10:50 AM The device has been suffering in limbo between the iPad and the regular Kindle

July 1, 2010

2 Min Read
Amazon Cuts Kindle DX Price

10:50 AM -- Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) released a new version of its large-screen device, the Kindle DX, and lowered its price from $489 to $379, as the device continues to dwell in awkward middle ground between Apple's iPad and Amazon's regular-sized Kindle.

The large-screen device's former price of $489 was a bit too close for comfort to the $499 price tag of the iPad, which offers users many more functions. However, Amazon made a point of flaunting the Kindle DX's advantages over the iPad in its press release today -- namely, free wireless service and an eInk screen that can be easily read even in direct sunlight.

And the new version of the DX offers improved eInk display with "50 percent better contrast," Amazon claims.

The price cut could also be due to the disappointing results of experiments at media companies and universities, as Amazon sought to pitch the DX as a reader for newspapers and textbooks, The New York Times reports.

In other Amazon news:

  • Amazon has rolled out its new 70 percent royalty option for publishers and authors. The plan, originally announced in January, is available only for books sold to US customers.

  • Amazon has also introduced a new feature that allows readers to preview e-books in HTML5. "Kindle book previews will be available through your web browser -- simply click a Preview button on an Amazon book detail page and a new browser window will open containing the preview," Amazon writes on its blog.

    In non-Amazon news:

  • Move Networks Inc. is up for sale, according to an odd post in the company's Twitter feed that has since been deleted. The Tweet read: "Want some slightly used company assets and some amazing video streaming IP rights? $150,000,000 and it’s yours! Foosball table included." According to reports, all of the company's employees have been laid off and its CEO has resigned.

    — Erin Barker, Digital Content Reporter, Light Reading Cable

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