Created: 11/19/2007
Video description: The Amazon Kindle is lightweight, stylish e-book reader with the ability to download new books over a wireless EV-DO network.
Amazon Kindle Video Transcript
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>> Hi, I'm David Carnoy, executive editor of CNET.com and this is the Amazon Kindle. This is Amazon's new electronic book reader. Like the Sony reader, this uses EN technology which makes the text on the screen look very much like printed text, so it's easy to read. There's no back light in this model. But it's designed to be read in brightly lit environments. It can be read in the sunlight. This model has a wireless cellular connection in it. It's not WIFI, it's actually EVDO, which is a high speed data network. And Amazon doesn't make up pay for it like your normal cell phone bill. It's included in the cost of the Kindle. That EVDO connection allows you to download the books wherever you can get a cell phone connection. You can also subscribe to daily newspapers, the New York Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, there's several newspapers available as well as a few magazines and also a lot of blogs. The buttons in general seem to be very well laid out. There's also a little scroll wheel which allows you to go up and down through the text and also select certain passages, so you can say look up a word in a sentence. That scroll wheel offers another dimension to navigating the device that the Sony reader just doesn't have. There's also a keyboard. That keyboard is used to search on the Amazon Kindle store for books. The device will also allow you to surf the web. You can go to web pages, but it's really not that well designed to actually surf the web. Using just its internal memory you can store hundreds of books, word documents, newspapers, blogs. There is an SD card slot around back and that allows you to store thousands of documents and books. One big flaw we seen with the device is the cover. The device just doesn't sit that well within the cover. It feels like it could slip out. The Kindle device will also play back audible books for those who want to listen to books on their reader. This really is the future of books. That said, it's going to be a little bit expensive right now for people. Hopefully we'll see a price drop in the future. I'm David Carnoy and that's the Amazon Kindle.
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Amazon Kindle Review
The good: Excellent high-contrast screen does a great job of simulating a printed page; large library of tens of thousands of e-books, newspapers, magazines, and blogs via Amazon's familiar online store; built-in free wireless "Whispernet" data network--no PC needed; built-in keyboard for notes; SD card expansion slot; compatible with Windows and Mac machines.
The bad: Design is ergonomic, but not very elegant; pricing for nearly all the content seems too high, especially considering the periodicals and blogs are available for free online; black-and-white screen is fine for books, but less impressive for periodicals and Web content; lacks a true Web browser; included cover is clumsy and poorly designed; additional file formats need to be e-mailed to Amazon for conversion; yet another dedicated device you'll need to lug around with you.
The bottom line: With its free built-in wireless capabilities and PC-free operation, Amazon's Kindle holds a distinct advantage over Sony's Reader and is a promising evolution of the electronic book--but Amazon needs to bring down the pricing for both the device and the content to attract a wider audience.
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Amazon Kindle User Opinions
3 out of 10
Very Poor
This thing is everything that critics incorrectly fault the iPod for being. With...
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86 out of
142 users found this opinion helpful
9 out of 10
Excellent
Although I have an iPhone, the idea of using it to read a book is nuts because the...
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57 out of
57 users found this opinion helpful
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Amazon Kindle Specs
Manufacturer: Amazon.com
Part number: B000FI73MA
There are no specs for this product.
Amazon Kindle Prices
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