Amazon unveils e-reader

Amazon has launched Kindle, a portable reader that downloads books, blogs, magazines and newspapers wirelessly to an electronic paper display. “We've been working on Kindle for more than three years,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com’s founder and ceo. “Our top design objective was for Kindle to disappear in your hands – to get out of the way – so you can enjoy your reading. Kindle is wireless, so whether you’re lying in bed or riding a train, you can think of a book and have it in less than 60s. No computer is needed – you do your shopping directly from the device.” At 290g, Kindle is lighter and thinner than a typical paperback. It has a standard layout keyboard and a 600 x 800 four levels of grey scale display with a resolution of 167dpi. Its integral 256Mbyte memory can store more than 200 titles and more data can be stored on an SD memory card. According to Amazon, Kindle can be left on and recharged every other day, or used for a week or more with the wireless off before recharging. The Kindle wireless delivery system – Amazon Whispernet – uses Sprint’s EVDO data network (part of the CDMA2000 family of standards), allowing users to shop at the Kindle Store, download or receive new content. Interestingly, Amazon is covering wireless costs, so users pay only for the data they download.