Amazon Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device (9.7″ Display, U.S. Wireless, Latest Generation) Amazon.com announced its latest version of the popular Kindle wireless reading device. Great news! The Kindle DX is now shipping and early reports from recipients sound good. The new Kindle DX is designed with a much larger, 9.7 inch screen (compared to 6 inches for Amazon Kindle2), very newspaper and textbook friendly. In fact, the big-screen Kindle will be used at several universities by fall, preloaded for students with information for some selected classes. It’s also very business document friendly and includes a PDF reader, so its market certainly goes far beyond that of college students.
Buy Amazon Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device (9.7″ Display, U.S. Wireless, Latest Generation)
Sleek & Trim Kindle DX is as thin as most magazines. Just over a third of an inch in profile, you’ll find Kindle DX fits perfectly in your hands. Beautiful Large Display Kindle DX’s large display is ideal for a broad range of reading material, including graphic-rich books, PDFs, newspapers, magazines, and blogs. Kindle DX’s display is two and a half times the size of the Kindle display. Whether you’re reading the latest bestseller or a financial report, text and images are amazingly sharp on the 9.7″ screen. Auto-Rotating Screen By simply turning the device, you can immediately see full-width landscape views of maps, graphs, tables and Web pages. Built-In PDF Reader Unload the loose documents from your briefcase or backpack, and put them all on Kindle DX. From neighborhood newsletters to financial statements to case studies and product manuals–you can take them all with you on Kindle DX. Native PDF support allows you to carry and read all of your personal and professional documents on the go. With Amazon’s Whispernet service, you can send your documents directly to your Kindle DX and read them anytime, anywhere. 5-Way Controller Kindle DX has an easy-to-use 5-way controller, enabling precise on-screen navigation for selecting text to highlight or looking up words. Simple to Use, No Computer Required Kindle DX is completely wireless and ready to use right out of the box–no setup, no cables, no computer required. Long Battery Life – Read for Days Without Recharging With Kindle DX’s long battery life, you can read on a single charge for up to 4 days with wireless on. Turn wireless off and read for up to 2 weeks. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as shopping the Kindle Store and downloading content. In low coverage areas or in 1xRTT only coverage, wireless usage will consume battery power more quickly.
Amazon Kindle2 and Amazon Kindle DX Side-by-Side Comparison
Kindle DX first impressions from a former Amazon Kindle2 user
Here are my first impressions of the Kindle DX which I received earlier today. I’ve been using the Amazon Kindle2 for the past three months and have loved it. It has improved the way I read by making it easy to download and try books before purchasing them, and allowing me to carry a variety of reading material with me. I was disappointed with the way it handled PDF’s, which is important to me, so I sold the Amazon Kindle2 and bought the DX.
- The DX works like the Amazon Kindle2 in terms of keys, navigation, joystick etc., except all the navigation keys are on the right.
- Was concerned about lack of navigation on the left, but if you flip it 180 degrees, the display auto rotates and you can use your left hand. Very slick.
- The DX is heavier, but is still comfortable to hold and read.
- The overall size of the DX is not as big as I expected from the pictures on the web.
- The digital ink looks similar on both, but a little sharper on the DX.
- The DX works much better for PDF’s overall. The bigger screen really helps here.
- A complex powerpoint I converted to pdf looks just like it does on my pc except in b&w.
- PDF’s with columns work fine. I couldn’t read them on the Kindle 2.
- If you have a PDF with multiple columns, the print may appear small on the DX, and you can’t adjust fonts in PDFs.
- Newspapers are easier to read on the DX, especially pics and tables.
- I downloaded a sample chapter of a textbook. I can see this working well for students.
- The rotate feature is excellent on the DX; works as advertised.
- The Kindle 2 weighs less and is more portable. If reading only books, I’d probably prefer the Kindle 2, given the lower price and size, and nav keys on both sides.
Regarding the price, while I’d love Kindles to cost less, I think the price is reasonable. Here’s how I justified it. I assumed I could resell the DX in 2 years for 50% of its purchase price, or $245. (50% seems reasonable based on the experience of Kindle 1). So my net cost is $245. The differentiating feature of the Kindle is the built in wireless capability. Not only is it elegant and integrated, it is also included in the purchase price. If unlimited wireless were priced separately, a reasonable price would be around $10/month. So effectively my out of pocket cost using the DX for 2 years is roughly equivalent to what the wireless would cost me if it was priced separately.
Both the DX and Kindle 2 are good values. If you only read books, the Kindle2 is probably better. If you already own a Kindle 2, and don’t read PDF’s, I recommend keeping your Kindle 2. If you read a lot of pdf’s or newspapers, or you like to read with large fonts, you’ll be happier with the DX. For my needs, I like the DX more.
Reading on the Kindle DX is such a joy. I’ve been so happy with my first generation Kindle 1, but the DX takes Kindle reading to the next level. The amount of content that fits onto the screen is a vast improvement to the experience. And even better than the *quantity* of content is the *quality* of the content. The display on the DX is truly phenomenal.
I write technical documents for a living. The product documentation that I write is full of images, diagrams, and rich formatting. I’ve tried loading my PDF documents onto my Kindle 1, but they won’t display. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I loaded my PDFs onto the Kindle DX. The formatting of the page displayed perfectly!!! Zooming and rotating was simple.
I read a lot of technical documents too. I’ve always been sorry that I couldn’t read good technical books on my Kindle 1 (the latest Photoshop books, etc.) They look great on the DX though. With the DX, you can carry your whole reference library with you: dictionaries, reference manuals, the Bible, … I even have PDF versions of the shop manuals for our dirt bikes. I haven’t loaded them onto the DX, but it sure would be easier to have them on one compact device than having five big fat books for the bikes.
The Kindle DX isn’t cheap, but I imagine the price will come down eventually like it did with earlier Kindle versions. It is an astounding device though–truly a game changing piece of equipment. Think of how your TV viewing changed when you got your first TiVo, how driving changed when you got a GPS, how your phone changed when you got voicemail and caller ID. That’s how your reading will change when you get your fist Kindle.
Kindle DX’s Ability to Display Complex Structures and Form Function of a Bigger Unit
Our Family owns 3 Kindles: K1, K2 and we now own Kindle DX.
We rated K1 and K2, 5 stars. K1 got its grade for the seamless Amazon’s wireless offering and the superior reading experience. K2 improved form function, introduced Text to Speech functionality and expanded embedded K1′s memory.
Why did I order a Kindle DX? I bought a DX for its ability to handle complex written structures. I read financial reports voraciously. Since I can’t read these reports on my PC screen or on K2 (text yes, financial statements no), I print out fat financials reports on a daily basis. As soon as I ordered Kindle DX, I sent .pdf files with tables, files and pictures to my DX email address. Does DX end the tyranny of lugging around piles of work material? Let’s find out.
Text: I almost had a heart attack. I downloaded a PDF from Edgar Online. Their standard font is just too small for DX. On the second attempt, I used a bigger bold font and it worked perfectly. I now have my Kindle DX magical font. Then I tested the Auto-Rotation feature. That is the DX golden nugget. It works brilliantly! Within a PDF document, auto-rotate to landscape will render the appropriate text size. I tested this feature on the original Edgar Document et voila! I prefer the next page and prev page buttons located at the bottom of the unit in landscape mode. You can’t annotate or Highlight in a PDF file. I trust Amazon.Com to deliver this feature in the not too distant future. If not, there goes one star.
Graphs and Tables: I got the Daily livestock Report from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The document has text, boxes, graphs and tables on one page. I auto rotated this newsletter to landscape mode and the rendering reaches perfection.
Pictures: Work of Art! I love the black and white pictures with lots of texture.
Browser: Speed has not increased but the ability to extract Wikipedia material for me is priceless. The size of the screen facilitates reading in the browser.
Form Function: The ability to handle complex structures comes at a cost. The cost is basically the super sizing of the unit. I find the unit to be much easier to hold in the landscape mode. My wife and I will continue to use our K1 and K2 for reading ebooks. I will be using DX for more complex material.
Text to Speech (TTS): I find myself using TTS more and more. Unfortunately on DX, TTS does not work within PDF files. It does on K2. This is a minor issue since I use TTS for ebooks.
Memory: 3,500 books on the DX and an unlimited number of your books saved within the Amazon.com’s cloud which can be downloaded at will for free. Some say it is not enough; I say bring a Cray computer on your next vacation.
Don’t want: I don’t want a backlight on my kindle or touch screen on the reading space.
Wishes: Global wireless access to Kindle Store. Bezos’ vision of all books ever written available on Kindle (let’s speed this up, please). Sudoku. Add a print to file feature in the browser so that I can clip Wikipedia or other web material to be retrieved within the main menu. Ability to access the documents I have archived on Pixily.
I have had this unit for almost a month now and I am very comfortable with the bigger and heavier form factor. After a few weeks, the unit feels more comfortable to hold than most hardcovers. I now download most .pdf to the unit and I expect to save in toner and paper cost the cost of the unit over a one year time frame. I use the leather Amazon kindle cover to protect my Amazon Kindle DX. It works great!
Buy Amazon Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device (9.7″ Display, U.S. Wireless, Latest Generation) From Amazon.com
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