Kindle 3 to Include Color and Video?
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Will the next generation Kindle be an “iPad lite?” It’s hard to tell, but Amazon needs to address many issues to keep people from jumping ships and going to Apple and other Amazon Kindle competitors. Amazon is not going to deliver everything its customers are asking for. But it is likely that the company will be bringing color and video capability to the next generation Kindle. Taiwan-based Prime View International, which recently acquired E-ink, has recently displayed its color e-paper screens in a trade-show in Asia. While that doesn’t necessarily mean that Amazon will be on board, there is no logical reason for Amazon to not introduce a color screen Kindle.
Amazon and B&N both seem to have gotten a look at this technology. Let’s face it. B&N is not going to sit around and allow Apple iPad to become the top dog in the e-reader market. Not without a fight. Besides, the company has already a color navigation on its Nook. So it’s not too hard to see why the company may be exploring ways to add a color screen to Nook 2. The issue with Kindle is a bit different. Amazon was testing color screen Kindles a few months ago. It just did not find a way to manufacture such a device while keeping it affordable.
The technology has come a long way since a couple of years ago, and the prices have been falling. So while adding a color screen to Kindle will keep Amazon from dropping its prices, it certainly shouldn’t add much to the current prices. Amazon does not need to duplicate iPad features to stay successful with Kindle. It just has to listen to what it customers have been asking all along. The company did drop the ball by not introducing its SDK sooner. But it will get its shot at redemption with Kindle 3.0
There are two ways Amazon can go in this regard. It can make Kindle 3.0 an iPad clone with all kinds of bells and whistles. Or it can stay true to its customers and add features that truly add to their reading experience. Let’s hope the company makes the right choice here.
