Amazon Kindle DX will cost $489 but newspapers will subsidize the price
Filed under: Company News, Technology, People
Here's what you need to know about Amazon.com's (AMZN) Kindle DX that you didn't know yesterday: It will cost $489. If you subscribe to the New York Times, Washington Post or Boston Globe, it will cost less. How much less will be announced this summer by the publishers, when the Kindle DX begins to ship, Amazon.com chief executive Jeff Bezos said today at Manhattan's Pace University.
Following the model consumers are familiar with from cell phone plans, if you subscribe to the New York Times, for example, and agree to pay a certain amount a month for a period of time, the gadget will cost less.
Will consumers pay for both the Kindle DX and monthly subscriptions to their favorite newspapers, magazines or blogs? The same content is available on laptops and cell phones, but it's free.
Some will pay for the convenience of having their newspaper waiting for them on the Kindle and its 9.7 inch screen, graphics and all, instead of squinting at their 3.5 inch Apple (AAPL) iPhone screen or running around with their laptop looking for a wi-fi connection.
Arthur Sulzberger, New York Times chairman, doesn't care how folks get their digital news.
"We are using every available medium to meet every growing demand for high-quality journalism across every platform," he said today. "The issue with new technology is how can we best use it."
More details on the DX: No actual release date, other than this summer, has been set. You can pre-order it now at Amazon.com. It's not for sale anywhere else. The screen is still black and white, so no color. There is no memory card slot.
It comes with 3.3 GB of storage, meaning it will hold up to 3,500 books, Amazon said. There's no monthly cost for the 3G wireless access, which, like the Kindle 1 and 2, can download a bestseller in less than a minute. The Kindle 2, with its six-inch screen, will still be sold for $359 by Amazon. The page refresh rate is the same on the DX as the Kindle 2.
The DX means "deluxe," Steven Kessell, head of global digital media for Amazon, told DailyFinance. Users have wireless access to newspapers, magazines, blogs and up to 275,000 books, at monthly costs ranging from 99 cents to $14.99.
"We're adding content everyday," Kessell said.
The E-Ink display on the DX now has 16 shades of gray and PDF support for documents that can be imported in via USB. As with an iPhone, if you rotate the DX to the side or upside down, the screen will adjust.
Textbooks from three of the top five textbook publishers -- Cenage, Pearson, and Wiley -- and more than 75 university press publishers will be available in Amazon's kindle store this summer, the company said.
When the DX begins shipping, Amazon will also launch trial programs with universities, including Arizona State University, Case Western Reserve University, Princeton University, Reed College, and Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. The DX will be available for students in the fall.
Anthony Massucci is a senior writer and columnist for DailyFinance.



























Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-06-2009 @ 4:08PM
Kim said...
NICE !!!! BUT WAY TOO EXPENSIVE. CALL ME WHEN IT GETS DOWN TO $125....
Reply
5-06-2009 @ 5:59PM
Anthony Massucci said...
Kim,
It's going to be years before Kindle prices are under $200.
-Anthony
5-06-2009 @ 5:06PM
kevin said...
What about us folks that bought the first Kindle? Its already outdated. How about a trade in?
Reply
5-06-2009 @ 5:57PM
Anthony Massucci said...
Kevin,
I'll check with the company and post something here as soon as I get an answer.
That is a large/annoying aspect to tech products. They are quickly outdated.
Trade-ins would be a great idea. Tech companies don't embrace them.
-Anthony
5-06-2009 @ 6:08PM
Gary said...
Great idea but it should be free! You buy the paper and get the DX free with several years of newpaper just like a cell phone contract.
Reply
5-06-2009 @ 7:20PM
Rachel said...
Excellent idea!! I'll do what I can to help it grow.
5-06-2009 @ 6:08PM
ReasonableBob said...
So tell me... How does a student use a "HIGHLIGHTER" while studying using a Kindle textbook. or does it have a PRINT fuction?
I don't like it...I dont want it
Reply
5-07-2009 @ 10:45AM
nolabill said...
You can annotate any media on the Kindle and save it.
So you can high-light . ........Perhaps you should
download the instruction manual (for free) so you
know what you are talking about.
5-06-2009 @ 7:53PM
Ronald Krise said...
Here is another example of waste that Americans just have to have. Do we really need this? We cannot read, we cannot write, we cannot converse, we can only jam our brains into this electronic cornucopia junk and watch our society sink into the abyss of brain-dead lemmings. This sure is not the country I grew up in....
Reply
5-07-2009 @ 8:11AM
NP said...
Does one REALLY need such a device?
Reply
5-07-2009 @ 7:57PM
gunny said...
just use your ipod touch it has an app that allows you to read a book on it. cost less and can do so much more.
Reply
5-07-2009 @ 8:32AM
gunny said...
get the ipod touch it has an app for books and it can do so many other things. and it cost less. the kindle can only do so much. limited gigs also. you can get the touch with 8,16 and 32 gigs. this means more books, music and videos.
Reply
5-08-2009 @ 9:16AM
bobby said...
Are you serious??
Why would I limit reading a textbook to a 3.5inch Iphone screen? This kindle device isn't meant to do "everything" ; it's for readers (serious readers). I think Amazon has provided an exceptional product!
pffft - a iphone screen vs. a 9.7 inch screen. Now redo your math.
5-07-2009 @ 10:47AM
Chris Bird said...
I am delighted to see this. I typically buy about 10-20 books per month. many technical, some hard backs, some paperbacks. So it will take me less than a year to break even even at this outrageous price.
It isn't about the newspapers for me, it is about space in my travel bags and weight of dangling at the ends of my arms.
Sure I can get the content other ways, but I want a screen that has enough room on it for lots of words so I don't have to keep turning the page like Keith Moon on speed.
So for this limited audience of 1, I think it is a wonderful thing. Well played, Amazon
Reply
5-07-2009 @ 11:02AM
Anthony Massucci said...
Chris,
Thanks for your thoughtful feedback.
The Moon comment made me chuckle.
5-18-2009 @ 8:06PM
Brian said...
I agree. Space is a huge issue for me. This fall I will deploy to Iraq, for the third time, and space is always an issue. I usually buy 20 - 30 books while deployed and then have to ship multiple footlockers home at the end of the tour with my books and other misc stuff I've acquired. The kindle DX will save me a lot of space.
That it also has a PDF reader now is also a bonus since all of my military manuals are available in that format. That means I only need to carry one small item back and forth to the office and my notations are always there. Now if only my notations could be transferred to an updated version when they are released. That sounds almost like the ultimate book to me.
5-07-2009 @ 2:16PM
jodig said...
I purchased this for my elderly mother who is an avid reader, it is easy to use, easy in her eyes and does not have the weight of many book she absolutley loves it. Can't wait until it is available for textbooks. With 2 kids in college the cost of textbooks is astronomical this device would pay for itself in a semester
Reply