Amazon announced that it would introduce a new version of its large-screen e-reader, the Kindle DX, that allows users to download e-books and other content in over 100 countries. Although Amazon has dropped the price of its original Kindle in recent months in response to competitive pressure from Barnes & Noble�s Nook device, the online retailer is keeping the Kindle DX at its original price point of $489, suggesting it views the larger-screen e-reader market as somewhat less competitive. That may change, however, with the number of companies announcing their own e-readers at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, starting this week.
Amazon.com announced on Jan. 6 that it would introduce a new version of its large-screen e-reader, the Kindle DX, with global wireless capability that will allow e-books to be delivered wirelessly to the device in over 100 countries. The announcement itself came less than a day before the opening of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, where a number of companies are expected to announce their own e-readers.
The Kindle DX is the second e-reader in the online retailer�s line, after its 6-inch Kindle, to be given global wireless capability. Scheduled to ship on Jan. 19, and retailing for $489, the Kindle DX features a 9.7-inch electronic paper display and storage capability of 3.3GB, which the company suggests is the equivalent of 3,500 books.
In addition, the Kindle DX includes a built-in PDF reader, auto-rotation so readers �can read in portrait or landscape mode,� auto-sync with Kindle and Kindle-compatible devices, one full week of battery power with 3G wireless turned on, a �text-to-speech� feature that converts text to spoken word, and built-in dictionary and Wikipedia.
In a nod to the expanding e-reader market, Ian Freed, vice president of Amazon.com�s Kindle division, said in a statement that the �Kindle DX is great for personal and professional documents, cookbooks, and textbooks�anything that is highly formatted. Documents look so good on the big Kindle DX display, that you�ll find yourself changing ink toner cartridges less often and printing fewer documents.�
Many manufacturers debuting their e-readers at CES have touted their creations� ability to display personal and professional documents such as .PDF files, in a bid to appeal to market segments aside from e-books, where Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble have a substantial foothold with massive e-book stores and proprietary devices.
Although Amazon.com traditionally declines to offer sales numbers, an analyst with advisory group Collins Stewart estimated in a Dec. 1 research note that the online retailer could earn as much as $301.4 million off the Kindle in 2009.
Amazon.com�s Kindle DX statement also highlights the �80 top U.S. and international newspapers� available in the Kindle Store for single purchase and subscription. Although Amazon.com was one of the first e-reader manufacturers to announce the porting of periodical content onto its devices, other companies have been making forays into the space; on Jan. 4, a subsidiary of mega-publisher Hearst announced that it would debut the Skiff Reader, a large-format e-reader designed to display periodical content and other text on an 11.5-inch screen, at CES.
Although a price war has erupted in recent months between the Kindle and Barnes & Noble�s Nook, eventually driving the cost of the original Kindle down to match its competitor�s price-point of $259, the revamped Kindle DX will remain at its original price of $489. That may suggest that Amazon.com views the market for larger-screen e-readers as not a particularly competitive one, a situation that may very well change in months to come.
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