SEATTLE — After the success of the Kindle, Kindle 2, and Kindle DX, Amazon announced today that it would begin selling each of the 25 million book titles in its catalog in a new lower-priced product format called Kindle Paper Editions.
While each Kindle Paper Edition will contain only one, preloaded book, chosen at the time of purchase, and lack some of the features of the other Kindles such as Whispernet wireless service, the ability to change font size after time of purchase, or additional onboard memory to download new books, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was quick to point out a number of features unique to the product line, such as the greatly expanded catalog of available books, unlimited battery life, the ability to “dog-ear” favorite pages, and the ability to write on the Kindle Paper’s 600-plus-dpi “tactile display surface” with an ordinary pen, pencil or highlighter. Early reviews have praised the product’s intuitive ease of use, with the ability to quickly advance through pages, or jump instantly to any section of the text. Social networking features include the ability to announce which book you’re reading to anyone in the vicinity simply by holding up the innovative printed cover.

Image: the Harry Potter book series, available for the first time as Kindle Paper Editions (via bibicall)
In addition, Bezos announced that the Paper Editions are fully recyclable, making them the greenest products in the Kindle line, and that they are the first Kindle products that, in a pinch, can be used as actual kindling.
Kindle Paper Editions will go on sale immediately at Amazon’s website at a variety of as-yet-unannounced price points that the company says “will be under $300,” with the option of a hard or flexible soft paper jacket, printed with the cover design of the customer’s selected “p-book.”
Optional leather carrying case and insertable bookmarking accessory not included.
(permalink) 3 notes