Yes, we all know how much you spent on your Kindle. And as such, we know you want to carry it in style.
There’s a plethora of Kindle Cases available, but what if you’re wanting to add your own personal touch?
If you’re a DIYer, now there’s a nice little video and tutorial on how to make your own Kindle case and reading stand over at ChicaAndJo.com.
Looks like a fun little project. A custom Kindle case would make a great gift, or if you get good enough you could start selling them on eBay for profit!
Amazon has applied for patents for On-Demand Generating E-Book Content with Advertising, apparently in an attempt to display ads that are relevant to your book’s content. As you can see from the diagram, Amazon’s proposal favors somewhat the layout that is present on many websites we use everyday.
Now, don’t roll your eyes right away. Here’s an excerpt from the patent:
Including advertising and/or related content with on-demand printed content may prove advantageous to a consumer. For example, a lower price may be offered to a consumer regarding a request for on-demand printed content if the consumer is willing to accept advertising in the printed content.
According to this, a discounted version of your book may be available if you’re willing to read around a few related and well-placed ads.
I’m not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, I’ve trained my mind and eyes to avert the majority of adverts that are presented to me on my favorite websites. On the other, I’m concerned that these ads might take me out of the story that I happen to be reading at the time.
Is this the equivalent of inserting audio ads into your favorite CDs? Would you want to be listening to Dark Side Of The Moon only to be interrupted by an audio ad for Prozac? Would you feel the same way if you were reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and then a Fandango ad appears showing you the upcoming showtimes for the latest Harry Potter movie?
From Slashdot.org.
A recent article from Wired magazine discusses Why E-Books Look So Ugly. It’s a nice read and makes some good points about how typography, illustrations, and cover art are being lost in the shuffle and reduced to black and gray pixels.
The article touched on the Kindle and pointed out some interesting figures:
With the popularity of the Kindle and other e-book readers, electronic book sales in the United States have doubled every quarter. Though still a very small percentage of the overall book industry, sales of e-books touched $15.5 million in the first quarter of the year, up from $3.2 million the same quarter a year ago.
One of the more prominent points being echoed through the article dealt with the font and typeface:
“Different typefaces are like like having different actors in play or different voices in an audio book,” Simonson says. “The variations in typeface influence the personality of the book. Sticking to one font is much like having the same actor play all the different parts.”
I can understand the argument to an extent, but still, to me, convenience outweighs the variety of fonts and the other elements that make up the “whole package”. But that’s just the direction the world is moving. We’re willing to sacrifice a few of the perks in order to get the true content faster, easier, and cheaper.
Two years ago, I wouldn’t have thought I’d ever prefer downloading music versus buying a physical CD. However, I can’t tell you the last time I made the trek to the store to buy a CD instead of just hopping onto iTunes and having it downloaded in less than 5 minutes. And judging by the number of CD stores going out of business, I’m not the only one.
Likewise, gone are the days of me hunting around online for a Borders coupon to print out and heading to the store to fetch a new hardback release when I can have it downloaded from the comfort of my own home, and at a cheaper price than I could get with the coupon. If the typeface happens to be a little different, that’s fine with me. Once I’m immersed in the story, those “whole package” frills seem to take a backseat anyways.
What about you? Does having just one typeface limit the amount of enjoyment you get out of your Kindle?
As mentioned on Monday, Amazon just released a new, larger Kindle titled the Kindle DX. The DX features a 9.7″ screen that is two and a half times the size of the regular Kindle. The DX is optimized for reading PDFs, newspapers, and magazines. Otherwise it behaves exactly like the regular Kindle.
This is an interesting venture for Amazon. As Melissa’s Kindle DX First Impressions article at PC World points out, the DX is an, “…expensive proposition that will make consumers think hard about buying one. But it is also a highly targeted device that can benefit from this broadening of its scope.”
Here are a few other details about the DX.
- Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines
- Carry Your Library: Holds up to 3,500 books, periodicals, and documents
- Beautiful Large Display: 9.7″ diagonal e-ink screen reads like real paper; boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and sharp images
- Auto-Rotating Screen: Display auto-rotates from portrait to landscape as you turn the device so you can view full-width maps, graphs, tables, and Web pages
- Built-In PDF Reader: Native PDF support allows you to carry and read all of your personal and professional documents on the go
- Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle DX, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, no annual contracts, and no hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots
- Books In Under 60 Seconds: You get free wireless delivery of books in less than 60 seconds; no PC required
- Long Battery Life: Read for days without recharging
- Read-to-Me: With the text-to-speech feature, Kindle DX can read newspapers, magazines, blogs, and books out loud to you, unless the book’s rights holder made the feature unavailable
- Big Selection, Low Prices: Over 275,000 books; New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases are only $9.99, unless marked otherwise
- More Than Books: U.S. and international newspapers including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, magazines including The New Yorker and Time, plus popular blogs, all auto-delivered wirelessly
Pre-order a Kindle DX
The Kindle DX is scheduled to be released this summer. To reserve your place in line (orders are filled by first-come, first-served), click here to pre-order a Kindle DX today.
Those who wished the Kindle screen was a little bigger to make it easier to read newspapers and magazines may be getting their wish this week. According to Gizmondo and All Things Digital, Amazon is prepared to announce “…a new large-format device that’s optimized for reading newspapers and magazines.”
To me, one of the appealing things about the Kindle is its small size. Is there really a market for a Kindle with an extra large screen?
Personally, I think this is a bold move on Amazon’s part. In a time where everyone is trying to make the smallest, thinnest, lightest gadget, they are taking a different route to mimic the large feel of a magazine or newspaper. It’ll be interesting to see how this new, larger Kindle is accepted. It’ll be even more interesting to see how grandpa tries to roll it up to fit it inside his robe.
As a new parent, this past Easter reinforced my belief that traveling with kids during the holidays is tough. The amount of stuff we have to carry around from place to place has easily tripled.
Being the gadget hound that I am, I had to make sure that I still had my own toys with me, in addition to all my son’s toys as well. As I was getting my stuff together, I realized I had several books and a small pile of magazines that I would typically cram into my already overstuffed backpack.
As my wife and I were setting up our own Kindles, my wife realized that she couldn’t remember her Amazon account information, much less if she even had an account (I know, shame on her!). I told her to try and use my account information and it worked fine.
Upon signing in to my Amazon account I realized that there were some advantages to having both Kindle units registered under the same account. Not only are your orders and other information kept in one central location, but you can seamlessly share books and other content between each Kindle.