As expected a new, no two new Kindles just arrived at amazon.com and will ship from August 27th on.

You now can choose between a $139 WiFi only (available in graphite) and a $189 Free 3G + WiFi (availabele in graphite or bright-white) version of the 6 inch Kindle.

So, the Kindle got WiFi – finally, that is good news, but rises the question, why the more expensive Kindle DX did not get it?

Here are the new features:

• New, High-Contrast E-Ink Screen – 50% better contrast than any other e-reader. The clearest text and sharpest images.
• New and Improved Fonts – New crisper, darker fonts
  • Kindle now has three font styles -  standard Caecilia font, a condensed version of Caecilia, and a sans serif option
  • Support for New Characters -  Cyrillic (such as Russian), Japanese, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), and Korean characters in addition to Latin and Greek scripts
• New Sleek Design – 21% smaller body while keeping the same 6″ size reading area
• 17% Lighter – Only 8.5 ounces, weighs less than a paperback
• Battery Life of Up to One Month – A single charge lasts up to one month with wireless off
• Built-In Wi-Fi – Shop and download books in less than 60 seconds
• 20% Faster Page Turns – Seamless reading
• Enhanced PDF Reader – With dictionary lookup, notes, and highlights
• New WebKit-Based Browser – Browse the web over Wi-Fi (experimental)

Read entire post …

Rather suddenly the Kindle 2 is out of stock at amazon.com. The recent price cut to $189 could be a reason, but it would not be typical for amazon not planing in advance.

Since there even is no date given, when the Kindle 2 might be available again and due to similar experiences with the Kindle 1 this might point to the arriving of a new Kindle 3. Since we just saw the sudden arrival of the new graphite Kindle DX this seems rather possible.

The last time, when the Kindle 1 suddenly went out of stock in end 2008, early 2009 users who had ordered the Kindle got the Kindle 2 instead.

Amazon has just dropped the price of its remaining inventory of new Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G, 9.7″ Display, White, 3G Works Globally – 2nd Generation units to $359 each. So far it’s just the normal Kindle DX with all the new features of the firmware update to version 2.5.x

So it comes as usual with free global 3G.  Until last week it was the newest Kindle DX and was selling for $489!

Well that is still a lot of money, but here it comes, if you don’t mind to take a refurbished model of the same Kindle DX – they are usually as good as any brand new one – the price now goes down to $299 !  These Kindles are factory refurbished and sealed. The only difference to a brand new one is that it does not ship with the AC adaptor plug. This accessory must be purchased separately.But in 99% you will charge it via USB anyway.

All purchases eligible for Amazon customer service and 30 day return policy.

Amazon has just introduced new Kindle DX 2 for $379. Of course the price for the white Kindle DX also went down from $489 to $379.

So at the moment there are two Kindle DX versions: The new Kindle DX 2 in graphite wich is going to be released on July 7th, 2010. And second the Kindle DX 1 in white. It is being referred to as Kindle DX 2nd generation.

The Kindle DX 2 is basically Kindle DX with better screen contrast and a $110 lower price

There are claims by users at the official Kindle Forum that the screen of the DX 2 is clearer. Amazon stated. that the screen contrast was improved by 50 percent to now 10:1

All New, High Contrast E-Ink Screen: Our graphite Kindle DX uses our all new, improved electronic ink display, with 50% better contrast for the clearest text and sharpest images

Beautiful Large Display: The 9.7″ diagonal E-ink screen is ideal for a broad range of reading material, including graphic-rich books, PDFs, newspapers, magazines, and blogs

Read in Sunlight with No Glare: Unlike backlit computer or LCD screens, Kindle DX’s display looks and reads like real paper, with no glare. Read as easily in bright sunlight as in your living room

Books In Under 60 Seconds: Get books delivered wirelessly in less than 60 seconds; no PC required

Free 3G Wireless: No monthly payments, no annual contracts. Download books anywhere, anytime

Long Battery Life: Read for up to 1 week on a single charge with wireless on or up to two weeks with wireless off.

Carry Your Library: Holds up to 3,500 books, periodicals, and documents

Buy Books Once, Read Them Anywhere: Kindle books can be read on all your devices. Our Whispersync technology saves and synchronizes your Kindle library and last page read across your Kindle(s), PC, iPhone, Mac, iPad, Android phone, and BlackBerry device

Social Networks: Posting meaningful passages to Twitter and Facebook directly from your Kindle

Global Coverage: Enjoy 3G wireless coverage at home or abroad in over 100 countries.
Built-In PDF Reader: With Zoom capability to easily view small print and detailed tables or graphics

Auto-Rotating Screen: Display auto-rotates from portrait to landscape as you turn the device

Read-to-Me: With the text-to-speech feature

Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases from $9.99.

Finally you can read Kindle books on your Android phone! As with iPhone, iPad and so on no Kindle is required. Or if you own a Kindle, access your Kindle books even if you don’t have your Kindle with you. Automatically synchronizes your last page read and annotations between devices with Whispersync. Adjust the text size, add bookmarks, and view the annotations you created on your Kindle, computer, or other Kindle-compatible device. Read in portrait or landscape mode.

Read entire post …

Amazon today announced a new update to Kindle for iPad and Kindle for iPhone and iPod touch. It allows readers to enjoy the benefits of embedded video and audio clips in Kindle books. The first books to take  advantage of this new technology, including “Rick Steves’ London” by Rick Steves and “Together We Cannot Fail”  by Terry Golway, are available in the Kindle Store.

Read entire post …

Plastic Logic has announced that it will not ship the Que. They even are refunding pre-orders. A new shipping date hast not been announced.

A spokesperson for Plastic Logic told Wired’s “Gadget Lab” blog: “Plastic Logic wants to make sure that the product they deliver is the right one for their target business customers in the rapidly changing marketplace. They are continuing to refine the product, technology and features, and are anxious to get in the marketplace as soon as possible.”

Seems that Plastic Logic just is too late, since the iPad set a rather low price border for tablet devices, they will by no chance make the money they’ve dreamed of. It seems the Que is just another piece of vapor ware and Plastic Logic will never manage to come out with anything.

So if you want an eInk reader that is suitable for reading PDFs and similar documents, it seems the only reliable choice will be the Kindle DX from Amazon with its 10″ Display.

It seems that after updating the iPhone to iOS4 the shelf of your iBooks app is empty, even if you already bought some ebooks. If you want to redownload these books, the store recognizes that you already purchased them but wants you to buy them again at full price.

Just to remember: with  my Kindle I can redownload any book I bought on Amazon at anytime anywhere for free! Well actually you can do this with all Kindle applications on any device, but at the Kindle itself even the 3G connection is for free. It goes even further, I actually can download any mobipocket ebook for free from the internet from any site i.e. from google docs.

Also with the Kindle you can read any  ebook purchased at Amazon on any of your devices with a Kindle app running, no matter if its a Kindle, a PC, a Mac, Android device and so on! Any device with an internet connection can instantly download your books, sync the last read position as well as bookmarks and annotations.

The conclusion: “Forget about iBook, and use Amazon Kindle and Stanza for your reading needs.”

Read the hole story over at www.baekdal.com

Amazon just officially released firmware version 2.5 for Kindle 2 and Kindle DX. It will be delivered automatically via Whispernet but if you do not want to wait any longer, you can download and install the update manually.

Just go to www.amazon.com and follow the instructions.

Read entire post …