I have got to admit that I have been surprised by Amazon’s persistence on not working on deals to give customers discount on their Kindles. If you haven’t seen it, Amazon has been promoting their new special offer for the iPod Touch:

The offer basically gives $100 off on eligible purchases when you sign up for Audible services for a year. Unfortunately, Kindle is not among the devices that are eligible for this deal. Now let’s not forget taht this deal doesn’t exactly give you $100 off for nothing. You will have to pay $14.95 a month for your Audible subscription. But after all is said and done, you will save $100 on your total.

Is Amazon admitting that folks don’t listen to audio-books on Kindle?

I am one of those people who try to be optimistic with everything but always find a way to find a negative in every positive. A couple of years ago, I read about Sony Reader, and how it was so handy for folks who read a lot of books on the go. I almost bought a Sony Reader back then. It was going for $400, and it was a primitive device (in comparison to Amazon Kindle). There were many positives to it at the time. But I found a way to talk myself out of it.

I remember that day clearly. I was thinking of this crazy scenario where I would settle down and retire in a place that was not as developed as most U.S. cities. There are still places in this world that don’t have access to Internet or even necessities such as clean water and electricity. So I thought, I can live with the water issue, but how can I continue using my reader if there is no electricity?

Now this is a scenario that hopefully I will never have to live through. But Amazon Kindle going solar makes sense on many levels. I know you can get about a week worth of reading with your Kindle battery. But wouldn’t be great if you could charge your Kindle by letting it get some sun? It’s more convenient, and it brings Kindle experience closer to that of a paper book (a paper book doesn’t need to be recharged, and a solar Kindle wouldn’t be too inconvenient to recharge).

Technology firms are not necessarily on green movement’s Christmas guess list. Apple got a lot of attention for not making iPhone 1.0 green enough. Amazon can not only help the environment by going green, but it can also generate some needed buzz for Kindle in the near future. Oprah effect is going to wear off eventually, and Amazon needs to find a way to accelerate the Kindle movement.

The challenge for Amazon will be keeping the costs low. Solar devices tend to be a bit more expensive than their non-solar counterparts, so that could be a problem. The design issues are also going to be significant. But regardless of all these issues, going green can help Amazon reach out to extreme users and get them on board.

Your take: what challenges do you foresee for Amazon going green with Kindle? Can solar Kindle become a reality in the next couple of years?

The times are tough, especially if you are living in the U.S. these days. A whole lot of folks have lost their jobs, and some folks have lost their year-end bonuses. So I am just wondering where does Kindle rank on your shopping list. Buying Kindle is more than just throwing a couple of dollars away. You are making a long-term investment. Having said that, with all the gadgets that are out there (iPhone, XBox, PS3, iPod, Wii, Pleo, …), where does Kindle rank on your shopping list, if it does at all.

Oprah endorsing Amazon Kindle was a big thing. At least that was the logical expectations when a heavyweight such as Oprah calls Kindle one the “best gadgets” she has ever had. But analysts are claiming that Oprah’s endorsement may not matter to Amazon until 2010!

Oprah’s endorsement has had some effect. And I think the effects will be more significant than some of the naysayers expect them to be. I have been a big fan of Amazon Kindle since day one, but I see two fundamental challenges for Amazon in the upcoming month:

• Economy
• Culture

The economy has hit and has hit companies hard. The tech companies are now feeling the effects (Sun Microsystems is cutting force and more companies will follow suit). Folks simply do not have money to spend on Kindle (possible solution: offering free interest financing for 12 months, lowering the price, an alternative monthly fee structure).

Many folks simply do not take Kindle seriously. We have gotten used to paper books, and sometimes it is hard to breakaway from old habits. Amazon needs to find ways to encourage folks to adopt Kindle. That could be done with major book promotions, early book releases, exclusive content, free starter content packs, and content distribution promotions.

Amazon Kindle is a wonderful device, but if people fail to justify paying $350 for it, then Amazon’s got a big problem. In these tough times, Amazon needs to bring its innovative ways to product management and content distribution. If not, even the mighty Oprah can’t turn the tide.

The political season is finally over. I got to admit that I followed this election more so than any other election. While I didn’t agree with the republicans, I did like their theory of cutting taxes to stimulate the economy. But that made me think about Amazon’s strategy with Kindle. Kindle is going for $359, which is not cheap. Many folks complain that $359 is a lot of money for an eBook reader, and they’d rather keep the money and stick with paper books. It really all comes down to this: when will we see the next price cut on Amazon’s part?

If I had to guess, I would say we would see it for the Christmas, this year. I do believe that Amazon needs to have a good quarter to show investors that it’s on the right track. These days the fear is in the air. Everybody thinks eveyrone is going bankrupt. Some investors are pulling back their money, and that is not good for companies such as Amazon. But Amazon should have lowered its production cost by now. I know they are trying to cover for the losses they took initially on Kindle, but the holiday time is not the time to ask for more money.

Amazon Kindle is worth every penny at $359, but folks want to believe that they are getting a bargain for the holiday season? A $60 price drop, which has been rumored for a long time, can make folks believe they are getting a steal. Will it save Amazon’s tough quarter? I can’t say for sure. But cutting price is one of few options Amazon has at this point to get the late adopters on board.

I got to admit. I have always doubted Oprah’s hype, and I have always been prove wrong. This lady can sell, and a lot of folks just buy things that she says you should buy. Now. I may have had some disagreements with her about some of the items that she has recommended in the past, but recommending Kindle was just right on the money.

But she did more than that. For a while, she was giving $50 off on Kindle on her site. That offer expired a few days ago, but I’d be interested to see how many folks bought the $300 Kindle. I am sure Oprah has gotten paid handsomely for her recommendation, so the sales bump better be good. She did come through for Barack. Will she for Kindle?

I had a discussion with a co-worker yesterday about Amazon Kindle, and he told me how buying Kindle has helped him in his personal life. Sounds corny, right? But he was telling me that he has developed a “super geek” reputation for owning Kindle. He is not a super Linux guru, and he does not live a second life as a hacker. All he did was showing up with Kindle to a college event (getting his MBA).

I know a lot of folks who read this blog have had Amazon Kindle for quite some time now. So I thought I’d ask you about your favorite moment with Kindle? Mine wasn’t a life changing moment, but rather a moment of pure joy. The very time the UPS driver knocked on my door and left Kindle on my door, I was on the moon. I had waited for the device for a months or so and to have finally gotten it was pure joy for me.

How about you? Do you have a life-changing experience with Kindle to share? Please share

We are only days away from the release of Sony PRS-700BC, the alleged Kindle killer. Sony has been in the e-Book business for quite sometime. They have invested a lot of money in it, and this is a fight they are not going to give up anytime soon. But let’s see how they stack up.

Display: Sony PRS-700BC with a 6″ display. It’s has about the same real estate than Kindle on the surface, but it comes with touch screen technology.

Keyboard: unlike Kindle, PRS700BC comes with a digital finger touch keyboard. While its easy to use your finger to turn pages or bookmark them, I still would like to have the keyboards too.

E-Ink Technology: rumors are going around that Sony is using the new generation E-ink technology that will be used with Kindle 2.0.

LED Light: I have talked about having the backlit feature on Kindle, but Sony has implemented this feature with PRS700BC. The problem here is that I haven’t heard the same feature being offered with Kindle 2.0. Shame.

Thinkness: Kindle is about 0.6″ in thickness whereas Sony PRS700 stands at 0.4″. So the advantage here goes to Sony. But both devices weigh about the same.

Memory: Sony does support SD cards and Duo cards. Kindle only supports SD cards. Both devices come with internal memories.

Price: Sony PRS700BC is priced for $399. You can get it for $299 if you get a Sony card.

Even if you get Sony PRS700BC for $299, you still have to think about whether the free life-time wireless service provided by Amazon is worth the extra $60. I think it is worth way more than that, which is why PRS700BC will not have a home in my house. But Sony PRS700BC still is a cool gift. I am just not sure why someone would go for Sony instead of Kindle for the holiday season.

I have argued many times on this blog about the merits of Amazon Kindle, and how I feel it is worth the money more so than Apple iPhone. But Apple iPhone is unquestionably the more popular gadget these days (with Apple’s promotion machine behind it). The good folks at PC World reported the other day that Apple will be cutting production for iPhone and have had to scramble to readjust their forecasts for the next quarter due to the financial crisis that has taken the U.S. by storm. 

I’d like to believe that Apple’s troubles are due to them overestimating the demand for the iPhone. But the fact is, Amazon may also take a hit in their sales numbers, even though Kindle has been a bright spot for them in this past quarter. But how much that enthusiasm negates the fear that folks feel in these volatile times?

I am not sure Amazon Kindle can move forward as fast as before despite all the praise that it’s getting in the press. This year promises to be one of the worst years ever for retailers, and folks are cutting their shopping budgets to prepare for the worst. I don’t know about you, but if I was in an unstable job with the economy in the toilet, I would too be hesitant about buying Amazon Kindle. Will Kindle survive these tough times? There is no reason to doubt it, but nevertheless, the numbers won’t be that rosy for Amazon in this and next quarter.

Your take: do you think Amazon will get hit harder by the financial crisis than Apple?

Let me rephrase that question. Will the new administration put technology at the top of its agenda? President Obama campaigned on education reform for 21 months. He talked about how he wants to provide a better education for our kids and make American children more competitive again. But will he invest in technologies such as E-ink and push devices such as Kindle in our schools?

That remains to be seen. I personally believe that technology is not a distraction but a facilitator. Devices such as Kindle go beyond what books can offer. They can make learning interactive and provide better ways for educators to communicate with the students. I am not sure where we will be in 4 years, when it comes to this new administrations education policies, but I know we will be better off than we are today if the promises are kept.

What are you thoughts? Are we better off with Obama when it comes to education reform? Please share your thoughts.