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Posted By: Marty Kindle - reading device - 02/11/08 06:38 PM
anyone used the Kindle? just got one delivered today....

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FI73MA

pretty cool. we'll see how well it works, how readable it is... you can poke books and pdfs and music and txt files and .doc files into it. lots of books and magazines are automatically wirelessly delivered to the unit

mags that are like 10-20 bucks a month you can get for a buck and a half a month. books that are $25 new come on the kindle for $5-9

keeps all your books online too, so if you erase them you dan download them again. has a lil lite as accessory that clips onto it.
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Revolutionary electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper.
Simple to use: no computer, no cables, no syncing.
Wireless connectivity enables you to shop the Kindle Store directly from your Kindle-whether you're in the back of a taxi, at the airport, or in bed.
Buy a book and it is auto-delivered wirelessly in less than one minute.
More than 100,000 books available, including more than 90 of 112 current New York Times® Best Sellers.
New York Times® Best Sellers and all New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise.
Free book samples. Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy.
Top U.S. newspapers including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post; top magazines including TIME, Atlantic Monthly, and Forbes-all auto-delivered wirelessly.
Top international newspapers from France, Germany, and Ireland; Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, and The Irish Times-all auto-delivered wirelessly.
More than 250 top blogs from the worlds of business, technology, sports, entertainment, and politics, including BoingBoing, Slashdot, TechCrunch, ESPN's Bill Simmons, The Onion, Michelle Malkin, and The Huffington Post-all updated wirelessly throughout the day.
Lighter and thinner than a typical paperback; weighs only 10.3 ounces.

Posted By: SP Daily Re: Kindle - reading device - 02/11/08 06:41 PM
Gotta get the San Pedro Daily on there!
Posted By: pugwash Re: Kindle - reading device - 02/11/08 07:04 PM
Without doubt, the best new item I acquired In the last 12 months was my Sony E-Reader;

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...mp;SR=sony_search_seo&SQS=e%20reader

It appears to be very similar to the Kindle, and I would hope that now there is some competition in the marketplace, online prices will come down. The best feature for me is the enhanced print size (3 sizes available) which lets me read longer than with an average 8 or9pt fonts.

One nice feature of the E-Reader is that when registered with the E-Book store, a free subscription for up to 100 "classics" is offered. Most of us have read, or are aware of James Fennimore Coopers "Last of the Mohicans", but I had never got around to reading "The Pathfinder" or "The Pioneers" from the leather stoking collection, and it's been a while since "Moby Dick" or "The Cherry Orchard", so I'm looking forward to doing some literary catch up!

I also have much of my I pod and many pictures on the E-Reader, and not having to carry 2 weeks worth of large print books each trip down is a big bonus.

Posted By: sweetjane Re: Kindle - reading device - 02/11/08 08:09 PM
i just watched the video. this is one cool unit!!

i see it is sold out and back-ordered...i too will wait to see if the price drops over time. funny, i'll spend that for my brat's wii, but not on myself!
Posted By: CayeMarie Re: Kindle - reading device - 02/11/08 11:54 PM
I looked at the Kindle site and it looks great. Does the wireless connection it comes with work well in Belize or how does it work here?
Posted By: deadserious Re: Kindle - reading device - 02/12/08 12:01 AM
I doubt it would work at all in Belize.

Amazon has an agreement with a US provider. It doesn't cost the user anything for wireless access and they recoup costs by sales of downloads.
Posted By: Marty Re: Kindle - reading device - 02/12/08 12:05 AM
haven't played with it yet, about to. sure is small. i was thinking paper sized and its more like well small. they say 6inches diagonal...
Posted By: inkblot Re: Kindle - reading device - 02/12/08 02:44 AM
Unfortunately, there's no EV-DO in Belize - they don't even have GPRS here! The Kindle does look like a fun device, but it's a big for me to consider toting around.

I read ebooks on my Palm Treo and it works great.
The Treo also checks emails, plays music (MP3 etc), creates and edits Word/Excel docs, checks stock prices, has an agenda, notebook, contacts/birthdays, calculator, world clock, voice memos, still/video camera, games, and a gazillion other programs written for Palm devices.

Plus it's a phone...

PS - I would read San Pedro Daily on my Treo, but it doesn't display web pages with lots of frames so great.
Posted By: Marty Re: Kindle - reading device - 02/27/08 02:06 AM
love this thing. replaces stacks of books. excellent reading device. no more, no less.
Posted By: USCTrojan Re: Kindle - reading device - 02/27/08 07:58 PM
Cool device. There is a Belizean connection with it too. I work for the company that supports the network (Security, DNS,Billing) infrastructure for the device.
Posted By: azbob Re: Kindle - reading device - 02/27/08 08:15 PM
Don't get me wrong, I like techonology when it enriches our lives, but waht's going happen to "curling up in front of the fireplace with a good book" or "laying on the beach in AC under a palm tree and reading a book"and not having to worry when the battery is going to run down, or if I get sand in it or get it wet! I realize it will have lots of other benefits, but please don't let the printed page go away!!!
Posted By: Marty Re: Kindle - reading device - 02/27/08 10:34 PM
nothing wrong with books. some with major pics i wouldn't want to read this way. but its a hell of an option.

COOL trojan!!!! tho me being an oregon duck we should totally dis each other :>
Posted By: Anonymous Re: Kindle - reading device - 02/28/08 12:37 AM
I've used a Palm III equivalent (actually made by a company called Handera, much better designed than the Palm) for reading books for at least 5 years now. Monochrome so I get about three weeks' intensive use on one recharge (compared to maybe a day with most of the current crop of devices). And mine has a very high resolution screen so it's easy to read small print. I currently have over 100 books on it, including the Bible (counting as one book), complete works of Shakespeare, all books by Dickens, Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, dictionaries and other reference works, and many others. Even so I'm using less than 5% of the capacity. This isn't new technology.

I also like reading a paper book, but it's so convenient to have so many works all in one compact package. And I have a diary, address book, memo pad, voice recorder etc all in the same package. Plus lots of computer games.
Posted By: catdance62 Re: Kindle - reading device - 02/28/08 09:42 PM
FOr those of you who have experienced Kindle or the Sony device--how is it on your eyes? I have tried to read books online, but it made my eyes tired almost right away. I am a voracious reader and much prefer the old-fashioned way so far.
Posted By: Marty Re: Kindle - reading device - 02/28/08 10:51 PM
SOOOOOOOOOOO much easier than reading say a newspaper. even in the sun. also you can hit a button and make the text bigger and bigger

the best part is being lazy and not having to hold the book open no matter how fat it is, and just hit a button to turn the page. i also ama voracious reader. its awesome to have many many many books in one "book".

ps i NEVER read long things online. never ever. i used to print them and read the paper copy. now i send them to the kindle
Posted By: pugwash Re: Kindle - reading device - 02/29/08 05:11 AM
Just got back from 10 days in San Pedro: read 4 1/2 books on my E Reader, sometimes in bright sun, and one night by the Full Moon.

No excess baggage charges this trip!
Posted By: Anonymous Re: Kindle - reading device - 02/29/08 06:22 AM
That's almost 1/2 book a day. No bars nearby?!
Posted By: catdance62 Re: Kindle - reading device - 02/29/08 02:14 PM
Kindle sounds real cool. It might reduce my book spending even! Or increase it!! HA!
Posted By: pugwash Re: Kindle - reading device - 02/29/08 04:45 PM
2 flights, a 3 hour layover, a hotel in Denver each way, and the only bar night at Pedros on Sunday!

No TV where I stay, so a lot of reading....
Posted By: Otteralum Re: Kindle - reading device - 03/01/08 01:32 AM
I can personally attest to pug's willingness to imbibe.
Posted By: azbob Re: Kindle - reading device - 03/01/08 03:06 AM
Ok, you guys are convincing the old dog. Maybe I can learn new tricks???????
Posted By: USCTrojan Re: Kindle - reading device - 03/05/08 10:27 PM
Excerpts from an article with some background info on the kindle released today for employees. QCT and QES are company divisions:

Why Amazon's Kindle is Good News For Qualcomm
March 5, 2008

When Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, described the Kindle, he said "this isn't a device, it's a service." Bezos was referring to Whispernet, the eBook's wireless connectivity system. What you may not know is the role Qualcomm played in helping Amazon to realize its vision of enabling readers to purchase and download books within minutes.
When Amazon launched the Kindle on November 19, 2007, it sparked talk of a revolution in the literary world. It promised not just to change the way readers read, but also the way writers write and publishers publish. And, having sold out within five hours of launch, the revolution might just be under way.


Amazon isn't the only one celebrating. In fact, it is good news for Qualcomm, too. The device is the result of a two-year collaboration with Qualcomm Enterprise Services, Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, Corporate R&D, Corporate Product Security, the Office of the CTO and Corporate IT.

Amazon was originally introduced to QES through a modem manufacturer who hoped to provide modems for the Kindle. The same company had also worked with QES on the CardioNet project and knew that the wireless connectivity that Amazon envisioned for the Kindle was exactly what QES could deliver.

"The project was a natural fit for QES. We have been delivering end-to-end wireless data services for almost 20 years," said Susan Hennenfent, Senior Director of Product Development for QES. "Our expertise allows our customers to focus on their businesses while we do what we do best."

The Kindle is an eBook device with an electronic-paper display that provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper. It is lighter and thinner than a typical paperback, weighing only 10.3 ounces, and with the capacity to hold more than 200 titles.

Just as with CardioNet, QES' QConnect service also provides the back-end infrastructure and network management service for the Kindle. The service, called Whispernet, enables the device to wirelessly and seamlessly connect to Amazon's store front.

The Kindle made it to the cover of Newsweek.
While the Kindle isn't the only electronic book on the market, it is the first to combine the benefits of such devices together with this wireless connectivity that enables users to shop for content directly, wherever they are, and get a book within a minute.

The device also uses QCT's Mobile Station Modem (MSM) chipset, which enables users to get online without having to locate hotspots, and no PC or syncing is needed. In addition, the chipset allows power-saving so that with the wireless on, the Kindle needs recharging approximately every other day. With wireless off, users can read for a week or more before recharging.

In collaboration with QCT, QES also leveraged its experience in robust data management to ensure that when a customer purchases a book, they get it.

"We took the interfaces of a standard QCT offering and utilized the diagnostic mode interface to allow us to monitor the device's interaction with the wireless network," said Jeff Vosburg, Director of Operations for QES. "This means we can log these interactions on a server and troubleshoot any network or device issues - making sure the purchase gets through and the product gets delivered."

In partnership with QES, Corporate R&D, Corporate Product Security and the Office of the CTO played a key role in the project, designing a security model and a new mode of Mobile Station Modem operation for the device. Corporate IT was instrumental in the service delivery. The group built new servers and connectivity to enable Whispernet, and worked with Sprint to leverage the existing QES private, secure network. As a result Kindle users cannot get online without being routed through Qualcomm's QES network operations center and Amazon.

The project marks QES' first Business to Business to Consumers "B2B2C" engagement, making it a very exciting project for the team to work on.

"It's been an incredible project to be involved with and we love the fact that the Kindle is so successful," Jeff said. "It's such an engaging product, and seeing something that we had a hand in developing on the cover of Newsweek - well, there's no thrill like it."

QES will continue to work with Amazon to deliver the Whispernet wireless experience as next generation devices are developed.

"Amazon's vision was to deliver to its customers an invisible, almost 'magic' service through which they could buy a book and be reading it a minute or two later," Jeff said. "Qualcomm's expertise is helping them to deliver on that vision."
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