Kindle DX e-book reader aims to deliver newspapers

Online retailer Amazon.com Inc. unveiled a new e-book reader with a larger screen on Wednesday, one the company says will make it easier to read newspapers, magazines, and large PDF documents.

Like the previous electronic book readers Amazon has introduced, the Kindle DX allows users to download books and periodicals directly to the device.

But its larger screen — which stretches 24.6 centimetres (9.7 inches) diagonally — is two and a half times the size of the widest Kindle display.

The device is available for pre-order in the U.S. for $489 US. As with the original Kindle and a second, wider-screen version called Kindle 2 introduced earlier this year, the new Kindle DX is unavailable in Canada.

Among the features of the device are an auto-rotating screen that turns the image as the device is turned, allowing users to view full-length maps, graphs or web pages more easily. It also features a built-in PDF document reader.

Those features appear to expand the marketing strategy of the Kindle beyond books and periodicals and more towards both textbooks and business communications.

"Our vision is every book ever printed, in any language, all available in less than 60 seconds," the company said in a statement Wednesday. "Inching a bit closer to a paperless society sounds good too."

Amazon said it has already reached agreements with three leading textbook publishers, Pearson, Cengage Learning and Wiley, to begin offering books from their catologues on the device.

Amazon also said three U.S. newspapers, The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Washington Post, will offer the device to readers where home delivery is unavailable at a reduced price in exchange for a long-term subscription.