September 4th, 2010
News – 1) Scattered reports of Kindle 3 freeze-ups and crashes echo my own experience.  Late-breaking news from Abhi indicates Amazon may be working on a software fix soon.  2) Sony announces three new Readers. 3) Staples to begin selling Kindles. Tech Tip – Via A Kindle World , I learn about an easy way to convert Google …  Read More →
August 28th, 2010
In this video, I compare the speed of 3G v. WiFi on a pair of Kindle 3s set up with identical configuration except for the wireless connection. Both are set to enable Java and Images, and cookies and history were cleared before the test. WiFi here at the cottage in Ocean Park, Maine, where the video was filmed, is averaging 9 Mb/second download and .22 Mb/second upload. Note – The video player below links to the Blip.tv version of the review,... 
August 28th, 2010
News – 1) Early reviews of the Kindle 3 are uniformly positive, including judgments by David Pogue ,  Wired Magazine , Fast Company , and The Telegraph . 2) The Jackal backpedals with Random House, putting a premature end to a Kindle exclusive on some great backlist titles. 3) Amazon touts record sales of the Kindle 3 without saying how many they sold.  4) J. A. Konrath reports that he sells 60 times more of his books at the Kindle Store... 
August 26th, 2010
In this fireside chat on a stormy day at Ocean Park, I compared the WebKit browser in the new Kindle 3 with the browser in the Kindle 2. I looked at the speed with which they both arrived at a web page, and I considered the differing views of the web page by each. I also looked at the new Kindle’s Article Mode in operation, but so far I have not been impressed with it. I may be doing something wrong, or there may be updates coming.  Filmed... 
August 23rd, 2010
I’ve been reading on and exploring a new Kindle Free 3G +WiFi for three days now, using an Amazon review copy that arrived here in Maine on August 18.  This video presents what I think is so great about the Kindle 3, as well as one disappointment I have in it. I had already pre-ordered my new Kindle 3, so I plan to donate the review Kindle to EBooksForTroops as part of our new project to donate used Kindle 2′s to U.S. soldiers on active... 
August 21st, 2010
Craig Findlay and his son, Cam News – 1. Blogger Keith Peters takes a VERY close look at the Kindle and iPad screens.  2) Amazon updates its Kindle for PC app. Andrys Basten comments.  3) The expected shipping date for new Kindles slips again, to September 17. 4) Stephen Windwalker is finishing up his latest Kindle Nation survey. 5) The IRS gives unusually fast approval  to the 501(c)(3) application of E-Books for Troops , making it... 
August 14th, 2010
News – 1. Will Amazon make it possible to give Kindle books straight to your Kindle? Is that a good idea? 2. Plastic Logic abandons the Que ProReader before launch.  Click here for the interview I did with Maureen Mellon at the Que’s booth at CES in January. 3. The National Federation of the Blind commends Amazon for the accessibility improvements included in the next generation of Kindles. 4. Blogger Mike Cane urges Jeff Bezos... 
August 6th, 2010
Photo by Alexa Lee News – 1: The next-generation Kindles are temporarily sold out , and the ship date has slipped from August 27 to September 4.  Andrys Basten details more features of the Kindle 3. 2: Amazon updates the Kindle for iPad/iPhone/Touch app . 3: Jeff Bezos explains to Charlie Rose the difference between an iPad and a Kindle. Hint: one of them is not used to play Angry Birds . 4: Are Shuffled Row and Every Word the first two... 
July 30th, 2010
This is NOT the new Kindle… In this abbreviated episode, I share impressions of the new Kindle with the only other person I know who saw one during previews conducted in Boston by Amazon.  Stephen Windwalker , creator of the Kindle Nation blog , took time out from his on-deadline authoring to explain why he believes Amazon has once again managed to hit “the sweet spot” with a host of new features and design improvements to... 
July 29th, 2010
Aboard Amtrak's Downeaster to See the New Kindle I had a chance to check out the brand-new Kindle six-inch on Monday, July 26, 2010, which happened to be the two-year anniversary of the first episode of the podcast. So it was a good day to take the Amtrak Downeaster from Old Orchard Beach to North Station for a rendezvous at the Fifteen Beacon Hotel with Jay Marine, Director of Product Development for the Kindle, and Stephanie Mantello,... 
July 24th, 2010
Photograph copyright James Duncan Davidson News – 1: Amazon announces stunning new data showing the Kindle has done quite nicely during the first three months of the iPad Era. Mike Kane says Kindle is now the new standard for eBook formats. Also weighing in on the news are Stephen Windwalker , Andrys Basten , Bufo Calvin , and Abhi . 2: Literary Agent Andrew “The Jackal” Wylie makes good on his threat to create his own publishing... 
July 20th, 2010
Adam Weiss and I are working on the back end of the podcast, to fix some glitches that crept in with WordPress 3.0 and the Podcasting plug-in. Click here to download this episode.  Read More →
July 16th, 2010
News – 1: As reported by TechFlash and elsewhere, Amazon flirts with the $100 price point by offering, as available, refurbished Kindle six-inch US-only models for $109.99. Try here or here to see if they’re back in stock.  2: FastCompany and The Guardian report the demise of a would-be Kindle Killer, Interead, the UK-maker of the Cool-er Reader. 3: Anand Chokkavelu of the Motley Fool revises his assessment…  Read More →
July 12th, 2010
In this video I review three covers designed to protect Kindles at the beach and elsewhere this summer. You’ll see the Guardian ($79.99) by M-Edge Accessories ,  the KlearKase for Kindle 2 (intro price of $39.99) by KlearKase and the Waterguard case for Kindle ($14.49 + $5.75 shipping) by TrendyDigital . I filmed this review today at Ocean Park, Maine, late in the afternoon when a few horse flies showed up as  Read More →
July 10th, 2010
News – 1. A study by Jakob Nielsen finds that participants read more slowly on a Kindle or an iPad than on a traditional book. Abhi raises some reasonable questions about the findings. 2. A 2006 Amazon patent comes to light and may cause problems for the Barnes & Noble nook and the Alex by Spring Design. 3. James Patterson reportedly becomes the first author to sell a million …  Read More →
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