Hardware
Looks Like You’ll Pay More for that Larger Kindle DX
The press conference on the new Amazon Kindle DX is just starting but if you go to Amazon you can already pre-order one for $489.
The press conference on the new Amazon Kindle DX is just starting but if you go to Amazon you can already pre-order one for $489.
Rob Bushway
05/06/2009 at 8:55 am
I like the rotation feature, and hope that native pdf support gets rolled out to the Kindle 2. $489 is steep, but depending on the deal worked out with the text book companies, it might make budgetary sense…time will tell.
Rob Bushway
05/06/2009 at 9:00 am
also – the big thing missing in that size of device with native pdf support is of course ink annotation and ability to email PDF back to somebody. Without that, I’d likely pass on the device if it were being used for textbook and PDF support. Tablet PCs still reign for that kind of stuff.
cybertacix
05/06/2009 at 10:04 am
I agree ink annotation would be a significant benefit but the DX just reached the point where I believe it will adequately replace the stack of paper based documents I need to continually reference with much faster access than waking up my tablet. It can’t beat my tablet for creating or commenting on content but it makes a great adjunct to it in my work “tool kit”.
Sumocat
05/06/2009 at 10:09 am
Yep. No newspaper deal, no subsidy. I think they missed a really big opportunity here, but that doesn’t mean a deal can’t happen later. Still, the price is okay for a textbook replacement. Heck, the price works out better for my wife’s book habit (with the weight and space savings working out great for me).
Sumocat
05/06/2009 at 12:01 pm
Oh, I stand corrected. It looks like the newspaper deal will be in the form of subscription discounts to folks who are out-of-delivery-area. So there is a newspaper deal… and it’s really, really stupid. Seriously, their target is Kindle DX owners who live away from the areas they target? Yeah, that should add up to tons of new readers. Still, never let it be said I gave newspaper execs credit for being smart.
Xavier
05/06/2009 at 2:34 pm
Agree with Sumocat about the screwy newspaper deal, but they may be limiting the audience on purpose. It is a trial after all. I wonder how NY Times will draw the lines- I’m in SF and can get the NY Times delivered to my door. Do I have to live in the country to get a subsidized Kindle?
Warner Crocker
05/06/2009 at 2:58 pm
I think the reason this is being labeled an experiment is that the Times and Post (The Globe is still a Time entity) are still trying to figure out how to keep their sinking business model for print from going completely under and clinging to the traditional methods. I smell fear more than I do courage here.