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"The Kindle DX is $489, and that is an unbelievably low price for something that has inside it a sophisticated computer, a completely new kind of display of tha

"The Kindle DX is $489, and that is an unbelievably low price for something that has inside it a sophisticated computer, a completely new kind of display of that size, and a 3G wireless radio, Bezos said." Somebody please send a $250 netbook to Bezos, or two for a Kindle's price.

anon-e-moose 17y ago
Because netbooks have a completely new kind of display? Included in that cost is (presumably) the cost of developing a display that looks nice and holds an image without battery, and the cost of setting up new manufacturing lines for it. Its still a little cheaper than the iPod Touch was originally, isn't it?
jm4 17y ago
I'm so tired of this netbook argument. They're apples and oranges. One is a dedicated ebook reader and the other is a multifunction ultra-portable computer. Just because one is capable of doing something the other is capable of does not necessarily make them comparable. I've used netbooks and e-ink ebook readers. The ebook experience on a netbook does not compare. This is like saying cell phones are a rip off because you could use a $40 pair of walkie talkies without a monthly fee instead. Not to mention, we have no idea what the cost is on a Kindle. Netbooks use commodity components that are widely available from numerous manufacturers. The same is not true of e-ink displays. This is at least partly a factor in the perceived high cost of an ebook reader. We also don't know what kind of arrangement Amazon has with Sprint. Amazon gives a few cents to Sprint when you purchase something using Whispernet. Maybe Sprint also gets a flat fee every time a Kindle is sold. We simply don't know. There's also the issue of limited competition in the ebook market right now. There are only a few manufacturers of quality e-ink readers and on top of it all the Kindle is the only game in town if you want to buy ebooks from Amazon. This is relatively new technology and the price will go down. We've seen it before with the components that go into a $250 netbook. This is economics 101.
- wallflower 17y ago
  > I've used netbooks and e-ink ebook readers. The ebook experience on a netbook does not compare. Pixel Qi's screen will narrow that gap eventually, at the price of being less available and more expensive in the short and medium-term. http://www.pixelqi.com/blog1/ http://www.pixelqi.com/blog1/
- rbanffy 17y ago
  I do not agree because: - Netbooks are usually based on Atom processors that are cheap when compared to Core2 and other more traditional PC processors but are much more expensive than the cellphone-class ARM processor used in the Kindle - Netbooks use higher-capacity batteries because Atom processors use more juice than the ARM in the Kindle. - The Kindle uses far more commoditized components than a netbook does - it uses cellphone-class components while netbooks use PC-class ones. - Netbooks also have more RAM - the Kindle certainly has less than a gigabyte of RAM - I would risk the Kindle has no more than 128 megs, soldered on the motherboard - which is also cheaper than mounting RAM into a socket. - The e-ink displays are not new technology - a couple years ago my carrier (in Brazil) offered me a Motorola phone with e-ink display. It was an entry-level "dumbphone" and I did not need one. The only "new" thing in the Kindle DX display is its size and design considerations that follow from it.
  - DannoHung 17y ago
    Kindle has a thickness of a cellphone. This is an important factor that many of the "NETBOOK" people seem to want to ignore.
    - rbanffy 17y ago
      It's largely irrelevant. Netbooks are not designed to use flat batteries - most of them use cylindric cells - and have higher profile motherboards because memory and SSDs/hard disks live on sockets on top of the motherboard - because PC users are used to expand them. Netbooks also heat up a lot more than the cellphone-sized brain Kindles use and netbooks must accommodate heat management hardware (fans, heat exchangers) Kindles don't

anon-e-moose 17y ago

Because netbooks have a completely new kind of display? Included in that cost is (presumably) the cost of developing a display that looks nice and holds an image without battery, and the cost of setting up new manufacturing lines for it. Its still a little cheaper than the iPod Touch was originally, isn't it?

jm4 17y ago

I'm so tired of this netbook argument. They're apples and oranges. One is a dedicated ebook reader and the other is a multifunction ultra-portable computer. Just because one is capable of doing something the other is capable of does not necessarily make them comparable. I've used netbooks and e-ink ebook readers. The ebook experience on a netbook does not compare. This is like saying cell phones are a rip off because you could use a $40 pair of walkie talkies without a monthly fee instead. Not to mention, we have no idea what the cost is on a Kindle. Netbooks use commodity components that are widely available from numerous manufacturers. The same is not true of e-ink displays. This is at least partly a factor in the perceived high cost of an ebook reader. We also don't know what kind of arrangement Amazon has with Sprint. Amazon gives a few cents to Sprint when you purchase something using Whispernet. Maybe Sprint also gets a flat fee every time a Kindle is sold. We simply don't know. There's also the issue of limited competition in the ebook market right now. There are only a few manufacturers of quality e-ink readers and on top of it all the Kindle is the only game in town if you want to buy ebooks from Amazon. This is relatively new technology and the price will go down. We've seen it before with the components that go into a $250 netbook. This is economics 101.

wallflower 17y ago
> I've used netbooks and e-ink ebook readers. The ebook experience on a netbook does not compare. Pixel Qi's screen will narrow that gap eventually, at the price of being less available and more expensive in the short and medium-term. http://www.pixelqi.com/blog1/ http://www.pixelqi.com/blog1/
rbanffy 17y ago
I do not agree because: - Netbooks are usually based on Atom processors that are cheap when compared to Core2 and other more traditional PC processors but are much more expensive than the cellphone-class ARM processor used in the Kindle - Netbooks use higher-capacity batteries because Atom processors use more juice than the ARM in the Kindle. - The Kindle uses far more commoditized components than a netbook does - it uses cellphone-class components while netbooks use PC-class ones. - Netbooks also have more RAM - the Kindle certainly has less than a gigabyte of RAM - I would risk the Kindle has no more than 128 megs, soldered on the motherboard - which is also cheaper than mounting RAM into a socket. - The e-ink displays are not new technology - a couple years ago my carrier (in Brazil) offered me a Motorola phone with e-ink display. It was an entry-level "dumbphone" and I did not need one. The only "new" thing in the Kindle DX display is its size and design considerations that follow from it.
- DannoHung 17y ago
  Kindle has a thickness of a cellphone. This is an important factor that many of the "NETBOOK" people seem to want to ignore.
  - rbanffy 17y ago
    It's largely irrelevant. Netbooks are not designed to use flat batteries - most of them use cylindric cells - and have higher profile motherboards because memory and SSDs/hard disks live on sockets on top of the motherboard - because PC users are used to expand them. Netbooks also heat up a lot more than the cellphone-sized brain Kindles use and netbooks must accommodate heat management hardware (fans, heat exchangers) Kindles don't