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In 2007, the Internet
commerce company Amazon introduced a $399 electronic book (e-book) reader called the Kindle. The Kindle
wasn't the first dedicated e-book reader device, but it didn't really have much
competition -- there wasn't a huge demand in the market for e-book readers
before the Kindle's launch.
Amazon has two
distinct advantages over earlier e-book manufacturers. The first is that the
company designed the Kindle to interface seamlessly with Amazon's online store.
Amazon.com hosts more than a million titles in electronic format. Because the
Kindle is wireless, you can access the store without connecting the device to a
Computer.You can buy a
book or subscribe to an electronic version of a newspaper on Amazon and
download it directly to the Kindle. The second advantage is that Amazon has a
large customer base. Both of these factors give the Kindle a leg up on the
competition.
Why would you want
to use an e-book reader in the first place? One reason is that a single e-book
reader can hold many titles. The $69 Kindle, Amazon's base model, can hold up
to 1,400 titles (books, newspapers, magazines and blogs)
in its memory [source: Amazon].
The newer models also offer WiFi connectivity. The original Kindle had a port
that allowed users to save titles to a memory card, extending the device's
capacity, which appealed to people who like the idea of having an electronic
library that takes up very little physical space. The models available today do
not have card slots, but available Kindle models come with 2 or 4 gigabytes of
storage space, and Amazon also stores your entire library in the cloud,
allowing you to delete and re-download titles at will to organize and save
space.
The Kindle's memory
capacity also makes it very convenient for travelers. With a Kindle, you don't
have to worry about packing heavy books in your luggage to keep you occupied
for your whole trip. A single Kindle can hold more than enough titles to tide
you over. And if you decide you want something completely different midway
through your travels (as long as you're traveling in the United States or a
country in which Amazon offers service for its international Kindle), you can
always use the Kindle to access Amazon's store and buy a new book.
The Kindle also has
several functions that you may find helpful while reading. You can bookmark a
page, highlight a selection of text or even type notes as you read. With these
features, the Kindle has the potential to replace hardcopy textbooks in the
future, something many students would probably welcome. While they would no
longer be able to sell a used copy of a textbook at the end of a term, they
wouldn't have to tote around a backpack filled with hefty books either.
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