Formerly Roboman, still
awesome Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
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NYT said it was coming this week, Amazon scheduled a press conference for Wednesday, and now Engadget has the pix.
I've long said that the perfect e-book reader would have (like the Macintosh!) a 9-inch monochrome screen, which - in the 16:10 aspect ratio - is just the right size to fit on your typical 5x8 book (the size the Kindle 2 emulates). Apparently someone at Amazon heard, because the new Kindle DX will feature a 9.7" screen in a decidedly taller aspect ratio than the current 6" 4:3 unit. Since they've kept the Kindle's large, button-containing bezel (and a redesigned, smaller keyboard), the unit itself does look to be significantly larger than the Kindle 2. Still, it'll be great for textbooks. They're also targeting this at newspaper readers, seeing as the announcement is taking place at the old NYT building (NYT is also expected to reduce their Kindle subscription price to $9.99, from $13.99). Oh, and apparently it can read PDFs natively now. Yay! While not my ideal e-book reader (it's too embiggened, and needs moar touchscreen), it's a step in the right direction. (E Ink didn't even make widescreen displays until now.) The only big question left is price - I'd be very surprised if this was less then $499. Discuss! and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong |
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Mr. Vieira
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
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Less than Stellar Member
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$489. Ouch.
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Less than Stellar Member
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
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I think I'm going to get it. I have hundreds of scientific articles in PDF form. If I can upload those to the Kindle it would be worth it to me. In fact, if it were a bit cheaper, it might be worth buying for each of my students.
Edit: I just placed a pre-order. I hope I got in early enough. |
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¡Damned!
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
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Count me among those that still doesn't "get" the Kindle.
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Mr. Vieira
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
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I don't know, but looking at that image (the original model, held next to the new, larger one), I can't help but imagine Apple's take on it (because you know they've got something coming out in this area...).
A display as big as the device itself, and in color (that would be the NYT on Safari)... |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Unknown
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I think this latest iteration gets closer to what it really needs to be, though color will be the ultimate accomplishment. What this needs to do is substitute for 80 lbs worth of textbooks for kids from junior high, up through college. I would love the option of buying one of these and then downloading - for a reasonable fee - my kids textbooks. As long as they brought the Kindle home every night, there would be no risk of forgetting a specific text book needed for that evenings homework. And remembering to bring this one item home every night, should be a reasonable thing.
Do you know where children get all of their energy? - They suck it right out of their parents! |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
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I'm going to use it to read PDF's at the gym, in bed, on a train, plane, etc.
I'm also going to use it when I give lectures. All my lecture notes are in Pages. It's a snap to export to PDF and have all my notes ready to go. Goodbye binders! |
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Mr. Vieira
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
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Definitely. I'd much rather lug this one sleek device around with all my textbooks and guides installed, vs. multiple heavy textbooks!
I've never been much of a reader (fiction, etc.), so that aspect of the Kindle has never appealed to me at all. But on a practical, day-to-day sort of level (and replacing 30lbs. with a few ounces), yeah...that's something I can easily appreciate and grasp the value/impact! I'm sure we're just a few short years from that (10 at the most). Things like damage, theft and so forth will have to be considered, but if high school and college students could walk around with something like this vs. 8-10 gigantic, hardbound text books... Plus, text books can be more easily updated/revised electronically. And the savings on paper (trees) would be enormous. And aren't we all supposed to be into that sort of thing at this point? That's pretty much all you hear about anymore, 24/7, from every manufacturer, network, retailer, etc. The "green"/planet-saving angle of this alone would be enough to push any forward-thinking school district to jump on ASAP. There is so much waste, weight and space represented by textbooks. The shipping and storage alone has to be insane. And when science and history overtake the content in a book published just a few years ago, you're faced with one of two sucky scenarios: - Outdated, behind-the-times textbooks or - Constantly updating textbooks, which means more trees gone, paper used, fuel to ship, space to store, etc. And I'm not even a granola-snorting, tree-fondling Earth child hippie; but I'm still aware of - and concerned about - such things, purely on a practical, "there's gotta be a better, smarter way" level. I don't have to be playing hackysack and smoking a doob in the quad to "care" about such things, do I? Surely not... I can see the benefit of a device like this in the education sector, no doubt. And probably science and anywhere else where toting around bulky books and journals (which frequently go out of date as new things are learned) is the norm. It would involve a massive shift from "the usual way" of students going to the campus bookstore and spending ungodly amounts of money on physical, heavy textbooks (and killing themselves to save a few bucks by desperately seeking a "previously owned copy" that isn't highlighted/marked-up all to hell). But I'm guessing most students would love to pay a smaller price, download updated content as needed and not lug around the equivalent of a bear cub on their back five 4-5 days a week. |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
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On this point, I'm thinking about all the conferences I go to where in the past you were expected to lug around a telephone-book sized proceedings. Now they've put those on CD-ROM, but you still have to lug around your notebook/netbook. Not really convenient for reading. So, I can definitely see in the future being able to carry around a Kindle with the conference proceedings. That would be so nice.
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Antimatter Man
Join Date: May 2004
Location: that interweb thing
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Textbook issues (cost, annual planned obsolescence, etc) aren't being held back by technological problems, they're due to greedy textbook publishers.
Providing a convenient gizmo that's capable of addressing the problem won't solve anything until textbook publishers (like the RIAA and MPAA) give up their archaic monopolistic business models. All those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand. |
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Member
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Ca na da
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I'm thinking those textbook publishers will use whatever pull they have transfer their monopolistic business models into the digital realm. The RIAA and MPAA have done so and there's not much we can do about since they have more influence on the government than voters.
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Unknown
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I don't doubt that curiousburb, but on the other hand, if the technology is made available, and demand starts to grow and gain a voice - then someone will step in to take that market share if the existing companies refuse. And it will be their loss in the long run.
It will be like the iPod + iTunes scenario all over again - except that someone else will possibly have to recreate the text to begin with. I'm sure someone will. Do you know where children get all of their energy? - They suck it right out of their parents! |
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Hates the Infotainment
Join Date: May 2004
Location: NSA Archives
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Still no color mode? WTF. This makes it much less useful for any type of educational texts (at any level) that require color to depict various kinds of diagrams, screenshots, etc. Although for good old fashioned novels, or other serious works where color is not important, the Kindle is pretty cool.
...into the light of a dark black night. |
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
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For example, text about DNA on the e-book reader, and a picture of the double helix on a 13” – 24” display or even a 3.5” display. Or better yet, make it an interactive 3D model of the double helix. Hmm, maybe Apple could do something like this… |
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Hates the Infotainment
Join Date: May 2004
Location: NSA Archives
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Wouldn't put it past them....
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Lovable Bastard
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Boston-ish
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WANT. I'm sick of carrying textbooks around, and my textbooks are almost always on Amazon.
There was no way I was going to buy an eBook reader without PDF support. Also, that screen looks huge! I'm glad the keyboard continues to shrink. Either way I'm going to hold off and wait for Apple's tablety-netbook-iPhone thingee which we all know is coming. Logic, logic, logic. Logic is the beginning of wisdom, Valeris, not the end. |
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Formerly Roboman, still
awesome Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
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The Kindle DX is actually a little bit cheaper than I thought it would be, BTW. I was thinking $499, with Amazon barely making any money on it then. You have to remember, they're using the world's only widescreen e-ink display modules...not cheap. and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong |
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Formerly Roboman, still
awesome Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
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Now that the screen size is there, "native" PDF support was a must, and Amazon delivered, no pun intended. Quote:
and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Unknown
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Until we have some kind of color e-ink device, or a traditional backlit device that consumes very,very, little energy, the textbook solution is still unresolved. This new unit is a step in the right direction due to the size, but we're not there yet. Do you know where children get all of their energy? - They suck it right out of their parents! |
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Antimatter Man
Join Date: May 2004
Location: that interweb thing
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From what I've read, E-ink doesn't support gradations enough to handle illustrations or equations natively yet. Another obstacle for the textbook world.
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
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Antimatter Man
Join Date: May 2004
Location: that interweb thing
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This detailed list of problems for nonfiction is illustrated with images... including... Quote:
YMMV All those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand. |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Toronto
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It's almost sad watching Amazon doing their best, knowing that Apple is going to completely beat them into the ground.
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
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If Apple plays in this space. That seems to be a big IF.
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Formerly Roboman, still
awesome Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
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Jobs has actually specifically announced that they don't think the market is big enough for an Apple e-book reader, so, um, yeah, Frank777 - how is Apple going to "beat [Amazon] into the ground," exactly? With a multi-purpose, LED-backlit tablet? That's a different market entirely.
and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Inferno, Sixth Circle
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Even if this thing worked flawlessly, I still wouldn't want it. I mean, sure it'd be fine for general, generic reading but in school, when you scribble in the margins, when you need to flip back and forth all over the book, when you need to go over your notes at the end of the semester, this is completely useless. What, are you going to do, take notes on a separate piece of paper?
My take at least. artesc all the way! |
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Formerly Roboman, still
awesome Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
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But, these new Kindles (big guy and small guy) are pretty cool compared to the first one... JTA |
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