22 Oct 09 Amazon's international Kindle surprises owners with $20 refund, limited web browsing

The only thing better than unannounced functionality is an automatic, surprise refund on your purchase. With the international version of Amazon's 6-inch Kindle you get both. Several readers who ordered the $279 international Kindle have received the following email:

Good news! Due to strong customer demand for our newest Kindle with U.S. and international wireless, we are consolidating our family of 6" Kindles. As part of this consolidation, we are lowering the price of the Kindle you just purchased from $279 down to $259. You don't need to do anything to get the lower price--we are automatically issuing you a $20 refund. This refund should be processed in the next few days and will appear as a credit on your next billing statement.

By "strong customer demand" we assume that Amazon means "we're trying to stay competitive with the $259 Barnes and Noble Nook," but that's just a hunch. A hands-on at the Gadget Lab also reveals the inclusion of web browsing thought to have been disabled. For the most part it is disabled but Amazon does let you browse to the English version of Wikipedia and nowhere else. The hands-on also notes "dead slow" 3G performance and Amazon's decision to ship the international Kindle with a US power plug regardless of destination. Weird.

[Thanks, Simon]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Handhelds

Amazon's international Kindle surprises owners with $20 refund, limited web browsing originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tagi: barnes and noble, amaz, billing statement, customer demand, amazon, web browsing, hunch, nook, wikipedia, gadget, 3g, surprises, gadgets, sim, few days, nbsp

22 Oct 09 Android-based Nook e-reader could upset Apple's and Microsoft's tablet plans

The Nook e-book reader announced by Barnes & Noble offers several novelties, including an Android OS, two screens, and the ability for users to lend e-books, but its biggest impact could be on the widely rumored tablet computers expected from Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

Tagi: e book reader, ape inc, two screens, e reader, tablet computers, e books, microsoft corp, nook, novelties, barnes, amp, apple, microsoft

04 Nov 09 Barnes & Noble sued over e-reader

Spring Design, developers of a dual-screen e-book reader called Alex, has filed suit against Barnes Noble, alleging that B N's new Nook reader uses Spring's trade secrets and...
Tagi: e book reader, barnes noble, e reader, spring design, dual screen, nook, trade secrets, alex, developers

21 Dec 09 Barnes & Noble Nook to get an update this week? Sure sounds like it

A tipster who has proven to be reliable in the past says that Barnes and Noble's Nook will get a software update this week -- most likely around Tuesday. The update itself looks to be fairly large, improving some of the major issues we've had with the e-reader -- like page refresh rate and a lot of other little performance issues. Our tipster also says they've played with an updated unit and that it's much, much better, so we're interested to see for ourselves when the update goes down. Until then, check out the (partial) list of bugs and fixes we're hearing the update will include after the break.

Continue reading Barnes & Noble Nook to get an update this week? Sure sounds like it

Filed under: Handhelds

Barnes & Noble Nook to get an update this week? Sure sounds like it originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tagi: barnes and noble, e reader, ayed, tipster, nook, software update, amp, lt, bugs, nbsp, sun

21 Dec 09 Barnes & Noble giving $100 for Nook pre-orders that miss Christmas

Haven't got your Nook yet? You may actually be in luck. For people who pre-ordered early enough to expect a pre-Christmas delivery, Barnes & Noble is promising a $100 B&N.com gift card if it misses December 24th -- which is apparently distinctly possible. Of course, if you're one of the lucky / unlucky ones to have this on offer, you've probably already seen the email, and if you're a different sort of hapless pre-orderer that won't be seeing a Nook until next year, this is just another reason to curse your lot in life. To think: not only are you not ushering in 2010 from an economy suite in a space hotel, but you're going to wrap up this year reading paper books, without $100 to show for it! Can't we do better as a civilization?

Barnes & Noble giving $100 for Nook pre-orders that miss Christmas originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 Dec 2009 10:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tagi: miss christmas, space hotel, orderer, december 24th, paper books, reas, nook, gift card, barnes, amp, email, peoe, nbsp, christmas, sun