Kindle
Kindle is an electronic book that allows you to connect to the Internet to download content (digitized books, newspapers and magazines ...) sold online by Amazon.com U.S. site. The content format is proprietary, they are protected by a system of digital rights management (DRM). The transfer does not require a computer or Wi-Fi connection, it is done through the wireless high-speed mobile operator Sprint. The user can also upload their own documents on the Kindle by connecting the camera to a computer via USB or by sending email to the price of 10 cents per item. Word documents and various image formats are converted by Amazon after emailing to be readable on the Kindle. A built-in browser allows access to the Web and has a set of pre-selected favorites.
There are so far three hardware versions: Kindle 1st generation, 2nd generation Kindle and Kindle DX and three levels of service without service of wireless reception, wireless reception in the U.S. alone, wireless reception internationally (see the website for the list of countries served).
1st generation Kindle
The device measures 19.1 cm × 13.5 cm for a thickness of 1.8 cm and weighs 292 grams. It has a monochrome screen 6 inches (15 cm) diagonally, whose definition is 600 × 800 pixels and the resolution of 167 dots per inch. The Kindle has a keyboard, an audio output to listen audio books, a card reader SD memory and a USB 2.0 port to connect to a computer. It features an internal memory of 256 megabytes, which nearly 80 are reserved for its own operating system, based on a modified version of the Linux kernel (version 2.6.10). The device firmware can be updated, allowing Amazon to add new features. According to Amazon, the Kindle can store about two hundred pounds and the battery life varies between two and seven days (respectively with and without use of the wireless network).
2nd generation Kindle
* Screen: 6 "diagonal electronic ink technology with E Ink ®, resolution of 600 x 800 pixels at 167 dpi, 16 levels of gray.
* Size of the unit: approximately 203.2 mm x 134.6 mm x 9.1 mm.
* Weight: approximately 289.2 grams.
* Memory: 2 GB internal (about 1.4 GB available for user content).
* Autonomy: from a full charge up to four days of playing with the wireless reception enabled. until two weeks
reading with the wireless disabled. (Given as an indication)
* Connectivity: Modem HSDPA (3G) compatible with EDGE / GPRS network uses Amazon Whispernet (availability according to the coverage of both countries)
* USB: USB 2.0 micro-sized B
* Audio: Stereo 3.5 mm jack, stereo speakers in the rear of the unit.
* Supported formats: Kindle (AZW), TXT, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), MP3, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; PDF, HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP following conversion.
It seems that the fall in prices on memory components contributed to the abandonment of the SD card slot in favor of a much larger internal capacity of the device.
Kindle DX
* Screen (not touch): diagonal 9.7 ", resolution 1200 x 824 pixels
* Size of the unit: approximately 264 mm x 183 mm x 9.6 mm
* Weight: approximately 535 grams
* Memory: 3.3 GB
* Independence: 4 to 20 days depending on frequency of use of the 3G connection
* Connectivity: Modem HSDPA (3G) compatible with EDGE / GPRS
Note: when the commercial release of the device, only the English language was managed.
Home Press
The release highlights the ease with which investors buy and notes that the Kindle takes the concept of electronic book with an innovative business model, because "the costs of connection [to Sprint's network] are included in the price of content ", but regrets that access to the catalog of blogs is paying. He also criticized the failure Kindle support for many text formats such as PDF, unlike its competitor the Sony Reader and its proprietary format. Indeed, the downloaded content on the Kindle from Amazon.com can not be played on devices other brands.
Amazon offers a complimentary service to convert Microsoft Word documents, TXT, HTML, PDF, or image files such as JPEGs and GIFs. Just send files by e-mail on their servers and receive by return e-mail on file compatible. A financial contribution is required if the user wishes to directly receive the converted file on the device by the 3G network.
See also Notebook
wikipedia