Kindle news 6/3: Kindle public-library date? Small Kindle Touch in Fall?

ODD KINDLE NEWS BITS
Library Amazon's Kindle Director, Jay Marine, had mentioned in the Kindle Chronicles podcast that the public library lending would be in place "by the end of the year."

Remembering that Kindle-owner lending was not announced as ready until December 31 last year, I wasn't too hopeful about the public library date being earlier than the end of the year.  More and more, though, libraries have been mentioning that Kindle lending will be ready soon.  Yesterday, the Moorestown Patch, in an article titled "Library Keeping Up with Technology," said:

' (Attention all Kindle users -- Amazon will be making their e-books available on Overdrive starting this fall.) '

I hope they're right.

Smaller E-Ink Kindle?
In the blog article of May 24, I quoted David Carnoy as saying, in a live blogging of the Nook Touch announcement, "Everyone should be aware that Amazon will [likely] do this same device within the next few months.  Just an FYI. There will be a smaller Kindle this fall IMHO (with a touch screen)."

In another CNet article, today, a very positive one about the new Nook's advantages (mainly the touch screen, the deciding factor for Carnoy), he mentions this again:

' Of course, how long those advantages last will depend upon when Amazon releases its own touch-screen e-ink Kindle, which we suspect will arrive as soon as September. '

Nook Touch's missing features vs its new Touchscreen
Carnoy feels the Nook is a 'better' piece of hardware because it has a touchscreen and therefore it's easier to get around and has a 'cleaner' look -- no keyboard 'buttons.'
 For Carnoy, that one capability makes it worth losing:
  . a basic web browser
  . an audio player for mp3's or Audio books Nook),

and not having
  . the ability to zoom into a section or image
  . Landscape mode ('move a page around') which can allow you to actually read the text of a PDF when too much is squeezed into the Portrait mode orientation
  . any Nook apps (the Kindle's apps include some very useful ones -- see box below)
  . text-to-speech for personal docs and books (when publisher allows it)
  . the ability to adjust screen contrast on PDFs
  . support for Microsoft WORD doc files
  . 3G cell phone network access for times when a hotspot is not available.


Carnoy also mentions

' Ideally, it would be a tad narrower, so people with smaller hands could more easily hold the whole device in their hands like they would a smartphone.
  ..the downside to this type of finish [soft-touch paint] is that it does show finger smudges, so you'll regularly have to wipe down the back of the device unless you buy a cover (plenty are available).

  ... Barnes & Noble has made a big effort to reduce the flashing effect of e-ink when a page is refreshed.  Instead of the screen flashing every page turn as it does with the Kindle, the screen flashes about every fifth page turn.
  However, it should be noted that in our side-by-side comparison with the Kindle, the two e-readers turned pages at essentially the same speed. '

There's one feature I do wish the Kindle had.  When holding down the page-turn buttons, you can fast-forward (flip through) or rewind.

Despite Carnoy's heavy leaning toward touch screen navigation as the one shining feature on an e-reader, his review is very thorough.

' ...we did experience one period where we noticed significant ghosting--the previous screen's image still visible after it refreshed a new page.  The problem persisted for a couple of minutes, but once we cycled the power, we were unable to repeat the issue.  If it's common, we assume that B&N will fix it with upcoming software updates. '

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