Amazon, the online giant retailer that has threatened the existence of bookstores, may help save the newspaper industry. That is a possible benefit of a new, larger-screen version of its Kindle e-book reader, which The New York Times reported Sunday will be released soon.
The earlier two Kindles were intended for book reading, while a larger version would be designed specifically for larger-formatted periodicals, such as newspapers and books, and possibly textbooks.
Press Conference Planned
Amazon hasn’t confirmed the report, which the Times attributed to “people briefed on the online reader’s plans.” A press conference by Amazon has been scheduled for Wednesday, although the topic hasn’t been announced.
But the Times may be in an unusually good position to know, since the newspaper itself is reported in its article as being involved in the introduction of the new Kindle.
Amazon isn’t the only company considering a large-format reader. According to news reports, Plastic Logic of Mountain View, Calif., is working with News Corp. to release large-format e-readers by the end of the year. And Hearst has confirmed it is backing a startup called FirstPaper, which is rumored to be working on a near-tabloid-size e-reader that could have a color screen.
Newspapers and other print-based publications are in critical shape, hit by double whammies of a major recession and the rise of the Internet. The result is a newspaper and periodicals crisis that has been or could be fatal for some leading publications. For instance, The New York Times-owned Boston Globe, a major longtime fixture on the New England and national scene, is reportedly close to bankruptcy.
Business Model Is Key
Sarah Rotman Epps, a media analyst at industry research firm Forrester, said larger-screen e-readers from a variety of device makers are “definitely” coming out later this year and in 2010.
But the key to whether the devices…