New Kindle – same only different
Amazon announced a new kindle, available from the end of August. Some nice improvements, but it’s sticking to what it does (best?). Truth be told, we’re slowly becoming a kindle household – the nine y.o. want one of her own now – so the improvements seem worthwhile. Particularly keen to see if the webkit-based browser makes the web usable. Now just got to see if the wifi only device will cut it with the kid 🙂
From Technologizer:
The new model is 21 percent smaller and 15 percent lighter than its predecessor (at 8.7 ounces, its weight is almost two-thirds lighter than the iPad);
Same 6″ E-Ink monochrome screen as before, but with 20 percent faster refresh rate and better contrast;
Ten days of battery life with 3G on, a month with it turned off;
4GB of storage space for books, versus 2GB in the past;
Both graphite (like the new Kindle DX) and white versions;
Slightly revised keyboard and controls;
New WebKit-based browser;
$189 model with free 3G access; $139 model with Wi-Fi (both prices undercutting roughly comparable Barnes & Noble Nooks by $10).
Amazon’s strategy is as sensible as any I can think of for the Kindle–make it more like a book and even less like an iPad, thereby catering to all the folks who want the equivalent of a (relatively) cheap, highly portable digital paperback rather than the costlier do-it-all device that is Apple’s tablet
The Book is Dead 
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