Kindle Review – Kindle Fire Review, Kindle 4 Review

The San Diego ComicCon and its 120,000 attendees got me thinking about all the niches that are getting excited about the Kindle.

One way to meet the needs of these different niches is by allowing a feature we’ll call ‘Kindle Modes’. Just as the Kindle browser has basic and advanced modes, the Kindle itself could have modes.

A critical distinction – Its still about reading and unitasking

This post is not about turning the Kindle into a multi-tasking, do everything device.

Instead  -

1. While still focusing on reading (consuming written words/content).
2. While still focusing on unitasking.

We change the Kindle’s mode to make it better suited to the type of reading being done. 

Its worth looking at all the niche opportunities for the Kindle.

Niches Kindle might fit with a few tweaks

1. Law and lawyers 
2. Education – textbooks, school and college. Note: Kindle DX already addresses this.
3. Businesses of various kinds.
4. Newspapers. 
5. Comics.
6. Manga. 
7. Chartered Accountants.
8. Music.
9. Knitting.
10. Cookbooks. 
11. Newspapers.
12. Magazines.
13. Journalling.
14. Coaching.
15. Research.

While the bigger niches could still get their own specialized Kindle, there ought to be a way to meet the needs of smaller niches.

How could Amazon tap all of these niches? 

Steal Apple’s strategy – “there’s a mode for that”.

What is a mode?

A mode is a set of applications, controls, themes and data that turn the kindle into a niche focused device.

What would we need for Kindle Modes to work?

1. First, Amazon builds Kindle 3 and Kindle DX 2 with built-in hooks that allow extensibility and modifications (we’re talking mostly software).
2. A full fledged Kindle App Store that Modes are sold from.
3. Allow re-mapping of the controls and the keyboard. 
4. Allow addition of multiple applications that work with each other.
5. Allow full use of the underlying Linux OS and addition of programs.  
6. Let a mode re-do the home screen, how a book is read, fonts, and menus.
7. Let a mode use the Internet without excessive limitations.
8. Add an SD card or some other means of storage.
9. Lots of customization options – sound, screensavers, backgrounds, and more.

Kindle Mode Example 1: Music

This is what a ‘Kindle Music Mode’ could look like -

1. Home Screen that lets you pick between ‘Sheet Music’, ‘Music’, ‘Instruments’, and ‘Books’.  
2. Sheet Music Mode has a key mapping that is well suited to reading sheet music, and an auto-scroll feature.
3. Screensavers are composers instead of authors.  
4. Music Mode lets users get accompanying instruments, or listen to music as the foreground.  
5. Lots of other features that people who’re into music can think up to make their lives easier.

It doesn’t have to be this complex (or it could be even more complex). Let developers and users build out their modes.

Kindle Mode Example 2: Journalling

For journalling we could have a ‘Kindle as Journal’ mode that has (assuming it’s Kindle 3 with a touch-screen) -

1. Home Screen that has ‘Journal’, ‘Notepad’, ‘Books’, and a few other options.  
2. The Journal is a full featured application that lets you add entries per date or in an organizational format you choose.
3. It has speech to text and handwriting recognition. 
4. The Journal is backed up every day, automatically.
5. A password for your Journal.
6. Option to change the whole screen into a writing surface i.e. writing as primary feature.
7. Little tweaks like a shortcut that lets you add a highlight in a book to your journal (perhaps Alt-J).
8. Adding an Alt-S shortcut that lets you instantly switch to current page in the journal (even from a book).

Someone could then take this ‘Journal Mode’ and with a few tweaks create a ‘Notebooks Mode’ and use that on a touch-screen Kindle DX 2.

Amazon can still be the ’only eBook Store’

Use Apple’s model of a highly policed App Store.

Yes, Amazon is paranoid someone is going to pull an IBM-PC on them. However, they can monitor apps and not allow apps to sell ebooks.

The only rational justifications for not adding Kindle Modes would be -

1. Losing Control. 
2. Spoiling the Kindle’s unitasking.

Well, with a tightly-run Kindle App/Mode Store Amazon would still have control.

And with Kindle Modes we’re talking about people who would be using the ‘Kindle Mode’ 25-75% of the time. It’d still be unitasking, just in the task that the users primarily use the Kindle for.

The big bonuses for Amazon are that it sells Kindles and that people who buy a Kindle 3 because of ‘Cookbook Mode’ or ‘Lawyer Mode’ would end up reading books on it.

Filed under: evolution, kindle Tagged: | kindle app store, kindle modes