Misconceptions re Amazon and KindleFire - plus a few facts

In reading the e-reader and tablet news, I often see misconceptions posted to Comments sections as 'fact' and this week I replied to one, which other commenters said has been repeated in comments to several news sites.   Since I see this type of thing often, I thought I'd post a blog version as well and will also post tomorrow some excerpts with comments on a good Q&A article on the Kindle Fire, which I forgot to mention over a week ago

  For one of of the points here, we have a quite thorough response from Amazon support and that's included also.

  I'll preface each misleading statement I read (below) with 'F' for false, and 'M' for Maybe.

'

F:  Kindle Fire ...is stuck with 6 GB usable internal storage unlike Nook Color that can get up to 32 GB card in.  Kindles are made to be almost like a "dumb terminal" of the past to make sure you're tied up to Amazon's storage on the web (for which you need Wi-Fi connection to get to) and you can only store content you get from Amazon there, not other files.

Not so.  During WiFi browsing sessions you can download video to the Kindle Fire when downloading videos is allowed.

  The tablet is said to be able to hold up to 10 movies if you don't put other things on it besides 80 apps and can also, in place of limited local storage on the tablet, have many stored on the Cloud.  From that Cloud, you can re-download a file at any time if you've purchased a downloadable version; it's like having a portable hard drive with you, as long as you have WiFi available.
  You can also side-load (via USB cable) videos to the tablet.

  Just playing the videos you've already downloaded or side-loaded to the tablet doesn't require a WiFi connection.

  And whatever you don't need for the moment you can just store on the Cloud, whether or not you bought it on Amazon -- the key is whether the storage is free or not, but a video doesn't need to be from Amazon.  If a video is rights-protected by someone else, that's another matter.

  Amazon gives all customers (globally) 5 gigs of Free storage for any type of file per year, from anywhere, but has also offered 20 gigs of storage/yr for $20/yr ($1.67/month).  SOME countries are not eligible for the storage upgrade although all get the 5 free gigs.   The Amazon table at the bottom* specifies which counties are exceptions for the bonus-storage-space at this time ...   At any rate, so to speak, added storage for any of your non-Amazon content is $1 per add'l gigabyte if it's available for your country.*

  And, any video or other content that you buy from Amazon itself, however, is stored free and doesn't count against any of the Cloud storage limits.

F:   Quoting Amazon on Kindle Fire: "Free cloud storage for all Amazon content". Get it, Amazon content?

The thing to "get" there is the free part.  If it's not Amazon-content, it counts against the yearly storage limit you choose, whether it's against the free 5 gigs or 20 gigs.  You CAN, though, store content (in the Amazon Cloud) not purchased at Amazon, vs what was said above.

M:   - Kindle doesn't support eBooks in ePub format that is the most used format in the world.

We're talking Kindle Fire here rather than the Kindle e-Ink e-readers which don't read ePub.  Amazon Android Apps store does carry Aldiko and other ePub readers, which could be used on the tablet then.  Now, whether DRM'd ePub can be read on it depends on whether or not Adobe Digital Edition will be available with this or not, on the tablet. It IS used on regular Android tablets.

  Amazon will be allowing in-app buying for developers, so that will all be interesting to watch.

F:   Kindle app store contains only Amazon approved apps and it does not include (and will not include) Netflix app that iPad has and Nook Color is getting thus again you're stuck with Amazon content only.

This is wrong too - it begins to sound like a wish list of what wouldn't be allowed.  Netflix is partnering with Amazon (as are Pandora and other companies) to have apps for the Amazon Fire.  It won't be in iPad format, of course, but in format for the Amazon Fire.

M:   Amazon confirmed that you cannot download anything to Kindle Fire when traveling abroad.

You probably can't stream media from Amazon's US servers when abroad and can't download a Kindle book as a non-US resident abroad if digital rights don't allow it outside the U.S.  A traveling US resident (and residents of some other countries) can though, if they can download those in their home countries.

  Again, as with the e-Ink Kindle e-readers, you should be able to download Kindle books when traveling abroad, if the books are eligible to you in your home country.

  The Amazon "Silk" browser is different in that it uses Amazon's speedier Cloud processes on servers in the U.S.  You should be able to send a Kindle book as a U.S. resident to your Kindle Fire though.

  See the thorough Amazon response on this last question which Rob Trenckmann received in email from Amazon customer service Oct. 10** (quoted at the bottom of this post also).

M:   I'd recommend waiting for a couple of weeks as Nook Color 2 is rumored to be released by Barnes & Noble.

I'd always be interested in what BN will release.  I have a NookColor 7" and enjoy it.   The update is said to be not that different but the 2nd NC is said to have a different, larger format.

  However, B&N doesn't have the streaming-media ecosystem that Amazon does, and they have had long-time policies like not allowing refunds for e-books that are missing pages or badly formatted, while Amazon allows 7 days for a refund.   Customer service policies should be looked at also.

  AND, Nooks cannot download Nook books to even a U.S. resident who's traveling outside the U.S. (unlike with Amazon) - B&N just doesn't have the digital rights stuff in place. '

From Amazon's Cloud help pages: * The 5 GB free storage plan is available to all Amazon.com customers, however further upgrades to the storage plan are currently unavailable in the following countries:

Austria	Belgium	Bulgaria
Cyprus	Czech Republic	Denmark
Estonia	Finland	France
Germany	Greece	Hungary
Ireland	Italy	Latvia
Lithuania	Luxembourg	Malta
Netherlands	Poland	Portugal
Romania	Slovakia	Slovenia
Spain	Sweden	United Kingdom

** Amazon Kindle Customer Support answers to Rob Trenckmann:

' Hello, I see that you've written to us about seven issues. I'll do my best to provide a thorough answer to each of your inquiries in this message.

1. Using Kindle Fire in Europe:

Currently Kindle Fire can be shipped only to US customers but after purchasing it in US you can use it in Europe.

2. Regarding downloading apps:

Yes, you can use all the apps you've downloaded while in Us but you cannot download apps while you are in Europe.

3. Accessing books:

Yes, you can access all the books.

4. Using web browser and email interface:

Yes, you can use the web browser and email interface as long as your device is connected to wifi.

5. Purchasing books:

Yes, you can purchase and download books successfully while you are in Europe.

6. Using movies or TV features.

I'm sorry you cannot download movies or use TV features while you are in outside US. '

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

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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.

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That Amazon Android Tablet May be a Reality - UPDATE

THAT KINDLE ANDROID TABLET MAY WELL BE A REALITY  (See Update)
  In a column I overlooked yesterday because the title wasn't designed to grab you by the throat, Computerworld's Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, aka cybercinic, writes that "The forthcoming Nook Color and the rumored Amazon Kindle Tablet will bring good Linux-powered tablets to users this year after all."   Then he adds:

' "Sources at Amazon tell me that the company will indeed produce a mass-market Android tablet.  I can't tell you its size, pricing, when it's expected to ship, or anything else of substance.  The one thing I do know is that, like the Kindle, it will run Linux with a Java-based interface.  In short, this new tablet Kindle, let's call it "KinTablet," will run Android. '

This is a follow-up to the Tablet story a couple of days ago.

  The Amazon "Welcome Packet" to prospective apps store developers, described in Engadget's story by Chris Ziegler, contains wording that indicates to Vaughan-Nichols that what he calls a "KinTablet" may be ready in time for the holiday season. [It wasn't.]  That would surprise me, but it may be that they've worked on this intensely for some time already.  He even bets that it will be announced on the day B&N is set to launch their NookColor or the day after.

  Part of that Welcome Packet story by Engadget: "Developer-submitted videos will be supported in the app product pages, which is kind of nice -- neither the Android Market nor the iOS App Store support that."  They felt that the apps store would be "ready in time for the holidays" but where does the item "developer-submitted videos will be supported" fit with a Kindle reader? Would that be like the Enhanced Kindle books that only Apple products are able to use?

  And there was the Kindle World story here in January, 10 months ago, citing Clayton Morris' quote of a reply from a Qualcomm spokesman:

' When pressed about who its partner might be in 2010, a company spokesman asked me, "You know that device that everyone reads books on?  Well, it's going to be a game changer on a device we all know." '

  Now that's a way to halt e-reader buying for 2 weeks, isn't it.  With two online 'zines suggesting strongly that Amazon is about to release an Android tablet and this particular columnist at Computerworld citing sources at Amazon confirming a "mass-market Android tablet," it now looks as if Amazon is actually leaking the news.

  Is it to staunch the flow of orders going Barnes and Noble's way?  And even if it is, would they even talk about it to Computerworld if there wasn't a good deal of truth to it?  Is it about timing? Effect? NO hint of what kind of screen.  Did they ask the sources? Is there a reason nothing's being said about that rather important 'area' ?

  He feels that this would be a more expensive model, as the LCD NookColor is, and was a reason that the pricing for the Kindle 3 was dropped.  And what's happening with the Kindle DX Graphite? Why hasn't the software to it been upgraded to match the Kindle 3's since they are sharing the same higher-contrast and faster screen technology?

  The Computerworld story is written by someone who feels he knew "dedicated e-readers would die off" so there is also a whiff of wishful dynamics going on here too.  First, this means he doesn't value, himself, a dedicated e-reader, and while people like me might look forward to a GOOD e-reader tablet, in no way would I want to give up my *primary* dedicated e-book reading device.

  There are too many columnists who don't understand that and are puzzled by the extreme interest in these small, portable, HIGHLY-readable devices (something I think of everytime I pick up my Kindle 3 or DXG).

  In his previous column, in June, he felt that interest in e-readers would die off in a year because a dedicated e-reader cannot compete with an iPad. That's been shown to be nonsense.  That he doesn't even mention the differing screen technologies in EITHER column makes me wonder about his perspective and his interpretation of what was said to him.

  There is a flood of buyers for dedicated e-readers at their currently decent pricing, WHILE the iPad is doing well, and he is at a loss to explain it, seeing NO reason whatsoever for that.  Here are his stated reasons, which show his blindness to the attraction of paper-like screens:

' Everything a Nook or a Kindle can do an Apple iPad can do better.  And, what's far more important, an iPad can do far, far more.

Why should I buy a Nook or Kindle to read a book, when I can read the same books, from the same vendors, on an iPad?  Or, for that matter, an iPod Touch?  As Jason Perlow pointed out in his great overview of iPad e-reader applications, anything you can read on one of those devices, you can read on an iPad. '

  He probably never goes outdoor with his 'reader' and his eyes are probably never in need of adjustment when reading whole books on an LCD device.  Therefore the rest of the world couldn't possibly value e-paper type screens.

  Of course, everyone would prefer to spend that kind of money for screens that do irritate the eyes of many who like to read novels.  I'm not talking about surfing the web (see my story yesterday on that), since I can surf the web for an entire day without eye-difficulty, as it presents eye-relief in many ways that reading a book on an LCD screen does not do for me and for many others.
  And I guess some do believe that everyone would prefer to play bird-games or surf the web on their reader.

  The e-reader world is a niche area -- most books are still bought (heavily so) by those choosing e-Ink readers because that's their 'focus.'

  He wrote, in June, before the recent explosion of e-reader and e-book buying, that dedicated readers ... "They're history."

  For months, other columnists have been baffled by the popularity of the dedicated devices and discovered that the iPad and dedicated e-readers seem to be complementary rather than one 'killing' interest in the other.

  He views the idea of a supplementary device filling the needs of another target audience (one that wouldn't want a B&W reader (and only about 10% of households make up the avid reader population, per Bezos) or who would like a *secondary* reader for magazines, travel books, children's books) and it matches his core belief that others are like he is, wholly disinterested in reading in eye-soothing e-Ink (he doesn't mention the technology at all which is really bizarre, since most columnists now acknowledge its attractions).

  So, while I think the rumor is being dropped by Amazon intentionally, I also am sure he is misinterpreting the long-term meaning of it. Where he and I meet is if e-readers are built with screens that are usable for fast video AND for eye-pleasing e-paper (as Mirasol is), only then would people who love the new Pearl screen technology (and I am not exaggerating how much e-reader owners "love" these screens as shown in all kinds of general forums these days) move toward a tablet.

 It would have to be as light, portable, and *clear* -- not anything like the iPad is when it comes to reading of entire books. I know too many people who have given up reading on the iPad and gone (or returned) to dedicated e-Ink readers, and we've also seen the tremendous interest currently in dedicated e-readers during the height of interest in the iPad.

I was intrigued a couple of months ago that an E Ink, Inc. demo of its newer technology involving color discussed the need for making higher-contrast screens because whatever is needed to produce color e-Ink will *decrease* screen contrast.  Now that I'm used to the Kindle 3 and the DX Graphite, I find it harder to use my older Kindle 2 U.S., which just looks very light, though it beats any laptop LCD screen or trying to read a book (not surf) on an iPad in daylight for any length of time.

  I don't think the answer will include E-Ink color; it'd still be too slow.  It would have to be something like Qualcomm Mirasol, Pixel Qi's dual screen capability, or one of the other emerging color screen technologies.

Interesting times.

UPDATE at 9:48 AM (Original posting was 7:36 AM )
Commenter and NookColor enthusiast Peter delighted in the Qualcomm earnings call this morning that verified Mirasol won't be ready until next year. I replied:

' I'm reporting a bubble blown by someone who hopes for the death of
dedicated e-readers, and I didn't express huge interest in the tablet
itself, only in the dynamics of possible leaking and what it might mean.

In both columns (one saying Mirasol wouldn't be ready in time), I give
other possibilities, and the downside for many of us would be if they
chose LCD but there IS a market for that... '

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. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
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