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Winners and Loosers of the Kindle DX. The interesting part:
Quote:
And what of the owners of smaller, previously introduced Kindle devices? Do they get any discount on the new Kindle, which after all was unveiled less than three months after the most recent iteration, the Kindle 2? "I'm sure some of those people would want the option of having a device that's bigger and has extra capabilities," says Michael Norris, analyst at media researcher Simba Information. According to Jay Marine, Amazon's director of product management, "There's no special deal that we're offering today" to existing Kindle owners, such as a store credit or trade-in offer.
In September 2007, Apple (AAPL) lowered the price on its iPhone by $200 just three months after its launch. At first, Apple refused to offer discounts to existing owners, but later relented, offering them a $100 credit to use in Apple stores.
Some analysts speculated that Amazon initially wanted to wait before introducing the Kindle DX but stepped up its timetable amid rumblings that other companies are due to release their own e-book readers. In recent months, companies such as Plastic Logic and Hearst have talked up their own e-reader plans. "There is a first-mover advantage, and Amazon is feeling the heat of competitors advancing," says Forrester Research (FORR) analyst Sarah Rotman Epps.
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So what do you think? Was Amazon actually pressured to release the DX?