DX Dreams

So what about the Kindle DX?  9.7 inch screen, weighs just over a pound, and . . . gulp $489 dollers.

I don't think it's going to save newspapers.  First of all, because I doubt ads look good on it; second of all, because being proprietary and all, Kindle lets Amazon capture a lot of the cost savings from not physically printing a newspaper.

If the Kindle DX has a killer format, it's not newspapers, but magazines.  Newspapers aren't losing out because they're too expensive; they're losing out because by the time the reader gets to them, the news inside is dated.  Newspaper is a daily news medium in an hourly world.

But magazine articles aren't meant to be timely.  They don't provide you with insta-analysis; they provide you with a thoughtful take.  Magazine articles are actually improved by being read without the distractions of email and so forth.  For people who travel, or who have a daily passenger commute, who spend time waiting anywhere, the Kindle is ideal.

If there's any criticism, it's that the Kindle is paperback sized when I often want something more like a magazine.  Segmenting the two is genius, and not just because it lets them capture the textbook market.  Maybe more importantly, it lets me have a paperback sized one for running errands, and a larger version for extended reading.

As you may have gathered, I want one.  Rather badly.  I can't justify buying it, unfortunately.  But I suspect it will sell very well--and it will be interesting to see what that means for Hudson News.