Any news if Amazon plans on rolling out a Kindle 4.0 soon?

[markbot]

my theory is that amazon has lost its pricing advantage on ebooks because of the change in the model and will now need to focus more on the hardware imrpovements. its books are more or less priced the same as other stores now, although haven't confirmed this. of course, they have a head start in the market though...but i think the surprising gains of the nook have scared them. i think the next kindle will be a significant leap forward. the previous generation was only a moderate improvement overall--just a newer screen essentially.

the next generation will have a lot more features is my guess. touch screen is very likely. color is even possible. they will probably increase the screen contrast as they did in the previous generations. it could be android based and have all of the android apps....although would present issues with 3g data usage.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by markbot

my theory is that amazon has lost its pricing advantage on ebooks because of the change in the model and will now need to focus more on the hardware imrpovements. its books are more or less priced the same as other stores now, although haven't confirmed this. of course, they have a head start in the market though...but i think the surprising gains of the nook have scared them. i think the next kindle will be a significant leap forward. the previous generation was only a moderate improvement overall--just a newer screen essentially.

While I agree that Amazon has, in large part, lost its pricing advantage, I don't think it's really afraid of B&N. I think what it's really concerned about is Apple - specifically, the possibility of there being a widely popular tablet used for e-reading that is incompatible (or too expensive) with/for Amazon's books.

the next generation will have a lot more features is my guess. touch screen is very likely. color is even possible. they will probably increase the screen contrast as they did in the previous generations. it could be android based and have all of the android apps....although would present issues with 3g data usage.

Because I think that Amazon is most worried about the iPad, I believe that their approach will be to stay tightly focused on differentiating themselves from the iPad by: (1) focusing on e-ink; and (2) keeping their price low enough that readers will buy an iPad and a Kindle.

Keeping these two points in mind, I don't think that Amazon will add tablet-like features to the Kindle unless it could do so without increasing the cost - there's not a lot of point in competing directly with the iPad anyway, as e-ink isn't nearly as responsive as an LCD screen. However, if a new e-ink screen comes out with an additional 50% improvement in contrast, I think that Amazon *would* add that to a new Kindle, as that would improve the Kindle as an e-ink device and further separate it from the iPad as a device.

And as impressive as the iPad 2 is as a tablet, the fact that Apple did not add a retina-style screen means that, as an e-reader, it's not really an improvement over the iPad 1. I think that Amazon will be more worried about the next iPad, if, as rumored, it has a retina-style screen: that would make it a better e-reader than existing iPads and more of a threat to e-ink readers.

[markbot]

yes, that's the other issue. the convergence of ereaders and tablets. if u see the ipad as a reading device then $500 is a decent price, considering all the other functionality. i stare at an lcd monitor every day for hours upon hours. the last thing i need is an lcd ereader. so i guess as long as tablets don't start using reflective displays the ereader niche is protected. and it makes sense to keep them cheap and specialized. although there are some technologies on the horizon that could potentially result in color reflective screens...and could lead to a lot more convergence.

in any case, amazon still has to contend with ereader competition from the nook. in my opinion the kindle needs a significant advance forward to keep the competition at bay, especially considering it is significantly hampered by the kindle format. i'm actually considering not having a kindle for my next reader. i'll probably try to convert my kindle books to a diff format.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

Amazon would be stupid to spend *billions* of dollars to try and develop a tablet to compete with Apple when: (1) established tech companies are already crashing and burning trying to compete with Apple; (2) Apple already has key components locked up in multi-year contracts; (3) Amazon has no particular expertise in this area; and (4) Amazon's content (which is what Amazon sells, after all) is already available on existing tablets.

Even if Apple drops the Kindle App, making the app available on android tablets is as good or better than selling their own tablet - and both cheaper and less risky.

The reason that Amazon came out with the Kindle is because the e-reader market at that time (mostly Sony) could only read Sony branded .lrf books. None of the e-readers would read Amazon books, so Amazon's only choice was to develop its own reader that would read its own books.

But Amazon never felt the need to develop their own MP3 player despite being the (distant) number 2 in online music sales, since all existing mp3 players could play music bought by Amazon. Since other tablets can already use Amazon's Kindle App, Amazon has no need to develop its own tablet, and would face *substantial* risks if it did so.

I mean, I'm a fan of Amazon, but I don't see the value proposition for me - what would an Amazon tablet bring me that I can't already get on an existing tablet?

But remember, Amazon only entered the DRM-free music business in 2008-the iPod was already established by then, and Amazon had no idea at that time that the Kindle (launched 2 months earlier) would be such a success. I think they are pretty confident about their hardware prowess at this point. The MP3 player war was over by then-the tablet wars have just begun

What Amazon brings to the table is a lot of credit card accounts, one stop one click shopping for digital apps, media, books, and music, and a strong brand that extends past the tech crowd. I think those are pretty big advantages over the generic android tablet manufacturers out there today.

Amazon will roll out a Kindle 4.0, of course, and has not come close to reaching EOL on eInk devices. But I'm also expecting an Android tablet from them as well.

[ApK]

>>But remember, Amazon only entered the DRM-free music business in 2008-the iPod was already established by then, <<

??? Yeah...iPod and zillion other mp3 players were ubiquitous, so Amazon started selling content for them. What's the connection to the tablet discussion?

[pdurrant]

If Amazon came out with with a Kindle 4 sporting a 5.7" 1024x768 (220dpi) Mirasol display, even at twice the current Kindle price, I think I'd buy one like a shot.

The question is, when will Qualcomm's new Taiwan factory start mass-production of the displays? Later this year? Or not until sometime in 2012?

[kjk]

Originally Posted by ApK

>>But remember, Amazon only entered the DRM-free music business in 2008-the iPod was already established by then, <<

??? Yeah...iPod and zillion other mp3 players were ubiquitous, so Amazon started selling content for them. What's the connection to the tablet discussion?

I was responding to Andrew's comment about how Amazon never felt the need to release an MP3 player, so no reason for them to release a tablet, even though they are selling apps. Is that enough of a connection to the tablet discussion for you?

[ApK]

Originally Posted by kjk

I was responding to Andrew's comment about how Amazon never felt the need to release an MP3 player, so no reason for them to release a tablet, even though they are selling apps. Is that enough of a connection to the tablet discussion for you?

I don't know, maybe. Let's see:

You are suggesting that the REASON Amazon did not produce an mp3 player is because the "mp3 player war was over?"

I think Amazon ONLY started selling music at all because the mp3 war (format, really, not player....the whole point of the war is that we can all play the same mp3s on any player, even the iPod) was over, and there was a market for additional content they could add to their retail website. That is, not only would they not have considered making a player, but they would not have gotten into the music business at all had the war not been over.

Sort of the same way they only started selling books a few centuries after the printing press was well established and lots of people could read....

It's actually kind of surprising to me that they made the Kindle at all. They really jump started the ereader/book industry. Ask most of the casual public and they'll probably tell you they thought Amazon invented the ereader. They might has well have, considering how few people knew of them before.

So was that an anomalous one-time thing, a synergy brought about by Amazon's unique ties to both books and technology , or a sign of things to come, and the kind of business opportunities they will looking to get into in the future?

OK, yes, that was enough of a connection to the tablet discussion for me. Thanks for asking.

ApK

[Barty]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

If Amazon came out with with a Kindle 4 sporting a 5.7" 1024x768 (220dpi) Mirasol display, even at twice the current Kindle price, I think I'd buy one like a shot.

The question is, when will Qualcomm's new Taiwan factory start mass-production of the displays? Later this year? Or not until sometime in 2012?

I wouldn't want to pay ~300 for a sub 6" device. Maybe if it were a full blown tablet, but even then...

The point of a color ereader is to read magazines and comics, etc, right? How enjoyable would that be on such a small screen? Also, 1st gen of any tech tends to suck.

[zinj]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

If Amazon came out with with a Kindle 4 sporting a 5.7" 1024x768 (220dpi) Mirasol display, even at twice the current Kindle price, I think I'd buy one like a shot.

The question is, when will Qualcomm's new Taiwan factory start mass-production of the displays? Later this year? Or not until sometime in 2012?

I'd buy a Mirasol reader instantly, regardless of cost. Pocketbook was supposed to have announced their Mirasol reader by now. Wonder what's up?