The screen is gorgeous and my very limited fondle made it seem very snappy.
Unfortunately, the Experimental Browser was unavailable on the demo model. I was hoping to download some Google Books PDFs to test. No such luck.
As lust-inducing as this is, I can’t help feeling that this is the point where Bezos is showing his ultimate card. Now that he’s developed a set of customers who will read only with an eInk screen — the hardcores — he jacks up the price and squeezes their wallets. I don’t think this Kindle can be accused of being sold at a loss!
The WiFi version without ads is US$219. The WiFi + 3G version without ads is US$289. I think both models are overpriced by at least US$50, if not US$100.
Look, this is now a world where you can get a faster high-resolution phone for cheaper:
The ZTE Zmax has a 720p screen. Can read Kindle and ePub — and any other format — and fit easily in a pocket and do many other things. For US$249 — now mostly US$199.
The Android Kindle software might not be as sleek or as full-featured as that on the Kindle, but for most people that won’t matter. People just want to read.
And these days, I see most people in public reading on a phone, with a few on tablets — and very rarely on old-style eInk eBook devices.
Mike Cane’s xBlog 