Kindle Buzz

Amazon Kindle: Are you tired of waiting?

Kindler — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 07:24:08 GMT

According to Amazon NowNow, Amazon shipped approximately 4,000 Kindles. This number may be true or false but the number has me wondering about the number of people waiting. If you are tired of waiting - and the waiting is turning to anger - what are your thoughts?

I asked in Amazon NowNow, why isn't Amazon releasing their sales figures?

A nasty answer came back stating: "Why do you care?" I care because the number of sales validates my interest and purchase. I am human - and happier when a large purchase is made and know other people made the same purchase.

A second answer stated Amazon does not need to release the sales figures. Well, they could generate more excitement - unless they are hiding something. Of course, there is an obvious snag. By not releasing the sales numbers then some people think something is wrong.

Finally, a third answer suggested Amazon did not sell that many Kindles and does not want people to know this information. OK. No big deal. I love my Kindle and consider myself to be one of the lucky ones. You will be happy when you get yours too.

Amazon Kindle: Is one enough?

Kindler — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 08:28:29 GMT

Interestingly, one Kindle is not enough. I find myself sitting and watching others use my Kindle. In fact, my Amazon Kindle is very popular with the family. My younger sister loves to flip through a couple books on the Kindle. My older sister wanted to borrow "the book" (aka the Kindle). One of my brothers put several samples onto the Kindle - Thank you for not buying them with my account. My parents have grabbed the Kindle and flipped through different texts, too. Actually, every person who has been over to the house this holiday season has picked up the Kindle and read.

Yes, the Kindle is very popular this Holiday. Are you having trouble keeping track of your Kindle, too?

Postscript: What about using the GPS feature in the Kindle as a security feature?

Amazon Kindle: Favorite Text Size

Kindler — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 13:34:38 GMT

One of the nice features regarding the Amazon Kindle is the ability to change the text size for books. I decided the third setting is the easiest on my eyes. The text size allows me to remove my glasses and keep the Kindle at a distance. After reading several books and articles at different text sizes, I am curious if others find their eyes do not hurt after reading for a long period of time.

Postscript: What are you reading today? I downloaded Bill Bryson's A short history of nearly everything. No, I will not include a link because I am simply curious whether anyone else is reading something interesting.

Amazon Kindle: Hidden Features

Kindler — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 21:23:17 GMT

Numerous features are silently sitting inside your Amazon Kindle.

Bonus content

The main GUI and most of the back-end code is written in Java. The framework is quite elaborate and can be extended with extra "booklets".
After spending some time investigating it with JAD, I found some undocumented shortcuts, features and easter eggs. Here's a more or less complete list.

Picture viewer

I'm not sure why Amazon didn't make it public (maybe because paging is kinda slow), but there is a basic picture viewer in Kindle.
To activate it:
1) make a folder called "pictures" in the root of Kindle drive or SD card. Kindle also checks for "dcim" made by cameras.
2) put your pictures for a single "book" into a folder inside that. The subfolder name will be used as the "book" name. Supported formats are jpg, png, gif.
3) in Home screen press Alt-Z. A new "book" should appear. Open it to view your pictures.
4) In the local menu you can toggle dithering, resize to fit and full screen mode.

Keyboard shortcuts

Various undocumented/underdocumented keyboard shortcuts. I italicized most interesting ones.

Global keys

Alt-Shift-R reboot Kindle
Alt-Shift-. restart GUI
Alt-Shift-G make screenshot
due to an implementation bug, screenshots can only be stored on SD card, not the main storage. A gif file is saved in the card root.
Shift-Sym start demo
Enabled only if allow_demo=true is passed on the Java commandline. Needs a special demo script present on the SD card.

Home

Alt-Shift-M Minesweeper
Alt-Z rescan picture directories
Alt-T show time

Reader

Alt-B toggle bookmark
Alt-T spell out time
Alt-0 enable/disable slideshow
Alt-1 start slideshow (if enabled)
Alt-2 stop slidehow
Alt-PageForward/PageBackward go to next/prev annotation or one "chunk" (1/20th of a book) forward or backward

Settings

411 show diagnostics data
511 run loopback call test
611 diagnostic data service call
c/e/s
126 Lab126 team members

Font List

J show/hide justification options

Picture viewer

Alt-Shift-0 set current picture as screensaver
F toggle fullscreen mode

Minesweeper

I,J,K,L up,left,down,right
M mark mine
R restart
Space open cell
Scroll move cursor up/down
Alt-Scroll move cursor left/right
H return to Home screen

Text input

Alt-Backspace clear all
Alt-H/Alt-J move cursor
(the following don't work in search field for some reason)
Alt-6 ?
Alt-7 ,
Alt-8 :
Alt-9 "
Alt-0 '

Browser

It seems there is a location capability (GPS?) in the CDMA module. I cannot check it as I'm not in USA but the following shortcuts are programmed inside the browser.
Alt-1 show current location in google maps
Alt-2 find gas station nearby
Alt-3 find restaurants nearby
Alt-4
Alt-5 find custom keyword nearby
Alt-D dump debug info to the log and toggle highlight default item
Alt-Z toggle zone drawing and show log

Audio Player

Alt-F next
Alt-P play/stop

Search commands

These command work in the search field. You can enter only beginning of the command if that's enough for it to be unique.
Public commands (always available)

@help
@web
@wiki/@wikipedia
@store
@time

Semiprivate (available but not mentioned in @help)

;dumpMessages dump current debug log into the "documents" directory
;debugOn set log level=2 and enable private commands
;debugOff set log level=1 and disable private commands

Private commands

Note: following commands are clearly not intended for end users. Some of them may damage your Kindle and void your warranty. Enter at your own risk.

`help list private commands
`7777 set version to TOPmk-xyz-77770 (to disable OTA updates?)
`voltLog <1|0> enable/disable voltage table debug
`batteryLoggingDelay set battery logging delay (in seconds)
`pppStop close WAN PPP connection
`disableIndexing
`logOpenFiles
`startIndexing
`dumpBattery
`indexStatus
`compliance
`einkAdjustments
`allocate [MB]
`log611
`reloadContentRoster
`indexForever
`downloadIndex
`consumeMemory
`terminal
`checkForUpdate
`applyUpdate
`stopIndexing
`processNowNow
`processTodo
`countUnmergedDownloadedIndexes
`dumpIndexStats
`memInfo

Technology Product of the Year

Kindler — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 18:16:47 GMT

The forum polls are open for nominations of 2007 technology product of the year. Feel free to nominate your favorite UMPC, Tablet PC, or MID. Make sure that the Apple iPhone does not take the forums by storm by nominating the Amazon Kindle rather than the Apple iPhone.

Signature Products: Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader

Kindler — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 07:30:15 GMT

Dean Takahashi, Mercury News, states the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader are signature products of the year 2007.

The short read is titled a first look and hopefully there will be a more in-depth analysis of the differences between the two products.

Have you noticed that the number of discussions about the Kindle have continued throughout the month of December?

Amazon Kindle: The Most Lust After Gadget

Kindler — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 13:45:33 GMT

Digital Media Wire provides four positive comments about the Amazon Kindle and concludes:

If you put all these pieces together, the interesting conclusion is that the Kindle may represent the first real product that challenges our perceptions about how people are consuming content.

What are the four pieces?

1. RSS Feeds

2. Integrates magazines, books, newspapers, and blogs

3. Emphasis on real time information

4. Amazon's full library at a single click

What do you think? Do these four pieces make the Amazon Kindle the most lust after gadget?

Amazon Kindle: Changing Hands

Kindler — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 09:02:23 GMT

Holly Buchanan discovered Amazon's personalization feature. She points out that the ads for the Kindle change hands. Males see a man's hands holding the Kindle and females see female hands.

What marketing features have you discovered are working for you? Should Amazon market on television? Should magazine ads be used? What about Amazon representatives attending CES 2008? Do representatives canvas college campuses? How about striking deals with bookstores?

Amazon Kindle: Double the Asking Price

Kindler — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 17:43:29 GMT

Reports are surfacing this week that eBay auctions of the Amazon Kindle are double the original price. While some people doubt that the quick sell-out was real, the willingness to pay twice the price suggests there is a demand for the product.

We are left wondering how many Amazon Kindles sold this year - and they will have to disclose this number eventually. Will they wait until the last minute? Will people feel tricked if the sell-out numbers are small? Will bloggers write the sarcastic "I told you so" in their blog posts?

Do you believe the lack of sales figures is an indication of a relatively small number? Do you believe that the lack of disclosure might be the downfall of the product?

I wonder if Amazon officials worry about the questioning of the number of Amazon Kindle sales. Wouldn't you?

Amazon Kindle: Discovering the Little Things

Kindler — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 21:15:26 GMT

Management Craft published an overview of their first day with the Kindle.

What a cool device and I know I am going to LOVE it. The combination of books, newspapers, magazines, and blogs is great. I have not tried this yet, but I can highlight text and create a file of clips and quotes that I want to refer to again. I can search anywhere in the content. It has a dictionary and Wikipedia. And I can download audio books and listen using headphones (or background music). If the 180megs of storage is not enough, I can add an SD memory card. And so much more I have not yet discovered.

Amazon Kindle: File Format Support Increases

Kindler — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 21:02:49 GMT

A concern exists that the Amazon Kindle file format is proprietary and locks consumers into the Amazon service. Fictionwise supports the Amazon Kindle. According to the Fictionwise FAQs, "As of December 2007, over 15,000 MultiFormat titles are available for Kindle."

Why Doesn't Fictionwise Sell All Titles for Kindle?

We would love to, but Amazon.com makes it impossible for any other eBook retailer to sell big-publisher eBooks that require DRM encryption for Kindle. Oddly, this even includes another major eBook retailer that is owned by Amazon themselves!

We suggest you open a support ticket at Amazon.com asking them to change this policy. They could very easily allow other retailers like Fictionwise to sell Secure Mobipocket titles onto the Kindle device. Amazon.com allows other print-book merchants to sell through Amazon's site, so why shouldn't they allow other merchants to sell eBooks onto Kindle?

Source: Mobility Site.

Amazon Kindle: Saving the Newspaper

Kindler — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 21:40:47 GMT

Mike Elgan makes sense when he argues newspaper content is needed.

The newspaper medium and business model are obsolete, I wrote, but newspaper content -- and the people who create it -- are needed now more than ever. "What's an educated reader to do?," I asked, and answered my own question: "Cancel your newspaper subscriptions" but support newspapers by "visiting them regularly, subscribing if they have something to subscribe to, and patronizing their advertisers."

What do you think? Will reading increase? Will the Kindle save the newspaper companies?

Amazon Kindle: Start Page

Kindler — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 15:09:14 GMT

Mike Elgan started a webpge for easier navigation of the web using the experimental browser.

Amazon Kindle: Three Reasons

Kindler — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 11:29:39 GMT

The negative reviews appear to focus on comparing the Kindle to a computer. Eric Benderoff provides a different view and suggests three reasons why you should purchase the Kindle.

It is a simple gadget, easy to learn. If you can read, you can use the Kindle.
Reading is easy on the eyes, and the font size can be increased or decreased. If I had been using the Kindle earlier this year when I started getting headaches from reading, I may have not learned that I needed reading glasses.
Using the wireless connection to the world's biggest online bookstore, you can download sample chapters from books of interest before making a purchase decision. There is no need to judge a book by its virtual cover.

Amazon Kindle: Comments

Kindler — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 19:02:06 GMT

Slashdot linked to a blog post regarding the Kindle and numerous comments posted. One comment stuck out from many others.

I think what we're seeing here is the classic human behavior related to in-group vs. out-group. Like someone posted on the wikipedia thread a couple days ago.

Basically, these people have bought the kindle and like it, or at least don't hate it enough to throw it away. What they really DO like is the fact that buying it puts them in a group of people who have a cool device and therefore they get a feeling of belonging. They identify part of their own self-worth with the "coolness" and value of the device.

Therefore, if the device is perceived as "cooler" or more desireable by the general population, they emotionally can transfer that to themselves. They'll promote kindle without reason and defend it to the death because they're really defending themselves. The sad part is that many of them don't know it... they truly believe they're objectively promoting this product, and they truly believe that the people who haven't gotten it yet eventually will.

The same thing happens with many technology items, like many in the cult of Mac or those who are rabid about Linux... the technologies' true worth and faults are irrelevant to them, sometimes without them realizing it, because they identify themselves as "Mac Owner" or "Linux User", and all that matters is if someone attacks their technology, it's an attack on them and their in-group.

Interesting thoughts. Did you buy the Kindle and are now trying to justify the purchase? Do you feel like you are part of the in-crowd?

Amazon Kindle: Crash Recovery

Kindler — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 21:00:30 GMT

Computer crashes are a nightmare. David Berlind shows a video of his Kindle crash and recovery.

What happened next? The Kindle’s screen went blank, then it flashed a bunch of times, then it presented the Amazon Kindle splash screen and then, it booted to the home page where, as you can see, all of my content (admittedly, not much, but I have so far purchased two books) was still there. Cool! The Kindle gets good marks for crash recovery.

Nothing was lost!

Amazon Kindle: Will Bezos Share?

Kindler — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 20:53:21 GMT

An important question to ask is if Amazon will share technology so that other companies will use the technology. ZDNet Blogs says:

Given how collegial he is, you could argue that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is more the “do no evil” type and would therefore be more predisposed to allow his competitors to participate in the Kindle ecosystem than Steve Jobs is to allow Apple’s competitors to compete in the iTunes ecosystem.

Most of the article compares the iPod ecosystem to the new Amazon Kindle ecosystem.

Amazon Kindle: Books are not containers

Kindler — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 08:53:32 GMT

William Powers of the Los Angeles Times does not appreciate the Kindle.

E-books are pitched as an improvement over the older medium, but in many ways they're a step backward. The traditional book isn't just a container for content. It's a brilliant machine that interacts in very particular ways with the body and the mind.

But, alas, this kind gentleman has not even tried a Kindle but felt the need to write. Someone should send him one so he can try one. Actually, his argument is sound until he states, "Because you can feel where you are, the brain is freed up to concentrate on the words themselves." Strange, I always thought that the words from the author frees one from the daily grind and helps the reader explore a different world.

Amazon Kindle: Reading is Cool Again

Kindler — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 17:20:53 GMT

Do you remember the phrase, "Reading is fundamental" from years ago? Tyler Hernandez has a twist, suggesting "Thanks to Kindle, Amazon.com's new wireless literary device, reading is now cooler than ever." The post continues by stating "Kindle is perhaps the smartest gadget out this season."

I'm for anything that brings authors' ideas and readers together. The more you read, the better the conversations.

Amazon Kindle: The Interior

Kindler — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 17:43:16 GMT

Are you interested in what is underneath the exterior of the Amazon Kindle? RapidRepair provides pictures of the device.