Electronics Kindle DX

T-post Tom · 05-07-2009, 11:18 PM

Pretty cool...

Amazon's big-screen Kindle DX makes its debut

NEW YORK--Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled the much-anticipated large-screen Kindle e-reader in a lecture hall Wednesday at the downtown Pace University. Called the Kindle DX, the new device is geared toward readers of personal and professional documents, newspapers, and magazines--and textbooks, a potentially huge target market.

The debut of the bigger Kindle wasn't exactly a secret: rumors of a larger-screen Kindle had been around for quite some time, and concrete reports began to surface earlier this week.

According to Amazon's Kindle DX page, the device has the following:

• A 9.7-inch display with 16 shades of gray. (The standard Kindle has a 6-inch display.)

• Capacity to hold up to 3,500 books, periodicals, and documents.

• An auto-rotating screen to show either portrait or landscape views.

• A built-in PDF reader.

• 3G wireless network support with no monthly fees or annual contracts.

• Battery capacity to "read for days without charging."

• Text-to-speech abilities to read publications aloud.

Several of those features are shared with the current Kindle 2, but several are unique to the Kindle DX: the native PDF reader that doesn't require the files to be converted, the rotating display, the 3,500-publication capacity compared to 1,500 for the Kindle 2, and of course the larger screen.

"You never have to pan, you never have to zoom, you never have to scroll, you just see the documents," Bezos said.

The Kindle DX retails for $489 (the standard Kindle is $359), and is available for pre-orders now on Amazon. It'll ship this summer.

As expected, education is a big market for the bigger Kindle. Amazon has partnered with textbook manufacturers Pearson, Cengage Learning, and Wiley to bring textbooks to the Kindle--which Bezos says make up 60 percent of the textbook market--as well as Arizona State University, Princeton University, Reed College, the University of Virginia, and Case Western Reserve University to launch a Kindle DX pilot program this fall.

"We're going to get students with smaller backpacks, less load, easier access," said Bezos, who then introduced Case Western president Barbara Snyder. She said that the university would be seeing how study habits and the learning process change with the use of Kindles as textbook replacements.

Many predicted that the Kindle DX would be geared in part toward helping out the struggling newspaper industry, and indeed, three newspapers will also be testing out the Kindle DX this summer in exchange for future product development help. The publications participating are The New York Times, The Boston Globe (owned, and recently nearly shut down, by the New York Times Company), and The Washington Post.

Arthur Sulzberger Jr., chairman of the New York Times Company, said that the Times and the Globe will first be available on the Kindle DX in markets where home delivery is not available.

The Kindle DX showcases "our commitment to reinvention and to taking full advantage of digital media," Sulzberger said, "which are providing a compelling laboratory for entrepreneurs, for technologists, and of course for journalists. The new Kindle DX is an important milestone in the convergence between print and digital."

"Newspapers have been an absolute bestseller on Kindle," Bezos said. "People love waking up in the morning to find that their New York Times, their Washington Post, their Wall Street Journal have been 'automagically' delivered overnight. They like the fact that when they travel their subscription follows them around."

In addition to launching the new device, Jeff Bezos hailed the rise of the Kindle phenomenon in general, and its lofty goal of working toward "every book ever printed, in any language, all available in less than 60 seconds."

"Eighteen months ago, we launched Kindle, and at the time we had 90,000 books available for Kindle. (We had) 230,000 books just three months ago when we launched Kindle 2," Bezos said. Now, the count is 275,000 books. "We've added another 45,000 books in just the last three months. We're actually accelerating."

irishjayhawk · 05-07-2009, 11:30 PM

Amazon doesn't get it. Price it lower and you'll have so many people buying.

I'm in that category. I'm not going to pay that astronomical price and on top of it only save about $5 per book.

**007** · 05-07-2009, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irishjayhawk

Amazon doesn't get it. Price it lower and you'll have so many people buying.

I'm in that category. I'm not going to pay that astronomical price and on top of it only save about $5 per book.

What he said.

Fish · 05-07-2009, 11:54 PM

Porn looks terrible in greyscale....

hishighness · 05-08-2009, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC Fish

Porn looks terrible in greyscale....

I dunno, sometimes I turn down the color on my TV so I spice things up with somethin different...

Shit was that out loud?

KC native · 05-08-2009, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irishjayhawk

Amazon doesn't get it. Price it lower and you'll have so many people buying.

I'm in that category. I'm not going to pay that astronomical price and on top of it only save about $5 per book.

They will be pricing these lower eventually. In our due diligence on a fund for work we listened to the case for Kindle and let's just say Amazon knows what they are doing. They are riding the text book technology phase with the early adopters who will pay up for it.

That being said I saw the Kindle 2 in person a few weeks ago and it is awesome. I wish I could afford this one because I like the bigger screen and the better PDF qualities. I guess I will just have to wait for this to come down or luck out and find one on craigslist.

unlurking · 05-09-2009, 07:50 AM

Perfect item for college students. Drop the price and it would be a good item for high school kids too. My son's backpack weighs a ton. As KC Native said, the text book market is perfect for this, while their current marketing of newspapers/magazines I think is just a feature for people that are already going to buy for the text books.

Still think the Sony is the better option for personal readers though. The fact that Kindle doesn't support the DRM used by libraries is a HUGE deal breaker for me and most of those I know. If you only read a one or two books a month, buying books for the Kindle isn't bad. When you read one or two books a week during your commute, price gets pretty high and free library books are great.

**Reaper16** · 05-09-2009, 10:41 AM

e-readers are lame. I'll always prefer the tactile feel, smell, and aesthetic of the printed page.

Books are going to go the way of vinyl: the people that have them look educated and shit.

Ebolapox · 05-09-2009, 11:02 AM

I've always kinda liked the idea of the kindle... I'm never gonna drop that kinda jack on one, though. **** that.

**007** · 05-09-2009, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper16

e-readers are lame. I'll always prefer the tactile feel, smell, and aesthetic of the printed page.

Books are going to go the way of vinyl: the people that have them look educated and shit.

**Reaper16** · 05-09-2009, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guru

You see someone's vinyl collection and you think one of two things:

A.) They really know what they're talking about when it comes to music

or

B.) What an old bastard.

Ultra Peanut · 05-09-2009, 04:14 PM

SUCK IT!!!!!!!!

Jenson71 · 05-09-2009, 04:26 PM

The thing about textbooks is that if you're going to use them correctly, you need to be underlining, circling, highlighting, and especially writing in margins. All non-fiction books are best read that way. So Kindle needs to provide those sorts of options that can remain permanent.

Ultra Peanut · 05-09-2009, 04:44 PM

Sure, if you're developmentally disabled and can't remember the things you've already read, or something. Pfft.

05-07-2009, 11:18 PM
T-post Tom Threepeat! Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Milk/Honey/Gazland Casino cash: $4347293	Kindle DX Pretty cool... Amazon's big-screen Kindle DX makes its debut NEW YORK--Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled the much-anticipated large-screen Kindle e-reader in a lecture hall Wednesday at the downtown Pace University. Called the Kindle DX, the new device is geared toward readers of personal and professional documents, newspapers, and magazines--and textbooks, a potentially huge target market. The debut of the bigger Kindle wasn't exactly a secret: rumors of a larger-screen Kindle had been around for quite some time, and concrete reports began to surface earlier this week. According to Amazon's Kindle DX page, the device has the following: • A 9.7-inch display with 16 shades of gray. (The standard Kindle has a 6-inch display.) • Capacity to hold up to 3,500 books, periodicals, and documents. • An auto-rotating screen to show either portrait or landscape views. • A built-in PDF reader. • 3G wireless network support with no monthly fees or annual contracts. • Battery capacity to "read for days without charging." • Text-to-speech abilities to read publications aloud. Several of those features are shared with the current Kindle 2, but several are unique to the Kindle DX: the native PDF reader that doesn't require the files to be converted, the rotating display, the 3,500-publication capacity compared to 1,500 for the Kindle 2, and of course the larger screen. "You never have to pan, you never have to zoom, you never have to scroll, you just see the documents," Bezos said. The Kindle DX retails for $489 (the standard Kindle is $359), and is available for pre-orders now on Amazon. It'll ship this summer. As expected, education is a big market for the bigger Kindle. Amazon has partnered with textbook manufacturers Pearson, Cengage Learning, and Wiley to bring textbooks to the Kindle--which Bezos says make up 60 percent of the textbook market--as well as Arizona State University, Princeton University, Reed College, the University of Virginia, and Case Western Reserve University to launch a Kindle DX pilot program this fall. "We're going to get students with smaller backpacks, less load, easier access," said Bezos, who then introduced Case Western president Barbara Snyder. She said that the university would be seeing how study habits and the learning process change with the use of Kindles as textbook replacements. Many predicted that the Kindle DX would be geared in part toward helping out the struggling newspaper industry, and indeed, three newspapers will also be testing out the Kindle DX this summer in exchange for future product development help. The publications participating are The New York Times, The Boston Globe (owned, and recently nearly shut down, by the New York Times Company), and The Washington Post. Arthur Sulzberger Jr., chairman of the New York Times Company, said that the Times and the Globe will first be available on the Kindle DX in markets where home delivery is not available. The Kindle DX showcases "our commitment to reinvention and to taking full advantage of digital media," Sulzberger said, "which are providing a compelling laboratory for entrepreneurs, for technologists, and of course for journalists. The new Kindle DX is an important milestone in the convergence between print and digital." "Newspapers have been an absolute bestseller on Kindle," Bezos said. "People love waking up in the morning to find that their New York Times, their Washington Post, their Wall Street Journal have been 'automagically' delivered overnight. They like the fact that when they travel their subscription follows them around." In addition to launching the new device, Jeff Bezos hailed the rise of the Kindle phenomenon in general, and its lofty goal of working toward "every book ever printed, in any language, all available in less than 60 seconds." "Eighteen months ago, we launched Kindle, and at the time we had 90,000 books available for Kindle. (We had) 230,000 books just three months ago when we launched Kindle 2," Bezos said. Now, the count is 275,000 books. "We've added another 45,000 books in just the last three months. We're actually accelerating."
Posts: 20,334

05-07-2009, 11:30 PM	#2
irishjayhawk Feelin' Alright Join Date: Aug 2004 Casino cash: $10004900	Amazon doesn't get it. Price it lower and you'll have so many people buying. I'm in that category. I'm not going to pay that astronomical price and on top of it only save about $5 per book. __________________ "Think about how stupid the average person is. Then remember that half the people in the world are stupider than that." --George Carlin
Posts: 16,887

05-07-2009, 11:54 PM	#4
Fish Ain't no relax! Join Date: Sep 2005 Casino cash: $1898919	Porn looks terrible in greyscale.... __________________
Posts: 47,700

05-09-2009, 07:50 AM	#7
unlurking MVP Join Date: Aug 2003 Casino cash: $7737309	Perfect item for college students. Drop the price and it would be a good item for high school kids too. My son's backpack weighs a ton. As KC Native said, the text book market is perfect for this, while their current marketing of newspapers/magazines I think is just a feature for people that are already going to buy for the text books. Still think the Sony is the better option for personal readers though. The fact that Kindle doesn't support the DRM used by libraries is a HUGE deal breaker for me and most of those I know. If you only read a one or two books a month, buying books for the Kindle isn't bad. When you read one or two books a week during your commute, price gets pretty high and free library books are great. __________________
Posts: 10,620

05-09-2009, 11:02 AM	#9
Ebolapox remember, remember Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: como Casino cash: $1709903	I've always kinda liked the idea of the kindle... I'm never gonna drop that kinda jack on one, though. **** that.
Posts: 26,439

05-09-2009, 04:14 PM	#12
Ultra Peanut v^V^v^V^v^V^ Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Holland* Casino cash: $10005177	SUCK IT!!!!!!!! __________________
Posts: 39,518

05-09-2009, 04:26 PM	#13
Jenson71 fides quaerens intellectum Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: United States Casino cash: $8330900	The thing about textbooks is that if you're going to use them correctly, you need to be underlining, circling, highlighting, and especially writing in margins. All non-fiction books are best read that way. So Kindle needs to provide those sorts of options that can remain permanent.
Posts: 15,986

05-09-2009, 04:44 PM	#14
Ultra Peanut v^V^v^V^v^V^ Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Holland* Casino cash: $10005177	Sure, if you're developmentally disabled and can't remember the things you've already read, or something. Pfft. __________________
Posts: 39,518