Amazon Kindle DX
What Weighs 19 oz, Is 1/3" Thick, And Carries 3,500 Books?
As Walter Bishop from Fringe would anecdotally quip, “I thought you’d be fatter.” This pretty much wraps up my thoughts on the new Amazon Kindle DX
I jest. Today, Amazon has lifted the veil on the new Kindle DX
At first glance, the Amazon Kindle DX looks like it’s going to be a crowd-pleaser with its 9.7 inch e-ink (reads like paper) screen that works in either portrait or landscape mode. At 18.9 ounces and 1/3″ inch deep, the DX will be no thicker than your last issue of Esquire, fractions lighter than your hardback War & Peace, and cleaner than shuffling through your local paper… that is if you still read your local paper. The Kindle DX continues with the 3G Sprint EVDO wireless access (free) to download books, newspapers, blogs, PDFs, images, and email instantly and storing them on the built-in 4GB of memory. Some analysis and a list of features can be found after the jump.
There’s a lot riding on the Kindle DX. As a professional in the media industry, I can say that there are probably a lot of jobs indirectly tied to the success of the Kindle DX (and devices like it).
Amazon’s included what appears to be a truly handy 5-way controller that lets you quickly flip between articles for fast/easy newspaper browsing. That’s no coincidence. Amazon’s looking to earn the loyalty and praise of newspaper and magazine subscribers along with book readers. Yes, only time will tell whether the interface and use of the Kindle DX will hold up, but here’s hoping.
I’ve always been a traditionalist when it comes to reading books, magazines, and newspapers - preferring the visceral medium of paper and the glossiness of magazines. There’s something to be said about the quality writers, designers, and printers collaboratively bring to the table versus ad-laden, hodge-podge websites (ahem) run by unqualified pundits. It goes without saying that this editor has a personal interest to see where things go with the Kindle DX. Maybe (just maybe) that’s why I’m about to pre-order one.
Features:
- Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines
- Holds up to 3,500 books, periodicals, and documents
- 9.7″ diagonal e-ink screen reads like real paper; boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and sharp images
- Display auto-rotates from portrait to landscape as you turn the device so you can view full-width maps, graphs, tables, and Web pages on the Auto-Rotating Screen
- Native PDF support allows you to carry and read all of your personal and professional documents on the go with the built-in PDF reader
- 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle DX, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, no annual contracts, and no hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots
- You get free wireless delivery of books in less than 60 seconds; no PC required
- Read for days without recharging
- With the text-to-speech feature, Kindle DX can read newspapers, magazines, blogs, and books out loud to you, unless the book’s rights holder made the feature unavailable
- Over 275,000 books; New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases are only $9.99, unless marked otherwise
- U.S. and international newspapers including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, magazines including The New Yorker and Time, plus popular blogs, all auto-delivered wirelessly
Note: Gear Patrol’s working to make sure we get our grubby hands on the Kindle DX as soon as it’s available. As an aside, we’re already wrapping up our review on the Kindle 2 and will be publishing that soon.
Cost: $489
I've loved the idea of the Kindle since it was first announced. The e-ink with the handy form factor and the wireless delivery really looks good to me, but I've been holding off until the tech matured just a little bit more. $500 is a pretty healthy price when it only reduces my book spending by a little bit (and I can imagine some books I'll want to own in both digital and real formats), but I think this might be the version that pushes me over the edge.
I'll just keep staring at it for a couple months until it's released before making the real decision, though.
$500 + books is a hefty price. There's no denying that.
The only other quandry is what Apple might "allegedly" be releasing later this year, and I'm not referring to the new iPhone.
like other digital media, i find the prices of ebooks way too high. when the cost of a digital book is the same (or close to) a printed one i see problems (i've argued the same thing about itunes for years). i'm also concerned for the use of the kindle DX and school textbooks. thought those new text book editions were bad before? how much easier would it be for the publisher to roll out a whole new edition at the drop of a hat. forget the $10 the bookstore was going to pay you for a $200 book @ the end of the semester; no resale on digital items
all that to be said, i still kinda want a kindle DX… with a lower price
I have a few beefs about the Kindle DX. One like the rest above it is simply to expensive for most people to want to buy, unless of course you desire to read all of the books on Amazon. Second, if you drop that thing, your hosed. I'm afraid one small drop off a table and that thing is a goner, and then your $500 + #books * price of each book out the door. I realize one of the pluses is that it is super light, but it had better be super drop proof. Third, it only works in the U.S. And since, I will be traveling quite allot to foreign countries I do not want to be limited to only U.S. As a graduate student, having all my books on something like a Kindle would be sweet. However, the price of those books had better be 2/3 the costs of what they now are. Also, it would be nice if you could copy segments from a book, and copy it straight to a Word document, along with source information. That would make this both business and academic friendly.
I do like the bigger screen, and larger storage capacity, and the pdf readability format. And the rotating screen format is a sweet idea. There are allot of pluses as the article mentions. I just think if Amazon wants to make this thing a huge seller their going to have to allay allot of concerns.
We're humans, so in many ways a lot of us are wired to hesitate when there's a change. Taking a print medium to a digital format is definitely a massive hurdle, so that axiom applies here more so… talk about a format rooted in tradition.
Honestly, I don't think I'll be much of an avid user until e-Ink rolls out their color screens, which from what I hear, are still a ways off. The email, .pdf, and document reading on the standard Kindle really does work great though. I didn't even think about the school textbook angle though - that seems like a fantastic opportunity to see some success with a very well priced unit.
Dusty Overby is finishing up the last bits on his Amazon Kindle 2 Review, which should be published shortly. I'll be curious to hear what he has to say about it - he's quite thorough.
We're humans, so in many ways a lot of us are wired to hesitate when there's a change. Taking a print medium to a digital format is definitely a massive hurdle, so that axiom applies here more so… talk about a format rooted in tradition.
Honestly, I don't think I'll be much of an avid user until e-Ink rolls out their color screens, which from what I hear, are still a ways off. The email, .pdf, and document reading on the standard Kindle really does work great though. I didn't even think about the school textbook angle though - that seems like a fantastic opportunity to see some success with a very well priced unit.
Dusty Overby is finishing up the last bits on his Amazon Kindle 2 Review, which should be published shortly. I'll be curious to hear what he has to say about it - he's quite thorough.