Kindle DX : The Definitive Electronic Book… finally!

Although I was an early adopter of the original Kindle, I’ve eagerly anticipated Amazon’s Kindle DX. The original device was, and is, well-suited for light reading of non-serious material, but its small screen size and lack of PDF support made it mostly a recreational device. I quickly realized that any serious technical book still worked better in physical form. That, combined with the original Kindle’s inability to handle PDFs in a usable form (the conversion left a lot to be desired), made me look at other eReaders, particularly the iLiad iRex. Unfortunately, the iRex, at above $800, was still a work-in-progress, with serious deficiencies in terms of functionality and reliability, and I didn’t want to be an alpha tester of a device that might never BE finished. Amazon’s announcement of the large-format Kindle DX with native PDF support seemed like the answer… so I plunked down the money for a DX and the Amazon case and got on the waiting list.Why would you want native PDF support? The small Kindles support PDFs file via translation; you send a PDF document to Amazon and they convert it to the Kindle’s AZW format and send it back to you, either to your desktop email account (free) or directly to your Kindle ($0.10 per document). However, if your document is anything more than simple text, formatting and imagery are mangled. What you get is readable but not nearly as readable as a Kindle document that was specifically prepared for the device. This is an inherent restriction caused by the difference between a document file structure that is meant to preserve formatting (PDF) and one that is meant to allow for text flow despite screen or font size concerns (AZW). The result was that you couldn’t practically use either the original or 2nd gen Kindles for reading even reasonably complex PDF documents. Having an integral native PDF reader on the new Kindle DX solves this problem and opens up a HUGE world of documents to the Kindle owner.

I’ve had the Kindle DX for about a day now, and it’s everything I was looking for. PDFs render beautifully, and Kindle AZW documents render even better than they did on the original Kindle due to the larger screen size and 16-tone grey scale capability. The large screen really elevates the new DX into something more than a convenient device for light reading. The Kindle DX shows the true utility of an electronic reader for the first time. It’s what the Kindle should have been from the start.

What has improved? Performance is better, particularly the screen refresh rate. The new button design means not turning pages accidentally anymore (although I wish they’d kept buttons on both sides of the device for us left-handers). I don’t like not having an SD card slot on the device, nor do I like not being able to change the battery without sending the device back to Amazon. Being able to turn the Whispernet modem on and off via software (menu item) is scads better than having to move a switch. The web browser’s ‘desktop’ mode makes the browser very usable, especially when combined with the rotation feature. Speaking of rotation, the ability to rotate the device and view documents in either landscape or portrait mode is KILLER. Text-to-speech works well, but I have yet to try it for actually ‘reading’ (listening to) a document while doing something else, e.g., driving, to see if it is really useful or just a checklist feature. The Amazon cover (extra charge) is WAY above the original Kindle’s flimsy cover; it actually holds the device securely, protects the screen, yet is easy to open (beware of the magnetic latch around external hard drives or near the bottom of your laptop).

Okay, so now I have two Kindles. My wife asked me why I need two, a good question. My answer is, the small Kindles are great for light reading… the latest fiction novel, public-domain classics, etc., but they’re useless for PDFs or more serious reading such as technical books because the screen size is too small and images, formulas, etc., don’t display well. The Kindle DX is great for any type of reading and shines with PDFs and more serious books, yet it is considerably heavier than the original Kindle (I’d say twice as heavy, if not more so) and not as convenient to stuff in a carry-on bag. I’ve already moved all of the technical books I own over to the Kindle DX, as well as many PDF documents. I had decided to not buy any serious books for my Kindle, using it only for light reading… but the new Kindle DX has changed my mind. The experience of reading a technical book is as good or better than the physical book, and that is something that could not be said about the smaller Kindles.

If I had to own just one electronic reading device, the choice is obvious: the Kindle DX. Amazon has gotten it right; the Kindle DX finally fulfills the ‘book’ paradigm in an electronic device.

By John Clifford

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 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 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 - An Improved E-Book Reader

Kindle DX is Amazon’s newest and improved version of Kindle, the famous portable e-book reader. This new release of the popular electronic device contains several improvements over its predecessors.

It is now possible to read PDF files without having to convert them first. Previous Kindle versions allowed you to read PDF documents, but only after converting them to the device’s proprietary format, AZW. The Kindle DX’s ability to recognize PDF as a native format eliminates this hassle.

Considering the amount of content that is available as downloadable PDF files all over the Internet, this new feature is extremely convenient. It makes it especially useful for those who collect reports, white papers and e-books released in the format created by Acrobat. So, next time you subscribe to a newsletter and get an e-book as a gift, you will be able to comfortably read it on your Kindle DX as long as it is a PDF document.

Another important feature is its built-in accelerometer. For you, the final consumer, it means that whenever you turn your device on its side, the electronic paper display will change its alignment as well.

The result of this change in the screen alignment is that you can read documents in either portrait or landscape mode. Just choose the appropriate mode according to the file you want to read, rotate your Kindle DX and its screen will conform to the right orientation.

A notable improvement concerns its storage capacity. Previous Kindle versions allowed you to save around 1,500 e-books. Now you can store 2,000 additional items. By being able to save up to 3,500 files on your memory, you can rest assured that document storage won’t be a problem for you.

As nice as the improvements mentioned above are, you probably won’t notice them at first sight when you purchase your Kindle DX. What you will notice for sure is the device’s bigger screen size.

Older Kindle versions, although already useful, were rather small. The new display is two and a half times larger than that of its immediate predecessor, Kindle 2. The higher screen resolution will make it much more comfortable for you to read your college text books and/or your favorite newspapers, among other large-sized publications.

Thanks to all its new features, the new device can ensure that you will have a better user experience. Amazon Kindle DX may be just the e-book reading device you need.

By Jan Cummings

Putting the Kindle DX Through Its Paces

After a fair amount of hullabaloo surrounding its announcement in May, Amazon is now shipping its large-screen Kindle DX. I got to spend some time with the Kindle recently. Here’s how it shakes out.

Amazon.com Amazon’s new Kindle DX.

As with previous versions of the e-reader, the Kindle DX’s $489 price tag includes a wireless connection, and books are still about $10 a pop. You can also read e-books you’ve bought for the Kindle on your iPhone. So what do you get for the higher price? For starters, it has a 9.7-inch diagonal electronic ink display (compared with the Kindle 2’s 6-inch diagonal screen), which increases its total footprint to 10.4 inches by 7.2 inches -– almost the size of a piece of paper.

You can also rotate the Kindle DX so text can be read in landscape mode. The auto-rotate feature seems somewhat unpredictable –- sometimes it would rotate at the slightest turn and other times it wouldn’t rotate at all. Turning the device off and then back on seemed to do the trick.

Amazon hopes its larger display will attract readers who want to read documents, newspapers, textbooks and other materials that would benefit from a larger screen. The company is working with textbook publishers and a handful of universities that will offer the Kindle DX to students. It also includes a built-in PDF reader, using Adobe’s mobile reader. For those who want — or need — to zoom in on a picture or a chart, the Kindle DX lets you do that, too.

The larger size also means a bigger keyboard. While its feedback is slightly better than the one on the Kindle 2, the wider Kindle DX e-reader makes typing a little awkward. Of course, keyboard feel is one of those things where everybody has their own opinion. All I’m saying is this: a) I have small hands and b) I’ve gotten used to typing with my thumbs on a BlackBerry, so the Kindle DX experience was not ideal for me.

There’s a new “experimental” tab on the main menu, which offers users a simple Web browser, the ability to play MP3 music files you’ve added to your Kindle from your computer and Amazon’s text-to-speech option.

Amazon labels its browser option “Basic Web,” which is fitting. It comes with preloaded bookmarks for pared-down versions of Web sites like Google, CNN and Yelp. I tried to get around the need to subscribe to the newspaper by going to nytimes.com, but quickly discovered that the browser doesn’t support the full version of the Web that we view on our computers (and now, some smartphones). Tricky.

I also tested the text-to-speech option, which you can access by pressing the “Aa” key on the keyboard (the font size, words per line and screen rotation can also be changed when you click that key). You can still find the text-to-speech feature under the main menu, but it’s been moved to the experimental tab. At the default speed, the voice reads a tad too fast, but at the slower speed, it’s in slow motion. Also, Amazon has some work to do to get the computer-generated voice to pronounce words like real humans.

When I reviewed the Kindle 2 in February, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to get on the e-book bandwagon. Still, I found it to be convenient and just the right size to fit in my handbag. It at least felt like a book. But after toting around the Kindle DX, it suddenly feels as if I am carrying a computer. Furthermore, its larger size means the DX is, while no heavyweight, still heavier than I think I’d want it to be. (One indication: eventual palm fatigue when holding the Kindle DX in one hand, as I would when riding the subway.)

For those of us who don’t need to read PDFs or, say, all 1,328 pages of “Constitutional Law: Principles and Policies,” the regular Kindle should suffice.

Kindle DX To Ship June 10th
We’ve known for a while that the new Kindle DX was set to ship this Summer, and now we have an actual date. The word has gone out that the DX will start shipping on June 10th. If you haven’t pre-ordered one yet, you might want to do so. The new Kindle’s will be dolled out on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Amazon is expecting the Kindle DX to be a big seller among university students and teachers. If you’ve been on the fence about buying one out of the worry that a color-Kindle will soon render the DX obsolete, you can rest easy. Amazon is still ”years away” from releasing a color Kindle. The technology just isn’t ready yet.

Carry Your Library in a Profile As Thin As a Magazine

Holds Up To 3,500 Books

The ultimate travel companion, Kindle DX is as thin as a magazine and holds up to 3,500 books, newspapers, magazines, and documents. No longer pick and choose which books fit in your carry-on. Now you can always have your personal and professional libraries with you.

Automatic Library Backup: Download Your Books Anytime for Free

A copy of every book you purchased from the Kindle Store is backed up online at Amazon.com in case you ever need to download it again. You can wirelessly re-download books for free anytime. This allows you to make room for new titles on your Kindle DX, knowing that Amazon is storing your personal library of Kindle books. We even back up your last page read and annotations, so you’ll never lose those, either. Think of it as a bookshelf in your attic–even though you don’t see it, you know your books are there.

Included In the Box

Kindle DX electronic reader, Kindle DX power adapter, and USB 2.0 cable (for connection to the Kindle DX power adapter or optionally to connect to a PC or Macintosh computer).

Kindle DX Begins Shipping This Month

 The Kindle DX will begin shipping to consumers in less than two weeks, the Internet retailer announced Monday. The exact date? June 10.

Twitter reacts to Kindle DX news: Price is an issue

Amazon announced the Kindle DX today, and it’s just what we thought it’d be. What interests us here, though, is what does Twitter think about the news. (And as we all know, Twitter created Heaven and Earth, such is its importance.)

@tariqi Very disappointed by the launch of the Amazon Kindle DX. Seriously, what’s the point? #kindle

@Howard_Scott nearly $500 for a Kindle DX? Come off it Amazon! That buys a hell of a lot of books before it pays itself off!

@sarahhaeger would love to get my hands on the new Kindle DX, but at $500 it’s a little steep

@noliberalbull seriously Amazon: Kindle DX waaay to expensive to justify for most people. I’d love to get one, but no way am I dropping $500 on it

@andreasceo Yeah!! Finally a solution for newspapers: Start throwing out your printing presses, reduce delivery cost - Amazon just launched Kindle DX!

@todesesser From the size of the Kindle DX I expect it to control the security systems of my volcano lair or order my private army to destroy James Bond

@Browntideguy How awesome would it be to read scientific papers on 9.7” Kindle DX? All it needs is a highlighter function. http://bit.ly/16HeuT

@L_Berry Dear Kindle DX, I don’t need you. But why do I want you so badly? Please lower your price and mail yourself to me. Thanks, Laura

@wmacphail Man, I think the Kindle DX is a dog. A one-trick pony needs to be easily portable, not a boat anchor.

And so on. The gist seems to be that, um, $500 to read New Yorker articles about race horses you’ve never heard of or 8 million words on why waterboarding is or is not torture may be a bit too much for most people

KindleDX Size  :

The new model measures 10.4 inches long by 7.2 inches across, by .38 inches thick. It is the same thickness as the original model, but is 2.4 inches longer and 1.9 inches wider. The screen is 9.7 inches measured diagonally, compared to the six inch screen of the original. The KindleDX weighs 18.9 ounces, which is about twice the weight of the original.

Here is a summary of features that you get with KindleDX:

·         Screen: the 9.7″ screen makes this device more attractive to college students and newspaper  publishers/readers.

·         Color: 16 shades of Gray which is currently the best in the industry.

·         Auto-Rotate: auto-rotate your screen (portrait, landscape) as you turn your device.

·         PDF Reader: native support for PDF has been added to this gadget. In the previous generation, PDF support was provided through a conversion service.

·         Thickness: it’s as slim as a regular size magazine. And it’s portable too. You won’t have any trouble taking this with you in your trips.

·         Storage: holds 3,500 ebooks on the 4 GB internal memory. That’s more than twice as much storage as the previous generation.

·         Wireless: you still get wireless 3G connection on your gadget. You can download your content in less than 60 seconds.

·         Read To Me: let your gizmo read your book to you.

·         Battery Life: you can read your device with wireless turned off for two weeks.

·         iPhone: you can easily switch back and forth between your reader and iPhone.

·         .docx support: support for .docx is at experimental at this stage but it’s a welcome addition. 

The KindleDX is too expensive. For what we’re getting, which basically amounts to a larger KindleDX 2 with more storage, I’m not impressed. But that doesn’t mean it can’t eventually be worth that price. With a few additions, I think the  could eventually provide enough value to justify spending $489 on it.

Concrete Signs KindleDX might succeed 

1. People are actually pre-ordering. We know from what various kindle blog sites are writing and what people are commenting at forums etc. that a decent number of people have actually pre-ordered the KindleDX.
2. Although the tone of nearly every kindle dx review at news sites and big blogs is negative, the anti-dx arguments all hinge on price or its inability to cook you breakfast (in addition to being an etextbook reader). Even in the recession there are a lot of people for whom $489 is not a deal breaker.  

A touch screen
As a Kindle 2 owner, one of the things I miss is a touch screen. I want to be able to highlight different sections of the book with my finger instead of using the knob. And I especially would like to be able to move the page around with my finger, while zooming in on sections with a “pinch”-like feature. Perhaps the iPhone spoiled me a bit, but I think it’s a more intuitive way of using devices like this. It would also make the KindleDX feel more like a book instead of a gadget

As for PDF documents, there’s no explicit zoom feature, but switching into landscape (horizontal) mode crops the PDF and essentially enlarges a portion of it. One of the problems with the Kindle is that it doesn’t appear to have the horsepower to properly zoom in and out of PDF files quickly, and thus this horizontal mode is Amazon’s workaround. While it may not offer the most flexibility in terms of viewing options, it’s not bad.

I promised more on the Web browser improvements and here it is: you can now switch from a basic mode to an advanced “desktop” mode that allows you to view the Web page as you would on your desktop (you switch into landscape mode to get a wider angle of view).

A few bundled books

Amazon should ship the KindleDX to consumers with a few free books. They can choose the books to be bundled with their DX at the time of purchase. Amazon can limit the selection to certain titles (books that were published more than a year ago, for example) if it wants, but any way you look at it, letting customers get some free books makes them more willing to spend $489.

16 shades of grayAs 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 handNewspapers, magazines, books, and personal documents are accessible on the KindleDX . The unit also includes a full version of the New Oxford American Dictionary, so unfamiliar words can be looked up on the fly.

User-configurable reading optionsUnlike a paper magazines or newspapers, the KindleDX lets you adjust the font size to your liking. It also offers a text-to-speech option that uses a synthetic voice to read aloud to you.


Going wideNew to the Kindle series is screen rotation. Like the iPhone, the KindleDX will automatically rotate the screen from portrait to landscape mode when you flip the unit on its side.

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

New Kindle DX to Be Given to College Students for Textbooks

First Impressions of the New Kindle DX

The first thing I notice about the new Kindle DX — shown Wednesday morning at a news conference in New York — is that it still seems small. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If it is going to replicate a newspaper or textbook, you don’t want some clunky thing to lug around.

The DX has a 9.7-inch display, which the company says is 2 1/2 times the size of the Kindle 2. But the device doesn’t feel or look as large as a sheet of copier paper. It won’t give you the feeling of reading an entire page of a newspaper. You read the paper by flipping through it, article by article.

But you never see the big picture — a full page — that can reward you with the article you didn’t think you wanted to read, but are lured in either by the placement it on the page or the art that goes with it. The larger screen should have been able to offer a different experience than the one on the first two versions of the Kindle.

That said, the text, photos and drawings replicate the experience of reading a newspaper or a textbook.

The photographs are clearer and more defined than those you’d see on a printed page. Better than what you see on a high-resolution computer monitor? No. But if the goal was to replicate the newspaper reading experience, then Amazon seems to have succeeded.

On a biology textbook, it is very easy to see the detail to distinguish the different phalanges.

It is easy to blow the picture up, and the resolution holds as you do.

The display automatically rotates when you change the orientation of the Kindle.

The price: $489. It ships, the company said, this summer. The Amazon.com site has it ready for pre-order. This is where many consumers may stumble. The device offers a good experience, but is it a $500 experience?

Three newspapers — The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Boston Globe — will offer a reduced price on the Kindle in exchange for a long-term subscription. The Times and Globe will be offered starting this summer in areas where home delivery is not available. No prices of that promotion were released.

Amazon emphasized that the Kindle would exchange personal documents, all without the user having to look for a wireless hot spot.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s chief executive, pointed out it is easier to turn the page on sheet music by pushing a button. He is right. The Kindle could find a sub-market among musicians.

Plastic Logic Vs Kindle DX – Features

Credit for a lot of the information in here goes to the MediaShift Blog at pbs.org.

Neither offers a color screen. Plastic Logic says they are working on it. PVI and EInk (developers of the

Every book ever in under a minute

Bezos reminded the assembled journalists at this week’s launch event that the Amazon Kindle will soon be able to offer “every book ever printed, in any language, all available in less than 60 seconds.”

“Eighteen months ago, we launched Kindle, and at the time we had 90,000 books available for Kindle. (We had) 230,000 books just three months ago when we launched Kindle 2,” Bezos said. “We’ve added another 45,000 books in just the last three months. We’re actually accelerating.”

“The display is 2 and a half times the size of the Kindle 2,” added Bezos, adding that with the “Built in PDF reader, you never have to pan, you never have to zoom, you never have to scroll. You just read.”

Also, rather niftily (just as with Apple’s iPhone), “You just rotate the device and you go to widescreen mode.”

“Any highly structured documents look great on this device. Here’s a cookbook, lots of structure. Here’s another one, a photo of sushi… it’s making me hungry. Computer books, they’re highly structured, complex layouts. They shine with the Kindle DX.”EInk screen Kindle DX uses) say 2010 or later.

Kindle Dx ebook reader started by Amazon 

People who are fond of reading books find anything and everything which comes on a piece of paper to read interesting. But in today’s busy world we don’t find enough time and place to bring those huge books along. But Amazon has a solution for all those booklovers. It is the new Kindle DX e-book reader.

With the new Kindle DX e-book you can now read your favorite books on a 9.7 inch e-ink display. It is very clear and lucid for reading newspapers, books and other large articles. It is a user-friendly device with a built in accelerometer. With the use of the accelerometer you can easily rotate your e-book reader in any direction for more suitable reading. Kindle DX also has a PDF reader pre-installed. It can help you in opening the documents without converting them using the Amazon’s online services

The portable device is beautifully designed using the latest technology so that you will enjoy reading without paining your eyes. The Amazon Kindle DX also supports contents from Cookbooks, computer books, and textbooks and other formats.

Featuring an in-built PDF reader, the portable device ensures resounding e-reading experiences. You don’t need to pan, zoom or scroll or re-flow the document. The all you need is emailing of your favored documents to the Kindle mail account or download the content to the portal device via an USB.

The Kindle DX features an Auto-rotate option which enables the readers to see enhanced landscape views of pictures, graphs, maps, tables and web pages. You are ensured to flip the e-book reader to use the device in any of your hand.

As its reviews, Kindle DX also supports 3G wireless connections. Hence, you don’t require to sit before a PC or look for WiFi hotspots to exploit Amazon’s Whispernet to access to digital contents.

With Kindle DX, you can read some of the popular newspapers like The New York Times, The Boston Globe and the Washington Post. You need to open an account to access these newspapers.

Kindle DX possesses all the important features, which we have found in its earlier version Kindle. The upgraded e-book reader offers a 250,000-word Oxford American dictionary. It also provides bookmarking option, notes and six different text sizes to make your reading experience more interesting 

Kindle DX, a girl’s review

I wanted to upgrade from my Kindle 1 to the new Kindle DX, I really did.  I’ve been looking forward to the announcement for days and finally got to see what it looked like today.  Sadly, I won’t be upgrading.  There are several very cool things about it as well as several problems that did not get addressed in the DX.  But I won’t bore you with the details of any of those because there’s basically ONE thing that will keep me from upgrading:  it won’t fit in most of my purses.

I know they’re pushing out to a new market - the business and student market - and those users would have bigger bags.  But this DX version is not ready for prime time on the academic market, believe me, I’ve done some research on my Kindle and the highlight/notes functions are quite primitive and they don’t seem to have improved those.  So to me, that means they still need to please their biggest current market which seems to be women.  Women read more books than men.  Women follow Oprah more than men.  Hence, the Kindle should suck up to women.  If only they had made it about an inch and a half shorter, it would fit in most of my purses and certainly all my favorite ones.  To have your Kindle determine the look of your purse is a fashion no-no, in my opinion.  We all have our own tastes and although mine is far from Vogue’s, it’s still my own style, not Amazon’s.

Amazon starts Kindle DX e-book reader

You are fond of reading books? And you don’t have a lot of place and time to bring the books with you? Amazon gives you an answer. It is the Kindle DX e-book reader.

You can read your favorite books on a 9.7-inch e-ink display. It is comprehensible for reading newspapers, books and other large articles. Kindle DX is user-friendly and has a built-in accelerometer. With it you can simply rotate your e-book reader for more suitable reading. Also Kindle DX has installed PDF reader. It can help you to open documents without converting them using Amazon’s service.

Let’s look inside. You can store your favorite books on a 4 GB internal storage. Approximately it is enough for 3.500 high-grade books. Also Kindle DX has the free 3G access to the Kindle store databases. You can easily download books or articles through web browser.  

 Hands On with the Amazon Kindle DX

 Hot on the heels of the super-successful Kindle 2 launch, Amazon announced the Kindle DX ($489 direct), a larger, higher capacity, and more expensive version. I was able to get some hands-on time with the device and found it to be just as advertised: a larger version of the Kindle. That said, that extra screen size and the new partnerships with textbook vendors could help the Kindle DX open markets previously untapped by e-book readers.

The Kindle DX’s interface hasn’t changed much from Kindle 2. The Home button is still the best way to restart your navigation process and the five-way directional toggle lets you navigate the menus. I still think this process could be smoothed out some, but it isn’t too difficult to move around. Although the Page Forward and Page Back commands are still along the right side of the device, they’ve been removed from the left-hand side.

One key improvement is the addition of an accelerometer. Like the Apple iPhone, the Kindle DX can detect its orientation and rotates the screen accordingly. This lets you view documents, photos, and charts in landscape mode. In fact, the device can even be operated upside down, so that left handers can use the Page Forward/Page Back keys with their left hand if they want. (Typing on the QWERTY keyboard upside down is much, much more difficult.)

Otherwise, the Kindle DX supports the same assortment of file formats, including Kindle, (AZW) TXT, Audible, HTML, Doc, JPEG, GIF, and PNG. Files can be sideloaded via the microUSB cable or sent through Amazon’s Whispernet service for $.15/MB. 

As with the Kindle 2, the DX comes with a built-in 1xRTT EVDO modem for wirelessly loading books and other digital content using the companies Whispernet service. Whispernet works seamlessly in the background, but it should be noted the company recently moved to per MB pricing for files that you upload to the service. If users do start uploading lots of their own files to the device, as Amazon seems to want them to, this could end up adding to the price of the device.

Other than the increased size, the biggest improvement in the Kindle ecosystem is the deal with textbook publishers. The textbook market will be key for the DX to succeed. Amazon has already signed up three of the top five textbook publishers (Cengage Learning, Pearson, and Wiley) as well as 27 University Press Publishers. The Kindle DX will be used in trials with at least five universities this fall.

There are lots of unanswered questions about the Kindle DX that I will answer when the device comes into PCMag Labs for testing. That said, given how closely the device builds on the Kindle 2 platform, it seems like a useful addition to the Kindle portfolio. This will be especially true if Amazon can succeed in evolving the device from a pure e-book reader into a device for reading all sorts of digital documents, including textbooks, magazines, blogs, word documents, PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, e-mails, or any other document people currently print out.

 

 

        Amazon KindleDX