Jeff Bezos wants the Kindle to have some healthy competition. That’s why Amazon just released their source code for all the Kindle devices. It’s basic Linux underneath (kernel 2.6.22 on the latest 2.1 software), but includes E Ink drivers and other hardware support.
We don’t know whether Amazon stripped out its various DRM and licensed codec support, MP3 and Audible seem very likely candidates for explosion, even if turns out Amazon did leave in its own Kindle Book DRM. Hopefully manufacturers can take and repurpose this code to build their own Kindle clone.
[Engadget]
TAGS:
Amazon, kindle, open source, source code
Kindles and other high quality e-readers are currently expensive toys. Code release can encourage other small manufacturers more. Competition is nice for the future and hopefully we will see e-books where you can play even the videos inside