The Gadget Blog » Amazon

Computer Store (Partly) Rips Off Amazon Logo

Rico Mossesgeld — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:36:29 +0000

Straight from Philippine-affiliate Technograph comes pictures of a store featuring a modified version of the Amazon logo. Does the online retailer, which made a name selling books, DVDs, and gadgets, have anything to do with this traditional, physical presence?

Probably not. But let’s see if dropping the “.com”, placing an arc over the text, using a slightly different font, and the red-yellow ensemble passes as its own trademark. Besides, does the US and the Philippines have a trademark enforcement agreement in the first place? No word yet on what the in-store employees have said about this, hopefully Technograph can do a follow up soon!

Amazon Opens Store in Manila!

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A Great Idea to Stop Gadget Thefts

Rico Mossesgeld — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:30:14 +0000

Samuel Borgese was recently featured on The New York Times, as part of a story that points out how gadget makers in the US seem less inclined to help out owners of stolen who don’t want thieves to profit. Borgese’s brilliant idea? When someone registers a second-hand gadget, the maker should send an email to the original owner, asking them to confirm that they indeed sold the gadget.

Courtesy Amazon

This idea probably won’t work for gadgets not tied to a specific service. But for items like Amazon’s Kindle, where users need to be properly registered so that they can buy books for the electronic book reader, Borgese’s solution is a definite winner. If the original owner doesn’t verify the sale, then the gadget is rendered effectively useless. And the person trying to register the gadget—potentially a thief—has left a traceable record within the system.

Granted, it’s possible that people have figured out how to load pirated books onto a Kindle, limiting this deterrent somewhat. But providing this kind of service can help gadget makers score points against those bemoaning the imposition of propriety and closed platforms onto users. “Yes, you buy books at the price we set, and we can delete books you’ve paid for (and refund you). But we will also help you catch those who steal your gadgets—or at least make it harder for them to profit from illegal enterprise.”

It’s easy to see the reasons behind the stance towards stolen gadgets of companies like Amazon. Most likely they involve legal and cost concerns. But wouldn’t an anti-theft guarantee be a great incentive to commit to a product and its corresponding service(s)?

Source

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Student Sues Amazon for Remotely Deleting 1984 From His Kindle

Rico Mossesgeld — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:31:32 +0000

Yes, it’s amazing that Amazon can remotely delete customers’ books, and hide behind a prompt refund.

What’s even more amazing is a student is willing to go through the trouble of suing Amazon over this (the company deleted his copy of 1984, which he needed to finish homework) to “set a precedent”. Not for money in other words, but to make the courts declare remote control of paid merchandise illegal.

I’m suddenly glad the Kindle never tempted me too much. Then again, I’ve also started worrying about my Steam games collection, which of course is subject to Valve’s control.

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Linux Laptops Rank Well in Amazon Bestseller List (in Germany)

Rico Mossesgeld — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:30:51 +0000

So don’t start squeeing yet, Linux lovers: a list on Amazon Germany (amazon.de) is hardly a sign of widespread adoption of the “alternative” OS, especially since the German market isn’t visible for the US-centric English-writing tech media.

It’s still worth scoping out both stellar performers. The 400 euro (around $568) ASUS X5DIJ-SX018L (second) features a 250GB hard disk, 2GB of RAM, a 2GHz Pentium Dual-Core CPU, and a 15.6″ screen. The 300 euro ($426) Acer 5235-571G16N (fourth) holds its own with a Celeron M575, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and a 15.4″ display.

Both laptops use the Intel GMA 4500 graphics platform, ensuring attempts at quality gaming will be torturous at best. The ranking discussed in detail over at linuxtech.net may no longer be current as of this writing, given that Amazon bestsellers swap or lose places like track and field athletes vying for the lead at the start of the race. It’s clear though that the lack of a proprietary OS affects pricing.

Ultimately, the list potentially provides insight into the German (or Linux) consumer psyche. They seem more about performance, and don’t mind totally unimaginative product naming, no?

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Why iPhone Kindle Won’t Kill Kindle

Rico Mossesgeld — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:00:01 +0000

So people are saying that the iPhone Kindle app, which more or less provides the same ebook reading functionality on Apple’s smartphone, will kill the Kindle. Makes sense actually. After all, why spend $360 on a gadget that can only do one thing, when you can spend roughly the same for a smartphone that multi-tasks? This argument appeals especially to die-hard fans of the Apple “experience”.

Courtesy of Amazon

At the same time however, I can tell you that reading text on a backlit display strains the eyes. The e-ink of Amazon’s Kindle, on the other hand, is easy on the optics. That’s still why a lot of us still prefer reading printed words on dead trees, even if literally all books ever written are available through the web browser; no tiring light shines from them.

Future Kindles will definitely display color, free from the limits of grays. And you can bet that development will make Amazon’s reader more attractive; who wouldn’t artificially generated color pages that are easy to read? Amazon has the luxury of concentrating on ebook research, unlike supposed future competitors like Apple who are taking a more broad research towards R&D. What do you think?

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My Thoughts on the Amazon Kindle DX

Rico Mossesgeld — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:00:02 +0000

So yes, Amazon launched yesterday a 9.7″ version of the Kindle, named the Kindle DX. I think:

Geeks would want to hear about the specs – The Kindle DX features a 9.7″ display, with a resolution of 1200 x 824 pixels, and an estimated 4.5GB (3,500 books) of internal storage. The DX is the first Kindle with an accelerometer; pages will rotate between landscape and portrait automatically depending on the device is held.

Kindle 2 vs. Kindle DX

Newspapers must be praying that the Kindle DX is a success – The Boston Globe, The New York Times, and The Washington Post must be thinking: Oh wow! A potential way to revive our dropping revenues! Could turn out to be a wise move actually. At least less trees die!

If Amazon is serious about pushing the Kindle DX as an educational device… – Then they should cut the price a bit. $489 for a gadget that can display only 16 shades of gray!? Speaking of which…

The textbook-on-a-Kindle pilot program is a good move – 50 lucky(?) students at an American university will receive 50 units to use as textbooks. Their academic performance will be compared to other students using traditional books. If this little exercise goes in favor of Amazon, they will have a strong case study to sell the Kindle DX to more clients! Specifically the educational ones.

Amazon could’ve chosen a better name. I don’t know if DX stands for anything, but any time I think of those two letters, Triple H and Shawn Michaels come to mind. How educational indeed!

That’s all I’ve got on the Kindle DX. What about you?

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Periscope Lighted Folio For Kindle 2

Rico Mossesgeld — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:56:15 +0000

One benefit of e-ink is the fact that shining a light on it is enough to make low-light reading possible. That’s a reality exploited by the Periscope Lighted Folio for Kindle 2, which is basically a folio (well, duh!) with space for a notepad, pens, a swiveling twin LED light, and of course, a Kindle 2. That’s all for $50.

The Periscope Lighted Folio also has space for 3 “AA” batteries, which—as claimed by maker Periscope—can power the LED light for 40 hours or more. Periscope also made sure to highlight its Folio’s magnetic lock feature, which allows the user to keep the folio folded onto itself, compacting the whole she-bang “to faciliate one-handed use”. Surely you can spend $50 more, after you’ve spent $360 on the Kindle 2 itself!

You can visit periscopelight.com for more info on where to buy.

(Image courtesy of Periscope)

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Leather Cases for the Kindle 2

Rico Mossesgeld — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:30:12 +0000

I bet a common objection to the Kindle 2 (or any e-book reader for that matter) is the classy feel. Something about a well-bound book seems more traditional, weighty, and significant. Maybe that’s why these leather Kindle 2 covers (available from Amazon of course) could make up for the reader’s plastic-based existence. From vendors like Cole Haan, M-edge, and Amazon itself, here’s a sample listing:

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Kindle 2 to Ship on February 24; Some Claim Artificially-Spoken Text Violates Copyright

Rico Mossesgeld — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:03:01 +0000

Looks like the Kindle 2’s ability to read out spoken text is causing concern for the copyright holders of—what else?—books:

Some publishers and agents expressed concern over a new, experimental feature that reads text aloud with a computer-generated voice.

“They don’t have the right to read a book out loud,” said Paul Aiken, executive director of the Authors Guild. “That’s an audio right, which is derivative under copyright law.”

The reply of Amazon available to those who continue.

An Amazon spokesman noted the text-reading feature depends on text-to-speech technology, and that listeners won’t confuse it with the audiobook experience. Amazon owns Audible, a leading audiobook provider.

Personally, I’ll have to side with Amazon on this one. I can barely stand synthesized text for mere seconds. Unless the Kindle 2 comes with some super-revolutionary vocoder, I can’t imagine listening to an entire book’s text artificially generated as speech.

On a more technical note though, if Aiken’s argument holds true, then wouldn’t the timely ritual of reading a book to your kid be a copyright violation as well? In any case, this sounds like saber-rattling on the part of Author’s guild, who may want a bigger piece of Amazon’s apparently growing eBook pie.
(Thanks The Gadget Blog

Kindle 2 Now Available for Pre-Order

Rico Mossesgeld — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:15:50 +0000

According to an email received from Amazon, the latest version of the eBook reader is now available for pre-order at amazon.com (duh). Turns out the launch day sale won’t be a reality, since the price is still a hefty $360. Unless Amazon wants to screw anyone who pre-orders of course.

So what justifies the price for Bezo’s boys? Continue reading to see the marketing peeps’ point-by-point breakdown.

Say Hello to The New Kindle

Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines

Lightweight: At 10.2 ounces, lighter than a typical paperback

Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots

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

Improved Display: Reads like real paper; now boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and even crisper images

Longer Battery Life: 25% longer battery life; read for days without recharging

More Storage: Take your library with you; holds over 1,500 books

Faster Page Turns: 20% faster page turns

Read-to-Me: With the new Text-to-Speech feature, Kindle can read every book, blog, magazine, and newspaper out loud to you

Large Selection: Over 230,000 books plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs available

Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise

(Image screenshot of the Amazon Kindle 2 Product Page)

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