Amazon's bigger Kindle has all sorts of vertical potential

OK, so my friends thought I was nuts for spending nigh-onto $300 on my iPhone a couple of years ago. Now, Amazon wants to charge close to $500 (yes, I know it's officially $489, but have you paid sales tax lately) for the new Kindle DX.

Here's ZDNet's special report on the introduction.

And, here's Amazon's own press materials.

So, here's the thing. As much as I worship publications like The New York Times, which was part of my childhood, Amazon is missing the mark with at least part of its early distribution strategy for the new device. Avid book readers who were sick of carrying hardbacks on planes and wasting reams of paper have helped make the Kindle e-reader a bonafide phenomenon akin to the iPhone. The SIZE was absolutely a critical consideration. Have you carried my pocketbook or briefcase lately? My Kindle 2 is the perfect size: Small enough for my purse, but large enough for my middle-aged eyes to handle.

Although there are definitely nay-sayers, the decision to focus on textbooks is a good one. I was chatting about the original Kindle with my brainiac nephew a few months back and his eyes lit up at all the information he could consume on the original one. The bigger screen is WAY better for all the chemistry mumbo-jumbo he will be studying as a Ph.D. candidate at Princeton University. Hmmm. He DOES have a graduation present coming up. Yes, I know most students have laptops, but it still remains awful hard to read documents on a notebook screen. I know, I do it ALOT as a communications consultant.

Anyway, as I stated earlier, I believe Amazon has a huge potential following in the business world with the Kindle DX. You could call it the ultimate specialized thin client. Mind you, I'm not suggesting that it's a replacement for notebooks or anything like that. I just see possibilities for the Kindle DX as a shared mobile tech resource for things like field support guides, manuals and so on.

I actually heard from a government IT director who read that earlier post, and he is considering Kindle devices as a way to distribute civic documents for elected officials in his local community. The administration in his community currently makes "thousands and thousands" of copies of briefing documents. Think of how much paper could be saved. The original Kindle was too small for such an application but the Kindle DX might fit the bill.

Hey Amazon, some information on whether you will offer corporate, educational or government pricing would be TERRIFIC. I can't find that information right now on your very consumer-focused informational site.