This week Amazon.com debuted the Kindle DX, a digital content reader that is nearly ten inches tall and boasts wireless capabilities, thinness that rivals most paper magazines and memory that can hold up to 3,500 books or periodicals. Soon after the new device debuted, speculation erupted among media sources as to whether the new Kindle DX will do for newspapers what the iPod has done for the music industry.

The Kindle DX presents an interesting solution to the news industry, approaching their dilemma from a technological direction, rather than another ill-fated attempt to monetize a web paradigm. Looking back at the success of the iPod, this makes a lot of sense. A simple, portable, beautiful gadget was introduced simultaneously with an integrated online store that provided a personal experience (the idea of buying individual songs rather than entire albums changed everything) and, most importantly, clear monetary strategy.

For these reasons, everyone is getting quite excited about the debut of Kindle DX as a technological solution to newspapers' content conundrum. And Indeed, it does appear as though they have finally recognized what consumers want and how they can profitably deliver it (using the self-litmus test, I can see myself buying access to content on a handy, easy-to-read flat screen).

Details of the Kindle DX deal with newspapers are still to be announced but while there is optimism, there is equal skepticism. First off is price—will a readership that has a track record of frugality in media purchasing really shell out $489? Even the current standard of media gadget technology, the iPhone, only runs at $199—and there are no suggestions that the new Kindle is going to do nifty little things like identify random overheard music or level your pool table.

Secondly, newspapers aren't totally on board. Rupert Murdoch expressed concerns that digitization could leave publishers facing the same problems seen in the music business. “I can assure you that we will not be ceding our content rights to the fine people who created the Kindle,” Mr Murdoch said on Wednesday, arguing that it was critical that News Corp “control the prices for our content”. James Moroney, the chief executive of the Dallas Morning News, complained that Amazon wanted 70 percent of subscription revenues that his paper earned through the Kindle and the right to republish the newspaper’s stories on other portable devices.

Lastly, the technology still has a long way to come. Apparently, there is a digital voice that will read you the news but mispronounces words. While this may be amusing at first, over time listening to “Barack Obama” pronounced like "black Alabama" would become rather obnoxious. Other audible nuances have been reported to include the pronunciation of the Boston NBA team 'Celtics' with a hard 'c', kinda like 'K-eltics'.

Despite all this, I'm enthusiastic. You could write a dissertation on the shit that went wrong when Apple first released the first generation iPod and iPhone. This one should be fun to watch.