Official Kindle International release today

Here are a couple of people in the Paris Tube who didn't want to wait for an international Kindle (released today) and apparently used a work-around to get the U.S.-only Kindle.  There are quite a lot of them on the Amazon forums.  This is often called a sighting of Kindles in the wild.

This article from Australia was just too fun to read, reminding me of how so many of us feel when we get our Kindles, a feeling that tends to stay with many.

  As I read around the Net, I see that some value the pure look of other configurations and are ready to buy based on that without considering features and even say that wireless access isn't a big deal or that the slow but free 24/7 Kindle web browser for times it can be useful is better replaced by paying for smartphone access at $360 per year minimum.

We all value different things, but the Kindle definitely has opened up a world of interest in reading *books* again - not just surfing the web (as I like to do) - and it's been so successful at this that we now have a plethora of interesting competing brands and models coming at us, which is only good for the consumer.

The writer of this magazine article opens with this:

' HUGE PHOTO GALLERY | We've got it in our hot little hands -- the first 'international' Kindle.
...
It would be an understatement to say that we were excited to be given a first look at the new Amazon Kindle for international markets.  In the face of impending competition from major competitors like Barnes and Noble and Apple, Amazon has busted the Kindle out of its United States-only shackles and released it to Australia (and other countries around the world). '

The (large) photos are much better than seen in the average display in Net articles.  This report consists of 6 pages, with titles Intro, First look at the Kindle, Reading a book on the Kindle, Buying books over Whispernet, Getting your morning newspaper on Kindle, and Something your printed paper can't do.

Re their image that I used (above, left), the writer says:

' One of the first things you notice about a Kindle is how amazing its screen is under bright light. This pic, shot in bright sunlight, shows how good the screen is. In fact, the brighter the light shining on the screen, the more contrast you get -- just like real paper. '

That's true, and it's also true that it's quite grayish in dimmer light.  But I use a clip-on light if it's too dark, as I do for a physical book.  The one I link to has a pad under the upper clamp portion which helps protect the Kindle.

K. Chant, a commenter from the UK, found that the subscription prices there are quite a bit higher than for the U.S. though -- $23 per month vs $10 per month here.  I suppose this is because of daily wireless access at the higher price in Europe, but that's just speculation on my part.  It's something Europeans should know about in advance though.

Plastic Logic is announcing today a bit more of what their Spring debut model will be like, but as too usual they don't demo a working model and still won't have a price until January. They named it "Que" and have two new pictures.  They've already said they aren't looking at the low-end for pricing but are gearing it toward business people, and it looks very good for business, so far.  

Per one article " Richard Archuleta, the company’s chief, says that the Que is a proReader that is not competing against Amazon’s Kindle as it can be used to sketch / edit documents, meaning that the device will be used by mobile professionals in document management areas. "