Mighty Tablet Arrives

Just about the time the post was finished, we get the result. Jeff Bezos shows off the worst kept secret in recent tech (perhaps only outdone by a maybe tablet from Apple) today with the Kindle DX. At 9.7 inch display is considerably larger than the standard 6-inch, but so is the price at $487 dollars.

It's pitched for newspapers and text books -- but CoSIDA members, pay attention. The DX comes with native PDF support.

Let me repeat -- PDF in the unit for those soon-to-be digital media guides.

Of course, the hope is it becomes the delivery mechanism for legacy print media outlets like the New York Times, Boston Globe or Washington Post -- no small coincidence each is on board.

Arthur Sulzberger Jr., chairman of the New York Times Company, said that the Times and the Globe will first be available on the Kindle DX in markets where home delivery is not available.

So that's good for those of us in middle America, but once again, the legacy media misses a point. In the high-concentration upper east coast media markets, think about the printing press savings if you distribute via Kindle DX. Not to mention the smaller carbon footprint. My money is on DX breaking the back of these newspapers if it achieves the kind of market penetration seen so far for regular Kindle 2.0 in books or iPod/iPhone in music.

Why? Because the most desirable consumers for advertisers are opt-in consumers with disposable income in copious amounts -- the kind of folks who could pick up a DX or two.

The current target of existing newsprint/magazine advertising? Boomer age segments, but guess who is the largest growing percentage of Kindle purchasers? That's right -- that 45+ age crowd that conventional wisdom thinks never goes tech. HA! These are prodigious readers, newspaper subscribers AND they're into their bifocal years.

Huh? They huge appeal for the AARP generation is that scaleable type. No need to squint or embarass oneself by purchasing the large print edition.

More CNET analysis on the use of the Kindle DX for newspapers and for textbooks.