Amazon Releases Kindle DX with Global Wireless

Amazon has just released the Kindle DX with Global Wireless and it's the the same $489 as the previous version. Unlike the confusion that ensued with the release of the Kindle 6" with Global Wireless, Amazon has immediately marked the US Wireless version of the DX as an obsolete item, pointing you to the newer version and listing only used or refurbished options otherwise. Currently there are no refurbished DX's available and the used units start at $589 (the original Kindle listings are nearly as bad, with the only unit under $200 being one with a cracked screen, which presumably you would then use to try to get a $99 refurbished/replacement Kindle direct from Amazon).

The official shipping date for the newest Kindle is January 19, but orders are being taken now to reserve those earliest units. If the past is any indication, those who pay for overnight shipping will get the ones shipped the very first day, as will perhaps be those who pay for 2nd day shipping. Picking standard or Free SuperSaver shipping will result in a later shipping date (even though you ordered earlier than others than choose the faster shipping method). If you want to be one of those with a bright shiny new toy on Martin Luther King's birthday or any time that week, I'd recommend you pick one of the faster methods. Also, if this is your first Kindle, they ship in clearly marked boxes and it's not the kind of delivery I'd want my postman to leave balanced on top of my mailbox (especially if it is raining).

Free Book (EPUB) - Flip

Random House in Australia has another free EPUB book in return for signing up for one of their newsletters: Flip ($9.59 Kindle), by Peter Sheahan. Again, this one is not Kindle compatible and when I tried to download it, they were having some technical difficulties. Last I heard, they were working on it, but with their time difference from here, I haven't had a chance to check on it again (but will later today).

Book Description
Emphasizing flexible, counterintuitive decision making, Flip calls for a new way of doing business in an economy where conventional wisdom won't get you anywhere

"Business today requires new perspectives" this is how Peter Sheahan, one of the youngest and fastest-rising stars on the international consulting and speaking circuit, begins this essential guidebook for succeeding in the twenty-first century. Sheahan reveals how the world's most effective organizations and individuals distinguish themselves from the competition, instead of running with the pack.

In Flip he uncovers what the superstars of modern business have in common: an ability to "flip" to think counterintuitively and then act boldly, with no regard for "business as usual" conventions. Sheahan explores six major flips:

• Action Creates Clarity -- to move forward you must act in spite of ambiguity. Your action will create the clarity you're looking for.
• To keep pace with rising expectations, you can't just be fast, good, or cheap. Instead you must recognize that Fast, Good, Cheap: Pick Three...Then Add Something Extra has become the new standard in every industry.
• To develop competitive advantage, you must Absolutely, Positively Sweat the Small Stuff.
• To satisfy customers' needs for engagement and contact -- spiritual, emotional, physical -- remember that it's not just business, Business Is Personal.
• To win mass-market success, Find It on the Fringe. The way to separate yourself from the competitive herd is to be courageous and create new market space.
• To Get Control, Give It Up. You cannot command and control customers or the talented staff needed to reach them. Instead you must empower others to create, dream, and believe for you.

Sheahan teaches today's decision makers how to embrace change and successfully operate in an economy that runs on new ideas. Those who take on these lessons will be in position to join other "flipstars" such as Richard Branson, Google, Toyota, Rupert Murdoch, and Apple.

Stick to what you learned in business school at your peril. . . . The small-world economy calls for a new way of doing business. It calls for Flip.

Click HERE to sign up for the free book.

Fictionwise Under a Dollar, Redux

Three more books at Fictionwise that are priced ultra low (below a dollar). Like the books from the earlier post, these are only available in DRM secured formats and are not Kindle compatible. Also, there were some problems with the earlier bargain books, but reports are that most (if not all) of the feeds have been corrected, so you should be able to redownload them and replace the public domain classics that were being downloaded in error. I haven't checked these three, so there may or may not be a similar issue with the feeds at first, but Fictionwise has been very good about fixing any such issues.

The Eternal Prison ($9.35 Paperback), by eff Somers, the third in his Avery Cates Trilogy.

Book Description
Avery Cates is a wanted man. After surviving the worst bioengineered disaster in history, Cates finds himself incarcerated - in Chengara Penitentiary. As Chengara has a survival rate of exactly zero, the system's most famous gunner must do some serious plotting. And a betrayal or so later, he achieves his goal. At a price.

All he has to do now is defeat some new personal demons, forge some unlikely alliances, and figure out why the people he's killed lately just won't stay dead.

Blood Ties ($9.99 Paperback), by Pamela Freeman, the first in the Casting Trilogy, was the one dollar book from Orbit back in November.

Book Description
A thousand years ago, the Eleven Domains were invaded and the original inhabitants forced on the road as Travelers, belonging nowhere, welcomed by no-one.

Now the Domains are governed with an iron fist by the Warlords, but there are wilder elements to the landscape which cannot be controlled and which may prove their undoing. Some are spirits of place, of water and air and fire and earth. Some are greater than these. And some are human.

Bramble: a village girl, whom no-one living can tame ... forced to flee from her home for a crime she did not commit.

Ash: apprentice to a safeguarder, forced to kill for an employer he cannot escape.

Saker: an enchanter, who will not rest until the land is returned to his people.

As their three stories unfold, along with the stories of those whose lives they touch, it becomes clear that they are bound together in ways that not even a stonecaster could foresee - bound by their past, their future, and their blood.

Full Circle ($9.35 Kindle), by Pamela Freeman, is the third in the Casting Trilogy, leaving only the middle book at full price (at least, for now).

Book Description
Saker's ghost army is slaughtering those of the new blood, fueled by an ancient wrong. But while he'd thought revenge would be simple, he's now plagued by voices foreshadowing a calamity beyond his comprehension.

Ash and Bramble raise the warrior spirit of Acton, mighty in life and powerful in death. Only he can stop Saker's rampage. But is Acton, Lord of War, murderer or savior?

And why would he help strangers protect a world he's never known?

Bramble has been marked as Saker's nemesis, but will be challenged by deeper powers than Saker can command - as well as by her own feelings for Acton. As the living fight the dead, strange forces will shape an uncertain future from pain and suffering.

Here are the links at Fictionwise; don't forget to use coupon code JK25 for the extra 25% off (which is still working, as of 2:32 AM EDT).

The Eternal Prison
Blood Ties
Full Circle

Free Book (ADE/PDF) - Tim and Tom

Tim and Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White ($9.99 Kindle), by Tim Reid, Tom Dreesen & Ron Rapoport, is can be downloaded for free this month, direct from the University of Chicago Press, although only in PDF format (DRM'd, not Kindle compatible; requires Adobe Digital Editions).

Book Description
As the heady promise of the 1960s sagged under the weight of widespread violence, rioting, and racial unrest, two young men--one black and one white--took to stages across the nation to help Americans confront their racial divide: by laughing at it.

Tim and Tom tells the story of that pioneering duo, the first interracial comedy team in the history of show business--and the last. Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen polished their act in the nightclubs of Chicago, then took it on the road, not only in the North, but in the still-simmering South as well, developing routines that even today remain surprisingly frank--and remarkably funny--about race. Most nights, the shock of seeing an integrated comedy team quickly dissipated in uproarious laughter, but on some occasions the audience’s confusion and discomfort led to racist heckling, threats, and even violence. Though Tim and Tom perpetually seemed on the verge of making it big throughout their five years together, they grudgingly came to realize that they were ahead of their time: America was not yet ready to laugh at its own failed promise.

Eventually, the grind of the road took its toll, as bitter arguments led to an acrimonious breakup. But the underlying bond of friendship Reid and Dreesen had forged with each groundbreaking joke has endured for decades, while their solo careers delivered the success that had eluded them as a team. By turns revealing, shocking, and riotously funny, Tim and Tom unearths a largely forgotten chapter in the history of comedy.

Click HERE to sign up for the free download.

Game Download - Port Royale 2

Looks like the discounts on the less expensive game downloads may not be as high this year as they were last year. This one has been $4.99 and is only discounted to $2.99 as the Game Download of the Day. Also, this is the first game download I've seen that doesn't offer a free trial, only a buy and download button. I looked at the Game Downloads main page and they no longer claim you get a free trial on all games, but only on "over 1,000 games". There are no comments on the game download, but I did find quite a few on the boxed version HERE and HERE.

Port Royale 2 ($2.99)

Game Description

• Huge Game World With 4 Nations And 60 Towns.
• 8 Special Scenarios For A Quick And Easy Start.
• 16 Different Ship-Types.
• Open Ended Game With Endless Detail And Game Depth.

The Caribbean in the 17th Century - You will trade with over 60 towns and create your own production facilities. Escort ships for your convoys are needed, or you can turn the tides and hunt for pirates or capture the military ships. You can also take on missions for merchants, diplomats and other characters.