Category: Kindle

Does Amazon Have the Whole Enchilada?

Lorin Olsen

For those who have read my musings for some time, you’ll know that I use a lot of Amazon services.

  • I have purchased music from Amazon for many years.  Why would I use Amazon’s music service when iTunes owned the market?  Because I really believe in competition.  And I really believe in good prices.  And I really believe in digital freedom.  Consequently, I’ve bought many dozens of albums from Amazon’s music service.  And recently, I’ve purchased from both my home computer and my Android phone.
  • I’ve also used Amazon’s Video service for a few years.  Amazon decided that they would boldly venture into the same market that Netflix and Blockbuster had already captured.  I originally chose Amazon because they weren’t Apple.  But then I began to use their service more fully.  And I realized that because they weren’t Apple, they were intrinsically better.
    Yeah, that’s an exaggeration.  But not by much.  I bought a Panasonic Blu-Ray player.  And it included streaming from Amazon VOD.  Because both Amazon and Panasonic had an established history of leveraging open source technologies, it was a natural harmony.  And as my Viera Cast capabilities grew, so have the Amazon VOD capabilities – especially with the Amazon prime membership that my wife has.
    But while I’ve had Amazon VOD for about two years, I haven’t really exploited it much until I had the right wireless infrastructure at home.  Now that I have that in place, it’s been wonderful using the Amazon service.  I can get almost any video I want whenever I want it.  And if I choose to buy it, then Amazon has provided a video locker to store the digital content in.
  • Since getting my Android phone last year, I have been waiting for Amazon to open up their own Android market.  This week, they finally made it official and started vending apps using their retail purchasing engine.  I haven’t bought a lot of apps from them yet.  But if they provide the same application re-installs that the Google market does, then I may switch my purchases to Amazon.  [Note: I really love automatic reinstallation of apps from the Android market.  Every time that I switch ROM’s, I need to reload my system.  So this is a sticking point for me.]

    •  

I’ve used a lot of “cloud-based” storage in the past.  While at Microsoft, I tinkered with SkyDrive.  BTW, this was a revolutionary concept that suffered from a horrible implementation.  [Note: That is quite typical for many Microsoft technologies.  They can always out-market you on technology that they acquire.  And they can almost always build really cool new things.  But they oftentimes have trouble building and marketing first-generation technology.]
But when SkyDrive didn’t seize the market, the most notable cloud-based storage tool in the market became DropBox.  DropBox got a lot of the technology right.   And they really captured a chunk of the geek market.  Indeed, Cindy and I have used DropBox for several years.  And it has been a wonderful success whenever she has needed a collaborative storage platform for her master’s degree classwork.  But like SkyDrive, DropBox never made a big enough splash in the market to begin to seize the consumer marketplace.
And now it’s Amazon’s turn.
I REALLY love the cloud storage offering that Amazon released this week.  If you’ve had your head in the clouds (or had your head stuck somewhere else), then I will tell you that the Amazon service is called the Amazon Cloud Drive.  I love the name.  It leverages the notion of the cloud (as popularized by Microsoft ads) and adds to it the simple and well-understood notion of the “drive” as storage.  Hence, Cloud Drive may well be a marketing winner.
And the Cloud Drive offering is fairly complete.  You can use it on your PC or Mac.  And you can use it on your phone.  And you can use it on a tablet.  So far, it seems to really “sing” with music-based files.  Of course, that makes sense as music files are the largest commodity that will be stored.  It will be months (or maybe even years) before videos will become a ubiquitous on the service.  So adroit mastery of music files hits the Amazon sweet spot.
And they have chosen a good niche for the amount of free storage.  It is larger than either DropBox or SkyDrive.  The current offering is 5GB for free.  I suspect that Apple and Google may try and best this with a 25GB offering.  But we’ll have to see.  The folks at Forbes think that the first major reply will be to up the storage limits.  If that happens, I would bet that Amazon will respond.  That might be a fun price war to watch.
So far, I really like the first volley in the impending digital storage wars.  Like the folks at Forbes, I see Apple and Google jumping in on this.  And I think that Google may just buy DropBox.  They don’t need the DropBox tech.  But they may want the customers and the buzz.  But I also think that you may see some other folks jumping in.  I do believe that Microsoft may burnish and re-launch SkyDrive.  If they do, this might be hella fun.
And I really think that storage vendors and media player vendors are going to want to get in on the action.  While they may not be able to make a complete offering themselves, it will be nice to see how they are used as channel providers to the bigger players.
So what will it take to win?  Winners (and survivors) will need the following:

  • They will need capital to purchase and implement the vast quantities of storage that may be required.
  • They will need established data center management skills to make the cloud-based storage initiative viable.
  • They will need marketing to get the message to customers
  • They will need partners for channel depth and diversity of correlated features/capabilities.
  • They will need digital content.
  • They will need a retail channel (with a strong purchasing and delivery engine).

Google has many of these.  I do think that they lack diverse content – although YouTube does help.  What they really need is some content partners – like Sony???
Apple has some of these.  Nevertheless, they lack a robust and diverse partner ecosystem.  Yes, they have lots of partners.  But they re so closed that they are technologically inbred.  And they don’t have a lot of online storage already in their pipeline.  Yes, they sell content.  But they don’t really store it for their customers.  They move it to their customers’ devices.
Amazon has most of these (except for the brand identity across many markets).  They do have all of the pieces in place.  But no one knows that.  They have content.  They have storage.  They have the retail channel.  But they need critical mind-share in the consumer marketplace
I think that the market can bear all three of these big players – for now.  And Amazon is first out of the gate.  If they can capture enough early market, they may be the big winner.
I just wish that I could get “credit” for all of the Amazon MP3 purchases I’ve already made.  I hate to move all my stuff right back to them – and then have to buy additional storage.  It’s not fair! Wah! Wah! Wah!
-Roo

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What's On Your Home Screen

Lorin Olsen


Now that I have a smartphone of my very own, it’s time to highlight what is on my home screen.  But before I do that, I need to note how I got the screen capture.
For those who have rooted their system, the process of a screen capture is quite simple.  But for those who are still clinging to a stock firmware build (like me), the process is slightly different. Nevertheless, the process is relatively straightforward.  You need to update your device driver on the computer system that will be connected to your phone.  Then you need to download and install the Android SDK.  Finally, you need to make sure you update your copy of the Java Development Kit.  [Note: The current Java build as I write this is JDK SE 1.6.21.]  The entire process is fully documented over at Simple Help.  And the results of my first screen capture are shown above.
So what do I have on my home screen?  Well the current favorite apps are as follows:
Location-based tools: Navigation (from Google), Places Directory (from Google), Yelp, and Foursquare.

  • With Navigation, my phone can literally answer the question of “Where Do I Want To Go Today?”  And it can tell me how to get there.
  • I use Places and Yelp to find cool places to visit and explore.  Places is very simplistic.  But its simple approach saves time when you’re in a hurry.  And for those times when you absolutely, positively need to know everything that is around you, Yelp is an astonishingly good tool to find all the hidden things that are close by.  Finally, I am like many techophiles.
  • I use Foursquare to tell folks where I am.  And I have fun trying to be the mayor of someplace other than my household.

Messaging Tools: Google Voice (from Google), GMail (from Google), Text Messaging (from Google), and Seesmic.

  • I use Google Voice for all my voice integration needs.  Indeed, it is my voicemail – even for the mobile phone itself.
  • As everyone know, GMail is my email client.  I love and use it for everything – including integrating other mailboxes across the net.
  • I used Text Messaging for just that: texting.  For the most part, SMS messaging is a dying art.  But my kids still use it a great deal.  I use Google Voice for most of my SMS needs.  But if someone does send an SMS message to my carrier, this app fills the bill.
  • Finally, I use Seesmic as my main tool for Twitter.  Have I used other tools?  Of course I have.  But Seesmic is always current.  It allows me to integrate multiple Twitter accounts.  And it look quite good.

Commerce-related Tools: Mobile Banking (from BoA, of course), Barcode Scanner (from Google), AppBrain, and Google Goggles (from Google).

  • I like having instant access to my bank statement.  So the banking app is self-explanatory.
  • The barcode scanner allows me to read UPC codes and determine the best prices in my local area.  It also reads QR codes.  So you can point your phone at a QR code and jump to the URL embedded within the code.
  • The AppBrain tool is an excellent market system for Android apps. It won’t replace the Android market. But AppBrain has a great review system to go along with the software inventory it houses.
  • Finally, I do use Google Googles to take pictures of things and see what the web has to say about the things that I snap pictures of.

Words and Thoughts: Dolphin Browser, Congress (from Sunlight Foundation), Kindle (from Amazon) and DailyBible (from Joansoft).

  • The Dolphin Browser runs circles around the basic Android browser.  When I needed to download an email attachment whose extension wasn’t registered, the basic browser failed while Dolphin succeeded.
  • Congress is an exceptional app that can tell you how your representatives are doing in Washington.  You can see pending and passed laws.  You can see what your Congressman or Senator has done.  And you can get their direct phone number – and call them directly.
  • The Kindle app is an excellent tool for e-reading.  For me, I have downloaded a few important books – but not my whole library.  For that, I still need my Kindle.
  • Finally, I use DailyBible to ensure that I geta great Bible verse to start each and every day.

There are a few other apps that I should note.  First, I use NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for my screen saver.  I use ConnectBot to securely log into my servers at home.  I use Astro to perform miscellaneous file management tasks.  I use the Astrid Task Manager for my day-to-day task entry. I use Google Sky Map for really cool nighttime star-gazing. I use Pandora for streaming music. Finally, I use Shazam for recognizing music and buying miscellaneous songs while I’m on the go.
All in all, my Droid 2 is getting a good workout.  I’ve even updated the SD card already.  This is so reminiscent of PC systems in the nineties.  It’s kind of like the wild west and Star Trek – all at the same time.  I guess that means that the first movie I must play on my phone will be Joss Whedon’s “Serenity.”
-Roo

What’s On Your Home Screen

Lorin Olsen

Now that I have a smartphone of my very own, it’s time to highlight what is on my home screen.  But before I do that, I need to note how I got the screen capture.

For those who have rooted their system, the process of a screen capture is quite simple.  But for those who are still clinging to a stock firmware build (like me), the process is slightly different. Nevertheless, the process is relatively straightforward.  You need to update your device driver on the computer system that will be connected to your phone.  Then you need to download and install the Android SDK.  Finally, you need to make sure you update your copy of the Java Development Kit.  [Note: The current Java build as I write this is JDK SE 1.6.21.]  The entire process is fully documented over at Simple Help.  And the results of my first screen capture are shown above.

So what do I have on my home screen?  Well the current favorite apps are as follows:

Location-based tools: Navigation (from Google), Places Directory (from Google), Yelp, and Foursquare.

  • With Navigation, my phone can literally answer the question of “Where Do I Want To Go Today?”  And it can tell me how to get there.
  • I use Places and Yelp to find cool places to visit and explore.  Places is very simplistic.  But its simple approach saves time when you’re in a hurry.  And for those times when you absolutely, positively need to know everything that is around you, Yelp is an astonishingly good tool to find all the hidden things that are close by.  Finally, I am like many techophiles.
  • I use Foursquare to tell folks where I am.  And I have fun trying to be the mayor of someplace other than my household.

Messaging Tools: Google Voice (from Google), GMail (from Google), Text Messaging (from Google), and Seesmic.

  • I use Google Voice for all my voice integration needs.  Indeed, it is my voicemail – even for the mobile phone itself.
  • As everyone know, GMail is my email client.  I love and use it for everything – including integrating other mailboxes across the net.
  • I used Text Messaging for just that: texting.  For the most part, SMS messaging is a dying art.  But my kids still use it a great deal.  I use Google Voice for most of my SMS needs.  But if someone does send an SMS message to my carrier, this app fills the bill.
  • Finally, I use Seesmic as my main tool for Twitter.  Have I used other tools?  Of course I have.  But Seesmic is always current.  It allows me to integrate multiple Twitter accounts.  And it look quite good.

Commerce-related Tools: Mobile Banking (from BoA, of course), Barcode Scanner (from Google), AppBrain, and Google Goggles (from Google).

  • I like having instant access to my bank statement.  So the banking app is self-explanatory.
  • The barcode scanner allows me to read UPC codes and determine the best prices in my local area.  It also reads QR codes.  So you can point your phone at a QR code and jump to the URL embedded within the code.
  • The AppBrain tool is an excellent market system for Android apps. It won’t replace the Android market. But AppBrain has a great review system to go along with the software inventory it houses.
  • Finally, I do use Google Googles to take pictures of things and see what the web has to say about the things that I snap pictures of.

Words and Thoughts: Dolphin Browser, Congress (from Sunlight Foundation), Kindle (from Amazon) and DailyBible (from Joansoft).

  • The Dolphin Browser runs circles around the basic Android browser.  When I needed to download an email attachment whose extension wasn’t registered, the basic browser failed while Dolphin succeeded.
  • Congress is an exceptional app that can tell you how your representatives are doing in Washington.  You can see pending and passed laws.  You can see what your Congressman or Senator has done.  And you can get their direct phone number – and call them directly.
  • The Kindle app is an excellent tool for e-reading.  For me, I have downloaded a few important books – but not my whole library.  For that, I still need my Kindle.
  • Finally, I use DailyBible to ensure that I geta great Bible verse to start each and every day.

There are a few other apps that I should note.  First, I use NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for my screen saver.  I use ConnectBot to securely log into my servers at home.  I use Astro to perform miscellaneous file management tasks.  I use the Astrid Task Manager for my day-to-day task entry. I use Google Sky Map for really cool nighttime star-gazing. I use Pandora for streaming music. Finally, I use Shazam for recognizing music and buying miscellaneous songs while I’m on the go.

All in all, my Droid 2 is getting a good workout.  I’ve even updated the SD card already.  This is so reminiscent of PC systems in the nineties.  It’s kind of like the wild west and Star Trek – all at the same time.  I guess that means that the first movie I must play on my phone will be Joss Whedon’s “Serenity.”

-Roo

Calibre, With Coverflow?

Lorin Olsen

Over the past year, I have slowly (but inexorably) become more and more excited by e-books.  I think the real turning point came when my wife gave me a Kindle for Christmas (and my mother-in-law gave me a generous gift certificate at Amazon).  This post won’t be about e-books, e-book formats or even portable readers, per se.  Instead, I want to focus on a PC-based management tool: Calibre.
The Calibre team bill their product as a complete e-book manager.  But it is far more than that.  For me, it is the Swiss Army knife for digital books.  I started using this tool when I needed to convert some books from one format into another.  Specifically, I wanted to convert a bunch of Mobipocket books (obtained from the Internet) into EPUB format.  While I like Mobi, I am beginning to think that EPUB will drive the market a little faster (due to Apple’s adoption of EPUB).  [Note: For a complete comparison of digital book formats, take a look at the Wikipedia entry here.]  So I’ve used Calibre for certain specific needs.  But that may be about to change.
I discovered a curious new feature of Calibre when I loaded the latest version (v0.7.7).  Specifically, Calibre provides a visual browser experience that is decidedly familiar: it looks just like CoverFlow.  [Note: This feature actually appeared in Calibre with v0.5.1]  Of course, this kind of browsing paradigm is not just limited to iTunes.  It has shown up in other music products – most notably, it can be found in the Songbird player.
But is this a copyright or DMCA infringement?  I have no idea.  [Note: There is an excellent discussion on this subject here.]  But it is a welcome addition to my toolbox for digital books.  Does it provide a feature that I really need?  Not really.  But it is so cool to see it.  And it may very well herald an increasing need for metadata management tools.
I look forward to even more metadata editors for my e-book collection.  And I really welcome a universally adopted e-book stadard.  For music, the MP3 ID3 tag system was the least common denominator.  So who will step up and create the cool product that will necessitate the standardization of metadata for e-books?  Some people are betting that it will be Apple.  But I think that it just may be Kovid Goyal (the author of Calibre).
So here is my final question: which e-book vendors is Monsieur Goyal currently talking to?  For my money, I would love to see someone incorporate Monsieur Goyal’s designs into a more broadly accepted reader.  For me, I wouldn’t be surprised if the new Kindle for PC incorporates these kinds of features.
-Roo

To Amazon: Sharing is Social

Lorin Olsen

I just finished reading Adrian Kingsley-Hughes’ recent post about the recent e-reader price wars.  His basic premise is that Amazon and B&N have already lost to the Apple juggernaut.  I really disagree with Adrian. While his logic is fine, I really think that his conclusion is erroneous – or at lest premature. The real question is not when will Amazon leave the device market but whether Amazon and B&N can position e-ink readers as something unique and different from the iPad.
I don’t know if price can be the only thing that creates a different product/market. I think that something else may be required.   Can software (e.g., the Kindle 2.5.2 firmware) be that extra something that is needed?  I’m not sure.  I love the new firmware.  But an honest review is that the current software alone cannot be the sole differentiator.  But Amazon is hitting the right notes.
In my world view, books are not a solitary experience. They are the lynchpins of a social phenomenon.  The book was the means by which medieval culture was transformed into the culture of the Renaissance – and the advances of the Enlightenment.  Wherever there is oppression, books have provided relief – and focus.  Indeed, books have been the means of unleashing the hidden potential within many people.
And the written word has always been  a pivotal part of the faith experience.  In Jewish and Christian Scriptures, God “spoke” the world into existence.  And in the Gospels, we are told that Jesus Christ is “the Word” of God.  Setting aside the mystical elements of this, it is clear that the spoken and written word are pivotal to the core experience of faith.  Indeed, words are the defining elements of modern man.
So there is more to e-readers than just the device.  There is a powerful and almost mystical connection to the words themselves.  Despite the thoughts of Mr. Kingsley-Hughes  to the contrary, it’s not just about the device.   There is a market for the social aspects of the written word.
But Amazon did not hit it out of the park with their most recent firmware offering.  The social experience does not just mean Twitter and Facebook posts about passagse found in books. It means sharing.  And Amazon has to step up and create a means of sharing a book with friends, family and community.  From my perspective, I want to be able to “give” a book to a friend.  And when they are done with that book, they can return it – or lend it to someone else.
And Amazon needs to extend its commenting/highlighting system.  I would really love to be able to attach audible annotations to a passage.  Scribbling in the margin is fine.  But I want to leave a note to myself and/or the next person that I share the book with.  So it would be great to see a small condenser mic included in the next Kindle revision.
And Amazon really needs to change its ads. The current crop is cute – but unnerving. And the ads do not make me want to buy more books.

The Amazon ads need to be a lot more focused. Tell me why I want your platform. And then show how people use it in new and innovative ways.  Show people using a Kindle for day-to-day tasks: Dad’s novel, Mom’s cookbook, the college kid’s Physics book, the newspaper on the bus, etc.
-Roo