Ideas for Kindle 2.0

[markbot]

I think in the next iteration they should have 2 versions of the Kindle: the cheapo version and the deluxe version. The cheapo version will be the same as Kindle 1.0, except only $299 and with the upgraded screen tech.

In the deluxe version, I think you should make the following upgrades.

1. Still $399 price point
2. Faster page refresh
3. 8 to 16 scale gray.
4. Bigger screen (perhaps 7.5 inches), but not a significantly bigger device in total. I want more page realestate so it can aproximate the page size of a regular book. i suppose u could make the margins on the side slightly smaller.
5. Rearrange the buttons so they are harder to accidently hit.
6. A page number metaphor instead of the current system, whatever it is.
7. Sleeker design with a better finish. (other people, not me.)
8. Shorter delay on the keyboard
9. Ability to zoom in and out of pictures
10. Faster processor, etc.

Also, I understand why they want to charge for the newspapers...more than the online version. they don't get the adveritsing dollars. However, I think if you are already a subscriber of the print or online version of the Wall Street Journal, you should be able to get the Kindle edition for something like $5 per month....then this would be worth it.

[HarryT]

Haven't you forgotten the most important change of all?

Make it use EDGE rather than EVDO so it can be used world-wide.

How could you possibly overlook the #1 restriction of the current Kindle, which restricts its use to North America?

[tcv]

Don't fault him too much. As Americans, we're supposed to pretend other places don't exist!

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by markbot

I think in the next iteration they should have 2 versions of the Kindle: the cheapo version and the deluxe version. The cheapo version will be the same as Kindle 1.0, except only $299 and with the upgraded screen tech.

In the deluxe version, I think you should make the following upgrades.

1. Still $399 price point
2. Faster page refresh
3. 8 to 16 scale gray.
4. Bigger screen (perhaps 7.5 inches), but not a significantly bigger device in total. I want more page realestate so it can aproximate the page size of a regular book. i suppose u could make the margins on the side slightly smaller.
10. Faster processor, etc.

Your points 2, 3, 4 are technological impossibilities for at least the next year. When they are possible, the associated cost will preclude point 1.

As for point 10, the processor is a Xscale PXA255 at 400MHz. That's pretty darn fast.


What about the battery?

[markbot]

i thnk they can get a better screen made at the same cost within a year. plus, this screen they have is already at least a year old.

I don't like that whole...americans don't think other countries exist stuff. that is so tired. It's pretty damn easy being "international" when u cross a country every 4 hours of driving.

as for the Edge versus EVDO...yeah, that would be great for the euros. and even me, since i travel abroad every so often.

but i actually don't like the idea since then when the Kindle is as popular as the ipod, some FROGhead will demand that they change it in order to allow more "competition"....code for we don't like successul American firms. we want a French Champion!!!

[bwit]

Originally Posted by markbot

but i actually don't like the idea since then when the Kindle is as popular as the ipod, some FROGhead will demand that they change it in order to allow more "competition"....code for we don't like successul American firms. we want a French Champion!!!

Maybe this is true but let's not condemn an entire country based on the actions of some of their leaders.

I believe that Amazon is testing the waters with this first version Kindle. They made an agreement with a US company to provide wireless access and have acknowledged that the US is currently their sole market. That is certainly their prerogative.

If the Kindle is successful would you not expect Amazon to release versions based on different wireless technologies? Isn't this what happened with the Motorola Razr when it became a hot commodity?

Amazon is in business to make money. Why would they exclude most of the world market if they had a successful product that could earn them huge profits?

Bob

[CCDMan]

I don't like that whole...americans don't think other countries exist stuff. that is so tired. It's pretty damn easy being "international" when u cross a country every 4 hours of driving.

Some truth to that. I have always been annoyed by the occasional non-us citizen who accuses the US of "cultural imperialism". It is true by result, it is not true by intent. It is the inevitable result of being one of the largest economies and the largest English speaking economy. It is not some US sponsored conspiracy....

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Haven't you forgotten the most important change of all?

Make it use EDGE rather than EVDO so it can be used world-wide.

How could you possibly overlook the #1 restriction of the current Kindle, which restricts its use to North America?

this, of course, will require CE certification and likely lots of others to work world-wide. Regulations do effect the sale of a product.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by markbot

I think in the next iteration they should have 2 versions of the Kindle: the cheapo version and the deluxe version. The cheapo version will be the same as Kindle 1.0, except only $299 and with the upgraded screen tech.

In the deluxe version, I think you should make the following upgrades.

1. Still $399 price point
2. Faster page refresh
3. 8 to 16 scale gray.
4. Bigger screen (perhaps 7.5 inches), but not a significantly bigger device in total. I want more page real estate so it can approximate the page size of a regular book. i suppose u could make the margins on the side slightly smaller.
5. Rearrange the buttons so they are harder to accidentally hit.
6. A page number metaphor instead of the current system, whatever it is.
7. Sleeker design with a better finish. (other people, not me.)
8. Shorter delay on the keyboard
9. Ability to zoom in and out of pictures
10. Faster processor, etc.

1. That's OK
2. That depends on what the new versions of the screen are like
3. 8 gray scale could have been now if they had used the same controller the 505 uses.
4. Bigger screen not till the end of 2008 (I think)
5. Would be nice if they allowed you to turn off one of the sets of page turn buttons
6. Can't do. That has to do with the Mobipocket format/reader.
7. seems OK to me as is
8. That might have to do with the eink screen
9. Can do on the 505
10. That would be nice.

[resistor]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Make it use EDGE rather than EVDO so it can be used world-wide.

You do realize that EVDO is about 5x-10x faster than EDGE, depending on the variant your phone and your provider are using?

I believe the technology you're looking for is HSDPA, which is high-speed data over GSM networks. However, it's not as widely deployed, just as EVDO is less widely deployed than 1xRTT (though my completely unscientific impression is that EVDO leads HSDPA in deployment here in the US).

[tklaus]

Originally Posted by markbot

1. Still $399 price point
2. Faster page refresh
3. 8 to 16 scale gray.
4. Bigger screen (perhaps 7.5 inches), but not a significantly bigger device in total. I want more page realestate so it can aproximate the page size of a regular book. i suppose u could make the margins on the side slightly smaller.
5. Rearrange the buttons so they are harder to accidently hit.
6. A page number metaphor instead of the current system, whatever it is.
7. Sleeker design with a better finish. (other people, not me.)
8. Shorter delay on the keyboard
9. Ability to zoom in and out of pictures
10. Faster processor, etc.

I'm not sure how #6 could be done since page numbers would change whenever you change font size? It seems to me that the location number they currently use is the best metaphor for a page number on an e-reader.

#8 is a function of the e-ink refresh rate, so they could only improve that by improving the refresh rate, or using a separate one-line LCD text entry field (which would probably have some impact --maybe small?-- on battery life).

Great list though, where do I order?

[JSWolf]

Sony with BBeB (LRX & LRF) have come up with page numbers. Tells me what page out of the total pages... The book I am reading now shows 96 of 1258. And that changes with the font size. So yes it can be done. But to do it, Mobipocket would have to change all the readers and get people to update them. Not an easy task.

[brecklundin]

Make the connectivity modular with a choice of a Wifi or EVDO option. Won't happen of course because Sprint has factored in people like me who cannot get EVDO where we live yet we are/"would be" paying for others to have that connectivity. I would bet (complete WAG) but I would bet 20% of all Kindle users have none or marginal EVDO connectivity where they live.

Also for 400-bones I would like some more PDA like functionality. One big issue would be some software to do the NYTimes crossword puzzle. That crossword puzzle is one of the main reasons to sub to the paper. So buy Be Crossword or some other software and port it over the the Kindle's OS. This would also open another revenue stream for those would sub to only the crossword puzzles from the NYTimes or other papers that use the .puz format.

As it sits we are waiting to see what shakes out over the next 6-12 months. I am especially interested in the life expectancy of the device and it's failure rates. IN many respects Amazon is a new hardware vendor w/o a track record...

[tklaus]

Is there any way to adjust the line spacing? It would be nice to set the text to single spaced in order to get more text on a page and reduce the number of page turns.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by resistor

You do realize that EVDO is about 5x-10x faster than EDGE, depending on the variant your phone and your provider are using?

Certainly I do, but EDGE is perfectly acceptable for most practical applications - eg the iPhone happily uses it for streaming video from "YouTube". eBooks are not large - a bandwidth of a few hundred kbit/sec is perfectly adequate for downloading content.