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New Kindle Publishing Guidelines (2017) Swaps References to "E-ink" with "e-Reader"

The latest change to Amazon’s production guide for the Kindle format is going to cause endless speculation about Amazon’s next Kindle ereader.

Posted late last week, the guidelines (PDF) detail all the intricate parts of the Kindle ebook format, and they explain how to make an ebook which will be accepted by Amazon. The Kindle Publishing Guidelines had previously been updated in October and February 2016, each time changing to reflect Amazon’s new standards.

For reference, you can find a copy of the previous guidelines in the Wayback Machine (PDF).

This time around, for example, the guidelines no longer mention how to set a start location. (When making a Kindle ebook, you can set the ebook to turn to a specific location when opened for the first time.) Amazon also updated a few dozen different sections with better instructions or clarifications, and they also made this one small change:

  • Changed "e-Ink" references to "E-reader" throughout

All of a sudden the guidelines now refer to "e-reader devices" rather than "e Ink devices".

This might be an indicator that Amazon plans to release a Kindle with a Liquavista screen like the one I announced as a joke last April Fool’s Day, or it might signal that Amazon is thinking of expanding distribution beyond Kindles.

Or, and here is the most logical option, this change might reflect the tastes of the new Amazon employee who was just put in charge of the guide.

It’s really too early to say at this time, but we should know more in a few months.

Stay tuned.

 

 

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Comments


Stephen January 30, 2017 um 8:17 pm

I wonder if the change is merely to reflect the many people just read on tablets or their phones, rather than a drive equipped with an e-ink screen. I do hope that we will see a device with a Liquavista display sometime soon, though.


Frank January 31, 2017 um 9:19 am

E Ink is the company’s name that produces the Kindle screens, so instead of referring to the Kindles as "e-reader devices" seems like a good idea to not call out a specific company’s name if the screens are ever replaced with a new company’s tech.


James D Allen February 4, 2017 um 8:34 pm

Lending credence to your speculation that maybe Amazon is getting ready to release a Liquavista device is the fact that the Oasis hasn’t been available for months, and no signs that it’ll ever be available again. Which leaves room at the higher price point for something maybe not using e-ink.

Nate Hoffelder February 5, 2017 um 11:24 am

Last year was just me joking around. I won’t believe we are going to get a Liquavista Kindle until there’s a credible leak.


jabaal February 5, 2017 um 3:58 pm

and goodereader is not credible 😉

Nate Hoffelder February 5, 2017 um 4:09 pm

It’s not just that.

I don’t know if it is intentional or accidental, but almost all of the new Kindles have leaked before they officially launched. The Oasis, for example, was almost completely exposed by a couple leaks, and that is the kind of thing I am waiting for before I will believe there’s a new Kindle on the way.


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