Kindle DX launch: 'every book ever printed in under a minute'

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled the new large 8 ½ by 11 inch Amazon Kindle DX at a press event in New York this week, claiming that the paperless society we have been promised by technologists for years is finally (nearly) here due to the ongoing success of the Kindle e-reader.

Bezos unveiled the device in a lecture hall at New York's Pace University. The larger screen e-reader is set to cater specifically to students, academics and readers of professional documents, newpapers and magazines.

Every book ever in under a minute

Bezos reminded the assembled journalists at this week's launch event that the Amazon Kindle will soon be able to offer "every book ever printed, in any language, all available in less than 60 seconds."

"Eighteen months ago, we launched Kindle, and at the time we had 90,000 books available for Kindle. (We had) 230,000 books just three months ago when we launched Kindle 2," Bezos said. "We've added another 45,000 books in just the last three months. We're actually accelerating."

"The display is 2 and a half times the size of the Kindle 2," added Bezos, adding that with the "Built in PDF reader, you never have to pan, you never have to zoom, you never have to scroll. You just read."

Also, rather niftily (just as with Apple's iPhone), "You just rotate the device and you go to widescreen mode."

"Any highly structured documents look great on this device. Here's a cookbook, lots of structure. Here's another one, a photo of sushi... it's making me hungry. Computer books, they're highly structured, complex layouts. They shine with the Kindle DX."

Revolution in learning

"Textbooks shine with this display," Bezos continued, telling the assembled crowd in NYC that he was "excited to announce today that we've reached an agreement with three leading textbook publishers."

As for students, Bezos confirmed that they already have five universities involved in piloting the Kindle DX this autumn, welcoming in Barbara Snyder, President of Case Western Reserve to give her own opinions on the new electronic textbook.

"We believe this will revolutionize learning," said Snyder. "As a research university, we're bound to test our hypothesis - will the Kindle change how students work? We're going to look at these questions. To all the reporters here, can you imagine what it would be like to craft your story using paper, a typewriter, white out?"

News-no-papers

Back on the stage, Bezos added that, "people love getting newspapers on their Kindles. They love that it follows them around."

"We're pleased to announce that three papers have signed on with us, the NYT, Boston Globe, and the San Francisco Chronicle," all set to offer "reduced prices for long term commitments on subscriptions."

NYT chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr adds that his company - one of the leading newspaper publishers in the world - "knew that one day an e-reader would offer the same experience of a newspaper.

"As each new generation of the Kindle came to market, that dream continues to get closer to realization," the Times man added. "This is an example of how we're using every medium to meet the demands of our readers.

"We will offer the Kindle plans where our paper is not available to provide our readers with what they want, and where they want it."

What else do you need to know? The Kindle DX features a 9.7-inch display with auto-rotate, 3G wireless, 3.3GB of storage, native PDF support, Amazon will offer $9.99 or less for NYT bestsellers, and it will set you back $489.

And no. No word at all on any plans for the launch of the Kindle DX in the UK. Yet. Stay tuned for more on that as and when we get it from Amazon UK.

For more, head over to Amazon.com.

Via Engadget