As expected, Amazon announced its new Kindle model (inexplicably called the Kindle DX) in a press conference yesterday. The new Kindle DX is a hefty $489 and will start shipping this summer. According to Publishers Weekly, "Amazon hopes the larger screen and improved display will entice students to use Kindle DX." Last time I was on a college campus (which was last Tuesday), I didn't see any students running around with $500 gadgets, but maybe I'm missing something.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Super Kindle Update
As expected, Amazon announced its new Kindle model (inexplicably called the Kindle DX) in a press conference yesterday. The new Kindle DX is a hefty $489 and will start shipping this summer. According to Publishers Weekly, "Amazon hopes the larger screen and improved display will entice students to use Kindle DX." Last time I was on a college campus (which was last Tuesday), I didn't see any students running around with $500 gadgets, but maybe I'm missing something.
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3 comments:
I read that it was aimed at getting parents to buy it as a graduation present for high schoolers going into college. I don't know about anyone else, but I got a computer for my graduation present, and most of my friends did too. Vastly preferable to the Kindle when it comes to academics. Maybe they're banking on kids already having computers now, but seems unlikely to me.
My biggest reason for NOT getting a Kindle is that I have no way to reference the printed text page numbers. I read a lot of books for class and for research, and I need to be able to reference (and cross-reference) specific preint-edition page numbers, which hasn't been an option in older Kindles. Unless they have remedied this shortcoming with the new Kindle, I'm still not going to shell out the money.
IF most college textbooks are available in this format and IF the cost of those textbooks is a significant savings, this could be a very handy gadget indeed for college students. Textbooks are insanely expensive and insanely heavy. Though they do have to deal with that page numbering issue for citations. As for students having expensive gadgets, they already have (and believe they are entitled to) plenty, including laptops, cell phones, iPods, video games and flat screen TVs.
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