If you bought your Kindle 2 used or received it as a gift, you might not have any idea whether it’s the original U.S. wireless version or the later International wireless version. Heck, even if you bought it from Amazon you might not know. Here’s how to tell.
1. Look on the back of the Kindle for the serial number.
2. If it starts with B002, it’s the original U.S. model (uses Sprint’s 3G network).
3. If it starts with B003, it’s the newer international model (uses AT&T’s 3G network, at least in the U.S.).
Normally you won’t need to know this, but you will if you plan on installing your own custom screensavers or replacing fonts on the Kindle 2.
Thanks to kindleboards for this tip!
(Photo: ToastyKen, David Sifry)
When it comes to ebook pricing, I’ve changed my position on the matter almost weekly; sometimes I side with publishers, sometimes with retailers, sometimes with consumers. But I think this week I may have finally realized something that forces me into a more permanent point of view on the matter. It’s this:
Most publishers want to maintain the traditional business model and slow the growth of the ebook market.
Most publishers, in fact, are trying to intentionally slow the uptake of ebooks by consumers. I think that’s what the whole pricing issue is really about–driving away customers as much as possible, because ebooks don’t easily fit into the existing business model of the average publisher.
Last week, an industry insider circulated talking points among publishing types, instructing them on how to frame the debate in the media in order to convince consumers to accept higher ebook prices. This in itself is offensive–if your approach to innovation is to act like a political group, and to deliberately strategize how to abuse language so that you can confuse the issue, you’re sending a clear message that you don’t want to have an honest conversation with your customers.
In response, I posted a piece on Consumerist.com that explains the issue in plain language for publishers: if you want to raise prices, make the ebook worth the price. It’s that simple. Add value, raise the price.
I also pointed out four things that publishers should take under consideration immediately, instead of memorizing talking points:
- Stop calling consumers cheap; they want fair value.
- Stop hiding behind industry inefficiencies. Innovate.
- Stop asking consumers to trust you; demonstrate that you want the ebook market to grow, or be honest and admit that you don’t.
- Stop saying lower prices will destroy author incomes and modern culture; it derails any meaningful discussion.
Most complaints you read from publishers commit at least one of the above four sins. Why, take a look at this email I received from a publisher earlier this week when I suggested that she might sell more copies of a novella (a novella!) if she would price the Kindle version lower than $10 on Amazon:
What I think consumers don’t understand is there is still a decent amount of cost & time we as publishers have to put in to offer a book on Kindle (or B&N, etc.)…So, it wouldn’t be fair to us or the author to charge much lower. All publishers struggle to make ends meet and the majority of our authors certainly aren’t making a living off their book royalties, so for this reason I don’t think we can discount books — print or ebooks — any further.
Look at that: she implies Kindle customers are being cheap (as opposed to asking for fair value), she blames the industry for barely being profitable as it is, and she says authors won’t be able to make a living. Three in one paragraph!
So I finally get it. When publishers say they want to maintain a competitive marketplace, or they don’t want ebooks to cannibalize print sales, or they need to recoup the cost of publishing, what they’re really saying is simply: we want to make sure ebooks don’t take off, because we have no idea how to make that work within our current business model and we’re reluctant to try to innovate.
What they’re not saying is that they’re taking authors or readers into consideration. There may be a more profitable model out there for publishers and authors–one that includes lower prices for consumerst, in fact–but it won’t be discovered by one of the existing big companies. And the next time you read a publisher’s complaints about ebook pricing, make sure you’re not just being fed talking points.
“Consumerist: If publishers want more money for e-books, they should offer something worthy of the price” [Consumerist]
RELATED
Read more comments on this topic at the following two posts:
“Consumerist: If publishers want more money for e-books, they should offer something worthy of the price” [Teleread]
“Book Publishers Circulating ‘Talking Points’ To Counter Arguments That Ebook Prices Need To Go Lower” [techdirt]
(Money photo by aresauburn™)
If you’ve got a BlackBerry and you don’t mind reading on it, welcome to the Amazon Kindle family. Today Amazon released their free mobile app for Blackberry devices.
The app works for the following BlackBerry phones:
- Bold 9000
- Bold 9700
- Curve 8520
- Curve 8900
- Storm 9530
- Storm 9550
- Tour 9630
The best thing about mobile Kindle apps (and the PC app) is they let you buy and read Kindle books without investing hundreds of dollars in a Kindle. If you know a BlackBerry owner who wants a Kindle but can’t spend the money right now, this is an easy and free way to get started.
You can download it from Amazon, or type amazon.com/kindlebb into your BlackBerry browser.
Qualcomm’s new color screen technology that it first revealed back in January–imagine the Kindle’s E Ink screen but higher resolution, in full color and with full motion–has popped up again this week in a couple of new demo videos.
The Mirasol screen requires even less power than an E Ink screen, but like E Ink it can be read clearly in bright light (outside, for example). It works similar to how a butterfly’s iridescent wings display different colors depending on the angle of light.
Qualcomm says the screen will be used in an ereader device hitting the market this fall, but won’t say anything else. Would you be willing to upgrade to a new Kindle model if it could handle full-motion color video, high resolution photos and illustrations, and had a longer battery life?
Below are the two demo videos.
Read more…
SUMMARY
- Attaches directly to Kindle 2, provides ability to stand Kindle 2 upright at different angles.
- $19.95 + $7 shipping from www.arkon.com.
- Same price on Amazon
through a third-party retailer.
- Arkon provides a 90 day warranty, but you will have to pay $9 for a replacement product.
- For purchases directly from arkon.com, there is a 30 day return policy, and shipping fees will not be refunded.
Pros:
- lightweight and relatively unobtrusive
- sturdy, easy to clean
- easy to attach and remove
- can attach to a wall
Cons:
- can’t leave on if you use a case
- very noisy when you adjust the legs
- current buying options make it slightly expensive when you factor in shipping
MY EXPERIENCE
A stand that attaches to your Kindle 2 and lets you prop it upright is pretty self-explanatory. But why would you want or need such functionality in the first place? Before I tested this model, I tried to come up with real life scenarios: sitting in bed, recuperating in a hospital, nursing a baby, eating.
The one category from that list that I could test was eating (sorry, my iPhone comes to bed with me), so I used it to read while I ate lunch. I found it surprisingly nice–it doesn’t cover any buttons or stand out obnoxiously, so I could forget about it and enjoy hands-free reading. Having your Kindle upright and facing you is indeed slightly more ergonomic than leaning over it and reading while you eat. Sure, it’s only a slight advantage, but I can see the appeal.
Arkon makes dozens of different contraptions to hold your smartphone or GPS unit in place, whether you’re at your desk, on a bike, or in a car. Most of their stuff is thick and black and chunky, but the Kindle Stand throws out that “bulky=sturdy” asthetic and goes with a translucent, slightly frosted plastic that blends in nicely with the Kindle. It’s also just big enough to do its job, so you don’t feel like you’re adding unnecessary bulk to your device.
There are two things I didn’t like about the stand, however: it’s noisy, and it doesn’t play well with cases.
Read more…
