Kindle covers, children's treats and christmas jumpers: Gorgeous gifts for ... - Express.co.uk

GIFTS: Joules kindle cover and Zestive mulled wine gift set [PH]

FROM limited edition tequlla to party shoes and Chritmas jumpers these gifts are perfect for the person who has everything.

FESTIVE: Kids will be delighted with these fun round-the-world dining sets [PH]

1. Teatime treats: Children’s dining set, from £ 20 each item, Designed in London (020 7922 1444, designedinlondon.com)

2. Wanted on board: PL Child wheelie case, £ 38, Pink Lining (020 7034 0035, pinklining.co.uk)

3. Down Mexico way: Limited-edition Jose Cuervo Traditional Silver Tequila, £ 34.99, Selfridges (0800 123 4000, selfridges.com)

4. Feel warm inside: Jumper, £ 49 (£ 25 goes to Save the Children), John Lewis (08456 049049, johnlewis.com)

5. Novel gift: Little Miss Austen: Pride & Prejudice, £ 5.99,

6. Just in case: R Mophie Juice Pack helium battery cases for iPhone 5, £ 69.95 each, Apple (0800 048 0408, store.apple.com / uk)

7. Fine dining: Fresh Chablis mustard with black truffle, £ 29 for 125g, Maille (maille.com)

8. Hot to trot: Falana court shoes (product code: 3NY3T), £ 20, Very (0844 822 2321, very.co.uk)

PRETTY: The flowery Kindle cover is perfect for those who love to read [PH]

1. Nice and spicy: Zestive Cheer mulled-wine gift set including an orange tree, £ 39, Plants4Presents (0845 226 8026, plants4presents.co.uk)

2. Stars and stripes: Blanket, £ 49.60, Jack Wills (0845 262 5225, jackwills.com)

3. Sheer poetry: Sonnet collection pens, from £ 63 each, Parker (parkerpen.com)

4. Sew cute: Christmas dolls sewing kit, £ 20, Hunkydory Home (0191 645 4004, hunkydoryhome.co.uk)

5. Bright and beautiful: Earrings, £ 8, Adorning Ava (adorningava.com)

6. To a screen near you: Blinkbox movie and TV streaming giftcards, £ 5, £ 10 and £ 20, Tesco stores and blinkbox.com

7. Like a speeding bullet: Man of Steel Blu-ray 3D, £ 16, nationwide from Monday

8. Blue flash: ATC Gecko active camera, £ 89.99, Oregon Scientific (oregonscientific.co.uk)

9. Flower power: property Kindle cover, £ 34.95, Joules (08456066871, joules.com)

10. The heat is on: Classic radiators, £ 440 each, Bisque (01276 605888, bisque.co.uk)

Related articles

• Get this! Glitzy accessories, designer teddies and very modern candle sticks
• Counting the days: Create some Christmas magic with our DIY guide
• John Lewis figures boost festive spirit
• Keep the bargains coming in the run up to Christmas

Amazon's Kindle Fire still a minor player in China's tablet market - PCWorld

Chinese users had to wait for over a year before Amazon.com officially brought its Kindle Fire tablet to the country back in June. But so far, shipments of the products have been very low as competition in the country’s tablet sector continues to remain fierce.

In the third quarter, Amazon’s tablet shipments reached 6,300 units in the country, up from 2,000 in the previous three-month period, according to research firm IDC. That put the company’s market share at less than 1 percent in the country.

In June, Amazon officially launched its Kindle Fire HD tablet in China, starting at a low price of 1499 yuan ($ 244). In the previous months, the company introduced a localized version of its Kindle software to support Chinese languages.

In addition to offering the Kindle Fire on its own China site, Amazon is also selling the tablet through Suning, one of China’s largest retailers, noted IDC analyst Dickie Chang. But Amazon is still in the early stages of its Kindle business, and facing stiff competition from rival brands and local vendors in the country, he added.

Amazon on Thursday declined to reveal sales figures for its Kindle Fire tablet, but said it was pleased with the product’s performance in China and that customer demand had exceeded projections.

Analysts, however, said the Kindle Fire was probably struggling to stand out in the Chinese market. Despite the tablet’s low price, little-known local vendors are selling even cheaper Android devices, said Wang Jun, an analyst with Beijing-based research firm Analysys International.

“These vendors have high shipments numbers, and you can buy their tablets at just 300 yuan ($ 48),” Wang added. “So the Kindle Fire doesn’t really have a huge advantage.”

In the third quarter, research firm IDC said 39 percent of China’s tablet market belonged to smaller vendors classified as “others”. In total, these vendors shipped 2.6 million tablets to the country, up from 2.3 million in the previous quarter.

The big brands also saw rising shipments. Apple in the third quarter remained China’s largest tablet vendor, with iPad shipments grabbing a 34 percent share. It’s newest products, the iPad Air and iPad mini, launched in China this month and are expected to help boost the company’s shipments in the fourth quarter.

Samsung Electronics was in second place with an 11 percent share, while Lenovo held on to the third spot with 8 percent of the market.

In total, 6.7 million tablets were shipped to the country during the period. Next year, IDC projects tablet shipments in China will surpass the country’s shipments of portable PCs, but sales of desktops will continue to remain strong.

Amazon did not rank among the top five tablet vendors worldwide in the third quarter, according to IDC data.

Michael Kan, IDG News Service Beijing correspondent, IDG News Service, IDG News Service

Michael Kan covers IT, telecom and Internet in China for the IDG News Service.
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Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 2013 vs. Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight - LAPTOP Magazine (blog)

Sure, e-reader sales are down. But that doesn’t mean there’s no market for e-reading devices. In fact, E Ink Inc. predicts that between 10 million and 15 million gray-scale e-readers will be sold this year. But deciding between the two big names in the business – Amazon and Barnes & Noble – can be tricky, particularly if you’re not tied to one company’s e-book library.

Both the Nook GlowLight and the Kindle Paperwhite cost $ 119. Both e-readers offer a backlit screen that can easily be seen in direct sunlight or in the dark. Both even let you borrow books from your friends or from the public library. But there are some significant differences in the design, user interface and available content offered by the two devices. We go round-by-round to help you choose the right e-reader.

Design

Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite 2013 looks like a black rectangle measuring 6.7 x 4.6 x 0.4 inches, while the Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight looks more like a white square with gray silicone edging that measures 6.5 x 5 x 0.42 inches. While the white Nook chassis provides a nice break from the plethora of black slates on the market, we actually preferred the starkness of the Kindle’s black outline when reading. Also, the trim on the Nook isn’t glued on, just snapped into place. That leaves a visible gap that adds a cheapness to its design.

With a weight of just 6.2 ounces, the Nook GlowLight is among the lightest e-readers on the market. That’s not to say that the Kindle is heavy, at 7.3 ounces, but the Nook could almost be mistaken for a Frisbee.

The GlowLight features two buttons, and the Kindle has a single bottom-placed power button. The little “N” for “Nook” beneath the display can be used to turn the GlowLight on and off, wake the device from sleep or return to the home screen. On both devices, the power button can also be used to wake up the device.

Oddly, holding down the Kindle power button only offers the options to restart or turn off the screen. There is no power-down option, which the Nook does offer. The GlowLight also comes with another feature that the Paperwhite does not offer: a built-in anti-glare screen protector on top of the 6-inch display. However, in direct sunlight, we didn’t notice a difference between the two screens.

Winner: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. We like that the Nook GlowLight is superlight and that it can shut down all the way. However, we prefer the Paperwhite’s black frame, which offers a more premium look.

MORE: Amazon Kindle Fire HDX vs. Google Nexus 7: Which Tablet Is Better?

Display & Backlight

Both the Kindle Paperwhite and the Nook GlowLight feature 6-inch (1024 x 768 -pixel resolution), 212-ppi screens that display 16 levels of gray scale. What makes these two panels different is their backlighting.

With an average display brightness of 333 lux, the Paperwhite’s display is much dimmer than the Nook GlowLight’s score of 490 lux. However, the measurements that we take – from the middle and all four corners – were much more uniform on the Paperwhite.

When viewing “The Casual Vacancy” by J.K. Rowling on the new Kindle Paperwhite and new Nook GlowLight with backlights at 100 percent, we preferred the uniform light of the new Kindle, but the Nook’s type appeared slightly sharper. When viewing a picture of Kate Hudson on the Paperwhite, we noticed her skin tone looked much more natural and better defined than on the Nook GlowLight.

Page turns were swift and smooth. In a side-by-side comparison with the Kindle Paperwhite, the Nook was a hair slower. However, gone is the traditional full-page flash that used to accompany every third page turn.

Barnes & Noble has always offered a solid E Ink reading experience, and that hasn’t changed on the GlowLight. However, when we compared it side by side with the Kindle Paperwhite, we preferred the black edging and more even light on the Amazon device.

Winner: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. Sure, the Nook GlowLight sports a powerful light, but the disparate levels of brightness were distracting.

MORE: Game Changer Awards – The Most innovative Tech of 2013

User Interface

The home screens on the Paperwhite and GlowLight look very similar at first glance, but there are some subtle differences. Both offer the time, settings, your three most recently read pieces of content, search and access to the store. But Barnes & Noble manages to keep things stark-looking, while Amazon merely appears to offer more menu options. We do like that Kindle offers four book suggestions at the bottom of the page, whereas Nook offers just one.

But looks can be deceiving: In reality, the only thing that you can do quickly on the Paperwhite that you can’t do on the GlowLight is open the Experimental Browser. But the Nook has no browser. You can also sort your library by books or newspapers, cloud or device with just two taps on the Kindle. It takes three taps to do the same on Nook.

Sadly, neither device offers physical page-turn buttons. Page turns were nearly instantaneous on both devices, but when opening a book or magazine for the first time, we noticed a delay of a second or two. The Nook seemed a hair slower, but not enough to be a distraction.

Unfortunately, the Nook GlowLight search function is flawed. No matter the section from which you’re browsing, searching for a phrase brings up results from the entire catalog, not just books or magazines. And the results you get don’t always make the most sense.

For instance, we couldn’t specify magazines when searching for “Time.” And the well-known publication doesn’t show up on the first page of results. Instead, the first result was for a magazine called “Tea Time.” When we did the same search on Kindle, the first result was “Time magazine.”

Winner: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. While the Nook GlowLight interface is more attractive, we found the Paperwhite faster and more useful when it came to search.

Books

Not only does Amazon offer millions of books, newspapers and magazines, but it also has been rolling out more and more exclusive titles, which now number about 400,000, up from 180,000 last year. However, Amazon won’t say exactly how large its library is. The Kindle Paperwhite offers 2GB of storage.

Amazon also offers great deals on content, boasting more than 1.7 million titles for $ 9.99 or less, and millions of out-of-copyright books for free. Plus, if you subscribe to the Amazon Prime membership service (a one-month free trial, followed by $ 79 per year), you can freely borrow from among 180,000 e-books. Some big-name options include the “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins and the James Bond series by Ian Fleming. Plus, with the new Kindle Matchbook feature, customers can purchase Kindle editions of print books they purchased recently or as far back as 2007, for $ 2.99 or less.

Barnes & Noble says it offers 3 million titles in its Nook store, 101 of which cost less than $ 2.99. About 2,000 of those will fit into the 4GB of internal storage on the GlowLight, which is double the storage offered by the Kindle. Also in Barnes & Noble’s favor is that the Nook supports the EPUB file format, which means owners won’t be limited to Barnes & Noble’s store. Books from Google, Kobo and Sony will work, too.

During our audit of both stores, we found that Nook owners could expect to pay 19 cents more than Kindle owners per book, on average, if Nook carries the book. We looked at the 25 New York Times best sellers for e-book fiction. Amazon offered all 25, but Barnes & Noble was missing one. In most cases in which both stores offered the same book, the prices were the same. We found three discrepancies, all less than $ 0.50.

Winner: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. The lending library that Amazon Prime members can access puts the Paperwhite over the top in this category.

MORE: Tech Support Showdown 2013

Magazines, Newspapers & Documents

Amazon’s e-reader supports DOC / DOCX, PDF, TXT, HTML, JPEG, GIF and PNG files on the Kindle Paperwhite. Barnes & Noble’s e-reader only supports PDF-formatted documents, plus BMP, GIF, JPEG and PNG. We were disappointed not to find RTF, DOC, TXT or HTML file support on the Nook GlowLight. Assuming you have a document in the right format, you can load it onto either reader easily.

Kindle Paperwhite owners can subscribe to 172 newspapers worldwide, including “USA Today” and “The Boston Globe,” starting at around $ 5.99 per month. Magazine subscriptions for 172 titles, such as “Shape” and “The Smithsonian,” start at around $ 1. In comparison, Barnes & Noble offers 2,082 magazines and 515 newspapers, including the titles listed above, except “The Smithsonian.”

When reading a recent issue of “Shape” on both e-readers, we much preferred the design and accessibility found on the Paperwhite. Whereas Amazon kept as many photos as large and embedded as possible, Barnes & Noble tried to strip them all out. It’s true that this sometimes means there’s less text on the page, but part of reading a periodical is enjoying the photos that illustrate the stories.

Winner: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. This is a very tight round, which could go either way. However, ultimately, the newspaper and magazine selection doesn’t mean much if those documents are unsatisfying to read.

Social

Amazon and Barnes & Noble can connect and share text selections from your e-books to your Twitter or Facebook account. The best looking of these sharing options is the Facebook option on the Nook GlowLight. Barnes & Noble adds a thumbnail of the book cover to the post, which makes it more visually appealing.

Unlike on Nook, the Kindle Paperwhite will prompt you to rate a book when you’re on the final page, as well as to share your thoughts via social networking. Amazon is also working to deploy Goodreads, the world’s largest e-reading community, to Kindles everywhere via an over-the-air-rollout in the next couple of months. That means avid readers can connect with more than 20 million other readers to see what they are reading, sharing and highlighting.

On the other hand, the Nook GlowLight can tap into your Google+ friends to add to your lending-library potential from your Nook Friends. Amazon doesn’t offer this feature. Through Nook Friends, you can easily see who has books you can borrow. We didn’t find this feature particularly useful because it offers such a limited user base. You can invite friends to join, but they’ll still need to be Nook owners.

Winner: Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight. We like that Amazon is working to incorporate Goodreads, but until that’s a reality, this round goes to the Nook GlowLight.

Storage

With 2GB of storage space, you should be able to hold about 1,100 e-books at any given time. In comparison, the Nook GlowLight offers 4GB of storage that promises to hold 2,000 books. Neither e-reader offers a microSD card, and both back up to the cloud.

Winner: Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight. We’re not sure who needs more than 2,000 books on the same device simultaneously. However, this round has to go to the e-reader with more memory.

MORE: Top Tablet Gifts

Battery Life

According to Amazon, the Kindle Paperwhite should last for up to eight weeks on a single charge. That estimate is based on a half hour of reading per day with wireless off and the light set to 10.

Alternatively, Barnes & Noble claims the Nook GlowLight will last eight weeks on a charge, based on a half hour of reading with one page refresh per minute, with GlowLight on the default (half) brightness.

Winner: Tie.

Special Features

Amazon jam-packed the new Kindle Paperwhite with hidden abilities and secret superpowers. Yes, you can still play games, keep to-do lists and surf the Web on your Kindle, which you can’t do on the Nook. But did you know the Paperwhite has some parental controls?

With the Kindle, parents can restrict access to the browser, the store and your Amazon content stored in the cloud. When the Kindle Store is locked, you can still buy books on Amazon.com and have them delivered to your device. The only parental control offered on the Nook is a password requirement for purchases.

Amazon plans to add Kindle FreeTime via an over-the-air rollout. Currently found on Kindle Fire tablets, FreeTime will give Paperwhite parents the ability to hand select books that are appropriate for their children’s age range. Parents will also be able to hand out achievement badges, thanks to a built-in progress report that keeps parents updated on total time spent reading, number of words looked up and books finished.

Amazon still exclusively offers the X-Ray feature to its e-books, which enhances the reading experience by giving you a CliffsNotes-like look at the bones of a book. To that, the e-book giant has added Kindle Page Flip, which lets you go page by page, scan by chapter or just skip to the end of the book without losing your place. This is particularly helpful for books with maps or genealogy trees that you want to repeatedly reference while reading. The map of Beyond the Wall in “A Dance with Dragons” is one such instance where this feature is helpful.

Taking the academic angle even further, Amazon has added a vocabulary builder that lets you create a list of flash cards for yourself based on words you look up. Plus, In-Line Footnotes instantly brings up footnotes without losing your place in an e-book.

What Barnes & Noble can offer readers that Amazon can’t is free in-store technical assistance. This could be extremely helpful for people who aren’t all that familiar with technology. Plus, while Nook owners are in one of the company’s 700 stores nationwide, they enjoy free Wi-Fi. That is in addition to the free Wi-Fi at AT & T hotspots across the United States (more than 24,000 so far).

Winner: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. Amazon has simply kept its foot on the gas when it comes to innovation and the reading experience in a way that Barnes & Noble has not.

OVERALL WINNER: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite.

By the math alone, it’s a no-brainer to name the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite the winner of this showdown. Amazon’s e-reader took six of 10 categories and tied in one: battery life. We did like the Nook’s social aspect (at least until Amazon rolls out Goodreads) and the larger storage space. However, the Nook GlowLight simply couldn’t compete when it came to special features or backlight. We even prefer the look of the Kindle to that of the white Nook. With the Kindle Paperwhite 2013, Amazon simply makes the best e-reader on the market.

• Tablet Buyers’ Guide 2013: 5 Questions to Ask Before You Buy
• Top iPad Alternatives
• 10 Best Kindle Fire Apps

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Anna Attkisson

A lover of lists and deadlines, Anna Attkisson heads up features and special projects for Laptopmag.com, in addition to covering social networking and accessories. She joined the LAPTOP staff in 2007, after working at Time Inc. Content Solutions where she created custom publications for companies from American Express to National Parks Foundation.

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Kindle Fire HDX Black Friday Cyber ??Monday 2013 Deals and Sales Details are ... - PR Newswire (press release)

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Kindle Fire HDX Black Friday Cyber ??Monday 2013 Deals and Sales Details are at Thankshopping.com. (PRNewsFoto / Thankshopping.com)

TACOMA, Wash. , Nov. 29, 2013 / PRNewswire-iReach / – Black Friday Kindle Fire HDX and Cyber ??Monday Kindle Fire HDX 2013 sales and deals prices and information will soon be listed at Thankshopping.com. Holiday shoppers who want to save money and get the best deal possible on the Kindle Fire HDX can visit the website to learn more about the price for the tablet.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131129/MN24820)

The CEO of Thankshopping.com knows that children, teens and adults are hoping to receive the innovative and easy-to-use tablet for Christmas. That is why the site is offering the latest information about Kindle Fire HDX Black Friday deals and Kindle Fire HDX Cyber ??Monday deals around November 29 and December 2 . By going to the Thankshopping.com site first, people can get info about the price of this product on the two busy shopping days.

The Kindle Fire HDX, which was first released in October, is already getting a lot of attention from consumers for its wide range of features. For example, the tablet comes with Dolby Digital Plus, which helps give the tablet incredible audio graphics. In addition, the Kindle Fire HDX has virtual surround sound, and it can actually optimize the audio on its own depending on what people are doing; for example, adapting to Skype conversations, videos or songs.

The Kindle Fire HDX also boasts a large 7-inch HDX display as well as a large number of pixels; this helps colors and images on the screen to look crisp and clear. Thanks to its built-in technology, the tablet also has a very powerful processor, which makes it perfectly suited for anything the user wants to do-be it watching a movie, answering emails, or surfing the internet. For those who have questions about how to use the Kindle Fire HDX, a built in button will connect them to technical support advisors at Amazon at any time of the day or night.

Anybody who would like to learn more about the Kindle Fire HDX Black Friday and Kindle Fire HDX Cyber ??Monday 2013 sales and deals may go to the Thankshopping.com website; there, they will find sales and deals information about the tablet.

To learn more, visit http://www.thankshopping.com/tablet1

About Thankshopping.com:

Thankshopping.com is one of the leading websites that provide information for exclusive deals on gadgets, laptops , tablets and various other consumer electronics that are ideal as holiday gifts. The website, http://www.thankshopping.com/, has recently announced that they are going to provide information about product deals for Black Friday, November 29th and Cyber ?? Monday, December 2nd . These savings will be available on highly demanded products which are predicted to be amongst the “Most Desired Gifts” this holiday season. For more information, please visit http://www.thankshopping.com/tablet1

Media Contact: Art Watkins , Thankshopping.com, 253-777-1015, info@thankshopping.com

News distributed by PR Newswire iReach:

Black Friday 2013 Kindle Fire HDX Deals, Cyber ??Monday Sales, Info and ... - SBWire (press release)

New York, NY – (SBWIRE) – 11/29/2013 – ThankShopping.com, a website that provides a list of gift recommendations for friends and family during this holiday season, has recently added Kindle Fire HDX to their list and has reviewed the latest popular tablet. The tablet comes in two screen sizes 7 “and 8.9″ and is considered as one of the best tablets to come out this year.

Price and info of Kindle Fire HDX is now available on ThankShopping . com, and its full review highlighting the tablet’s pros and cons has also been shared.

The media spokesperson of the ThankShopping.com stated, “Kindle Fire HDX was released in October and has already sold many units, despite the fact that people still have to shop for the holidays. Exceptional quality, one of the best performances available today in tablets, a remarkable 24/7 customer service called ‘Mayday’, 4G LTE technology and many more state-of-the-art aspects have made the Kindle Fire HDX popular amongst users and tech critics alike. “

The spokesperson further advised that interested individuals who are seeking for discounts on the tablet should check for any Black Friday Kindle Fire HDX Deals and Cyber ??Monday Kindle Fire HDX Deals, as additional savings are available during those days.

The Kindle Fire HDX price check on Black Friday and Cyber ??Monday can be viewed on the site http://www.thankshopping.com/tablet1 as well.

” The 7 “Kindle Fire HDX has a 1920×1200 (323 ppi) and the 8.9″ has 2560×1600 (339 ppi), ‘beyond HD’ is what Kindle is calling it hence the additional ‘X’ in the model names. The resolution is quite astonishing however it could have been only possible when backed up by a powerful processor, the Quad-Core 2.2. GHz “

” The major difference between the models apart from screen size, is the resolution is better in the 8.9 “and it also has an 8MP rear facing camera. However, both the models have a front facing camera which is more widely used in the tablets “, concluded the spokesperson of the website.

More information, price check and full complete review of Kindle Fire HDX by ThankShopping. com can be viewed on the site http://www.thankshopping.com/tablet1.

About ThankShopping.com
ThankShopping.com is a website that provides recommendations on holiday gifts and reviews of numerous popular gadgets and consumer electronics. The website, http://www.thankshopping.com/tablet1, offers recommendations based on the projected demand of the products during these holidays. ThankShopping.com has also reviewed all of their recommendations, providing an insightful analysis of each item and mentioning its pros and cons. Kindle Fire HDX’s Price Check on Amazon.com is available on the site as well.

Media Contact: info@thankshopping.com

Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 rooted - GSMArena.com (blog)

The Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 is a great tablet, especially if you consider its price. But there’s one problem – it’s stuck with Amazon’s customized Android and Amazon’s own app store. With a bit of hacking, you can change part of that.

The Fire HDX has been rooted, which makes it possible to install the Play Store (though it’s not easy).

Rooting is also the first step to flashing a custom ROM, but there aren’t any of those just yet.

Anyway, you can find the necessary files and instructions over at this XDA Developers thread. There you’ll also find the responses of the first people who tried it and any problems they encountered (plus a place to ask if you run into trouble).

Keep in mind that this requires some technical skill as you have to manually execute some ADB commands. It’s not that difficult, but if you don’t know what ADB is, it’s probably better to stay with Amazon’s OS for now.

At least until someone comes out with a clean Android ROM to make the whole process worthwhile.

Source

Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 rooted - GSMArena.com (blog)

The Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 is a great tablet, especially if you consider its price. But there’s one problem – it’s stuck with Amazon’s customized Android and Amazon’s own app store. With a bit of hacking, you can change part of that.

The Fire HDX has been rooted, which makes it possible to install the Play Store (though it’s not easy).

Rooting is also the first step to flashing a custom ROM, but there aren’t any of those just yet.

Anyway, you can find the necessary files and instructions over at this XDA Developers thread. There you’ll also find the responses of the first people who tried it and any problems they encountered (plus a place to ask if you run into trouble).

Keep in mind that this requires some technical skill as you have to manually execute some ADB commands. It’s not that difficult, but if you don’t know what ADB is, it’s probably better to stay with Amazon’s OS for now.

At least until someone comes out with a clean Android ROM to make the whole process worthwhile.

Source

Best Kindle Fire Black Friday 2013 Deals: Up to $ 60 Discounts on Kindle Fire ... - HispanicBusiness.com

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) November 29, 2013

The holiday shopping season leading to Christmas begins this Friday, November 29th. Given its high popularity and success over the years, everybody is on the lookout for Amazon Kindle Fire Black Friday Deals this year. There will be special deals on non-HD (high definition), HD as well as the latest HDX models this Friday with savings of up to $ 60. In addition, other popular tablets like the iPad Air, Samsung Galaxy Note, Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 and Google Nexus 7 are also scheduled to go on sale. Some sales went live as early as Monday this week.

Click Here for 8 DEALS on the Kindle Fire HD, Fire HDX and non-HD Tablets

http://TabletXRay.com / Holiday-Deals / shows 30 different in-store and online holiday tablet deals from six different stores including Best Buy, Staples, Office Depot, Meijer, Toys “R” Us and Target.

When it comes to tablet deals, there are mainly three kinds this year. With one type, the price is slashed. With the 2nd type, there is no price cut, however, a free gift card or pre-paid visa card is offered with the tablet purchase. With 3rd third type, there is a price cut as well as a free gift card. All three generations of the Amazon Kindle Fire, including the newest 7 “Fire HDX, will be under at least one type of deal from the above three, this Friday November 29th. The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 “deal from Meijer is an example where there is a price cut as well as a coupon. The 8.9 inch Fire HD sells for $ 229 on Amazon. But Meijer is selling it for $ 189 bundled with a Free $ 50 coupon. That’s basically like paying $ 139 for an 8.9 “Kindle Fire HD tablet, with total savings of $ 90.

In addition to 2013 Black Friday Deals on Kindle Fire tablets, top rated tablets like the Apple iPad Air, iPad Mini, Samsung Galaxy Note and Tab 3, Microsoft Surface RT, Google Nexus 7, Toshiba Encore, Asus Iconia etc. will also be on sale this coming Friday, the 29th of November 2013. Some tablet deals may even continue through the weekend up to Cyber ??Monday.

In addition to Friday’s Kindle and iPad Deals, they have also published 7 “and 8.9″ Kindle Fire HDX reviews as well as Kindle Fire HDX vs iPad mini comparisons that are highly recommended reads for anyone considering buying a tablet computer this 2013 holiday season.

Read the full story at

Amazon's Kindle Fire still a minor player in China's tablet market - ITworld.com

By Michael Kan , IDG News Service |

November 29, 2013, 2:11 AM – Chinese users had to wait for over a year before Amazon.com officially brought its Kindle Fire tablet to the country back in June. But so far, shipments of the products have been very low as competition in the country’s tablet sector continues to remain fierce.

In the third quarter, Amazon’s tablet shipments reached 6,300 units in the country, up from 2,000 in the previous three-month period, according to research firm IDC. That put the company’s market share at less than 1 percent in the country.

In June, Amazon officially launched its Kindle Fire HD tablet in China, starting at a low price of 1499 yuan ($ 244). In the previous months, the company introduced a localized version of its Kindle software to support Chinese languages.

In addition to offering the Kindle Fire on its own China site, Amazon is also selling the tablet through Suning, one of China’s largest retailers, noted IDC analyst Dickie Chang. But Amazon is still in the early stages of its Kindle business, and facing stiff competition from rival brands and local vendors in the country, he added.

Amazon on Thursday declined to reveal sales figures for its Kindle Fire tablet, but said it was pleased with the product’s performance in China and that customer demand had exceeded projections.

Analysts, however, said the Kindle Fire was probably struggling to stand out in the Chinese market. Despite the tablet’s low price, little-known local vendors are selling even cheaper Android devices, said Wang Jun, an analyst with Beijing-based research firm Analysys International.

“These vendors have high shipments numbers, and you can buy their tablets at just 300 yuan ($ 48),” Wang added. “So the Kindle Fire doesn’t really have a huge advantage.”

In the third quarter, research firm IDC said 39 percent of China’s tablet market belonged to smaller vendors classified as “others”. In total, these vendors shipped 2.6 million tablets to the country, up from 2.3 million in the previous quarter.

The big brands also saw rising shipments. Apple in the third quarter remained China’s largest tablet vendor, with iPad shipments grabbing a 34 percent share. It’s newest products,

Sprylogics launches Poynt App for Amazon's Kindle devices - MENAFN.COM

Sprylogics launches Poynt App for Amazon’s Kindle devices

TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2013 (Menafn – Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) – Poynt to benefit from expanded market reach and new relationship with Amazon

Sprylogics International Corp. (“Sprylogics”), a technology provider of local mobile solutions for consumers and businesses is pleased to announce that its award winning consumer App Poynt is now available on Amazon for Kindle devices, furthering its growth potential and reach to millions of new potential users. Current market estimates indicate that Amazon’s Kindle accounts for over one third of the global Android tablet market, with significantly higher penetration in North America, making it a world class player with a major user base going well beyond content reading to search, plan, map and share information every day.

Sprylogics has now extended its Poynt App’s patented local search technology into Amazon’s leading line of Android tablets. Now, Kindle users can enjoy all the local search functions and benefits that have made Poynt a leader in mobile local search, with over 20 million downloads worldwide. Market research firm Strategy Analytics estimated that Amazon will sell 15 Million Kindle Fires by the end of 2013.

“This is an outstanding validation of Kindle’s expanded usage patterns, and now Kindle users can reap the full benefits of smartphone functionality to search for local places , people, information and events via the Poynt App, “said Marvin Igelman, CEO of Sprylogics. “Amazon has established its Kindle tablet as a main contender and continues to push its competitors with Kindle’s high value and functionality. Given the large Kindle market share footprint, which is especially strong in North America, this further expands and strengthens our advertising distribution, and will also benefit our ad partnerships with increased search activity. “

As part of this new launch, Amazon has selected Poynt to be featured globally on their Apps store for KindleandAndroid, with added exposure including Facebook and Twitter blasts as well as email blasts and blog posts. In addition, Poynt will be part of the coveted Amazon recommendations engine resulting in Poynt appearing as a suggested download when users look for related searches.

To download Poynt for your Kindle or your Android: Click here

About Sprylogics

Sprylogics International Corp. enables telecom operators, messaging and mobile application providers to introduce new revenue streams into their apps by integrating our “Poynt-Enabled” SDK, and unlocking the monetization related to the user’s search intent, while increasing loyalty, engagement and usage activity levels. Sprylogics has developed key relationships with leading mobile content and transaction providers that allow it to semantically aggregate and distribute this content by making it searchable via its patented geographical and contextual targeting technology.

Sprylogics also markets Poynt, an award winning, all-in-one mobile search App that has garnered over 20 million downloads. Both products have a common focus on enhancing the mobile user experience, enabling users to do more without leaving the messaging or chat app, and resulting in the monetization capture of search intent via content and transaction services. More about Sprylogics at www.sprylogics.com, or follow @ sprylogics on Twitter.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary and Forward-looking Statements – Statements contained in this news release which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risk, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. All forward-looking statements included in this news release are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results of Sprylogics to differ materially from the conclusion, forecast or projection stated in such forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to factors referenced in Sprylogics’ other continuous disclosure filings which are available at www.sedar.com. Readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Sprylogics International Corp.

To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/ archive/November2013/28/c5809.html

SOURCE: Sprylogics International Corp.

Sprylogics International Corp. David Berman, CFO (905) 761-9200, Ext. 21
davidb@sprylogics.com www.sprylogics.com

Copyright (C) 2013 CNW Group. All rights reserved.

Black Friday 2013 deals: Kindle Fire HD & iPad Mini ebook guide sale - Examiner.com

Among Black Friday 2013 deals for Thursday are a Kindle Fire HD guide and an iPad Mini eBook guide. The two manuals are among those on sale for the next two days as shoppers pick up these gadgets in stores and online for themselves and others. Other guides are for popular devices that top the best sellers and, Äúmost wished for, Äù lists on websites such as Amazon.com.

According to TechMediaSource on Nov. 27, there are six technology ebook manuals on sale for 99 cents for Thursday and Friday as part of Black Friday Deals Week. The guides on sale include the Kindle Fire HD User, Äôs Guide Book, Kindle Paperwhite User Manual, iPad Mini User, Äôs Guide, Chromecast Dongle User Manual, Samsung Galaxy S4 User Manual and the iPhone 5 User, Äôs Manual. All of these guides are normally $ 2.99, so the savings is $ 2 off for those needing instructional guides, tips and tricks for their devices.

The Kindle Fire HD, iPad Mini and the Chromecast (by Google) have been among the most wished for and purchased items so far during holiday shopping season. The Kindle Fire has been put on sale in various online and leaked Black Friday ads. The iPad Mini, released in 2012 was first noticed as part of an attractive Walmart deal giving the item with a $ 100 gift card. On Wednesday, Best Buy matched the deal on their website for customers. Google, Äôs Chromecast dongle, which allows users to stream media content from laptops, tablets and mobile phones to their TVs is another popular item, which is being sold for $ 5 off in some of the sales.

The guides are written by author Shelby Johnson, who is a bestseller on Amazon. The various books are also offered in print form for those wishing to have a physical copy, but not at the 99-cent price.

It seems that many individuals will be getting these above items for the holidays, making the eBook guides a smart purchase while they remain on sale.

Sprylogics launches Poynt App for Amazon's Kindle devices - Canada NewsWire (press release)

Poynt to benefit from expanded market reach and new relationship with Amazon

TORONTO , Nov. 28, 2013 / CNW / – Sprylogics International Corp. (“Sprylogics”) (TSXV: SPY) , a technology provider of local mobile solutions for consumers and businesses is pleased to announce that its award winning consumer App Poynt is now available on Amazon for Kindle devices, furthering its growth potential and reach to millions of new potential users. Current market estimates indicate that Amazon’s Kindle accounts for over one third of the global Android tablet market, with significantly higher penetration in North America , making it a world class player with a major user base going well beyond content reading to search, plan, map and share information every day.

Sprylogics has now extended its Poynt App’s patented local search technology into Amazon’s leading line of Android tablets. Now, Kindle users can enjoy all the local search functions and benefits that have made Poynt a leader in mobile local search, with over 20 million downloads worldwide. Market research firm Strategy Analytics estimated that Amazon will sell 15 Million Kindle Fires by the end of 2013.

“This is an outstanding validation of Kindle’s expanded usage patterns, and now Kindle users can reap the full benefits of smartphone functionality to search for local places, people, information and events via the Poynt App,” said Marvin Igelman , CEO of Sprylogics. “Amazon has established its Kindle tablet as a main contender and continues to push its competitors with Kindle’s high value and functionality. Given the large Kindle market share footprint, which is especially strong in North America , this further expands and strengthens our advertising distribution, and will also benefit our ad partnerships with increased search activity. “

As part of this new launch, Amazon has selected Poynt to be featured globally on their Apps store for Kindle and Android, with added exposure including Facebook and Twitter blasts as well as email blasts and blog posts. In addition, Poynt will be part of the coveted Amazon recommendations engine resulting in Poynt appearing as a suggested download when users look for related searches.

To download Poynt for your Kindle or your Android: Click here

About Sprylogics

Sprylogics International Corp. enables telecom operators, messaging and mobile application providers to introduce new revenue streams into their apps by integrating our “Poynt-Enabled” SDK, and unlocking the monetization related to the user’s search intent, while increasing loyalty, engagement and usage activity levels. Sprylogics has developed key relationships with leading mobile content and transaction providers that allow it to semantically aggregate and distribute this content by making it searchable via its patented geographical and contextual targeting technology.

Sprylogics also markets Poynt, an award winning, all-in-one mobile search App that has garnered over 20 million downloads. Both products have a common focus on enhancing the mobile user experience, enabling users to do more without leaving the messaging or chat app, and resulting in the monetization capture of search intent via content and transaction services. More about Sprylogics at www.sprylogics.com , or follow @ sprylogics on Twitter.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary and Forward-looking Statements – Statements contained in this news release which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risk, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. All forward-looking statements included in this news release are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results of Sprylogics to differ materially from the conclusion, forecast or projection stated in such forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to factors referenced in Sprylogics’ other continuous disclosure filings which are available at www.sedar.com. Readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Sprylogics International Corp.

For further information:

Sprylogics International Corp. | David Berman, CFO

(905) 761-9200, Ext. 21 | davidb@sprylogics.com | www.sprylogics.com

Sprylogics launches Poynt App for Amazon's Kindle devices - Canada NewsWire (press release)

Poynt to benefit from expanded market reach and new relationship with Amazon

TORONTO , Nov. 28, 2013 / CNW / – Sprylogics International Corp. (“Sprylogics”) (TSXV: SPY) , a technology provider of local mobile solutions for consumers and businesses is pleased to announce that its award winning consumer App Poynt is now available on Amazon for Kindle devices, furthering its growth potential and reach to millions of new potential users. Current market estimates indicate that Amazon’s Kindle accounts for over one third of the global Android tablet market, with significantly higher penetration in North America , making it a world class player with a major user base going well beyond content reading to search, plan, map and share information every day.

Sprylogics has now extended its Poynt App’s patented local search technology into Amazon’s leading line of Android tablets. Now, Kindle users can enjoy all the local search functions and benefits that have made Poynt a leader in mobile local search, with over 20 million downloads worldwide. Market research firm Strategy Analytics estimated that Amazon will sell 15 Million Kindle Fires by the end of 2013.

“This is an outstanding validation of Kindle’s expanded usage patterns, and now Kindle users can reap the full benefits of smartphone functionality to search for local places, people, information and events via the Poynt App,” said Marvin Igelman , CEO of Sprylogics. “Amazon has established its Kindle tablet as a main contender and continues to push its competitors with Kindle’s high value and functionality. Given the large Kindle market share footprint, which is especially strong in North America , this further expands and strengthens our advertising distribution, and will also benefit our ad partnerships with increased search activity. “

As part of this new launch, Amazon has selected Poynt to be featured globally on their Apps store for Kindle and Android, with added exposure including Facebook and Twitter blasts as well as email blasts and blog posts. In addition, Poynt will be part of the coveted Amazon recommendations engine resulting in Poynt appearing as a suggested download when users look for related searches.

To download Poynt for your Kindle or your Android: Click here

About Sprylogics

Sprylogics International Corp. enables telecom operators, messaging and mobile application providers to introduce new revenue streams into their apps by integrating our “Poynt-Enabled” SDK, and unlocking the monetization related to the user’s search intent, while increasing loyalty, engagement and usage activity levels. Sprylogics has developed key relationships with leading mobile content and transaction providers that allow it to semantically aggregate and distribute this content by making it searchable via its patented geographical and contextual targeting technology.

Sprylogics also markets Poynt, an award winning, all-in-one mobile search App that has garnered over 20 million downloads. Both products have a common focus on enhancing the mobile user experience, enabling users to do more without leaving the messaging or chat app, and resulting in the monetization capture of search intent via content and transaction services. More about Sprylogics at www.sprylogics.com , or follow @ sprylogics on Twitter.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary and Forward-looking Statements – Statements contained in this news release which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risk, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. All forward-looking statements included in this news release are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results of Sprylogics to differ materially from the conclusion, forecast or projection stated in such forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to factors referenced in Sprylogics’ other continuous disclosure filings which are available at www.sedar.com. Readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Sprylogics International Corp.

For further information:

Sprylogics International Corp. | David Berman, CFO

(905) 761-9200, Ext. 21 | davidb@sprylogics.com | www.sprylogics.com

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 review - TrustedReviews

What is the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9?

Amazon’s update to last year’s Kindle Fire HD 8.9 tablet is a big improvement over its predecessor and comes with a unique selling point, your own IT guru on tap.

The Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 packs the blisteringly fast Snapdragon 800 processor and upgrades the previous 1,920 x 1,200 pixel screen to a Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 matching 2,560 x 1,600. This is served up on an 8.9-inch screen, which means the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 can lay claim to having one of the highest pixel densities (PPI) of any tablet on the market.

We keep saying that the screen is one of the most important aspects of a good tablet experience, so is performance. The HDX 8.9 has both in abundance, but there are a lot of other factors that can trip it up – particularly Amazon’s penchant for locking it down to the Amazon Appstore.

SEE ALSO: 10 best tablets: which tablet should you buy?

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9: Design and Connectivity

Just like its little brother, the Kindle Fire HDX 7, the HDX 8.9 is made from two types of plastic. It is predominately covered in a soft touch polycarbonate back, which feels warm and grippy in hand. It’s very similar to the material in which the new Nexus 7 is clad, and as such is great to hold, but a real fingerprint magnet. If you like your tablet smudge-free, you will find yourself regularly wiping the HDX 8.9.

An angled glossy black plastic panel covers the top of the tablet, and houses the speakers, camera and LED flash. We were a little concerned about how the two plastics joined together on the HDX 7, but not on the 8.9 as the fit is good. The bezels are a little thicker than its competitors and it can’t really be called pretty, but the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 is a well-built tablet, especially considering how light it is.

At just 374g it’s almost 100g lighter than the iPad Air. The Air has a bigger screen, but it’s still impressive. The benefits really come to light when you use it for long periods. Even though it’s much bigger than 7-inch tablets the Fire HDX 8.9 can be held comfortably for hours – either in portrait or landscape.

There are only three physical buttons on the HDX and they are clearly designed to be used when the tablet is in the landscape orientation. This makes it a little tricky to hit the volume or power buttons while holding it any other way, but they’re well-integrated into the back and come with enough texture that you can find them, and know what you’re pressing, without having to look.

The Kindle keeps its connectivity as frugal as its buttons. There’s a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microUSB for charging and data transfer. There’s no MHL and the HDMI port of its predecessor is gone so the only way to play video on your TV is to use the Second Screen app. This lets you wirelessly chuck video to your compatible Samsung smart TV or via a PS3/PS4 console, which means you’re out of luck if you have neither.

The Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 comes in Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi with 4G versions at 16/32/64GB configurations. There’s no microSD slot, though, so you need to buy a version with extra storage up front if you like to travel with a large library of video and music. The usual gamut of accelerometer, gyroscope and Bluetooth are there, but you only get GPS on the 4G models.

SEE ALSO: Tablet Buyer’s Guide

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9: Screen and Speakers

As we’ve already mentioned, the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 screen is mightily impressive on paper. In practice the 339ppi provides the screen with detail and sharpness at least as good as the likes of the iPad Air, Samsung Galaxy 10.1 2014 or Nexus 7. Text looks crisp at every level of zoom while colour accuracy is excellent. HD video is highly detailed even during darker scenes.

The HDX’s 8.9-inch screen is bright, too. Maximum brightness shows its full potential and is bright enough enough to be discernible even in direct sunlight, although it is quite reflective. Viewing angles are also superb; at even the most acute viewing angles colours remain bright and vivid. It’s a truly great screen – right up there with the best any other tablet-maker has to offer. If there’s one gripe it’s that, like the soft-touch plastic back, it loves collecting fingerprints and greasy marks. You may also want to steer clear of the temperamental auto-brightness setting that tends to overly darken the screen.

Amazon has always marketed its tablet range as perfect for consuming media and it’s hard to argue considering the quality of the screen, but the speakers are great, too. At full blast the stereo speakers are noticeably louder than the iPad Air’s, or any other tablet we’ve used for that matter.

Stereo separation is also decent and there’s not too much distortion to be noticed even on full volume settings. Dialogue is crisp and clear and there is a reasonable amount of depth to sound effects. It’s a testament that we’ve experienced far worse speakers on much larger laptops.

With such an impressive screen and speaker setup the Fire HDX 8.9 needs some serious processing power to ensure it all runs smoothly.

Spuul's Indian Netflix Service Comes to Kindle Fire - The Next Web

Spuul, a video-on-demand service for Indian movies and TV shows, has expanded its presence on mobile after launching an app for Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets.

The Spuul catalog includes 748 movies and over 1,200 episodes of TV shows, and features a combination of free-to-watch, subscriber-only and one-off pay-to-view content.

The Kindle Fire app shares common features with Spuul for iOS and Android, and that includes cross-device sync – allowing users to resume watching movies from where they left off on the Web or other devices – and offline viewing for premium subscribers.

? Spuul for Kindle Fire

Related: 12 of the best news, media and movie apps of 2012

Thumbnail image via Indranil Mukherjee / Getty Images

Amazon Prepping Higher-Res Kindle Paperwhite - NewsFactor Network

Amazon is upping its game for e-readers. According to news reports, the giant retailer is coming out with a new Kindle Paperwhite after the holidays that will feature a higher-resolution e-ink screen.

The new model, codenamed Ice Wine and lighter than any previous Amazon e-reader, is expected to be released in second quarter of next year. It will sport a 300 ppi matte glass screen that is flush with the front edge. Given the standard six-inch screen size of a Kindle, that could result in a screen resolution of about 1440 x 1080. The current Paperwhite model features a 212 ppi screen, lower than the 265 ppi display on a competing Kobo Aura HD e-reader.

In addition to the high-res screen, the new Paperwhite will also reportedly come with a new, customized typography that improves on the reading experience. Font readability, of course, is a key metric of an e-reader, and the Kindle has received complaints on that front. An ambient light sensor is expected to automatically detect available light and dim or brighten the screen to compensate.

Squeezable Buttons

There are also reports that the new Kindle may feature squeezable buttons on the side that give tactile feedback when pressed, and that can be used to turn pages. The rear casing is said to be closer to the angular design of the Kindle Fire HDX tablets.

Last week, Time Magazine rated the top five e-readers, and chose the current Amazon Kindle Paperwhite as # 1, followed in order by the Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, the Kobo Glo, the Barnes & Noble NOOK Simple Touch Reader, and the Kobo Aura HD.

But, while reading e-books has become a common activity, there is a question about how long e-readers can survive when tablets can also act as e-readers, and much more, at prices under $ 200 for a Kindle Fire or about $ 250 for a Nexus 7, compared to $ 119 for Amazon’s bestselling Kindle e-reader.

E-Reader Sales

In August, E Ink Holdings, which makes the screens for most e-readers, announced that its quarterly earnings and sales were down 46 percent year-over-year, resulting in a net loss of $ 33.6 million. It also predicted that e-reader sales will essentially remain flat for this year.

Industry research firm IDC has projected that e-reader sales will fall from their high of $ 26.4 million in 2011 to $ 11.7 million in 2017. According to IDC, Amazon intends to continue its upgrades for the Paperwhite so as to retain that core of customers who are most interested in a high-quality e-reading experience. That market, of course, also contains the most voracious consumers of e-books.

Amazon’s content sales is its real revenue stream, and the company is moving forward with various incentives to encourage a flow of e-books to loyal customers. In September, for instance, it announced MatchBook, a program that allows customers who have ever purchased a physical book from Amazon, to download a discounted or even free e-book version.

Amazon reportedly prepping new high-res Kindle Paperwhite - Digital Trends

Despite its range of updated Kindle Fire tablets reportedly proving a hit with consumers, Amazon doesn’t look as if it’s going to allow its family of e-readers to slide out of view anytime soon, with a report Sunday suggesting the online retail giant is busy prepping a new version of its popular Paperwhite device.

The updated Paperwhite will launch around April next year, just six months after the second version landed. It’ll come with a super-sharp 300 dpi screen, a marked improvement on the current model’s 212 dpi offering, TechCrunch reported Sunday having seen a prototype of the upcoming unit.

A dpi value of 300 would take the front-lit Paperwhite ahead of competing devices such as the recently launched Nook GlowLight (212 dpi) e-reader from Barnes & Noble and even the Kobo Aura HD, which impressed many with its clear high-res 265-dpi screen when the device launched earlier this year.

The e-commerce giant is also considering using a very thin matte glass for the display, in place of the plastic screen used on the current model.

Interestingly, the next version will apparently incorporate a light sensor in one corner of the device, working to automatically adjust the screen’s brightness according to environmental conditions. Its design reportedly ensures the screen dims or brightens ever so gradually to avoid sudden, jolting transitions.

TechCrunch also says that while no significant software updates are expected with the next iteration of the Paperwhite, Amazon is believed to be working on “new typography for the device with a custom-built font that’s great for reading.”

The next Paperwhite is expected to be lighter than the current model, which weighs 7.3 ounces (206 grams), and come with a rear casing resembling the angular one seen on the recently launched Fire HDX tablets.

The current Paperwhite retails for $ 139 without ads, or $ 119 with.

Check out DT’s review of the original Paperwhite here.

DT

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan). As far as electronics are concerned, he’s in the right place, with the East Asian country continuing to produce a plethora of gadgets and gizmos for tech addicts around the world. When not writing for Digital Trends, Trevor can be found out and about taking far too many photos, or in front of his computer trying to sort them all out.

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• Kindle sales will be 10 percent of Amazon’s business in 2012, says Citi analyst