Most electronic devices are getting smaller. Amazon’s Kindle electronic book reader is bucking the trend.
Amazon on Wednesday introduced a larger version of the Kindle, pitching it as a new way for people to read textbooks, newspapers and their personal documents.
The device, called the Kindle DX (for Deluxe), has a screen that is two and a half times the size of the screens on the two older versions of the Kindle, which were primarily aimed at displaying books. The price tag is also larger: the DX will sell for $489, or $130 more than the previous model, the Kindle 2, and will go on sale this summer.
And still
We don’t have any sort of Kindle here in the UK.
Well Sod you Amazon if you can’t be bothered to expand.
The UK can’t support Whispernet
The Whispernet service undergirding the Kindle runs on the CDMA digital network owned by US cell phone carrier Sprint. The UK doesn’t have CDMA services, only GSM. Without agreements with carriers and a rather different hardware model to support cell systems outside the US, expansion of the Kindle seems dead on arrival.
________________________
Stephen Michael Kellat, Host, LISTen
PGP KeyID: 899C131F
But…
The Kindle still works without Whispernet, it just functions like a regular ereader. It’s not a pain to load books via usb, it’s just not as sexy. The Kindle has other functions that are unique and don’t rely on Whispernet – and the ability to buy from an Amazon store is a huge part of that. I think part of the hold up is not only the Whispernet, but also licensing for ebooks. I know there are titles in the Sony store that I can’t buy from Canada – they are US only.
That said, being able to buy ebooks from the UK would be wonderful. I wouldn’t pay to get a US ebook edition of a UK book. I prefer the original versions we get in Canada.
cathy
This is the use case I worry about…
________________________
Stephen Michael Kellat, Host, LISTen
PGP KeyID: 899C131F