Kindle DX is cut in price, but its upgraded screen is the key news

Amazon is relaunching its super-sized Kindle DX e-book reader in a new version that will be more than $100 cheaper than the current DX, and promises improved e-ink screen technology.

The price cut, to $379, and screen upgrade was urgently needed. The DX was selling for a bracing $489, which is almost enough to buy an Apple iPad, which has the same 9.7-inch (approximate) screen size as the DX. Though the iPad renders type that's a little less readable than the DX's, it offers a range of e-book apps, including one from Kindle; a color screen, where the Kindle screens are monochromatic; and a host of other functions, where the Kindles are highly focused on e-books.

The DX's old price has looked especially hefty, too, since Amazon last week slashed the price of its smaller (6-inch-screen) flagship model, the Kindle, to $189.

Even at the new price, the DX still offers more screen for more green than most people really need. So when we get the new device, which can be preordered now for shipping on July 7, we'll be most interested in its claimed screen enhancements. A key reason: It's hard to imagine Amazon will wait long before also adding them to the smaller Kindle, too.

Amazon says the new screen offers "50 per cent better contrast for the clearest text and sharpest images." That description suggests the DX marks the debut (on any device) of the next-generation of e-ink screen technology, which I saw (and was impressed by) at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

The new screen adds to already-claimed improvement in the appearance of type on all Kindles, including existing models, from a firmware update to the Kindle released this month. The claimed features of that update include "sharper fonts" along with larger font sizes.

We're currently testing that firmware update on existing Kindles, which also promises such other features as the ability to pan and scan on PDF documents, something we've seen on no other e-book device. We're also evaluating an update to the firmware of the Barnes and Noble Nook, the Kindle competitor that also dropped its price last week. We'll reflect any key changes to the products by updating our Ratings of e-book readers, available to subscribers.

—Paul Reynolds.