Not really surprised by what the Kindle DX is and is not. I did not expect color or touch as both are only at experimental stages for eInk displays. It is also not that surprising that Amazon is continuing to get the device out there in a direct-to-consumer model. This puts pressure on the NY Times and other newspaper publishers to figure out quickly how to subsidize that via a subscription. So I likely won’t be getting the unfettered connectivity and high quality browser I was hoping for. Where this gets really worrisome though is in connection with the textbook publishers. If we wind up with a semi-closed device and universities working with the behemoths Pearson and Wiley then we are likely to see a proliferation of the overpriced textbook model we have today. Now there is a glimmer of openness here with the PDF capability, but what we really need is a completely open Kindle (or at a minimum an app store for the Kindle). That would support real innovation in textbooks, such as peer production based on creative commons licenses.
