Back in early September, we published a post mentioning that the F.A.A. had announced plans for an “industry working group to study [the effects of] portable electronics usage” on aircraft. At the time, it wasn't entirely clear how long the process was expected to take, and it still isn't: The F.A.A. originally indicated that the process would take "at least a year." (Remember: This study is specifically looking at whether or not passengers will be allowed to use electronic devices during a flight's taxi, takeoff and landing periods.) And yet as New York Times reporter Nick Bilton astutely pointed out in a recent online column, because...

By Robert Nelson | for the Technology Tell network We have seen the details for all of the new Kindle products that were introduced during the recent Amazon press event and now the video is available for anyone who wants to watch. The video, which measures in at roughly 1 hours and 15 minutes, is available for streaming by way of YouTube. Or, you can simply watch it right here as it has been embed below. And when you're done watching, make sure you check out the Technology Tell network's recent Kindle coverage, which includes details for all the new readers. ...

By Jeremy Hill | for the Technology Tell network Oh boy, Amazon pulled an Apple yesterday. The Kindle media event yesterday showed Amazon in a totally different light. Amazon showed that it’s no longer content with being an online retail giant that happens to have a tablet. Amazon is going for the whole enchilada. It wants to be number one in retail and mobile technology. Amazon proved this by announcing different Kindle Fire HD SKUs and directly taking shots at the iPad. Amazon debuted four different Kindle Fire models yesterday. Two of them have 7-inch screens, two of them have 8.9-inch screens...

As the Amazon Kindle brand approaches its fifth birthday, it seems a good time to assess its place as the guiding force in the e-reading movement. Nobody can question the scope of Amazon’s achievement. Kindle was the tip of the spear in a full frontal assault on five centuries of reading tradition. Even more, the company opened the door to millions of frustrated aspiring authors. The gate-keepers were overrun. Eighteen months ago, we could still hear the voices of the old guard whispering about making a stand, putting down the insurrection, protecting their print aristocracy. The peasants were revolting! We hear much...

This seems to be a Jeff Bezos news day. While it’s not directly related to e-books, it’s still worth mentioning that Bezos has donated $2.5 million to Washington United for Marriage, an advocacy group working to uphold Washington state’s laws allowing same-sex marriage. CNet reports: Bezos became involved in the campaign after a former Amazon employee who is now working as a volunteer fundraiser asked him to help out. He responded to her by e-mail saying, "Jen, this is right for so many reasons. We're in for $2.5 million. Jeff & MacKenzie," according to the Associated...

And speaking of Jeff Bezos, TechCrunch has an amusing little anecdote by a woman named Susanna Burke, who happened to be at a hotel where a tech conference was going on. And she tells the story of taking a big hardcover book into the bar where all the tech moguls were hanging out and attracting the attention of Jeff Bezos, who tried to sell her on the Kindle and Amazon without ever coming out and explaining who he was. Not one of the men at that table (Jeff Bezos included) was kind or gentlemanly enough to...

On Kindle Nation Daily, Len Edgerly posts the transcript of an 18-minute interview he had with Jeff Bezos in which they discussed the Kindle, Kindle Fire, the future of e-books, and other interesting topics. Bezos discusses being amazed at how fast the Kindle has grown—Amazon ran out of stock very quickly during both of its first two holiday seasons. He also talks about the effect it’s had on his and its users’ reading habits—he reads a lot more these days. He finds he uses his Kindle Fire for reading newspapers and periodicals, and his e-ink Kindle for reading...

It’s no secret that the sales of e-readers seems to be flattening out lately, as just about everyone who would ever have wanted to buy an e-reader has by now already bought one. As the bottom of the barrel of customers draws near, Amazon is about to embark on a new initiative designed to sell e-readers to the most die-hard paper book holdouts. According to a recently-issued press release, Amazon will pitch its next reader at those people who say they just couldn’t give up the smell of paper books. Amazon is going to partner with DuroSport, manufacturer...

Three quick Kindle stories courtesy of our sister blog Gadgetell: Office-supply store Staples is going to carry the new line of Kindles. It will have the $79 low-end Kindle with Special Offers available on October 8th, and will add the Kindle Touch ($99 Special Offers and $139 ad-free), Touch 3G, and Fire in November. The Kindle Keyboard with Special Offers will also remain available at its $99 price point. The Amazon Fire will have 100 exclusive digital graphic novels available from DC, including titles such as Watchmen, Superman: Earth One, and Batman: Arkham City that have never been digitally available before. It’s...

Consumer Reports has an interview with Jeff Bezos in which he hints at the possibility of an Amazon Android tablet, coyly advising interested parties to “stay tuned.” He did insist that just because the iPad and other tablets are becoming popular solutions for e-reading, it doesn’t mean that the Kindle and other dedicated devices are on the way out. “We will always be very mindful that we will want a dedicated reading device,” he said. “In terms of any other product introductions, I shouldn’t answer.” Bezos noted that whatever Amazon did, it was always...

Amazon video - NOT impartial review Did Amazon tuck away a microphone in the Kindle 3 with the idea of adding a phone option later, not just for possible fun with a voice navigation option? That’s my guess, after having read Andrys Basten’s mention of the “’not currently enabled microphone provided for future use.’” A phone option for the Kindle would be Jeff Bezos’s way to weaken the iPhone’s multi advantage. Yes, maybe just one gizmo to tote after all---the K machine rather than an iPhone. Perhaps you would pay extra for a wireless connection that worked with the phone. Presto! New...

As eagerly as I slammed Amazon for dissing ePub, let me praise it for the fine dictionary and other wrinkles in the just-updated Kindle apps for the iPhone, iPod and iPad. Fittingly, I’m in the middle of reading Losing Mum and Pup, a sprightly memoir by Christopher Buckley, son of the late William F. Buckley, Jr. WFB, my political opposite, was a strong supporter of the TeleRead vision of a well-stocked national digital library system. Maybe partly in deference to the father, the son’s  memoir serves up more than its share of Latin and French phrases. Jeff Bezos’s...