6 ms·

Amazon reveals $79 Kindle

60 points by zeratul 15y ago

runningdogx 15y ago
Still no native epub support. What is Amazon waiting for?
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
fribblerz 15y ago
I'm really looking forward to something like a cheaper variant of DX to come along. Technical books don't render well on 6 inch screen and I can't get myself to shell out a notebook's price for current DX.
zeratul 15y ago
Actually, the announcement is now at the Amazon's home page. Next step: make e-books cheaper! http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-version-expensive-paperback-version/forum/Fx1YVPLD6A2JUPU/Tx15JXOCDQNRKJF http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-version-expensive-paperback-ver...
- AzAngel 15y ago
  They used to, but then the publishers forced them to accept the agency model of e-book pricing.
  - shoota 15y ago
    Actually, I believe it was Apple who promoted the agency model on the iPad which forced Amazon to convert to the agency model as well.
    - jonknee 15y ago
      It was still the publishers, Apple just made themselves into a poker chip the publishers could use to play against Amazon.
      - shoota 15y ago
        Sure ultimately it was the publisher's decision to go to the agency model but if Apple and Amazon held firm it would have been a win for the consumer. Apple decided to take a swipe at one of its competitors which in the end hurt consumers by allowing for ebooks to be priced artificially.
        culturestate 15y ago
        eBook prices were artificial to begin with. Amazon was known to take a loss when necessary to set the price ceiling at $9.99, which (as you can imagine) would hurt competitors who couldn't absorb losses like that.
- rbanffy 15y ago
  > Next step: make e-books cheaper! Don't sell your freedoms that easily. I'd rather have Amazon sell the DRM-free.
  - zer0her0 15y ago
    DRM free ePub is my dream, but sadly I don't think that will happen.
    - rbanffy 15y ago
      Not until we stop paying for DRM-encumbered content. Kindles and Nooks are subsidized by the sale of DRM encumbered goods. If we buy them and use only DRM-free content, we will exert pressure on Amazon and Barnes and Noble to drop DRM on books (or, at least, offer content in non-DRM-encumbered forms) and thus, generate the same pressure to others who require DRM.
gerlv 15y ago
Price of this Kindle in the UK: £89 = $139. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kindle-Wi-Fi-6-Ink-Display/dp/B0051QVF7A/ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kindle-Wi-Fi-6-Ink-Display/dp/B0051Q...)
- codecaine 15y ago
  Price of this Kindle in DE : 99 EUR (134 USD)
- jamesRaybould 15y ago
  Yet again proving we live in 'rip off Britain'
- pdw 15y ago
  Europe gets the ad-free version, which costs $109 in the US. Add 20% UK VAT and that becomes $131 or £84. Amazon's price is pretty reasonable.
  - keithpeter 15y ago
    OK, thanks for that, I was thinking that it was the usual small markets pay more thing. Osbourne effect: I've actually been putting off a kindle purchase until the pad was launched as I knew there would be a cheaper electronic ink reader after the pad.
- handelaar 15y ago
  Still another £20 less than it was at retail last week. Though my other half (who I bought a K3 for then) thinks losing the keyboard basically breaks its search function and is happy she got the one she has.
bradleyland 15y ago
You know, this is probably a really ridiculous gripe, but that silvery plastic look makes the new Kindles look cheap. It reminds me of the cheap silver plastic they use for "As seen on TV" products. I much preferred the slate gray and white colors of the Kindle Keyboard.
- kylec 15y ago
  It looks cheap because it is cheap. It's a $79 Kindle, what do you expect?
  - bradleyland 15y ago
    That's kind of contradictory to how Amazon is positioning them: "These are high-end products" That's the first phrase of the first paragraph after the product image. I'm not saying they need to cover them in alcantara, but the old smooth-matte finish is much better than this.
raju 15y ago
Does anyone use the Kindle for technical books? If so, how does it fare? For the $79/$99 it's not a big price to pay, but I have 10s, if not 100s of PDFs that I would like to keep and read (reading on the iPad isn't working out for me). Any thoughts? Update: Just saw fribblerz's comment about the DX. But I am still curious about the other Kindles.
- yatsyk 15y ago
  Kindle uses 600x800 screen. eInk HD which is used on new Sony and iRiver readers would be better for pdf reading.
- gte910h 15y ago
  I use kindle technical books, but read them on the iPad and Mac. The small kindles aren't really appropriately sized for them, and the Kindle DX isn't cheap enough to me not just buy another iPad.
- raju 15y ago
  Sounds like a Kindle is then a no-no for tech books :(. Thanks for the words of wisdom, HN.
- bretthoerner 15y ago
  I love my Kindle, but I think it's awful for anything with graphics, tables, code, etc. Basically: if it's not free-flowing text you're not going to enjoy it on an e-ink Kindle, imo.
  - tom_b 15y ago
    Second that code is awful (it wraps funny, even in landscape mode). But . . . I hate buying dead tree books that expire in two versions. Admittedly not a huge concern, but still.
- tom_b 15y ago
  I actually read PDFs pretty frequently on my Kindle. I usually set it to landscape mode. I used briss to convert some big pdf books (On Lisp and I think a free version of SICP) so they would be a little more readable. briss does some clipping of the margins. I love tech books in print form, but I prefer a tech book I can drop on the kindle now. The raw convenience of the kindle wins out for me. If the DX gets cheap, I may be forced to grab one. I won't be upgrading to the new color device.
vaksel 15y ago
personally I don't like it...the current kindle feels too small and a bit uncomfortable to read because of that, I'd imagine with the new one flipping pages is going to be even more anoying
saturdaysaint 15y ago
As someone that's been on the Kindle since the 1st gen, I love the march to something cheap and light/small enough to be held in one hand. It's just a shame that there's no text-to-speech, which would be really killer on this, the lightest model in the lineup. I find TTS really useful, especially for non-fiction, essays and news (conveying the nuances of fiction, particularly dialogue, can be awkward with TTS). I think the feature's been buried by way of being awkwardly placed in the text-size menu of previous Kindles. I'd say %90 of Kindle owners I talk to have never used it or don't know the functionality is even there. At the very least, I hope Amazon puts it in their iOS/Android apps.
- stumm 15y ago
  Many publishers don't allow their books to use the TTS feature. Possibly because they fear that it would could into their audio-book market. Amazon may have decided that it's a feature that's too infrequently used to justify the cost.
ctdonath 15y ago
Same price as a Prime membership. How long 'til they say "aw shucks, we'll just give every Prime member one"? Maybe fulfilling the theorized "free Kindle by November '11" prediction? (Price drops vs. dates graph is near straight-line to there.)
tybris 15y ago
I now own over a dozen books that are more expensive than a Kindle.

60 points by zeratul 15y ago

runningdogx 15y ago

Still no native epub support. What is Amazon waiting for?

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

fribblerz 15y ago

I'm really looking forward to something like a cheaper variant of DX to come along. Technical books don't render well on 6 inch screen and I can't get myself to shell out a notebook's price for current DX.

zeratul 15y ago

Actually, the announcement is now at the Amazon's home page. Next step: make e-books cheaper! http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-version-expensive-paperback-version/forum/Fx1YVPLD6A2JUPU/Tx15JXOCDQNRKJF http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-version-expensive-paperback-ver...

AzAngel 15y ago
They used to, but then the publishers forced them to accept the agency model of e-book pricing.
- shoota 15y ago
  Actually, I believe it was Apple who promoted the agency model on the iPad which forced Amazon to convert to the agency model as well.
  - jonknee 15y ago
    It was still the publishers, Apple just made themselves into a poker chip the publishers could use to play against Amazon.
    - shoota 15y ago
      Sure ultimately it was the publisher's decision to go to the agency model but if Apple and Amazon held firm it would have been a win for the consumer. Apple decided to take a swipe at one of its competitors which in the end hurt consumers by allowing for ebooks to be priced artificially.
      - culturestate 15y ago
        eBook prices were artificial to begin with. Amazon was known to take a loss when necessary to set the price ceiling at $9.99, which (as you can imagine) would hurt competitors who couldn't absorb losses like that.
rbanffy 15y ago
> Next step: make e-books cheaper! Don't sell your freedoms that easily. I'd rather have Amazon sell the DRM-free.
- zer0her0 15y ago
  DRM free ePub is my dream, but sadly I don't think that will happen.
  - rbanffy 15y ago
    Not until we stop paying for DRM-encumbered content. Kindles and Nooks are subsidized by the sale of DRM encumbered goods. If we buy them and use only DRM-free content, we will exert pressure on Amazon and Barnes and Noble to drop DRM on books (or, at least, offer content in non-DRM-encumbered forms) and thus, generate the same pressure to others who require DRM.

gerlv 15y ago

Price of this Kindle in the UK: £89 = $139. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kindle-Wi-Fi-6-Ink-Display/dp/B0051QVF7A/ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kindle-Wi-Fi-6-Ink-Display/dp/B0051Q...)

codecaine 15y ago
Price of this Kindle in DE : 99 EUR (134 USD)
jamesRaybould 15y ago
Yet again proving we live in 'rip off Britain'
pdw 15y ago
Europe gets the ad-free version, which costs $109 in the US. Add 20% UK VAT and that becomes $131 or £84. Amazon's price is pretty reasonable.
- keithpeter 15y ago
  OK, thanks for that, I was thinking that it was the usual small markets pay more thing. Osbourne effect: I've actually been putting off a kindle purchase until the pad was launched as I knew there would be a cheaper electronic ink reader after the pad.
handelaar 15y ago
Still another £20 less than it was at retail last week. Though my other half (who I bought a K3 for then) thinks losing the keyboard basically breaks its search function and is happy she got the one she has.

bradleyland 15y ago

You know, this is probably a really ridiculous gripe, but that silvery plastic look makes the new Kindles look cheap. It reminds me of the cheap silver plastic they use for "As seen on TV" products. I much preferred the slate gray and white colors of the Kindle Keyboard.

kylec 15y ago
It looks cheap because it is cheap. It's a $79 Kindle, what do you expect?
- bradleyland 15y ago
  That's kind of contradictory to how Amazon is positioning them: "These are high-end products" That's the first phrase of the first paragraph after the product image. I'm not saying they need to cover them in alcantara, but the old smooth-matte finish is much better than this.

raju 15y ago

Does anyone use the Kindle for technical books? If so, how does it fare? For the $79/$99 it's not a big price to pay, but I have 10s, if not 100s of PDFs that I would like to keep and read (reading on the iPad isn't working out for me). Any thoughts? Update: Just saw fribblerz's comment about the DX. But I am still curious about the other Kindles.

yatsyk 15y ago
Kindle uses 600x800 screen. eInk HD which is used on new Sony and iRiver readers would be better for pdf reading.
gte910h 15y ago
I use kindle technical books, but read them on the iPad and Mac. The small kindles aren't really appropriately sized for them, and the Kindle DX isn't cheap enough to me not just buy another iPad.
raju 15y ago
Sounds like a Kindle is then a no-no for tech books :(. Thanks for the words of wisdom, HN.
bretthoerner 15y ago
I love my Kindle, but I think it's awful for anything with graphics, tables, code, etc. Basically: if it's not free-flowing text you're not going to enjoy it on an e-ink Kindle, imo.
- tom_b 15y ago
  Second that code is awful (it wraps funny, even in landscape mode). But . . . I hate buying dead tree books that expire in two versions. Admittedly not a huge concern, but still.
tom_b 15y ago
I actually read PDFs pretty frequently on my Kindle. I usually set it to landscape mode. I used briss to convert some big pdf books (On Lisp and I think a free version of SICP) so they would be a little more readable. briss does some clipping of the margins. I love tech books in print form, but I prefer a tech book I can drop on the kindle now. The raw convenience of the kindle wins out for me. If the DX gets cheap, I may be forced to grab one. I won't be upgrading to the new color device.

vaksel 15y ago

personally I don't like it...the current kindle feels too small and a bit uncomfortable to read because of that, I'd imagine with the new one flipping pages is going to be even more anoying

saturdaysaint 15y ago

As someone that's been on the Kindle since the 1st gen, I love the march to something cheap and light/small enough to be held in one hand. It's just a shame that there's no text-to-speech, which would be really killer on this, the lightest model in the lineup. I find TTS really useful, especially for non-fiction, essays and news (conveying the nuances of fiction, particularly dialogue, can be awkward with TTS). I think the feature's been buried by way of being awkwardly placed in the text-size menu of previous Kindles. I'd say %90 of Kindle owners I talk to have never used it or don't know the functionality is even there. At the very least, I hope Amazon puts it in their iOS/Android apps.

stumm 15y ago
Many publishers don't allow their books to use the TTS feature. Possibly because they fear that it would could into their audio-book market. Amazon may have decided that it's a feature that's too infrequently used to justify the cost.

ctdonath 15y ago

Same price as a Prime membership. How long 'til they say "aw shucks, we'll just give every Prime member one"? Maybe fulfilling the theorized "free Kindle by November '11" prediction? (Price drops vs. dates graph is near straight-line to there.)

tybris 15y ago

I now own over a dozen books that are more expensive than a Kindle.