New Amazon Kindle announced
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Amazon announced today the next generation of their Kindle eReader. Slightly redesigned, the biggest change is that there are now two models of the standard Kindle: Wifi only for $139, and Wifi + 3G for $189. Both models will also come in two different colors, the standard white and a dark grey, which I think looks great (and actually shows off the contrast of the eInk screen a bit more clearly).
There are a number of improvements, including being slightly smaller while maintaining the same 6 inch screen. The controls are more straightforward, the screen has a higher contrast, and Amazon is reporting that the new Kindle will go a full month on a single charge, if you turn off wireless.
All in all, a very, very compelling package. The $139 model is, I think, going to completely own the holiday gift season. Anyone whose been on the fence about trying out an eReader, this looks like the one to take a long look at.
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Hi Jason, I was expecting to
Hi Jason, I was expecting to read a line or two about Kindle using a proprietary format for their ebooks and not being ePUB compatible. Public libraries that lend ebooks (Los Angeles Public Library http://e-media.lapl.org/) through vendors like Overdrive have to use DRM protected formats like ePUB. You can’t borrow these ebooks with a Kindle, but you can with many other eReaders (Nook, Sony Reader)(http://www.overdrive.com/resources/drc/compatibleebookdevices.aspx). Borrowing an ebook through Overdrive is a hassle, but at least it is an option on other eReaders.
Additional Features
More information is coming out about the Kindle 3 (both varieties). Apparently it will support Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Cyrillic character sets now, as well as offer a couple other western-standard font options (a serifed font, a condensed version of the serif font, and a sans serif font).