Dan Moren, Macworld:
U.S. District Judge Denise Cote on Wednesday handed down her ruling in the case between the Department of Justice and Apple over ebook price-fixing, saying that Apple conspired with the five major publishers to raise rates. A trial on damages will be held to decide how much relief the U.S. government and a coalition of U.S. states are entitled to.
Not surprisingly, Apple says it will be appealing the ruling.
The update includes improved fonts, UI enhancements, better manga support and the ability to turn off recommended content on the home screen.
On a side note, updating the Kindle is still a fairly old-school process. I downloaded a .bin file, dumped it on the Kindle via USB, and had to manually start the install. Seeing a Kindle reboot is still really weird, too.
Shawn Blanc, on the Kindle Paperwhite:
The Kindle Paperwhite has a lot going for it: the e-ink screen, million-year battery life, illuminated display, improved software, the iOS Kindle apps that sync with my iPad and iPhone, and the lightweight yet rugged build of the device hardware. The biggest compliment I can give the Kindle is that thanks to it, I read more books and I read more often.
I agree. I’ve read a ton more since purchasing my first Kindle a year ago. It’s one of those devices that is so enjoyable to use, I can’t help but spend time with it.
Erica Sadun at TUAW:
We don’t know what Apple’s event will cover, but this kind of large-scale deployment sets a bar that Apple needs to meet – soon if not next week. At TUAW, we believe that winning the classroom will win the tablet. If Apple cannot respond to Whispercast, they cannot win that classroom.
Apple’s enterprise tools for iOS and support for mobile device management have advantages for big organizations, but the textbook (and app) volume purchasing setup doesn’t have quite the fluidity of what Whispercast will deliver. MDM at a basic level is doable with Apple’s Mountain Lion Server, but larger deployments may require extensive IT support and investment, which most schools don’t have at their disposal. In contrast, Whispercast is cloud-based and free. (There are several cloud-based MDM options for iOS, to be sure, with Meraki, Zenprise and MaaS360 among them, but they aren’t free.)
A year ago, I reviewed the $79 Kindle. Here’s what I said:
The $79 Kindle is very much a contender in the e-ink reader space. While it might not be as fancy as the new Kindle Touch or as large as the Kindle DX, its low price and high build-quality are a tough combination to beat. I’m thrilled with my purchase.
In the 12 months sense, I’ve used the heck of my Kindle. I ended up buying the Amazon case with the built-in light to read more at night, in bed, after my wife is asleep.
I can’t wait to get mine. I’m genuinely excited about this gadget.
Joshua Topolsky likes it as a content consumption device, but:
…there’s a second tablet in the review as well. One that gets compared to the iPad and Nexus 7. One that I expect to do more than just show me movies or help me shop. One that should be a companion for all kinds of things I want to do, that doesn’t feel limited, that doesn’t respond to my touches slowly, that doesn’t make me wait.
In preparing for tomorrow’s podcast, I decided to type up a list of Amazon’s pricing for the Kindles. Here’s the complete list:
At almost any price point you can imagine between $70 and $700, there’s a Kindle. While that’s obviously Amazon’s goal, it makes for an extremely confusing product matrix.
It says something about Amazon that it took nerd outcry to change this.
I bought the $79 Kindle last year. It was my first Kindle, and I love it. I ended up buying a case with the built-in light, however, as most of my reading is at night, after my wife goes to bed.
The light is fine, and the case is nice, but it’s a janky solution.
The Kindle Paperwhite promises to solve this problem. The new e-ink display is supposed to be crisper, with better font options and better contrast. In short, the things that are good about e-ink should be better with this new Kindle, with the bonus of a built-in light.
For $200 this holiday season, what are you more likely to buy?
It’s easy to conclude that the Nexus 7 is about Google beating Amazon, but even in the $200 market, Apple’s a contender.
