MobileViews Blog

Tag: kindle

  • Note to self: MYK (Manage My Kindle) page

    I ran into the Kindle app registration limit the other day. This is the result of using it on a number of devices over the years. Some of those devices are no longer in use or were test devices loaned to me. So, it was time to clean house and deregister Kindle apps on those devices. Amazon provides a landing page to do this and more Kindle devices and apps. You can find it at:

    amazon.com/myk

  • FYI to CNN: Here’s why Kindles are not sought after on the secondary market

    CNN’s breathless story about how the iPad is doing better on the secondary market (resale) than Amazon’s Kindle makes me wonder if no on there considered the obvious reasons:

    1. Kindle prices drop with each new model (including subsidized models)
    2. Kindle prices have been so low starting with the third generation (summer/fall 2010) that there it makes more sense to buy a new model with better features at the same or lower price.

    Hence, little or no resale value.

    iPad retains value longer than Kindle, research finds (CNN)

  • Save to Kindle tip: View PDFs in landscape mode

    I tried out the new Save to Kindle for Windows and it just worked. Here’s what I did:
    (more…)

  • Note to self: Save to Kindle for (Windows) PC available – great for reading documentation next to a PC

    This is a very handy feature for all Kindle users. But, it is especially useful for people like me who often want to prop up a technical book/manual next to a PC for reference. Although I can already do this using, for example, GoodReader or iBooks on an iPad, doing so eats up the device’s battery and shuts off the display after some fixed period of inactivity. The e-ink Kindle, however, does not suffer from either problem when a page is left up on its display. The free app for Windows PC was announced on the Kindle Daily Post blog.

    Send to Kindle for PC

  • Will the Amazon Kindle DX Abandon Sprint’s WhisperNet for Pure WiFi Connectivity?

    s_t_vz_090505
    Chart courtesy of Yahoo Finance

    Larry Dignan’s ZDNet item…

    The big Kindle: Pondering Wi-Fi; Netbooks; Market implications

    …got me wondering about two things…

    1. Will Amazon abandon the Sprint 3G wireless network powered WhisperNet for the Kindle DX and, perhaps, the successor to the Kindle 2 (assuming the Kindle 2 and DX are separate models for different market segments)? None of the big U.S. telecom providers have been doing well. But, as you can see in the dramatic two-year stock chart above comparing Sprint (S), AT&T (T), and Verizon (VZ), Sprint has appeared to have fared far worse than AT&T or Verzion in the past two years based on their stock share price performance. Could Amazon be preparing for a Sprint meltdown by moving away from WhisperNet to pure WiFi access?

    2. I’ve always assumed (but have not verified) that part of the Kindle 2’s and ebooks’ relatively high costs were due to a percentage payout to Sprint for the “lifetime” wireless 3G data access. Would dropping Sprint 3G data service allow Amazon to keep the Kindle DX price down? And, if a 3G-less Kindle 3 emerges, could it be priced closer to the magic $200 price-point?

    I guess we’ll know more after Amazon’s press event tommorow.

  • Can a Big Screen Kindle Save Local Newspapers?

    There’s a lot of speculation that Amazon’s press conference scheduled for this Wednesday will be used to introduce a big screen version of the Kindle ebook reader…

    New Amazon Device Debuts Wednesday (All Things Digital)

    The Big Screen Kindle Hail Mary To Newspapers Will Fall Incomplete (TechCrunch)

    TechnCrunch’s MG Siegler seems especially pessimistic about a large screen Kindle in general. He points out that the current Kindle 2 is overpriced (something that has held me back from buying one given my current book reading habits and pace) and that a larger Kindle would be too inconvenient to carry (I was thinking the same thing after reading the initial flurry of announcements).

    But, here’s a thought: What if Amazon prices the new large screen Kindle at $369 (the Kindle 2’s current price) and pushes the Kindle 2 price down to $199. Personally, I don’t think this is realistic given that the Kindle 2 just came out itself. But the Kindle 2 at $199 might convince fence sitters like me to buy one. And, it might even save local newspapers from going under if (and this is a big “if”) local papers can sell the Kindle 2 as part of their subscription and if (another big “if”) local newspapers can go truly hyperlocal (including advertisements and e-coupon technology).

    I would switch my subscription to an electronic one if my local papers moved to a good (keyword “good”) e-format (their current ones are ok, but not good). I’m not sure what pet owners who depend on newspapers would do if they went 100% e-newspaper though. Perhaps, newspapers could keep printing the Sunday editions for pet owners? 🙂