The Kindle is a Platform

Elliot: The Kindle DX isn’t just an ebook Reader… it’s a Media Buzz Generator!
Cathie: Buzz warranted - I think it has a good chance of succeeding at the university level. It will save the students money, it is more convenient than dragging around heavy textbooks, and it is a pretty cool gadget.
Elliot: But what do you really think?
Cathie: No reason to be enigmatic like somebody I know.
Elliot: Let me just once zing you without you coming back with a better rejoinder.
Cathie: Ok. Next time.
Elliot: I don’t believe it but thank you. So, what do you think of the DX displaying only in black and white.  Color won’t come for at least a couple of years.
Cathie: e-Ink may well be sharp and easy on the eyes, but B&W is so 50’s! FIFTIES! However, I think college kids will put up with that limitation, given all the other plus factors.
Elliot: Did you catch the bit about the Kindle DX coming with a browser. I saw that rumor only in the Wall Street Journal article about the DX.
Cathie: Yes, that was a most tantalizing tidbit, actually. If the Kindle DX has a real browser, then, using the Sprint cellular network, the Kindle, with its QWERTY keyboard, could be a netbook and use apps stored in the “cloud.”
Elliot: If only! The scuttlebutt I hear is that the browser is pretty rudimentary.
Cathie: That may be true today, but tomorrow, that browser could be much better.
Elliot: You are absolutely right. Amazon is a smart and bold company; the Kindle is a platform, not just an ebook reader. Dell makes smartphones; Oracle makes servers; now Amazon makes netbooks. What an industry! 

Comments

[John Hornbeck]

Where do you think this leaves the Kindle 2? I'm an owner of a Kindle 2 and love it, I read the newspaper, books and technical manuals on it already and the main thing I like about it is the size. It's very portable and can be held in one hand very easily.

The dx to me seems to have many flaws and one is it's size. For a device that has a 9.7" screen it lacks many things that I would want in a device that size, such as; touch screen, color, full browser. The browser on the dx will be the same that's on the kindle 2 which lacks many things very important to today's browsing experience. Also the kindle lacks any ability to do anything such as game play.

For the price and size the dx is very lacking and does not compare to something like a regular netbook where as the kindle 2 fits a nice niche with book readers. Overall I think I will stick to the kindle 2 and wait for a tablet device from Apple which will more than likely never happen :)