Amazon to release large-screen Kindle

Online retail giant Amazon.com is poised to launch a larger version of its wireless Kindle ebook device optimized for displaying newspapers, magazines and textbooks. Citing sources briefed on Amazon's plans, the New York Times reports the company will officially announce the new Kindle as early as this week--while Amazon declined to comment, some news organizations, including the NYT, are expected to be involved in the introduction of the device, sources said.

For newspaper and magazine publishers, the appeal of ereader devices lies in their potential to slash the costs of printing and distribution while still maintaining a subscription-based, ad-supported business model. Amazon currently offers Kindle owners premium subscriptions to more than 58 periodicals, including the New York Times, Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal. "We are looking at this with a great deal of interest," said Financial Times CEO John Ridding. "The severe double whammy of the recession and the structural shift to the Internet has created an urgency that has rightly focused attention on these devices."

Amazon.com began shipping the current edition of the Kindle in February--the device, which sells for $359, enables mobile shopping and over-the-air content downloading via Sprint's Whispernet wireless delivery system. In March, Amazon announced plans to introduce a free Kindle e-book application for Apple's iPhone and iPod touch, offering consumers full access to more than 240,000 premium digital titles, and last week the e-tailer acquired mobile development startup Lexcycle, the firm behind Stanza, a popular iPhone e-reader app.

For more on the newest Kindle:
- read this New York Times article