Hasta La Gadget!

Amazon got the world’s attention when it announced a $279 International version of its heralded Kindle, but if you thought you’d be able to roam globally and really put it to AT&T, think again. Wired has noticed that the fine print explains that accessing blogs and the experimental web browser won’t be allowed overseas, though even Americans are cautioned against using the Kindle’s browser unless smoke signals and morse code have already failed you. In related news, all International Kindles will ship with US power plugs from a US warehouse, so folks in Europe will need to factor in import fees as well as some sort of power adapter. Ah well, at least you guys get universal healthcare.

Filed under: Displays, Handhelds

International Kindle won’t let you use terrible web browser overseas originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We had a sneaking suspicion that it was too good to be true, and now Plastic Logic has stepped forward to officially kill our pipe dreams. Just days ago, the web was set ablaze when a Barnes & Noble representative mistakenly (or deliberately, for all we know) stated that a Plastic Logic-sourced color e-reader was on track for a Spring 2010 release. Today, the aforesaid outfit has stated that the video report was “inaccurate and the individual (who was apparently filmed while attending a trade show was not an authorized Barnes & Noble spokesperson) was misinformed.” Continuing on, we’re told that while “color is on Plastic Logic’s roadmap, it is not on the map for the Spring of 2010.” Welp, that settles that… unfortunately.

[Thanks, Charlie]

Filed under: Displays, Handhelds

Plastic Logic deflates dreams, denies Spring 2010 release for color e-reader originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Funny thing going on in the marketplace right now: reading for pleasure is on a rapid decline yet the choice of e-reader devices grows weekly. That’s good news for those of us not spending our down-time in front of a television, mouth agape — awkward for manufacturers testing the waters of this unproven niche. LG’s showing off its Solar Cell e-Book reader anyway, in a bid to flex its thin-film solar muscle. The prototype features an energy conversion efficiency of about 9.6 percent giving it an extra day’s worth of power for that 6-inch TFT-LCD after about four to five hours in the sun. LG is working towards boosting its thin-film solar cell energy conversion efficiency rate to 12% by 2010 on up to 14% by 2012. We say bring it LG, if you can.

[Via OLED-Display]

Filed under: Handhelds

LG’s Solar Cell e-Book goes an extra day for every 5 hours of sunlight originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We can’t say that we never saw this day coming, but we definitely didn’t it see it coming today. After months of forcing us to twiddle our thumbs (and a good bit of pressure from other e-reader players), Amazon has finally taken the Kindle international. Aside from being able to wirelessly download content in over 100 countries and territories, the 6-inch device is the same as it ever was. The $279 price tag on the Kindle U.S. & International Wireless now represents a $20 premium over the standard Kindle, which simultaneously fell from $299 to $259 in price and picked up a new label (“Kindle U.S. Wireless”). The extra Jackson is evidently there to cover the inevitable roaming charges that’ll occur when downloading new content overseas, but given AT&T’s extensive global roaming footprint (yeah, the global reader is tied to AT&T, not Sprint), you should be covered in most every nation fit to visit. Feel free to place your pre-order now, and get ready for a new life as a globetrotting digital bookworm come October 19th.

Update: Just saw this in the fine print: “When traveling abroad, you can download books wirelessly from the Kindle Store or your Archived Items for a fee of $1.99.”

[Thanks, Tom]

Read – Kindle goes international
Read – US Kindle falls to $259

Filed under: Displays, Handhelds

International Kindle ships October 19 to over 100 countries for $279, ‘US’ edition falls to $259 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon might have been extremely contrite about remotely deleting 1984 from Kindles, but a Jeff Bezos apology and an offer to restore the book doesn’t necessarily add up to a meaningful change in policy. As part of the settlement with that student who sued over the 1984 situation, Amazon’s had to clarify its remote-deletion guidelines, and they’re pretty much the same as ever: they’ll hit the kill switch if you ask for a refund or if your credit card is declined, if a judge orders them to, or if they need to protect the Kindle or the network from malware. Sounds simple, right?

Well, sort of — saying they’ll delete content at the behest of judicial or regulatory decree pretty much leaves the door open to exactly the same situation as the 1984 debacle, just a couple procedural steps down the line and with less blame placed on Amazon. If you’ll recall, 1984 was deleted after the publisher was sued for not having the proper rights, and Amazon took the proactive step of deleting the content — and although Amazon won’t do that on its own anymore, all it takes now is one strongly-worded motion before a sympathetic judge and we’re back at square one. That’s pretty troubling — no judge can order a physical bookseller to come into your house and retrieve a book they’ve sold you, and saying things are different for the Kindle raises some interesting questions about what Amazon thinks “ownership” means. We’ll see how this one plays out in practice, though — we’re hoping Amazon never has to pull that switch again.

Filed under: Handhelds

Amazon clarifies Kindle book-deletion policy, can still delete books originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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