Aug 28
Amazon’s got something cooking. First, we saw a huge fire sale on Kindle Fires
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Jun 07
Amazon’s Kindle comes to China: Paperwhite for $138, Fire HD for $244 (16GB) or $293 (32GB)
Posted in: Today's Chili
Amazon launched its Kindle e-book platform into China last Christmas, but locals looking to get their mitts on the company’s hardware had to look, ahem, elsewhere. Fortunately for everyone but grey market importers, Amazon has released the non-cellular Paperwhite and the two 7-inch Kindle Fire HD tablets to the nation. Our colleagues over at Engadget Chinese have added that as well as being able to buy the devices from Amazon’s local site, users will be able to pick up the units at Suning and Shi Tesco stores across the mainland. The Paperwhite is marked up at 849 yuan ($138), with the Kindle Fire priced at 1499 yuan ($244) for the 16GB edition and 1799 yuan ($293) for 32GB.
Via: Engadget Chinese (Translated)
Source: Amazon China (Translated)
Apr 02
The Raspberry Pi is all about low-cost computing, which makes this particular hack quite fitting, as it allows you to make a terminal for your lil’ Linux machine out of something you may already have at home: a Kindle Paperwhite. Displeased with the glare from his laptop’s screen on a sunny day, Max Ogden was inspired to find something better and ended up with this Paperwhite hack. It builds on the original “Kindleberry Pi” method for the Kindle Keyboard, although Ogden had to massage it for the newer model and added some extra hardware to make the setup as wireless as possible. You wouldn’t call the end result a monitor, as such — the Paperwhite logs into an SSH session running on the Pi, so it “pretty much only works for terminals.” That’s probably for the best, as Ogden guesses the lag between wireless keyboard and e-ink screen is around 200ms, but at least it has portability, battery life and sunlight readability in the ‘pros’ column. Details of the project can be found at the source below, meaning only time (and probably, a few peripherals) stands between you and the ultimate hipster coffee shop machine.
Filed under: Misc, Software, Amazon
Via: Raspberry Pi
Source: Max Ogden
Jan 23
Amazon’s new Kindles now available in Canada, Paperwhite starting at CAD $139
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Despite being our neighbors to the north, Canadians have had to sit patiently and wait for Amazon’s refreshed line of e-readers to make their way to retail — even the UK’s had access to the E Ink slates. Now, just over five months later, the Paperwhite and latest generation Kindle will finally be available for purchase on Amazon.ca and at select retailers. For CAD $199, customers can choose between the top-of-the-line 3G Paperwhite and the WiFi-only model for $139, or opt for the low-end with the $89 latest gen Kindle. Support for French-language (Bonjour, Quebec!) is also included in the hardware, as well as direct access to the Canadian Kindle store. So, if you’ve been holding out hope that Bezos’ latest e-reading trio would arrive in the Great White North, well, now’s the time to submit your orders.
Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Now Available on Amazon.ca
Kindle Paperwhite, the most advanced e-reader ever constructed with higher resolution, 62% more pixels, 25% higher-contrast, patented built-in front light, 8 weeks of battery life and an even slimmer and sleeker design-only CAD$139
Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi + 3G-the top-of-the-line Kindle with free 3G wireless-only CAD$199
Latest generation Kindle-small, light and even faster-only CAD$89
Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite also available at over a thousand retail locations, including Staples, The Source and Shoppers Drug Mart
Canada Kindle Store on Amazon.ca offers the largest selection of the most popular books, including the most best sellers from the Globe and Mail and Le Devoir best seller lists, winners of the Giller prize, and over 50,000 French-language titles
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 23, 2013– (NASDAQ:AMZN)-Amazon.ca today announced that the new family of Kindle e-readers is now available to customers in Canada. The all-new top-of-the-line Kindle Paperwhite is the most advanced e-reader ever built with 62% more pixels and 25% increased contrast compared to the previous generation Kindle, a patented built-in front light for reading in all lighting conditions, up to 8 weeks of battery life, a thin and light design, and is available in both Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + 3G models. Never pay for or hunt for a Wi-Fi hotspot with the free 3G wireless Kindle Paperwhite for just CAD$199 or choose Kindle Paperwhite with Wi-Fi for only CAD$139. The new latest generation Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle ever, with new, improved fonts and faster page turns at the low price of CAD$89. Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi + 3G support multiple languages, including French, and are available starting today at www.amazon.ca/kindlepaperwhite.
In addition, Canadian customers can now access the Canada Kindle Store directly from their Kindle. The Kindle Store offers the largest selection of the most popular books, including the most best sellers from the Globe and Mail and Le Devoir best seller lists, winners of the Giller prize, and a broad selection of works from leading Canadian publishers and authors, including Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro and Yann Martel. The Canada Kindle Store has over 1.5 million Kindle books, including over 250,000 exclusive books customers won’t find anywhere else, over 35,000 free books, and over 50,000 French-language titles. Visit www.amazon.ca/kindlebooks for more information. All Kindle books are “Buy Once, Read Everywhere”-customers can read their Kindle books on Kindle devices and on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android and Windows phones and Android tablets using the free Kindle apps.
“We’re excited to make the best-selling and most advanced e-readers in the world available to our Amazon.ca customers for the first time, making it easier and more affordable than ever for Canadian readers to own a Kindle,” said Dave Limp, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “With a Kindle in their hands, Canadian customers can now directly access the Kindle Store with the largest selection of the books people want to read, including the largest selection of best sellers and over 250,000 titles that are exclusive to the Kindle Store.”
“E-readers have found their place in today’s digital lifestyle by providing users with a unique reading experience,” said Mark Shanahan, senior technology merchant at Staples Canada. “Our goal is to help people choose a device that’s right for them by offering a broad selection of popular e-readers like the Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite in one convenient place, making it easy for customers to see, touch, and try the product.”
Kindle Paperwhite-The World’s Most Advanced E-Reader
Most Advanced E-Reader Display, 62% More Pixels, 25% More Contrast
Kindle Paperwhite’s display is the most advanced e-reader display ever constructed. Featuring a 212 ppi display, Kindle Paperwhite has 62% more pixels than the previous generation Kindle, making text in books and periodicals crisp and clear at any size. Images are sharper, richer and show even more detail. Kindle Paperwhite’s screen has 25% higher contrast than the previous generation Kindle- the blacks are blacker, and the whites are whiter.
Innovative Built-In Light
Backlit LCD displays direct light up through the display into the user’s eyes. Kindle Paperwhite’s patented front-lit display guides light underneath an anti-glare layer and down toward the display, away from the reader’s eyes. This means a reader can read for hours with less eye fatigue and strain. The screen brightness is easily adjusted for reading in any light. The Paperwhite display provides an incredible experience in the dark and in direct sunlight.
Breakthrough Battery Life
Kindle Paperwhite’s built-in front light is designed to be used at all times-both in daylight and in a dark room-for the clearest, crispest reading experience. In order to use the light at all times, Kindle Paperwhite requires exceptional power management to maintain the battery life that customers love about Kindle. Amazon’s light guide technology precisely diffuses the light across the screen and only requires four LEDs to light the entire screen (unlike LCD screens which can use up to 50 LEDs). The light guide is so efficient that Kindle Paperwhite has a remarkable 8 weeks of battery life, even with the light on at all times.
Free 3G
Kindle’s free 3G connection means customers never have to hunt for or pay for a Wi-Fi hotspot-they simply download and read books anytime, anywhere. Amazon pays for the 3G connection on Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi + 3G, so customers pay no monthly fees and sign no annual contracts.
Built-In Wi-Fi
Kindle Paperwhite comes with built-in Wi-Fi, letting readers discover new content at home or on the road anywhere you can access Wi-Fi.
Books in 60 Seconds
Find a book and start reading in seconds with our fast, free wireless delivery. No computer required to download content.
New Touch Technology
Kindle Paperwhite’s new capacitive touch technology is uniquely integrated into the Paperwhite display, allowing for a thinner form factor for Kindle Paperwhite and even better touch accuracy.
Slim and Sleek Design
At just over a third of an inch thin and weighing 213 grams, Kindle Paperwhite is thinner than a magazine and weighs less than a typical paperback. The bezel height between the side of the device and the display itself is 77% thinner.
Hand-Tuned Fonts
Every font on Kindle Paperwhite is hand-tuned for maximum readability. The Amazon typography team worked at the pixel level to ensure consistency of stroke thickness and shape profiles across all individual glyphs, aligning each size to the specific grid of the new Paperwhite display. This allows for unprecedented sharpness of fonts. Kindle Paperwhite’s higher resolution display also allows for new elegant typeface options, such as Baskerville and Palatino, which use thin stems that would not render well on a lower resolution display.
“Buy Once, Read Everywhere”
With free reading apps, customers can read their Kindle books on a large number of devices and platforms, including any Kindle as well as on iPhone, iPad, Android devices, Mac, PC, or Windows Phone.
Whispersync
Amazon’s Whispersync technology synchronizes a customer’s last page read, bookmarks and annotations across all of their devices, so they can always pick up where they left off.
Time to Read
Time to Read is a new feature for Kindle Paperwhite that helps readers know the amount of time it will take them to finish a chapter or a book. This feature is smart-it personalizes the time for each customer based on their reading speed and is constantly updated as the reader’s speed and habits change. With Time to Read, it’s never been easier to decide when to start a new chapter or finish the chapter you’re reading.
Explore the “Bones of a Book” with X-Ray
With a single tap, readers can see all passages across a book that mention ideas, fictional characters, historical figures, places or topics that interest them, as well as more detailed descriptions from Wikipedia and Shelfari, Amazon’s community-powered encyclopedia for book lovers. Amazon built X-Ray using its expertise in language processing and machine learning, access to significant storage and computing resources with Amazon S3 and EC2, and a deep library of book and character information.
Features Built Just for Readers
Each Kindle offers a variety of font styles and sizes, so customers can easily customize their reading experience. Kindle Paperwhite also comes with built-in dictionaries for instant lookup of words, Real Page Numbers, support for bookmarks and annotations, and more.
Worry-Free Cloud Storage
Customers’ Kindle books are automatically backed up in the cloud, so they can re-download their books wirelessly for free.
Sharing
Customers can share highlighted sections, notes and meaningful quotes on Facebook and Twitter directly from Kindle without leaving the book.
Parental Controls
Parental Controls allow parents to restrict access to the Kindle Store, Cloud Archive and the Experimental Web Browser so they can give their Kindle to a child worry-free.
Top-Rated, World-Class Customer Service
Whenever customers shop on Amazon, buy a Kindle, or buy Kindle content, they know that they are also getting Amazon’s world-class customer service. Customers have been shopping on Amazon.ca for 11 years, and they continue to do so because of the unparalleled, end-to-end customer experience.
Beautiful Leather Covers with Auto Wake and Sleep
Covers for Kindle Paperwhite feature a premium textured leather exterior and a subtle woven nylon interior to provide the lightest and thinnest form of protection. The integrated magnetic clasp ensures the cover remains securely closed while in a backpack, purse, or briefcase. The cover automatically wakes Kindle Paperwhite upon opening and puts it to sleep when closed, making it easy to dive right back into the book.
Latest Generation Kindle-Small, Light and Now Even Faster-only CAD$89
The smallest, lightest and most affordable Kindle ever is even better, with new improved fonts, 15% faster page turns and a new, unbelievably low price: just CAD$89. In addition, the new Kindle now supports children’s books and comics, and includes new parental controls. Weighing just 170 grams, Kindle is small and light enough to fit easily in a pocket and take everywhere, and still features the same 6-inch electronic ink display that reads like real paper. At just CAD$89, the new Kindle is the perfect entry Kindle for young and adult readers alike.
Kindle Direct Publishing
Independent authors and publishers can make their books available in the Canada Kindle Store using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) at http://kdp.amazon.ca. Canadian independent authors and publishers can utilize the English- or French-language KDP website to make their books available in Canada and more than 175 countries worldwide. They can also price their books and receive payments in Canadian dollars, earn up to 70% royalties on each book sold, all while retaining control of their content and copyrights.
Thousands of authors in Canada are already using KDP to make their books available in Kindle stores around the world, including Montreal resident Matthew Mather, the best-selling KDP author of the Complete Atopia Chronicles.
“My experience self-publishing with KDP has been nothing short of amazing,” said Matthew Mather. “Within weeks of publishing, my book climbed to #1 on the science fiction best sellers list, and now I’ve sold tens of thousands of copies. I’ve just finished my second novel, “CyberStorm,” and look forward to the idea of writing for a living, something I hadn’t imagined possible just six months ago. The best part, though, has been the interaction with readers. I get emails from every corner of the world, contacting me to say how much they liked my work. This is an amazing feeling!”
Pricing & Availability
The Kindle family is available at Amazon.ca and at over 1,000 retail locations across Canada.
Kindle is available for CAD$89 at www.amazon.ca/kindle.
Kindle Paperwhite is available for CAD$139 at www.amazon.ca/kindlepaperwhite.
Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi + 3G is available for CAD$199 at www.amazon.ca/kindlepaperwhite3G.
Filed under: Amazon
Source: Amazon.ca
Oct 26
The Engadget Show 37: Halloween Spooktacular with Wayne Coyne, movie monsters and ghost hunting!
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Welcome boys and ghouls, to a very spooky episode of The Engadget Show. We’ve got plenty of tricks and treats for you in this Halloweentastic October episode. We kick things off with a trip to Oklahoma City, to the home of Flaming Lips frontman, Wayne Coyne, who talks Parking Lot Experiments, Halloween displays and why if your phone screen isn’t broken, you aren’t living your life. Next up, we’ll show you all the necessary tools for a proper ghost hunt, with a little help from author Mary Roach, Ghost Hunters‘ Adam Berry and the crew of the Central NY Ghost Hunters.
In Vermont, we have a conversation with robot head Bina48 to find out what it really means to be alive and we travel to Los Angeles to talk to movie makeup Wizard Kevin Yagher and the costume experts at Global Effects Inc. And when the Engadget Van breaks down outside of an electronics store, it’s up to Tim, Brian and rock band, Free Energy, to solve a very spooky mystery.
All that plus a new Ask @hodgman and a gadget table featuring the new iPod touch, Kindle Paperwhite and Galaxy Note II from Dapper Cadaver, our favorite place to buy prop corpses in the Southern California area. Jump on in after the break — if you dare!
Gallery: The Engadget Show 37: Ghost Hunt
Gallery: The Engadget Show 37: Bina48
Gallery: The Engadget Show 37: Global Effects
Hosts: Brian Heater, Jordan Morris, Tim Stevens
Guests: Wayne Coyne, Mary Roach, Kevin Yagher, Adam Berry, Chris Gilman, Jesse Thorn, John Hodgman, Bruce Duncan, Stacey Jones, BJ Winslow
Musical Guest: Free Energy
Producer: Ben Harrison
Executive Producers: Brian Heater, Joshua Fruhlinger
Download the Show: The Engadget Show – 037 (HD) / The Engadget Show – 037 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) / The Engadget Show – 037 (Small)
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The Engadget Show 37: Halloween Spooktacular with Wayne Coyne, movie monsters and ghost hunting! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oct 25
New Kindles start shipping today in Europe, Lovefilm launches on Kindle Fire
Posted in: Today's Chili 
As promised, Amazon has started shipping its latest Kindles on the other side of the Atlantic, with the Kindle Paperwhite as well as the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD making the trip. Amazon’s branded video services did not make the trip, so Lovefilm is filling in, offering a free month to buyers of either Fire tablet. Despite the switch in names, the Kindle Fire / Fire HD Lovefilm app will support features owners have gotten used to in the US like Whispersync pause / resume across devices, watch list and X-Ray for Movies that brings in extra info about any actors or scenes that are being watched. The Kindle Fire 8GB is available for £129/€159, while the Fire HD in 16GB or 32GB editions costs £159/€199 and £199/€249, respectively. The Kindle Paperwhite isn’t invited to the video party, but it starts at £109 for the basic model or £169 with 3G.
Continue reading New Kindles start shipping today in Europe, Lovefilm launches on Kindle Fire
Filed under: Tablets, HD, Amazon
New Kindles start shipping today in Europe, Lovefilm launches on Kindle Fire originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 04:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oct 12
Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite coming to the UK on October 25th, starting at £109
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Amazon has found a relatively clear day in the calendar on which to launch its excellent Kindle Paperwhite e-reader in the British Isles. The ad-supported basic model will knock you back £109, while an extra £60 will get you the 3G version. Amazon’s Lending Library service will roll-out at the same time, offering Prime members free loans from a collection of 200,000 books as part of the £49 per year subscription (which also has other perks). If you’re shopping around, don’t forget that Barnes & Noble’s equally glowing alternative is also available in the UK these days, wearing a pretty much identical price tag.
Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite coming to the UK on October 25th, starting at £109 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 05:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Oct 12
Bezos: Amazon breaks even on Kindle devices, not trying to make money on hardware
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Amazon makes a pretty good case for its Kindle Fire HD and Paperwhite with prices as low as $199 and $119 respectively, but it turns out there’s more at work than just special offers to keep them affordable. In an interview with the BBC, the company’s head honcho Jeff Bezos revealed that they can keep the price tags reasonable since they don’t turn a profit on the devices. “Basically, we sell the hardware at our cost, so it is break even on the hardware,” Bezos said. “We’re not trying to make money on the hardware.” Instead, Amazon banks on making a buck when owners of the slates and e-readers purchase books, movies, games and other content through their digital storefront. This doesn’t exactly come as a surprise, but we’re glad that Jeff’s confirmed our suspicions.
Bezos: Amazon breaks even on Kindle devices, not trying to make money on hardware originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 03:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oct 05
If you’re an avid tinkerer who managed to secure a Kindle Paperwhite before they sold out, then we have some news that may well brighten up your day. A jailbreak based off of the hack for the Kindle Touch has been developed for Amazon’s new e-reader and is now available for fearless Paperwhite owners. If you’re up to the task, your bravery will award you some elite features which include: using your device as a weather station display and serial terminal access with Raspberry Pi systems. If all of this sounds like a fun weekend project waiting to happen, head on over to source link for step by step instructions.
Filed under: Amazon
Kindle Paperwhite gets its own jailbreak, E Ink spews everywhere originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oct 03
Amazon apparently underestimated the success of its newest e-reader. The company just updated its shipping estimate, pushing back the delivery date to four to six weeks after ordering. Both models, with or without 3G, are experiencing the same delay. And it’s no surprise — the device is more than an incremental improvement.
With a new lighting system, a screen with a higher resolution and a more responsive touch interface, the Kindle Paperwhite has enough new features to convince new buyers as well as existing Kindle owners. After using the device for a few days, our own John Biggs qualified it as a reader’s dream.
Yet, one of the major improvement over past Kindle models is that the screen is now a traditional, more responsive capacitive touch screen instead of an infrared-based screen. Navigating the interface or even just turning a page is therefore much quicker.
Amazon now refines its e-reader flagship device every year in order to integrate the latest E Ink technologies while perfecting the overall user experience. While the Kindle Touch was the first touch-based Kindle, it was very slow for many users who opted for the simpler and cheaper Kindle model with traditional buttons.
With the new screen and the notable improvements in responsiveness, customers seem to have responded unambiguously. Even though Amazon’s supply chain isn’t as efficient as other successful companies, such as Apple, the shipping estimate news should be considered a good sign for the Kindle ecosystem. If Amazon’s success continues with its e-readers, the company should stay committed to the e-book space.
[via Me and My Kindle]
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