New "top of the line Kindle" details coming next week

[JSWolf]

I've been places where there is no cell signal, no wifi, and even satellite signal. So sometimes, off-site storage is not a good idea as sometimes there's no way to access any of it.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

What is GPRS?

When I see that signal (instead of 3G or 4G) it's like the blue circle of doom. Spinning away but nothing loads. That's how bad the mobile signal in the UK is outside of urban or built up areas.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

When I see that signal (instead of 3G or 4G) it's like the blue circle of doom. Spinning away but nothing loads. That's how bad the mobile signal in the UK is outside of urban or built up areas.

There are places in the middle of nowhere in the UK where if you went to a resident and asked about the cell phone signal, they go "Cell phone? What's that?".

[Steve H]

So please, don't say agency is good. It's never been good and never will be good.[/QUOTE]:

Please consider the following before reaching that conclusion...This is just a small sampling:
http://www.mhpbooks.com/the-canadian...ely-right-now/

goodereader.com/.../the-canadian-government-is-seeking-to-destroy-kob...

http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/0...ing-in-canada/
These all refer to Kobo legally pursuing agency....

[Steve H]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So untrue.We had some good retailers before Apple and the price fix five. Fictionwise was doing quite well and lots of MR members bought from there. They had a business model that worked very well but could not work under agency pricing. BooksOnBoard was another good shop welost due to agency pricing. Agency killed BOB's business model as well. There are other shops that are no longer in business due to agency.

So please, don't say agency is good. It's never been good and never will be good.

Please take a moment to read the following on your position:
From Digital Reader
http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/0...ing-in-canada/
From Melville House
http://www.mhpbooks.com/the-canadian...ely-right-now/
From good E reader
http://goodereader.com/blog/electron...o-destroy-kobo

These all are about Kobo legally pursuing agency

[darryl]

Originally Posted by Steve H

Please take a moment to read the following on your position:
From Digital Reader
http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/0...ing-in-canada/
From Melville House
http://www.mhpbooks.com/the-canadian...ely-right-now/
From good E reader
http://goodereader.com/blog/electron...o-destroy-kobo

These all are about Kobo legally pursuing agency

This just strengthens Jon's arguments. I liked the way Nate put things on the Digital Reader;

Of course, what we really have here is a subsidiary of a Japanese retail giant which objects to having to actively competing against the subsidiary of an American retail giant, so it's not like there's a need to protect a Canadian company.

Even if there was 100% Canadian ownership and control of the whole group it is a dubious proposition that consumers should be forced to subsidise an operation which by its own admission cannot compete. I wish Kobo well, but not like this.

[Ravensknight]

Could we get back on topic? Thanks...

[darryl]

Originally Posted by Ravensknight

Could we get back on topic? Thanks...

Sorry. I replied to Steve H before seeing your post, which seems to have gone up whilst I was composing my reply. I agree we should try to stay on-topic on this thread.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by Steve H

Please take a moment to read the following on your position:
From Digital Reader
http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/0...ing-in-canada/
From Melville House
http://www.mhpbooks.com/the-canadian...ely-right-now/
From good E reader
http://goodereader.com/blog/electron...o-destroy-kobo

These all are about Kobo legally pursuing agency

Trying to defend the Five Menendez Publishing Orphans doesn't end well on this forum.
We know where the bodies are buried.

[booklover6]

To get back on topic, the screen size of the Kobo Aura HD & H2O is really fantastic. If the "new top of the line" Kindle has that size screen, along with the metal case of the Voyage, I will be tempted. I have the Aura HD, but never take it out of the house, as e-ink screens are known for their fragility.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Ravensknight

Could we get back on topic? Thanks...

From the Forum Guidelines:

Threads have a life of their own and may stray in all sorts of directions. However, if the original poster, or a moderator, requests that a thread stay on topic then please respect their wishes. You could start a thread of your own about the new topic, if you want. If a thread moves to parallel discussion of two separate topics then you may also request a moderator to move posts related to a new topic to their own thread with the "Report Posts" function.

So there's no problem with forum drift as has occurred so far.

[fjtorres]

One thing that I've been wondering about is the cover with a battery and solar.
If it's *not* Liquavista it would be a pretty niche product and Kindles are all about mass market, even their premium model. Not sure backpackers and preppers are that big of a market.

Then came the report about Kindle Oasis, waterproofing as a likelihood, and Nate's finding that the KindleOasis.com site is owned by Brilliance, Amazon's audiobook subsidiary.

Thing is "thin" and "water proof" don't usually go along with "good audio".

Which, since the thing has been reported to have Bluetooth, makes me wonder if the gadget has no speakers and instead takes a page from the WinTab playbook and puts the speakers in the cover. (Instead of a keyboard.) Speakers being a relatively bigger drain on power, the battery cover makes sense that way. And with Bluetooth there is no need for a direct electrical connection.

Naturally, Bluetooth audio means the cover is optional. Headsets and earbugs would work just as well.

(As to Kobo, it is worth remembering their competitive problems--if real--are a direct result of their business model and Rakuten's level of marketing "support". Their margin is the lowest of the four remaining "global" ebook players. It would take a full thread to detail but their issues are similar to Scribd and Nook's.)

[Steve H]

Originally Posted by booklover6

To get back on topic, the screen size of the Kobo Aura HD & H2O is really fantastic. If the "new top of the line" Kindle has that size screen, along with the metal case of the Voyage, I will be tempted. I have the Aura HD, but never take it out of the house, as e-ink screens are known for their fragility.

I think/hope that Jeff Bezos' comments of "all-new, top of the line" mean a all-new product...a change in direction in a substantial form and not an incremental upgrade like Paperwhite 2 to Paperwhite 3.
My rationale for Liquavista(quite possibly greyscale)
1) They have been working on it for years.
2) Hiring for engineering and production
3) Years ago they were able to get 400 dpi greyscale
4) They filed for patents for for switchable black/white-color display

One additional thought is that Liquavista may make formatting of magazines for Kindle easier. Allowing amazon to integrate magazines into the Kindle lineup like their apps do for Android and Apple.

[Barty]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Which, since the thing has been reported to have Bluetooth, makes me wonder if the gadget has no speakers and instead takes a page from the WinTab playbook and puts the speakers in the cover...
Naturally, Bluetooth audio means the cover is optional. Headsets and earbugs would work just as well.

Sounds very plausible. I'd really rather have speaker. I hate wearing headphones or ear buds except to listen to music. I don't want a bulky cover either. (To me any cover is bulky). But thinner and additional accessory work better for Amazon and most people so that's what going to happen.

Originally Posted by Steve H

I think/hope that Jeff Bezos' comments of "all-new, top of the line" mean a all-new product...a change in direction in a substantial form and not an incremental upgrade like Paperwhite 2 to Paperwhite 3.
.

It'll be exciting to have liquavista because I think the tablet / dedicated e-reader convergence is inevitable and we need high refresh and eventually color to make it happen. Current e-ink readers are great for reading linear fiction and mediocre to horrible for everything else. I don't need or want to watch Netflix on my e-reader but there are lots of things I'd like to read that I currently need a tablet for. Like this forum, for one. Something that combines tablet functionality (namely, apps) with light weight, outdoor readability, relatively low power usage would be very attractive to me.

I'm sure people will chime in to say "i don't need my e-reader to be a tablet, thank you" "the voyage is perfect for me, I can't imagine anything better" "you'll have to pry my e-ink reader from my cold dead hand" etc. Well, I bet many of those same people will be the first to pre-order the new shiny thing, whereas cheapskate and cautious me will wait for the second gen and price to drop

PS: I know there are e-ink devices that run android. But they look slow, kludgy, and unsatisfying.

[Steve H]

Barty-My guess is that you are right about inevitable convergence! Just because e-readers have "always"-recently anyway, been Eink does not mean they always will be. Amazon looks toward convergence where they can to increase competitive advantages. Examples:
-Audible brought to the first Fire tablet and later to apps. Whispersync and Instant Immersion. I am sure they see the competitive advantages of integrating these. They actually had some of these features in the Kindle Touch.
-My hope is that they will add a feature that competitor Kobo has like Pocket integration(they would probably create their own replica. Evernote would be nice. A RSS reading app would be a good add.
-Magazine capability would be a step toward convergence.
-For some email would be great