Amazon has added a new, 50% higher-contrast screen to its Kindle DX and at the same time dropped the price to $380. It has also changed color to what Amazon is calling “graphite”, but which the rest of us will call black.
The Kindle DX was clearly growing to be a white elephant. It was versized for most purposes, and overpriced for all at $490: for just $10 more you can buy an iPad.
And the iPad clearly echoes throughout the product pages for the new DX. Take these rather defensive examples:
Free 3G Wireless. No monthly payments, no annual contractsRead in Sunlight with No Glare
System requirements: None, because it doesn’t require a computer
The new DX also gets the recent software update applied to other Kindles, bringing PDF pan and zoom, new fonts, collections and the possibly lame social features, which let you share passages and Tweet from the Kindle. Web browsing, though, remains in the “experimental” category.
This new Kindle and the price drop for the smaller Kindle are making these e-readers where they should be: cheap, one-trick devices that make their money from book sales. I loved my old Kindle until the screen died, and e-readers, with their light-friendly screens, are a lot better for reading books than an iPad or cellphone. That also do a hell of a lot less, so they need to be cheap. Good work, Amazon.
Say Hello to the Newest Kindle DX [Amazon]
See Also:
- Amazon Cuts Price of the Kindle
- Amazon.com Kindle DX
- Could a $50 'Paperback' Kindle Beat the iPad?
- Hands-On: Kindle DX Is a Pricey Pleasure ? Despite Many Flaws …
- Amazon Kindle DX International: Too Late?
Full story at http://feeds.wired.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/QtXbcg6Jiqw/
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