Kindle News: The coming Amazon smartphone. Expanded textbook rentals? Reports on the Digital Book World Conference.

More rumors of an Amazon smartphone soon and a widening of Kindle textbook-rental offerings, plus reports on Digital Book World Conference

There aren't many news stories the last few days except the ones that say that, according to the usual Taiwan news sources, Amazon will release a smartphone by summer 2013 and that it'll probably cost between $100-$200 without the need for a long-term contract.  They suggest that Foxconn has already signed a deal and that the "initial order for the very first Kindle Smartphone is said to total 5 million units."

Without a contract? That would be a no-brainer for buyers who just see no need for the latest whizbang smartphone.  As one who enjoys the Samsung Galaxy S2, and its ability to give a few devices WiFi via the tethering feature, I wouldn't be one of that target market, but it's a big segment from what I've seen from friends and family who have no interest in the fancier phones but who do want a smartphone and who don't want to tie themselves down to a 2-yr plan to get a decent price.
  I did get my Samsung for a penny when Amazon Wireless had one of those specials.

  A big-selling smartphone would be another draw for app developers.


Speaking of apps...
 Business Insider's Business Intelligence is selling a full report on "How Amazon is Trying to Create A Huge Mobile Business" and offering a free trial on what would be a $300 to $400 yearly subscription for businesses needing that kind of information.  In the column describing this, they say:

' Software sales:  The Amazon Appstore has been a huge success on the Kindle Fire.  Developers make almost as much revenue per active user as they do on iOS, and Apple executives reportedly worry that Amazon's controlled, iTunes-like approach makes it more competitive than other app stores, including one operated by Google.

  Given strong early results, Amazon shouldn't have a hard time convincing developers to bring their apps to an Amazon phone. '

Amazon and book rentals? - an expansion of textbook rentals
There also has been some excitement about Amazon's apparent testing of book rentals (see Dave Zatz's "Zatz Not Funny" page for the first example cited).  I saw a couple of more rentable non-fiction Kindle books over the weekend but didn't note the names.  The kicker for those hoping that this will include novels is that every Kindle book noted, as well as the two I've seen, is a non-fiction book recommended for classrooms.

Textbooks have had rental plans at Amazon for some time.

I first explained how it works on July 19, 2011, in the blog entry "Amazon's Kindle Textbook Rentals - Up to 80% off"  And this is still something many families don't know about, so it's worth a read 1.5 yrs later.

 The recent ones, though, are "softer" textbooks in that they're not the heavy-duty $100+ textbooks you normally see but they're, so far, published by more academically-inclined publishers.  Would the Big5 publishers be interested in this for the fiction titles? We'll see, but I'm not optimistic.  Still -- better only a few dollars (for rental) than no dollars.

But for now it's good to see the alternative spelled out on the product page for some of the non-fiction books that are not the usual hardcore textbooks.


The Kindle Chronicles' Len Edgerly Details the Digital Book World Conference
The Kindle Chronicles' Len Edgerly offers an extremely thorough three days of detailed LIVE blogging of the DBW Conference that anyone interested in Publishing today should peruse.  This Conference and Expo took place January 15-17 in NY.

  It's capped off by the weekly podcast's interview segment, which this week involves seven interviewees at DBW, including David Burleigh from OverDrive (which handles the Public Library lending of e-books).

  Len links to the work of all those interviewed.  In that list, I saw that Paul Biba, Former Editor-in-Chief of Teleread, reported on the Conference also, as he has for years.  Paul's view of the proceedings is an intriguing read, describing what worked for attendees and what didn't.  You can also read other blog articles he's written for Goodereader.

---

Current Kindle Models for reference, plus free-ebook search links.
NOTES on newer Kindles.

US: Updated Kindle Fire Basic  7" tablet - $159 Kindle Fire HD 7" 16/32GB - $199/$249 Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16/32GB - $299/$369 Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G 32/64GB - $499/$599 Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89 Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi - $119/$139 Kindle Paperwhite, 3G - $179/$199 Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free but slow web Kindle DX - $379 $299, Free, slow web

UK: Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £69 Kindle Touch WiFi, UK - £89 Refurb'd Kindle Keyboard 3G, UK - £149   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi - £109 Kindle Paperwhite 3G, UK - £169 Kindle Fire 2, UK -  £129 Kindle Fire HD 7" 16/32GB, UK - £159/199 Canada - Amazon Canada Kindle Basic, NoTouch - $89

OTHER International Kindle NoTouch Basic - $89 Kindle Touch WiFi - $139 Kindle Keybd 3G - $189   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB France Boutique Kindle Deutschland - Kindle Store Italia - Kindle Store Spain - Tienda Kindle Brazil - Amazon Brazil China - Amazon China Japan - Amazon Japan

---

Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button

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Kindle News: Len Edgerly's "In the Hangar" Amazon Single. 20~ Classic Kindle books WITH Audible audio narration for free. Throw in the Vowel, on sale

SOME NEW OR RENEWED AMAZON OFFERINGS

Author and Podcaster Len Edgerly
Len Edgerly, of the popular weekly Podcast The Kindle Chronicles, has published an Amazon Single (by request of his readers), with his thoughts on the event.

Titled Inside the Hangar at Amazon's Santa Monica Press Conference - September 6, 2012, it is an engagingly written, informative take on what he heard during the announcements, what he saw during the hands-on demo stations afterward, and what he heard in his interviews with the several Kindle VPs who were made available for two hours of Q&A with approximately 400 representatives of the media, at various stations against the walls -- the usually hard to find VPs simultaneously doing show & answer sessions with often time-consuming lines of individuals from the media with microphones and videocams.

  Edgerly organizes the material well, puts everything in context and gives it all a balanced perspective.  He enjoys both Amazon and Apple offerings and has recently also been enjoying the Nook Glowlight.  There are things he finds impressive about the new Kindle offerings and things he wishes were different, and he gives some guidance from a wider frame of view and hands-on background than is normally experienced in this type of report.
  In the appendix he has links to other reading with varied and unique points of view, though I haven't finished those yet.

  Highly recommended.


My own thoughts on some of this
  He also covers the aftermath, when it became more apparent that the lower cost of good hardware and many software features not seen in competing e-readers comes at the cost of seeing more 'Special Offers' than many might prefer, although some consider the lock-screen ads no problem due to some actual attractive discount offers and the fact it usually involves only a brief glimpse of an ad before starting the Kindle, especially if you have the Kindle in a case.

Jeff Bezos emphasized at the press event that while they never plan to take a loss on hardware (as some media had thought), they obviously focus on lower margins on these and hope to make their revenue on the use of the devices, meaning they're being enjoyed, but the obvious meaning is they hope the owners will spend money at Amazon via those devices.  Amazon is a store, but a creative one that focuses on adding quite a bit of informational content in the many special features, for its book-leaning consumers.

  As investors in the stock market know, Amazon's margins are kept low, in general, unlike other successful companies, so there ARE product suggestions, based on items you've bought.  I do feel that those who'd prefer a tablet free of any online store should buy something like the Google Nexus.  (I just noticed that Amazon now has a separate Tablet Store, while looking at this product page on which Digitz is selling that tablet for a bit more {maybe because they're in shorter supply these days?} and the orders are fulfilled by Amazon).
  Buyers should keep in mind, though, that for $200, the Nexus has only 8 GB of storage space, in a world of large HD files, while the Kindle Fire HD starts with 16 GB.  Also, the Nexus has one mono speaker vs the KFireHD's two Dolby-enhanced speakers, and the KFireHD has an "HDMI out" to show its HD files on an HDTV.

 Buying-suggestions on the bottom of the Home screen (not unlike what is seen on the bottom area of the B&N Nook home screen) are, at this point, not covered by the $15 ads-opt-out, but they can be replaced by a screen of one's Favorites with a click of the star icon or avoided entirely by viewing in Landscape.

  Amazon is said to be considering an opt-out on those too, though I found today that they are keyed to specific books I've bought that are displayed on the Carousel as recent reading, and they change depending on which book is shown in the middle.  As a personal note -- and many won't feel the same way -- I've come to find it useful, while I'm hoping for a general opt-out choice on that too.
  At any rate, Edgerly discusses the post-event reactions also, from his own point of view.



Throw in the Vowel

Throw in the Vowel is a popular word game for all e-Ink Kindles except the Kindle 1 (the latter has no direct access to the screen) and is briefly available on sale at 99 cents.

I was late to get to this, so the sales window is shorter on this.



"Kindle Classics on Audible.com, for Free"
Commenter John Sauter sent in a great tip, which (as with Throw in the Vowel) I wasn't able to get to sooner, but the deal is still active.  These are free Kindle books (classics) that come with professionally-narrated audio versions (also free at this point), but read on...

  Olivia Flores Alvarez, reporting for Art Attack, a Houston press blog, reminds us of a great, no-cost, way to become acquainted with and benefit from excellent examples of classic Kindle books that come with the new Whispersync for Voice technology announced at the press conference Sept. 6.

Amazon has a list of 20 free classics on Kindle that come with, for now, a free copy of the narrated version on Audible.

  The FIRST classic on that listing, however (A Tale of Two Cities) shows at the moment a $7.95 price for the audio narration and is likely a mistake, because of the promo-list it's on and since the other books I clicked on, so far, come with free audio versions as part of that promotion.
  I would wait on that one, and I've asked for clarification of that Kindle/Audio book status.

Example - using a book I enjoyed long ago
Amazon, which has owned Audible.com for years, now is able to sync material between professionally-narrated Audible versions and corresponding Kindle books purchased by its customers, so that Kindle book owners, after ending a reading session, can pick up at the last book-location read, when wanting to use the audio version and vice versa.

  Generally, if you buy the Kindle book and it has a corresponding audio narration, the cost of getting the audio book this way will be between $0 and $3.95 (but much higher for the audio version when not bought with the Kindle version).  While the Paperwhite model has no audio, the Kindle book and audio can also be read and heard on a mobile device owned.

  How you get one of the free promos:
First, 'buy' the Kindle book linked to, for $0.00 and make sure the audio version for this promo is also $0.00 (it's noted in a box lower in the header section) since you're doing this to learn how Whispersync for Audio works in response to an Amazon promo.

  Once you've 'bought' the Kindle version, then you're told you can get, in this case, the $19.59 audio version for $0.00 because you bought the Kindle edition also.  When you click to get the free audio version, but are not yet a member of Audible.com, you're given a short membership form to fill out and they allow just the Amazon password to be used and there's no added cost to join.

  I just completed my purchase of The Picture of Dorian Gray, and it's nice to see all those $goose-eggs, when exploring how useful a feature might be.

  So, as I've mentioned before, it's a form of bundling that's been much requested, except that in most cases, it's not free but a fairly hefty discount is applied.   Information may 'want' to be free, as some put it, but those who labor to fulfill a request may want/need to be paid for the work.

I'd like to receive feedback on how well this works for anyone trying it and your thoughts on the combo pricing.  Thanks.

UPDATE - We've received quick and detailed feedback from QZA, who downloaded six of the currently-free Kindle/Audible combos and reports on the quality. He also has excellent advice on the amount of device space these will take.  An excerpt:

' ... Every hour of audio will take up about 29MB of space on your device.  An average audio book classic is about 7 - 8 hours (Moby Dick is much longer) so make sure you have about 250 MB free space before you download an audio book.  Amazon does not display file sizes, only book length in hours and minutes.  All 20 audio books won't fit on your Kindle even if you were to delete all your books so it's better to download a few and keep the rest in your archive for free fast delivery as needed. '

You can read the rest of of QZA's feedback here

---

Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button

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TheKindleChronicle's Len Edgerly and Jeff Bezos sit down for an interesting interview on the Kindle, long-form reading, 3G, location numbers, multimedia ebooks and more

On The Kindle Chronicles blog Thursday, July 27, Len Edgerly offers some notes on his two very full days in Seattle, during which he met with Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos for an 18-minute interview.

This marked the completion of the first four years of Len's weekly podcast which is now also a blog with written articles.  Len Edgerly's site is both informative and entertaining, quite addictive for many interested in the Kindle, other e-readers, and the e-reading publishing scene in general.  His interviews are with those heavily involved in all aspects of publishing.

The energy in this interview is more youthful than I'd expected, since neither of these guys is in his 20's but you'd not know it from their enthusiasm for books, reading in general, and for finding innovative ways to encourage long-form reading in a short-form world.

  Bezo's planning has always been the long-range type, and he took some intense criticism during the first few years of a non-profit Amazon despite his having said it would take years to build.  Now he's often characterized by publishers as a ruthless future monopolist while others wonder why he's allowing the company to show lower net profits this quarter due to a good portion of revenue being put back into growing the service and distribution areas as well as its ecosystem.  But enough people understand it and the stock went up after the results were announced.

  In the interview, Bezos says, re innovators, that if you need to be always understood, then don't do anything new.  His infamous laugh may not only break the microphone but comes from a businessman who thinks of his work as fun.

Multi-media books
  There's a section on the effect or place of multimedia books, which many had felt would be the 'new' e-book, replacing the traditional book, but much that interests people in a book -- the inner dialog for one -- can't really be caught in a multimedia approach, Bezos says.

  Multimedia additions can detract from the flow of the words that the author wrote without anticipating interruptions for a video or music.  With a straight-text book, the reader does much of the work, using the imagination with what the author presents, rather than passively taking things in as we do with multimedia.  I personally like the use of multimedia at the end of a book meant only to be read, where the added material can be optional and likely very useful.

3G use on Kindles
  He has interesting things to say about the 3G versions of the various Kindles, a popular option, and this includes his statement that "people who buy that Kindle are the people who read the most."  Edgerly asks him why, and you can hear the podcast interview for the response.
  He also mentions that the 3G works globally, roaming options and all (for Kindle book downloads, Kindle bookstore, and Wikipedia).

  Most know that any 3G data, at all, is expensive to just give away -- the 3G capability alone, before one starts paying monthly data fees, costs $130 to add the option to an otherwise WiFi-only Apple iPad.

  Currently B&N offers no 3G Nook e-Ink reader in its newer models and Sony doesn't offer 3G book downloads in the U.S.

  Yet Amazon offers, globally, on its new Kindle Touch (UK: KTouch) and older Kindles, free 3G data transfers for download of Kindle books, browsing the Kindle store on the device, and browsing Wikipedia 24/7 in countries outside the US where normal carrier and AT&T partners' roaming charges are very high.  It still offers free 3G for slow web browsing in the U.S. and 60 other countries on the older Kindle Keyboard (UK: KKeyboard) and Kindle DX models.
  Bezos does explain why they do it.

  They also discuss LOCATION numbers vs Page numbers and what customers have told Amazon about that and Amazon's thoughts on that.

Future Kindles?
Len Edgerly explains that we all know that they stay mum on future products, so that kind of question was not on the list.  Probably it would have been a waste of time.

The Kindle Mission
  Now, realizing Bezos and team are first and foremost, businesspeople with bottom-line goals, who too often feel they need to be hardnosed or not particularly forthcoming, and not always making decisions in our favor, I still like Bezos' stated philosophy or sense of mission:

' Yeah, absolutely! I think it’s the love of reading personally and it’s also that we on the Kindle team take it as an article of faith that reading is important for civilization.  So we feel this powerful mission, and it’s exciting...
...
  I think if people read more, that is a better world.  So I would posit that as an article of faith. '

  Their interest in reading IS shown in all the unusual features they've made for content, such as instant-translation (for understanding) and X-Ray, pre-packaging info that people would probably want to look up, from the book, as an associated file, including instant links to each appearance of a character's name in a book if you tap the character's name in the X-Ray menu for the page you're on.

  The team also made a personal annotations webpage on Amazon servers for each Kindle owner.  This webpage holds and displays the notes and highlighting made for any of your books in the order they appear in the Kindle book (unless you opt out of the feature).  You can then copy, edit, or print these, if making a book report, say, or when discussing pages with bookclub members, etc.

At any rate, the interview is fun to hear and I like Bezos' energy.  Again, the interview by Len Edgerly (who prefaces the conversation with his entertaining observations on trying to find the meeting place and preparing to meet with the CEO who is not known for doing interviews) starts at the 11:45 mark.  Of course the Kindle news and tech tips are worth hearing too.

There'll be a link to the transcript soon, which I read today in Stephen Windwalker's emailed Weekender for his Kindle Nation Daily blog, which gets some of Len's reports a day early.

  The transcript will be available on TheKindleChronicles site soon, and I'll update this with a link later.

---

Current Kindle Models for reference, plus free-ebook search links.
NOTES on newer Kindles.

US: Updated Kindle Fire Basic  7" tablet - $159 Kindle Fire HD 7" 16/32GB - $199/$249 Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16/32GB - $299/$369 Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G 32/64GB - $499/$599 Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89 Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi - $99/$139 Kindle Paperwhite, 3G/WiFi - $179/$199 Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free but slow web Kindle DX - $379, Free, slow web

UK: Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £69 Kindle Touch WiFi, UK - £109 Kindle Keyboard 3G, UK - £149   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB

OTHER International Kindle NoTouch Basic - $89 Kindle Touch WiFi - $139 Kindle Keybd 3G - $189   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB

Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button

Read More

Kindle News: Amazon Cloud Player app ready for iPhone & iPod touch. Amazon to open Android app stores in Europe. Google makes major e-book deal with France. Len Edgerly's The Kindle Chronicles adds lots of Kindle news and interviews

Amazon Cloud Player app is now available for iPhone and iPod touch at the iTunes appstore.

For those of you with iPads, Amazon announced today that the Amazon Cloud Player for iOS app can now be downloaded from iTunes.

  The Amazon app is of course free, and Amazon customers, globally, get 5 GB of cloud storage for free.

All mp3's that are bought from Amazon do not count against storage maximums, so essentially they always come with free storage and, for U.S. customers at this point (maybe more later), streaming from Amazon servers.

Their press release said that "those who purchase any storage plan will receive unlimited space for MP3 and AAC (.m4a) music files at no additional cost."  Normally, that's $20 per year when they have unlimited-storage offers.

  With the app, you can download or stream your library from the cloud or play the music already on your device.  It also allows you to create and edit playlists, play music in the background, "or use Bluetooth to stream your music in your house or car."

Amazon Appstore to hit Europe this summer
3G.co.uk's Simon D Thomas is the latest of many who've been writing stories about Amazon's Appstore's expected expansion to Europe during the summer.

  The Kindle Fire has not been sold internationally, so their sales have been missing a very big market.  And many outside the US have been understandably impatient with Amazon for not having made it available.  Thomas gives some reasons why it's not happened yet:

' The problem for Amazon has been that they need to make fresh agreements for books, music and movies in every market they launch.  This can be hugely complicated and takes a huge amount of time, but it looks like Amazon have been slowly making progress. '

The site is realistic and balanced in their reviews although Thomas has a certain enthusiasm shown in his "In the US the Amazon Kindle Fire has proved hugely successful due [to] its low price-point ($200 or £150) and is thought to have prompted a response from Apple (iPad Mini) and Google (Google Nexus Tablet).  We hope it comes to the UK because it offers such amazing value that it would change our tablet market forever !"

Amazon has been making large gains with LoveFilm, the European Netflix equivalent, and I imagine that this has something to do with streaming that would become available for Kindle Fire in Europe.

Google and the e-book deal with the publishing industry in France
paidContent's Jeff John Roberts reports that Google's major deal with French authors and publishers, announced yesterday, to sell digital copies of out of print books (scanned by Google) ended a 6-year legal dispute.

  He points out in his first article on this yesterday that France passed a law this spring "that creates a new royalty collection mechanism for out-of-print works that will be owned in part by the state and managed in part by the Biliothèque nationale.

  Fair payment will always be the important factor here!  In the U.S., Google had scanned millions of books BEFORE getting permissions and there was the matter of how much control they would have over these.  A federal court rejected in 2010 the Google Books Settlement reached with some of the affected, and "Harvard Librarian Robert Darnton and others are calling for the creation of 'a digital library of America'."

The report yesterday goes into detail on how this will work -- the ground rules.

In Roberts' article today, the focus is on how this Agreement could hurt the growth of Amazon Kindle in Europe.

' According to reports in Le Figaro and publishing site ActuaLitté, the agreement does not allow the publishers to distribute the digital books through Google’s direct competitors — read: Amazon. '

That has a slightly familiar ring to it.  Big Bad Monopolist Amazon (as well as others) would be foiled again before it could really monopolize the e-book market place, the world saved from that by a small consumer-oriented company with little money and power.

  Roberts' take is that "If the Google e-books take off, Amazon will be the odd one out as the e-books can be read directly on devices made by Sony or Barnes & Noble or through the Google Play app on Apple devices."

The Nook is not sold internationally, however.

The point is iffy in that the Kindle Fire CAN read Google books directly!  He probably is focusing on e-Ink readers, but there is also the factor of reader loyalty and trust that is built on the quality of customer relations and service, and so far, we have seen how hard it is to phone or reach a human at Google when you need help.  Whenever I want to read an ePub book, I just pick up the Kindle Fire, which is priced reasonably, is very versatile and uses Android apps that read ePub books, including those with Adobe DRM via using the normal digital rights procedures.

We just saw, with the State Dept's $16.5 million contract with Amazon for Kindle Touch devices and support, how others who make buying decisions will look at more than the most basic features when money spent must be recorded and justified.

   In reviews of the e-Ink Nook and Kindle Touch devices, you'll see many reviewers mentioning these days mainly that a home page layout and a built-in led light makes the Nook the better reader, despite somewhat lowered display contrast,  and not telling their readers that unlike the Kindle, the Nook Touch has no web browser (the Kindle Touch's is quite serviceable) has no audio, therefore no text to speech or music, no X-Ray automated character search, no instant word translation (superb), no 3G wireless domestically or abroad and, most of all to some of us, it has no decent customer support policies.  The latter is really important when it comes to dealing with new digital media deivce problems.

  Roberts is right, though, that the e-ink readers that can read Google books directly will have the advantage there.  But he also points out that the Google Collection "is composed of out-of-print works which, by definition, exclude new books and bestsellers.  That means Amazon is still free to make a play for the most valuable part of the digital book market."
  There's nothing like good competition though, and that will help keep Amazon on its toes.

  It did surprise me that the French e-book market is worth only $38 million -- "or less than one percent of the country's $7.85 billion overall book market according to a new report.  He links to an article by Laura Owen, citing the costs involved and a lack of e-readers.


LEN EDGERLY'S THE KINDLE CHRONICLES PODCAST AND BLOG
Recently, as mentioned before, The Kindle Chronicles podcast with descriptive summaries, is now also a written blog (Len is  an excellent writer) and has TONS of Kindle information.

He's been reporting in detail, with enjoyable, balanced analysis, from BookExpo (BEA) and always has good Kindle tech tips and interesting interviews on an ongoing basis.

At BEA, he interviewed Russ Grandinetti, Amazon's VP of Kindle Content, taking a photo of Grandinetti for the blog interview (who doesnt look like your usual 'suit').  Engaging shot.

  The interview, on his podcast, starts at 23:38 into the mp3 audio and covers "a wide-ranging discussion of eBook pricing, Digital Rights Management, Kindle Singles [ab here: When I first saw this feature announced, I thought Amazon was branching out into dating services], social reading, and how much longer there will be a Kindle Keyboard in the lineup.  Rather than quote Grandinetti's response (which is nothing solid as that is not Amazon's style), I'll link you to the blog again so you can read it there and see what else is available.

Also interviewed recently is Eric Hellman, whose go to hellman blog is one of my favorites for thought-filled, informative, very clear pieces on what are normally considered complex topics.

The latest article is about Stephen King's apparent decision to publish, in June 2013, his latest novel, Joyland, in print form only.  Len writes:

' The author was quoted as saying, “Joyland will be coming out in paperback, and folks who want to read it will have to buy the actual book.”

The actual book? '

Exactly my thought.  What's a book but the organization of words selected from the author's mind?  Is an 'actual book' a cover design? The font style? The back cover blurbs? the type of paper?
  I'm probably over-flexible but isn't it the sequence of words and the organization of them that makes a book, whether in print or in digital-form?   It's so 'retro' to even imply that an e-book is not an 'actual book'  today.  The comments to the blog entry on King's decision are not sympathetic to King, and while that's a self-selecting group (e-book reading), it's also a group that will involve a lot of lost sales.  It's bizarre.

But, do check out Len's expanded http://thekindlechronicles.com for a treat.

---

Current Kindle Models for reference, plus free-ebook search links

US: Kindle Fire  7" tablet - $199 Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $79/$109 Kindle Touch, WiFi - $99/$139 Kindle Touch, 3G/WiFi - $149/$189 Kindle Keybd 3G - $189, Free, slow web Kindle DX - $379, Free, slow web

UK: Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £89 Kindle Touch WiFi, UK - £109 Kindle Touch 3G/WiFi, UK - £169 Kindle Keyboard 3G, UK - £149   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB

OTHER International Kindle NoTouch Basic - $109 Kindle Touch WiFi - $139 Kindle Touch 3G/WiFi - $189 Kindle Keybd 3G - $189   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB

Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button

Read More

Len Edgerly's Amazon Single - A report from Amazon's NYC Press Conference + 2 free short stories + forum alerts & topics

A Kindle Fan's Report from the Front Row at Amazon's NYC Press Conference  $0.99

This new Amazon Single is by The Kindle Chronicles podcast's Len Edgerly, who's filed "A Kindle Fan's Report from the Front Row at Amazon's NYC Press Conference," covering this event in his inimitable style, with cover photograph by John Marshall Mantel and a couple of photos by Len.  Love that tent photo.

  Len is widely appreciated for his perceptive and balanced reports and his excellent weekly interviews in connection with the e-publishing scene.

  From the Product Description:

' In this 30-page article, I invite you to join me in the front row at Amazon's press conference in New York city on September 28, 2011.

That's when Jeff Bezos introduced the next generation of Kindles, including the Kindle Fire tablet.  Just being at the event was a major thrill for a book lover whose life has been changed by the Kindle.  I thought I'd seen the future when I bought a Rocket eBook in 1998.  That didn't work out too well, but the Kindle in 2007 looked like the real thing.

  The next year, I started a weekly podcast, The Kindle Chronicles, to participate in the revolution in reading that I was sure would follow.  Since then, I've interviewed 165 people representing all parts of the Kindlesphere -- from Amazon executives to nervous writers, from technologists to school administrators, from the editor of the New York Times Book Review to my wife Darlene, who reads three times as many Kindle books as I do but is an endearing skeptic about technology.

  I traveled by train to New York City worried that Amazon executives might get so excited about their shiny new color tablet that they would forget to keep improving the monochrome e-ink Kindles.  In the event, I need not have worried.  Jeff Bezos started the press conference by telling the Kindle story in a way that touched me as highly personal and revealing.  Come join me in the front row, and I'll show you what I mean. '

I just heard about the book and bought it on the spot as one who looks forward to Len's take on the Kindle and e-publishing scene.



Kindle Daily Deal (Often U.S. only, unfortunately) (The Daily Deal link above changes at MIDNIGHT each day.
      Click it to see what the daily deal book is, at any time.)

The Dead Saint, by Mairlyn Brown Oden, 23 customer reviews, 4.3 stars
    Daily Deal until the end of Friday 10/7:
      Thursday's Price: $9.47
      Friday's Discount: $7.48
      Friday's Daily Deal Price: $1.99 (79% off)

"The casual yet taut style will keep readers turning pages to find out if Bishop Lynn [Peterson] can prevent disaster..." -- Publishers Weekly

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Ongoing popular discussions
  . To Avoid Confusion, Please Use the Official Product Names in Forum" [Very entertaining!] New
  . Warning: Personal docs now sent to a Kindle will now go to all new Kindles
    registered to your account   New
  . Discussion of geographic restrictions on digital purchases
  . Discount-alert books discussed in more detail
  . What have been your favorite public domain books that are not so well known?
  . Best "Free" books you've read (many are no longer free, however).
  . Highly recommended Indie authors
  . Unique Uses of Kindles [Use of free 3G web-browsing refers only to K3 aka Kindle Keyboard.)

Other current forum threads that might interest some
Public Library Lending questions at the forums, and Lendle's Kindle borrowing
  . How many e-books does your public library have?
  . Public librarians: what has been your Kindle/Overdrive experience?
  . Changes to lendle (This is Kindle owner-to-Kindle owner lending.)
      The changes include incentives for offering loaners.

Amazon's own ongoing listing of LIMITED-TIME OFFERS - Promos   Amazon sorts these by Bestsellers first.   I've added a by Low-to-High pricing. Editors' Picks: $1.99-$3.99   thru' October

Free contemporary books: subsets Filters out excerpts, chapters, previews US:  by Last 30+ days  Oct 2011    Publication Date   Late-listed    Bestselling   High-ratings UK:  by PubDate   Popular

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LATEST DISCOUNTED Kindle books (some temporarily) - an ongoing forum thread:
  Forum-thread starter RandomizeME includes a caution that it's not a book promotion thread for authors or for posts about indies or free books either.  "This thread is for discounts and price drops that readers [esp. Emily Bronte] find from publishers."
  10/5-10/7

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TEMPORARILY-Free Kindle Books:  Alerts from the Amazon Kindle forums - via the tireless "Happy Reader" Joyce, who is ever on the lookout on behalf of forum members.
  NOTE: The alerts are quoted as they appear in Joyce's collecting of mostly temporarily-free books.  They're *not* recommendations by anyone but are a very popular, unfiltered daily set of release-alerts by Joyce.  The eBooks can become no longer free within days, sometimes, within hours.  Thanks to Joyce for gathering and organizing them for us.

So far, on Thursday morning, there were only two entries released, both of them short stories.  One so far for Friday as of early morning.

' Happy Reader "Joyce" says:

Haunted Destiny: A Midnight Dragonfly Bonus Short Story
Author: Ellie James
Genre: Children's Fiction
* Pre-Order for November 23, 2011 *

DESCRIPTION: Teenage mystic Rachelle Dugas knows to expect the unexpected when she fills in for a friend leading a Haunted New Orleans tour. But when she decides to check out a haunted house on her own, nothing prepares her for the secrets lurking in the shadows-or the twist of destiny about to unfold.

***

A Very Holly Christmas: An Exclusive Short Story
Author: Sheila Roberts
Genre: Romance
* Pre-Order for November 15, 2011 *

DESCRIPTION: Shelia Roberts is back with the hilarious short follow up to On Strike For Christmas. This short story will bring you right back to the spirited town of Holly, one year after the big strike! For even more Christmas (this time with a touch of romance) don't miss The Nine Lives of Christmas, coming November 2011.

***

Skulduggery Pleasant: Scepter of the Ancients
Author: Derek Landy
Genre: Children's Fiction

DESCRIPTION: Grade 5-8-When 12-year-old Stephanie's eccentric Uncle Gordon dies, a mysterious man bundled in an overcoat, scarf, sunglasses, and a hat shows up at both the funeral and the reading of the will. This man, as it turns out, is Skulduggery Pleasant, a walking, talking skeleton who rescues Stephanie when she is attacked while alone in the house that she has just inherited. It seems that a particularly evil person named Serpine is trying to obtain a scepter that will allow him to rule the world. Stephanie is swept into a world of magic, secrets, power, and intrigue as she and Skulduggery try to keep one step ahead of Serpine and various other nefarious folk. Deadly hand-to-hand combat, nasty villains, magical derring-do, and traitorous allies will keep readers turning the pages, but it is the dynamic duo of Stephanie and Skulduggery who provide the real magic. The girl eagerly jumps into this new, dangerous, action-packed life, but she isn't sure that she has the guts or the power to pull it off. Skulduggery Pleasant lives up to his name, performing amazing feats with such self-effacing drollness that readers will wish they had a similar skeletal friend. Give this one to fans of Eoin Colfer's "Artemis Fowl" books (Hyperion) or to anyone who likes a dash of violence and danger served up with the magic. '


[These are from Joyce's free-books alerts Thursday in the forums, 10/6/11 - afternoon, 2 books, and Friday, 10/7/11 - morning, 1 book.]

Kindle Touch 3G   Kindle Touch WiFi   Kindle Basic   (UK: KBasic)   Kindle Fire
Kindle Keybd 3G   (UK: Kindle Keybd 3G)   K3 Special Offers   K3-3G Special Offers   DX

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Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers

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