newspaper

• Just as Hearst released there plans to release a notepaper sized e-reader today, rumors of a competing Kindle 3 have been leaked from inside Amazon says FastCompany. Even though the Kindle 2 has just been released, there are still complaints that the screen is “still relatively tiny, there’s no touch-screen function and stylistically it’s still somewhat of a mess with about 30% of its top surface dedicated not to its primary function as an e-book visualizer, but for a keyboard”
• Just like the Hearst model, the Kindle 3 is also said to have a notepaper-sized screen, better for viewing magazine and newspaper-style content, plus room for advertisers. As I said in my last post, the only chance a large screen e-reader has is if it finds its way onto every-one’s coffee table and is loaded up with the latest papers from around the country when I turn it on. But will that succeed? The price point will be a major factor, as competing low-priced laptops and netbooks along with the upcoming tablet computers offer more than just reading capabilities. Example: I sleep with my laptop 5 feet away from me when I sleep. As soon as I wake up I can take care of email, blogging and of course, reading the news. It will take something special for me to want to reach over for an e-reader with limited functions as my morning replacement. Also consider the fact that a 6-inch Kindle is ultra-portable and can fit in my laptop bag. A notepaper sized product will have to find it’s own ride as I don’t have room for it, not to mention anything I can do on my e-paper, I can get done and more on my laptop. I think Bezos, Amazon’s CEO is smart enough to consider these major factors, and will steer clear of the large screen devices. Trying to find a new device for the news is just not practical. It is widely known that Amazon is working with schools to find a solution to digital text-books, which is about the only thing a large screen makes sense for.
• I think a large Kindle for newspapers is a terrible rumor at best.

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