Boasts better screen, new design and can already be pre-ordered

Jul 1, 2010 09:34 GMT  ·  By

The original Kindle has, more or less, become a mature product and has gotten rid of whatever bugs and glitches it had, if any, which means that it has, more or less, reached its limit, performance- and feature-wise. As such, it is no surprise to hear that its maker has begun work on its successors. The new e-book reader that the company seeks to bring out will be dubbed Kindle DX Graphite (will be an iteration of the kindle DX) and, among other things, will provide a better image and a new design.

The first thing that will strike onlookers is the casing. Basically, the Kindle DX will be colored dark gray, Graphite as it were. It will measure 264 x 182.8 x 9.6 mm and will have a 9.7-inch E-ink display. This screen will be able to display 16 shades of gray and, compared to the current offer, will have a contrast 50% higher. Furthermore, the resolution of the panel is 1200 x 824 pixels.

"There's no turning back once you read on our beautiful new Kindle DX screen," said Steve Kessel, senior vice president, Amazon Kindle. "With 50 percent better contrast and darker fonts, you'll find it easier than ever to read wherever you happen to be, whether it's outside in bright sunlight or under the low light of your living room. We're excited to offer the new Kindle DX with free 3G wireless at the lower price of $379."

The Amazon kindle DX has 4GB of internal flash storage and, in addition to e-book and image files, it can play audio files. A 3.5mm audio jack is available for use with headphones and, thus, end-users should be able to enjoy audio-books or MP3 tracks.

Finally, an Amazon threw in an USB port, for easy connection to host PCs. Pre-orders can already be set via this page, for $379.