Amazon's Kindle sold out ...

I just read that the e-reader from Amazon is already sold out. Either people really love the device and the idea of paying 399 dollars plus 9.99 dollars each book, or they didn't have many available in the first place.

Update: There are some interesting viewpoints in the comments on Dan Kennedy's article.

Amazon's Kindle in the focus

As most of you will know, Amazon has launched its e-reader device "Kindle" on Monday, which gives you the opportunity to directly download books, subscribe to newspapers, magazines and even blogs, without the need of a hotspot as it uses the high-speed data network EVDO. Newsweek took the opportunity to publish an article on
The Future of Reading, which is worth reading, just like the comments on the article and the device itself are. The question is: Would you buy this device for 399 USD? Wouldn't a subscription model (device for free with a 2-year subscription to a newspaper or maybe 4 books a month) be more attractive to potential customers?

The coloured e-paper on the way?

Canandian scientists have developed a new technology using photonic crystals to produce coloured flexible e-paper displays, as MIT's Technology Review reports. The co-founder of Opalux, the company that commercialises the so-called "P-Ink" technology, states that the colours are much brighter and intense. As other E-Ink technologies, this one is also most likely not to replace TFT display technology, as it takes about a second to refresh the screen - too slow for video and graphic user interfaces. But maybe a big step towards the digital newspaper.

How E-paper subscription flopped in India…

There was a time when leading English dailies of India went ballistic and boasted of having an e-paper in addition to their regular online presence. To rub salt to the wound, they began charging for the e-paper services, aping the success of their counterparts in Europe and US. That was the time when India was, slowly but steadily, getting into the ‘e-mode’ with faster connectivity and broadband access in major cities. People were still uncomfortable reading news online, forget even subscribing to e-paper by way of nominal fee.

Soon, the media houses realized their mistake, and threw open the e-paper services free of charge. Only requirement was to register with a username and password. As of now, the e-paper culture is picking up with a lot of people showing keen interest to read and feel the print-edition flavour wrapped in an online format. Advertisers are happy too – they get their ads on the print as well on the e-paper, and they get two platforms at the cost of one. Now, a majority of newspapers – both national and regional ­­­­-- have their e-papers up and running. It’s being dished out as a value edition to the readers rather than eyeing it as a revenue model. Only time will tell if India goes the US way or not.