Amazon unveils e-book device
The hand-held device called Kindle is about the same size as a paperback but "lighter and thinner" and can store up to 200 items that can be downloaded by a built-in wireless Internet connection.
"We've been working on Kindle for more than three years. Our top design objective was for Kindle to disappear in your hands — to get out of the way — so you can enjoy your reading," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and chief executive.
"We also wanted to go beyond the physical book. Kindle is wireless, so whether you're lying in bed or riding a train, you can think of a book, and have it in less than 60 seconds.
"No computer is needed — you do your shopping directly from the device."
Amazon says the screen works "using ink, just like books and newspapers, but displays the ink particles electronically.
"Because it reflects light like ordinary paper and uses no backlight, it eliminates the eye strain and glare associated with other electronic displays such as computer monitors," according to Amazon.
Amazon said it is also making some 90,000 books available in its Kindle Store, including over 100 best-sellers for about 10 dollars. Kindle customers can download and read the first chapter of most Kindle books for free.
The device, weighing about 300 grams (10 ounces), uses a high-speed data network called EVDO used on many cell phones, so customers will not need a computer or Wi-Fi connection.
Amazon will not charge a subscription fee or for connection time, but customers will pay for books or other content delivered to the device.
The company said the device "uses a high-resolution display technology called electronic paper that provides a sharp black and white screen that is as easy to read as printed paper."
The device received mixed review from the high-tech community.
"The Kindle isn't the most elegant looking gadget ever created (in fact it looks like it came out of the 70s), but it packs an impressive list of features and could finally bring e-books mainstream," said Michael Arrington in a blog posted on the website TechCrunch.
"That's something Sony couldn't accomplish with its much more elegant Sony Reader."
Arrington said Sony failed because its device required syncing with a computer to download content, while Kindle will offer connections for free.
"Bottom line, Amazon has a real chance to take eBooks where they haven't gone before," adds Michael Gartenberg at Jupiter Research.
"First devices will likely appeal mostly to road warriors who like to read and hate to carry paper. As prices come down, we'll see more mass market adoption."
But Peter Kafka at Silicon Valley Insider said: "No matter how nifty a gadget Jeff Bezos' company has created, it won't have the same impact on publishing that Apple's iPod had on the music business."
Kafka said most books are "stubbornly locked" in paper format so consumers will have to pay extra for digital copies even if they own a hard copy of the book.
Amazon said its Kindle Store will offer subscriptions to major US newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Time and Fortune, as well as global publications including Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine and The Irish Times.
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