Kindle DX Arrives

Kindle DX Arrives

The Kindle DX arrived last week and I have had a few days to really use the device and my conclusion is that this is a great eBook reader for the right users. Like the Kindle and Kindle 2, it isn’t for everyone. Here are my thoughts:

Pros:

1) The Kindle DX’s larger size allows for reading documents with fewer page turns. While Page turning is faster on the Kindle DX than it was on my older Kindle 1, the amount of text per page means fewer “pages” per document. My aging eyes also prefer to increase the font size on some documents, and having more screen real estate makes this more forgiving.

2) The larger size allows me to read some web pages and new PDF files much more comfortably. While PDF files still have many limitations, the native support for PDF means the few books I have in this format can now be read on the Kindle without converting them.

3) Landscape mode is a real plus for me. For several documents I own, holding the Kindle DX in Landscape mode makes reading much easier and the documents flow better in that mode. However I prefer to switch manually between Portrait and Landscape. I have the same problem with my iPod Touch. It wants to switch to Landscape just because I shifted positions while reading. I prefer to decide for myself which mode is best for a given document.

4) Portability, while it is larger and heavier than the original Kindle, it is still much easier than carrying around several books when going on a trip. I won’t hesitate to pack the Kindle DX along.

5) Amazon support. I can’t say this enough. I have heard horror stories of people trying to get support from Sony for their eBook reader. Amazon has bent over backwards to help us with every problem we’ve had. I purchased the wrong edition of a book by mistake, and Amazon quickly credited me. MY original Kindle stopped working a few days after the warranty had expired, but Amazon replaced it free of charge anyway. If you are going to buy some new and admittedly expensive technology, make sure the company you are doing business with will stand by their product. Amazon does.

Cons:

1) Size (yes this is a pro and a con): The Kindle DX won’t fit as easily into a purse or small backpack. It will be harder to ignore the weight while walking through the airport. Still, it is better than what I used to do when traveling. Nothing was worse than deciding what books to take along due to the constraints of airline luggage.

2) We still need folder options on the Home screen. Honestly, saying we can have up to 3,500 books on the Kindle DX is completely outweighed by the inability to organize them the way we want to. The Search function partially works around this by allowing us to find a book quickly. However, I suspect searching a Kindle fully loaded with books is not going to be very fast.

Still, the Cons of the Kindle DX are essentially the Cons of the original Kindle. The Kindle DX may be a bit more cumbersome, but for anyone who reads a lot or travels and needs to carry reading material along, the Kindle is the best solution.

You’ll note I didn’t bring up price. The truth is price is always subjective. If the item is worth the price TO YOU, it is worth it for you. If it is not, then shouting at others won’t do you any good. There are people who buy a new Ferrari every year because they like their cars fast with a new car smell. Then there are those who feel the Ferrari is a waste of money for a machine that simply takes you from point A to point B. All arguments between these people will never end in agreement.

By S.W.Martin “grown up kid”

 

Kindle DX Good fit for me

I recently purchased a Kindle 2 for my mom for Mother’s Day, so I had an opportunity to look at hers before making my own decision on what to purchase.I did not like the size of the screen on the Kindle 2, so I decided if a Kindle were to fit me, it would need to be the Kindle DX. I want to split this review up into two different sections. The first will review the hardware and native features of the DX and the other will review the Kindle software and content.

Hardware:
Screen: I love the large screen of the kindle. It’s about the size of a hardcover book and allows me to read enough content without feeling like I’m turning the page all the time. As for the screen rotation, I found I do not like the auto rotate feature. Because I lay down to read, it kept turning the text sideways. Fortunately you can lock it in place, and there it stays. Maybe I’ll change that if I decide to subscribe to a newspaper, but I have yet to see a need for landscape viewing yet.

Weight: The Kindle DX is a little heavier than I would prefer it, but it’s not too big of an issue. I usually read sitting or lying down anyway.

Speed: The Kindle DX is still a little too slow in my opinion, and this is very noticeable when you try to do any of the “Experimental” items like basic web browsing. Accessing the Kindle store also seems to take a while to load and I don’t think it’s because of the wireless.

Battery: As for battery life, I’m finding that I get a few days to maybe a week. I’m definitely not able to get the 2 weeks that some report on the K2. I also use it almost every day and sometimes for several hours in a day.

Radios: I’m not sure if it’s the magnets in the Amazon Kindle DX cover I have, but my coverage is a little weird. In my bedroom I’ll go from 2 bars to none and I think that may be draining the batteries quicker than I’d like it to. I would also prefer the Kindle DX to have a built in wireless radio rather than rely solely on the cellular and the ability to turn either radio off individually.

Buttons: I do like the idea of having the previous and next page on both sides of the device. When I first got the Kindle DX and was getting used to reading on it, I found myself trying to hit a button on the left side that wasn’t there at times.

PDF’s: Unfortunately I cannot review this as I just haven’t found the need to put a PDF on here yet.

Kindle software/content:

Software: I’m hoping they are working on software updates since they probably aren’t releasing a new Kindle for at least a year. My biggest complaints are the lack of folders and the inability to customize certain portions of the Kindle. I should be able to change the sleep timer on the Kindle, for instance. We should be able to upload our own and delete the factory installed screen saver pictures as well. I would also prefer an extra warning when you delete your purchased content from the Kindle. I accidentally deleted a book I was reading rather than a blog download. I wasn’t able to find a way to re-download this content directly from the Kindle. Luckily I was near my computer so I was able to send it again, but I would not have been happy if I was somewhere where I didn’t have a computer and I wanted to read. Fortunately these are all software improvements and can easily be addressed. Hopefully they will be in the near future.

Content: I’m glad that there are now 300,000 titles to download, but there still needs to be a lot of additions. I find more books that aren’t available than are right now. I don’t know if it’s because publishers are too slow to adopt the format, or if that it just takes too long for the content to be digitized, but I really hope that publishers realize that digital content is where they need to be focusing more of their energy.

Final thoughts:

After I bought my Kindle DX and I was able to take it to my mom’s to compare it side by side to the K2. The Kindle DX is the right size Kindle for me. That being said, my mom and girlfriend both said they prefer the size of the K2 to put in their purses to take with them. I am glad I made this purchase, although I would prefer it to be a little cheaper. I find myself reading more than I have in years, and that’s a good thing for my mind and probably not so great for my wallet.

 By Eric Dost

 

News Gadget : Amazon Kindle DX

I could write about the feel of the keyboard, or the weight, the size, and the speed of the screen refresh, but others have done this. These are very subjective and generally a matter of taste. Thanks to all of those who pushed and prodded, lifted, and cuddled (their words not mine) these devices. For the most part you’ve done a great job with the periphery. I read these while waiting for my Kindle DX to arrive. Thanks for giving me the tactile experience. I, however, take a slightly different view: Does the Kindle DX meet the design aesthetic of the creator?

I am an Electrical/Software Engineer, an avid reader, and write as a hobby. I have an interest in all aspects of the Kindle. I purchased the original Kindle DX about a year ago and still today consider it one of the best purchases I’ve made. The primary reason I purchased the original kindle was for an improved experience when reading. I wasn’t sure that was possible. Most people who love to read do so because of the nearly magical feature of the brain to take dead lifeless symbols printed on paper and reconstitute the original intent and image of the writer’s story; taking the reader into places never seen and even to the point of feeling things never felt. People who love to read will often “see” the story and no longer “see” the book. This is the pinnacle of the reading experience and paper books truly become the transport they are intended to be. So the question is…

Does the Kindle DX meet and/or exceed the ability of a paper book to transport the reader to the place the writer wished to go to a point where it “disappears” or “fades away” when used?

From my own experience I can say, yes it does. Both my original Kindle (coined Kindle 1 by many people) and my Kindle DX have proven this. Does my Kindle DX do this as well as my Kindle 1? Yes. Does the Kindle DX improve the reading experience over the Kindle 1? Yes, I dare say it does.

How could the Kindle DX improve on the reading experience of the Kindle 1? While I love the Kindle 1 and have tried over the last year to wear the buttons out on it, I was impressed by one of the features of the huge DX. The pan and scan of the eyes is greatly increased. In fact I sat my Kindle 1 on the Kindle DX and the screen of the Kindle DX is larger than the entire Kindle 1. The size of the screen allows my eyes to have a more natural pan of the text that allows more information to be processed before jumping to the next line. Therefore there are fewer “breaks” in the reading allowing for more immersion into the story. The larger pages allow more time and information to be read before the even larger page turn breaks. Therefore the I have noticed the Kindle DX fades away even quicker than the Kindle 1.

Another unexpected advantage I noticed has to do with the physical dimensions and monotonic concepts. The Kindle DX is quite large and when place in the reader’s line of sight cuts-off much more field of view which really limits distractions. The white chassis does not pull the readers eye and nearly creates a movie screen for the “movie” to play on.

The conscious choices made to limit other perceived needs I think are very good choices. It’s very rare anymore for a product developer to stay true to the intent and purpose of a device. They want to add gimmicky and slick additions that may not benefit and even detract from the pure purpose of the device just to add marketing value. I like the design of the Kindle. It has a number of things that more conventional devices have (like laptops), but each item the Kindle sports is not intended to do anything more than improve the reading experience.

So what about the extras you get with the Kindle? The Blogs, Magazines, News Papers, Personal Documents etc. These are value added components. The primary focus of the Kindle is to read books and make the experience equal to that of a paper book. These other items appear to confuse people as to the real purpose of the Kindles. These are great features and I like them a lot. But when I read these, my purpose is different. I have shifted my focus from entertainment and experience, to information. I read a completely different way and I do not expect to be “transported” as I am with a book. But these are valuable additions to the many features of the Kindle and I believe improve the overall product.

I also understand that some magazines are literary magazines and have the same intent as a book. The Kindles do a great job with these also due to its design. For, in this respect, the magazine has the same intent as the book.

Now that I’ve stated my case for the Kindle DX I would like to make a point about the price.

A number of people seem concerned with the price. Is this device worth $489? My answer is a strong yes, although I would not go any higher. Here is my reasoning. First, the enjoyment I get from the Kindle is greater than the price I paid. But on the economy of the thing: Many if not all people have hobbies or interests. Consider the costs of your hobby or interest. Some of these are incredibly expensive. Let’s consider a few (there are millions but this is for demonstration).

Gardening: How much does it cost to garden? How much does it cost plants, fertilizers, landscaping materials, equipment, etc. per year?

Motorcycle: How much does it cost to purchase a motorcycle, insurance, fuel, and maintenance?

Boat: How much does a motor boat, sail boat, personal water craft, etc. cost?

Cable: How much do you spend a year on cable?

Hunting: How much does it cost to hunt? I know people who have purchased property just to have a place to hunt.

Piloting: How much is the airplane, fuel, license, insurance, etc.?

Movies: How much do tickets and a snack cost for 1 1/2 hours?

Take the amount spent on the hobby and then divide that price by the hours of use. Then take the Kindle and the price of the books and do the same thing. I think you’ll find the Kindle is one of the cheapest if not the cheapest.

One thing to consider is the cover for the device. I chose the keep the original cover with my Kindle 1. The Kindle 1 in its cover is about the size of a paperback book. But with the Kindle DX, I chose the M-Edge Platform Cover that allows it to stand up like an easel. It has proven itself to me to be a good choice due to the Kindle DX’s larger width. I will be writing a review for that cover also.

I gave the Kindle DX 5 stars because it does exactly what they said it will do and then some more and it met all my expectations. I review on the “what is” and not the “what if”. In my opinion there is no other digital reader that comes close to the Kindle when you look at the whole package including the Amazon service.

By R.Layne “Luv2Read

 

Review : Kindle DX: Amazon’s 9.7″

Kindle DX: Amazon’s 9.7″

Even better than Kindle 1 & 2,

Reading on the Kindle DX is such a joy. I’ve been so happy with my first generation Kindle 1, but the Kindle 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 Kindle 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 Kindle 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 Kindle 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 DX 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.

 

By  David Edmiston “Dave”

 

Kindle DX is The Winner

After using IRex, Sony, Kindle 2, I can safely say that Kindle DX is a clear winner. Previously, Sony had best resolution, IRex with decent PDF support and Kindle with its wireless convenience and dictionary. Kindle DX gives me all. Its native PDF conversion is very good and display better than I expected even for non-English documents.

I always found Sony’s contrast and display better than Kindle 2 but Kindle DX screen looks as good if not better.

Its mp3 and audible player sounds as good as iPod.

Of course it is bigger and heavier. A card slot’d have been better and a built-in light like Sony, but Kindle DX delivers without putting a dent in your wallet.

By Wadood Chaudhary

The Best Kindle Yet!

I have the two previous Kindles, and the Kindle DX is the best yet. The screen is much larger than I expected, and I think that the photographs are much cleaner looking on the DX. I thought that the DX was faster when looking on the web, but the only site I went to was the Amazon site. The screen is just incredible. I cannot wait for a color e-ink, but for now I am very happy with the Kindle DX. If I had to choose between the three Kindle’s I would buy the DX. The price difference is worth the larger screen. The whole Kindle 2 fits inside the screen of the DX.

A nice change is no buttons on the left side so that you can hold the Kindle without pushing buttons. I still think the Kindle needs a place to hold for people with larger hands, but the DX is an improvement. I do wish they did not eliminate the numbers row of keys and place them with the top row of letters. The buttons look sleeker on the Kindle DX, but I like the feel of the buttons on the Kindle 2 better. Again, I have larger hands and the buttons are a bit awkward. If you are left-handed, you can flip the Kindle upside down, and hold the Kindle with your right hand without hitting buttons. A benefit of the screen adjusting to any way you chose to hold the Kindle DX.

The price is a bit high, but if you read a lot, it is worth it. It is completely different than reading on a computer; so much less eye strain. As an educator, I would love to see a student price so that students could afford them. As a doctoral student, I love being able to use the Kindles in my doctoral work. I do miss the SD port that the first Kindle DX has. I think that the next Kindle should have the SD port again and a better place to hold the unit. Still, I thank you Amazon for a great product.

By	Wedway ”JD”

 

News : Amazon Kindle DX

News : Kindle DX Just as soon as

we finally get our hands on a new unit to test out, the boys over at Rapir Repair are racing to rip one apart. And that’s just what they’ve done here with the Amazon Kindle DX . Inside it’s got the requisite boards, wires, tape and cat hairs (just kidding), plus an E727NV WN2 wireless card, memory, CPU and Epson E-ink panel controller. It’s actually pretty sparse and clean inside of there — we’d expect nothing less! Hit the read link for the full, glorious disassembling (though there is one more shot after the break). Continue reading Amazon Kindle DX gets torn apart, examined Filed under: Displays Amazon Kindle DX gets torn apart, examined originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read PDF on 700 Now, what I want to do with the eReader is be able to view books (Stephen King, Dean Koontz) and view PDF’s I’ve bought, as well as reading work documents on the go. This would greatly reduce what I have to carry in a normal day. Needles to say, PDF support is a must. I also would like to be able to add notes to pages. I’m a notorious note take in my books, be it with post it’s or writing, this is very important to me. Now the Kindle doesn’t native support PDF’s and from what I heard their conversions aren’t the best. (Except for the Kindle DX, releasing on June 10). Every other eReader seems to support PDF. So I thought I would try to find the Sony Reader that supports PDF nicely and allows notes. The Kindle has always allowed notes and bookmarks, but has just now allowed PDF (Kindle DX). I was able to see and touch the Sony Reader 505 at Target, which is where I fell in love with the idea of an eReader, but could NOT find a 700 anywhere. Finally found that Borders has 700’s so I took a roadtrip to a local borders (about 1.25 hours away) to see the Reader. The 700 honestly did not impress me at all. The text was hard to read on a normal book, the contrast was horrid. The PDF support was nice, it had zoom and annotation that I wanted, but reading it was hard with the glare from the touch screen. I thought to myself, I should just try it. So I ask Borders what thier return policy is, they only return Readers if they are defective. The only Sony Store has a 14day return policy I believe, but after seeing the two side by side, I figure I won’t even bother. The Kindle DX, I believe, will be my reader of choice. The Amazon Store has an ample 30 day return policy (from delivery date) and PDF support. Plus it has a bigger screen. I found that while trying to read PDF’s on the Sony’s 6″ screen, it was hard to read at small “form”.. and when you expand the text the formatting kinda breaks. The large 9.7″ screen of the Kindle DX I think will really help with that.

Amazon Kindle DX: 9.7-inch screen and $489

Amazon Kindle DX: 9.7-inch screen and $489

Amazon’s third incarnation of the Kindle is here, folks. All 9.7-inches of it. Specs and info leaked about the now official Kindle over the last week and they seemed pretty much dead on. It comes packing with the larger screen, auto-rotating screen, and finally supports PDF files fully with a native PDF reader. This larger Kindle also ups the storage capacity from 1,500 books on the Kindle 2 to 3,500 on the Kindle DX thanks to 3.3GB of on board memory. The order is up now and will ship shortly if you’re willing to drop $489 on one.

More pics and info after the jump.

Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines

Lightweight: At 10.2 ounces, lighter than a typical paperback

Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots

Books in Under 60 Seconds: Get books delivered in less than 60 seconds; no PC required

Improved Display: Reads like real paper; now boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and even crisper images

Longer Battery Life: 25% longer battery life; read for days without recharging

More Storage: Take your library with you; holds over 1,500 books

Faster Page Turns: 20% faster page turns

Read-to-Me: With the new text-to-speech feature, Kindle can read every newspaper, magazine, blog, and book out loud to you, unless the book is disabled by the rights holder

Large Selection: Over 275,000 books plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs available

Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise

Introducing Kindle DX–Amazon’s Large Screen Addition to the Kindle Family of Wireless Reading Devices
Large Kindle DX Display and New Features Provide Enhanced Experience for Reading a Wide Range of Professional and Personal Documents
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May. 6, 2009– Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today introduced Amazon Kindle DX, the new purpose-built reading device that offers Kindle’s revolutionary wireless delivery and massive selection of content with a large 9.7-inch electronic paper display, built-in PDF reader, auto-rotate capability, and storage for up to 3,500 books. More than 275,000 books are now available in the Kindle Store, including 107 of 112 current New York Times Best Sellers. New York Times Bestsellers and New Releases are $9.99 unless marked otherwise. Top U.S. and international magazines and newspapers plus more than 1,500 blogs are also available. Kindle DX is available for pre-order starting today for $489 at http://amazon.com/KindleDX and will ship this summer.

“Personal and professional documents look so good on the big Kindle DX display that you’ll find yourself changing ink-toner cartridges less often,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “Cookbooks, computer books, and textbooks – anything highly formatted – also shine on the Kindle DX. Carry all your documents and your whole library in one slender package.”

New Large Display

Kindle DX’s display has 2.5 times the surface area of Kindle’s 6-inch display. The larger electronic paper display with 16 shades of gray has more area for graphic-rich content such as professional and personal documents, newspapers and magazines, and textbooks. Kindle reads like printed words on paper because the screen works using real ink and doesn’t use a backlight, eliminating the eyestrain and glare associated with other electronic displays.

The New York Times Company and Washington Post Company are launching pilots with Kindle DX this summer. The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post will offer the Kindle DX at a reduced price to readers who live in areas where home-delivery is not available and who sign up for a long-term subscription to the Kindle edition of the newspapers.

“At The New York Times Company we are always seeking new ways for our millions of readers to have full and continuing access to our high-quality news and information,” said Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., chairman, The New York Times Company and publisher, The New York Times. “The wireless delivery and new value-added features of the Kindle DX will provide our large, loyal audience, no matter where they live, with an exciting new way to interact with The New York Times and The Boston Globe. Additionally, by offering a subscription through the Kindle DX to readers who live outside of our delivery areas, we will extend our reach to our loyal readers who will be able to more readily enjoy their favorite newspapers. Meanwhile, we are continuing to work with Amazon to make The New York Times and The Boston Globe experiences on Kindle better than ever.”

Kindle DX’s large display offers an enhanced reading experience with another category of graphic-rich content—textbooks. With complex images, tables, charts, graphs, and equations, textbooks look best on a large display. Leading textbook publishers Cengage Learning, Pearson, and Wiley, together representing more than 60 percent of the U.S. higher education textbook market, will begin offering textbooks through the Kindle Store beginning this summer. Textbooks under the following brands will be available: Addison-Wesley, Allyn & Bacon, Benjamin Cummings, Longman & Prentice Hall (Pearson); Wadsworth, Brooks/Cole, Course Technology, Delmar, Heinle, Schirmer, South-Western (Cengage); and Wiley Higher Education.

Arizona State University, Case Western Reserve University, Princeton University, Reed College, and Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia will launch trial programs to make Kindle DX devices available to students this fall. The schools will distribute hundreds of Kindle DX devices to students spread across a broad range of academic disciplines. In addition to reading on a considerably larger screen, students will be able to take advantage of popular Kindle features such as the ability to take notes and highlight, search across their library, look up words in a built-in dictionary, and carry all of their books in a lightweight device.

“The Kindle DX holds enormous potential to influence the way students learn,” said Barbara R. Snyder, president of Case Western Reserve University. “We look forward to seeing how the device affects the participation of both students and faculty in the educational experience.”

New Built-In PDF Reader

Kindle DX features a built-in PDF reader using Adobe Reader Mobile technology for reading professional and personal documents. Like other types of documents on Kindle, customers simply email their PDF format documents to their Kindle email address or move them over using a USB connection. With a larger display and built-in PDF reader, Kindle DX customers can read professional and personal documents with more complex layouts without scrolling, panning, or zooming, and without re-flowing, which destroys the original structure of the document. Everything from annual reports with graphs to flight manuals with maps to musical scores can be viewed on a single, crisp screen with Kindle DX.

New Auto-Rotation

Kindle DX’s display content auto-rotates so users can read in portrait or landscape mode, or flip the device to read with either hand. Simply turn Kindle DX and immediately see full-width landscape views of maps, graphs, tables, images, and Web pages.

New 3.3 GB Memory Holds Up To 3,500 Books

With 3.3 GB of available memory, Kindle DX can hold up to 3,500 books, compared with 1,500 with Kindle. And because Amazon automatically backs up a copy of every Kindle book purchased, customers can wirelessly re-download titles from their library at any time.

Incredibly Thin

Kindle DX is just over a third of an inch thin, which is thinner than most magazines.

3G Wireless, No PC, No Hunting for Wi-Fi Hot Spots

Just like Kindle, Kindle DX customers automatically take advantage of Amazon Whispernet to wirelessly shop the Kindle Store, download or receive new content in less than 60 seconds, and read from their library—all without a PC, Wi-Fi hot spot, or syncing. Amazon still pays for the wireless connectivity on Kindle DX so books can be downloaded in less than 60 seconds—with no monthly fees, data plans, or service contracts.

Syncs With Kindle for iPhone and other Kindle Compatible Devices

Just like Kindle, Kindle DX uses Amazon Whispersync technology to automatically sync content across Kindle, Kindle DX, Kindle for iPhone, and other devices in the future. With Whispersync, customers can easily move from device to device and never lose their place in their reading.

Massive Selection of Books—Plus Newspapers, Magazines, and Blogs

The Kindle Store currently offers more than 275,000 books, including popular books like New York Times Bestsellers, New Releases, and fiction and nonfiction released in the past several years. Dozens of newspapers and magazines are also available for subscription or single-edition purchase. BusinessWeek and The New England Journal of Medicine are available in the Kindle Store starting today, and The Economist will be available soon. Subscriptions are auto-delivered wirelessly to Kindle overnight so that the latest edition is waiting for customers when they wake up. Over 1,500 blogs are available on Kindle and updated and downloaded wirelessly throughout the day.

Kindle DX includes all the other features Kindle customers enjoy every day, including:

Wirelessly send, receive, and read personal documents in a variety of formats such as Microsoft Word and PDF
Look up words instantly using the built-in 250,000 word New Oxford American Dictionary
Choose from six text sizes
Add bookmarks, notes, and highlights
Text-to-speech technology that converts words on a page to spoken word
Search Web, Wikipedia.org, Kindle Store, and your library of purchased content
No setup required—Kindle comes ready to use—no software to load or set up
Amazon Kindle is sold through Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

By Matt Burns

Amazon should cut the price down

I am a grad student who need to read lots PDF journal papers. I like the screen size of Kindle DX which really makes me comfortable to read by clean words. It does heavier while I hold it in one hand. Though it weighs like iPhone 3G but the big size keeps you hard to hold it for a long time reading.

Wireless download and the screensaver are two of the sweet features in Kindle DX. I do wish Amazon could let user set up their own custom screensaver. And let us upload Images and DOC files via USB not the wireless conversion.

And I have to say that I am really disappointed about the PDF reader. Amazon provide the native PDF support in Kindle DX but w/o the most important Annotation and Zoom In/Out features. Now, look at the machine I got:

It can read the books ONLY on itself, and plus a PDF reader which cannot do anything but rotate the screen(fine, you can do some searching keywords). How could you claim the Kindle Kindle DX as an E-Reader? It cannot even support the most common file type, PDF, with the basic features. Then you sell students the Kindle DX as the highest price at market, $489 + $50 with a cover?

I do not think Kindle DX worth the price because it doesn’t provide the complete features for academic users, I cannot annotate/Zoom in/out the most files(PDF) I have. And there is no proper file organization in DX. In addition, the text books I brought are only for Kindle. I cannot read w/o the machine.

I do hope Amazon would let us upgrade the PDF annotation and zoom features via firmware update. Also the doc, images files syn with personal computers.

By

J. Chiu

Amazon’s New Kindle DX is an Electronic Game Changer

What is a Kindle?

The Kindle is an electronic media reader built and sold exclusively by Amazon.  Some might call it a digital book but, as you’ll see, it’s so much more.

The thin that sets the Kindle apart from other digital readers is its revolutionary Digital Ink technology.  Unlike laptops, computers, or portable devices, the Kindle only uses electricity when the image on the screen is refreshed (when you “turn” the page for example).  The image is displayed in crisp grayscale (capable of up to 12 shades for exceptional clarity,) and “reads” more like regular paper text because there is no backlighting or glare from the screen.  This unique ability allows the Kindle to operate for an incredible two weeks on a single battery charge!

The Kindle isn’t just about reading books and looking geeky while you’re doing it.  The Kindle truly represents a big step toward that fabled “paperless society” everybody has been talking about since the first time they saw Captain Kirk and Spock talk to the ships computer on Star Trek the Original Series. 

In a very real way, the Kindle DX (Amazon’s biggest version yet) is similar to the Enterprise’s computer.  It’s a wireless device (operating off Sprint’s 3Gnetwork) that has access to Amazon’s massive library of over 275,000 books, 60,000 audio books, and hundreds of top rated periodicals (The New York Times and Time magazine.)  The Kindle DX allows you to digitally search, preview, and download anything from the Amazon library in seconds.  You can also easily transfer documents from one Kindle to another with Whispersync technology.  You can port your files over via a USB 2.0 cable as well but that seems just a little too old fashioned.    

Amazon targeted tech savvy business professionals as well with its upgrade.  The Kindle DX cantransport and view a wide array of digital media formats including:  Kindle (AZW,) PDF, text, Audible audio books, MP3, html, Word .Doc, Jpeg, and many more.  You want to listen to Stiff Whisker and the Driftwood Kids while you read the New York Times?  You Can.  Prefer to use the kindle as a business presentation tool and display your charts, graphs, documents, and photos with the portability of a device that weighs less than two pounds?  The Kindle is great for you as well.    

The new Kindle DX is a significant upgrade over the older, much smaller version, with:

• 1) A 9.7″ display (capable of up to 16 shades of grey for crystal clarity)
• 2) A built in dictionary (The New Oxford American Dictionary)
• 3) Free access to the Wikipedia online encyclopedia
• 4) A basic web browser great for text-centric sites such as Google
• 5) Support for MP3 format to support audio (as mentioned above)
• 6) An auto-rotating display that allows better presentation of oversized documents
• 7) A Native PDF reader (which requires no conversion and preserves the original layout of the document)
•  Amazon’s experimental Read-To-Me software (which converts text into spoken word)

Amazingly, Amazon stuffed all of that into a device that’s 1/3 of an inch thick and weighs just over a pound.

The digital Ink technology revolutionizes energy consumption in portable devices and the fact that Kindle can give anyone access to hundreds of thousands of documents without ever having to pulp a tree for paper is really quite amazing.  If paperless really isn’t your “thing,” just imagine how much space you’ll save by having your entire collection of dusty old hardcovers in a 1/3 of an inch digital box (not to mention the money you’ll save over bookstore prices.)

Colleges around the country have already pre-ordered the new Kindle DX, citing its ability to handle text book-sized material, its cost effectiveness, and its environmental footprint.  Yet the Kindle might not be as hot as Amazon wanted it to be be.  Why?  The price might scare most users away:  nearly $500!

When you consider what it can do and how many devices it can replace, even $500 is an incredible bargain.

Personally, I feel that if the Kindle fits within your budget, you should have one. 

 Amazon Kindle DX

Reviews Kindle DX Pros And Cons

Amazon Kindle DX

Reviews of the Amazon Kindle e-Book. Check out pictures, news, and reviews of Amazon’s latest product push – the Kindle.

Kindle DX Review (Video): This commercial presentation provides an up-close look at the features and specs of the Kindle DX including: display features, how the text-to-speech sounds, wireless access and technology, buying content (periodicals and books) through Amazon, web browsing, PDF viewing and much more.

Advanced Design

Sleek & Trim

Kindle DX is as thin as most magazines. Just over a third of an inch in profile, you’ll findKindle 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.

Amazon’s New Kindle DX: Pros and Cons

Amazon announced the next generation of it’s Kindle e-reader, the Kindle DX. Per Amazon, the display is 2.5 times bigger than the original. After taking a look, here’s some of the main points:

Pros:

1. The new larger size allows documents to be read as-is, with the entire document fitting in the screen. With the smaller Kindle screen, users have to scroll to see more of the document, or the document has to be re-flowed, something that can severely change the readability.

2. Those who read large print books and feel the current Kindle screen could not accommodate them should have an easier time with this new version.

3. The DX will have an automatic rotating display, meaning the screen automatically changes from vertical to horizontal and back again, depending on how it’s held.

4. The Kindle DX can store around 2,000 more books than the current Kindle.

5. PDFs won’t have to be converted like the they do in the current Kindle.

Cons:

1. The current Kindle isn’t exactly the most portable device, despite its slim size. By tacking on an additional two inches, it will be even harder for many to carry the Kindle DX around as an all-purpose device, as Amazon touts it to be.

2. At $489, it costs over $100 more than the current Kindle, which isn’t the cheapest e-reader available to begin with.

3. I haven’t seen anything to indicate that Amazon has improved the connectivity issues that have plagued some of the current Kindle owners.

4. The Kindle still requires the Kindle store and still does not allow crossover purchases.

Kindle DX: The flip-side

While the backside of the Kindle DX is as nondescript as that of an iPod, it masks the unit’s 4GB capacity (3.3GB usable). That’s twice as much as the Kindle 2, and enough to hold 3,500 books (according to Amazon).

16 shades of gray

As with the Kindle 2, the DX’s e-ink screen delivers 16 shades of gray, which means sharper images than the first-gen Kindle. (Those hoping for a color screen will have to wait for future versions

A library in your hand Newspapers, magazines, books, and personal documents are accessible on the Kindle DX. The unit also includes a full version of the New Oxford American Dictionary, so unfamiliar words can be

Still no touch screen Unlike the competing Sony Reader, the latest Kindle still doesn’t have a touch screen. However, the built-in keyboard makes it relatively easy to enter search terms and Web addresses.

Kindle DX: To Buy or Not To Buy?

Today, Amazon announced a new Kindle e-reader that has a bigger screen — 9.7 inches diagonally — and a bigger price tag: 489 smackeroos. So should you fork out $130 more than the last Kindle for the new version? We can’t say for sure until we get to play with it for a while, but here’s a preliminary guide based on the specs and our quick demo at today’s press conference.

Who Will Want It

Students: Textbooks can weigh five-plus pounds and cost 80-plus dollars. So backpack-burdened students are the obvious first customers for a big-screen e-reader that can hold hundreds of textbooks and display their diagrams and charts in full. The Kindle DX isn’t the first large-screen e-reader (see the options from iRex) but Amazon’s clout gives it an advantage, letting it offer textbooks from many different publishers. Amazon has already announced deals with Pearson, Cengage Learning, and Wiley, who together account for 60 percent of the U.S. textbook market. Although prices for the upcoming digital textbooks haven’t been announced, I expect that they’ll be lower than the printed version, just as with Amazon’s other e-books.

News junkies: the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Boston Globe will all offer Kindle DXs at a discounted price in a trial of digital subscriptions. Unfortunately, it seems this summer’s trial will happen only in areas where there’s currently no paper delivery. (Looks like the rest of us will have to wait, which is too bad for me — I’d gladly sign on, because even though I can get the paper delivered to my apartment, someone always steals the darn thing before I get outside.) Right now the digital newspapers’ format is simple, not a copy of the paper version’s layout, just as on previous Kindles — although maybe the bigger screen will prompt publishers to think about new ways of presenting articles.

Owners of printers: Businesspeople, scientists, and the rest of us are always printing out 8 1/2-by-11 documents, whether they’re corporate reports, journal articles, or recipes. A screen that’s two and a half times the size of the original Kindle’s gets much closer to the size of an actual piece of paper, so you don’t have to zoom or scroll to see all the information — everything looks exactly like the printouts we’re used to. The best part: The Kindle DX can read all your PDF documents instantly, without you having to go through the complicated conversion process that the current Kindles require.