This morning Amazon unveiled a third version of their Kindle e-book reader, one that is designed for better use with electronic newspapers and textbooks and includes a larger screen, more storage capacity, and better support for PDF files. Like the previous versions of the device, there are no plans to offer "Kindle DX" in Canada. Although Amazon says that their e-book business has been a great success, they have yet to expand their operation outside of the United States and remain focused on growing the market locally. Included in today's unveiling are announcements that Amazon has secured partnerships with three newspapers; the New York Times, Boston Globe and The Washington Post, who will all offer the Kindle DX at a reduced price when purchased with a paper subscription, and pilot programs with five universities; Arizona State, Case Western Reserve, Princeton, Reed, and Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, who will supply some of their students with the new Kindle DX to use with electronic textbooks. 

Available for pre-order through Amazon.com for $489 US, the Kindle DX is nearly identical in concept and features to the current Kindle 2 device that will continue to be sold and positioned as the main Kindle product. The DX merely offers the benefit of being a larger device, offering a 9.7" E-ink screen, storage capacity for 3,500 books, and software to display PDF files natively. By comparison, the smaller Kindle 2 has a 6" E-ink screen, can hold 1,500 books and requires PDF files to go through a conversion process before displaying them. It sells for $359 US. The large DX also has the ability to automatically switch the display screen between landscape and portrait modes in response to the device being tilted on its side, a new trick to the Kindle family. 

As with previous Kindles, the new DX model will include a 3G mobile wireless connection to the Amazon online store and allow users to purchase and download e-books and newspapers on the go.