Amazon press event Wednesday: See you and the bigger Kindle then
by Thomas Ricker 
posted May 4th 2009 at 6:41AM
As noted by Peter Kafka over at All Things Digital, the location of the Amazon event -- Pace University -- is the historic, 19th century HQ to the New York Times which is said to be partnering with Amazon on the larger Kindle. That makes for a perfect symbolic bridge from old to new media. We'll have to wait and see if newspaper subscribers can be lured across.
Update: We have a reliable tip that Barbara Snyder, president of Case Western Reserve University, and Arthur Sulzberger, top man at the New York Times will join Amazon's Jeff Bezos on stage Wednesday. So it looks like a new Kindle focused on textbooks and newspapers is a lock.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
feraligatr8 @ May 4th 2009 7:11AM
The kindle is really that great...
superhobo @ May 4th 2009 7:16AM
Really?
Kate F @ May 4th 2009 7:19AM
I wonder if we might hear word on a Canadian launch, though I doubt it.
I'm not holding my breath.
darknite39 @ May 4th 2009 7:22AM
I kinda miss reading the newspaper. If this thing will allow me to read pdfs, too, I'll probably bite by the end of the year, unless the price is astronomical.
Josh Warner @ May 4th 2009 11:43AM
I second this, but Amazon has a worse history with lockdown on this platform than Sony has had so I'm not holding my breath. Particularly as the NYT and other such subscription-based services are going to be just as, if not less, enthusiastic about making the platform open.
It actually wouldn't need to be drastically larger than the current unit (wider, yes) to accommodate a significantly larger screen... if they dropped the waste of space that is the keyboard. I want to read on a reader, not write a novel. Wikipedia is nice but I think there is a better place for that feature on other devices. All you need is a good touch interface.
freakdroid @ May 4th 2009 7:27AM
A larger kindle sounds like a nice idea, what about a european version with just plain old 802.11 support?
Guess we europeans will have to wait for the Bebook 2 for our wireless book reading gadget needs.
D @ May 4th 2009 7:31AM
Sounds good as long as current kindle owners are not left out of the news content due to the format change.
Ryan Hoare @ May 4th 2009 7:54AM
PLEASE IN THE UK!
Spiraling Shape @ May 4th 2009 7:33AM
Wow who would have thought that the New York Times would report accurate news? Shocking!
Big Al @ May 4th 2009 8:13AM
Yeah, it's not like they print every rumor they hear like the blogosphere... Engadget excluded of course :)
jimmy @ May 4th 2009 7:34AM
i love my Kindle, but this may be too big. The reason my Kindle is always with me is it slides into the outer pocket of my backpack, or into the side pocket in my cargo pants. If it's any bigger, it'll require it's own case, or at least it's own slot in a laptop bag. That's too much space commitment for me...
Mojo_Yugen @ May 4th 2009 4:13PM
So, ummm, don't buy it then. I'm going to bet that Amazon isn't going to send people around to your house to rip it out of your hands. They may even - are you sitting down - support two different sizes of devices at once.
I know, I just blew your mind.
Kristin @ May 4th 2009 8:52AM
Quite frankly I couldnt give a stuff. No kindle in the UK, and amazon stopping mobipoket on the iphone, and then them buying up ereader and fictionwise so they could limit titles so we cant easily get them in the uk, and I shall now never think again of amazon of my first choice for any of this sort of thing, and being disabled and unable to hold a full size book up, this is a lot of books I dont buy from them now...
Cargojack @ May 4th 2009 7:45AM
Isn't grammar important? "who is said to be partnering with" It should be "which is said", because The New York Times is an entity not a person.
I see wit and cleverness is more important than grammar.
How big will the K3 be? I surely hope it does not cost as much as a netbook, and that it DOES have an SD-card slot.
Wwhat @ May 4th 2009 1:27PM
Or whom.
I guess.
Jonathan @ May 4th 2009 7:57AM
I would like 8.5 x 11 with complete pdf support.
I have a feeling I will be disappointed.
kesherz @ May 4th 2009 8:14AM
You, me, and a bunch of other people.
ryaninc @ May 4th 2009 8:23AM
Sounds awesome, but it'll probably cost $599, knowing Amazon. :-/
jens @ May 4th 2009 8:26AM
Peter Kafka? I wonder if girls propose to him just for the name.
Queco Jones @ May 4th 2009 8:44AM
Add color and make it cost a reasonable amount, and then it would make sense... keep it B&W (OK, OK, grayscale... whatever) and extrapolate the price based on the current version's price... not so much.
Wwhat @ May 4th 2009 1:33PM
Well that's what you want, but they know they sold millions of what they offered and consequently lots of ebooks too, so they know they have customers aplenty even if you aren't one.
They probably also know that even though you want color you would in the end not put down the $200 extra that it would cost, especially since the color on e-paper isn't that impressively vibrant so far.
pete @ May 4th 2009 9:13AM
mhm, time to put down your salt shaker engadget.
crawdad689 @ May 4th 2009 9:38AM
Make it bigger, and make it cheaper.
I wouldn't be surprised if there is space reserved on the display specifically for ads, which I'm fine with, as long as it costs significantly cheaper!
I'm sure they have something interesting planned.
Jon Doe. @ May 4th 2009 9:40AM
Until they get Potter and LOTR...pass. I've not read any of the potter books and if I'm going to buy a reader...well it dang well better have what I'm looking for.
Geoffrey Sperl @ May 4th 2009 10:08AM
They have LOTR. And The Hobbit. And Children of Hurin.
No Potter (yet).
Jon Doe. @ May 4th 2009 10:21AM
o.O When? I think it was about a month ago when I did a search. Thanks. That might be enough for me to break down and buy.
L @ May 4th 2009 11:36AM
All Tolkien-related books have been added to various ebook stores about two weeks or so ago.
And Harry Potter will only be added when Rowling changes her luddite-like stance on ebooks. I wonder if she really thinks she can stop piracy by not offering a paid, official ebook version of her books - imho it only drives fans that much more to look for other ways to get their favourite books as electronic versions, whether she likes that or not.
Mojo_Yugen @ May 4th 2009 4:16PM
"And Harry Potter will only be added when Rowling changes her luddite-like stance on ebooks..."
What, she is waiting for the last 8 people on earth who haven't bought their copies yet? I think she can live with a bit of piracy.
Walt @ May 4th 2009 8:26PM
ummm... I think every harry potter ebook, movie, and audiobook is a google search away for anyone who wants to pirate. Why not let people pay her for her work? Is your argument that the presence of a legitimate purchasable ebook will accentuate piracy?
picsnao @ May 4th 2009 10:00AM
Being able to download a digital copy of a traditional newspaper on a devise like this would be pretty slick.
SKI @ May 4th 2009 10:09AM
"So it looks like a new Kindle focused on textbooks and newspapers is a lock."
To be used for textbooks, doesn't that mean it needs color? or at least more shades of gray?
Geoffrey Sperl @ May 4th 2009 10:15AM
Maybe for something like biology or astronomy, definitely genetics, but the vast majority of topics would easily be handled by 16 levels of greyscale.
RikF @ May 4th 2009 1:20PM
For me a textbook version would be fine at the current size. I just need the ability to make notes on the screen and embed them in the pdf so I can read them on my PC also
Geoffrey Sperl @ May 4th 2009 10:13AM
I'm quite happy with the Kindle 2... but a bigger one? Not sure I would be in the market for that.
Of course, I haven't read a traditional newspaper in over a decade, so I'm probably not the market segment they would be aiming for. My mother might be interested, though.
ZeroCorpse @ May 4th 2009 11:59AM
I came here to say pretty much THIS. I love my Kindle 2, but I don't think I'd be in the market for a bigger one... Not unless it can fold up into a pocket-sized thing when I'm not using it.
However, I don't carry a purse. Maybe people who do carry around a briefcase or purse will be happy to have a bigger Kindle.
rita hainsworth @ May 4th 2009 10:19AM
As soon as i learn to read i am getting this.
Ian @ May 4th 2009 11:19AM
So you can write, and you know what this device is, but you can't read?
Danny @ May 4th 2009 10:59AM
Figures... I just bought my Kindle 2 last Tuesday. Well at least Amazon has a 30 day return policy!
DirtyVegas @ May 4th 2009 11:09AM
I don't read print newspapers at all, but if this thing drops for under 150, I'm so totally picking it up!
Eric @ May 4th 2009 12:11PM
Wait three years, then maybe you can buy one like this new one for under $150.
Mike @ May 4th 2009 11:17AM
I still prefer to just pick up a book and read it.
kurt steiner @ May 4th 2009 11:42AM
Me too! Can't beat that. :)
Ian @ May 4th 2009 11:21AM
Oh, and as a student I wish all my textbooks were digital.
ZeroCorpse @ May 4th 2009 12:00PM
They'll still find a way to charge you $150 to $500 per book.
bminata2007 @ May 4th 2009 1:07PM
Even at the current price the Kindle is still a good deal for us outside US. Do you know how much it costs to purchase books from Amazon and shipped here? With the Kindle I can buy and download the electronic version instantly with no shipping and custom cost. And a bigger Kindle would be good for technical books... I just hope it supports PDF.
Wwhat @ May 4th 2009 1:43PM
Not much is what it costs, shipping isn't that much and they have an european website/outlet.
But buying frequencies and setting up a kindle network, well first the frequencies would have to be on sale, all over europe, and even if they are it'll cost upto a few billion dollar.
Nevertheless they did indicate they would eventually get it up in the EU too (and if they are smart in the dubai region too)
Andrew88 @ May 4th 2009 1:50PM
I just bought a kindle 2 when it came out and they are already coming out with another one? Is no one seeing how fucked up that is to their customers? So you say it's just for text books and Newspapers right? But you can still read books on it ! Fuck you Amazon, even Apple waits a Year to rework there iPod lines.
Tagbert @ May 4th 2009 8:33PM
Relax, this is not a replacement for your Kindle 2, this is more like a Kindle Pro. It is larger and aimed at a different market. Judging by the existing large format readers like the Iliad, the price is likely to be larger, as well. The K2 will continue and will be the more portable, consumer grade device.
Gorilla800lbs @ May 4th 2009 2:15PM
This will obviously have some subscription-based business model behind it. I would be interested if it had NYT, WaPo and a few magazines, and some kind of a book club subscription -- sort of Audible.com but for ebooks. Pay $20 a month, get to check out and read 2 books "free".
Gorilla800lbs @ May 4th 2009 2:17PM
I feel that Amazon has intentionally gimped the PDF support on Kindle.