iPad me-too: an iPad Mini to stop the iBleeding?

With the iPad Mini, Apple catches up with rivals Samsung (Galaxy Tab 7.7), Google (Google Nexus 7), Amazon (Kindle Fire, also 7 inch screen), or Barnes & Noble (Nook, also 7 inch). As usual, connectivity comes second: WiFi enabled devices arrive before the 3-4G gizmos (TTM not specified for LTE).

At least, iPad mini is released before the Microsoft Surface 7 inch, for a good reason: it has not even been announced yet.

So Tim Cook is mocking at Microsoft, a company from the past. Steve Jobs was mocking at 7 inch tablets not so long ago, but that was a time when Apple was well ahead of the pack.

According to Strategy Analytics, Android claimed 41% of the tablet market on Q3 2012, up from 29.2% one year earlier, while Apple iOS dropped from 64.5 to 56.7%. Actually both are much lower, since some players don't disclose their sales figures, most notably Amazon, who will probably open up sooner or later anyway: Amazon is about distribution, not into OS.

Launching iPad Mini looks more defensive than proactive. The market leader was condemned to cover all bases. Now what's expected from a cultural leader reaches far beyond that.
 
mot-bile 2012

Amazon, Facebook Smartphones? Who cares for Nokia Siemens Networks?

The coming holiday season is strategic for tablet market shares, and that's one of the main reasons why Apple blocked the Samsung Galaxy Tabs in key countries. Cupertino lawyers didn't even try to stop Amazon's Kindle Fire in spite of its vague iPhone 1G design: this low cost gizmo is not a direct competitor, it contributes to democratize the tablet format, and by contrast enhances the coolness of iPad in places where Galaxy's not available.

If the commoditization of tablets will take more time than it did for smartphones, it won't take ages either. Apple obviously intends to milk the cow as long as it can, and to make sure it doesn't miss the next wave. Meanwhile, Samsung doesn't seem to make the most of its leadership in bigger screens because what Smart TV needs is a leader in value aggregation. Unless your TV remains a dumb screen and your smartbox grows wings.

Smartphones will keep getting smarter, but frankly I don't care if Facebook, Amazon, and the countless players rumored to work on them launch one or not.

I care for the 17,000 people kindly fired by Nokia Siemens Networks by the end of next year, a measure shamelessly presented as a "new strategy" ("Nokia Siemens Networks puts mobile broadband and services at the heart of its strategy; initiates restructuring to maintain long-term competitiveness and improve profitability").

Fair enough, networks have never been sexy in this sector. Except maybe when there were more base stations than mobile subscribers, and when handsets were bigger than Macintoshes. But NSN can sound as attractive as SNS, and if it really wants to put "services at the heart of its strategy", all it has to do is to rephrase its press release.

I'd suggest: "Introducing "Newstrategization", our latest killer app".

mot-bile 2011

Amazon Cloud Drive, cloudn't it ?

Most retailers dream of emptying their shelves. Amazon dreams of seeing his customers leave their stuff in its warehouses. That's called living in a cloud. And these days, preempting cloud space is about keeping your feet on the ground.

Here's the claim:

- 5 GB of free online storage
- Unlimited access from any computer
- Never worry about losing your files again

Here's the catch:
- 5 GB doesn't mean anything these days (ie ADrive has been offering 50 GB for years), but you're invited to buy additional storage and conveniently enough, the stuff you purchase on Amazon store is not included in the 5 GB
- unlimited access from any computer, but forget about your iPhone (only Android does it for mobile devices - and needless to say, Cloud Player doesn't read iTunes)
- never think about changing providers : try moving once you've uploaded the whole shebang

But that's OK. Once again, Amazon shot first among the big non operator fishes. Amazon acted as a leader. As the Kindle proves, it's not a silver bullet, but this shot in the cloud is certainly not a lost bullet.

mot-bile 2011

Motorola's Android Tablet : Focus On TV (Apple, Amazon, Others Watching)

Motorola and Android have already met, but Motorola and tablets are a new item.

The 10 inch screen device would be bundled with Verizon FiOS TV (pay-TV) service, which makes perfect sense. Much more sense than say Nokia, to name a fabled marketing counter-example... Let's see how rivals will move, for instance how Samsung will position its own Android tablet, smaller in size but with a screen of potentially much better quality, and a better grasp at personal computing.

But this is first about entertainment, and Verizon takes and interesting shot in the convergence barnum. Most quadplay operators across the World have necessarily been, if not working on, at least thinking about a "tabletish" gizmo to complete the set of home / away screens, and if people start (for instance) massively and legally downloading and watching movies with an Android 3.0 / 3G ticket on their tablet this November, xmas season looks fine...

Except maybe for Amazon : expect even more push marketing until then... unless of course Jeff Bezos manages to stevejobs a new Kindle feature high up into the buzzosphere.


mot-bile 2010

Google and Verizon eye a pad - or at least a patch

In interviews to the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg*, two Verizon Wireless execs confirmed the carrier's discussions with Google to launch a tablet running on Android OS.

The absence of such discussions would have been surprising.

Verizon and Google will probably accelerate TTM for one manufacturer, very much the way they did with Motorola for Android handsets, and together they have enough power and motivation to close the gap.

Close the gap ? For Verizon Wireless, tablet TTM is definitely less important than LTE TTM, and recent LTE trials in Boston seem to confirm this sense of emergency. VZW can not only remove its CDMA-GSM handicap vs AT&T, but also enjoy a temporary competitive edge when its Texan rivals struggle with capacity issues (partly courtesy Apple). Likewise, tablets and other devices will be less critical than the ecosystems behind : AT&T may or may not keep its exclusivity with Apple for the iPhone until 2012, it still managed to open up to both the Kindle and the iPad. V wants more control on the value chain than pipe filling, and on a more sustainable basis ? Time to prove it.

Close the gap ? I never considered the key race to be between Apple and Google. Mountain View is more aiming at Redmond's throat than at Cupertino's. Yes, Apple the manufacturer is succeeding where Nokia the manufacturer failed, in trade diversification**, but Apple will never enjoy Nokia's record market shares. Yes, Apple played the role of an accelerator for existing usages and business models (ie didn't invent smartphones nor app stores), but Google can go much further and not just because, as expected, it's pushing Android ahead on handsets : Google can literally become a category killer for the wealthiest players around in the telecom and software industries. Operators know it, Microsoft knows it. A success of Google's instant cloud scratchers on bigger screens represent a much bigger disruption than the iPad itself (not really a game changer in the global ecosystem).


mot-bile 2010

* "Verizon, Google Developing iPad Rival" (WSJ) / "Google, Verizon in Talks About a Rival to Apple's iPad" (Bloomberg)
** OK, Nokia has gone a long way from timber

Hey kids, Apple is educating the market for iPad

mot-bile 2009 - Traditionally, ebook readers have been marketed for an elite of early adopters not only interested in high-tech but also in books.

With its Kindle, Amazon focused on "human" readers, making the technology as transparent as possible, talking about books instead of gizmos, and widening the base all of a sudden.

For its iPad, Apple seems to be focusing on kids and education (beyond, of course, the iMac / iPod / iPhone followers). Neither reinventing the old chalk tablet nor the old "kids as prescriptors" mantra : simply considering an important part of the edition ecosystem snubbed by rivals, a cornerstone of familial and societal spheres.

You're going to hear a lot about school textbooks, lessons, ebooks for kids, animated mangas and cartoons, and even do-it-yourself cartoons. About more serious stuff of course, but somewhere, Jeff Bezos must wonder why his marketing teams didn't venture beyond the standard Amazon customer.

Google Phone At Hand. No Kindling.

mot-bile 2009 - Nexus One is all over the web. Unlocked, open, bare, the gPhone will probably be cheaper than an iPhone... MNO subsidies not included.

MNO subsidies ? As Big G eventually takes on Apple & co on their core business, it decides to redefine the whole handset ecosystem : direct sales, operator agnostic, Dell Computer style, without the intel inside jingle.

Imagine a small M-VNO proposing competitive rates for data. All of a sudden, a bunch of nerds subscribe for their brand new Nexus and bring the house down. Far-fetched ? 3% of iPhone users generate 40% of the data traffic on AT&T's network, to the point the operator confessed : "we've got to get to those customers and have them recognize that they need to change their patterns or have to face other things" (see "AT&T may penalize iPhone users who hog data"). In other words : be a good customer, but not too smart. or else... "face other things". Whatever that means. Maybe some big guy with a slight Italian accent will come with a baseball bat and redesign your knee caps, or upload a creative application on your face.

Nexus One makes a lot of people nervous. Some even consider lawsuits : if Google inaugurates itself the next version of Android, the newcomer may face charges of anticompetitive behavior, even if it only sells one device.

I'm looking forward to an interesting 2010 year : Apple facing full-fledged competition, Nokia going at Blackberry's throat... and Google releasing its Kindle.

Because that's basically the same story for Google and Amazon : beyond the device (the "Google outside", if you prefer), the aim is to understand the whole value chain and to secure future revenues in a field that's bound to represent a great chunk of the core business in a very near future.

The main difference : Google are not into distribution, IRL.

Mating season for media : Steve & Ruppert / Time Inc, Conde Nast, Hearst & Meredith

Gossip of the day : Hearst heart Time heart Meredith heart Conde Nast. It heard it through the newsvine, or rather the NYT : "Group of Magazine Publishers Is Said to Be Building an Online Newsstand", the fabled "iTunes for magazines". The New York Times itself being an item on the Amazon Kindle platform*.

The previous day, the same NYT had a story about that flirt between Murdoch and Balmer : jealous of Google's curves, Baldy would like to keep the moghul's treasures for himself : only Bing would be able to reach inside its pages**.

In Korea, courting may turn predatorial : antitrust laws allow press groups to develop bigger TV channels. Big fishs are literally venturing into / vulturing around the pond.

The hate / love relationship between traditional media and new media remains in this transitional phase when nothing seems to be granted, even for major stars. No one seems to be sustainably bankable.

So major studios people tend to cling to behaviors they feel comfortable with : investing in the latest technologies to appear up to date, promising blockbusters with Ocean's Twenty Six castings... but they still have no script, no storyboard, and no director whatsoever.

So what they're basically trying to do is to put everybody together for one night in some sort of Kodak Theater, betting on favorable buzz outside and last minute deals inside, forcing smiles and spotlights to the point no outsider may notice the collection of butcher knives.


mot-bile 2009

* Speaking of platforms and music : Brian Stelter also mentions in his article YouTube's Vevo music video platform.
** "News Corp. Weighs an Exclusive Alliance With Bing" (NYT - 20091124)

Amazon Basics : private label, low profile kick-off

If you visit Amazon.com store this week-end, Kindle remains on the top shelf of the Electronics section. The Top brand, with 171 references, is Amazon, but that's mostly Kindle stuff (the grey machine itself surrounded by more colorful accessories). No mention of AmazonBasics here.

If you want to get products from Amazon's new private label*, you have to type the direct URL amazon.com/AmazonBasics. And you'll get is really basics : blank media (ie DVD) and accessory cables branded Amazon. No-frills, smartly marketed as "Frustration-Free Packaging" ("a multi-year initiative designed to alleviate "wrap rage", featuring recyclable boxes that are easy to open and free of excess materials"). Even IKEA is more direct : we're just bringing the costs down, who cares if the packaging looks poor ?

Oviously, AmazonBasics is designed to alleviate Wrap rage from Amazon providers : we're not tapping your cash cow see ? We're only competing with your cheapest competitors, making up for the decrease in CD and DVD sales. For starters.

But everybody's got the message : we're there now. If Amazon becomes your "blank media" provider, and your "non blank media" publisher (ie CreateSpace), it can fill a few other blanks in the process.

Smarter products and services may follow.


* "Amazon.com Introduces AmazonBasics" (Amazon 20090919):

"We saw an opportunity to create a line of consumer electronics basics that combine quality and low prices for an overall focus on value," said Paul Ryder, vice president of Consumer Electronics for Amazon.com. "We drew on our history of developing other private-label brands and combined that with our mission to give customers the ultimate in selection and value. AmazonBasics is the result. We will continue to gather input from customers and evaluate opportunities for new products under the AmazonBasics brand. We aim to offer our customers as wide a selection as possible, and we think AmazonBasics makes a great addition to the brands we already carry."

News BioRhythms

Before the introduction of printing in Europe by Guthenberg, people would travel for books. Then books could multiply, move and reach different readers in different locations. Now you don't even need paper and anyone can consult any priceless ancient manuscript from anywhere without fear of damaging it*.

Earlier this year, there was a exhibition in the library of Florence's Convento di San Marco on the process of book making, featuring beautiful objects and illuminations. I remember thinking, as I moved from one marvel of patience to another, about how people would look at a newspaper press a few years from now.

Doesn't it already seem like a black and white scene from Citizen Cane ? The journalist getting his scoop, writing it down, submitting it to the chief editor, the prints running like crazy, a headline splashing on a newstand, yelled by a street vendor...

Scenes from last millenium.

The future of newspaper definitely looks like "more news and less paper".

Many players are folding their last issues, and folding, period. The sector had been looking for new business models for years when depression struck, precipitating bankruptcies in an already fragile ecosystem.

Sourcing, writing, editing, printing, distributing, advertising... now it's less a linear value chain than a shape shifting value cloud. But there's still value out there, be it in relevance, ergonomy, utility, actionability, exclusivity, analysis / insights / advice, local, reassurance, trust, fun... or why not, the quality of the paper (actually, that's the reason why there's still a thriving market - readers and advertisers - for certain magazines).

Likewise, brands are more often scattered among media, platforms, authors, journalists, and contributors who can even be anonymous members of a popular online forum. With a high churn rate because things and people tend to come out of fad more quickly by the day. Any local newspaper can get its 15 Warholian minutes of fame because say, their cute kitten rescued from a fire in Armpit, TN has been over-retwitted as a scoop of michaeljacksonian magnitude.

Reading has become a multimedia experience with pop-ups, background music, rollover images... you start reading an article and end up watching a movie while purchasing virtual pop-corn for your tamagotchi.

Sometimes, the article you're reading is being edited under your very eyes. Like that page devoted to post-elections unrests in Iran on HuffPost, or DemConWatch's SuperDelegate list, which I consulted about every other minute last year.

News and hoaxes are everywhere, and each individual has what I call his or her own "News BioRhythm" : depending on the context you consume more or less but you somehow have to be fed at certain moments of the day.

The future of newspaper ? The term will more often cover the medium instead of the media brand : you won't be talking about the NYT nor the WSJ, but about your favorite epaper smartphone application, your favorite dedicated device (ie your Kindle, your foldable screen...), where you chose to consult the news.

We all have tools to arrange our own newspapers, but that's not necessarily what you want nor need. I started with My Yahoo! around 1995-96 but quickly switched to a more pervasive browsing mode. There are usually about 30 sites always on on my screen - half of which about news, news gathering, or keeping track of news I read.

I know, I have a problem with my NBR... I should twit my shrink about it (he takes only $13.59 + taxes per character).


* These days, you should fear more for your dutifully purchased ebook (see "Kindle's Total Recall")
---
initally published on blogules.

Plastic Logic Ltd on AT&T, a Kindle for pros ?

Barnes & Nobles is claiming its leadership back as the leading library in the ebook arena. After all, its Bookstore app is the first of its kind in App Store downloads, and it's about to cash in after purchasing Fictionwise. ebooks already represent over 4% of book sales, and CAGR means we will soon enter into over 10% territories, meaning the real mass market thing.

B&N eBoosktore (bn.com/ebooks) proposes 700,000 titles, more than twice Amazon's catalog... not to mention Google's public domain books (over half a million titles). But Barnes & Nobles doesn't propose a double user generated content platform : Amazon competes with classic editors (Booksurge) as well as with such pure players as Lulu.com (CreateSpace).

eReader is available on such smartphone platforms as Blackberry or iPhone. New devices keep coming out of the pipe if not on the shelves yet.

B&N will be exclusive provider for Plastic Logic's eReader (plastic display, electronic ink, touchscreen, 8.5 x 11 x .25 inches - see plasticlogic.com). This newcomer, founded and run by senior managers and researchers from the PC world (HP for CEO Richard Archuleta, Hitachi for Pr Henning Sirringhaus...), supported by big names in VC (including Intel and Siemens), and boasting locations in California (not far from Big G in Mountain View), UK (Cambridge), and Germany (Dresden) is also discussing with all press groups to sex up its big screen.

But novels or newspapers are not the key content here : the idea is to give business users a new gizmo to manipulate all kinds of documents and presentations (PDF, Word, Excel, PPT...) on the go. Thus the touch screen and the wireless connectivity. I guess the idea is to build a niche between classic ebook readers and Tablet PCs.

Trials with AT&T are about to start, targeting a commercial launch "early 2010".

Kindle's Total Recall

If wonder if Amazon fully considered the pros and cons of their embarrassing Orwellian moment : remotely deleting "1984" or "Animal Farm" ebooks was a perfect proof of concept for content providers, but a terrible PR operation for consumers.

From the start (see "Kindle Kindle little star - take my Word"), the retailer seemed to be targeting partners rather than than endusers. And here again, the message is more meant for publishers : look, I control the value chain and have the capacity to fight piracy... stop being afraid and come on board !

If Amazon gave some consideration to its other customers, it would prepare a nice PR campaign instead, providing some time to their customers, and some buzz to a much wider audience. And why not, a nice promotion on top of it.

But no. They decided to go for the automatic, intrusive option.

This goes much further than a product recall : it means that what you purchased is not your own, including the device. Somehow, your Kindle is not your own.

ADDENDUM 20090723

An Apology from Amazon

This is an apology for the way we previously handled illegally sold copies of 1984 and other novels on Kindle. Our "solution" to the problem was stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line with our principles. It is wholly self-inflicted, and we deserve the criticism we've received. We will use the scar tissue from this painful mistake to help make better decisions going forward, ones that match our mission.

With deep apology to our customers,

Jeff Bezos
Founder & CEO
Amazon.com


NB: no kindling ?

Big Screen Kindles and Papyrus

Kindle DX joins Amazon's Kindle family. It's bigger (9.7 inch screen), smarter (screen rotation, 4 GB memory), and of course pricier ($ 489).

Comfier too, if you want to read magazines, newspapers, documents with images. But not that much if you intend to carry it everywhere. This one will probably remain at home most of the time, and may not even make it there if you already own a tablet PC.

I expected something more disruptive. Say a really big screen, for real newspapers... the foldable kind of Kindle. Technology is there, but short term marketability remains another story... Keep an eye on Amazon labs for that one.

Anyway, this newcomer will make such competitors as the Samsung Papyrus look smaller. But a no-frills, no-connectivity, A5, half a GB memory ebook reader can succeed if it comes at half the price.


The CNET video on Kindle DX :

Kindle for iPhone (no iRead for iReader yet)

Kindle for iPhone* is a non-event.

From the beginning, the Kindle device was meant as a proof of concept for the Amazon platform (see "Kindle Kindle little star - take my Word" - 20071121**).

Amazon is into distribution, not hardware. Amazon v. Apple is more about coopetition than competition, Kindle v. iPhone more about complementalness than substitution.

Let's make both Jeff and Steve happy, and let's say you own both a Kindle and an iPhone : you don't carry your Kindle all the time, but now you are definitely more likely to purchase a new book, and if you can't wait you to have a peek, you can even read the first chapters on your way back home, before Whispersyncing it to your most comfortable reader.

I could bullpooh you for hours about other fascinating seamless user experiences, but I'll leave that to people who are paid for it.

Besides, Amazon is pushing hard Kindle the platform to set the standard, and the device comes only third after reach and speed. Even early adopters are feeling the pinch right now, so surfing on the iWave makes more sense to Bezos than waiting for the next Schumpeterian tsunami (if any).

And oh, within iPhone's reach, if your Kindle want to have a chat with your iPod Touch, that's perfectly okay, but they can't sing along yet (Kindle plays MP3, and poorly). Well, I guess neither of the two shopkeepers are minding right now...

This buddyship ain't no honeymoon, after all.

And who knows ? If tomorrow Apple happens to launch iRead for iReader...


* "Amazon Brings Kindle to iPhone" (20090404 PC World)

** and following episodes, including "Kindle 2 v. Print" (20090210). BTW, Amazon didn't go all the way in the fight for text-to-speech.

Amazon to Authors Guild : "Read My Lips - no new taxes" - Microsoft goes Intel

The WSJ pointed out a potential legal battle around the Kindle ("New Kindle Audio Feature Causes a Stir" - 20090210) : Authors Guild's Paul Aiken denounces the new text-to-speech feature (see "Kindle 2 v. Print") as a copyright law infringement : "They don't have the right to read a book out loud. That's an audio right, which is derivative under copyright law."

Amazon should know : it owns Audible.com, an audiobook shop which allows downloads for every platform. But today on Amazon.com, the link to downloads on the Audible FAQ page leads to the Kindle homepage. Business is business.

Where does audio book start and audio enabler end ?

The computerized reading of an article cannot be compared to a well edited audiobook. The user experience is generally painful, and if you can get the idea of a text, it is not as if someone actually read it to you*. Text-to-speech media only makes sense for practical reasons (ie you are visually impaired, or you don't have a divergent strabismus bad enough to drive and read your e-mail at the same time).

Let's consider an article you downloaded for 10c on Kindle. You shouldn't have to pay more if you listen to it through the device's text-to-speech enabler, a mere alternative way of accessing the information you paid for. But if the text-to-speech version of the article is say a mp3 file with a life of its own, then there is a DRM issue.

No DRM issue for Stephen King : ever the early adopter for innovative distribution channels, the author proposed "Ur" exclusively on Kindle.

Meanwhile, another champion of the late XXth century seems less successful in embracing the new millenium : Microsoft's lack of vision is clearly becoming an embarrassment, and its latest move in retailing echoes more Intel's admission of failure than Apple's (over)hyped extravaganzas.


* the only case where text-to-speech beats the real thing is for my articles : some can be downloaded in text-to-speech version, and they are as nonsensical to the ear as to the eye, but at least the computerized female voice sounds much sexier than my own (not exactly your James Earl Jones, Barack Obama, or Morgan Freeman... rather inaudible dot com).

Kindle 2 v. Print

Kindle has grown up since November 2007 (see "Kindle Kindle little star - take my Word"), carving itself not only a sweet spot in the e-book market, but a new market altogether.

Oprah provided a major boost last autumn but unlike Obama, Amazon couldn't deliver the goods all the way, missing a major holiday season. Jeff Bezos introduced yesterday the much anticipated 2.0 version : same buckled-up business model, same price ($359), but Kindle is now slenderer than an iPhone, it can synchronize with other devices, and it can read (text-to-speech features).

There's much talk about competition with other devices (from Apple to Sony, from handsets to notebooks...), or multidevice text delivery platforms (ie shortcovers, launching later this month), but less about coopetition with content providers at a time when most newspapers are struggling. Many closed shops, others give up printing (ie The Christian Science Monitor didn't even wait for Election Day), others try repositioning while downsizing (ie Newsweek). Did I notice that Kindle added more shades of grey, to enhance the reading experience when you come across a picture or say an ad ?

Amazon is revisiting its relationships with key partners as well as with prosumers, inviting users to submit video comments, joining the self-publishing wave with an improved Digital Text Platform that will benefit both the company beyond the Kindle...

Like Google, Amazon can leverage on a killer combo of comprehensive customer knowledge management and key monetizing tools (AdSense, online sales).

Kindle Kindle little star - take my Word

The first of its Kindle ? Over the past decade, we've seen much nicer ebook readers than Amazon's ugly $399 gizmo. The size, weight, shape, vertical scrolling, the next / previous page system, the keyboard, or E Ink are cool, but Kindle is definitely not meant for LG Shine nor iPhone lovers - even though one may find a couple of book readers* among those.

And anyway, the aim of the game is not to propose the sexiest device but to set the standards for ebooks. Beyond hardware, this is about softwares, formats, DRM... and sustainable business models.

And this is truly wireless. Not Wifi but CDMA2000-EVDO (as usual, Sprint Nextel provides the radio for a new disruptive player). But the customer won't be charged for airtime.

This is not a phone but a reader with a restricted connectivity : the main revenues are supposed to be books. A New York Times Best Seller or New Release will sell for $9.99, and overall, there are over 88,000 books available in the Kindle Store (amazon.com/kindle). And Amazon has already been a 99¢ store for paperless short stories for over two years**.

Compulsive readers could help Jeff Bezos break even, but he still needs to make sure all buyers will actually use the device on a regular basis. Usages that bring the dough, not like reading on and on the same thing (including The New Oxford American Dictionary included in the purchase).

Well. This reader has a rather restricted connectivity (dubbed "Whispernet"), and the only way to read something that wasn't imbedded is to access or download it over the air. Amazon offers all you can read Wikipedia.org, and you can browse for hours the store - no doubt other things can be ordered this way, but no card reader for book readers, and the capacity is limited to 200 titles (500 to 800 k files). AmazonKindle kindly declines files that are neither Word documents, nor pictures (.JPG, .GIF, .BMP, .PNG), nor HTML, nor TXT.

You can download such files through a personal kindle e-mail at the rate of $0.1 each. That's a start. You can subscribe to blogs and news services from $.99 / month each. That's getting juicy. And Amazon can bring partners or open the web step by step and cent by cent as they please. That's smart to start from such a low point, but I'm not sure everybody will follow all the way.

Whatever. The proof of concept would help Amazon export this service to all other devices. And turn 3G handsets and PMPs into even more multimedia players***. Come on. You don't need 3G just for a 500 to 800k file every other month.

* I mean actual books, not the Bridget Jones / Devil wears Prada / Shopaholic series.
** see "Google Mob (pay .99 for the unshorted version)" (20050823)
*** after all, you can already use your PDA or iPod or iPhone as a sort of ebook