Kindle v. Kindle Web Browser Showdown Video. Also, Kindle 3 Article Mode

Len Edgerly (fine reflections and photos at his blog) continues his excellent video reporting on the Kindle 3 -- Darlene's the videographer -- with this demo of the new Webkit-based web browser and the differences between the Kindle 2 and Kindle 3 displays when rendering the same New York Times home page.

Here's the larger version of the video, titled Kindle v. Kindle: Browser Showdown.

  Len talks about the videoclip and wonders if the new Article Mode may be somewhat problematic.

  It's probably not meant to be used on a Home page, though, with many article segments on one web page and a zoom-in box used to identify the beginning of an article.

  Len was in Basic Mode on the Kindle 2, which tends to be faster on that model but, as he points out, makes you look at the Left column contents first.
  For Kindle 2 and Kindle DX owners, here are some tips on using the various modes.

  Basic Mode is the Kindle 2's best mode for comfortable reading (no light grays and it uses larger fonts instead of the small ones used for Advanced mode).

  Kindle 2's Advanced Mode does a Fit-to-Screen display, and of course that's too small to read usually, but you can rotate it manually using the Aa-key and it's sometimes doable that way.  However, this mode does translation of colors to grayscale and this sometimes creates too-dark and too-light areas which are difficult to read.
  However, if javascript is used for log-ins, etc., 'Advanced' mode is needed.

With the Kindle 3, the Non-article-mode should have both a Basic and Advanced mode also, but I won't know until I get mine sometime today.

  The Kindle 3's Article mode seems to function like the wonderful Readability utility (free), which also doesn't like to try to do its own article focus at a Home page.  Readability itself is meant for articles that are displayed in the center area of a webpage once you click on the link to them, and it nicely ignores material to the sides (links, ads, etc.).

  It's probably best to click on an article at the New York Times and then use the Kindle 3 Article mode on that instead.

NUDGEfeature (also available on Kindle 2 and DX's)
Tip: When identifying an area to zoom in on, we can use the shift-key with the 5-way controller/button to "nudge" the zoom-area box in smaller increments.

I found it really interesting how much faster Len showed the Kindle 3 to be when loading the NYT's full home page vs time it took to load the simple mobile-site version that Kindle 2's Web Browser in Basic mode chose.  So, the Kindle 3 web browser is considerably faster on this new model.

Also shown clearly at the left is the difference in contrast range between the screens.  They're both on the Experimental prototypes page

This iPhone 4 video is in high definition.



Kindle 3   (UK: Kindle 3),   DX Graphite

---

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

Hands-on Demo of DX screen rotation in real time

While we're waiting for June 10, here's a brief demo showing the auto-rotation feature. I've read that it can take 3-4 seconds to change orientation but that might be on more complex material than is shown here. There's a slight yellow-cast on the videoclip.


Click on image to run the videoclip.

Pixel Qi combines e-ink challenger and color for sometime next year

The Pixel Qi will be quite a combo and I hope Bezos is looking at it for the next generation Kindle, beyond the Kindle DX.  A lot of work is needed first.

It combines an e-ink type of screen mode with a color screen mode.  As for the time-frame we can expect this to beocme a reality for actual devices on the market, Josh Quittner writes:

' The displays still have a way to go, of course.  A third party would need to build a proper motherboard, optimized for the display and an e-reader.  (Simply slapping a PQ display on the Acer gives it an extra hour or so of battery life; an optimized e-reader essentially goes to sleep between the turn of each page, saving far more power, among other things.)  But Mary Lou said that a manufacturer could buy PQ's technology today and have an e-reader that could render high-def text, on a full color page, and video, by the first quarter of next year.  The screens are cheap to produce, too—well under $200, she said. Such a device ought to enjoy 40 hours or so of use as an e-reader, between charges.  Video would drain the battery faster, obviously. '

I can't imagine that if this is workable that Bezos won't make an effort to use it for future Kindles.

UPDATE - 6/1/09 (Original posting: 5/31/09 - 9:03 PM)   In an earlier entry on this blog about the cost of the components for the Kindle, iSuppli's supervising analyst, Andrew Rasseiler, estimates the cost of the e-ink display at $60 "or about 42% of the cost of materials."  So, the Pixel Qi screen costing "well under $200" indicates a fairly costly device, when the wireless is included as it is now.

  Also, Taiwan’s Prime View International is buying E-Ink in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for $215 million.  They are the company that currently integrates the Kindle's E-Ink screen into the final module and will combine the two companies now into a single public company.  E-Ink's founder and CEO, Russell J. Wilcox, says they can now "streamline the supply chain and speed up new product." It'd be nice to lower the costs while they're at it. :-)

UPDATE - 6/3/09 - CNet offers more info on what PVI does and what its relationship has been with epaper manufacturer E Ink of Cambridge, Mass.  They worked together on Sony readers as well.  As a wholly-owned subsidiary of PVI, once the deal is approved, E Ink will likely add another 20 workers to its 120-member staff.

UPDATE - 6/3/09 - (Original posting: 5/31/09 - 9:03 PM)   A closer look at Pixel Qi's images.
  Kindle Zen's Steve Bains has an interesting article on Pixel Qi's images and the lighting and angles involved, and there's a video demo of the prototype screen in action on the streets in sunlight.  Bains points out that CNet's Peter Glaskowsky has cautioned that some of the marketing in the past by Mary Lou Jepson, Pixel Qi's founder, who was CTO for the One Laptop Per Child project, has included claims that Glaskowsky doesn't find quite supportable and which he terms "hyperbole." I'm not quite sure why Glaskowsky finds PQ's focus too narrow when I'd think that would be a criticism of companies like E Ink also - and Pixel Qi's technology looks quite promising.

Pay a visit to Kindle Zen to see the full report by Bains and the many other interesting stories on their site, somewhat off the beaten path.

UPDATE - 6/8/09 - New video of Kindle 1 next to Pixel Qi in all kinds of light.  I was surprised at how green the Pixel Qi screen looks, next to the Kindle.

Kindle 3's Visual Interface

The Kindle sure has been enjoying a lot of screen time lately. This still shot from College Humor's new Kindle 3 spoof gives a hint at the spiffy new features the K3 will supposedly boast with its oversized play/pause button and prominent volume controls. Favorite line: "I can't hear you, I'm reading!"

Also be sure to check out last week's Kindle 9XXXD spoof from Atom.com. And of course our commercial of the K2 and friends shamelessly hawking copies of "Kindle Culture" can be seen here.

Cool Kindle 2 Drop Test Video

Some nice footage here of a Kindle 2 being dropped in slow motion. Check out how it flexes from one end to the other on impact as it absorbs the shock wave. It makes me feel a little bit better about not springing for that extended warranty.