+ "New electronic-ink screen with 50 percent better contrast than any other e-reader."
+ "21 percent smaller body but screen size stays the same."
+ Lighter (8.7 ounces)
+ 50% Faster Page Turns
+ More storage (up to 3,500 books)
+ Graphite color option
+ Free 3G wireless access. Available in more than 100 countries. In other words, if you're traveling you still might be able to download content.
+ Twitter and Facebook integration
+ New (Built-In) Open Source Web Browser. Will offer a "reader" view (removes material surrounding article making it easier) like what's available on Safari and on other browsers using Arc90's Readability.
The company also announced plans for a UK-localized version at £109 and £149, respectively, as well as a UK e-book store. Video tour available. (via Engadget)
Two of the most compelling aspects of the iPad — a color display and touch screen — are elements that some customers have been yearning for on the Kindle. Keep waiting, Mr. Bezos said.
“There will never be a Kindle with a touch screen that inhibits reading. It has to be done in a different way. It can’t be a me-too touch screen,” he said. Earlier this year, Amazon bought Touchco, a start-up specializing in touch-screen technology, but current touch-screen technology adds reflections and glare and makes it hard to shift one’s hands while reading for long periods of time, he said. Color is also “not ready for prime time,” Mr. Bezos said.
USATODAY.com: Amazon is selling more Kindle e-books than hardcover books. When will you pass paperbacks?
Jeff Bezos: I predict we will surpass paperback sales sometime in the next nine to 12 months. Sometime after that, we'll surpass the combination of paperback and hardcover. It stuns me. People forget that Kindle is only 33 months old.
USATODAY.com: Why doesn't Amazon support the popular "e-pub" standard used by your competitors and many libraries?
Jeff Bezos: We are innovating so rapidly that having our own standard allows us to incorporate new things at a very rapid rate. For example: Whispersync (which uses wireless connections to sync your place in a book across devices) and changing font sizes.
Other standards over time may incorporate some of these things. But we're moving very quickly to improve the state of the art. It's very helpful not to have to wait for some third-party standard to catch up.
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