's post about FFS technology, involved CPT already having "started development" in January.

Weakest rumor: In the Kindle forums, someone who has done some Amazon reviews mentioned that a friend of her fiance already had one in hand and was working on the graphic interface.  She was advised by forum members that if true, she should delete the posting due to non-disclosure requirements

Kindle e-reader + Amazon Android tablet(s)
As Bezos said in his interview with Consumer Reports reported Thursday, tablets would be supplemental to the Kindle e-reader line, and stressed, "We will always be very mindful that we will want a dedicated reading device."



Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   K3 Special, $114   DX Graphite

---

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 £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!

Pixel Qi combines e-ink challenger and color for sometime next year

The Pixel Qi will be quite a combo and I hope Bezos is looking at it for the next generation Kindle, beyond the Kindle DX.  A lot of work is needed first.

It combines an e-ink type of screen mode with a color screen mode.  As for the time-frame we can expect this to beocme a reality for actual devices on the market, Josh Quittner writes:

' The displays still have a way to go, of course.  A third party would need to build a proper motherboard, optimized for the display and an e-reader.  (Simply slapping a PQ display on the Acer gives it an extra hour or so of battery life; an optimized e-reader essentially goes to sleep between the turn of each page, saving far more power, among other things.)  But Mary Lou said that a manufacturer could buy PQ's technology today and have an e-reader that could render high-def text, on a full color page, and video, by the first quarter of next year.  The screens are cheap to produce, too—well under $200, she said. Such a device ought to enjoy 40 hours or so of use as an e-reader, between charges.  Video would drain the battery faster, obviously. '

I can't imagine that if this is workable that Bezos won't make an effort to use it for future Kindles.

UPDATE - 6/1/09 (Original posting: 5/31/09 - 9:03 PM)   In an earlier entry on this blog about the cost of the components for the Kindle, iSuppli's supervising analyst, Andrew Rasseiler, estimates the cost of the e-ink display at $60 "or about 42% of the cost of materials."  So, the Pixel Qi screen costing "well under $200" indicates a fairly costly device, when the wireless is included as it is now.

  Also, Taiwan’s Prime View International is buying E-Ink in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for $215 million.  They are the company that currently integrates the Kindle's E-Ink screen into the final module and will combine the two companies now into a single public company.  E-Ink's founder and CEO, Russell J. Wilcox, says they can now "streamline the supply chain and speed up new product." It'd be nice to lower the costs while they're at it. :-)

UPDATE - 6/3/09 - CNet offers more info on what PVI does and what its relationship has been with epaper manufacturer E Ink of Cambridge, Mass.  They worked together on Sony readers as well.  As a wholly-owned subsidiary of PVI, once the deal is approved, E Ink will likely add another 20 workers to its 120-member staff.

UPDATE - 6/3/09 - (Original posting: 5/31/09 - 9:03 PM)   A closer look at Pixel Qi's images.
  Kindle Zen's Steve Bains has an interesting article on Pixel Qi's images and the lighting and angles involved, and there's a video demo of the prototype screen in action on the streets in sunlight.  Bains points out that CNet's Peter Glaskowsky has cautioned that some of the marketing in the past by Mary Lou Jepson, Pixel Qi's founder, who was CTO for the One Laptop Per Child project, has included claims that Glaskowsky doesn't find quite supportable and which he terms "hyperbole." I'm not quite sure why Glaskowsky finds PQ's focus too narrow when I'd think that would be a criticism of companies like E Ink also - and Pixel Qi's technology looks quite promising.

Pay a visit to Kindle Zen to see the full report by Bains and the many other interesting stories on their site, somewhat off the beaten path.

UPDATE - 6/8/09 - New video of Kindle 1 next to Pixel Qi in all kinds of light.  I was surprised at how green the Pixel Qi screen looks, next to the Kindle. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
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Sony reader screen comparisons and the Kindle

The enlarged version of the photo at the left, from the article by Simon Cohen at syncblog.com, shows the significant loss in clarity and readability with the touch screen technology used for the Sony PRS-700's e-Ink screen.

  After lamenting that the Kindle isn't available in Canada yet Cohen explains the touchscreen's effect on clarity:

'...Because Sony's engineers had to layer a capacitive membrane over the E-Ink display to enable the 700's touch-screen features, they reduced the amount of ambient light the eInk receives, and thus the amount it can reflect.  The result is (when compared to the 505) like reading through a thin layer of onion skin paper.  Contrast is reduced and some crispness at the edge of letters is lost.  Worse still, this top layer is quite reflective and depending on where your light source is located, you need to tilt the 700 slightly backward to avoid the glare...'

In this comparison of the two Sony Readers, there are also caveats that will be familiar to some Kindle users when it comes to the e-Ink screens, which most reviewers find far easier on the eyes for any length of time than reading from an LCD screen (which can do color and backlighting at a cost to battery drain in addition to eye fatigue, though with better refresh rates).

'Some people might be aware of the light gray background of the screen itself – indeed this is probably the cause of my perception that the ink could stand to be a little darker.  We're all used to seeing black ink on a white page, or at least off-white and there's no escaping the fact that the light gray doesn't provide as much contrast as a piece of paper.

The good news is: you get used to it quickly and after a few chapters you barely notice it at all.'

Then he explains the black flash between page turns:

'Turning pages on the Reader produces a momentary flash of black before the ink resolves itself into the new set of words. This happens anytime the display needs to change what it's showing.  While a little disconcerting at first, you again grow accustomed to it. The transitional effect is caused by the nature of eInk displays.  The "pixels" work more like an etch-a-sketch tablet than like a typical LCD display.  With LCDs, each pixel can change on it's own, very quickly, and go from one colour to another in an instant.  eInk on the other hand exists in more of an ON or Off state.  To switch between these states, an electrical charge is needed.  Moreover, it seems that the entire area that is to be re-drawn must be first "cleaned" by turning all of the pixels on, then off.  Only then can the final image be rendered.  Odd as it is at first, I'm so used to it now that I wonder if a transitionless page turn would be an improvement.'

Cohen goes on to detail quite thoroughly the many differences between the two Sony readers. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
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Amazon Customer Fixes Kindle-2 Dim-Font Plight

Ted Inoue's trial replacement fonts (a sort of beta-test, created and run by an Amazon customer) have brought ecstatic responses by other customers who had considered returning their Kindle 2s due to a strongly-perceived problem (backed up by photographs) on some units with too-faint fonts on a somewhat darker background than used with the Kindle 1.
  The strong lure of the Kindle-2 has been shown by the customers petitioning for darker fonts rather than returning their units.

See Inoue's animated image showing the effect of some of the replacement fonts relative to Kindle-2's basic font.  Click on the image at that page to start the animation showing rotation of pages displayed with various fonts from his trial font-set.

UPDATED PARAGRAPH - 5/2/09 - This was pointed to in an earlier blog entry but belongs here too: See See TechCrunch's article that makes Inoue's replacement-font results clear, using his webpage example.  But Inoue later found that it's not due to font-smoothing but to the amount of black that gets rendered on the surface that we see.

 Most of those wanting the font-changes seem to be customers who found their Kindle 1 displays beautiful but have been finding their Kindle-2 units difficult to read and a strain on their eyes.  (Most customers, of course receive units with good displays -- I am one of them but, I've seen photos of clearly substandard ones).

 Inoue and many other customers have seen quite a variation in the various K2 screens (with regard to lightness of gray and darkness of fonts), indicating some quality control problems with e-Ink's 16-shade screen affecting some customers.

 Amazon is aware of the problem and does replace the units until the customer gets one with a display that works for the customer and which doesn't fade in direct sunlight upon page-turns).  I imagine they get replacements from E-Ink in Cambridge.

 Amazon's replacement policy has been very good, though some of their customer service reps don't get that policy message until a customer asks for a supervisor.

 Also, too many customers have received units with fonts that failed in direct sunlight.  I've read that some Sony units have this problem too but that Sony doesn't replace the units, saying to at least one customer that the e-Ink display does not work in direct sunlight.

 Amazon does replace any unsatisfactory units and will, until the customer has a unit that works correctly; they do this because an E-Ink technology feature is that it works just as well in direct sunlight.  And they appear to have better customer service policies than Sony.
 Lightness of fonts may not be directly related to that sunlight exposure failure, but they often co-exist.

 As far as we know, this affects "only" several hundred people visiting the Amazon forums to ask questions, who have signed a petition requesting Amazon institute a simple fix, such as a font with more 'black' ink showing in the characters.  Customer Inoue has been able to do this, and he's provided customers with a variety of font-sets to choose from and they're extremely pleased about the results.

Caveat:   Problem?  Anyone testing these font-replacements must UNinstall them before any periodic Amazon Kindle firmware updates that come, so far, once a month.  But they can re-install them after the Amazon updates.

The history of this has been described in the original entries for 1) Screen Contrast problems for some users who had loved their Kindle 1 displays, which was further reported on by Wired.com) and 2) Ted Inoue's new findings, a few days ago.

  In mid-April, Inoue wrote to Amazon Customer Service Representatives at their official public Amazon forum topic, letting them know of his successful trial results and offering them font-sets to try from his tests making fairly easy font-replacements for the Kindle 2.
  Customer Service representatives on their own forum thread have never responded to Ted.
  It's as if users and this problem for many of them just don't matter to Amazon, which means it apparently doesn't matter to Jeff Bezos (or they would reply in a constructive way).

  The forum thread by users requesting darker fonts on the Kindle 2 now numbers about 800 posts.
  Since the topic-thread participants are very happy with Inoue's replacement fonts, they are now asking that Amazon do something like this, especially since Inoue has shown it can be done quite easily, possibly with options to choose the default set or a darker one. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
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E-ink, that Esquire cover, and the future

First, notice the grayness of the E-Ink's output, at the right.   I ran across older articles on an interesting use of e-ink -- Esquire's Oct.'08 75th Anniversary issue used an e-ink cover, for which a special small battery was designed (6-figure investment) to fit inside the cover and run for 90 days, until after the magazine was sold.

  Make Magazine has some good photos and details (including links to high resolution photos) of the physical elements that went into that cover, including chips and 2  e-ink screens.

  Here's a video of that cover (click on "HD" at bottom-right of video for a better look -- a big investment for a small effect!, but definitely different and the jaded crowd commenting on Gizmodo and Flickr were impressed.  Esquire challenged the engineering-inclined to hack the cover.
There's also a video of it on newstands, blinking away :-)  Now I remember seeing it and wondering, briefly, what on earth that was.

Esquire has a page mapping out how this was all put together, distribution-wise, across the world, starting from its being, yes, "Made in China."

Why the cover?   Esquire explains: "...we created the special cover to demonstrate a revolutionary technology that will change the way we all read paper magazines in the years ahead."   The idea for the cover started 7 years ago when Esquire visited E Ink, a startup in Cambridge, Massachusetts, whose managing partner, the Nicobar Group, is in Shanghai.

The beginnings: as described in a piece written in 2002 and titled "The Next Gutenberg."   Joseph Jacobson (MIT), a founder of E Ink, called the new 'paper'  "Radio Paper" and the Esquire writer points out, "Because the type on the page is not pixels but, essentially, ink -- tiny chips of pigment on a layer of circuitry -- E Ink promises the best of both worlds: the visual appeal of ink on paper and the renewability of a computer screen"

Some of us have wondered how e-ink technology works.



  In addition to information on the linked page above, here's a video of the e-Ink process by the Museum of Science, Boston.  The movie requires Real Player.   How Stuff Works also has an article on how electronic ink works, and Jason Slater Technologies has a brief and less-technical article on it.

Even in a new Kindle world, there are competing technologies already challenging e-ink right now, and I'll probably include some of that too. 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.

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(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
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Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!