Kindle's Widescreen Debut Confirms Earlier Rumors

It’s now official. A day after receiving a design patent for the look of the Kindle, Amazon (AMZN) revealed a widescreen model of its eBook platform called the Kindle DX.

The new model, with a 9.7 inch diagonal screen, is two and half times larger than the second generation model revealed in February. Overall, its size nears the scale of a standard sheet of paper.

The storage on the device jumps to 3.3GB, enough to store 3,500 books, the company says. The DX model also features native PDF support and an auto-rotation feature similar to the iPhone that reorients the display to portrait or landscape mode depending on the way the device is held.

Confirming earlier rumors of newspaper involvement, three papers, the New York Times (NYT), The Boston Globe (also owned by the New York Times Company), and the Washington Post will offer reduced price subscriptions in exchange for long term customer commitment.

Also confirming the whispers on the rumor mill, the academic market will test the Kindle DX’s aptitude as a textbook replacement. Amazon has signed deals with Pearson (PSO), Wiley (JW.A) and Cengage, publishers controlling nearly 60% of the textbook market, to provide the content.

The DX will sell for $489 compared to the smaller model’s $359 price tag.

(See prior coverage on Metue for a look at the news media’s vested hopes in eReaders, or detail on the Kindle 2 margins)

Comments

[Louie Junior:]

Long term commitment with the NY Times and the Boston Globe?
Great timing Amazon! -- Any Deals with General Motors?

May 08 07:20 AM