Amazon introduces the Kindle DX
As expected, Amazon introduced a large-screen version of the Kindle. It’s got some new features that should have been incorporated into the original, namely native PDF viewing (without conversion). It’s got an auto-rotation feature much like what you find on the iPhone, iPod touch, and many digital cameras these days which seems practical on a larger screen (and in turn doesn’t make as much sense on the smaller Kindle 2).
My stance on Why the Paper Book Is Still Relevant has not changed, and the introduction of the Kindle DX raises new issues to go along with the old.
The first is obviously price. At $489 for the reader, it makes it that much harder to make up the difference. Of particular curiosity to me is what the pricing structure for textbooks is going to be, since the DX is aimed at the newspaper and educational markets. For those of us that have been through the trauma of buying textbooks in recent years, the Kindle DX is too little, too late. But if the discounts are significant enough I could see the DX being a very attractive option for college students in certain disciplines.
The textbook issue brings me to my next problem; where’s the color screen? While a lot of disciplines don’t require the use of color graphics to get the point across, it sure is nice to have a page broken up with a picture or graphic explaining what’s going on. Some disciplines (art, for example) depend on it. Maybe in the Kindle 3? How is the DX going to handle PDFs with color?
Third; for $489, you could just buy a netbook. Sure, the problems with netbooks are well documented in the blogosphere and in the reviews on numerous online shopping sites- poor build quality, small keyboard, etc. But at least netbooks actually do something, and they do it in color.
Fourth, why announce this so soon after the release of the Kindle 2? This reminds me of when Apple dropped the price on the original iPhone 2 months after it was released and millions of iPhone users accused Apple of price gouging. Anyways, two major releases in such a short time is puzzling for many reasons. How many Kindle 2 users are angry because they could have bought a large-screen version, had they known it was coming when they bought it? Why is Amazon diversifying their product line when they don’t even have a good feel for such a young industry in the first place?
And lastly (for now) on the newspaper issue; while I wouldn’t miss reading a newspaper without getting newsprint all over my hands and smelling that altogether unpleasant ink smell, newspapers are great in that you can pick one up on the street or in an airport for a dollar, scan over entire pages quickly, then throw it away when you’re done. I don’t know how much text a DX will show, but I’d imagine that you won’t be able to scan over two entire pages of text and choose which articles you want to read. You’ll probably have to select from a list using buttons. That’s annoying. “It’s not that much of a big deal” you say- and you’re right, it’s not a big deal. The problem is that it’s an issue at all. Until eBooks, eTexts, and eNewspapers become as second nature as scanning a printed page, they’re not going to start replacing them in quantity.
What do you think of the Kindle DX? Are you a recent Kindle 2 buyer who wants to upgrade? Does anyone else share my admittedly biased and ancient stance on the value of paper vs. plastic? Leave a comment!
PS: If you’re from Amazon and want to send me a Kindle of any kind to test drive, I’ll be happy to write an honest review 
Technorati Tags: Kindle, Amazon, Kindle DX, ebook, textbook, college, newspaper, paper, screen, eInk, iPhone, Apple, pdf, auto rotate, netbook
