Amazon to Roll Out Kindle e-Book Device Monday

Newsweek revealed several details about Amazon.com's new e-book reader, called "Kindle." When Amazon.com officially rolls out its latest device at a news conference Monday afternoon, it will reveal the following: Kindle costs $399. It weighs 10.3 ounces, with a 6-inch screen and a tapered width that emulates the bulge toward a book’s binding, all of which give the reader the feel of a 'real' paperback. Kindle uses E-Ink display technology, making it fully visible in sunlight. It holds up to 200 books, with the capacity for hundreds more on a memory card. It gives 30 hours of use on one battery charge and takes only 2 to charge. It has 'free' wireless connectivity via a system called Whispernet (based on the EVDO broadband service offered by Sprint), meaning it works anywhere - not just where WiFi is found. Unlike the Sony Reader, the device downloads books directly from the web. 88,000 digital books will be available when Kindle at launch time, plus the ability to subscribe to newspapers and blogs. Most books will cost $9.99; blogs will cost $0.99-$1.99 a month. Kindle allows web-browsing, as well as searches within a book's text.

TechCrunch's Michael Arrington says the device is not, "the most elegant looking gadget ever created, but it packs an impressive list of features and could finally bring e-books mainstream. That’s something Sony couldn’t accomplish with its much more elegant Sony Reader." Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos called Kindle "the most important thing we’ve ever done," leading BusinessWeek's Rob Hof to write "I've gotta think Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has much more in mind than an e-book reader... I've known Jeff for years, and he never says anything lightly, and certainly never so over-the-top." Hof added: "I can see it hosting subscriptions of many kinds," such as music and video, as well as the formation of social-networking groups.

Sources: Newsweek, Paidcontent.org, TechCrunch, Business Week - The Tech Beat
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