Amazon on Wednesday launched a next generation Kindle, an e-reader with a large, textbook, magazine and newspaper-friendly screen called the DX.

The device is two and a half times bigger than the Kindle 2 that the company released in February.

You never have to pan, you never have to zoom, you never have to scroll. You just read, Amazon's chief executive Jeff Bezos said at the New York launch.

The screen measures 9.7 inches diagonally and one-third of an inch thick. It is aimed at penetrating for the first time -- what is potentially a massive and untapped market-- of textbooks, as well offering some life support for the struggling business of subscription-based electronic newspapers.

At the product launch, Amazon announced partnerships with three major textbook publishers representing 60 percent of the higher-education market.

Bezons also announced deals with three newspapers -- The New York Times, the NYTimes Co.-owned Boston Globe and The Washington Post -- that will offer a reduced price on the Kindle DX in exchange for a long-term subscription.

Some of the key features include an auto-rotating screen, technology iPhone users will be familiar with, and a PDF reader, making it easier to read documents in the popular digital format.

Shipping begins in summer and costs $489. It is currently available for pre-orders.

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