After all these years, the Kindle is still going strong. The company’s 15-year-old e-reader line has made news with the new Kindle Scribe, which brings something new to the line-up — the ability to write. For the first time since the Kindle was introduced, Amazon has added the ability to write on the device using a stylus.
The new e-reader appears like a tablet as you start using the stylus that comes with the device. Kindle Scribe comes with a high-definition 10.2-inch, 300ppi display, which is an illuminated e-ink screen that you find on other Kindle devices. But giving the big device extra power is the ability to take down quick notes or scribbling annotations.
Kevin Keith, a vice-president of product and marketing at Amazon, says the display is the reason the Scribe took so long. “Kindle Scribe is the best Kindle we’ve ever built, creating a reading and writing experience that feels like real paper. It’s inspired by the Kindle customers who have added billions of notes and highlights to books over the years, and it’s also ideal for reviewing and marking up documents, managing your to-do list, or doodling over a big idea. Plus, it offers all the Kindle benefits customers know and love —millions of books on demand, adjustable fonts, premium reading features, and weeks and weeks of battery life—with the benefit of a beautiful, large display,” said Keith.
The device comes with its own stylus that magnetically snaps on the side. The stylus doesn’t require charging and relies on electro-magnetic resistance or EMR. In case you want the “Premium Pen”, it will come at a cost while extra features include a customisable shortcut button and an eraser sensor on the top.
The handwritten notes are stored in your Kindle collection and the bigger screen should make images and charts easier to work with. There is also support for PDF markup and can display saved webpages and other file formats. Amazon has partnered with Microsoft to put a button into Word that’ll let you export a document right to your Kindle.
Even though the iPad has a lot more to offer in way of apps and a brilliant screen, Kindle continues to have a loyal following, people who want distraction-free reading time. And battery life continues to get measured in weeks.
Amazon has updated its Fire TV Cube
Fire TV Cube and Alexa Voice Remote Pro
There is a sizable crowd that wants a separate media player and for them Amazon has updated its Fire TV Cube. Now in its third iteration, the new TV Cube includes a 4K-upscaling HDMI input and enhanced networking. Like other top-end streaming devices, there is native 4K Ultra HD capability with Dolby Vision, HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. It also has far-field mics for conversing with the Alexa assistant.
The big feature is “super resolution upscaling”, which upscales high definition content so that it looks closer in sharpness and detail to native 4K video. In terms of ports, there is ethernet, USB (for media storage or connecting a webcam), and an IR extender. For the first time, there is both HDMI in and HDMI out so that you can plug a cable box directly into the Cube and have Alexa surf channels for you by name.
Standalone Alexa Voice Remote Pro
The company has also introduced a standalone Alexa Voice Remote Pro. The backlit device has two programmable buttons that join the branded shortcut buttons. The programmable buttons can be mapped to streaming apps or to Alexa Routines. For example, you could choose to programme a button to have Alexa dim the lights, check the weather, or start an Alexa Routine for movie night. Alexa Voice Remote Pro also includes motion-activated backlit buttons that automatically illuminate when the remote is picked up in low-light settings.
The new Fire TV Cube is coming soon to India for Rs 13,999 while Alexa Voice Remote Pro is available for pre-order for Rs 2,499.
Echo Studio 2022
Echo Studio
Amazon has rolled out a new high-end Echo Studio. The sound quality is expected to be better with new spatial audio processing technology and frequency range extension.