Kindle Scribe – New Version To Have Stylus?

August 22, 2011 By 1 Comment

Kindle Scribe

We have always done all kinds of Kindle reviews here on our site about what products are available, but today we have a very interesting an juicy piece of gossip about the newest versions of the device that could be coming out soon. It appears that the new version, or at least one model (there may be two or more coming out), will be called the Kindle Scribe. This is because Amazon just registered this domain, likely in anticipation of a new device coming soon. So what does that mean for us as users?

First, I think that I agree with many of the folks out there making guesses – this likely means that this new Kindle Scribe device will come with a stylus!

I think that is great and a very cool idea. How awesome would it be to be able to easily scribble notes in the margin of a Kindle book just like you would a paper book? This would just bring the reading experience that much closer to the typical paper book experience.

Kindle scribeOf course, styluses are not without their downfalls. You do have to make sur eyou keep up with them. However, I think it is still a great improvement and something that I would certainly welcome.

No offical word from the company yet about what this might look like or when it might go for sale (or even if it exists). However, most expect that the newest models will come out sometime before the end of the year in order to beat the holiday season.

So, will you consider buying a Kindle Scribe? Let us know in the comments!

[Connotea] [del.icio.us] [Digg] [diigo] [Facebook] [Google] [Reddit] [StumbleUpon] [Twitter] More »
Filed Under: Kindle Reader Tagged With: , ,

Amazon Dumps Duplicate Kindle Books

August 15, 2011 By 3 Comments

Kindle review news  – If you have searched the Kindle store over the past year or so, you may have seen lots of titles that were the same or almost the same that were out there. These books are known as “PLR” ebooks. PLR stands for private label rights, and it basically means that the purchaser has the right to put their name on a title and re-publish it as their own.

Many marketers, looking for a quick way to make a little cash, were putting these books up in the Kindle store. At one time, it was allowed, so there were folks out there selling training courses on how to do it.

However, Amazon just brought down the hammer on these folks. No more of what they called “undifferentiated” material. In a statement sent to many of the people who had these books on the shelves in the Kindle store, they said thy dropped them because they felt it took away from the experience of Kindle users.

I think they are probably right in this, and I must say that I am glad that this practice has stopped. I think it could have eventually really junked up the book selection from Amazon. Fortunately, this is not simply Amazon cracking down on authors, as some may have thought when this happened. It is really more the opposite – allowing original authorship to be the hallmark of the books offered.

[Connotea] [del.icio.us] [Digg] [diigo] [Facebook] [Google] [Reddit] [StumbleUpon] [Twitter] More »
Filed Under: Kindle Books Tagged With: ,

Amazon Android Tablet Coming Soon?

July 8, 2011 By 2 Comments

While this is a Kindle review site, I could not help but take a few minutes away from our usual Kindle review agenda to talk about what is coming around the bend at Amazon, something that they may be considering selling as an alternative to the Kindle – an Amazon Android Tablet. It is almost certainly coming, and some have even suggested that might be a complete replacement! I certainly hope not, nor do I think that is the case.

The rumor going around is that an Amazon Android Tablet will be coming out sometime around the holidays in 2011. Amazon has not come out and said it outright, but they have not denied it, either. When asked about it, Amazon’s CEO said, and I quote, “Stay tuned.” That is pretty much an acknowledgement that it is on the way in the near future.

It makes sense when you think about it. First, Amazon moved into selling cell phones and cell phone service through Amazon Wireless, so they have the capacity to offer the wireless service for these devices. Second, the Amazon app sotre recently came out that offered a little more of a hint that they are big fans of the Android operating system. An Amaon Android Tablet is certainly likely on the way.

But what does this mean for the Kindle? There are rumors that this new tablet will have a way to switch the screen to some kind of black and white mode that is easier on the eyes than a regular tablet. However, I just don’t see this as beinga  replacement for the Kindle. Why?

1. The Kindle is doing too well on its own. Why would Amazon want to change that?
2. There is no way that an LED screen, no matter what mode it is in, will ever be able to compete with the readability and easy-on-the-eyes-edness (yes, I just made up a word. That’s how much I love the Kindle screen!) of the e-ink screen of the Kindle. Since this is a huge selling point, Amazon will not want to give that up.
3. Amazon already sells Android tablets, and they do not seem to hurt Kindle sales, so adding their own tablet to the market alongside the Kindle makes more sense than umping the Kindle altogether.

So, Kindle owners, don’t fret – I still think the Kindle will still be around and will thrive for a long time to come!

[Connotea] [del.icio.us] [Digg] [diigo] [Facebook] [Google] [Reddit] [StumbleUpon] [Twitter] More »
Filed Under: Kindle Reader Tagged With: , , ,

Kindle Review – Kindle Is For Girls?

July 5, 2011 By 4 Comments

Is the Kindle just for girls? An interesting study on the sales of the Kindle just came out, showing that women are about 63% more likely buy a Kindle than men! As a male who owns and loves a Kindle, I found this interesting and a bit unusual!

It should be noted, this same study revealed the trend that we have discussed for a while – that e-reader sales are up and continue to go up despite a poor economy. That means that both men and women both are using the Kindle more often these days, which is good news for the industry.

At any rate, I found it unusual to hear that the Kindle has so many more female users. I know that the demographic of this site is heavily female, so I guess I could have inferred it, but what is causing this gender discrepancy?

I think there are a couple of things that might be at work here -

1. It is more acceptable for women to walk around with a book to read to restaurants, public places, etc. People do not expect men to do the same, right or wrong. I also wonder if men are less comfortable carrying a Kindle around in public compared to women in general. If so, this might be keeping some men from making a purchase.
2. In our culture, other studies have shown that men read less than women overall. A recent study showed that women are 80% of the audience for fiction books, and yet another study showed that women read three times as many books in a lifetime than men do overall.

Now, those are just complete guesses on my part. I would have thought that men’s overall penchant for gadgets in our culture would have trumped the fact that less men read and would have made the numbers a little more even. The same study did show that more men have iPads than women, which would support that idea, but still, the numbers here are overwhelming!

What do you think? I would love to hear your thoughts on this! Are you a male like me who owns a Kindle? I would especially like to hear from you what you think is causing this gender difference. Let us know in the comments!

Regardless what gender difference might exist, Kindle sales are still going up!

Brought to you today by the folks here at KindleOwners.com, your favorite Kindle Review site!

[Connotea] [del.icio.us] [Digg] [diigo] [Facebook] [Google] [Reddit] [StumbleUpon] [Twitter] More »
Filed Under: Kindle Reader Tagged With: ,

Kindle Gifts For Father’s Day?

June 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Kindle Review – Father’s Day is coming up in two weeks, and many of you may be scratching your head to figure out what to get. If your dad is like mine, he pretty much goes out and gets whatever he wants, and he does not talk much about anything else that he does not need. Sound familiar?

My dad is a reader, and he also likes gadgets. If your dad is like that, what better gift than a Kindle for Father’s Day! This can be a great for a few reasons -

  • The Kindle is easy on the eyes and does not have a lot of glare.
  • The Kindle is easy to use and navigate.
  • It offers you a chance to share books with one another (legally of course, don’t try to cheat Amazon).
  • The text can be re-sized if your dad has any trouble seeing.
  • It has lots of older, free books available. Maybe even some of his old favorites!
  • If your dad is retired and/or likes to travel, it is much easier to carry around than a stack of regular books.

You can bet that this is a Father’s Day gift that will definitely keep on giving! He can use it for years to come!

Kindle Accessories for Father’s Day

If your dad is ahead of the game and already has a Kindle, there are plenty of great accessories that might enhance his reading experience. Here are a few ideas -

  • Kindle Light – we recommend the Kandle, which you can read about at our review of this Kindle Light. It is an easy clip on light designed just for the Kindle that will make it easy for your dad to read the Kindle in low light or even darkness. (It actually reminds me of those lights that used to sell for the Game Boy back in the day. Remember those? Now I am dating myself!)
  • Waterproof Kindle Case – A cover is an absolute must for a Kindle, and even if your dad is not a klutz, we all drop things or spill things now and then. I personally recommend getting a waterproof case for your dad’s Kindle if you are thinking about getting them. Check out our review of those here!
  • Kindle Books – Know a book he has been wanting to read? You can actually buy books for a Kindle owner which they can redeem! All you have to do is put their email address in as the recipient, and they will be able to access the book.
  • Kindle Gift Cards – Don’t know what to get your dad, or you know he wants some books? Get him a Kindle gift card! These are a great way to let him pick out what he wants.

These are just a few ideas to get you started! I guarantee whether you get your dad his first Kindle or if you buy him some accessories for the Kindle he already owns, I know he will love it!

If you have any great Kindle Father’s Day gift ideas, please share by letting me know in the comments!

Brought to you by KindleOwners.com, your favorite Kindle Review site.

[Connotea] [del.icio.us] [Digg] [diigo] [Facebook] [Google] [Reddit] [StumbleUpon] [Twitter] More »
Filed Under: Kindle Reader Tagged With: , , ,

Free Kindle From Hotels.com – Seriously!

June 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Kindle Review – Ok, so my wife is always fighting me to use my Kindle, and I have been planning to get her one soon so we don’t haggle over it all the time. As we were driving the other day, I heard a commercial that I didn’t believe at first – Hotels.com was offering a free Kindle!

I have been a long time Hotels.com user and have been happy with them, so I decided to do a little checking, and sure enough – you can get a free Kindle by booking through Hotels.com. This is not a drawing; they are actually giving out a Kindle to everyone who meets the requirements. Best I can tell from reading about the promotion, you can get that Kindle by doing the following -

  1. Stay 3+ nights
  2. The night must be consecutive (and I assume at the same hotel, but this was not totally clear)
  3. Spend at least $450 total during your stay for the hotel (have you tried getting a decent room lately? $450 is easy to spend)
  4. Don’t apply any other discounts or offers to the deal.
  5. Make sure you enter the coupon code Bookworm when you sign up.

I did not see exactly which Kindle they were giving away, but I assume it is the $114 version. But hey, it’s summertime! If you were already planning to go on vacation, why not get a free Kindle out of it too! Click Here To Check It Out!

PS. One more thing – it looks like this is only for US residents. So for my friends across the pond and around the world, sorry!

Brought to you by KindleOwners.com – your favorite Kindle review site!

[Connotea] [del.icio.us] [Digg] [diigo] [Facebook] [Google] [Reddit] [StumbleUpon] [Twitter] More »
Filed Under: Kindle Giveaways Tagged With: , ,

Kindle Review On Facebook

May 12, 2011 By 2 Comments

Kindle Review on Facebook

Facebook has become so much more than a friendship network and this is evident in fan pages dedicated to products like Amazon’s Kindle. Establishing a network with people who own a common product has a wide range of perks and Kindle aficionados might want to think about taking advantage of these.

Who is on the page?

The fan page is populated by people who are interested in Kindle and use it to share their concerns and information with like-minded people.

How regular is fan activity?

The Kindle page has a daily stream of new posts from a broad array of people, ranging from those who have troubleshooting problems to those who are trying to advertise their books. Many people are hesitant to join fan pages because they often lead to dead-ends, but this is not the case on the Kindle page. The steady flow of new posts ensures that you stay up to date with new info regarding the handheld reader.

Follow the rules

The fan page has some rules and administrators are quite strict when it comes to enforcing these. The largest group of offenders is authors desperate to promote their e-books. There are very specific limits when it comes to promotional posting on the site. If you join the site, you should be wary of transgressing these rules to avoid being blocked. There are few things as annoying as promotional messages covering up helpful posts by people who actually want to interact.

Be on the lookout for giveaways

Every so often a member of the group will host a competition and giveaway a Kindle product. This is normally done to promote an e-book, but the prizes are real and many people have walked away with brand new Kindles.

Helping you find the right Kindle

The fan page features a host of reviews and articles aimed at assisting prospective Kindle owners to choose the product which is best suited to their needs. The comprehensive list of links to Kindle related topics is also very helpful if you have headaches choosing the product most compatible to you.

Helping current Kindle owners

The articles are not only limited to reviews and there are also various pieces which give advice to current Kindle owners. If the articles fail to provide answers to your pressing concerns then you can just post a question onto the wall and wait for a response. The community will undoubtedly respond to you within a few days at most.

[Connotea] [del.icio.us] [Digg] [diigo] [Facebook] [Google] [Reddit] [StumbleUpon] [Twitter] More »
Filed Under: Kindle Reader Tagged With: , ,

Project Gutenberg becomes Kindle Compatible

April 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

One of the best things about copyright law is that it expires 50 years after the author has passed away. This means that all the great classics that were written a few decades ago can be distributed without paying heed to the stringent restrictions of copyright law. Project Gutenberg has steadily been compiling electronic versions of books which are no longer bound by copyright restrictions and the website has recently provided these books in the Kindle format.

So which titles are free?

The project Gutenberg website has over 29 000 titles which can be downloaded directly onto your Kindle. You can easily peruse the available e-books by searching an author’s name or entering the title of a specific book that you want.

Is it legal?

Movie and music piracy has illustrated that most people do not care about the legality of stealing digitalized forms of art, but there are still some people who have reserves about any type of theft. The few law-abiding citizens within the extensive internet community should rest assured that websites like Project Gutenberg remain within the strict bounds of the law and you can therefore engage in guilt-free downloading.

How does the law work?

Books are only protected by copyright law until 50 years after the author’s death. Any book that is older than this can be distributed freely by any publisher. Classic novels have always been more affordable than their contemporary counterparts because the overhead of royalties has been eliminated.

Does Amazon have any free titles?

You can download numerous free titles directly from the Amazon website if you would prefer this. The reliability of the Amazon system might make this a better option, but if you can’t find the title you are looking for, then you should definitely refer to Gutenberg catalogue of free e-books.

Which free E-books are good?

The literary canon has been constructed over centuries to ensure that best books are retained within the culture and not forgotten. Generally, if a book forms part of the canon, it will have a great deal of literary merit, but this does not necessarily mean that you will like it. The wide array of classic books means that you will have to do some research and decide what it is that you would like to read. Joyce might appeal to some people, but the avid Danielle Steele reader will probably become lost under the layered cross referencing of the Irish genius. Instead of spending hours perusing the shelves of a bookstore, find a free e-book and enjoy something that is regarded aesthetically important enough to be retained within our culture.

[Connotea] [del.icio.us] [Digg] [diigo] [Facebook] [Google] [Reddit] [StumbleUpon] [Twitter] More »
Filed Under: Kindle Books Tagged With: , , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »