Amazon.com has just released an updated version of its Kindle DX model with a new e-ink contrast rate, different color, and lower price. The DX, which comes with a larger screen then the standard kindle and was designed with text books in mind, is now only $379. I would be very surprised if the Ipad did not have something to do with this price reduction. While the standard size e-readers, like the Kindle, Nook, or Kobo, are cheap enough as to not compete so directly with the Ipad, whose cheapest model is 499, the DX was originally close enough in price, 489, that a serious customer might be hard-pressed to justify buying a DX when Apple's tablet is only 10 dollars more and can do so much. A Washington Post article discussing the price reduction and some new software changes, including the Amazon's new app for the Android, can be found here.
PC World reviews the Kobo here. I've been wanting to check out a Kobo but haven't had the chance yet. I think I'm just going to have to head on over to Borders one of these days and see one in person. My initial reactions to the device make me wonder if it can compete. The primary problem is that it has no WiFi or 3G connections forcing the owner to buy e-books off their computer and then transferring them to the device. Furthermore, as the PC World article notes, with the WiFi only Nook now dropped in price to 149 the Kobo lost its one advantage: its lower price.
I'm currently working on an article on e-ink versus the tablet. It seems to me that a significant battleground between dedicated reading devices like the Kindle and Nook, and do everything devices like the Ipad is the type of display consumers want to read off of. Will post a link when the article is completed.
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