ก.ค.
09
2009
Amazon Kindle DX Accessories
Amazon Kindle DX Accessories
ก.ค.
05
2009
Kindle Dx Review
Kindle DX Accessories
ก.ค.
04
2009
Amazon Kindle DX
Kindle DX Accessories
มิ.ย.
19
2009
Reviewing Kindle DX’s chances of succeeding
Reviewing Kindle DX’s chances of succeeding
This is mostly a review of the strategy Amazon is using with the Kindle DX and its chance of succeeding. You can read my Kindle DX review (technically a preview) if you’re deciding whether to buy it or not.
That being said …
Positive Indicators and Things that indicate Kindle DX will succeed
Concrete Signs Kindle DX might succeed
- 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 Kindle DX.
- 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.
Indicators and Hints Kindle DX might succeed
- The amount of interest is high and is staying at the level of interest in the Kindle 2 -
Kindle DX Web Search Volume
- A lot of Kindle 2 owners are upset that a new product was released so soon and are trying to exchange – Surely, this means they feel the Kindle DX is worth the higher price.
- Signing up 3 of the major textbook publishers is a coup and indicates that Kindle DX might have very strong content options for students.
Things that do matter
- By announcing the price really early Amazon has anchored it i.e. people are not going to be shocked into inaction when it is released.
- In addition the lead time lets people get used to the more expensive price, and sets up the Kindle DX to even seem like a bargain if a $50 kindle dx coupon were thrown into the mix down the line.
- Being the first company to announce a larger screen eReader available this year gives Amazon a distinct edge.
- The current interest and preorders give Amazon data on actual and potential demand and they can set up manufacturing accordingly. This, in my opinion, is the real reason for the ridiculous ‘preorder dx now and we’ll ship it sometime after a few months’ strategy.
มิ.ย.
13
2009
Kindle DX Promo shut down after “continuous negative attacks”
Kindle DX Promo shut down after “continuous negative attacks”
Another user calculated that the cost to participating authors would be high. “If there were 100 authors subsidizing each Kindle DX, every author would have to pay $1222.50 per 500 shipped,” said a forum member using the handle ‘avaloncourt.’ “That’s just not going to happen. That doesn’t even include any percentage to go to him. That is merely the cost of subsidizing the equipment and not accounting for the shipping aspects.”
But David Edenfield, founder of Promo Publishers, told the Standard that his plan was legitimate.
“I thought of the idea for this promotion a week or so ago, registered the LLC, bought the domain, built the site, twittered like crazy, made a lot of sales, and caused a buzz that seems to have taken on life of its own,” he said. “Although I only had a few authors lined up, I had an angel investor backing me for a significant number of units with the idea that we could cause a stir, gain some eyeballs, and eventually build a viable business around our promo distribution model.”
However, the skepticism expressed on MobileRead and on an Amazon.com thread convinced Edenfield to pull the plug on the Kindle DX promotion.
“As a result of the continuous negative attacks targeted both towards me personally and our business model, we have decided that our brand has been damaged, and therefore Promo Publishers will never be seen as a credible business regardless the information we provide,” Edenfield told the Standard.
A email to customers who paid for the half-priced Kindle DXs stated that their PayPal transactions would be reversed.
A website that promised half-price Kindle DXs has been shut down after message boards on Amazon.com and MobileRead.com savaged the offer as a “scam” and questioned the purported business model.
มิ.ย.
08
2009
Amazon Kindle DX Leads to Buyer’s
Kindle DX Leads to Buyer’s Remorse for Some Kindle 2 Users
Real gadget heads know the pitfalls of being an early adopter: The products can be expensive, sometimes buggy and easily rendered obsolete as a result of an upgrade. Now some Amazon Kindle 2 buyers are finding this out for themselves as they try to return their newly acquired Kindle 2 in favor of the larger sized Kindle DX.
“If I was aware that there would be an upgraded product announced less than two months and after I received my Kindle–and that would be better for my needs — I would have postponed the purchase of the product,” says Rachel Swartz, who bought her Kindle 2 e-book reader two weeks after it was released in February. Swartz is now battling with Amazon to exchange her Kindle 2 for the Kindle DX.
Amazon introduced the broadsheet Kindle DX reader last week. The new product comes less than three months after the company launched Kindle 2, an improved version of the original Kindle reader. The KindleDX has a screen that measures 9.7 inches diagonally — two-and-a-half times the size of the current-gen Kindle 2 — and is targeted at readers who want to use the device to access magazines, newspapers and textbooks.
But, as Swartz found out, Amazon does not offer an upgrade path for Kindle 2 users who now covet the latest release. “They have been basically stonewalling all my attempts for the last few days to find a way to exchange the Kindle 2,” she says. “This is not right. It’s not the way early adopters should be punished.”
There is one loophole in the system. Kindle 2 buyers can use the company’s standard electronics returns policy to send their devices back. Amazon allows for a 30-day return on electronics purchases, says a Amazon spokesman in an emailed statement.
Ryan Meeks, who bought his Kindle 2 within the last 30 days, is one of those lucky users who can get an exchange. Meeks has sent his Kindle 2 back — no questions asked — and has instead placed a pre-order for the Kindle DX.
“I have glasses and a bigger screen was a major factor for me,” says Meeks. “I also liked the fact that the Kindle DX changes from landscape to portrait mode when the device is rotated.”
Meeks doesn’t mind paying the additional dollars for the Kindle DX, which costs $480 compared to the $360 for the Kindle 2. And he’s understanding of Amazon’s reluctance to offer an upgrade path for Kindle 2 users. “Ultimately they are two different products though many people don’t really understand the difference,” he says. “Beyond the bigger screen, Amazon hasn’t done a good job of explaining how the two products are different.”
Still, says Meeks, the company should try to offer a way out for unhappy Kindle 2 users. “If I were Amazon, I would do well to make sure early adopters are happy,” he says. “The early buyers are the influential users.”
Meeks suggests Amazon take a leaf out of Apple MobileMe’s playbook. “I was an early user of MobileMe and it had a lot of problems,” he says. “But ultimately Apple gave us a lot of extras and I am glad I use MobileMe now. That may be something there for Amazon to learn from.”
Amazon isn’t shipping the Kindle DX yet.
พ.ค.
25
2009
KindleDX Reviews
KindleDX won’t let us wait too long.
Ready to take pre-order today, KindleDX will ships this summer. Its price is $489. There, you know the reast already. KindleDX sport a 9.7 inch rotatable screen, 3.3GB internal memory and a PDF reader. Waiting for KindleDX with a lower price ? Then you need a subsidized on-contract price from New York Times, Washington Post, and Boston Globe.
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Display -9.7″ diagonal e-ink
- Storage -3,500 books
- PDF Support -native PDF reader
- Rotating Display -Yes
- 3G Wireless -Yes
- Books in Under 60 Seconds -Yes
- Text-to-Speech -Yes
- Whispersync -Yes
- Size -10.4″ x 7.2″ x 0.38″
KindleDX - Wireless Reading Device
Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines. Holds up to 3,500 books, periodicals, and documents.
Beautiful Large 9.7″ diagonal e-ink screen reads like real paper; boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and sharp images
Built-In PDF Reader allows you to carry and read all of your personal and professional documents on the go
Blazing fast 3G wireless lets you download books right from your KindleDX, 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.
Amazon KindleDX, the famous e-book reader from Amazon is expected to be available with a bigger screen. Its Kindle DX which will sport a 9.7 inch e-Ink display to make reading e-book more comfortable. More over, KindleDX support .PDF files, a major upgrade I think. Still no words on release date yet.
Are the KindleDX and the iPad leading us to Legal Pad 2.0? On this edition of the Kennedy-Mighell Report, legal bloggers, Dennis Kennedy, Tom Mighell and Adriana Linares, will discuss how the new KindleDX and the current Kindle might be used by lawyers and law students, explore related products like the iPad and question whether we are headed to an all electronic legal pad. Dennis, Tom and Adriana will also take questions from their growing audience and wrap up with Parting Shots, leaving you with lasting tips and observations. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.
In an earlier post I referred to a NYT article about the development of new gadgets, with screens roughly the size of a standard sheet of paper, that could present much of the editorial and advertising content of traditional periodicals in generally the same format as they appear in print.
Today I read about Amazon’s announcement that they’re launching their KindleDX (for deluxe), which has a screen two and a half times the size of those on the two older versions of the Kindle, which were aimed primarily at displaying book pages. (Seems the idea is now a reality, although not without a few teething problems - seems today’s launch had a glitch with the KindleDX website not being ready for viewing. Ooops!)
Also in my email inbox was a notification from Bill St Arnaud’s blog of a post in which he outlines the potential for devices such as the Kindle can help reduce CO2 at universities(and elsewhere). He concludes, “One Kindle can hold hundreds, if not thousands of textbooks and other documents – so the offset value of a single Kindle can be worth thousands of dollars!”
Certainly seems to be more than just novelty value driving the development of these devices! I’d see this area of development as something that education could benefit significantly from - so keep watching this space
Will consumers pay for both the KindleDX and monthly subscriptions to their favorite newspapers, magazines or blogs? The same content is available on laptops and cell phones, but it’s free
Travel Companion
The size and shape of the KindleDX matches well with the other devices you may already carry. If you tote an ultraportable or all-purpose laptop, the KindleDX will fit easily in the same bag. The Kindle DX slid in nicely right next to my ultrasleek MSI Wind U100 netbook (pictured here beneath the KindleDX ). The Kindle DX is indeed slim, yet it felt sturdy to hold–something that surprised me, given its broader size. I thought it might feel fragile, or as if it were about to snap, an oft-cited concern as devices in general become smaller and thinner.
Minimalist Design
Like the Kindle 2, the KindleDX has a minimalist design. On the bottom, the only port is the unit’s Micro-USB 2.0 connection. The device charges via Micro-USB, but the charging cable detaches from the outlet plug so that you can plug it into your PC’s USB port for data transfers as well. Direct-to-Kindle data transfers are more important with the KindleDX, due to the PDF reader in the new device: PDFs can eat up 10MB, 20MB, or more if they’re large documents packed with images. Given that Amazon now charges 15 cents per megabyte for data you e-mail to yourself over the Kindle’s Whispernet service, that could add up quickly if you’re an avid viewer of PDFs.
Minimal Buttons on Top, Too
At the top of the KindleDX, you’ll see a power slider switch and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Like the Kindle 2, the Kindle DX has text-to-speech reading capabilities, available for content whose producers permit the feature. Unlike the Kindle 2, which has a monaural speaker, the KindleDX has built-in stereo speakers.
Five-Way Navigation Joystick
Amazon told me that nothing had changed about the five-way navigational joystick’s design, but I could feel a distinct difference between the one on the Kindle 2 I tested and the one on the DX I handled. The Kindle DX’s joystick was distinctly easier to move compared with the stiff joystick on the Kindle 2. At first I wondered whether that might be because the DX I tried was a preproduction device, but the Amazon rep I spoke with said the test unit reflected what we’d see on production units. Unlike the other navigation buttons on the KindleDX, the five-way joystick and its associated Menu and Back buttons are similar in size to those on the Kindle 2.
Compare KindleDX with Kindle
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Display
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9.7″ diagonal e-ink |
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Size
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10.4″ x 7.2″ x 0.38″ |
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Storage
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3,500 books |
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PDF Support
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native PDF reader |
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Rotating Display
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 |
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3G Wireless
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Books in Under 60 Seconds
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Text-to-Speech
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Whispersync
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Price
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$489.00 |
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Availability
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Pre-order now |
Kindle
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Display
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6″ diagonal e-ink |
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Size
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8″ x 5.3″ x 0.36″ |
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Storage
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1,500 books |
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PDF Support
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via conversion |
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Rotating Display
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|
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3G Wireless
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|
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Books in Under 60 Seconds
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|
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Text-to-Speech
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|
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Whispersync
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Price
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$359.00 |
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Availability
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Now |
Big screen–and a price to matchThe KindleDX is set to debut in the summer of 2009 for a whopping $489
