Amazon revamps Kindle DX, cuts price to avoid iPad
updated 07:45 am EDT, Thu July 1, 2010
Kindle DX gets remake and 379 price
Amazon steered itself clear of the iPad on Thursday with a redesigned Kindle DX. The 9.7-inch reader now has the option of the previously spotted graphite black but has also had a major upgrade to its E Ink display. It now has about 50 percent higher contrast, and the fonts themselves are darker and easier to read.
The DX is still regarded as Amazon's pro reader with a 1200x824 display that can auto-rotate to fit landscape pages. It has larger storage, at 4GB, and for its entire life has had PDF support from the outset. Amazon is now touting the e-paper in a conscious awareness of the iPad and notes it should be glare-free outdoors. Battery life has always been a focus of the display technology, with a one-week battery life possible when 3G is turned on and double that with 3G turned off.
Price is the largest change for the reader and has Amazon trying to move away from the similarly sized Apple tablet: the Kindle DX has dropped from $489 to $379, or less than the original 2007 Kindle cost when new. 3G access remains free for the life of the e-reader. Shipments start July 7.
Amazon has more frequently been trying to distance the Kindle from the iPad by treating the two as operating in different spheres, but the comparable price of the DX has left it suffering as the iPad promised color, video and other features. Apple may have collected a portion of the market for e-books regardless, as some of those buying the iPad for other reasons may pass on e-paper readers altogether.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2010
Give it a rest
Every article you people post about the Kindle is written from the perspective that the only thing shaping any and all decisions made by Amazon about the device is one thing - the almighty iPad.
When there is a future feature bump or price drop on the iPad, who will Apple be avoiding when you write the headline?