Jeff Bezos introduced the first Kindle on 19 November 2007. Almost nine years later comes the latest model, the Kindle Oasis : now launched and available throughout the world between a couple of weeks, has almost nothing in common with the first model, apart from the screen size, which is still to be six inches.
IS DONE
Among the many decisions that had to take, the designers of the first Kindle were faced with one of the fundamental design: as it should be an eBook reader? After nearly four years of trying, he came out a strange device and original, white, with square lines and unexpected asymmetries, a keyboard with lozenge-shaped buttons and a slider to scroll through the menu. As the design has normalized, and the last three or four Kindle occur between their marginal aesthetic differences. Oasis, however, is a return to innovation: thin on the one hand, more often on the other, for the first time adopts a frame in metal infused polymer: it is very light (131 grams), but solid and rigid, also thanks the reinforced glass that protects the display. It has rounded corners, excellent finishes, it holds well with one hand. There are two keys to go back and forth between pages, which can be programmed as desired, and configure itself for right- or left-handed users. The screen is obviously touch.
The battery ensures a couple of weeks of battery life, but the new Oasis is sold with a magnetic cover that attaches to the back and includes another battery. So they can spend more than two months before a charge is necessary (via USB), thanks to a hibernation mode that minimizes power consumption when the device is idle. Custody, leather, is available in black, burgundy or walnut. It opens like a book and closes according to the device profile; when it is open, the player is turned on, and switches off automatically when closed. To hold it in place are twelve magnets.
AN OASIS FOR READING
joint eighth generation, the Kindle is now synonymous with digital readout, and remained a few manufacturers still offer ebook reader for pure, that is, they are also more or less versatile tablet. The model presented in October 2014 was called Voyage, the current Oasis: “To get comfortable and read for hours must be a refuge from the distractions,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon. “We want Kindle to disappear in your hands and Kindle Oasis is the biggest step toward the fulfillment of our mission. Kindle is the most advanced we’ve ever built: it is thin and lightweight, it disappears before your eyes so you can get lost in the world imagined by the author. ” There are mails to control, status to update, web sites compulsive. There remains only the book, presented at its best. The e-ink screen Paperwhite has in fact a resolution of 300 ppi, capable of reproducing a text with accuracy and printing quality of a printed paper volume (and there is also a new fonts to choose from to customize the books) . The integrated light in the display has been redesigned: it is no longer on the bottom, but on the longer side, so the number of LEDs and power grew by 60 percent, making the screen brighter and better readability in all lighting conditions .
SOFTWARE
This time the software does not seem to offer great innovations, but perhaps there is no need, since the functions available are numerous. We remember only:
● Whispersync and Storage Cloud: the books are stored in the Amazon Cloud, synchronizing and last page read, bookmarks and annotations across all devices and the same user Kindle reading applications .
● Kindle FreeTime: offers parents an easy and fun way to encourage children to read. You can choose books and assign badges to achieving reading goals that you set.
● Time to Read: indicates how long it takes to finish a chapter or the book, based on their reading speed.
● Enrich your vocabulary: allows you to collect the words in the dictionary consulted in a list for easy access.
● Share your favorite passages: Share the advice books, underlined passages and meaningful quotes with friends via Facebook and Twitter.
● Quick Reference: integrates the full definition from the dictionary with other information from Wikipedia.
STRATEGY
For Amazon, Kindle was the first step towards a slow but radical transformation: not only sell items, but services. In the strategy of Jeff Bezos, producing quality hardware at affordable prices (in balance or even below cost) it allows you to earn from the contents. Which today are books, but also music, apps, videos, films via streaming subscription or purchase and download in seconds, perhaps using the 3G connection it is included in several models. In all, on the store Bezos, they are available over 4 million titles in all languages, including bestsellers and exclusive (about one million), but there is also the Unlimited service, which allows you to read unlimited paying a monthly fee of ten euro. For this it is not essential that the fans acquire the latest model: continue to buy content, and that’s where the Amazon gain.
That is why today the available Kindle are four, a family that starts from € 69.99 of the basic model , passes to 129.99 for the Paperwhite, He reaches 189.99 for the Voyage. The new Oasis is the top, even in the price: 289.99 €, including the cover with auxiliary battery.
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