Last night I met Cathy Brooks. She’s helping plan the LeWeb3 conference. I trust her opinion and she’s whip smart.
I showed her the Amazon Kindle device and asked her which book should be my first book I read on it. She recommended “Basic Black” by Cathie Black. She has been on the executive teams for a lot of publishing efforts from USA Today to Oprah’s new, and highly successful, “O” magazine.
I did something that I’ve never been able to do before. I bought the book right in front of her.
When I got home I started reading — I got about halfway through the book. I can see why Cathy recommended this book. Lots of great lessons about business and stories about the publishing industry, something I’m interested in.
Anyway, this morning I did a little video comparison to “real” books. I compared it to Blue Planet Run, a photo book that Rick Smolan just sent me (he’s a famous photographer who we’ll have on Photowalking someday if we can match our schedules up).
Hopefully this will be the last of my Kindle posts. Onto other things.
Source: Comparing real books to Kindle « Scobleizer — Tech geek blogger
Introducing Kindle™ Three years ago, we set out to design and build an entirely new class of device—a convenient, portable reading device with the ability to wirelessly download books, blogs, magazines, and newspapers. The result is Amazon Kindle. We designed Kindle to provide an exceptional reading experience. Thanks to electronic paper, a revolutionary new display technology, you’ll find reading Kindle’s screen is as sharp and natural as reading ink on paper—and nothing like the strain and glare of a computer screen. Kindle is also easy on the fingertips. It never becomes hot, and is designed for ambidextrous use so both “lefties” and “righties” can read comfortably at any angle for long periods of time. We wanted Kindle to be completely mobile and simple to use for everyone, so we made it wireless. No PC and no syncing needed. Using the same 3G network as advanced cell phones, we deliver your content using our own wireless delivery system, Amazon Whispernet. Unlike WiFi, you’ll never need to locate a hotspot. There are no confusing service plans, yearly contracts, or monthly wireless bills—we take care of the hassles so you can just read. With Whispernet, you can be anywhere, think of a book, and get it in one minute. Similarly, your content automatically comes to you, wherever you are. Newspaper subscriptions are delivered wirelessly each morning. Most magazines arrive before they hit newsstands. Haven’t read the book for tomorrow night’s book club? Get it in a minute. Finished your book in the airport? Download the sequel while you board the plane. Whether you’re in the mood for something serious or hilarious, lighthearted or studious, Kindle delivers your spontaneous reading choices on demand. We’re very proud to introduce Kindle and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
My first impression of the Kindle is that it has lots of potential to be a great tool for educators and students. Although the first generation Kindle is promising I thought many will jump the gun to buy one given the price tag. I'm sure Amazon was aware this device would not have mass appeal given the buzz around the iPhone and iPod Touch. Mostly likely buyers are over 30 techies who are found of reading and like the wireless (EVDO) portability of the device.
The "OOBE" (Out Of Box Experience) is about the packaging and the presentation. Does the OOBE make you feel like you purchased something valuable and well-thought out? Or does it make you feel like you bought something cheap and of low value? When we see something in a plastic blister pack, we know it's not very expensive – when we see something in a richly coloured, finely detailed box, we have a different feeling about its value. I'll explore the Zune OOBE in a series of photographs, and as I unpack the box I'll take record my impressions about each step. And yes, I really did absorb the Zune this slowly - I didn't just rip open the box and start playing with it right away.
The Zune packaging is quite unique – I don't think I've ever seen any electronic device packaged quite like this before, especially not with the colours chosen. It almost looks more like a box for perfume than a digital media player. The package was much smaller than I thought it would be. There are many fascinating psychological studies about the intersection between perceived value and package size, but I think the Zune strikes a good balance. When I saw the small size of the box my perception of the value actually went up, because I was impressed with it being so small. The box has rich, deep colours, and the texture is smooth. It exudes quality.
Source: Zune Thoughts
WiFi, Bluetooth, touch screens, DVR capabilities...these are great features cropping up in recent media players, but what if you just want a reliable, easy-to-use portable player for music and video?
The iRiver Clix 2 has one of the best form factors on the market--it's small, light, quite durable, easy to navigate with its intuitive "D-click" pad, and delivers great sound and video. It packs 8 GB of storage into its tiny frame, so there's plenty of room for your MP3s, photos, and movie clips. The extra features such as Flash games, FM and voice recording, and a text reader are icing on the cake and make the Clix 2, for its price, currently one of the best values out there in portable media players.
Source: Amazon Current, Aric A.
T-Mobile began selling Apple's iPhones shortly after midnight. The iPhone in Germany is sold with a USB cable, power pack, docking station, and Apple sticker, and cloth to clean the screen. And a tool to remove the SIM card which is not available in the US.
Unlike the US devices, German iPhones have a field where various keyboard layouts can be set. Users can select from German, English (UK & US), French, and Italian. In addition, the double-click function of the Home key can be assigned either to the main screen, telephone favorites, or the iPod display.
Source: http://www.t-mobile.de/iphone/