Amazon Kindle DX to feature 9.7-inch display? Update: Pictures!

It's still an elusive target for our old friend Mr. Blurrycam, but We just got some basic specs on the new, decidedly more newspaper- and college textbook-friendly Amazon Kindle DX. Here's what we know: it's got a 9.7-inch display (as opposed to the current six-inch unit), a long-requested built-in PDF reader, and the ability to add annotations in addition to notes and highlights -- whatever that means. We're also hearing that New York Times will be offering a $9.95 / month subscription, a little lower than the current $13.99. Honestly, that all sounds to us like this really is just a Kindle with a larger screen, not the newspaper savior it's being hyped as, but ol' Jeffy B. might still have surprises in store, so we'll see. Seriously, can't Wednesday just hurry up and get here already?

Update: Looks like Mssr. BC decided to throw down -- check out some pics in the gallery!

Update 2: Some more details care of the Wall Street Journal. Chief information officer for Cleveland-based Case Western Reserve University -- the college whose president will be taking the stage with Jeff Bezos -- Lev Gonick said select students are being issued the new, larger screen Kindles (doesn't specify DX) in the fall semester with pre-installed textbooks for chemistry, computer science and a freshman seminar. Five other universities including Pace, Princeton, Reed, Arizona State, and Darden School at the University of Virginia are also said to be signed up for the trial. As for the new details on the device itself, the report states it's got a more functional web browser, with no word on how that'll jibe with Whispernet.

Gallery: Amazon Kindle DX to feature 9.7-inch display?

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[seriousam7 @ May 4th 2009 10:14PM]

Here's to hoping all the major textbook publishers support it.

[Wii60 @ May 4th 2009 10:32PM]

I would buy one of these in a heartbeat if I thought my textbooks would be on it.

[crazypenguin @ May 4th 2009 10:37PM]

@wii60 seriously, if it did, would be life saver, and maybe i wouldn't have to go to a chiroprachter due to sadistic evil school. in all seriousness, i would buy in a heart beat if this thing supported my text books and cost 400. i thought kindles were kind of over priced, but with the price of books and the weight issue there, i will switch so quickly. amazon better run this over correctly, if they don't.... well, students that i know that i've talked about this with are excited for the idea, just don't let us down!

[D @ May 4th 2009 10:59PM]

same here- i dont care about the hardware- just the digital content. and please- dont make some content only for this size format. please.

[pepstein11 @ May 4th 2009 11:02PM]

So agree. I'm in college right now and if the major publishers jumped on board then it would be amazing.

[darkstar @ May 4th 2009 11:54PM]

still small for me. i think the ideal is 8.5x11
i thought the original 6 inch is a joke. cant believe how well it did in the market though.

[wickedpheonix @ May 5th 2009 1:27AM]

Same deal here. Get all the major textbook publishers on-board and then the $400 is no longer for a electronic book gimmick but as part of an education expense that disappears among $18,000 in tuition per semester.

If they announce excellent educational resources at the keynote then I'm placing my pre-order right then and there for next school year. Otherwise, I couldn't care less.

[str1f3 @ May 5th 2009 2:32AM]

Who would want to use this for a textbook? LOL. There is no color for those color coded diagrams. No ability to highlight or markup. This will be as proprietary as the regular kindle. You'll have to pay to transfer any data on it. Also rest assured that it will be expensive.

[str1f3 @ May 5th 2009 2:49AM]

EDIT: I missed the part about highlights and notes but the lack of color seriously hurts it. Whether it will be bar graphs and pie charts or diagrams for anatomy classes. A tablet (whether it is made by Apple or anyone else) is a far better solution for a full day of classes.

It also doesn't solve the situation of the Kindle being more locked down than an iPod and too expensive.

[Seung-Hwan @ May 5th 2009 2:52AM]

Textbooks?
What kind of textbooks do you use that are 9.7 inch diagonal?
Most textbooks are 8.5 x 11, at minimum, and many texts are even larger.

This won't work for textbooks and Amazon won't support PDF's anyway.

If they at least made it 8.5 x 11 and included PDF support, I might have considered it, even without color and annotating capabilities, but without any of those features, this is just another Amazon junk for me.

[Tagbert @ May 5th 2009 10:41AM]

@str1f3

"No ability to highlight or markup. This will be as proprietary as the regular kindle. You'll have to pay to transfer any data on it."

- You already can highlight and add notes to a Kindle book.
- Kindle reads AZW, MOBI, PRC, DOC, TXT, RTF, HTM, and PDF. This ads a new, direct PDF reader. What is so propriety about that?
- There are multiple ways to get your books onto your Kindle. Only one has a 15-cent/meg fee for the convenience of automatic conversion and wireless transfer to your device. The rest of the methods are free.

Learn before you speak.

[hazelmaeby @ May 5th 2009 1:12PM]

For anyone wanting a kindle to buy textbooks, do you not sell your textbooks when you're done? Or buy used? The cost of this thing goes up a lot when you consider that.

I own the K2, and that's the thing I can't get over. I have no desire to hoard a thousand books. I can never give them away or sell them or anything. I listen to my Amazon mp3's over and over, but how many books do you want to re-experience again?

[flyingfreak @ May 4th 2009 10:15PM]

that made me giggle teeheehee.

Mr. blurry cam sounds like a character on a kids show

[sacapuntas @ May 4th 2009 10:25PM]

What kind of "kid shows" are you watching?

[BrettA @ May 4th 2009 10:28PM]

Your 'tee-hee' might well fade sometime in the not-too-distant future, since after reading this absolutely inane reference to 'old friend, Mr. Blurrycam' or similar ad nausium, it gets tedious indeed. It's absolutely like a child's book and I have no idea why they continually use such ludicrous and (in my humble opinion) annoying language. I sometimes wonder about these people... and not in a positive way at all (/rant off). However, they certainly do provide welcome information about upcoming product and direction.

[LiQuiD_FuSioN @ May 4th 2009 11:10PM]

"It's still an elusive target for our old friend Mr. Blurrycam, but"

I can't read what Engadget crossed out with a line. Anyone know what was edited out?

[Galley @ May 4th 2009 10:20PM]

Make it $149, and I might bite.

[Plothole @ May 4th 2009 10:26PM]

An eInk screen this size alone probably costs more than $149.

[JohnTitor @ May 4th 2009 10:44PM]

then they'll do what the game companies do, lose on the hardware, make on the software

[Plothole @ May 4th 2009 11:04PM]

Game console makers collect significant royalties on each game. Which is why they tend to cost more than PC games. This model wouldn't work out so well when you're trying to offer a cost advantage over most ebook sellers, despite the fact that publishers expect just as much. Plus there is no guarantee that people will buy all of their books from you...unless you pissed off your customer base by locking out nonDRM formats.

[cmsb55 @ May 4th 2009 11:14PM]

I really don't think the Kindle is that overpriced for what they give you like the data plan that comes with it and is completely paid for once the device is purchased. I just don't think such things are necessary on a reader. There should at least be a cheaper Kindle that doesn't include the data stuff.

[JohnTitor @ May 5th 2009 2:21AM]

well Amazon is definitely making significant sales considering they released Kindle software for non e-reader mobile platforms suggesting their fine just making money of the book sales

[Plothole @ May 5th 2009 4:10AM]

I never said they weren't making a profit on the books. The issue is whether it's really enough to absorb the substantial loss they would need to take by pricing the Kindle so low. Even console makers don't make the heavy profits until a few years in, when the cost of the hardware drops to the point where their no longer taking a significant loss.

[LoganT @ May 4th 2009 10:22PM]

Here's to hoping that Amazon has a software update for the Kindle that enables the PDF reader.

[Aaron @ May 4th 2009 11:25PM]

My sentiments exactly... I need built-in, non-converted PDF support for my Kindle 1.

Price this model well, though, and I'll think about it. Make it a touchscreen UI and I'm sold.

[Luke @ May 4th 2009 10:27PM]

I can not wait until they come out with larger flexible e-ink displays to replace the morning newspaper.

[bioart @ May 4th 2009 10:27PM]

599?

[Mojo_Yugen @ May 5th 2009 3:29PM]

I'm going to guess $499.95. I don't think they want to break the $500 marker for psychological reasons.

[Bradwart @ May 4th 2009 10:30PM]

149? You'll be lucky if Amazon charges less than 400. You know, cuz that screen adds like 200 dollars extra and the PDF format requires 'hardware not present on previous Kindles, a.k.a. 'The Sup3r PDF skalar 3.79 chip' (known to the rest of the world as a firmware update.

[kazbaeden @ May 4th 2009 10:31PM]

That PDF reader would be killer for me; I scan all of my textbooks into PDF format, so I would definitely get one if I could read those on it.

[crawdad689 @ May 4th 2009 10:34PM]

$199 w/ a 24 month $15/month subscription contract? plz?

[mog @ May 4th 2009 11:01PM]

Why you'd want to pay $560 for the device over two years, and then have to shell out $15/mo after that, instead of just, say, $499 with no additional fees (save for books of course) is beyond me.

The best thing about the Kindle is the free access to the internet/Wikipedia/book samples. Amazon knows this, and they know that there's no way that they'll be able to convince people to sign up for a monthly contract commitment for a *book.* They'll keep it subscription-free.

[Beau @ May 5th 2009 2:16AM]

@mog:

I think he means _without_ paying for books.

You know, like Safari Books Online, which I love and have used for years. It's the Netflix of tech books. 5 books at any given time per month for $9.95.

If Amazon could do something like that with the Kindle while absorbing the price in a contract I'd probably bite.

[Plothole @ May 4th 2009 10:36PM]

The question in my mind is whether it'll use a glass substrate, like current eInk displays, or a plastic one. If the former, I would seriously worry about fracturing [especially] at this size.

[yschoi @ May 4th 2009 10:50PM]

Plastic Logic's reader will be the first one free from fracturing.

[Plothole @ May 4th 2009 10:57PM]

Actually PVI, the actual manufacturer of most current eInk displays, is supposedly releasing their own plastic version this year. Long before the PL reader hits the market.

[Greg Mcp @ May 4th 2009 10:36PM]

Hmmm... still too specific of a gadget.
Eventually there'll be something like this that's also a more generalized gadget that does web and video and so on.

Until then, it will be a niche gadget. Like a Blockbuster set top box.

[ZeroCorpse @ May 5th 2009 10:41AM]

You CAN'T DO VIDEO ON E-INK!

How many times do people need to be told this? The Kindle and other e-readers exist to offer the e-ink display as an alternative to burning your eyes out on a backlit LCD screen. E-ink looks like a printed page, not like an electronic display. That's why it's great for reading.

If you want a multi-purpose gadget that does "web and video and so on" then you want a netbook, iPhone, Blackberry or a tablet PC... Not an e-reader. All of those other gadgets are available right now-- Go get one and stop asking for the e-reader to be capable of displaying shows from Hulu.

As for web browsing, you can already do that on the Kindle 2. It's not going to handle flash, or anything advanced, but it works for reading blogs and checking wikipedia.

If you're not in the market for a device that is aimed at READING BOOKS then don't complain that they don't have enough features. Clearly, what you want is already on the market and doesn't need to be copied by the Kindle.

[Ian @ May 6th 2009 2:51AM]

And same with people asking for colour, and a backlight. These people are pretty much looking for a tablet, not an eInk reader.

[loosely_coupled @ May 4th 2009 10:39PM]

Looks like what Kindle V2 should have been in the first place... I think e-readers have along way to go before replacing textbooks and newspapers. They need color, better contrast, and to be larger and foldable, although 9.5" is a start.

[curtis.lysher @ May 4th 2009 10:40PM]

NOW I will buy one.

[Parker @ May 4th 2009 10:41PM]

If I could have textbooks on this thing, I would buy it no regrets.

[alexster404 @ May 4th 2009 10:43PM]

This thing is only for Grandpa's.

[jfgaczewski @ May 4th 2009 11:41PM]

Grandpa's what?

[Plothole @ May 4th 2009 11:11PM]

Wow...my kids haven't even been born yet and they're already parents!

[Lee Goldstein @ May 4th 2009 10:48PM]

I would want to use this to read scientific journal articles on the go - PDF READER FTW!

[wongjasonh @ May 5th 2009 12:31AM]

Yes PLEASE! I really want someone to post a review using a complex journal article displayed on a PDF reader. You find one that can display two columns' worth of text, graphics, tables, and math correctly, and you have a sale.

[Steve @ May 4th 2009 10:48PM]

Please tell me this is a prototype from when they were working on the Kindle 2 and not the Kindle 3. This is wwweeeaaakkk. This cannot be it. This is nothing more than a Kindle 2 with a slightly longer screen.

[mog @ May 4th 2009 11:05PM]

That's all it's *supposed* to be. It's going to be sold alongside the Kindle 2 - it's not replacing it. Choice is good, right?

[Ervserver @ May 4th 2009 10:50PM]

$799 and locked down to read nothing but the New York Times