Liveblogging Amazon's Kindle DX Reveal

Big questions at the newest Kindle unveiling at Pace University today:

• Will the Kindle 3.0 save newspapers?
• Will the Kindle 3.0 save students money on textbooks?
• Will the Kindle 3.0 help cement the gadget’s promise as the iPod of ebooks?

I can answer some of this in advance:

• No.
• Maybe. But not in the near future: Academia moves very, very slowly. So even if the Kindle 3.0 is an instant hit on campuses, it will take a very, very long time for most students to use the gadgets for most of their coursework.
• Apple (AAPL)’s rumored tablet may have something to say about that.

I’m covering the event live. Newest info is at the top of my paraphrase/transcript:

11:08 Demo’s over. Air is let out of the room with that price.

11:06 Bezos himself has yet to mention price. But: 9.7inch display. 3.3 GB storage. Native PDF support. There’s the price: $489. Audience “Ouch”

11:05 Meanwhile, CNET’s Ina Fried points us to Amazon.com preorder page, which says the machine will sell for a whopping $489.

11:03 To be clear: The problem was with the projection at Pace, not the Kindle itself.

11:01 “I’m going to choose to find this hilarious.” Screen fixed now. Now looking at NYT page. Now screen dead again. “You may just have to do your demos outside.” Bezos soldiering through. “I don’t think it makes sense to continue with the demo.” And now it’s fixed again!

10:59. Shows off document on rockets “I know, I know”. Some tech difficulties with big screen displays here at Pace. Image is backward. Bezos is game: “That will not be a feature that will be available.” …”Think of yourself as looking through a mirror.”

10:57 Time for a demo. Showing off SEC filings, radar maps, analyst reports. Sheet music. You know what? They look great.

10:54 NYT’s Arthur Sulzberger Jr. onstage. Our “embrace” of Kindle DX demonstrates that we’re interested in using all platforms. But this is an “experiment.” “Thank you, Amazon.com, thank you Jeff, for helping to boost [reporters'] book sales.”

10: 53 What about newspapers?

This summer, 3 newspapers have agreed to pilot Kindle DX.
They’re going to offer Kindle DX for reduced price in exchange for longterm subscriptions: New York Times (NYT), Boston Globe and Washington Post (WPO).

10:50 “We’re going to get students with smaller backpacks. less load. easier access.” Schools testing the Kindle are as previously advertised, except not Pace University itself. Now Case Western President Barbara Snyder reading statement, a bit stiffly.

10:47 Most of the documents we read are 8.5 x 11. The information is structured to be read that way. “Even with electronic paper, you need a big display.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Kindle DX”

As advertised, it’s a large format Kindle. Apologies for lag. Wifi problems here at Pace.

I’m very excited to announce today that we’ve reached agreement with three leading textbook purchase that represent 60% of market.: Pearson, Cengage Learning and Wiley

1043: Now on to the problem with paper. “The paperless society never came. We print more paper now than we ever have before. Computers have proliferated. And so have their evil companion: The ink toner cartridge. We sell a lot of these…. The reason we print so much is that computer displays are worse display devices than paper. Paper is just better. It’s worth the hassle of printing.”

10:41 Sales pitch reiterating Kindle’s advantages. Some head-nodding in the audience.

10:37 Bezos onstage. Kindle book sales now make 35% of book sales when title is avail in both e-book and physical. Up from 13%, and spike occured when Kindle 2.0 launched.

Comments

[Stock alot:]

If i hear 1 more thing about this i will explode. the kindle will not help anything... It is all hipe.. is you buy your school book for around 1000$ and you buy the kindle for 500$ and get the books you want 1/2 price you still break even. pst me for more info

May 06 01:57 PM

[debtacid:]

I like the form factor but it needs to be able to web surf and play movies too.

May 06 02:06 PM

[driftwood2:]

It's not going to make textbooks cheaper since only a little bit of the cost of a textbook is paper. This might save the newpapers eventually but probably not before many of the existing papers go bankrupt. A much better screen on kindle is needed before newspapers (or rather, subscription web site hybrids) can be saved. Ultimately, devices like this is inevitably replace paper for many purposes.

May 06 03:00 PM

[Roger Knights:]

"It's not going to make textbooks cheaper since only a little bit of the cost of a textbook is paper."

And warehousing, shipping, stocking, retailing--and taking losses on excess print-runs.

May 06 03:44 PM

[loko:]

Ha ha ha no wander the AMZN is trading at P/E of 53 HAHAHAHA 53 INSANITY in USA is in full force !
Even the 2010 earnings of 2.07 are P/E of 40 ha ha ha 40
DOT COM WELCOME BACK to US of BALOONIAaaa

May 06 04:40 PM

[cheaperCDs:]

On May 06 01:57 PM Stock alot wrote:
> If i hear 1 more thing about this i will explode. the kindle will
> not help anything... It is all hipe..

"hipe"? You should have read the school books more carefully, apparently.

May 06 04:46 PM

[PeteE:]

Kindle, or devices like it, will start to replace paper. It will also be used as a "print to" device for documents instead of a printer. Unlike an illuminated screen the E-paper really does look like paper so no eye strain like with computer monitors and no lugging around of heavy folders .

The labor costs of printing, shipping, handling, and inventory are huge costs in the publishing business. The price of what is now printed material will drop by 70% or more with this technology.

May 06 05:09 PM

[Hamish Gunn:]

No no no. This functionality will be part of the new tablet computer that will do EVERYTHING, hello. Including store your textbook text.

By the time the kindle starts to say "hey, maybe we should browse the internet too...", Apple will have a product that does all that plus clip your toenails.

May 07 02:41 AM

[Roger Knights:]

I'm all in favor of Apple's iPad, but if it doesn't use the expensive e-ink technology, and it won't, then it will be harsher on the eyes for long-term reading, and its battery life won't begin to compare. Both gadgets will sell well, especially if the iPad taps into Amazon's bookstore.

May 08 01:33 AM