The time is true for Amazon to ship a dual-screen Kindle

Abstract

Microsoft pioneered the dual-screen cell kind issue with its unsuccessful Floor Duo and Neo {hardware} endeavors.
The twin-screen idea makes a exceptional quantity of sense when utilized to the e-reader product class.
With new Amazon {hardware} on the horizon, and with ex-Microsoft chief product officer Panos Panay on the helm, the time is true for a Floor Duo-style Kindle e-reader to hit the scene.

For a few years now, Amazon has stood as one of many largest gamers inside the consumer e-reader market. The corporate’s line of Kindle tablets, in addition to its broader Kindle software program ecosystem, have made the model synonymous with digital ebook studying.

The very first Kindle launched all the way in which again in late 2007, and whereas this first-generation product was tough across the edges, it laid the groundwork for each future Kindle launch. The gadget’s keyboard and navigation buttons would give technique to a contact display interface in future {hardware} revisions, however the slab-shaped kind issue would stick round for the lengthy haul.

I can not assist however really feel that it is time for Amazon to take the Kindle in an thrilling new path.

It is simple to see why Amazon settled on a compact tablet-esque kind issue for its future Kindle choices: the scale roughly approximates that of a medium-sized ebook, and it is easy to carry the gadget and switch pages with just one hand.

It is for that reason that today’s latest Kindle models — whether or not we’re speaking in regards to the Paperwhite, the Colorsoft, and even the bottom version — all comply with this identical fundamental design precept. Whereas I am typically a agency believer within the previous saying ‘if it ain’t broke, do not repair it,’ I can not assist however really feel that it is time for Amazon to take the Kindle in an thrilling new path: a dual-screen path.

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Microsoft ought to by no means have killed its Floor Duo line of foldable telephones – put merely, dual-screen cell gadgets are an excellent kind issue.

The time is true for a dual-screen Kindle shakeup

With Panos Panay on the helm, and a {hardware} launch on the horizon, the celebs appear to be aligning

Panos Panay during the Microsoft Surface Duo and Neo launch

Amazon recently sent out invitations for an upcoming February 26 product occasion, which can be hosted by Panos Panay, head of Gadgets and Providers on the firm. A lot of the pre-announcement hype has been centered on new Alexa-powered sensible dwelling merchandise, however I’ve my hopes up for a Kindle cameo or two.

The explanation I am bullish on the discharge of a dual-screen Kindle comes right down to the truth that Panay, who joined Amazon in late 2023, brings with him years of cell gadget expertise via his tenure at Microsoft. It was beneath Panay, who beforehand served as government vp and chief product officer at Microsoft, {that a} daring dual-screen imaginative and prescient got here to fruition within the type of the Floor Duo and the Floor Neo.

Microsoft would by no means launch the Neo, and it will kill off the Duo after the second era failed to maneuver items.

Whereas Panay was fast to level out the utility and advantages introduced on by two screens on a single cell gadget, each the Duo and the Neo suffered an premature demise. Microsoft would by no means launch the Neo, and it will kill off the Duo after the second generation failed to maneuver items. Soon after, Panay departed for greener pastures over at Amazon.

And with that, Microsoft seems to have misplaced curiosity in its earlier dual-screen ambitions. Nonetheless, I really feel the time is true for Amazon to swoop in and fulfill the imaginative and prescient of a cell gadget with two screens, appropriating the idea for a brand new era of Kindle e-readers.

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The Floor Duo’s kind issue is right for e-reading

Merely put, two screens are higher than one

Microsoft

Intuitively, the idea of a dual-screen e-reader makes quite a lot of sense. The Floor Duo’s kind issue, with its rotating hinge and two bespoke show panels, approximates the shape issue of a bodily ebook higher than simply about some other cell gadget does.

In contrast to a slab-style e-reader, a theoretical dual-screen Kindle would show one E Ink web page on the left display and one other on the appropriate display. You’d be capable of maintain the gadget in your arms as you’ll an open ebook and shut it closed if you’ve accomplished your studying session.

Intuitively, the idea of a dual-screen e-reader makes quite a lot of sense.

Better of all, dual-screen cell gadgets do not endure from the fragility problems with single-screen foldables — the 2 separate screens could be fabricated from conventional tempered glass, and IP68 water and mud ingress safety could be applied with out fear. In different phrases, you’d nonetheless be capable of carry a Duo-shaped Kindle to the seaside, which is a vital consideration when searching for any e-reader.

A dual-screen Kindle would not need to sacrifice on the one-handed usability entrance, both. If the gadget had been designed equally to the first-generation Duo (that’s, and not using a rear digicam module), then the complete unit can be 180 degrees-swivelable for a extra conventional ‘slab-style’ studying expertise on command.

If the corporate actually needs to, I wager it would be able to engineering probably the most attractive e-reader because the days of the unique Kindle.

A Floor Duo-inspired Kindle makes all of the sense on the planet, after which some. Whether or not such a tool will finally come to fruition is dependent upon whether or not Amazon is keen to take a danger with its Kindle model. If the corporate actually needs to, I wager it would be able to engineering probably the most attractive e-reader because the days of the unique Kindle.