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Amazon Plans iPad Competitor (and 2 New Kindles)

Posted by timothy on from the they'd-have-me-at-daylight-readable dept.

destinyland writes "Some time in the next 10 weeks, Amazon will release a new Android tablet device, which will compete directly with Apple's iPad, according to the Wall Street Journal. Amazon hopes to leverage the digital content they've already made available online — digital video, music, and ebooks, as well as their new app store for Android devices. The device will ship without a built-in camera, prompting one tablet watcher to report that 'it feels like Amazon is trying to strip it down and bring it in at the lowest cost possible.' Amazon will also release two new versions of the Kindle — one with a touch screen, and one at a lower price." Now if only they'd make it a proper e-reader by including a Pixel Qi (or similar) daylight-readable screen, I'd be sold.

6 of 145 comments (clear)

  1. huh? by Ralph+Spoilsport · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Now if only they'd make it a proper e-reader by including a Pixel Qi (or similar) daylight-readable screen, I'd be sold.

    Huh? Make what a proper ereader? The Kindle? The kindle eInk is easily readable in broad daylight. It's useless in the dark.Or are you talking about the tablet? Your syntax is unclear. Please rephrase.

    --
    Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
  2. Re:kindle started it all by geekoid · · Score: 4, Insightful

    No ti didn't. I mean is was out, but no one wanted a tablet' until the iPad. well, the VAST majority of people.

    They are not really comparable. one is a device designed for a specific task, the other is a multipurpose portable computer.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  3. Re:kindle started it all by Moridineas · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What about the Newton? What about those brick thick tablets in the 90s/early 2000s that you could draw on?

    I have a Kindle and an iPad. I read books on both. The Kindle experience is, imho, far better. The Kindle is great, but the Kindle is not a general purpose tablet. The iPad is. It's absolutely fair to say that the iPad started the current tablet craze.

  4. Touchscreen....No Thanks! by Fool106 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Am I the only one who doesn't want a touchscreen kindle? I do not want to see my finger prints all over the screen while I try to read a book.

    1. Re:Touchscreen....No Thanks! by 0123456 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Am I the only one who doesn't want a touchscreen kindle? I do not want to see my finger prints all over the screen while I try to read a book.

      Ditto. I suspect most people demanding touchscreens have never actually used one for long.

    2. Re:Touchscreen....No Thanks! by steveg · · Score: 3, Informative

      When Barnes and Noble announced the new touchscreen Nook, one of my objections on various forums was about the reduction in clarity that came with touchscreens. A number of people told me that, while that was a problem with the 1st gen Sony touchscreens, the newer Pearl touchscreens used a different process and there was no optical penalty for the touchscreen part.

      You'd still have to deal with the fact that it's a touchscreen, and I'm not too enthusiastic about that, but it seems that clarity is no longer the problem it was.

      --
      Ignorance killed the cat. Curiosity was framed.