Amazon Kindle DX
Posted by Ken Fujiuchi on May 6, 2009
Update: It looks like Pace University is going to be the sixth University for the pilot program.
Amazon announced a larger Kindle DX e-book reader today. Features include:
- Carry Your Library: Holds up to 3,500 books, periodicals, and documents
- Beautiful Large Display: 9.7″ diagonal e-ink screen reads like real paper; boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and sharp images
- Auto-Rotating Screen: Display auto-rotates from portrait to landscape as you turn the device so you can view full-width maps, graphs, tables, and Web pages
- Built-In PDF Reader: Native PDF support allows you to carry and read all of your personal and professional documents on the go
- Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle DX, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, no annual contracts, and no hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots
- Books In Under 60 Seconds: You get free wireless delivery of books in less than 60 seconds; no PC required
- Long Battery Life: Read for days without recharging
- Read-to-Me: With the text-to-speech feature, Kindle DX can read newspapers, magazines, blogs, and books out loud to you, unless the book’s rights holder made the feature unavailable
- Big Selection, Low Prices: Over 275,000 books; New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases are only $9.99, unless marked otherwise
- More Than Books: U.S. and international newspapers including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, magazines including The New Yorker and Time, plus popular blogs, all auto-delivered wirelessly
You can also find a summary of the press conference where the Kindle DX was announced at TechCrunch. Some interesting facts are:
- When a book title has a Kindle Edition, 35% of the book sold go to the Kindle
- Three textbook publishers are partnering with Amazon to distribute through the Kindle (Pearson, Wiley, and Cengage Learning)
- 5 Universities (Arizona State, Princeton, Reed, University of Virginia, and Case Western Reserve) are also participating in a pilot Kindle project
- The New York Times, Washington Post, and Boston Globe will have discounted subscriptions for the Kindle DX in exchange for a long term commitment
- Native PDF support (before you had to convert to a proprietary format)
The native PDF support would be big for libraries and reading journal articles and such. I can also see this being used for course reserve textbook (if the textbook is available) as it would make it easier to keep up with newer editions of textbooks. I also wonder if this would be cheaper sometimes for InterLibrary loan (i.e. buy a book on the Kindle instead and loan out the device). Lots of possibilities, but I am still not sure if Amazon has an official policy for Libraries lending out Kindles. Tinfoil+Raccoon has a blog post about trying to get Kindles for the library.
