It seems impossible to me but it has been 18 months since I first blogged about Amazon’s electronic book reader, the Kindle. At the time I waxed enthusiastic about the possibility of storing 200 books on one device.
And it was only in February of this year that Amazon put the Kindle 2 on the market. Upgrades included the ability to store 1500 books and better screen resolution.
Amazon has just announced the release of the third iteration of the device for pre-order, now called the Kindle DX. An unusual thing has happened, though: the newest Kindle not only has more storage and capabilities (including a built-in PDF reader, which should placate many critics) – but it is
larger than the second generation Kindle.
Stop the presses, hold the phone.
A next generation device that is
bigger than its predecessors? Pictures show that the QWERTY keyboard at the bottom of the Kindle DX looks more usable, with buttons just about large enough to actually use (the image here is of the first generation Kindle). That’s a good thing. But is a 10.4” tall device going to be as portable as the original smaller size? The
Newsweek on my desk is 10.5” long, while the latest
Interweave Knits on the table clocks in at almost 10.9”. So the DX is actually magazine-sized. What will that be like? And how many different versions of the Kindle will be on the market before we hit the saturation point?
I tend to throw a magazine in my backpack so I have something to read while I wait for the bus. No, I do not have an iPhone, or obviously I would be reading stuff online on that instead. I’ll be honest, after a few days and a few trips around town, my
Newsweek copy is a bit the worse for wear. So what would it be like to have a magazine-sized e-reader in my backpack instead? I’m not sure I’m ready to take care of a device that big – I’ve gotten so used to a small camera, a small MP3 player, a small cell phone. I’ll be interested to see how the DX does as Amazon rolls it out in this summer.
Are you reading PopMatters on your Kindle right now?
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