Today Amazon took the wraps off of its three-year old eBook concept, now known as Kindle. Sporting a wireless connection to Sprint's EV-DO network (free to use through Amazon Whispernet), the Kindle eBook reader aims to sell books, magazines and newspapers over-the-air.
In short, instead of stopping by the nearest newsstand or kiosk to buy the latest newspapers or paperbacks from your favorite authors, Amazon will now send them to you electronically.
The Kindle Store currently offers more than 90,000 book titles, as well as hundreds of newspapers, magazines and blogs. Kindle customers can download and read the first chapter of most Kindle books for free, while a free two-week trial is offered for most newspapers and magazines.
A few high-profile blogs have also been included, but should mainly be regarded as a marketing gimmick rather than a revolutionary solution for blog publishing.
eBook titles will typically sell for around $10, while newspaper and magazine subscriptions will go for $6-$15 per month and $1-$3.50 per month, respectively. Blogs such as the Huffington Post will cost you $1 per month.
The Kindle eBook reader itself will cost you $400, but offers the latest in eBook reader technology, such as a monochrome 6-inch E Ink display, battery life of up to two weeks and physical measurements of 7.5 by 5.3 by 0.7 inches and a weight of 10.3 ounces.
The E Ink display comes with a 600 by 800 pixel resolution at 167 ppi, and should offer a pleasant reading experience. However, this device is all about text, so the 3G EV-DO support is for downloading text only - no multimedia content.
All in all, Amazon's Kindle concept is an interesting way of giving the eBook market a boost, although it could easily end up as yet another niche product without any mass market appeal.
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