NYT: Big screen Kindle could arrive this week

[DaveNB]

It's rumored to have a fully functional web browser as well. Wonder what price point it'll hit?
Dave

[Andybaby]

Originally Posted by DaveNB

These could be totally fake but here are some supposedly leaked pics.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/04/a...-inch-display/

9.7" screen with native PDF support/rendering. Very interesting is the side by side picture comparing the current Kindle 2 with the "Big Kindle" (Kindle XL?). Looks like almost 2x the screen real estate.

Dave

I vote real. they look like amazon mockups. that's probably a preview to the presentation they will make on wednesday

[brecklundin]

These device will be of trivial value to students unless it is possible to not only view pages from multiple books at the same time but also switch between open books constantly. It's nothing to have 5-6 books open all at once and refer between them constantly for hours on end.

And yeah, the ability to do crosswords on the device is mandatory also. Other makers can go pound sand with their sudoku junk.

[scveteran]

Originally Posted by bhartman36

I think the Kindle (as you say, in large format) has huge potential as a textbook reader. I would've loved one of those, when I was in school (although a current Kindle would've probably worked out fine for me, as I was an English major, and carried around a lot of paperback literature, anyway).

It's always possible, I suppose, that Amazon has made such advances with the Kindle's design that on Wednesday they'll announce a color, touchscreen, Flash-capable, stylus-ready, SD-card slotted Kindle. If they did that, I'd sell my Kindle 1 and get one. I think that's the only thing that would convince me to buy a large format device. And even then, it would have to be < $400 for me to justify the expenditure.

You mean that it can only cost an extra $40 or less for all that? I doubt that will happen.

[tech_au]

How much is this 9.7inch version going to cost?. The 6inch K2 is already overpriced compared to others in the market. Can't cost more than the Iliad surely?

[sirbruce]

Originally Posted by tech_au

How much is this 9.7inch version going to cost?. The 6inch K2 is already overpriced compared to others in the market. Can't cost more than the Iliad surely?

The others on the market don't come with free wireless or access to all the books Kindle has. You can't really say it's overpriced.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by Harmon

The screen on the Kindle DX will be about the size of the entire Kindle 2, maybe a smidgen larger. Extrapolating along the lines of the top photo in the article you referenced, that would seem to indicate a 10x7 height/width. This is about the size of a trade paperback comic book.

A 9.7" Visplex screen is 8" by 5.5" (203 by 140 mm), and 1200 x 825 pixels, see High Resolution Displays. As you say, this is very close to the overall size of the Kindle 2 (8" by 5.3").

[carld]

Engadget has more info up, including pictures and a mention of PDF support. Here's hoping that it trickles down to us K1/2 users and isn't kept as a K3 selling point.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/04/a...-inch-display/

[bhartman36]

Originally Posted by scveteran

You mean that it can only cost an extra $40 or less for all that? I doubt that will happen.

I'm almost certain it won't. (I hesitate to say that it can't, because from what I've read, they're making a pretty healthy profit on the Kindles, but there's no reason to think they'd suddenly want to slice into that).

I only bought my Kindle back in March, from Ebay. For me to justify upgrading at this point, $400 is all I could justify. I realize that the reality is they'd be able to charge much more for such a device, and I'd really want one, of course, but I'd probably end up doing the same thing again and getting it second-hand.

[bhartman36]

On a separate point, Gizmodo reported that the new Kindle will have the ability to add annotations (in a new way, I'd imagine), and has suggested that this means a touchscreen. Looking at the pictures, though, the 5-way navigator is still clearly visible. I know it's not impossible for the two to coexist, but does anyone else think it would be strange to keep the 5-way navigator if the hardware supports a touchscreen?

[catsittingstill]

The Engadget article says it has: " a long-requested built-in PDF reader," which sounds like PDF support to me (yay!) and also "the ability to add annotations in addition to notes and highlights -- whatever that means"

Tags, maybe?

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by bhartman36

Gizmodo reported that the new Kindle will have the ability to add annotations

I agree that a touchscreen is unlikely, since it would do away with the need for the keyboard as well as the 5-way. Could annotations just be notes that are merged into the PDF?

[Daithi]

Just 24 more hours!!!

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Alisa

Have you seen how many cool mobile phones are released in Asia and Europe and never make it to the US? It's pretty common for products to be marketed in some countries and not others. It's also common for them to release first in one market before the company expands. Amazon has already said they're trying to get a good enough catalog in the EU to launch.

There is a reason for this. US providers demand that functionality on the phone be restricted and for example Nokia refuse to do this.

[Alexander Turcic]

Originally Posted by carld

Engadget has more info up, including pictures and a mention of PDF support. Here's hoping that it trickles down to us K1/2 users and isn't kept as a K3 selling point.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/04/a...-inch-display/

Looks like a super-stretched limo to me