Showing posts with label kindle press conference nyc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kindle press conference nyc. Show all posts

Friday, September 7, 2012

Amazon Kindle Event Sept 6 - First photo report of some key points made. A couple of tidbits.



A relaxed Jeff Bezos at this year's event

8.9" Kindle Fire HD image projected onto large screen.

Making money from USE of the device

Comparing Kindle and iPad limited data-plan costs.


They say a picture is worth 10,000 words.  I hope so, since my WiFi access there was lost easily and I gave up, as did a couple of people behind me who resorted to pen and paper :-)

I relied on my cameras.  These are 4 from the 19 that I've put up at the photo site (no editing done, but I adjusted brightness/contrast), which were taken during moments that stood out for me.  Explanations are in the captions there.

I took continuous video, rather than fragments, of most of the Kindle Fire presentation (there was a LOT of information to take in there but I was able to take still pictures with the same camera while doing so -- and while the video will help me remember details I forgot, there is an official pro video of the event anyway.  Mine is from the audience perspective, and if it has anything of real interest, I'll upload it this weekend as an alternate view.

The 19 photos I uploaded at PBase are of various points that impressed me.  Except for an SD card slot, my expectations were exceeded, once I saw how they are able to get, on the Kindle Fire HD 8.9, the speed advantages they claim over even the iPad 3 as well as the Nexus when it comes to downloading and streaming.

  The synchronizing of so much now, the visual and audio qualities, and the many extra features will need to be given more attention, and I'll do that after I give summaries (next blog entry later in the day) for each model. You're getting plenty of summaries everywhere else anyway and I'll focus on what it all means for Kindle owners used to some of the older features not found on other e-readers and likely to appreciate the new ones coming and try to explain the differences between the many offerings.

Those differences between the models and the value each person might find from any of them over other ones with different options, will vary quite a bit.

  Will try to do a simpler summary before leaving SoCal at noon.

A recommendation:  I was seated next to Jordan Crook from TechCruch, who didn't miss a second of it (I think she was one of those using MiFi to connect), and she and cohorts wrote some terrific summaries of the key points.  I got a kick out of her opener, which was funny because it was true, and I do have many photos of the whole scene there, which I'll upload later on.
' From outside a massive hangar in Los Angeles, California, grown men and women — members of the press — just literally ran into the venue for Amazon’s special 2012 press event. '
Her well-written, humorous account of her hands-on account of the new 7" Kindle Fire HD models is excellent.
  And my reaction to the info on these was pretty much the same.   We had free rein to give those models and the Paperwhite e-Ink devices a workout ourselves.   Only the Amazon VPs could touch the 8.9" ones and they demo'd them pretty fully except that I don't know if they were really connected to WiFi or were pure demonstrations with all code run from the models, as they won't be ready for shipping until November. &bsp;The Text-View is beautiful on those (I did not like the one for my Kindle Fire for Nat'l Geo and kept my NookColor all this time for JUST that one feature, as it had been clearer and a bit smoother).

  Her fellow co-TechCruncher Darrell Etherington has a concise, effective report on the 8.9" Kindle Fire HD with 4G LTE etc.

Something unusual
  I managed to get an interesting nugget on the Paperwhite but will save that for the next blog article.


Kindle Fire Carousel
Unfortunately, for the many who dislike it, the Kindle Fire Carousel will still hold everything with the same one-time deletion capability but the item will reappear the next time you use it. That information about wanting no 'options' on the Carousel was from VP Dave Limp.  In a way, it's the only way to 'see' items in an archive on that device, but some have HUGE collections of Kindle books.

Collections
I heard no word about Collections.  If I missed something on that, let me know.






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
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Friday, October 7, 2011

Len Edgerly's Amazon Single - A report from Amazon's NYC Press Conference + 2 free short stories + forum alerts & topics



A Kindle Fan's Report from the Front Row at Amazon's NYC Press Conference  $0.99

This new Amazon Single is by The Kindle Chronicles podcast's Len Edgerly, who's filed "A Kindle Fan's Report from the Front Row at Amazon's NYC Press Conference," covering this event in his inimitable style, with cover photograph by John Marshall Mantel and a couple of photos by Len.  Love that tent photo.

  Len is widely appreciated for his perceptive and balanced reports and his excellent weekly interviews in connection with the e-publishing scene.

  From the Product Description:
' In this 30-page article, I invite you to join me in the front row at Amazon's press conference in New York city on September 28, 2011.

That's when Jeff Bezos introduced the next generation of Kindles, including the Kindle Fire tablet.  Just being at the event was a major thrill for a book lover whose life has been changed by the Kindle.  I thought I'd seen the future when I bought a Rocket eBook in 1998.  That didn't work out too well, but the Kindle in 2007 looked like the real thing.

  The next year, I started a weekly podcast, The Kindle Chronicles, to participate in the revolution in reading that I was sure would follow.  Since then, I've interviewed 165 people representing all parts of the Kindlesphere -- from Amazon executives to nervous writers, from technologists to school administrators, from the editor of the New York Times Book Review to my wife Darlene, who reads three times as many Kindle books as I do but is an endearing skeptic about technology.

  I traveled by train to New York City worried that Amazon executives might get so excited about their shiny new color tablet that they would forget to keep improving the monochrome e-ink Kindles.  In the event, I need not have worried.  Jeff Bezos started the press conference by telling the Kindle story in a way that touched me as highly personal and revealing.  Come join me in the front row, and I'll show you what I mean. '

I just heard about the book and bought it on the spot as one who looks forward to Len's take on the Kindle and e-publishing scene.



Kindle Daily Deal (Often U.S. only, unfortunately)
(The Daily Deal link above changes at MIDNIGHT each day.
      Click it to see what the daily deal book is, at any time.)

The Dead Saint, by Mairlyn Brown Oden, 23 customer reviews, 4.3 stars
    Daily Deal until the end of Friday 10/7:
      Thursday's Price: $9.47
      Friday's Discount: $7.48
      Friday's Daily Deal Price: $1.99 (79% off)

"The casual yet taut style will keep readers turning pages to find out if Bishop Lynn [Peterson] can prevent disaster..." -- Publishers Weekly



Ongoing popular discussions
  . To Avoid Confusion, Please Use the Official Product Names in Forum" [Very entertaining!] New
  . Warning: Personal docs now sent to a Kindle will now go to all new Kindles
    registered to your account   New
  . Discussion of geographic restrictions on digital purchases
  . Discount-alert books discussed in more detail
  . What have been your favorite public domain books that are not so well known?
  . Best "Free" books you've read (many are no longer free, however).
  . Highly recommended Indie authors
  . Unique Uses of Kindles [Use of free 3G web-browsing refers only to K3 aka Kindle Keyboard.)

Other current forum threads that might interest some
Public Library Lending questions at the forums, and Lendle's Kindle borrowing
  . How many e-books does your public library have?
  . Public librarians: what has been your Kindle/Overdrive experience?
  . Changes to lendle (This is Kindle owner-to-Kindle owner lending.)
      The changes include incentives for offering loaners.


Amazon's own ongoing listing of LIMITED-TIME OFFERS - Promos
  Amazon sorts these by Bestsellers first.
  I've added a by Low-to-High pricing.

Editors' Picks: $1.99-$3.99   thru' October
Free contemporary books: subsets
Filters out excerpts, chapters, previews
US:  by Last 30+ days  Oct 2011
   Publication Date   Late-listed
   Bestselling   High-ratings

UK:  by PubDate   Popular



LATEST DISCOUNTED Kindle books (some temporarily) - an ongoing forum thread:
  Forum-thread starter RandomizeME includes a caution that it's not a book promotion thread for authors or for posts about indies or free books either.  "This thread is for discounts and price drops that readers [esp. Emily Bronte] find from publishers."
  10/5-10/7



TEMPORARILY-Free Kindle Books:  Alerts from the Amazon Kindle forums - via the tireless "Happy Reader" Joyce, who is ever on the lookout on behalf of forum members.
  NOTE: The alerts are quoted as they appear in Joyce's collecting of mostly temporarily-free books.  They're *not* recommendations by anyone but are a very popular, unfiltered daily set of release-alerts by Joyce.  The eBooks can become no longer free within days, sometimes, within hours.  Thanks to Joyce for gathering and organizing them for us.

So far, on Thursday morning, there were only two entries released, both of them short stories.  One so far for Friday as of early morning.
' Happy Reader "Joyce" says:

Haunted Destiny: A Midnight Dragonfly Bonus Short Story
Author: Ellie James
Genre: Children's Fiction
* Pre-Order for November 23, 2011 *

DESCRIPTION: Teenage mystic Rachelle Dugas knows to expect the unexpected when she fills in for a friend leading a Haunted New Orleans tour. But when she decides to check out a haunted house on her own, nothing prepares her for the secrets lurking in the shadows-or the twist of destiny about to unfold.

***

A Very Holly Christmas: An Exclusive Short Story
Author: Sheila Roberts
Genre: Romance
* Pre-Order for November 15, 2011 *

DESCRIPTION: Shelia Roberts is back with the hilarious short follow up to On Strike For Christmas. This short story will bring you right back to the spirited town of Holly, one year after the big strike! For even more Christmas (this time with a touch of romance) don't miss The Nine Lives of Christmas, coming November 2011.

***

Skulduggery Pleasant: Scepter of the Ancients
Author: Derek Landy
Genre: Children's Fiction

DESCRIPTION: Grade 5-8-When 12-year-old Stephanie's eccentric Uncle Gordon dies, a mysterious man bundled in an overcoat, scarf, sunglasses, and a hat shows up at both the funeral and the reading of the will. This man, as it turns out, is Skulduggery Pleasant, a walking, talking skeleton who rescues Stephanie when she is attacked while alone in the house that she has just inherited. It seems that a particularly evil person named Serpine is trying to obtain a scepter that will allow him to rule the world. Stephanie is swept into a world of magic, secrets, power, and intrigue as she and Skulduggery try to keep one step ahead of Serpine and various other nefarious folk. Deadly hand-to-hand combat, nasty villains, magical derring-do, and traitorous allies will keep readers turning the pages, but it is the dynamic duo of Stephanie and Skulduggery who provide the real magic. The girl eagerly jumps into this new, dangerous, action-packed life, but she isn't sure that she has the guts or the power to pull it off. Skulduggery Pleasant lives up to his name, performing amazing feats with such self-effacing drollness that readers will wish they had a similar skeletal friend. Give this one to fans of Eoin Colfer's "Artemis Fowl" books (Hyperion) or to anyone who likes a dash of violence and danger served up with the magic. '


[These are from Joyce's free-books alerts Thursday in the forums, 10/6/11 - afternoon, 2 books, and Friday, 10/7/11 - morning, 1 book.]


Kindle Touch 3G   Kindle Touch WiFi   Kindle Basic   (UK: KBasic)   Kindle Fire
Kindle Keybd 3G   (UK: Kindle Keybd 3G)   K3 Special Offers   K3-3G Special Offers   DX

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!

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