State Department Chooses Amazon Kindle Over iPad, Nook

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by RainingLemur

But, going with the Fire makes sense, I suppose. Either way, cool news?

Cool news yes, but it's not the FIRE.
They're buying eink 3G Kindle 6's.
(With front lighting. Says so right in the contract.)
They've been doing it for years and just finished the pilot program for the integrated system they are deploying; hence the 5 year contract.

[RainingLemur]

Originally Posted by HarryT

They're not using the Fire; they're using the eInk Kindle.

Fruits. That's what I meant to type. Usually when I've got "iPad" and "Kindle" running through my head, I'm thinking more about the tablet types. Wires got crossed.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Amazon have a lighted cover which provides a perfectly acceptable "front light feature".

Yes.
But there *have* been rumored sightings of Kindles with embedded front lighting--Amazon bought a light-guide company for that purpose.
I'm reading that clause as: Kindle 6 incoming!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Yes.
But there *have* been rumored sightings of Kindles with embedded front lighting--Amazon bought a light-guide company for that purpose.
I'm reading that clause as: Kindle 6 incoming!

Yes, I'm certainly expecting to see a Kindle with integrated lighting, along the lines of the Nook Glowlight. Just pointing out that it's not actually a necessity for this contract.

[ProfCrash]

And there have been newspaper articles discussing its release, potentially this summer.

[TheJohnNewton]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Yes.
But there *have* been rumored sightings of Kindles with embedded front lighting--Amazon bought a light-guide company for that purpose.
I'm reading that clause as: Kindle 6 incoming!

Yep, that's what I was getting at. Are they going to provide a cover with built in light or will this be a new model with a light built into the device itself which is what would interest me as I generally don't use a cover.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by TheJohnNewton

Yep, that's what I was getting at. Are they going to provide a cover with built in light or will this be a new model with a light built into the device itself which is what would interest me as I generally don't use a cover.

Both, probably.
But a Kindle with integral front light is coming.
Best guess? Sometime between August and November.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

... The readers will be reportedly locked down and linked to a common acount so the State Department can remotely manage their content after the embassy libraries lend them out. TTS, 3G, and push content delivery are requirements.
Multi-function devices are contra-indicated given the focus and the intended use...

That is exactly the reason the US Government is so heavily invested in BlackBerry for portable email devices. While the security and encryption capabilities are important, it’s really about the remote management capabilities of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server that pushes it over.

More recently the now defunct Windows Mobile platform has been able to meet these requirements, and are authorized; but since the BES infrastructure was already bought and paid for, BlackBerry is the solution of choice.

[Daithi]

There is some more info here. It looks like the (original?) reporter isn't happy with the way the State Dept. is releasing info on the program.

It does look like a lot of money for relatively few devices, especially if most of the content is public domain content as the article suggests.

[crossi]

I don't see the point of the lighting for this contract. I've yet to see a library or reading room without adequate lighting. They're for reading books and newspapers for Pete's sake. It's not like people in the reading rooms can turn off the lights to take a nap and they need lighted kindles so readers won't disturb the sleepers.

[fjtorres]

They said they're going to lend the readers for offsite use: that is why the 3G and the front lighting.
If they were only going to be used in the embassies they could get by without either.

Also: both the number of Units and the dollar amount of the contract are estimates. If all the options get exercised and enough readers are bought (way over 2500) *then* the contract might be worth $16 million. There is plenty of headroom baked into the contract.

[Daithi]

According to the article to which I linked, the maximum number of eReaders is 35,000 over five years (or 7,000 per year). I think that is $471 per eReader, which come pre-loaded with 50 books. However, many of the 50 books may be public domain books. Amazon may have also agreed to a dedicated help desk or some such thing. The exact details on this program are a bit fuzzy.

I'd like to make an informed decision on whether or not this is a good deal. Hopefully the State Dept. will release more details.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Daithi

According to the article to which I linked, the maximum number of eReaders is 35,000 over five years (or 7,000 per year). I think that is $471 per eReader, which come pre-loaded with 50 books. However, many of the 50 books may be public domain books. Amazon may have also agreed to a dedicated help desk or some such thing. The exact details on this program are a bit fuzzy.

You're allocating all contract costs to the hardware and none to the back end servers and support. As if dishing up hardware and flipping it over the wall is *all* Amazon would be doing. That is *not* how government contracts work.

The way this contract works, the government is getting the 3G readers at 10% off and the rest of the money is for *services*. And *not* cheap services; it's not just a dedicated help desk.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/globa...00-each/53407/

Update: After some discussions with Amazon and the State Department, we've learned the price tag on the Kindle contract is not as cut and dry as we first reported. The contract authorizes the State Department to pay Amazon up to $16.5 million over five years for an English-language teaching program and the 2,500 Kindles cited in the procurement documents has been described to us as merely the initial order.
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Previously: we reached out to the State Department's Philippe Reines, who emailed to say that the department was getting the actual Kindle devices for 10 percent off retail price. The rest of the cost goes to cover the service and content-providing agreements in the department's four-year contract with Amazon.

https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&m...=core&_cview=0

Without going to deep, do you think these three services are free?

4. The Contractor shall provide 3G services globally. The Contractor is responsible for all costs associated with 3G services globally (i.e., downloading content and access to the Internet Browser).
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6. The Contractor shall provide an exclusive, private online document repository from which the Department of State may distribute USG public domain material accesible via 3G or Wi-Fi from the locations listed in Attachment A.

5 years of global 3G services for *everything* The State Department chooses to distribute to those devices, including graphics and video files? That's a blank check: the feds can bleed the contractor dry if they choose to. They probably won't but they're going to get their money's worth: it's right there in the contract.

[Daithi]

Actually, I was pretty clear that the eReader came preloaded with books and that some kind of nebulous services were mentioned. I don't have enough information to determine if this a good deal or not, but I suspect not. I tend to believe that Amazon didn't just agree to provide a world wide 3G phone service for $16.5 million. I tend to believe that Amazon simply agreed to provide Kindle 3G eReaders that operate on the existing 3G network.

The bottom line is that it is a lot of money per device. When you add books and services it might be a reasonable deal. However, we really need to know what those books and services are to make that determination.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by Daithi

The bottom line is that it is a lot of money per device. When you add books and services it might be a reasonable deal. However, we really need to know what those books and services are to make that determination.

You need to know how many devices will be ordered to know how much money it is per device. The 2500 devices is the initial order, the $16.5 is the maximum possible value of the contract. They do not relate.