Amazon Unveils Kindle DX

[Earnest Cavalli]

Amazon Unveils Kindle DX

Weeks of speculative rumor mongering finally came to fruition today as Amazon launched the Kindle DX -- the latest in the firm's line of electronic reading devices.

The new Kindle, which can be pre-ordered for $490 on Amazon.com [http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-DX-Amazons-Wireless-Generation/dp/B0015TCML0], offers a larger, 9.7" electronic paper display, innate PDF support and 3.3GB of storage capable of storing 3,500 books.

Those of you who don't require such a gargantuan faux book can still purchase the comparatively minuscule 6" Kindle for $360 [http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Amazons-Wireless-Reading-Generation/dp/B00154JDAI/ref=amb_link_84222151_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=hero-quick-promo&pf_rd_r=1A97V91S1BWQ89MJ2TJH&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=476388111&pf_rd_i=B0015TCML0].

Perhaps more interesting is word that Amazon has teamed with a number of notable newspaper publishers to offer the Kindle DX and electronic versions of each paper at a discount to customers willing to sign an as-yet-undisclosed contract.

While I'm sure the old-media tycoons have all sorts of fancy charts and graphs proving exactly how distributing their content on a platform designed to kill their entire industry is a solid plan, I don't think they quite grasp their current predicament.

As their platform is being abandoned by the notoriously change-o-phobic geriatric set en masse in favor of Amazon's shiny new toy [http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/25206], I almost feel like I have to invent an entirely new word to describe the fate of old media.

Something like "hyperscrewed," or "ultraboned." And maybe I'll draw an emoticon frowny face to really drive the point home.



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[meatloaf231]

I could never use the Kindle... I like the smell and feel of books too much.

 

[SharPhoe]

I could never use the Kindle... I like the smell and feel of books too much.

Me too, which is why I can't read things like manga online, it just feels wrong.

 

[Susan Arendt]

I could never use the Kindle... I like the smell and feel of books too much.

It's actually great for books that you wouldn't necessarily want to keep, and also for things like traveling, using at the gym, etc. I still love books, but I find that I read more with the Kindle. I also read stuff I would probably never have known about otherwise. I found two authors that I now really enjoy because Amazon gave away Kindle versions of one of their books for free.

 

[Nimbus]

Do they seriously think anyone is going to buy a glorified $500 PDF viewer? Don't get me wrong, I'd love a Kindle! But $500? C'mon.

 

[meatloaf231]

I could never use the Kindle... I like the smell and feel of books too much.

It's actually great for books that you wouldn't necessarily want to keep, and also for things like traveling, using at the gym, etc. I still love books, but I find that I read more with the Kindle. I also read stuff I would probably never have known about otherwise. I found two authors that I now really enjoy because Amazon gave away Kindle versions of one of their books for free.

Hmmm. Good points. I suppose I would use it more than I admit, but I don't think I'd spend any less time at Half Price Books. I love that place.

 

[silentsentinel]

*Meanwhile, in Canada*
The hell is a Kindle?

Its a little computer thing. You can buy e-books and download them onto the Kindle, so you'll basically have a bunch of books in one neat little electronic package.

At least, that's what I think it is.

 

[ThaBenMan]

Hmmm.... I'll buy one... if I win the lottery. But otherwise, I think I'll stick with real books. My books get pretty beaten up - I'd be afraid of my Kindle getting broken or stolen or something.

 

[ElArabDeMagnifico]

I could never use the Kindle... I like the smell and feel of books too much.

It's actually great for books that you wouldn't necessarily want to keep, and also for things like traveling, using at the gym, etc. I still love books, but I find that I read more with the Kindle. I also read stuff I would probably never have known about otherwise. I found two authors that I now really enjoy because Amazon gave away Kindle versions of one of their books for free.

Hmmm. Good points. I suppose I would use it more than I admit, but I don't think I'd spend any less time at Half Price Books. I love that place.

You could probably buy a whole isle of books there with $500 dollars too.

I would love a kindle though, it's like an ipod for books, which I would love to have on a plane or something, but I still feel weird about "recharging" a book.

 

[Tech Team FTW!]

I hate staring at computer screens for too long. I would never buy a device like this because eyestrain is in no way good, a point that was clearly missed by whoever got the idea to make this.

A 9.7" monitor is a little inconvenient to carry around, especially if it has issues with the screen scratching.

 

[tk1989]

Who gives a shit about that huge gizmo anyway? I can read books on my MP3 (or is it MP4?) player.

Yeah, but if you stare at LEDs or and LCD screen up close for too long (just like if you were reading a book off it) then you can strain your eyes pretty easily and they can hurt especially if you are staring at it for prolonged periods of time. The kindle produces text in a different manner however, using an 'electronic paper display', which mimics ink on paper and doesn't have a back light but reflects light much like normal paper to show its text meaning that there is no eye strain! I think my eyes would fucking hurt if i read a whole book off my iPhone!

 

[milomalo]

*Meanwhile, in Canada*
The hell is a Kindle?

*Meanwhile in Australia*
I hope we don't get screwed on the currency exchange.

Who am I kidding....

*Meanwhile in Mexico*

so its a screen without wii fi and here its gonna be like 700 usd$ but if it reads pdf... can i read a comic book in my "kindle"=?

 

[ThaBenMan]

*Meanwhile, in Canada*
The hell is a Kindle?

*Meanwhile in Australia*
I hope we don't get screwed on the currency exchange.

Who am I kidding....

*Meanwhile in Mexico*

so its a screen without wii fi and here its gonna be like 700 usd$ but if it reads pdf... can i read a comic book in my "kindle"=?

*Meanwhile, in the Arctic*

Polar Bear: Hmmm, that's pretty damn big... I could probably use it as a raft when all the ice melts

 

[Andy_Panthro]

Not sure what the price will be when it makes it's way across the atlantic, but I'd be betting that $500(£332) will turn into £500($750). Don't think I'll be getting one. Will this really catch on? I mean, I know you can store loads of books on one of the things, but how many books do you need with you at all times?

Advantages of a paperback: Can read it by the pool without fearing the water. Can fall asleep and drop it and only lose your place. Can buy 100 paperbacks for the price of the kindle. Never runs out of batteries. Never needs to be upgraded. Can be burned for warmth. Can be easily recycled. Can prop up your wonky desk. Fits in a bookshelf. Can easily be given to friends to borrow. Emergency toilet paper. Can use the margins to write secret plans for world domination. Useful place to store bookmarks.