Kindle Versus the IPhone
By Brian Caulfeld

  Amazon.com Chief Executive Jeff Bezos has created a reason  to switch from bound paper books  to bits—a device with a wireless connection able  to download digital books on the go. The problem: Low-cost laptops and smart phones, such as Apple’s iPhone, coupled with a rich array of online content, may have already made Bezos’ $399 device obsolete.
  In  a breathless  cover  story  in Monday’s Newsweek, Steven Levy profles the device, which is the latest attempt to take the book industry into the digital age. Sony, Matsu-shita Electric  Industrial, Hitachi and Fujitsu are all  trying to crack the market. Yet each has had only limited success.
  Now Amazon.com will  try with a device coupled with a wireless service, dubbed Whispernet, which will allow users to buy best sellers for $9.99, and older books for just a few bucks.
  Reinventing  the book  is a big challenge, but Amazon has been on a roll.  Its shares are up 99% so  far  this year.
  Analysts say  that’s  in part  thanks  to Bezos’ success adding digital content, such as movies and music, to the mix along-side electronics and paper books. Kindle promises  to build on that success.
  The device has some real advantages over other elec-tronic gizmos. To mimic  the readability of a paper book, Kindle uses a system dubbed E  Ink, developed by E  Ink, that  is used  in other  electronic books,  such  as  “Sony’s Reader”. Another edge: Newsweek  reports  the device will get 30 hours of reading out of a single charge. By contrast, the  iPhone’s battery can sustain  just six hours of  Internet use.
  Yet  those advantages, plus  the Kindle’s ability  to  tap into  content  from Amazon,  coupled with  its wireless connection, may not be enough  to make  it a winner. At $399 it’s not only pricier than a small library of used books,it’s more expensive  than Asustek’s 2-pound, $299 Eee PC laptop. Another catch: Amazon, according  to Newsweek, is going  to charge subscription  fees  for blogs, magazines and newspapers. Yet most magazines and newspapers—and practically every blog—can be had online for free.
  The  ability  to  grab  free  books  online  points  to  the device’s  real competition: not paper books but  Internet-friendly  laptops,  tablet computers and  smart phones. The amount of content available online  is growing  fast, and devices for accessing the Net are getting better and cheaper quickly. One  such device  is already here.  It’s called  the iPhone.
  And Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs has a not-so-secret weapon when  it comes  time  to  load up  the  iPhone. And Google has already fused online services such as maps,e-mail and its YouTube video service with the iPhone.   Google’s Book Search project has already pumped much of  the world’s printed matter  into Google’s  servers. Mix Apple’s  iTunes content distribution smarts with Google’s vast  storehouse of  content,  and you’ll have  an  instant competitor  to Kindle—one with a  touch  interface and  the ability to play movies and music, too.

对决
布赖恩•卡尔菲尔德

    Amazon.com 总裁杰夫 • 贝佐斯已给出了一个将装订书转换为数字的理由——这是一个市场上走俏的能够下载数字图书的无线连接设备。问题是：低廉的笔记本电脑和智能手机，像苹果公司的 iPhone，再加上各种系列的网上容量，这些可能已经使得贝佐斯 399 美元的设备落伍了。
    周一的《新闻周刊》报道了一则令人屏息的消息。史蒂夫 • 列文描述了这一装置，这是将图书产业带进数字化时代的尝试。索尼公司、松下电器产业、日立公司和富士通公司都在想方设法打开这个市场。然而，每一方的成功都很有限。现在 Amazon.com 将试用代号为Whispernet的无线服务设备，这样用户花 9.99 美元就能购买到畅销书，而旧书的花费更少。
    革新书本是一个很大的挑战，但是 Amazon 一直在全力以赴。到今年为止，其份额已高达 99%。分析家们说这应归功于贝佐斯将电影和音乐这些数码内容与电器和书本的成功结合。Kindle 很有可能以这一成功为基础。
    该设备具有一些其他电子设备无法比拟的真正优势。为模仿文件的可读性，Kindle 使用电子墨水公司开发的一种名为电子墨水的系统，这一系统也用在如索尼阅读器之类的其他电子产品中。另一优势是：新闻周刊报导说该装置单次充电将会支持 30 个小时的阅读。相比之下，苹果 iPhone 的电池仅能维持 6 小时的互联网使用。
    然而这些优势，加上 Kindle 从 Amazon 开发容量的能力，以及它的无线连接，可能不足以让其成为赢家。399美元的造价不仅高过了一小堆旧书籍的价格，也高于华硕的 2 磅重 299 美元的 Eee 系列笔记本电脑的价格。另一点值得注意的是：据新闻周刊报导，Amazon将对博客、报刊、杂志等收取订阅费用。然而，大部分杂志、报纸以及几乎所有博客，都能在网上免费获得。
    能从网上获得免费书籍是该装置面临的真正竞争：不是书本而是能上网的笔记本电脑、掌上电脑和智能手机。网上的信息量正在迅速增加，连接网络的元件将很快变得物美价廉。这一装置已经出现。它就是 iPhone。
    当提及到上传 iPhone 时，苹果总裁史蒂夫• 乔布斯的秘密武器便不那么奏效了。  Google 已经将诸如地图、电子邮件及 YouTube 的视频服务等网上服务同 iPhone 融为了一
体。 Google 的图书搜索项目已经将世界大部分地区的印刷品输送到了Google的服务器上。融合苹果的iTunes容量配置技巧和 Google 的巨大容量库，你就可以随时与 Kindle ——一个也具备接触界面，可以播放电影和音乐的系统分庭抗礼了。
——选自《我爱读英文》