New Kindle announced

Though not directly related to the act of creation, at this Workshop we try to keep a close eye on any news from the market of electronic books. The reasons are, on the one hand, the usefulness of the new format for learning and research, and on the other, the publishing opportunities that it might open for new and experienced authors alike.

This time it’s Amazon who captures our attention with news of a third generation of its Kindle ebook reader, available from August 27th. Its most remarkable feature is perhaps its new price, with its basic model at ₤109/$139, while the 3G drops to ₤149/$189. Such prices were unthinkable just a few months ago and make this technology accessible to a wider audience.

Most of the other updates are rather predictable (the typical improvements in contrast, speed, etc.) with two exceptions that catch our attention, though for different reasons.

First, the system will include an internet browser. While the idea is terribly attractive, we are skeptical at the thought of surfing the net at the slow speed with which electronic ink refreshes – it simply would make the experience quite exasperating.

On the other hand, enhanced PDF support is announced, including (as we understand from the technical features sheet) the option of landscape reading. If this is properly implemented, it might allow us to finally read A4-formatted PDFs comfortably, simply by scrolling down the pages – with no need to invest $379 on its big brother, the Kindle DX. This would prove very helpful, for example, for reading screenplays, which are rarely found on print but easily -and for free- on PDF, making it an invaluable tool for scriptwriters looking for learning material.

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Jesus (mac66)

Y para comprarlo, Amazon? O se venderá también en Europa?

Lightray

Yo me haré con uno cuando cueste 30 euros, dentro de unos añitos. Ahora que lo compren los adictos a la tecnología. Seguro que muchos de los que lo han comprado, pueden contar con los dedos de las dos manos los libros que han leído en su vida.
De todos modos, si el cacharrito de marras sirve para que los chavales se aficionen a la lectura, bienvenido sea.

Lightray

Puuuuf, no quiero ni pensar lo que me pasará el inevitable día en que los libros clásicos desaparezcan. Ya lo pasé mal con el tema de los vinilos y aún los echo de menos (y eso que el cambio del vinilo al CD me pilló muy jovencito). Para mí el libro de papel (el de toda la vida), es el formato ideal. Lo llevas a cualquier a sitio. Puedes doblarlo, sostenerlo de muchas maneras, si se cae al suelo, aunque sea desde un sexto piso, como me sucedió hace poco, no se rompe. Y, aunque pueda resultar un tópico, me… Leer más »