Kindle v2.5 update delayed - Also, a thinner B/W Kindle may come in August

AMAZON KINDLE SOFTWARE UPDATE VERSION 2.5

From the Kindle Software Upgrade v2.5 help page today, at the top, where Amazon asks users to monitor the page for further news, we see:

' Kindle Version 2.5 Overview

We know Kindle customers are anxious to receive the 2.5 software update, so we wanted to provide you with some details about its status. We've rolled out the 2.5 software release to a set of Kindle customers and have received great feedback from these early customers. Based on this feedback, we are making some small adjustments to improve the experience further. We will be rolling out the 2.5 software update to more users over the coming weeks. '

The broader delivery of the new update was to be in late May (which is now), but as of 5/28 they're continuing to roll out the software slowly to more (not all) users 'over the coming weeks' after small adjustments.  Forum members are a bit restless.

No real bugs have been reported on the forum, but it is clear that most who received it recently really need to have the Home page listing of Collections in alphabetical order (they're shown the listing in that order when users do the Add files to Collections process).

Also, there is some slowness in load time that is probably caused by the association of any file with several Collection categories -- so, the info needs to be gathered and in place for the screen display by Collections, which are user-set and changeable -- in my case, I am changing things frequently as it's flexible and it takes time to know what works best for the individual.

A POSSIBLY THINNER, FASTER KINDLE IN AUGUST?
Bloomberg's Peter Burrows and Joseph Galante report today (May 28) that Amazon "plans to introduce the next version of its Kindle electronic-book reader in August, according to two people familiar with its plans."

' The device will be thinner and have a more responsive screen with a sharper picture, the people said, who didn’t want to be identified because the plans aren’t public. The new Kindle won’t include a touch screen or color, they said. [Emphases mine.]

...Sony also added a service that lets users download books wirelessly, matching a feature of the Kindle. '

Sony's doesn't involve free global access to Wikipedia 24/7 nor the free basic web browser in the U.S. and Japan for accessing mobile-device-optimized websites but the Sony (Daily Edition) costs $400 to the Kindle's $257.

Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos, earlier this week, said that the company was still concentrating on committed book readers who would gravitate toward very portable, less expensive dedicated e-readers and that the committed book readers comprise about 10% of households.  He seems to be lowering expectations in the face of writers who keep comparing small dedicated e-book readers that use eye-relieving e-Ink (similar to print on paper and superior when reading outdoors) to the larger and more costly multi-function iPads, including the $629 iPad that has the 3G cellular wireless capability which then requires a data plan by the month costing $15-$30/mo.

 Also, a color display screen isn't in the offing for the Kindle for some time because '“I’ve seen some stuff in the laboratory, but it’s not quite ready for prime-time production,” Bezos said May 25 at the company’s annual shareholders meeting. '  The Bloomberg report continues:

' The new version will have sharper contrast that makes e-books look more like real books, the people familiar with the product said. The delay during page turns also will be shortened... '

What's interesting is that, despite purchasing Touchco recently, Amazon says that it's not going to touch-screen technology yet (which some Kindle owners are glad about as they don't look forward to fingerprints on the screen but I don't see why Amazon can't make one Kindle with a touch screen and one without.

To contact the reporters on this story: Peter Burrows in San Francisco at pburrows@bloomberg.net; Joseph Galante in San Francisco at jgalante3@bloomberg.net Last Updated: May 28, 2010 20:20 EDT

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