Kindle News Roundup – May 17, 2009

Here’s the week in Kindle-related news:

• “Interead’s COOL-ER claims to be the iPod moment for e-readers” – Engadget – The COOL-ER e-reader (which I covered earlier this week) is claiming to be “the iPod moment that e-readers are waiting for.” By iPod moment, of course, they mean the catalyst that brings the mainstream to accept e-readers as they did iPods. However, from the looks of the devices, it seems as if iPod moment may mean the ability to have a flashy, colorful device to show off. (Then again, that could just be a loyal Kindle owner speaking…)
• “BeBook mini and BeBook 2 priced; 3G added to the latter” – Engadget – Yet another Kindle rival, the BeBook mini, is being released, and is priced at $270. The larger version, the BeBook2, will have WiFi and 3G capabilities (like an iPhone) but will cost significantly more – around $476-$544.
• “Kindle DX Leads to Buyer’s Remorse for Some Kindle 2 Users” – Wired – As could be expected, some Amazon customers that bought the Kindle 2 are now upset that an upgrade has been released so soon after Kindle 2′s launch. One user says,
  

  If I was aware that there would be an upgraded product announced less than two months and after I received my Kindle–and that would be better for my needs — I would have postponed the purchase of the product

  Some are even fighting with Amazon to exchange their Kindle 2 for a DX.

• “Amazon Optimizes Kindle Store for iPhone” – MacWorld – Amazon has made some changes to the way the Kindle Store appears on the iPhone, specifically tweaking it for better display in the iPhone’s native Safari client and to have better interaction with the Kindle for iPhone App.
• “Amazon Kindle is a luddite’s dream of the future” – Engadget – A wooden sculpture of the Kindle was made with a laser cutter. It features a page of The Count of Monte Cristo and was for sale on eBay. Check out the picture below.

Photo by: oskay.