Tablets

In today's issue of The Wall Street Journal, there was an article about Amazon.com's new tablet, the Kindle Fire. The tablet, which is being revealed today, is supposed to be a big rival to Apple's iPad. According to The Wall Street Journal, the new tablet will have "touch-screen technology; a customized version of Google Inc.'s Android operating system; and access to Amazon's app store, streaming movies and TV shows." While reading the article, I was wondering what other features would the Fire have? Apple's iPad has eReader capabilities, but they do not currently make a product that is just an eBook reader.

Amazon, on the other hand, has the Kindle.  

The Kindle was introduced in 2007 and has been amazingly popular. Kindle users cannot get eBooks from just anywhere. Users buy eBooks through Amazon's web site, where they can find thousands of books, including many free books from the public domain. Most websites that have free public domain eBooks have an option so people can download books onto their Kindle, but if someone wants to read a book published after 1923, they buy it through Amazon.com. 

(Just a side note, many libraries have eBooks available for download on eReaders in ePub or PDF format, and a growing number are subscribing to Amazon so Kindle users can borrow eBooks from their library, too. Ask your librarian for more information about what's happening in your library system.)

Will including an eReader app. decrease Kindle sales? Users would able to read their books on the Fire, and because it is a color screen, children's picture books can be enjoyed and magazines browsed in full color. On the other hand, part of the appeal of many eReaders is that they use ink, which is less of a strain on the eyes than reading from a computer screen. I guess we will have to wait and see.

The Kindle Fire will be available for purchase in November.