paperwhite

１１月に突入しました！あと２ヶ月で２０１２年も終わり。そして研究休暇も５ヶ月を残すところとなりました（でも、３月はリハビリ月となり、学校の仕事がどんどん入ってくるでしょうね...）。

そんな１１月に書籍の電子化の波を大きく加速するとみられるKindleの日本語版リーダー発売されます。Paperwhileはこのリーダーの名称になっていますが、これはコンピュータ関連用語のpaper-white display「ペーパーホワイト・ディスプレイ」に由来していると思われます。つまり「白黒ディスプレイ」です。iPhone 5への乗り換えはまだですが、こちらを先に入手しようかなと思っています。（UG）

Amazon plans Kindle offensive in Japan

U.S.-based e-commerce giant Amazon is getting ready to launch a version of its Kindle Paperwhite gadget next month in Japan. The device will feature Japanese language menus and will be accompanied by a Japanese Kindle store and smartphone application.

The Japanese-version of Kindle Paperwhite, which is expected on market in the second part of November, will feature Wi-Fi and 3G connections. The Wi-Fi-only version will be priced at Y8,480 ($107), while the 3G version will cost Y12,980 ($163).

Amazon said it will also start selling 50,000 Japanese language titles in its Kindle Store on Amazon.co.jp, with more than 10,000 free Japanese titles and a wide selection of works from Japanese authors and publishers.

A Kindle app directed to Japanese users will also be made available for computers, tablets and smartphones, the company said.

Japan’s largely untapped e-book market has recently started to take off. Sony is an established player, active on the market for 6 years and offering nearly 60,000 titles in its e-book store as well as a proprietary device to access the electronic books. Rakuten launched this year its Kobo-reader in Japan, with about 30,000 titles available and aiming to grow the library to 1.5 million titles in the coming years.

http://www.tokyotimes.com/2012/amazon-plans-kindle-offensive-in-japan/