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Amazon to release Wifi only version of Kindle eReader for $139

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JoshuaJSlone said:
Oh wow. Looking at a Kindle blog today, the lending feature is even much more limited than I realized. Don't blow your loans, apparently.

http://kindleworld.blogspot.com/2010/12/amazon-begins-its-kindle-book-lending.html
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This isn't new. It's basically the same way the lending feature worked on the Nook when it came out. It all has to do with the publishers.

Some Kindle books being more expensive than their paper counterparts is also all the publishers (though it's also partly Apple since to try and break in nice with the publishers with iBooks they went ahead and acquiesced to the publishers on the publishers' desired agency model for pricing rather than the model Amazon had been using).
 
I can understand why the pubs only want one lend though. When I saw the lending enabled feature I was going to start up a thread. We would probably end up having to buy very few books if it was unlimited.
 
teiresias said:
This isn't new. It's basically the same way the lending feature worked on the Nook when it came out. It all has to do with the publishers.

Some Kindle books being more expensive than their paper counterparts is also all the publishers (though it's also partly Apple since to try and break in nice with the publishers with iBooks they went ahead and acquiesced to the publishers on the publishers' desired agency model for pricing rather than the model Amazon had been using).
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That's something I really don't get.

The new Clancy hardcover is 15 dollars, the Kindle book is 13. WTF?!?

At least R.A Salvatore's kindle books are 6 dollars.
 
Friggin' Easy Word is addicting...but hard.

I wish I could go back to the earlier levels...my wife and I were arguing over who got the longest words on level two, but there's no way to go back and look at what they were.

She's a fucking LIAR, goddamnit.
 
Alienshogun said:
That's something I really don't get.

The new Clancy hardcover is 15 dollars, the Kindle book is 13. WTF?!?

At least R.A Salvatore's kindle books are 6 dollars.
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The publishers and advertising for ebooks show the savings over the MSRP of the book, not the discounted price that Amazon or other places sell it for.

Give the Clancy book time. Once the paperback hits it will be less.
 
Mrbob said:
I just received a Kindle for Christmas as well and the clarity of the E ink is amazing. Much better than I had anticipated. Love it. I'll be sticking with this and upgrade when color E ink is a reality and affordable.
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Damn you for having good taste (in e-readers at least...football is another story). Feel pretty much the same way.
 
McBacon said:
How much, do you think, Amazon could sell a Kindle at with no keyboard, no music player, no microphone and wi-fi only? Because I think eBook reader prices need to get very cheap, to the not-totally-fucked-if-it's-stolen level, before they're huge, mass consumer products.

Also, I'd buy one. But for now, my iPad is fine.
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$99 is the magic price for ALL consumer electronics of this type. If (when?) next year's model retails for $99, that's when the Kindle will truly blow up.

The difference between a $129 price and a $99 price is MUUUCH bigger than the difference between $69 and $99, for example.

Video game hardware companies know this better than anyone, which is why I've always been so shocked to see Nintendo stubbornly hold on to $129 for the Nintendo DS for so long. Maybe they figure they have long since won that war, so why bother...
 
I can get why they wouldn't want uncontrolled lending. But it seems so crazy that I could find myself in a situation where I'd need to say "Sorry I can't loan you this book; I let someone read it ten years ago."
 
JoshuaJSlone said:
I can get why they wouldn't want uncontrolled lending. But it seems so crazy that I could find myself in a situation where I'd need to say "Sorry I can't loan you this book; I let someone read it ten years ago."
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It's a shame they didn't 'one-up' Barnes & Noble with their Nook lending policy instead of simply matching it.
 
Tobor said:
Jobs owns the publishing companies now?
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Did the ipad's agency model affect kindle store prices? I notice a lot more books are $12.99 and up now...
 
mattiewheels said:
Did the ipad's agency model affect kindle store prices? I notice a lot more books are $12.99 and up now...
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The publishing companies were pissed at Amazon and wanted to go that way anyway. Apple just gave them what they wanted.
 
Tobor said:
The publishing companies were pissed at Amazon and wanted to go that way anyway. Apple just gave them what they wanted.
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Apple was the most vocal about giving the publishers the agency model. Barnes and Noble seemed to already be there. I know that publishers were very mad with Amazon and their pricing of not just ebooks, but how they have been handling a lot of their pricing in general. I remember publishers getting pissed at Wal Mart and Amazon at the end of 2009 when they had new hardcovers for $9.99 for a limited time. Same thing happened with movie studios. Lower prices bring in customers, but it also leads most to think things should always be that low and thus undervalues the product for many publishers and people. The insane low price of NFL 2K5 was one of the contributing factors for the ESPN jumping over to EA. They thought the $20 price point undervalued their brand name.
 
womp said:
Well at one point they kinda were with their $9.99 and under ebooks.
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And it more or less stuck. Books above that price point don't sell very well and risk the wrath of the "one-star review patrol."
 
Teddman said:
And it more or less stuck. Books above that price point don't sell very well and risk the wrath of the "one-star review patrol."
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But don't you....have to buy the book to rate it? :lol


One thing I'm not sure how it works but seems really interesting is the popular highlights function. So it somehow collects data on what everyone else is highlighting and it shows up in yours if it's really popular? That's a very good idea if it's doing it how I think and not just static.
 
mattiewheels said:
But don't you....have to buy the book to rate it? :lol


One thing I'm not sure how it works but seems really interesting is the popular highlights function. So it somehow collects data on what everyone else is highlighting and it shows up in yours if it's really popular? That's a very good idea if it's doing it how I think and not just static.
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no. I used "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" as an example and it let me submit. but i guess they "review" any reviews submitted as it say it'll be posted in 48 hours or so :lol since it reviews for both book and/or kindle version.
 
Amazon will be allowing book lending between Kindle accounts in the near future. The terms are 14 days, the book will be unavailable to the "lender" while on the account of the "lendee", and the lending capability for a given title has to be approved by the publisher. Amazon Digital Text Platform books (their self-publishing service) will have lending enabled by default.

EDIT: Glad to see I'm the last to know.
 
What's your little bird, six month old news?
 
Book lending is active. They weren't kidding when they said "select" books.

Out of my 30 Kindle books, a whopping 2 are lend-able.

Why did they even bother.
 
FlyinJ said:
Book lending is active. They weren't kidding when they said "select" books.

Out of my 30 Kindle books, a whopping 2 are lend-able.

Why did they even bother.
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It's more like why the publishers would even bother.
 
movie_club said:
source?
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He's joking.

Release dates:
Kindle 1: November 19, 2007
Kindle 2: February 9, 2009
Kindle 3: August 27, 2010

Kindle 4 wont come out until at least August 2011, especially considering how well its selling.

The DX might get a screen update earlier though.
 
Anyone know if there are any good Kindle 2 docks that let you keep the case on? Not a huge deal, just trying to organize my desk..
 
I know it's a little OT, but this is a Kindle thread so meh..

Is the problem with the Kindle 3 covers ubiquitous or is it only affecting a few units?
 
MarshMellow96 said:
I know it's a little OT, but this is a Kindle thread so meh..

Is the problem with the cover's ubiquitous or is it only affecting a few units?
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i think it was the early graphite units (K3) at least when I googled about it.
 
I'm considering selling my Nook and getting a Kindle 3. There have been a handful of books I want to read but they're not available. One if which is a Philip K. Dick book. Kinda sucks but I'm not sure what the best course is.
 
I got a Kindle 3 for christmas and I'm loving it. The 3g is great when I don't have wifi available and the screen is SO easy to read. I even have that protector with the light that you pull out, so useful :lol .
 
mjc said:
I'm considering selling my Nook and getting a Kindle 3. There have been a handful of books I want to read but they're not available. One if which is a Philip K. Dick book. Kinda sucks but I'm not sure what the best course is.
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Buy it on Amazon and convert it to work on your Nook?
 
So I dropped my Kindle in the bath. :lol

It's still within the 30 day period, so Amazon is sending me a new one for 50$. I'll take that, thought I would have to spend another 140$.
 
So, about three weeks in and I have to say I understand now where a lot of you were coming from. I was worried about the adjustment, but some of you were quite right in that it would not be a problem.

This is my first ereader so as I mentioned earlier I had some concern about being comfortable moving to it after being used to regular books for so long. That concern was gone about three pages into my first book on the thing. :lol

I have to say too that i've burned through a lot of content since buying this thing. Which was one goal - to get back to reading as much as I used to. Looks like that will not be a problem.

Anyhow; really happy with the purchase so far.
 
Yeah, I was tenative about e-readers myself until I saw one on display somewhere. I think I ordered a Kindle shortly thereafter. I still mix it up between this and paper books though depending on my mood but I've not regretted the purchase at all.
 
Looking around my house for some missing manga today, I stumbled upon boxes of packed up paperbacks and a milk crate of books I need to read.

Thinking about getting a Kindle from Best Buy with a gift card I received (well a partial payment with) and unloading the dead tree. :|

Although I'm not keen on rebuying a lot of this unread crap. I'll see. . .
 
whatsinaname said:
So I dropped my Kindle in the bath. :lol

It's still within the 30 day period, so Amazon is sending me a new one for 50$. I'll take that, thought I would have to spend another 140$.
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you read in the bath? :lol wtf.
 
Just wanted to say that as my first reader this thing is absolutely incredible. I also got the official Kindle Case (with Light) and it's fantastic for reading in the dark. Love this thing.
 
Stat Flow said:
Just wanted to say that as my first reader this thing is absolutely incredible. I also got the official Kindle Case (with Light) and it's fantastic for reading in the dark. Love this thing.
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I know, the real test for me is that I actually blew through a book and finished it, my first time ever on a device. On my mom's iPad, on my iPod retina, on a Sony Reader and a Kobo, I always tried to get through books but there was something distracting about every one of those solutions. Kindle just 'melts away' more than anything I've tried.
 
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