Kindle DX - An Introduction

Kindle DX : A Specialized Reader

The primary reason I ordered it was that I have many PDF files, lots from the Physics sections of the ArXiv.org website, that I want to be able to carry with me. 

So far, the PDF reader works well for those documents. Even an article from the Physics Review of 1959, which is a scanned image, I believe, is entirely readable, though the typeface is small. I also have David Pogue’s “Windows Vista: The Missing Manual” in both PDF and .mobi formats, from the O’Reilly website. The PDF version presents a page for page image of the book, but with searchable text. If you select “Go to Page” from the Menu button, you can enter a page number from the printed book, or the Table of Contents, and skip to that page. This is probably dependent on how well the PDF file is formatted, but in this case printed page 638 corresponds to PDF page 656. Text-to-speech does NOT work for any PDF files, even when the text is searchable. 

The PDF text is legible in Portrait view, but some of the Windows screen images are not. Rotating the device to Landscape orientation preserves the PDF page numbers, and increases the screen image legibility to that of the printed book. But the image may be chopped in two, requiring paging back and forth for complete viewing. And switching to landscape viewing requires the PDF viewer to repaginate the file, and, for 850 page files, takes 25 seconds. At least on (printed) page 638 ! It takes the same amount of extra time if you wake from sleep while in Landscape mode. 

At present, the Menu option for Table of Contents is grayed out, and unavailable. A work around for this is to find the Table on your own and bookmark it. Jumping to a bookmark is quick. In the PDF Vista manual, the Table of Contents is at Page v (Yes, lower case Roman numeral “v”). 

The .mobi version of this book has no page numbers, only locations, which correspond to about 25 characters, as far as I have been able to figure out. Figure 21-8, that appears on printed page 638, is quite legible in portrait mode, and does not require landscape mode for reading. Landscape mode does result in magnification of the graphic, though, making it easier to read. Since the reader reflows the text from the same starting location of the portrait page, you have to page forward to get to the image. The figure is at location 14337 out of 17715. 

I have copied a complete set of the manuals for IBM’s iSeries computers to the Kindle DX (483 MBs !!) and still have, with all the 580 items, 1,929 MB free. The Go to Page function does not work the same as in the O’Reilly document: you must add an offset for the pages assigned Roman numeral page numbers. The speed of page display is adequate, around a second. 

The weight of the device is much more noticeable than for the Kindle 2. But my laptop is 5 lbs., more than 4 times the Kindle DX, and hotter to boot. And my DX has frozen for no apparent reason - in Amazon books - 3 or 4 times, requiring a reboot, and page forward to recover my place. I hope a sofware update is in the works. 

The Kindle DX has only one set of buttons along the right side (when its held with the keyboard at the bottom). This is less convenient than the K2, but I find that turning the Kindle DX over, with the keyboard at the top works quite well when I want buttons on the left. If I need to create a note, rotating back is easy and quick. 

By P.R.Widing

Kindle DX : Bigger is Better for Technical Books

I have used the 1st Kindle for a year and a half and really love it. The only down side was that I couldn’t read some of my technical books. The problem was with the images and tables that didn’t fit the size of the original kindle. The larger size of the Kindle DX allows me to carry my reference books and read them with ease. I have used my original Kindle for all my recreational reading every day since I purchased it. I will now be using the Kindle DX for all my recreational reading and for all my technical reading. I was just looking around my library and realizing all the room I will save when I donate my books to the library. (I’ll also be saving a lot of trees in the future.) Oh and I gave my wife my orignal Kindle. She was dead set against purchasing a Kindle. Now she can’t put it down.

Protective case: I purchased the Kindle DX cover with the Kindle DX. However I wanted more protection for the Kindle DX when I carry it in my backpack. Targus makes a Netbook Slipskin Peel mini-notebook case that fits up to a 10.2″ widescreen netbook which fits the Kindle DX in it’s cover like a glove. Targus TSS11101US Neoprene Slipskin Peel Netbook Case for up to 10.2-Inch Netbooks (Black/Blue)

Not perfect, but darn close! (Goodbye 3-ring binders)

My primary reading material is technical — either paperback books, many with more than 1000 pages, or PDF documents that I have printed as a 4-up / double sided pages stored in large 3-ring binders. This means I usually have about 5 to 10 pounds of printed matter to carry to and from work.

I became excited when e-readers first began hitting the market. I picked up the Sony PRS-500, thinking I could use it in place of the tomes I now carry. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations. The display was too small to read most PDFs. Also, on larger documents with diagrams, it sometimes took 40 seconds or more to flip to the next page. After a month, the Sony reader started collecting dust.

When I heard about the Kindle DX and its large display, I was eager to see if it would fit my needs. After the release, I started seeing some negative reviews of the device, specifically it’s PDF features. So I hesitated, but finally decided to give it a try, as I could return it within 30 days.

Once I received the device, I was amazed! Yes it has a few rough edges, but it is incredible and it far exceeds most of my expectations.

First, the PDF viewer is not “slow” as some have written. I have opened a 150MB PDF in about 5-6 seconds, and turning to the next page is about 1 second. This is about 40 times faster than the Sony PRS-500 for the same document.

The display is exceptionally crisp and readable, even for 8.5×11 formatted PDFs. My eyesight is still fairly good and I am used to reading them printed 4-up (4 pages reduced to fit on one side of a single sheet of paper). The Kindle DX lets me see the documents much larger than I am accustomed. The Kindle DX display reproduces a full 8.5×11 page reduced to about 75 - 85% of its original size, depending on how much of the margins it is able to crop.

On the downside, the DX doesn’t have the ability to annotate a PDF, but this is something I rarely need. The Kindle DX lacks “folders” to organize the hundreds of documents I carry on it, but by adding a keyword to the title of the document, you can quickly search for what is needed. The Kindle DX is missing support for hyperlinks in the table contents of a PDF, but this is not a deal breaker; you can still navigate to a specific page by selecting a menu option and typing the page number. The keyboard lacks a dedicated row of buttons for numbers, making page number entry cumbersome. My final gripe is that the leather case, an essential accessory, is not included.

Overall, I am very pleased with the Kindle DX and I have no plans of returning this to Amazon.

By RJ

A K2 Owner Reviews The Kindle DX

I really love my kindle 2 but decided to order the Kindle DX because I was intrigued by the larger screen of the DX and wanted to see how the two kindles compare. Hands down the DX is a better e-reader despite being bigger and heavier. The key advantage is the larger screen which can hold a lot more words and information on a page than the K2. Even at very large font sizes the Kindle DX still looks like a page from a book. The contrast is also much sharper on the DX - something I noticed right way when I first turned it on. The words seem darker and crisper. The DX is faster than my K2 when I am opening books, turning pages or even accessing the web. With respect to the pdf feature I can’t critique the Kindle DX because I don’t read a lot of pdfs. For what I do read which are some pdfs and word documents it works well.

Although the Kindle DX is bigger and heavier than the K2 this in no way compromises the user-friendliness of the reader. There is only a marginal difference in how heavy the device feels as compared to the K2 and the increased dimensions are not so significant that it affects portability. This can easily fit into a large handbag (albeit not a small purse). As a normal sized woman with the typical upper body strength of a woman I am sensitive to carrying around heavy things and the Kindle DX does not feel that much different than my K2.

In short, as much as I love my K2, I am really happy I bought the Kindle DX and will likely use this exclusively. I will use it primarily for pleasure reading and for reading pdfs and other work documents. I am not taking any classes so I won’t be using it for textbook reading (and I have not tested textbooks on the Kindle DX).

By victori100 “victori100″

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 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”

Amazon keeps on hitting this Kindle thing right out of the ballpark.

The Kindle DX is a worthy upgrade to the Kindle 2. From the HUGE screen to the native PDF support to the ability to turn the Kindle DX sideways to read, everything is just better on the DX.

1) The packaging is crisp, clean, and similar to a certain fruit vendor from California.

2) The DX comes pre-registered so all you have to do is plug it into the AC adapter and turn it on. The Kindle DX does the rest. Within a minute or two, your books will start appearing. From the time the UPS driver dropped off my DX to my first book was less than five minutes. Amazon has made the setup process very, very easy.

3) The native PDF support is absolutely brilliant. I sent a 6.7MB manual to my Kindle DX account. It appeared in less than 2 minutes! The fonts are crisp, the graphics are decent, and there is a “go to page” feature that allows you to skip through large PDFs.

4) The gyro-thingie works like a champ. While reading a PDF, I turned the DX 90 degrees. The Kindle DX reorientated the PDF automatically. Took less than a second. Not sure how comfortable it will be to read since the next page/prev page buttons are now at the TOP of the page…but it’s a very cool feature to have.

5) The keyboard has been improved as well. The keys are now slightly raised and, in my opinion, easier to use.

The Kindle DX is expensive. No question about it…but if you do any kind of reading, you owe it to yourself to get one. You will not be disappointed.

Some people might question the e-ink, lack of color, and lack of a touch screen. The DX isn’t designed to be a tablet…or have a battery life measured in hours. The DX can run for days with wireless enabled…and up to weeks without wireless. There are tradeoffs to be made. If you are seeking those features, the Kindle DX isn’t for you.

If you are seeking a huge e-book reader with native PDF support, text to speech, massive storage, whispernet, ability to purchase a book and start reading it in under a minute, access to over 270,000 books plus millions of free books on-line, and enjoy reading, get a Kindle DX.

Ok, I did find one minor drawback. The left-side buttons have been removed in the DX. Not sure why. It’s only slightly annoying…given all the other brilliant features.

By Gordon Ewasiuk

The new device can hold 3,500 books and has access to over 225,000 titles.

But Amazon is not the only business in the e-reader market. Sony is there and so too is the iPhone with a Kindle app (although that is only available in the US for now). Plastic Logic will unveil its version later in the year.

“The launch of the Kindle DX is further proof of the strength of the market for e-readers,” said Neil Jones, the head of Interead, an English based company releasing Kindle-competitor in a few weeks.

“The fact is e-readers don’t have many detractors left. Everyone agrees that people will continue to read books, and the time for an “iPod moment” for e-readers is now,” Mr Jones told the BBC.

A trial of the new Kindle DX service will begin in the US this summer.

The Kindle DX won’t save the news industry, but that’s not the point: a guide to our coverage of e-readers

Amazon just unveiled a bigger, more expensive version of the Kindle that will, depending on whom you ask, “rescue newspapers” or just create “false hope.”