Live Blogs - Amazon Press Event 06 Sep 12

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

It's close to midnight here thanks for running my sleep.

Don't you like Norwegian folk music?

[redbees]

I have just noticed that the Kindle Fire HD 8.9" LTE Wireless, in both the 32GB and 64GB versions, $499 and $599 respectively, "Include(s) special offers and sponsored screensavers." I am unable to copy/paste text from the popup that appears when I click 'Learn more', but I have typed it out:

What are Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers?
You'll receive special offers and sponsored screensavers directly on your Kindle Fire HD. Examples of special offers and sponsored screensavers include:
- Movie, music, and book covers for upcoming titles.
- Deals on digital content, for example: 1 of 10
top-rated Kindle books for $1, or $5 to spend in the Amazon MP3 Store
- Deals on consumer electronic, for example: save
up to $500 on select HDTVs

Your offers display on the lock screen and lower left hand
corner of the home screen--they don't interrupt use of the device.

Me again: This is the 9th bullet point below the orange header which says,
'Stunning 8.9" HD display, exclusive Dolby audio, fastest Wi-Fi, plus ultra-fast 4G LTE wireless'. I don't see a way to not get the special offers. Hmm. They rather buried this information, I think.

[ucfgrad93]

Originally Posted by redbees

Me again: I haven't yet found a way to not get the special offers. Hmm. They rather buried this information, I think.

I posted a thread about this a while ago. The Verge had this story up earlier today how all of the Kindle Fire tablets will be ad only versions.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But I do think it's wrong of Amazon not to have a 32G Fire HD with no 4G LTE for say $399.

Kindle Fire HD

• 7" 16GB = $199
• 7" 32GB = $249
• 8.9" WF 16GB = $299
• 8.9" WF 32GB = $369
• 8.9" 4G 32GB = $499
• 8.9" 4G 64GB = $599

[redbees]

Sorry, ucfgrad93!
I did not see your earlier thread or the information on The Verge, although I read many of their posts concerning the new Amazon offerings and 'watched' their liveblog of Bezos' presentation. I missed that important point.

/derp

[fjtorres]

Here is CNET's take on the KPW:
http://reviews.cnet.com/kindle-paperwhite/

Front light:

About that light. When I first saw it in action, my immediate impression was that Amazon was using backlit technology even though I knew it had to be front-lit. That's because the light really does splay across the screen very uniformly. But indeed this is front lighting and Amazon's engineers placed the 4 tiny LEDs at the bottom of the display rather than the top as Barnes & Noble has done with its Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, which earned an Editors' Choice from CNET. (Kobo has also placed the LEDs at the bottom of the display in its upcoming Kobo Glo).
Because the bezel on the Kindle Paperwhite is so thin, you can't really see the LEDs when you pick up the device (that's why my first impression was that it was backlit technology). When you hold the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight in front of you, you can't see the LEDs either. However, if you lay down the two devices side by side on a flat surface, the Nook's LEDs and lighting scheme becomes more apparent and visible. In short, while the Nook GlowLight is still quite good, the Kindle Paperwhite's is even better -- the lighting just looks more smooth and uniform across the screen.

Capacitance touch?

Back in 2009, Amazon acquired Touchco, a multitouch hardware company, and apparently tasked it with developing a capacitive touch screen for its e-ink e-readers. That investment has finally born fruit over three years later.

My initial impression is that the capacitive touch on the Paperwhite is superior to the IR touch found on competing devices, but it's not necessarily a night-and-day performance boost. One of the reasons for that is that the speed and responsiveness of the device is limited by the processor and the sluggish nature of e-ink in general. The higher resolution display is also pushing more pixels, so page turns and overall responsiveness only seemed slightly faster.
Look closely and you'll see that by moving to a capacitive touch-screen, Amazon's designers were able to shave off some thickness of the bezel (the IR transmitters that measure your finger taps on the screen were built into the bezel on the Touch), making the Paperwhite slightly thinner than the Touch. Amazon says the bezel is 77 percent shorter (that helps reduce the small shadow the raised bezel casts).

In other words it is better *and* in-house tech (like the frontlight) so they don't pay royalties. Kinda like their DRM and ebook format. If nothing else, Amazon is consistent: in the build vs buy debate they prefer to build.

[JoHunt]

Is this an optical illusion or are the KT screens really this grey?

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by joehunt

Is this an optical illusion or are the KT screens really this grey?

That's how grey my K4 screen is.

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by joehunt

Is this an optical illusion or are the KT screens really this grey?

They really are that gray. Mine is, anyhow.

So, I ordered the $139 version, and on the order page it said releases 10/1, but the order confirmation page says:

Delivery estimate: Oct. 10, 2012

I went with one-day shipping on my Prime membership, so I hope that is a glitch.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Yep; it had substantially better hardware and the latest version of Android for the same price.

That's still think that is the case. G7 has BT, NFC, GPS, a faster CPU.

The WIFI seems to be better on the F2, but without specs or details it's hard to tell.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

They really are that gray. Mine is, anyhow.

So, I ordered the $139 version, and on the order page it said releases 10/1, but the order confirmation page says:

Delivery estimate: Oct. 10, 2012

I went with one-day shipping on my Prime membership, so I hope that is a glitch.

Could be they're that deep in pre-orders.

[BeccaPrice]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Yep; it had substantially better hardware and the latest version of Android for the same price.

which one has better hardware? I've been lusting after a Nexus 7, but if the Fire is better, maybe I'll get that?

[Barty]

Originally Posted by joehunt

Is this an optical illusion or are the KT screens really this grey?

I wouldn't put too much stock in that. I bet the new screen is still as gray without the light on.

It's like those before and after pictures. In the before, the model has disheveled hair, no makeup, and is the picture of gloom, like somebody just ran over her dog. In the after, she's all made up and smiling like a lottery winner.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Sony used pressure sensitive *resistive* tech not capacitance.
http://www.pcworld.com/product/30194...on_prs600.html

Oops! My mistake. But it is still another layer on top of the screen.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Yes, it *is* wrong.
Which is why they have it for $369.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...pf_rd_i=507846

Amazon never mentioned a WiFi only 32GB model during the presentation. Bad Amazon.