Update: GigaOM has additional pictures of the apps' SMS and visual voicemail functions, along with a pretty strong review.
I am certain this gave Amazon honcho Jeff Bezos one hell of a tingle when he saw the report, but in spite of the repeated mentions of Amazon and Kindle, I'm pretty sure he had very little to do with it himself. Here's why:
The DLC—'scuse me, NDLC—estimates the up-front cost of materials to be around $200, but could fall to $80 by 2012. Since the government now spends about $109 per student on text books, the initial investment seems in line. However, I don't think they're looking at the appropriate model. The Kindle 2's teardown revealed that it costs around $185, but that includes $60 for the 6" screen. Don't these fat cats in Washington know that textbooks only work on the $489 DX (and even then just barely)? Even at cost, I guarantee you're looking at a lot more than $200 per kid for one with a 10" screen.
And don't even get me started on the subject of smashed Kindle screens.
Doing the math here, my numbers are a lot higher t! han the DLC's, and furthermore my estimates on E-Ink's future price drop are way more pessimistic. Especially since the jury (meaning us) is still out on the longevity of E-Ink as an ideal screen technology, and only volume will really drive down the price. Wait a few years, see what happens with LCD, with laptops and netbooks, with iPhones and other smartphone platforms, and then, just maybe, you'll be able to select a decent product to subsidize 56 million times over.
Oh, and dudes, don't go creating terms like eTextbook—we already have lingo for this stuff, and you sound like you just arrived in a time machine from 1996. [DLC via New York Times]
Vincent Paquet, a senior product manager for Google and cofounder of GrandCentral (Google Voice before its name change), announced that Google Voice will be coming to the Android Market and to BlackBerry, although users of the latter will have to download it directly from Google rather than App World for some reason. It'll let you have your Google Voice number displayed on the other end and show transcribed email inside the app, rather than forcing the use of a browser. The invite system of registration, however, will still be in place.
iPhone and WebOS are markedly absent; we can forgive a little tardiness at WebOS because the platform's so new, but iPhone? What gives? Isn't Skype already available? No explanation for the absence was given, but Google assures us it is definitely coming as soon as possible. [CNET]
Filed under: Digital Cameras
Samsung goes bargain hunting with SMX-K40 and SMX-K45 camcorders originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Software
Android x86 LiveCD now available, lets you run Android on your desktop originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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