Amazon Kindle

Amazon Kindle

The Kindle 2
Manufacturer	Foxconn for Amazon.com
Type	E-book reader
Release date	1st generation: November 19, 2007 2nd generation: February 9, 2009 3rd Generation: August 27, 2010 Kindle DX (1st Gen): June 10, 2009 Kindle DX (2nd Gen): Jan 19, 2010 Kindle DX Graphite (3rd Gen): July 7, 2010
Operating system	Linux-2.6.10
Power	3.7 V, 1530 mAh lithium polymer, BA1001 model
CPU	Freescale 532 MHz, ARM-11
Storage capacity	(total/user available) 256 MB/180 MB (original) or 2 GB/1.4 GB (Kindle 2) or 4 GB/3.3 GB (Kindle DX) internal flash memory
Display	6 in diagonal, 3.6 in (91 mm) × 4.8 in (122 mm), 600 × 800 pixels or 0.48 megapixels, 167 ppi density, 4-level grayscale (original) or 16-level grayscale (Kindle 2) electronic paper
Input	USB 2.0 port (micro-B connector), SD card (original model only), 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack built-in speaker, AC power adapter jack
Connectivity	Amazon Whispernet using EVDO/CDMA AnyDATA wireless modem
Dimensions	8.0 × 5.3 × 0.8 in (203 × 135 × 20.3 mm) (original) 8.0 × 5.3 × 0.36 in (203 × 135 × 9.14 mm) (Kindle 2) 7.5 × 4.8 × 0.34 in (190 × 123 × 8.51 mm) (Kindle 3)
Weight	10.2 oz (290 g) (Kindle 1 & 2) 8.7 oz (250 g) (Kindle 3) 8.5 oz (240 g) (Kindle 3 Wi-Fi only)

Amazon Kindle is a software and hardware platform developed by Amazon.com (subsidiary Lab126) for the rendering and displaying of e-books and other digital media.^[1] Four hardware devices, known as "Kindle", "Kindle 2", a third generation device simply called the "Kindle", and "Kindle DX" support this platform. However, most reviewers, customers and press companies refer to this latest generation Kindle as the "Kindle 3".^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Kindle software applications exist for Microsoft Windows, iOS, BlackBerry, Mac OS X and Android^[7]. Amazon's first hardware device, the Kindle First Generation, was released only in the United States on November 19, 2007. The latest hardware device, the 3rd generation Kindle with 3G support for use in 100 countries and territories, was announced on July 28, 2010.^[8]

The Kindle hardware devices use an E Ink brand electronic paper display that features 16 shades of gray. Early Kindles wirelessly downloaded content over Amazon's Whispernet using the Sprint EVDO network in the USA. Newer Kindle 2 devices use AT&T's network and its roaming partners for international wireless access.^[9] The Kindle hardware device is used without a computer connection, and Amazon Whispernet is accessible without any monthly fee or wireless subscription.^[10] All Kindle models (except the Kindle Wi-Fi) provide free access to the Internet in the U.S. over cellular networks, although fees can be incurred for the delivery of periodicals and other content when roaming internationally beyond the customer's home country. The Kindle does not preserve the print edition page numbers used for creating and verifying sources, references and citations ^[11].

Through a technology called "Whispersync", customers can connect reading progress, bookmarks and other information across Kindle hardware devices and other mobile devices.^[12][13]

Amazon announced the Kindle DX on May 6, 2009. This device has a larger screen than its predecessors and supports simple PDF files. It also is the thinnest Kindle to date and offers an accelerometer, which enables the user to seamlessly rotate pages between landscape and portrait orientations when the Kindle DX is turned on its side.^[14] It is marketed as more suitable for displaying newspaper and textbook content.^[15]

Amazon released the Kindle for PC application free of charge, allowing users to read Kindle books on a Windows PC.^[16] Amazon later released a version for the Macintosh.^[17] Versions for mobile devices running on operating systems from Research in Motion, Apple and Google are also available free of charge.^[18] None of these alternate versions can currently read newspapers, magazines, or blogs, the way they are readable on the Kindle device itself.^[19]

It is known for its stop motion commercials featuring Annie Little, sporting the song "Fly Me Away" and "Stole My Heart". The slogan is "Books in 60 seconds".

With the announcement of the third generation Kindle in July 2010, Amazon also launched an Amazon.co.uk version of the Kindle store. As yet it's unclear whether users who move out of the UK will be able to transfer existing purchases to Amazon.com ^[20]. However, existing UK users are offered the option of migrating to the UK Kindle store, with no loss to their existing purchases.

History

Launch of the original Kindle

The Kindle 1

Amazon released the Kindle First Generation on November 19, 2007, and it sold out in five and a half hours.^[21] The device remained out of stock for five months until late April 2008.^[22]

Amazon did not sell the Kindle First Generation outside the United States.^[23] Plans for a launch in the UK and other European countries were delayed by problems with signing up suitable wireless network operators.^[24]

Kindle 2

On February 10, 2009, Amazon announced the Kindle 2. It became available for purchase on February 23, 2009. The Kindle 2 features, a text-to-speech option to read the text aloud, and 2 GB of internal memory^[25] was slimmer than the original Kindle.^[26][27][28] To promote the new Kindle, author Stephen King made UR, his then-new novella, available exclusively through the Kindle Store.^[29] On October 22, 2009, Amazon stopped selling the original Kindle 2 in favor of the international version it had introduced earlier in the month.

On November 24, 2009, Amazon released a firmware update for the Kindle 2 that it said increases battery life by 85% and introduces native PDF support.^[30]

The Kindle 2 was criticized for its high original retail price of US$359, compared to the $185.49 iSuppli estimated it costs to manufacture.^[31] On July 8, 2009, Amazon reduced the price of the Kindle 2 to $299. On October 7, 2009, Amazon further reduced the price of the Kindle 2 to $259.^[32] On June 21, 2010 Amazon reduced the price of the Kindle 2 to $189.^[33]

Kindle 2 international version

On October 7, 2009, Amazon announced an international version of the Kindle 2 that works in over 100 countries. It became available October 19, 2009. The international Kindle 2 is physically very similar to the U.S.-only model, although it uses a different mobile network standard.

On October 22, Amazon lowered the price on the international version from $279 to $259 and discontinued the U.S.-only model. On June 21, 2010, hours after Barnes & Noble lowered the price of its Nook, Amazon lowered the price of the Kindle 2 to $189, undercutting the Nook by $10.

Kindle 3 (3G+Wifi, Latest Generation)

Amazon announced a new generation of the Kindle on July 28, 2010.^[34] While Amazon does not officially add numbers to the end of each Kindle denoting its generation, most reviewers, customers and press companies refer to this updated Kindle as the "Kindle 3".^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

The Kindle 3 is available in two versions. One of these, the Kindle Wi-Fi, is initially priced at US$139 / GB£109, and connects to the Internet exclusively via public or private Wi-Fi networks.^[34] The other version, considered a replacement to the Kindle 2, is priced at US$189 / GB£149 and includes both 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity.^[34] The new Kindle with 3G is available in two colors: classic white and graphite. Both models use the new E-ink "Pearl" display, which Amazon claims is 50% better in contrast - a claim that is backed up by early user reports. ^[35]

The third generation Kindle is 0.5 inches shorter and 0.5 inches narrower than the Kindle 2. It supports additional fonts and international Unicode characters. An experimental browser based on the popular WebKit platform is included, as well as text-to-speech menu navigation. Internal memory is expanded to 4 GB. The battery can allegedly last for up to one month of reading with the wireless radios turned off.^[34]

Pre-orders for the new Kindle began concurrent with the announcement of the device, and Amazon began shipping the devices on August 27, 2010 in the United States and United Kingdom.

On August 1, 2010 both Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk announced that both of the models were temporarily sold out. Pre-orders taken at and after the time of announcement will be expected to ship "on or before September 17th".

With the announcement of the Kindle 3, Amazon also launched an Amazon.co.uk version of the Kindle store. As yet it's unclear whether users who move out the UK will be able to transfer existing purchases to Amazon.com ^[20]. However, existing UK users are offered the option of migrating to the UK Kindle store, with no loss to their existing purchases.

On August 25, 2010, Amazon announced that the Kindle 3 were the fastest-selling Kindles ever. ^[36]

Kindle DX

Amazon Kindle DX

The Kindle DX
Manufacturer	Foxconn for Amazon.com
Type	e-book reader
Release date	June 10, 2009
Operating system	Linux-2.6.22.19
Power	Lithium polymer, 3.7 V, 1530 mAh, 5.66 Wh, P/N 170-1012-00[37]
CPU	Freescale 532 MHz i.MX31L, ARM-11
Storage capacity	4 GB internal flash memory (82.5% user-accessible)
Display	9.7 in diagonal (5.4" (137 mm) x 7.9" (201 mm)), 824 × 1200 pixels or 0.99  megapixels, 150 ppi, 16-level grayscale electronic paper
Input	USB 2.0 port (micro-B connector), 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack, built-in stereo speakers, AC power adapter jack
Connectivity	Amazon Whispernet (Sprint) using EVDO/CDMA AnyDATA wireless modem E727NV WN2, with fallback to 1xRTT[37]
Dimensions	10.4 × 7.2 × 0.38 in (264 × 183 × 9.7 mm)
Weight	18.9 oz (540 g)

On May 6, 2009, Amazon announced the Kindle DX,^[38] at the retail price of $489.^[39] It is the first Kindle model with an accelerometer, automatically rotating pages between landscape and portrait orientations if the device is turned on its side, unless automatic rotation is disabled by the user. It is slightly over ¹⁄₃ inch (about 8.5 mm) thick, has a 4 GB (3.3 GB user-accessible) storage capacity, holding approximately 3500 non-illustrated e-books, a 9.7 inch (24.6 cm) display with 1200 x 824 pixel resolution, and a battery life of up to one week while using wireless or two weeks offline. The DX adds support for PDF files natively, built-in stereo speakers and 1xRTT wireless technology as a fallback option for when EVDO connectivity is not available. Like the Kindle 2, it does not have an SD memory card slot. The model was released on June 10, 2009.^[34] The second generation DX was released January 19, 2010. A new "Graphite" 3rd generation model was released on July 7, 2010. It was priced at $379. It has 50% better contrast than the earlier versions.^[40]

Kindle DX International

Since January 19, 2010, the Kindle DX International ships in 100 countries.^[41]

Kindle DX Graphite (Latest Generation)

On July 1, 2010, Amazon released a new revision of the Kindle DX (3rd Generation Kindle DX). As well as dropping the price from $489 to $379, the new Kindle DX has an e-ink screen with 50% better contrast ratio and comes only in a "graphite" color. It is speculated the color change is to improve contrast ratio perception even further, as some users found the previous white casing highlighted the fact that the e-ink background is gray and not white.^[42]

Kindle sales

Specific Kindle sales numbers are not released by the company, but Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, stated in a shareholders' meeting that "millions of people now own Kindles."^[43] According to anonymous inside sources, over three million Kindles have been sold as of December 2009^[44], while external estimates as of Q4-2009 place the number at about 1.5 million.^[45]

Models

Kindle (original)

The Kindle 1

The Kindle First Generation was released on November 19, 2007 for US$399. It is the only Kindle with expandable memory, via an SD card slot.^[23].

The Kindle First Generation device features a 6 inch (diagonal) 4-level grayscale display, with 250 MB of internal memory, which can hold approximately 200 non-illustrated titles.^[23]

The Whispernet only works in the United States, but content can be downloaded from Amazon over the Internet. The device does not support Wi-Fi; instead, it relies on AT&T's 3G, or Sprint's EVDO/1xRTT network, for data services and Internet access,^[46][47]

Kindle 2

The Kindle 2 became available for purchase on February 23, 2009. The Kindle 2 features a 6-inch, 16-level grayscale display, improved battery life, 20 percent faster page-refreshing, a text-to-speech option to read the text aloud,^[25] and overall thickness reduction from 0.8 to 0.36 inches (9.1 mm).^[26]

The Kindle 2 has 2 GB of internal memory of which 1.4 GB is user-accessible. Amazon estimates that the Kindle 2 will hold about 1500 non-illustrated books. Unlike the Kindle First Generation, Kindle 2 does not have a slot for SD memory cards.^[27][48] To promote the new Kindle, author Stephen King made UR, his then-new novella, available exclusively through the Kindle Store.^[29]. It was discontinued on October 22, 2009 in favor of the Kindle 2 international version.

According to an early review by iFixIt, the Kindle 2 features a Freescale 532 MHz, ARM-11 90 nm processor, 32 MB main memory, 2 GB moviNAND flash storage and a 3.7 V 1530 mAh lithium polymer battery.^[49] On November 24, 2009, Amazon released a firmware update for the Kindle 2 that it said increases battery life by 85% and introduces native PDF support.^[30] There is concern about the specific hardware choices made for the device.^[50] For example, the Kindle 2 lacks the memory expansion slot which was part of the original Kindle, which not only affects the potential number of e-books which can be stored on the device, but also removes potential capabilities to import e-books onto the device via memory card.

There are concerns, as referenced soon, that the Kindle 2's contrast in small text is poor compared to the original Kindle.^[51] Side-by-side comparisons show slight differences attributable to factors such as slightly darker background and different fonts on the two devices.^[52] Some Kindle 2 users have reverted to the original Kindle due to this issue.^[53]

International version

The international version of the Kindle 2 became available October 19, 2009. It works in over 100 countries. It is physically very similar to the U.S.-only model, although it uses a different mobile network standard. The original Kindle 2 uses CDMA2000, for use on the Sprint network. The international version uses standard GSM and 3G GSM, enabling it to be used on AT&T's U.S. mobile network and internationally in 100 other countries.^[54] Kindle 2 International Version is believed to have a noticeably higher contrast screen, although Amazon does not advertise this.^[55].

The Kindle International Wireless version has restricted access to the experimental web browser. In most countries, Amazon restricts Kindle owners from accessing any web content apart from Amazon's e-book store (to view and purchase books and magazine subscriptions) and the English Wikipedia.^[56] As of May 2010, Kindle users in Australia and Sweden can access all websites.

International users of Kindle pay different prices for books depending on their registered country. For U.S. customers traveling abroad, Amazon originally charged a $1.99 fee to download books over 3G while overseas. The charge was dropped in May 2010.^[57] Fees remain for wireless delivery of periodical subscriptions and personal documents.

The Kindle 2 does not have a removable battery. If the battery fails on a Kindle 2, the whole unit must be sent to Amazon for repair.^[58]

Historical Graph of Kindle Prices

3rd Generation

The third generation Kindle (often referred to in the press as the "Kindle 3") was announced on July 28, 2010; and began shipping on August 25, 2010. The newest Kindle is available in two configurations: a Wifi-only model for $139 USD (£109 in UK) and a Wifi+3G model for $189 (£149). The WIFI model is available only in a graphite color, while the WIFI/3G model can be purchased in either a graphite shell or the classic white. Amazon claims contrast on this model is 50% better than the Kindle 2 and has battery life of one month with wireless switched off.

Among other hardware changes Kindle 3 has a larger 1750 mAh lithium polymer battery, AnyDATA DTP-600W 3G GSM modem and Atheros AR6102G 802.11bg WiFi chip.^[59]

With the announcement of the third generation Kindle, Amazon also launched an Amazon.co.uk version of the Kindle store. As yet it's unclear whether users who move out the UK will be able to transfer existing purchases to Amazon.com ^[20]. However, existing UK users are offered the option of migrating to the UK Kindle store, with no loss to their existing purchases.

Kindle DX

The Kindle DX comes with a 9-inch E Ink screen instead of the 6 inch normal Kindle screen.

Kindle DX Graphite

The newest generation Kindle Graphite boasts a 50% improved contrast than the standard white Kindle DX.

Downloadable content

Overview

Content from Amazon and some other content providers is primarily encoded in Amazon's proprietary Kindle format (AZW). It is also possible to load content in various formats from a computer by simply transferring it to the Kindle via USB (for free) or by emailing it to a registered email address provided by Amazon (for a fee); the email service can convert a number of document formats to Amazon's AZW format and then transmit the result to the associated Kindle over Whispernet.

Kindle Terms of Use forbid transferring Amazon e-books to another user or a different type of device.^[60] Users can select reading material using the Kindle itself or through a computer at the Amazon Kindle store and can download content through the Kindle Store, which upon the initial launch of the Kindle had more than 88,000 digital titles available for download. This number continued steadily increasing to more than 275,000 by late 2008, and exceeded 500,000 in the spring of 2010. As of July 24, 2010, there were more than 650,000 books available for download.^[61] In late 2007, new releases and New York Times best sellers were being offered for approximately US$10, with first chapters of many books offered as free samples. Many titles, including some classics, are offered free of charge or at a low price, which has been stated to relate to the cost of adapting the book to the Kindle format . Magazines, newspapers and blogs via RSS are provided by Amazon per a monthly subscription fee or a free trial period. Newspaper subscriptions cost from US$5.99 to $19.99 per month; magazines charge between $1.25 and $10.99 per month, and blogs charge from $0.99 to $1.99 per month.^[62] Amazon e-book sales overtook print for one day for the first time on Christmas Day of 2009.^[63]

International users of Kindle pay different prices for books depending on their registered country. For U.S. customers traveling abroad, Amazon originally charged a $1.99 fee to download books over 3G while overseas. That charge was quietly dropped in May 2010.^[57] Fees remain for wireless delivery of periodical subscriptions and personal documents.

In addition to the Kindle store, paid content for the Kindle can be purchased from various independent sources such as Fictionwise, Mobipocket and Webscriptions. Public Domain titles are also obtainable for the Kindle via content providers such as Project Gutenberg and World Public Library.

The device is sold with electronic editions of its owner's manual and the New Oxford American Dictionary. Users are able to purchase different dictionaries from the Kindle store as specified in the included manual.^[64][65] The Kindle also contains several free experimental features including a basic web browser.^[66] Users can also play music from MP3 files in the background in the order they were added to the Kindle. Operating system updates are designed to be received wirelessly and installed automatically during a period in sleep mode in which wireless is turned on.^[67]

File formats

The original Kindle supported only unprotected Mobipocket books (MOBI, PRC), plain text files (TXT), topaz format books (.tpz) and Amazon's proprietary DRM-restricted format (AZW). Version 2.3 firmware upgrade for Kindle 2 (U.S. and International) added native Portable Document Format (PDF) support.^[30] Earlier versions did not fully support PDF, but Amazon provided "experimental" conversion to the native AZW format,^[68] with the caveat that not all PDFs may format correctly.^[69] It does not support the EPUB ebook standard. Amazon offers an email-based service that will convert JPEG, GIF, PNG and BMP graphics to AZW.^[70] Amazon will also convert HTML pages and Microsoft Word (DOC) documents through the same email-based mechanism, which will send a Kindle-formatted file to the device directly for $0.15 per MB or to a personal e-mail account for free. These services can be accessed by sending emails to <kindleusername>@kindle.com and to <kindleusername>@free.kindle.com for Whispernet-delivered and free email-delivered file conversion, respectively, but these are services available just for those who bought a real Kindle device, not available for those who just own the digital Kindle application (iPhone, iPad, etc.). The file that the user wants to be converted needs to be attached to these emails. Users could also convert PDF and other files to the first-generation Kindle's supported formats using third-party software. The original Kindle supported audio in the form of MP3s and Audible audiobooks (versions 2, 3 and 4), which had to be transferred to the Kindle via USB or on an SD card.

A book may be downloaded from Amazon to a limited number of devices at the same time. The limit ranges from one to six devices, depending on an undisclosed number of licenses set by the book publisher. When the limit is reached, the users have to unregister some devices in the Manage Your Kindle page in order to add new devices.^[71]

E-books of unencrypted .MOBI files, .TXT files, or .AZW formats can be transferred to the Kindle over a USB connection and read, but any other e-book formats are not supported. The original Kindle and the Kindle 2 firmware before the 2.3 firmware update cannot read e-books or files in the PDF format. However, PDFs and several other file formats can be converted using a number of downloadable applications, free conversion by email, or a similar method that sends the converted content to the owner's Kindle for a fee.^[23]

Amazon owns Mobipocket,^[72][73] and the Kindle AZW file format and DRM scheme are similar to the Mobipocket file format and DRM scheme, yet Kindle is not able to read DRM-protected Mobipocket books without resorting to third-party conversions tools.

Initially, Kindle 1 only supported the ISO 8859-1 (Latin 1) character set for its content; Unicode characters and non-Western characters were not supported. A firmware update in February 2009 added support for additional character sets, including ISO 8859-16.

Kindle 2 added support for Audible Enhanced (AAX) format, but dropped support for Audible versions 2 and 3. Using the experimental web browser, it was possible to download books directly on the Kindle (in MOBI, PRC and TXT formats only). Hyperlinks in a Mobipocket file could be used to download e-books^[74] but could not be used to reference books stored in the Kindle's memory. Kindle DX added native support for PDF files.

The original Kindle and Kindle 2 did not allow the user to organize books into folders.^[75] There is an option to select whether documents, subscriptions, books, or everything on the device appear on the home page. Another option orders the items on the home page according to title, author, or download date. Books may also be tagged with one or more keywords by inserting the tags into notes added to the book. Users can then search for books by tag.^[76] Kindle software version 2.5 (released July 2010) allowed for the organization of books into "Collections" which is roughly correspondent to folders.

User-created annotations

Users can bookmark, highlight and look up content. Pages can be dog-eared for reference and notes can be added to relevant content. While a book is open on the display, menu options allow users to search for synonyms and definitions from the built-in dictionary. The device also remembers the last page read for each book. Pages can be saved as a "clipping", or a text file containing the text of the currently displayed page. All clippings are appended to a single file, which can be downloaded over a USB cable.^[77]

Kindle Development Kit (KDK)

On January 21, 2010, Amazon announced the forthcoming release of their Kindle Development Kit.^[78] Their aim is to allow developers to build 'active content' for the Kindle, and a beta version was announced with a February 2010 release date.^[79] A number of companies have already experimented with delivering active content through the Kindle's bundled browser,^[80] and the KDK promises 'sample code, documentation and the Kindle Simulator' together with a new revenue sharing model for developers.

Business model

Digital Text Platform

Concurrently with the Kindle device, Amazon launched the Digital Text Platform, a system for authors to self-publish directly to the Kindle. In open beta testing as of late 2007, the platform has been promoted to established authors by e-mail^[81] and by advertisements at Amazon.com. Authors can upload documents in several formats for delivery via Whispernet and charge between $0.99 and $200.00 per download.^[81] The authors receive 35% of revenues based on their list price, regardless of discounts by Amazon.^[82]

In a December 5, 2009 interview with The New York Times, CEO Jeff Bezos revealed that Amazon.com keeps 65% of the revenue from all ebook sales for the Kindle.^[83] The remaining 35% is split between the book author and publisher. After numerous commentators observed that Apple's popular App Store offers 70% of royalties to the publisher, Amazon began a program that offers 70% royalties to Kindle publishers who agree to certain conditions.^[84]

Other criticisms involve the business model behind Amazon's implementation and distribution of e-books.^[50][85] Amazon introduced a software application allowing Kindle books to be read on an iPhone or iPod Touch.^[86] Amazon soon followed with an application called "Kindle for PCs" that can be run on a Windows PC. Due to the book publisher's DRM policies, there is no right of first sale with the e-books. Amazon states they are licensed, not purchased; so unlike paper books, buyers do not actually own their e-books.^[87][88]

Remote content removal

On July 17, 2009, Amazon.com withdrew certain Kindle titles, Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, from sale, refunded the cost to those who had purchased them, and remotely deleted these titles from purchasers' devices after discovering that the publisher lacked rights to publish the titles in question.^[89] Notes and annotations for the books made by users on their devices were left in a separate file, but "rendered useless" without the content they were directly linked to.^[90][91] The move prompted outcry and comparisons to Nineteen Eighty-Four itself. In the novel, books, magazines and newspapers in public archives that contradict the ruling party are edited or destroyed, long after being published; the removed materials go "down the Memory Hole", nickname for an incinerator chute.^[92] Customers and commentators noted the resemblance to the censorship in the novel, and described Amazon's action in Orwellian terms. Some critics also argued that the deletion violated the Kindle's Terms of Service, which states in part:^[93]

"Upon your payment of the applicable fees set by Amazon, Amazon grants you the non-exclusive right to keep a permanent copy of the applicable Digital Content and to view, use and display such Digital Content an unlimited number of times, solely on the Device or as authorized by Amazon as part of the Service and solely for your personal, non-commercial use."

Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener stated that the company is "… changing our systems so that in the future we will not remove books from customers' devices in these circumstances."^[94] On July 23, 2009, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos posted an apology about the company's handling of the matter on Amazon's official Kindle forum. Bezos said the action was "stupid", and that Amazon "deserve[d] the criticism [it] received."^[95]

On July 30, 2009, Justin Gawronski, a Michigan high-school senior, and Antoine Bruguier, a California engineer, filed suit against Amazon in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. Gawronski argued that Amazon had violated their terms of service by remotely deleting the copy of Nineteen Eighty-Four he had purchased, in the process preventing him from accessing annotations he had written. Bruguier also had his copy deleted without his consent, and found Amazon "deceit[ful]" in an email exchange. The complaint, which requested class-action status, asked for both monetary and injunctive relief.^[91][96] The case was settled on September 25, 2009, with Amazon agreeing to pay $150,000 divided between the two plaintiffs, on the understanding that the law firm representing them, KamberEdelson LLC, "...will donate its portion of that fee to a charitable organization...".^[97] The settlement also saw Amazon guaranteeing wider rights to Kindle owners over their eBooks:

For copies of Works purchased pursuant to TOS granting "the non-exclusive right to keep a permanent copy" of each purchased Work and to "view, use and display [such Works] an unlimited number of times, solely on the [Devices]. . . and solely for [the purchasers'] personal, non-commercial use", Amazon will not remotely delete or modify such Works from Devices purchased and being used in the United States unless (a) the user consents to such deletion or modification; (b) the user requests a refund for the Work or otherwise fails to pay for the Work (e.g., if a credit or debit card issuer declines to remit payment); (c) a judicial or regulatory order requires such deletion or modification; or (d) deletion or modification is reasonably necessary to protect the consumer or the operation of a Device or network through which the Device communicates (e.g., to remove harmful code embedded within a copy of a Work downloaded to a Device).^[98]

On September 4, 2009, Amazon offered to restore the deleted ebooks to affected users or an Amazon gift certificate or check for $30.^[99]

See also

• List of e-book readers

References

External links

• Official Kindle Store
• Source code to GPL portions of Kindle
• The Revolution Will Be Digitalized, City Journal, June 13, 2008
• Video: Charlie Rose Interview with CEO Jeff Bezos about the Kindle November 19, 2007

Amazon.com People Jeff Bezos · Tony Hsieh · Brian McBride · Tom Szkutak · Brian Valentine · Werner Vogels · Gregg Zehr Former: Rick Dalzell · Brian Krueger · Ram Shriram Products and services Websites A9.com · AbeBooks · Alexa Internet · Alexa Toolbar · Amapedia · Askville · CDNOW · China · Digital Photography Review · Endless.com · Fresh · IMDb (Box Office Mojo) · Marketplace · Payments · PlanetAll · Shelfari · Shopbop · Wireless · Woot.com · Zappos.com Web services AAWS · AMI · CloudFront · EBS · EC2 · FPS · Light · MTurk · S3 · SimpleDB · RDS · SQS · VPC Digital Audible.com · Kindle · Lexcycle · Mobipocket · MP3 · Reflexive Entertainment · Video on Demand Technology 1-Click · aStore · Carbonado · Dynamo · Gurupa · Lab126 · Obidos Investments 43 Things · Amie Street (Songza) · LibraryThing · Sellaband Other ASIN · Breakthrough Novel Award · Controversies · Fishbowl · Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc. · Statistically Improbable Phrases · Vine Annual revenue: US$24.5 billion (2009) · Employees: 31,200 (2010) · Stock Symbol: NASDAQ: AMZN · Website: Amazon.com

Electronic books Formats ePub · FictionBook · Mobipocket/Kindle · PDF · eReader · XHTML · Plain text · LIT Reading Devices 4FFF N618 · Alex Reader · Bookeen · computers · COOL-ER · Elonex ebook · enTourage eDGe · pocket eDGe · eSlick · FLEPia · Hanlin eReader · iRex · Kindle · Kobo · nook · Oyo · Plastic Logic Reader · PocketBook Reader · Samsung Papyrus · smartphones · SoftBook · Sony Reader · tablets Software AlReader · Adobe Acrobat · Adobe Digital Editions · Aldiko · Bookglutton · Calibre · FBReader · Freda  · iBooks · Klera · Lexcycle Stanza · Sony Reader Library · STDU Viewer Editing Atlantis Word Processor · eBook Studio · eCub · Feedbooks · Sigil Sources Free Bookglutton · Internet Archive · WebCite · Feedbooks · Google Books · Manybooks.net · Project Gutenberg · Wikisource Paid Amazon.com · Barnes & Noble · BooksOnBoard · Borders · ebooks.com · Fictionwise · Google Editions · iBookstore · Sony Reader Store

Linux-based devices Computers Components Nettops Aleutia · Eee Box · fit-PC · Lemote · Linutop · ThinCan · WE Appliance · Zonbu Netbooks Aspire One · Averatec Buddy · Classmate PC · CloudBook · ECS G10IL · Eee PC · Elonex ONE/ONEt · Gigabyte M912 · HP Mini 1000/2133 · Inspiron Mini · MSI Wind · Nanobook · Noahpad · OLPC · One A110 · OpenBook · Skytone Alpha-400 · Tianhua GX-1C Tablet PCs Sakshat · Adam · JooJoo · WeTab Networking Actiontec MI424WR · Asus Routers · BT Home Hub · Buffalo AirStation · Junxion Box · Linksys WRT54G series · Netgear FVS336G · Netgear DG834G · Picotux · Killer NIC Storage Buffalo LinkStation / TeraStation · Linksys NSLU2 · Synology · WD My Book Other Chumby · Gumstix · Palm Foleo · Beagle Board · Stanley · SheevaPlug   Accessories Multimedia DBox2 · Dreambox · Hauppauge MediaMVP · Neuros OSD · TiVo · Wizpy  · Roku Digital Video Player Handhelds Amazon Kindle · Archos PMA400 · ILiad · Nokia 770 / N800 / N810 · N900 · Pepper Pad · Zaurus · Sony Reader · Zipit Phones HTC Dream · HTC Evo 4G · HTC Magic · HTC Hero · HTC Tattoo · Motorola ROKR Z6 / RAZR2 V8 · Neo 1973 / FreeRunner · Nokia N900 · Palm Pre · Samsung I7500 Consoles GP2X (Wiz · Caanoo) · mylo · Pandora · Dingoo Defunct/Historical CherryPal List of Linux-based devices