So Oprah finally endorsed Kindle. I know Oprah’s endorsement for Barack didn’t really push him over the top, but with Kindle, I am sure a whole lot of folks who didn’t know Kindle existed now get a chance to take a look at this great device.

Now here is my complaint about this whole thing. I haven’t lived in the U.S. for too long, but like many Americans I have developed distaste for marketing material and commercials. I am sure Oprah’s life was changed dramatically with Kindle, but it just sounds too good to be true. I am as big of a fan of Kindle as you can find. I was probably among the first batch of folks who got their Kindle. But for Oprah to come out and claim Kindle has changed her life after a year it’s been around sounds a bit of an exaggeration.

I am all for all the support that Kindle gets. I hope folks will not find Oprah’s glowing endorsement too good to be true and actually go and pick up the device. The economy is not great, but if you read books (which you should), then Kindle is a must have. Kindle hasn’t changed my life in an earth shattering way. But, it has made me more productive and helps keep me informed. I would have done the reading without Kindle, but I am glad that Kindle is here. Aren’t you?

As a Kindle owner, I have enjoyed having the ability to buy books and have them delivered to my Kindle in less than 30 seconds. Unfortunately, Amazon has not yet released all paperback books to the Kindle, so I thought I’d create the top 5 books I want to see on Kindle. Here they are:

Great book for any start-up owner. Not yet released to the Kindle, but I am hopeful.

Now is gone is a must read marketing book. Unfortunately, it’s not released to Kindle store yet.

Must read social media book. Haven’t seen it in the Kindle store yet.

Classic businss book for companies which want to improve their processes and accelerate their growth.

This may sound corny. But I like Obama books. They are full of hope and inspirational messages. This guy can talk!

Your Take

What are your favorite books that are not on Kindle? I could’ve picked some classic books that I’d like to see on Kindle, but at the end of the day, I don’t read classic books too much these days. But which books would you like to see in the Kindle store?

I am sure you have of this iPhone application that allows you to read eBooks on your iPhone. Stanza has outperformed Amazon Kindle, but does that mean Amazon is in trouble as some are suggesting?

I personally think Stanza’s market and Amazon Kindle’s market are totally different. You can’t honestly tell me that folks read long books on the iPhone on a daily basis. I admit that I have read a book or two on my iPhone when I have been on a trip, but the screen is very small, and I just don’t like the experience of reading on a mobile phone (no matter how shiny it is).

So should Amazon go Open source to compete with device such as the iPhone? I think they should. Having a community of developers contributing to the Kindle platform only helps, but Amazon doesn’t need to be the next iPhone. I don’t see any direct competition here, do you? Sure. Both of these devices may be competing for our cash, but I wouldn’t abandon Kindle to buy the iPhone or vice versa.

I have talked about Amazon moving to a subscription-based business model for Kindle to help push it to the next level. The $359 that Amazon is charging for its eBook reader has been criticized by many folks as the reason behind Kindle’s modest growth over the past year. Kindle was supposed to explode into the market, and while it hasn’t done badly, Amazon is not getting an iPod-like push from Kindle. So I believe it’s time Amazon considered other business models for Kindle.

The subscription model can allow Amazon to offer the Kindle for free. By giving away the Kindle for free, Amazon can increase the adoption rate for its innovative e-book reader. In order to make that work however Amazon should try a monthly or annual subscription business model (which allows folks to access a certain number of books for free during the subscription period). So here is how it could work:

1. Design tiers of subscription: Gold, Silver, Bronze, whatever you may want call them. Allow Gold users to access the entire library of books on Amazon for $200 a year. You can limit the number of books available for free for lower tiers. Amazon has taken a similar approach with Amazon Prime, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Amazon went there.
2. Provide Premium Service for Kindle: Amazon can also charge folks for additional enhancements to Kindle (some of them can be free though). It can work but I would go for the third option.
3. Provide a platform for developers to enhance the Kindle experience: similar to iTunes apps. Amazon doesn’t have to be the provider of premium apps. They just have to have a platform for folks to use to create enhancements for the Kindle.
4. Use the affiliate program to create a Viral effect on the platform: let’s say I buy a book on Kindle and I like it so much that I decide to forward it to a friend. If the friend buys that book, I get a percentage of it. That is currently not possible with Kindle, but think about the potential.

There are millions of other things that Amazon can do to improve the Kindle experience (e.g. adding color to Kindle). Will it get done? No one can say for sure. One thing is for certain though. The Kindle will be significantly improved in the next couple of years (just like iPod has during its life-cycle).

So I was checking Amazon today, and I probably saw 30 or more books about iPhone 3G and how to use iPhone 3G to do all kinds of things. So I thought, what about Kindle? Why doesn’t Kindle get any love from publishers? Well, it seems there is a book on Kindle (though in the Kindle edition). The books is called “the Amazon Kindle FAQ.” Here are the topics covered:

• Kindle Basics, From A to Z
• Whispernet FAQs
• All about the Experience with E-Ink
• Traveling With Kindle
• Kindle, battery, and energy consumption
• How to handle Multiple Kindles
• Where do I get content?
• Kindle Shortcuts and hidden features

Now this is all not bad at all, but I wish it was for free. I mean Amazon should have one of these babies out for a cent or two.

I have said in the past that Android can be what Amazon has been waiting for the move Kindle to the next level. With Android apps, Amazon Kindle can have access to plenty of applications (and their developers) to enhance user experience on Kindle. Now can it happen?

Android is currently designed for Mobile phone, but there is no reason Kindle can’t handle Android. I think the big problem for Amazon is figuring out how to get out of their “closed” system without losing their competitive edge (the e-book market). Amazon’s current software is designed to drive sales for the Kindle store. While there is no question that the same features can be implemented on any OS, I am not sure Amazon is ready to put Android on Kindle. I think Android can boost Kindle beyond what we have seen so far from Amazon ( and it may lower the prices too). But I’d be surprised if any version of Android made it to Kindle before the summer of 2009.

So what do you guys think? Is Android the magic pill Amazon needs to take Kindle to the next level?

Seriously. What can Oprah do for Kindle? Simple. Just endorse the heck out of the device. Now, I admit that I have never watched Oprah (except the time John Stewart showed Tom Cruise’s piece on his late night show). But I hear everything she touches just explodes as far as sales and adoption rate. Well, one would think that Amazon should be Oprah (paying her a lot of money) to endorse Kindle, right?

It’s actually happening already. Amazon is teasing its customers with a new video titled Oprah’s favorite gadget. Unless Amazon is dropping the ball big time, Oprah’s favorite gadget is the Kindle. If I were Amazon, I would’ve talked to Oprah sooner. Heck, I would’ve even gone to Barack Obama to endorse Kindle.

Now, I am a bit biased her, but Amazon Kindle will need mass adoption to continue. Amazon is currently struggling financially, and Kindle has been anything but a gamble for them. So, I hope this Oprah things woks out for them. Now here is the big problem: most folks are scared to spend money and they may not be ready to part ways with $350 of their hard earned money.

Some bad news for Amazon came out last night. While Amazon had a solid quarter, they had to lower expectations for the next quarter and their share fell afterwards. So why is this important? Simple. Amazon is rethinking its Kindle strategy. While there were rumors that Amazon was going to release Kindle 1.5 in December, now it seems Amazon will be going for a May release. Too bad I guess. I know I posted a story about the Kindle 2.0 Beta tester. But does anyone actually know how you become one for Amazon?

Well. It seems either guys at Plastic thing they really have a Kindle killer or the media is trying to make up a Kindle killer just like they are trying to make iPhone killer out of every Nokia phone. Forbes is running another story on Plastic’s soon to be released e-book reader.

My take on Plastic’s e-book reader is that it is certainly more portable than Kindle and looks very cool. But that’s about it. It currently doesn’t come with a viable “e-access” solution. Amazon also has a huge advantage with the Kindle store and all the books they are putting in the digital format, so my answer is no. I still have not seen a Kindle killer.

Now if you have been following this blog, you probably know I think Kindle is the best thing since the discovery of fire. Having said that, one major issue that I have with Kindle is its ergonomics. There is no doubt that Amazon could have done a better job designing the device. But what concerns me the most is the fact that I have not been able to avoid pushing a button inadvertently every time I touch the device. That could be a big problem if you are reading a book. Let’s say you decide to take a quick break. You put your Kindle down just to pick it back up a few minutes later. If you can’t stop pushing some of these buttons (next or back), you are going to flip the pages forward or backward.

Now I thought it was just me. I thought I had freakish fingers or something was in general wrong with the way I was holding the device. But it seems many folks have been complaining about this very fact on Amazon.com forums. So maybe Kindle 2’s new design is more significant that I thought it was (which is another reason to get the new Kindle).

Do you have the same problem?

Do you end up touching a button or two on your Kindle unintentionally on a daily basis? What would you change about the design of the first generation Kindle? Over to you!