Kindle DX Ebook Reader Overpriced

Kindle Ebook Reader - the New Kindle DX Bigger and More Expensive

The new Amazon Kindle DX will be launched this summer. It is designed for reading newspapers, magazines and documents on a larger screen - 9.7 inches.

The Kindle DX is 250% bigger than the Kindle 2 - it is also 30% more expensive !

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos says : "You never have to pan, you never have to zoom, you never have to scroll. You just read." (Sounds like a criticism of the Kindle 2 to me?)

The Kindle DX also has a built-in PDF document reader and Amazonhas announced deals with three leading publishers of textbook to publish their content on the DX ebook reader.

Amazon has also announced deals with the Washington Post, New York Times and Boston Globe to put their editorial on the device. These newspapers will subsidize the purchase of the DX if a customer takes out a subscription to the newspaper.

Reaction has been mixed, however, due to the outrageously high price being asked - $489 (£340) instead of $359 for the Kindle 2.

Anthony Ha of VentureBeat says that the cost of the DX is a major drawback.

"I love to read and all, and I love newspapers, but there's no way I'm spending that kind of money just so I can see the New York Times on a big screen."

Other negatives are the lack of color and video capability.

Lance Ulanoff, editor of PCmag.com said : "It's cool but lacks surprises. All Amazon did was announce a bunch of good and important upgrades."

Arthur Sulzberger Jr, New York Times Chairman said : "We knew for more than a decade that one day an e-reader would be a significant platform for distribution for our content."

Others tend to disagree.

With regard to sales, the publishing industry says e-books account for less than 1% of total books sales, athough this will no doubt change over time.

Jeff Bezos said that when there is a Kindle version of a book it represents 35% of sales.

The Kindle DX can store 3,500 books and provides access to over 225,000 titles.

Neil Jones, head of Interead, a company which will be releasing a competitor to the Kindle in a few weeks said : "The launch of the Kindle DX is further proof of the strength of the market for e-readers. The fact is e-readers don't have many detractors left. Everyone agrees that people will continue to read books, and the time for an "iPod moment" for e-readers is now."

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