Amazon unveils higher contrast, lower cost Kindle DX

Keeping the Kindle momentum high, Amazon has announced the next generation of Kindle DX is available for pre-order today, and will be shipping on July 7th.

The new Kindle DX has the same 9.7" screen size, and the same free 3G wireless, but features a new graphite chassis and a higher contrast e-ink screen with a purported 50% improvement in contrast. Furthermore, all of this is available at a price about 25% less than the first generation DX.

The new Kindle DX costs $379, while the prior model cost $489.

In the last five days, Amazon has made four significant Kindle-related announcements. Yesterday, it was the new double royalty option for publishers using the Kindle Digital Text Platform; before that it was the launch of Kindle for Android, and just before that it was the inclusion of embedded video and audio in Kindle for iOS. The online retailer is indeed keeping the e-book platform exciting.

The new, higher contrast Kindle DX can be Pre-ordered on Amazon's homepage.

E Ink Corporation, developer and marketer of the E-paper imaging technology used in the Kindle will make this new higher contrast display, called "Pearl," available in the second quarter of 2010.

"As the electronic reading market continues to expand, there are more opportunities for expansion not only in the eBook space, but also for eNewspapers, eMagazines and eTextbooks," Felix Ho, Chairman of E Ink said in a statement this morning.