October 08, 2011

A gadget that may reduce the reduce the burden of school bag

Kapil sibal unveiled a tablet computer that is supposed to be cheap (costing Rs.1700 only). Good!

But, where is the connectivity? Broadband costs Rs.900 per month for unlimited connection.

Then what is the use of a cheap tablet computer if the network costs are prohibitive?

This device possibly can reduce the burden of children who are now carrying so many books to school. But I do not know whether it can be used as an e-book.

When we talk of e-books it is the amazon kindle that comes to mind suddenly. It is slim and its screen is eye-friendly. You can store hundreds of books in kindle if you wish.

See the amazon kindle website.

It is tempting. It has similar looks like other books.
Amazon has a number of models for e-readers. In the kindle website here its specifications are given. I am cutting pasting the same below.





Lighter, More Compact Than Ever
Less than 6 ounces. Lighter than a paperback, fits in your pocket.

Holds 1,400 Books
Carry up to 1,400 books - keep your library with you wherever you go.

Most Advanced E Ink Display
Kindle's high-contrast E Ink display delivers clear, crisp text and images.

Read in Bright Sunlight
Kindle's E Ink screen reads like real paper, with no glare. Read as easily in bright sunlight as in your living room.

One Month Battery Life
No battery anxiety - read for up to one month on a single charge with wireless off and a half hour of reading per day.

Books in 60 seconds
Find a book and start reading in seconds with our fast, free wireless delivery.

Built-In Wi-Fi
Connect to Wi-Fi hotspots at home or on the road. Includes free Wi-Fi access at AT&T hotspots across the U.S.

Simple to Use
Kindle is ready to use right out of the box - no setup, no software to install, no computer required to download content.

Adjustable Text Sizes
Read comfortably with eight different sizes and three font styles.

Faster Page Turns
Kindle's powerful processor is tuned for fast, seamless page turns.

PDF and Personal Documents
Email personal documents and PDFs direct to your Kindle to read and annotate on-the-go.


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Detailed Features

Elegant, Easy-to-Use E-Reader
Lose Yourself in Your Reading
The most elegant feature of a physical book is that it disappears while you're reading. Immersed in the author's world and ideas, you don't notice a book's glue, the stitching, or ink. Our top design objective is to make Kindle disappear — just like a physical book — so you can get lost in your reading, not the technology.

Ergonomic Design
Kindle is easy to hold and read. We designed our e-reader with long-form reading in mind. When reading for long periods of time, people naturally shift positions and often like to read with one hand. Kindle's page-turning buttons are located on both sides, allowing you to read and turn pages from any position.

Precise 5-Way Controller
Kindle has an easy-to-use 5-way controller, enabling precise on-screen navigation for selecting text to highlight or looking up words. No on-screen fingerprints.

Never Gets Hot
Unlike a laptop, Kindle never gets hot so you can read comfortably as long as you like.
Wireless Capability
Built-In Wi-Fi
Kindle automatically detects nearby Wi-Fi networks at school, home, or your favorite café. At a hotel or café that requires a password? Simply enter the password and connect to the network. Once you have added a Wi-Fi network, Kindle will automatically connect to that network the next time you're near the hotspot.

Free Access at AT&T Hotspots
Enjoy free Wi-Fi access at AT&T hotspots across the U.S. for shopping and downloading Kindle content — no AT&T registration, sign-in, or password required.
E Ink 101
Latest Generation E Ink
Kindle uses E Ink Pearl – the latest generation of E Ink technology available – to deliver clear, crisp text you can read without eye strain.

How Electronic Ink Works
Electronic ink uses actual ink particles to create crisp, print-like text similar to what you see in a physical book. Kindle uses proprietary, hand-built fonts to take advantage of the special characteristics of the ink to make letters appear clear and sharp.

Reads Like Real Paper, Even in Bright Sunlight
Because Kindle's electronic display uses E Ink, it looks and reads like real paper. Kindle's screen reflects light like ordinary paper and uses no backlighting, so you can read as easily in bright sunlight as in your living room. 
Reading on Kindle
Adjustable Text Sizes, Font Choices Kindle has eight adjustable font sizes to suit your reading preference. You can increase the text size of your favorite book or periodical with the push of a button. If your eyes tire, simply increase the font size and continue reading comfortably. Kindle also has three font styles to choose from – all optimized and hand-tuned to provide the best reading experience.

Custom Fonts
Kindle uses hand-built, custom fonts and font-hinting to make words and letters more crisp, clear, and natural-looking. Font hints are instructions, written as code, that control points on a font character's line, improving legibility at small font sizes where few pixels are available. Hinting is a mix of aesthetic judgments and complicated technical strategies. We've designed our proprietary font-hinting to optimize specifically for the special characteristics of electronic ink.

Faster Page Turns
Kindle now has faster page turns. We've done this by fine-tuning Kindle's proprietary waveform, the series of electronic pulses that move black and white electronic ink particles to achieve an optimal display of images and text.

Support for Non-Latin Characters
Kindle supports the display of non-Latin characters, so you can read books and documents in the translation that's right for you. Kindle displays Cyrillic (such as Russian), Japanese, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), and Korean characters, in addition to Latin and Greek scripts.

Full Image Zoom
Images and photos display crisply on Kindle and can be zoomed to the full size of the screen.

Rotate Between Portrait and Landscape Mode
Switch between portrait and landscape orientation to read maps, graphs and tables more easily.

Real Page Numbers
Easily reference and cite passages or read alongside others in a book club or class with real page numbers. Using the computing fabric of Amazon Web Services, we've created algorithms that match specific text in a Kindle book to the corresponding text in a print book, to identify the correct, “real” page number to display. Real page numbers are available on tens of thousands of our most popular Kindle books, including the top 100 bestselling books in the Kindle Store that have matching print editions. Page numbers are displayed when you push the menu button.

Carry and Read Your Personal Documents
Kindle makes it easy to take your personal documents with you, eliminating the need to print. You and your approved contacts can e-mail documents - including Word, PDF and more - directly to your Kindle and read them in Kindle format. Your personal documents will be stored in your Kindle library on Amazon and ready to download conveniently anywhere at any time. You can add notes, highlights and bookmarks, which are automatically synchronized across devices along with the last page you read using our Whispersync technology.

You can read your PDFs in their native format, view them in landscape mode, or zoom in up to 300% to view small print and detailed tables and graphics. You can also convert your PDF document to the Kindle format so that it reflows like a regular Kindle book. Learn more.
Dictionary and Search
Built-In Dictionary with Instant Lookup
Come across a word you don't know? Kindle includes The New Oxford American Dictionary with over 250,000 entries and definitions for free. Kindle lets you instantly lookup the definition without ever leaving the book – simply select the word with the cursor and the definition will automatically display at the bottom of the screen.

Search Wikipedia and the Web
Kindle makes it easy to find what you're looking for. Just enter a word or phrase and Kindle will search every instance across your Kindle library, in the Kindle Store, on Wikipedia, or the Web using Google search.
Notes and Sharing
Bookmarks and Annotations
Add annotations to text, just like you might write in the margins of a book, with a virtual keyboard that appears just when you need it. And because Kindle ebooks are digital, you can edit, delete, and export your notes. You can highlight and clip key passages and bookmark pages for future use. You'll never need to bookmark your last place in the book, because Kindle remembers for you and always opens to the last page you read.

Popular Highlights
See what millions of Kindle readers think are the most interesting passages in your books. If several other readers have highlighted a particular passage, then that passage will be highlighted in your book along with the total number of people who have highlighted it. View details.

Share Meaningful Passages
Share your passion for books and reading with friends, family, and other readers around the world by posting meaningful passages to social networks like Facebook and Twitter directly from Kindle, without leaving the page. Want to post or tweet about a great new novel or newspaper article? When you highlight or create a note in your book or periodical, you can easily share it with your social network. Help your network of family and friends discover new authors and books.

Public Notes
Share your notes and see what others are saying about Kindle books. Any Kindle user – including authors, book reviewers, professors and passionate readers everywhere – can opt-in to share their thoughts on book passages and ideas with friends, family members, colleagues, and the greater Kindle community. Learn more.

Lend Your Books
Lend eligible Kindle books to other Kindle or Kindle app users. Each eligible book can be lent once for a period of 14 days. Not all books are lendable — the publisher or rights holder determines which titles are enabled for lending. For more information on how to lend Kindle books, visit our help page.

Public Library Books
Customers can check out a Kindle book from their local library and start reading on any Kindle or free Kindle reading app. Learn more.
Customize Your Kindle
Choose Your Language
You can customize your Kindle with the language you prefer. You can set your default language on Kindle to English (US and UK), German, French, Spanish, Italian, or Brazilian Portuguese.

Organize Your Library
Organize your Kindle library into collections, or categories, to easily access any book you are looking for. You can add an item to multiple collections to make organizing and finding titles even easier. For example, you can add the same book to your "History" and "My Favorite Authors" collections.

Password Protection
With password protection functionality, you can choose to lock your Kindle automatically when not in use.
Special Offers
Special Offers and Sponsored Screensavers
You'll receive special offers and sponsored screensavers directly on your Kindle. Examples of past special offers include:
• $10 for $20 Amazon.com Gift Card
• Save up to $500 off Amazon's already low prices on select HDTVs
• $1 for a Kindle book, choose from thousands of books
Your offers display on your Kindle's screensaver and on the bottom of the home screen – they don't interrupt reading. You can set your personal Kindle Screensaver Preferences to give us hints on the style and types of sponsored screensavers you'd like to see.
The Kindle Store
Access the Kindle Store wirelessly right from your Kindle – search and shop the world's largest selection of books that people want to read, plus magazines, newspapers, blogs and games. We auto-deliver all your purchases in seconds – simply search, buy, and you're ready to read.

Personalized Recommendations
Kindle makes it easy to discover new titles with recommendations personalized just for you. The Kindle Store uses the same personalized customer experience you're used to across Amazon.com, matching our best recommendations to your personal reading habits.

Over a Million Books
The Kindle store contains the largest selection of books people want to read: over a million books, including over 800,000 at $9.99 or less. We work directly with publishers to get the latest bestsellers, biggest new releases and the titles most popular with tens of millions of Amazon's book customers.

Over 2 million free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books are also available such as Pride and Prejudice andTreasure IslandLearn more.

Newsstand
Shop and subscribe to your favorite magazines and newspapers such as TimeNewsweek and The New Yorker, from Newsstand. New editions are auto-delivered wirelessly direct to your device the second they go on sale.

Blogs
Stay up to date with the latest tech stories, sports results and news updates from your favorite blogs. Subscribe to popular blogs such as GizmodoThe Onion and ESPN to receive auto-updates on your Kindle throughout the day.

Games
Take a break from reading to enjoy a selection of great games specially designed for Kindle, like Every Word andNumber Slide.
Experimental Features
WebKit-Based Browser
Kindle features an experimental web browser based on WebKit to provide a better web browsing experience. Now it's easier than ever to find the information you're looking for right from your Kindle. Experimental web browsing is free. 
Massive Selection
Over 1 million books, newspapers, and magazines, including latest bestsellers, Kindle exclusives, and more.

Low Book Prices
Over 800,000 books are $9.99 or less.

Free, Out-of-Copyright Books
Millions of free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 titles such as Pride and Prejudice are available. Learn More

Free Book Samples
Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy.

Borrow From Your Public Library
Borrow Kindle books from your public library and start reading on your Kindle.Learn More

Free Cloud Backup
We automatically back up your library in the cloud, so you never need to worry about losing your books. Re-download wirelessly anytime for free.

Buy Once, Read Everywhere
Kindle books can be read on your Kindle, iPhone, iPad, Android devices, BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7, Mac, PC, or web browser with our free Kindle Reading Apps.

Whispersync
Our Whispersync technology synchronizes your last page read, bookmarks and annotations across your devices so you can always pick up where you left off.


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