One of my complain of the eBook reader is its display size. They are mostly 6" display, fitting a typical letter size or A4 size document to such a screen means displaying the document in 30% - which is very demanding on the eyes.
Other larger format eBook readers are prohibitively expensive. Amazon's Kindle DX is like a fresh air in this dull market. Is there any cause of excitement for learning?
Granted Amazon has cornered the book's market and have agreements in place with the main textbook publishers, availability of textbook on Kindle (and Kindle DX) is just a matter of time. But we all know that learning is NOT just the availability of textbooks - and the role of owning information is giving way to the skill to manage and use the information. Charging 15 cents per mega byte for wireless downloading of personal information to the Kindle is a bit deep to most students. Of course, students can choose to use the free service and load the content to their Kindle via a networked computer. But that's only a very small fraction of the kind of interactivity eLearning professionals would like.
eBook reader's adjacent competitor is tablets. Scheduled for 2010 OLPC version 2, noting that it will feature a dual-screen in color and readable in daylight, will prove to be a serious competitor to Kindle DX in both price and features.
If Kindle DX has come out before I bought my Sony eBook reader, I would have bought Kindle DX - for its size mainly. For now, I will wait for OLPC OX-2!
