Amazon Enlarges E-Book Play With Kindle DX - Page 2

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Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., chairman of the New York Times Company, joined Bezos on stage to highlight a new subscription plan that will see the New York Times and Boston Globe offering discounted Kindle DXes to subscribers that live outside of the papers' home delivery areas.

"We've known for more than a decade that an e-reader product would offer the same satisfying experience as the printed newspaper," Sulzberger said. "As each new generation of the Kindle came to market, that dream has and does continue to get closer."

For publishers like the New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), the Kindle represents another way in which a traditionally print business is moving to adopt new models, he said.

The move also comes as the Times, as well as newspapers throughout the country, are struggling with dwindling revenue as readers and advertisers turn online.

"We are using every available medium to meet the ever-growing demand for high-quality journalism across all platforms," he said. "This experiment, and our entire e-reader collaboration with Amazon, demonstrates our commitment to reinvention and to taking full advantage of digital media."

While Sulzberger said the Boston Globe would be included in the pilot marketing program with Amazon, the New York Times Company had been threatening to shutter the embattled paper if its key unions didn't agree to pay cuts and other cost-savings measures. The paper's seven unions reached a deal with the company earlier today, according to reports.

The worsening publishing climate has also ensured that the Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO) and New York Times Company aren't the only ones making moves into electronic devices.

The Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News recently announced plans to partner with Plastic Logic, a startup planning to enter the e-book reader business -- citing the large screen size of the firm's e-reader as a deciding factor.

While the Plastic Logic Reader is still months away from its pilot programs, the unit's features will rival those of the Kindle DX when it ships. For one thing, it offers a form factor that's also the size of an 8.5-by-11-inch piece of paper. The e-reader also is slated to have a touchscreen interface, among other yet-to-be-announced features, according to a statement from Plastic Logic.

Also similar to Amazon's work with the Washington Post, Boston Globe and New York Times, the agreement with the two Detroit-based newspapers will see the Plastic Logic Reader being offered for purchase or lease to their subscribers as an alternative to paper delivery.

In addition to the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News, Plastic Logic has said it has agreements in place to sell content from publishers including the Financial Times, USA Today and content aggregators like Ingram Digital, LibreDigital, and Zinio.