Leaked Kindle and accessories prices, links, images

[igorsk]

Amazon and Wikipedia is free, the rest is paid.

[NatCh]

I think someone found a reference (in the manual, maybe? I don't remember) that implied that they'd only pay for using the wireless for purposes they approved in advance, and would bill you for anything else. If they've approved wiki access, as it seems they have, then you should be good there.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by tsgreer

Hmm, well Wikipedia itself may have answered my question. Their entry for the Amazon Kindle states: "Access to Wikipedia is offered at no additional charge." So I hope that's correct!

That is also what the Amazon manual says.

Dale

[Zoot]

I believe all web access is free currently (someone correct me if that's wrong). The license says they're free to charge you if they want to (if people spend more time web surfing than buying books and htey get a big bill from Sprint for example). If they do this then rather than cut off web access entirely or require a premium monthly account charge or something I would expect they might limit it to certain web sites and chances are they'll always let you get to Wikipedia.

Amazon has a lot of wiggle room here. They can start charging for data access, charging for access to sites other than some limited set, offer monthly data plans, offer subsidized services with ads or minimum monthly purchases from the store (this was my guess yesterday as to how they would pay for data access), offer premium service that includes two-way email, etc., etc.

But at this point the last thing they want to do is irritate their early adopters who are paying full-price for a new technology, so again I'm not overly worried. The license text is just there because they need to not lose their shirts if all people do is web-surf all day. An e-ink display doesn't make thr most dynamic web interface though

Z.

[astra]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The Kindle doesn't need PDF support.

I agree with the statement.

I don't know what is a reason behind JSWolf's point of view but mine is simple - you cannot read PDFs on 6" screens. So, supporting PDFs would not attract business customers because they would not be able to read any of their A4 formated PDFs on Kindle.

[wgrimm]

Originally Posted by romix

Big Brother Bezos

As far as I could see, no support for PDF.

Furthermore all YOUR own content (docs, pdfs, email messages) that you want to install on your Kindle will have to go through Amazon for conversion (for a small fee) and transmission via Whispernet.
Great, Amazon having access to all the stuff (apart from MP3's) I want on MY Kindle.

It gets worse, the device sends home all sorts of information about your use of your Kindle.

Some aspects of the Kindle are great, but the above will prevent me from getting one.

I am surprised anyone thinks this device has a chance. Remember the Rocketbook and the Reb? Yeah, use your (INCLUDED) telephone cable to hook your reader up to ANY TELEPHONE and download content! After paying outrageously for it, of course.

Never mind that people seemed to be most concerned with getting their own content onto the reader with few hassles.

This is just Rocketbook Mk2, and it will crash and burn as well. DRM and the silly Amazon monitoring will kill it, if its ugliness does not kill it first. Amazon's previous forays into e-books have been much less than successful, and I don't expect this one to be much different, only more costly.

[wgrimm]

Originally Posted by RWood

Unlike music, most people do not read a book more than once. The people who hang around here are not most people. The majority of the people will not care if they cannot get their old books scanned. All they care about is new books that they have yet to read.

Well, I do care if I can read my previously purchased e-books on a new e-reader. I am not going to spend $400 on a device just to be able to read newly purchased books. And if it is only the people here that are going to support this device, it will be a dismal failure, not the "ipod of e-books."

I have seen it all before- like I said, the Kindle is RB/REB Mk2. Same gimmicks, same underlying greed directing its design.

[wgrimm]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

The best Baen format is probably their .prc files. An alternative would be to e-mail the .rtf version, pay the $0.10 conversion charge, and (presumably) get a AZW version on the Kindle.

Doesn't anyone think they are being nickled and dimed by this "conversion fee." Why couldn't Amazon make this conversion tool available for its Kindle purchasers. You pay $400 and don't get a conversion tool with it?

And for the conspiracy theorists, what happens if Amazon starts monitoring the conversion requests for what they suspect are illegal (not paid for) texts?

[vivaldirules]

Anyone up for making a list of tests for the new Kindle owners to run to help us clear up some questions? In return, I would be grateful and award much Karma!

1. Can you get an ebook onto the Kindle via USB? I know there's a cable to put music on and there's talk about what is assumed to be true about ebooks. But I'd like someone to actually put an ebook file on the thing by USB and show that they can then read it on their Kindle.

2. Is an .AZW file exactly the same as an unsecured Mobipocket file or not? I'd like someone to do that test on a Kindle, not the other way around.

3. How about delivery of an ebook purchased on Amazon delivered in some way other than directly to the Kindle. There's talk and I assume you can't do this. Still....

4. Someone suggested using Mobipocket for Windows to take a PDF and convert it to a form that would be read on the Kindle. If I'm not mistaken, someone said it was even possible to use Mobipocket to convert a secure Mobipocket to an unsecure Mobipocket file.

5. You can email yourself a DOC or HTML file and they'll convert it for you. What if the file you send contains images? Will you see them or will you get text only?

6. Are the newspapers you can buy complete editions of the paper copy or are they abridged? An example would be the NYTimes Electronic Edition (full) versus the NYTimes Reader (abridged).

7. If you live in an area reachable by Sprint but not EVDO, do you indeed receive the book using that other thingy (insert technical term).

Any other ideas?

[TallMomof2]

I don't have my Kindle yet but I can answer a couple of questions.

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

Anyone up for making a list of tests for the new Kindle owners to run to help us clear up some questions? In return, I would be grateful and award much Karma!

1. Can you get an ebook onto the Kindle via USB? I know there's a cable to put music on and there's talk about what is assumed to be true about ebooks. But I'd like someone to actually put an ebook file on the thing by USB and show that they can then read it on their Kindle.

In the Kindle User Guide (available for anyone to download) it states starting on page 76:

"When Kindle is connected to your computer, you will see three directories or folders. The one called "documents" contains all of your digital reading materials like books, newspapers, your "My Clippings" file, etc. The "Audible" directory is for your audiobooks, and "music" is for your MP3 files. You can add Kindle compatible files to these directories, and you can copy, move, or delete the files that are already there. The computer file formats that you can read or listen to on your Kindle are listed below:

• Kindle (.AZW)
• Text (.TXT)
• Unprotected Mobipocket (.MOBI, .PRC)
• Audible (.AA) • MP3 (.MP3)

Tip: Mobipocket files must have no Digital Rights Management (DRM) protection applied to be readable on your Kindle. If you purchased a Mobipocket file from a Mobipocket retailer, you will not be able to open the file on your Kindle."

Your PC (or Mac) will see the Kindle and its expansion card as separate removable drives. You just click and drag items over.

2. Is an .AZW file exactly the same as an unsecured Mobipocket file or not? I'd like someone to do that test on a Kindle, not the other way around.

No, it is a secured file. I downloaded an .AZW file last night and could not read it on my Mobipocket reader. Renamed the file extension to .PRC and it still did not work. Same error code you get when you try and read a secured book on an unregistered PID.

3. How about delivery of an ebook purchased on Amazon delivered in some way other than directly to the Kindle. There's talk and I assume you can't do this. Still....

Once you purchase a book you can go to "Your Media Library" at Amazon and download the book directly to your computer. That's how I was able to experiment with the .AZW book in question 3.

4. Someone suggested using Mobipocket for Windows to take a PDF and convert it to a form that would be read on the Kindle. If I'm not mistaken, someone said it was even possible to use Mobipocket to convert a secure Mobipocket to an unsecure Mobipocket file.

I haven't been able to convert a secured MobiPocket file to an unsecured one. Also MobiCreator cannot convert secured PDFs to .PRC

5. You can email yourself a DOC or HTML file and they'll convert it for you. What if the file you send contains images? Will you see them or will you get text only?

Don't know.

6. Are the newspapers you can buy complete editions of the paper copy or are they abridged? An example would be the NYTimes Electronic Edition (full) versus the NYTimes Reader (abridged).

Any other ideas?

Don't know but I hope they're without ads.

HTH

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

2. Is an .AZW file exactly the same as an unsecured Mobipocket file or not? I'd like someone to do that test on a Kindle, not the other way around.

I agree that renaming a DRM-free .mobi to .azw and trying it on a Kindle is a reasonable test.

A purchased .AZW file is assumed to be identical to a secure .MOBI. This assupmtion is based on the fact that the DRM-free .AZW User Guide is actually a DRM-free .MOBI file. This is hard to test for secure .AZW files, but at a minimum bytes 61-68 of the file should be BOOKMOBI.

[TallMomof2]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

I agree that renaming a DRM-free .mobi to .azw and trying it on a Kindle is a reasonable test.

A purchased .AZW file is assumed to be identical to a secure .MOBI. This assupmtion is based on the fact that the DRM-free .AZW User Guide is actually a DRM-free .MOBI file. This is hard to test for secure .AZW files, but at a minimum bytes 61-68 of the file should be BOOKMOBI.

Yes, bytes 61-68 are BOOKMOBI.

[bwit]

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

1. Can you get an ebook onto the Kindle via USB? I know there's a cable to put music on and there's talk about what is assumed to be true about ebooks. But I'd like someone to actually put an ebook file on the thing by USB and show that they can then read it on their Kindle.

Don't know for sure but the manual implies you can add books via USB.

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

3. How about delivery of an ebook purchased on Amazon delivered in some way other than directly to the Kindle. There's talk and I assume you can't do this. Still....

The Kindle support page states that the Amazon conversion service can be used to deliver converted content to your Amazon default email address for free in addition to directly to the Kindle for a charge. here is the passage:

In addition to the commercially available titles sold in the Kindle store, you can also read personal documents on your Kindle. Each Kindle has a unique e-mail address, allowing you and your contacts to send attachments (Word and picture files) directly to your Kindle for a small fee or to your default Amazon e-mail account for free.

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

6. Are the newspapers you can buy complete editions of the paper copy or are they abridged? An example would be the NYTimes Electronic Edition (full) versus the NYTimes Reader (abridged).

The Amazon site states that the newspapers are not complete. It sounded like all the text content was present but said that some images and charts would be missing in addition to crosswords. For example the following is from the San Jose paper description:

The Kindle Edition of San Jose Mercury News contains most articles found in the print edition, but will not include all images and tables. Also, some features such as the crossword puzzle, box scores and classifieds are not currently available.

Bob

[slayda]

Originally Posted by CCDMan

This is amusing:

Most expensive Kindle Book: "Growth Strategies for Software Companies" $1,079.96

Cheapest Kindle Book: " Chemoton Theory: Theory of Living Systems" $0.01

Both on my reading list, of course <g>

You have to watch those "less than $1" priced books. Like at Fictionwise, they are NOT full length books but are short stories.

[vivaldirules]

I appreciate the comments. I think they are useful. But I really am looking for results of actual tests done by someone who has their hands on a Kindle. And I'm certain that more informative tests can be devised by those of you who are not a neophyte like me. Should someone put together such a list?