Jeff Bezos Says Amazon Will Unveil a New Kindle Next Week (the-digital-reader.com) 88
An anonymous reader writes: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said on Monday that the next Kindle will be unveiled next week. Bezos posted on Twitter that an "all-new, top of the line Kindle is almost ready". Calling it the 8th-generation Kindle, Bezos promised to share more details next week but didn't say anything more than that. Other sources say that the new Kindle will have Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G connectivity options, and come with a case which has its own battery
Re:Yawn! (Score:5, Insightful)
Unless it makes my coffee in the morning and is great in bed at night, I'm not really interested. I have the Kindle app on my tablet already so I don't need a crippled Kindle.
It sounds like your solution may be crippled in bright sunlight. Or crippled by short battery life. It's also likely crippled by its comparative weight. You're basically giving in to all the software/licensing drawbacks of using a hardware Kindle, but getting none of the benefits.
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I keep my Kindle in the car I drive to work everyday. When I take my sanity/lunch break I read while I eat. When the weather is nice, it's great to sit outside and enjoy reading a book. The crazy battery life is very handy as I can leave it in the car for a month at least between charges, it's one less thing to remember everyday. I can definitely see the draw of a tablet, but I also consider the Kindle to be cheap enough for a single use device.
Maybe yawn, maybe not. (Score:2)
I own a Kindle paperwhite. Reads perfectly outdoors.
I haven't touched the thing in many months; Why? I don't read outdoors. It's far too bright out there for that kind of activity.
I read on my phone. In moderate lighting. And when I go to bed. When I'm done, I set the phone on its cordless charger, and nod off. I never run out of battery. And I read a *lot*.
Having said that, I'm quite curious as to what Amazon is going to announce. One thing I recall about the paperwhite is how slow it was. It actually disr
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One thing I recall about the paperwhite is how slow it was. It actually disrupted my reading to turn a page.
Mine went like that for a while. The most recent update seems to have fixed it.
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I can't remember the last time I read a book outdoors, much less tried to read one on a tablet outdoors. I much prefer to read while I'm sitting in my comfy recliner sipping on a good cup of coffee. I recharge my tablet every night and it lasts all day, but I don't read at work.
Summer is coming. Kindle e-ink variety is great by the pool while the kids splash.
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I read outdoors a lot. If I'm reading an engineering text all day, it is a lot more pleasant if I'm out in nature somewhere. But I can't imagine sitting in the sun to do it... so any tablet works.
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It'll probably just be another Kindle Fire...which has no benefit in sunlight.
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An Amazon shill wrote:
It's also likely crippled by its comparative weight.
So somehow carrying 2 devices is lighter than one ? Seriously dude, it's crippled? really? Grow the fuck up fan boy.
Dear AC,
When you read a book instead of just carrying it around on your person, you have to hold it. Other device(s) have no bearing on this.
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There's no indication that this will be a reintroduction of e-Ink displays to the Kindle line.
This will be another Kindle Fire type device - a general use tablet running a crippled version of Android with Amazon's tracking and spying in place of Google's.
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Why is FireOS crippled, exactly? It's AOSP + an Amazon app framework in place of Google's. It does the same stuff. It runs all the same software less a few Google-specific tools that require parts of the Google Framework that can't be installed without root. That means you need a third-party Youtube client (there are lots of them), have to run a browser other than Chrome (Firefox and Dolphin are better options for Android anyway) and most of the Play* apps almost no one uses won't load. Sometimes I have to
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That's true, but not enough of the Google Framework runs to make all of Google's apps work. Youtube and most of the Play* apps don't and neither will Hangouts, but Gmail and Google Voice both work fine, for example.
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There's no indication that this will be a reintroduction of e-Ink displays to the Kindle line. This will be another Kindle Fire type device - a general use tablet running a crippled version of Android with Amazon's tracking and spying in place of Google's.
I don't know, "8th generation Kindle" seems to indicate the e-ink lineage. https://www.amazon.com/gp/help... [amazon.com]
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Unless it makes my coffee in the morning and is great in bed at night, I'm not really interested. I have the Kindle app on my tablet already so I don't need a crippled Kindle.
It sounds like your solution may be crippled in bright sunlight. Or crippled by short battery life. It's also likely crippled by its comparative weight. You're basically giving in to all the software/licensing drawbacks of using a hardware Kindle, but getting none of the benefits.
My thoughts exactly. I had a gen-2 kindle which was awesome for reading anywhere (indoors/outdoors), plus a battery life that would go on forever.
Then I switched to a Galaxy tablet and put the kindle app on it. It is great for browsing the internet and reading kindle books at home. But outdoors, man, that thing shines no matter how you angle it regardless of how you tune the screen down. Plus the battery is miserable compared to a real kindle.
I wish I could get a kindle with e-ink, as big as a galaxy t
Re: Yawn! (Score:5, Insightful)
I thought this until I got a Kindle. Not staring into a lamp and not using a computer while reading is much better. You're reading a book and looking at friendly text and nothing else. Also the battery will be as you left it even days later. E-readers have their merits. Don't scoff at them.
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"Staring at a lamp" vs "Staring at something reflecting a lamp" are both photons going into your eyeball. If the backlit display is too bright, turn down the brightness until it matches the ambient brightness level. In fact a simple light meter app could easily match the backlight level to the ambient reflectivity level of a white surface.
This whole notion that "emitted" photons are more energetic than bounced photons is nonsense marketing snake oil by e-ink manufacturers.
Also battery life is far more com
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Also battery life is far more comparable than people suggest. A small 6" tablet can go about 14 hours of use (with wifi). A Kindle Voyage goes for "up to six weeks, based on a half hour of reading per day with wireless off and the light setting at 10." 6 * 7 / 2 = 21 hours. So about 50% longer which isn't anything to sneeze at but it's a bit pedantic if you can read 400 pages of books without charging for an hour or 600 pages of books. It's a lot of reading.
This.
Unless you only read in a dark environment, you usually can go with the light setting at 0. Even at night, a nightlight will provide more than enough light to read with the backlight off. This makes a great difference regarding battery life, even if you try to match it by lowering the tablet's display as low as possible.
As someone in the thread has pointed out, you probably haven't got a Kindle. You really should try it, it's an amazing device and you can get A LOT of reading hours without a charge.
Re:Yawn! (Score:5, Insightful)
E-ink beats a tablet display for reading any day of the week and twice on sunday. In addition, you simply can't beat the battery life.
pre-pre marketing (Score:5, Insightful)
It will be our slimmest, lightest, most elegant Kindle we have ever made.
Just announce it when you are done... all this manufactured excitement these companies try to create is seriously annoying.
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I find it helpful. I was pondering buying a Kindle. Now I'll wait for the new models.
The current generation went on sale today. Might want to rethink that position.
E-ink vs IPS/OLED? (Score:1)
I find it helpful. I was pondering buying a Kindle. Now I'll wait for the new models.
I've been thinking about getting an ebook reader too but sales are plummeting and so many seem to be ok with reading text on their regular IPS tablets too.
I want to check out comic books too, I would be somewhat ok with poor colors but I want some colors, also I saw some e-ink reader/tablet which run full Android but the updates of those screens are so horrible.
All that kinda make me wonder whatever maybe I should just get a tablet anyway instead.
This doesn't mention color and I guess I'm no longer all that
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If you want comic books, forget e-ink. It does render graphics slowly and with annoying fades, you lose the colors, and even monochrome comics won't be as stark and crisp.
I have no problem with e-ink for general reading. The page-render time is about the same as turning a physical page, the text is highly readable and the contrast is good. But not comics.
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And how bad is text on a regular tablet really?
Do people really find that disturbing or is it just ok / good enough to not care about an e-ink display at all?
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It seems to be a YMMV thing. I have no problem reading text books on my iPad, though the Kindle is better both for readability and device weight. I've heard other people say it's a big difference for them.
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Probably also a device thing. I've got a $39 Android tablet where the text pixels are definitely pixel-shaped and a more expensive medium-grade unit where they're smooth.
The original e-ink Nook has its downside on readability. It's rather like dirty gray newsprint, so not as sharp a contrast as I'd like. Battery life makes up for it, though.
Not news (Score:4, Insightful)
This isn't news. Next week, when they unveil something? Then it will be "news." Currently it is "futures" not "news."
This is not an event we would be expected to be interested in attending in person, so there is no reason to treat the mere scheduling of the event as news.
Is it really a proper Kindle? (Score:3)
Or yet another Android tablet with an LCD/TFT/IPS/light-shining display?
Where are the colour e-ink/e-paper displays?
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Or yet another Android tablet with an LCD/TFT/IPS/light-shining display?
Where are the colour e-ink/e-paper displays?
If it's the "8th generation" as (pre-?) announced, it's definitely a Kindle and not a Fire, as you're implying.
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Right here. http://www.jetbook.net/ [jetbook.net]
They're $500. Fujitsu also makes one, but it's about $1500.
Color e-ink is really, really complicated.
now if its a Kindle fire that doesn't suck (Score:2)
mine went back in less than 30 days
got an HP Stream 8
Windows 10 sucks less than that Kindle OS
that's saying something
Its own battery at last! (Score:2)
I had been getting really tired of having to run my Kindle from my car battery.
Or I guess it could have just been the car exhaust making me tired, honestly not surrr
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Oh, I interpreted it as a case that has a light or something. Yeah, a backup battery sounds stupid. Unless this is more like a regular tablet, then it makes sense...
I see nothing wrong... (Score:2)
... with my 2013 kindle paperwhite (yes, i want a light, it's easier to read at night and it's not noticeable outdoors).
How do they get people to upgrade their eink readers?
Unless he's talking about a lcd+android kindle, in which case no thanks.
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I would love a red light instead of the bluish white. I read in the dark with the brightness turned as close to zero as it allows, but it's not as good as my modified booklight with a red color gel behind the lens.
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Funny, because one of the ways to make me upgrade is to make a 10 incher. The 6" fits too little text for my reading speed, a 10 would reduce the page turns a lot.
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I upgraded from an old Keyboard (which I'd had for several years) to a Voyage, and it was definitely worth it for the better display and the built-in light. Can't think of anything that would convince me to upgrade again until my Voyage dies, though.
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Your bookshelf holds thousands of books?
Not mine.
I live in an apartment and I have a limited amount of space.
With two bookcases completely full, and stacks of books just lying around the apartment I prefer to have a kindle so I can buy a book a week without having to worry about where to put them all.
Besides, I don't get free shipping from the US.
I'm in the same boat. I live in a house, and probably have significantly more space than you, but I hit my limit years ago, and went several years with very little new content because I just didn't have any place to put them. The Kindle was a game changer for me.
Re:the kindles biggest competition (Score:4, Funny)
I'm in the same boat. I live in a house
Make up your mind.
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Perhaps he/she lives in a house boat.
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Can't come in to work today. I've got scurvy.
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Another nice thing about ebooks is you can ad
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My bookshelves probably have hundreds of books (not a library, but I've got several bookshelves), but that's part of the problem. It's not easy to find a specific book in all that (I had literally been looking for several of my books for years, only finding them when I moved from that house), and have you ever tried taking a full bookshelf on vacation? Like the above poster, I love dead-tree books, but I just don't have enough room for any more.
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It's convenience. Buying a book digitally is 99.999% faster than buying a physical copy. Then it can go anywhere with me, along with the rest of my library.
The life of a kindle is very long. I have a second generation kindle that still works well and holds a charge. It's about 4 years old now.
Yes you can sell your kindle. All you need to do is unassociate it with your amazon account.
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Second hand is pretty much a loss with Kindles. It is easy enough to get digital copies for anything but I don't think anyone sells 2nd hand digital copies. You could in theory buy 2nd hand and then digitize your copy but that's a good bit of work and equipment you'll need. I keep thinking about it and the wife keeps telling me there's no space for it.
Bookselves, I got married and now instead of an entire wall of shelves, I'm allotted one and a half shelves. While my kindle does have limited storage space i
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All of your questions, to the best of my knowledge, have unfavorable-to-kindle answers.
Recreational reading, though, is one place where I've traded in being a sensible, vigilant, responsible consumer for the pleasure of instant gratification and convenience of having everything I'm currently reading in one convenient device.
I do despise the new kindle software interface, thoughâ" especially the fact that I don't remember being asked for permission for it to be installed.
Yeah, you may have just talked m
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I use a Kindle for a few reasons, mostly related to convenience, or simply what I consider to be an improved form factor. I enjoy the built-in screen light, which makes reading in less than ideal light more pleasant, and I find the Kindle nicer to hold than a physical book. I also enjoy being able to access my library not just when using my Kindle, but *any* modern computing device (tablet, phone, PC). For instance, I often use my Kindle PC reader for technical books, and when I'm out an about and don't
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There are many books that are available for $4 (1 penny, plus $3.99 shipping). However, there are many, many more that are not. Really, the only books that are generally available for that price are bestsellers from at least five years ago. For most books, Kindle prices are in the same ballpark as buying a hard copy.
If you just want to read whatever, you can go to half priced books or a library sale and get old bestsellers at like 10 for a dollar.
About used books from 70 years ago...so what. Sure, I hav
Also bookworm, different experience (Score:2)
I am also a bookworm. With my wife we own thousands of books. Well, ok, not *many* thousands, but they fill about 7 full height IKEA bookcases so definitely over 1 thousand. For about half of them I have only paid little over shipping, as you say they are so cheap used. That said, after getting a Kindle 5 years ago, I immediately I increased my reading about 3-4 times. How is that? Well, I can now comfortably read in my bed before I sleep. A combination of a very light device that you can hold in one hand,
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Because I live in a townhouse and I have a limited amount of room for stuff. Books take up a tremendous amount of space. Digital books help fight the clutter. Also, when I travel, all I need is to carry one slim device rather than multiple books which also take up space.
As for price, I rarely buy books from Amazon for full price. There are many sources for cheap/free books out there that I am not going to have a strong need to spend a lot for books for a long time.
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When I want to read a book, I usually want to read it NOW. Which I can do. Buy on Amazon, turn on WiFi on the Kindle (usually off to save on the batteries), and a few secods later, it is there. And a few more mouse clicks, it is on my wife's Kindle as well. And I do not need extra space in my luggage to carry the book. Or all the other ones.
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I have a Kindle which is close to 10 years. No problems with the battery. And as the Kindle cost less than a decent bookshelf (and a fraction of a decent phone or tablet), what is the problem?
And, btw, how many free books can you pick up in physical format? There are literally thousands of classical books out there at no cost in electronic format.
How about a Kindle that can read Kindle content (Score:2)
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I agree. A few shortcomings of the eink kindles are:
* less content than in physical form
* content is often cheaper when you buy the physical book
* not allowed to resell the books you buy (... unless i'm mistaken, but I see no way to do this)
* limited lending support
* DRM, though you should be able to strip this in most cases
* sub-par integration for external content (such as the library systems, gutenberg, etc)
* wish it was easier to take notes on it
That said, you mentioned that you don't expect it to run a
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Digital Content (Score:2)
I was in Germany and couldn't buy content because my Kindle was "in Canada" so the title "wasn't available". I changed my Kindle to reside in Germany, and found that when I eventually returned to Canada, all my content from magazines had quietly erased itself (I think it helpfully removed old magazines... some retention setting I didn't know about). Searched through my German account, and couldn't find the old magazines to re-add them. Makes no sense.
The content is no cheaper in digital form, but it v
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i think the only reason the dx failed was the ~400 dollar price tag.
The form factor is fantastic. mine recently developed some broken pixels, and i'm dreading the day either the screen completely fails, or the battery becomes useless.
I probably won't care about the new device (Score:2)
But if this brings down the price of the Voyager, I may very well buy one. My Kindle Keyboard is getting old... not to mention that my dog chewed it up, so it's difficult to even plug the micro-USB cord in. But I really, REALLY prefer page turn buttons to swiping (something I couldn't have imagined saying before I bought my Kindle).
Wish list (Score:2)
I'd like to see a kindle that could do both e-ink and color display, with a decent keyboard. Not sure I'd buy a new one period though. I have a kindle paperwhite I REALLY like and use a lot, as well as a kindle fire I was given as a gift that I rarely turn on much less use on any sort of regular basis.
I bet it won't have physical buttons. (Score:3)
The reason I didn't get a Kindle when my Cybook Opus broke was the lack of page-turn buttons. I've used a touchscreen Kindle. It drove me nuts.
Tap for next page. No? Tap. TAP. taptaptap. Okay th- no that was TWO pages. AUGH.
I wound up getting a Boyue T61. It's got an e-ink screen with a light, page-turn buttons, and it can handle all the common ebook formats - ePub, MobiPocket, PDF, cbz/cbr, and so on.
It doesn't have the Play Store but the Amazon Appstore and the Goodereader store install, so you can even use it to read Kindle and Nook books.
Running non-reader Android apps is iffy; they usually run but an e-ink screen just isn't suitable. (Trying to watch a video is hilariously bad.)
The only downside is battery life compared to a simple e-reader. I get about a week out of it. But I wasn't able to find a plain reader that has both a light and buttons.
Smaller Bezos Would Be Nice (Score:2)
Kindle Paperwhite hard to beat (Score:2)
I have a 3 year old kindle paperwhite. Cost a 100 $. It holds more books than I can read in 6 months. The e-ink is easy on my eyes, I can read in bright sunshine or pitch blackness. The battery lasts about a week with moderate backlight use. It's thin and light enough. I'm really not sure what this new kindle could do better. Maybe get rid of the bezel, leave the screen the same size and it would be a little more pocket friendly. I honestly can't see anything that would compel me to buy a new kindle anytime