
Amazon Cracks Open the Kindle - jasonlbaptiste
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/amazon-cracks-open-the-kindle/?src=twt&twt=nytimesbits
======
jasonlbaptiste
I think between the Kindle, Nook (it runs android), and the Apple Tablet,
we're going to see some of the next great publishing companies emerge along
with the really smart dinosaurs evolve. "Print Content" will no longer just be
words on a page, but something interactive that belongs in the 21st century.
_What if your books/newspapers/magazines were hybrids of software+traditional
writing?_ That thought kind of gives me the chills... in a good way.

~~~
MikeCapone
Yes, and this combined with Amazon's new royalty scheme:

[http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-amazon-fires-
to...](http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-amazon-fires-torpedo-at-
book-industry-launches-70-kindle-royalty-option-2010-1)

Will create really big changes in the publishing industry.

I just hope that people outside the U.S. won't have to wait years to benefit
from these changes (because of legalities).

------
skywalker
"We've heard from lots of developers over the past two years who are excited
to build on top of Kindle"

So, why didn't they do nothing for two years?

One week before Apple supposedly will announce the iTablet, Amazon creates a
press release saying a limited beta of the Kindle SDK will start _next month_!

If you are the market leader, why would you wait two years for yours
competitors? Doesn't make sense to me.

~~~
grandalf
I get the impression that most product teams at Amazon contain about 5 people.

I love Amazon, btw, I just think they keep the teams lean and do amazing
things.

~~~
spudlyo
"If a project team can eat more than two pizzas, it's too large." -- Werner
Vogels Amazon CTO

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waterlesscloud
As I'm reading it, they're going to charge 15 cents per megabyte to deliver
the _app itself_ to the device. That cost will be deducted from the app price,
and the remainder is what will be split 70/30 with developers. They cap over-
the-air delivery at 10 meg. Anything over that is downloaded to user's
computer, then to kindle via usb. Cumbersome.

So you could have up to $1.50 of the app price deducted for delivery fees.

Probably not going to settle in on a 99 cent price point...

~~~
mcobrien
Definitely cumbersome, but you'd be hard pressed to find a 99c iPhone app
that's 10MB. With the simplicity of typical apps and platform restrictions
(black & white!), a lot will fit in the first 1MB.

~~~
gyardley
Right now two of the top ten paid iPhone apps are both $0.99 and over 10MB.
I'm of the impression that this is quite common.

------
ryanwaggoner
Can someone venture some guesses as to what types of apps will be created?
That screen seems like a terribly limiting factor for apps...

~~~
gcv
Plenty of apps don't need rapid refresh, or particularly fancy graphics.
Weather apps, stock tickers, crossword puzzles, Sudoku, choose-your-own-
adventure type games (even something like the old Adventure), a note taker,
shopping list, fitness tracker... Combine these with the Kindle's wireless
cellular link, add a little imagination, and I feel it has potential.

~~~
mcobrien
Considering developers will pay for app downloads themselves, it seems likely
that only wifi access will be available. That's going to limit a lot of the
kinds of apps that are popular on the iPhone. Why even install a wifi-only
weather app when you can use the (experimental) web browser that always works?

~~~
utnick
I don't think Kindles have wifi...

I would guess amazon would only allow non-networked apps

------
bioweek
Can someone make a PDF reader for the Kindle? It would display PDF's somewhat
sanely and it would allow bookmarking and annotations.

~~~
ableal
Besides the one Amazon ships in the latest firmware versions ? (
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=2...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200324680)
)

The manuals (
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=2...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200317150)
) seem to say you can bookmark PDF pages, but do not mention clippings or
annotations, which are allowed for the mobi/azw default format.

~~~
bioweek
Yes, besides that one. It seems to completely barf on most PDFs especially
multi column ones.

I don't recall the bookmarking working. And annoations and clippings are
definately not there.

~~~
ableal
Well, I was looking at the DX manual - I confess I'm waiting to lay my mitts
on one, which should be landing in my corner of Europe today.

If you're talking of the 6" e-ink screen (I have one of the Hanlin ones,
branded BeBook), I do not think there's a good way of reading PDFs "printed"
to Letter/A4 on them. (Thus the DX.)

(Short, of course, of intelligently reflowing the PDF to a smaller page size -
which currently seems to be an opportunity ;-)

------
Tichy
I don't have a Kindle yet, so I wonder what the connectivity is like? I think
you can't just surf the web with a Kindle, so web applications are out?

This news makes me dither between excitement and desperation. Yet another
completely different mobile platform to support? Fragmentation is really
becoming a problem, web apps seemed like the only hope for a solution... In
any case, I suppose it makes sense to wait for the iPad, perhaps we'll think
completely different about mobile internet after that.

~~~
Erwin
It has a basic web browser, but for international customers it seems most
sites are restricted -- I can only browse Wikipedia (it uses the mobile
version, <http://en.m.wikipedia.org/> )

I suspect the deals they've had to do with however many 3G provider companies
mean more expensive bandwidth outside of US.

I'm not sure about Kindle as an app platform; it feels a little too sluggish
when the screen needs to be updated. Good enough for going to a new book page,
but interactive applications may be difficult (e.g. just moving the cursor
around faster leaves a visible trail). Maybe a new generation of the device
with faster screen updates (some kind of dual e-ink/OLED screen?) and better
keyboard.

------
gcheong
This is great news. I've been hoping for an SDK ever since I got a Kindle DX
as a birthday present.

------
ggruschow
I _really_ wish that thing had a touchscreen. No pointing device, no scroll
wheel, and poor cursor update speed will make the interactions people are used
to now impossible.

It shuts down its radio all the time right? I assume push notifications are
impossible?

------
dkokelley
I'm excited to see what come of this. Although most of my 'connected' needs
are filled by my iPhone, having a comparable substitute on the big, battery-
sipping, easy-on-the-eyes screen seems like a good idea.

Now if only they would come down in price just a bit...

~~~
Herring
Last I checked they had it refurbished for ~400

~~~
dkokelley
Oops. I meant to reference the Kindle's price. I already have an iPhone.

~~~
Herring
Yeah I got that. [http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-
listing/B0015TCML0/?tag=kwab-...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-
listing/B0015TCML0/?tag=kwab-20&condition=refurbished)

Maybe they'll restock soon.

~~~
dkokelley
Ouch. I would probably only want the 6" version.

------
ralphc
What I haven't seen answered is can I develop my own apps for my own Kindle
for free? A big factor for me losing interest in iPhone development is having
to pay 99$ a year to make apps for myself, that expire in a year.

------
davidw
I wonder what language/API it uses? Java or C++ are probably safe guesses.

~~~
sliverstorm
I believe Java is out- it uses a ARM11 CPU running Linux, and I am not aware
of a commonly available Java for ARM CPU's...?

C/C++ would be seem like a good guess (and my personal preference), but on the
other hand it might allow lower-level access than they are prepared to give.

In reality, anything that compiles on Linux on the ARM processor could be
game- python, ruby, c/c++, perl... but, _that_ kind of access is probably just
a pipe dream.

~~~
davidw
> I am not aware of a commonly available Java for ARM CPU'

What do you think J2ME runs on?

------
Tiktaalik
I hope this results in a renaissance for interactive fiction (text adventure
games).

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zackattack
Hopefully it's better-documented than Amazon FPS Subscriptions. :P

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cabalamat
If the opening up doesn't include an API that allows me to transfer kindle
book files onto my Linux box in a portable, DRM-free format, then for me at
least it is worthless and Amazon can throw their kindle on a bonfire.

