Today’s announcement of the Kindle DX, a 9.7″ version of the
Kindle is being hailed as some sort of savior of the newspaper
industry and a breakthrough for the college textbook market.
At almost \$500 I don’t see it as either. The biggest negative about the
Kindle will also be the last thing fixed, if it is ever addressed, and
that is the ability to re-sell your content (or at least lend it to
others). I’m sure the textbook companies are falling over themselves to
support the Kindle. Here is the ability to sell a text book, with no
production/delivery costs, and then know that the book will not be
resold at the end of the semester.
The newspaper subscription idea has merit, but then again, they need to
lower their subscription rates. I’ve looked at transferring my USA Today
subscription to digital, but it costs almost the same as getting a paper
copy! At least with the paper copy I can lend/give it to someone else,
or cut out an article to save.
Is anyone looking at using the Kindle in a school? What would be the
advantages of it over something like a netbook?