Kindle goes a diet

[Spiffy]

List of features which would make a new Kindle necessary and desirable:
1.) Price it at $150.
2.) a few other things might be nice, but #1 is really all that matters.

[djgreedo]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I have a Sony Touch and I find it's easier taking notes and underling on the Kindle. On the Sony, it's a bit more difficult starting and stopping the highlighting exactly where I want, even with the stylus, and calling up the virtual keyboard introduces a bit of a lag into the process of entering text. There's nothing like having a permanent physical keyboard right there whenever you need it. The Sony isn't bad, but in my opinion, the Kindle is better and easier for that. I take notes and use the dictionary function constantly. If Amazon ever comes out with a touchscreen Kindle, I hope it will be an addition to their Kindle line, and not a replacement.

Thinner I don't need. Like you, I'm afraid thinner could result in a less sturdy device.

I don't mean to sound as if I'm championing the K2 over the Sony Touch in every respect. There are areas where I feel the Sony outshines the Kindle (such as page turning), but note-taking and ease of dictionary use are, in my opinion, not those areas.

My previous device was the Sony PRS-700. Although the Kindle is overall a better device I definitely think a touch screen would be a great addition (certainly for the mainstream audience - touch screens are quite a fad at the moment).

I think a capacitive touch screen would be far better than the resistive screens on the Sonys. And there is no reason the Kindle can't keep the keyboard and other physical buttons. I'm personally not a fan of devices that only use touchscreen as the input method as they are severely limited and annoying to use. That said, I don't really find the keyboard on the Kindle useful as I don't type much text on it. If the screen was quicker to refresh and the device easier to navigate (i.e. if it had a touchscreen) I would actually find the keyboard more useful.

[bwaldron]

Originally Posted by djgreedo

The next Kindle really needs a touch screen.

I respectfully disagree.

[poohbear_nc]

I haven't seen any information as to the size of the new Kindle - are they revamping both the K2 and the DX?

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by djgreedo

My previous device was the Sony PRS-700.

I have a K2 and a PRS-600 and love them both. I also have that other thing listed under my name which is pretty near-perfect if what someone is looking for is a $259 reminder of the dangers of being an early-adopter of new devices.

Originally Posted by djgreedo

...Although the Kindle is overall a better device I definitely think a touch screen would be a great addition (certainly for the mainstream audience - touch screens are quite a fad at the moment).

I think a capacitive touch screen would be far better than the resistive screens on the Sonys. And there is no reason the Kindle can't keep the keyboard and other physical buttons. I'm personally not a fan of devices that only use touchscreen as the input method as they are severely limited and annoying to use. That said, I don't really find the keyboard on the Kindle useful as I don't type much text on it. If the screen was quicker to refresh and the device easier to navigate (i.e. if it had a touchscreen) I would actually find the keyboard more useful.

From my limited in-store experience, the touchscreen response time on the iPad is blazingly fast, but that's a whole different technology from e-ink. But if that's important to you, you may want to consider one in the future, or any of the 10,000 tablets of their competitors that will no doubt be hitting the store shelves soon. The downside of them all, however, is that they won't be using e-ink, which means they'll be more difficult to read in sunlight. Then, of course, there's the well-known claim that e-ink reduces eyestrain. There's been much debate about the truth of that claim, but e-ink is nice.

I doubt we'll ever see a Kindle that uses both a touchscreen while retaining they physical keyboard, but I'd probably buy one if they did. Not a bad idea!

[Spiffy]

Originally Posted by bwaldron

I respectfully disagree.

Exactly. What it needs to be is cheaper. That's always been the problem, and stuffing unnecessary new features in to justify a high price point won't help. Maintain multiple models if they want to do that, but make sure the low end is price competitive with the latest crop of competitors. Who are all crawling down under $200, and in the case of a few, at or below $150.

B&N knows this. Their upcoming model will ditch the 3G, but preserve online acquisition by using Wifi. Or Borders Kobo lacks even the Wifi (they think a Bluetooth connection to your PC will be enough), but the price point is fairly unbeatable. The market is being driven to lower cost units, and Amazon needs to learn from this. They have a heck of a good market position now, but its already being eroded by the combo of cheaper alternatives, and the iPad (which costs more, but does a heck of a lot more).

[SensualPoet]

Amazon doesn't need to clutter it's lineup with five momdels but imagine this:

$99 Kindle Junior -- functionality similar to Kobo

$199 Kindle 2 -- reprice of their current edition, with the 2.5 features

$259 Kindle 3 -- the 2010 edition with all 2.5 features, thinner design, revamped keyboard, wifi enabled, serif/sans serif font ... something to set it apart from the existing model and justify the higher price

$399 Kindle DX -- reprice of the current edition, with 2.5 features

$499 Kindle College -- update of the DX to make note-taking easy, wifi added, possibly a revised screen size (ie little larger)

It would also allow it to segment retailers targeting Wal-mart vs university bookshops for example

[mdovell]

Could have the best of both..what if there was a hardware button or something to slide that could activate or deactivate a touch screen...I'm sure under theory it could be done

[paperwastage]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

Amazon doesn't need to clutter it's lineup with five momdels but imagine this:

$99 Kindle Junior -- functionality similar to Kobo

$199 Kindle 2 -- reprice of their current edition, with the 2.5 features

$259 Kindle 3 -- the 2010 edition with all 2.5 features, thinner design, revamped keyboard, wifi enabled, serif/sans serif font ... something to set it apart from the existing model and justify the higher price

$399 Kindle DX -- reprice of the current edition, with 2.5 features

$499 Kindle College -- update of the DX to make note-taking easy, wifi added, possibly a revised screen size (ie little larger)

It would also allow it to segment retailers targeting Wal-mart vs university bookshops for example

not going to happen...

if you fragment products too much, it's too difficult to offer support, firmware upgrades and such... and you'll make the consumer too frustrated at buying the device

eg: Windows ... Windows Starter, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate.... too many options, consumer gets confused about the options

Android ... too many android devices, running different versions too... too fragmented(if you google Android+fragmented, you'll see many complaints

Apple -> not too many devices, easy choices, people are happy (so far)

[Spiffy]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

Amazon doesn't need to clutter it's lineup with five momdels but imagine this:

$99 Kindle Junior -- functionality similar to Kobo

$199 Kindle 2 -- reprice of their current edition, with the 2.5 features

$259 Kindle 3 -- the 2010 edition with all 2.5 features, thinner design, revamped keyboard, wifi enabled, serif/sans serif font ... something to set it apart from the existing model and justify the higher price

$399 Kindle DX -- reprice of the current edition, with 2.5 features

$499 Kindle College -- update of the DX to make note-taking easy, wifi added, possibly a revised screen size (ie little larger)

It would also allow it to segment retailers targeting Wal-mart vs university bookshops for example

I'd stick to three models. High. Medium and Low, so to speak.

Evolve one out of the DX line, but updated. Pricing should drop somewhat, just to differentiate it from iPads. Current DX stock gets sold off and the older model discontinued.

Evolve one out of the K2 line, but updated. This would be the "thinner model" coming out, I'd expect, and the old K2 stock would just be sold off for cheap till its gone. Whether you call it K3 or not, I don't know, but it ONLY comes out if the K2 is discontinued. Pricing should drop slightly, but doesn't have to nosedive.

Build a new model, from scratch, to compete with the low end. Wifi only, and priced $150 or lower.

That maintains a reasonably small pool of models.

[eboyhan]

I've had a couple of thoughts about this. Along with the engadget article, there has been a reported sighting at a photo shoot in a Seattle coffee shop of a thin, black KDX-like device.

So I think that the new device might be something targeted at the business marketplace (Amazon has been actively seeking a high level executive to push into this area). It might also be the rumored K3, or it might actually be an el cheapo K2-.

I actually agree with the general thrust of sensualpoet's post, if not necessarily the specifics. Whatever new products Amazon decides to announce will likely be accompanied by some rebranding/repricing of the existing models. They need to get a cheaper reader out into the marketplace while also bringing a higher function device to the table.