^Exact same experience. I tried out the touch and regular and was disappointed with the poor screen quality compared to the keyboard so kept my keyboard. I'm hoping the newer Touch screen is better then I may upgrade.

9/1/2012 11:28:14 AM

1:30

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/06/amazons-press-conference-is-today-get-your-liveblog-right-he/

9/6/2012 12:47:43 PM

will there be a steam?

[Edited on September 6, 2012 at 12:56 PM. Reason : nm found it http://live.cnet.com/Event/Amazon_press_conference]

[Edited on September 6, 2012 at 1:09 PM. Reason : actually, that might not be what i'm looking for :/]

9/6/2012 12:55:25 PM

No live video feed. Here's blogger feed:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/06/live-from-amazons-santa-monica-press-conference/

9/6/2012 1:21:40 PM

Nice exactly what I wanted. Sharper better display with an optional back light.

Damn 8 week battery life with the light.

[Edited on September 6, 2012 at 1:53 PM. Reason : s]

9/6/2012 1:51:01 PM

so...it's $120 for the ads-supported version? not too bad, i suppose...wonder if it runs android like the nook does

i also wonder if they're still being retarded and insisting on their shitastic .mobi format instead of supporting .epub

[Edited on September 6, 2012 at 2:11 PM. Reason : "shitastic" is probably unfair...it just has zero advantages and it's annoying]

9/6/2012 2:09:05 PM

Other than not being as universal, what are the problems with mobi?

9/6/2012 2:11:27 PM

^Yeah? Although I buy everything through the Amazon store. Much easier than pirating books. The syncing features is my favorite too. I read on my iPhone/iPad and Kindle and the syncing is instant. Great feature to have.

-jeez 3 new tablets.

[Edited on September 6, 2012 at 2:13 PM. Reason : s]

9/6/2012 2:12:51 PM

Quote :

"Other than not being as universal, what are the problems with mobi?"

if nothing else, it has been my experience that in both retail and calibre-converted comparisons, the mobi format has been larger...for no reason whatsoever, especially for a closed format

furthermore, .mobi doesn't have sound or video support

epub is an open standard...there is no reason whatsoever for amazon to refuse to support it except that they're afraid they'll lose sales on their e-readers

also, i LIKE getting ebooks from my library and amazon doesn't like that

i had heard (read) rumors that the new kindles would support epub, though, so i'll wait to find out

9/6/2012 2:24:51 PM

And almost all pirated books are in epub format. Allowing epub would just make it easier for books to be pirated.

9/6/2012 2:27:05 PM

Quote :

"And almost all pirated books are in epub format."

almost all pirated music is in .mp3 format...good thing you can't download mp3s legally, eh?

Quote :

"Allowing epub would just make it easier for books to be pirated."

because those who pirate aren't capable of using programs like calibre?

it's a silly argument...amazon's .mobi format exists solely to keep kindle users from buying books anywhere but amazon, allowing them to charge more for a book if you have a kindle, since you have no (legal) options

9/6/2012 2:29:54 PM

That's a theoretical advantage, but in the real world I don't think I've ever seen an ebook selling for cheaper than it was at amazon

9/6/2012 2:38:10 PM

^Exactly

^^I agree but I think that battle should be fought at the publishing level and the relationship between the publishers, authors, and distribution (Amazon). Adding e-pub support on the Kindle won't solve the overarching problem, just provide a loop hole for people to bypass the system.

People would have no reason to buy e-books elsewhere if prices were competitive all over the place.

Aren't they? Last time I checked e-books were comparable to paper backs or hard covers and Amazon wasn't any more expensive than any other online distributor. After the government did the whole anti-trust battle with publishers everyone dropped their prices anyway.

I'm not saying I don't agree with you I just think there's a better way to approach the problem.

But hey I buy all my books with my brother and parents on the same account and we share hundreds of books. Convenient, cheap, easy to sync, and never have to use Calibre (which I always found a pain).

[Edited on September 6, 2012 at 2:42 PM. Reason : ^]

9/6/2012 2:41:05 PM

Quote :

"That's a theoretical advantage, but in the real world I don't think I've ever seen an ebook selling for cheaper than it was at amazon"

so...if you have a kindle, i assume you've checked other sources before purchasing a book, even though you couldn't use what you purchased from someone else, anyway?

when my wife had a nook and i had my K3 keyboard, i'd check both B&N and amazon all the time to compare prices...definitely the majority of the time the prices were within a penny or two of each other, but there were several occasions where the nook version was cheaper, a couple of times by as much as a dollar

the amazon version was NEVER cheaper...ever

no, we're not talking gobs of money here...but amazon definitely milks their captive audience because they can

it's irrelevant, anyway...i told amazon what i thought with my wallet and sold my K3 and bought an NST for $60 (new, from staples...deal that came up just before the glowlight was released) and i like it far more than i did my K3 keyboard

that said, the k3 felt more solid and of a higher quality than my NST...as well it should for more than twice the cost...and i'd buy the $120 kindle in a heartbeat if it supported epub (because then i wouldn't have to go through the hassle of converting every one of my epub books to the more restrictive mobi format...going from mobi to epub is painless, but the reverse is not true)

9/6/2012 2:49:54 PM

So what was the screen res of the 7inch hd? I must have missed that screen.

9/6/2012 2:51:26 PM

Maybe we read different books. I check B&N and Amazon and they're almost always exactly the same price. I don't see an issue buying a device and being restricted to their purchase options as long as they're competitive with other options (which they are).

It's the same as the whole iPhone/Android Jailbreaking/rooting argument. Companies aren't going to open up because it's not advantageous for them to do so. There's no reason to. They won't make any more money off the tiny minority of people (like you) who either shop around to save 10 cents on a novel or obtain e-books some other way. The majority of people want to buy a device, get a book via the easiest channel, and read it. They really don't care if they 1 in 50 times they lose $.50 to Amazon over B&N.

9/6/2012 2:57:45 PM

b&n you have to pay tax on

9/6/2012 3:00:13 PM

From what I've seen amazon is cheaper than b&n unless you're a "member" which iirc has a yearly cost.

9/6/2012 3:05:00 PM

you'd think a company that houses most of the content of the Internet would have been able to put together a stream

9/6/2012 4:11:13 PM

^LOL i was thinking the same thing

9/6/2012 4:16:52 PM

Tablets:

Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G: $499
Kindle Fire HD 8.9": 299
Kindle Fire HD: $199
Fire: $159 (newer hardware)

e-readers:

Kindle Paperwhite 3G: $179 ($199 w/o ads)
Kindle Paperwhite: $119 ($139 w/o ads)
Kindle $69 ($89 w/0 ads)
Kindle Keyboard 3G: $139 ($189 w/0 ads)

[Edited on September 6, 2012 at 4:26 PM. Reason : s]

9/6/2012 4:22:22 PM

they're up on amazon's site now

9/6/2012 4:55:44 PM

Thought this was relevant to our discussion. Amazon wants to make money not from the hardware but from using the hardware. Aka there's no reason they would ever (or should ever) support ePub unless they're making a profit.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57507733-94/kindle-fire-hd-amazons-anti-apple-profit-engine/

9/7/2012 12:20:50 AM

I really just want one of those HD displays so I can make a compact 1080p monitor for my DSLR... Why hasn't anyone done this yet? I mean these screens can't be that expensive and I'm fairly confident that I could use off the shelf logic boards to do this. Everything on the market just completely blows or terribly expensive. I mean a 4.5" 720p or 1080p screen with an interchangeable battery that just has hdmi input for 100-200 would be an awesome product for a niche market.

9/7/2012 2:45:38 AM

The problem with DSLRs is that they do not generally allow high-def output during recording. But yes, the lack of inexpensive high-res monitors is appaling.

Did you see this? http://www.dslrfilmnoob.com/2012/08/05/nexus-7-monitor-usb-controller-dslr-controller/

Not high def and still has some bugs, but feeds video via USB (leaving your high-res camera LCD on), and offers extensive camera control. 200 dollars get you in.

9/7/2012 3:02:26 AM

Quote :

"The problem with DSLRs is that they do not generally allow high-def output during recording"

Even if its true that 1080p won't display for live monitoring, just setting up the shot using a native 1080p screen would make pre-focusing alot faster. The HDMI output does give you raw uncompressed footage so you could technically capture a higher quality image/video if you use a 3rd party recording device using a field monitor with an hdmi pass through... In theory.

Oh and apparently there is a product that fits my needs for $250... wow. But still would like to see 720/1080 for decent prices.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/843442-REG/INDIPRO_TOOLS_CORP_PRO5_LCD_LPE6_PRO5_LCD_KIT_w_CANON.html

[Edited on September 7, 2012 at 3:57 AM. Reason : ]

9/7/2012 3:48:18 AM

my paperwhite cover apparently arrives tomorrow after a month of a 10/11 forecast date. wonder if my actual paperwhite will arrive before the scheduled 10/11 forecast date.

10/1/2012 7:08:26 PM

arrived.

pretty much what i expected it to be. will take a while to learn the UI, but happy to have the light in the screen now.

10/9/2012 11:30:22 AM

Ordered one for my mom. Expected arrival date was 12/23. Arrived today

11/19/2012 5:31:27 PM