Kindle DX: Amazon's Reader with Large Display

May 07, 2009

The new e-book reader from Amazon now has a 9.7" E-Ink display at 1200 x 824 pixels, weighs in at about 19 ounces and is only 0.38" thick.

Amazon's Kindle DX e-book reader will be available in the U.S. during the summer of 2009 at around $489, according to their announcement. The 19-ounce device measures 1.4" x 7.2" x 0.38." and looks a bit like an extra large iPhone.

The DX model stores books at 4 GBytes, 3.3 GBytes of which are available for user content. Unlike the earlier model, it now reads PDF files natively without a complicated conversion over mail. It also now does auto-rotation of text based on an orientation sensor. The battery is supposed to last two to four days with active 3G wireless usage and up to two weeks otherwise. Availability in Europe has not yet been determined.

The current Kindle 2 devices are based on the i.MX31 Freescale platform and run at 532 MHz on Freescale processors, with Kernel 2.6.22 providing the services. How much CPU and RAM are in the Kindle DX has not been reported, nor has Amazon given details on the OS. It's pretty certain, though, that the Kindle DX will use the same Linux system as its predecessor. CPU and RAM are interesting in that the hardware can potentially accommodate those of a Debian or Ubuntu system. Amazon's Source Code Notice has yet to include the sources for the DX model.

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