Another day, another Kindle press conference. Here I am again at a New York launch event for a new Amazon device, only three months after the arrival of the Kindle 2.
This time, Jeff Bezos of Amazon has just enthused about the Kindle DX, which sounds like a small car but is in fact a large screen version of the Kindle electronic paper reading device.
I am not sure whether it is really an improvement.
One good thing is that it has a 9.7 inch display, which makes it easier to read complex documents with photos and graphics embedded – particularly PDFs. PDFs (but not Word documents) can be loaded on directly through a port, rather than having to be e-mailed through Amazon.
That makes it better suited for textbooks and Mr Bezos announced a partnership with three big educational publishers, including Pearson, which owns the Financial Times. The device is going to be tested out by a group of US universities, including Princeton, this autumn.
In theory, it also makes it better for displaying newspapers and magazines. Arthur Sulzberger, chairman of the New York Times Company, was on hand to announce a partnership with Amazon.
But all of this comes at a cost, both financially and physically.
The device is going to retail at $489 when it arrives this summer, which strikes me as pretty expensive for the average college student, even if it would save lugging around textbooks.
It is also heavier than the smaller Kindle 2, at 19 ounces in weight compared with 10 ounces. That takes a toll if you are holding it for prolonged periods.
One market I could see it appealing to is investors and analysts, as a medium for reading complex financial reports. It was notable that the first slide Mr Bezos displayed on stage was of a Merrill Lynch research report on technology.
As to newspaper readers adopting it in droves, I am less sure. Newspaper owners are keen on large-screen electronic paper devices because they more closely mimic the physical version of the paper. But I wonder whether the Kindle DX will deliver what they want.
