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Introduction
The first thing you will notice about the Kindle DX is the screen. It is much larger than the Kindle 2's screen. This large size screen does a few things; increases the price (of course) because the larger screen costs a lot more money than the smaller Kindle 2 six inch screen and also allows for much more content to be shown without constantly page turning.
In this article we will give you a brief rundown of what the Kindle DX does best, what it does not and who should buy a DX over say, a Kindle or a Nook electronic book reader.
Lets first go over the most noticable difference, the screen.
Screen
The Kindle DX sports a very large 9.7 inch electronic ink screen. This is the same type of screen used in the Kindle and Nook although much larger. The screen is ideal for a few different types of people; University students and people whos reading tastes are geared towards magazines and periodicals versus only books.
University students can take advantage of buying their back killing textbooks in digital format on their Kindle DX. Three large textbook publishers have made books available to be bought and downloaded. This frees up space in the backpack and gives the students a break when lugging it around all day. Expect more publishers to create content specifically for the Kindle DX and other electronic book readers. Welcome to the future, some old companies just take a bit longer to get around to the digital age.
People who enjoy magazines and periodicals will enjoy using the Kindle DX. The larger screen accomodates these types of media much better than the smaller screened Kindle 2 and Nook electronic readers. Formatting and the general look is much closer to a magazine versus cramming content into a small screen. Publishers have it much easier presenting content in this format, and it just looks so much better!
Screen Sizes compared:
Kindle DX: 9.7" e-Ink screen
Kindle 2: 6" e-Ink screen
Nook: 6" e-Ink screen
Specifications (In inches)
Height: 10.4"
Width: 7.2"
Width: 0.38
Weight: 18.9 ounces
The Kindle DX is thin, very thin. It is about the width of most magazines on the market today making it very easy to hold and only .02 of an inch wider than the Kindle 2. (Which is a dream to hold).
Memory (Storage)
The Kindle DX has 4GB of internal memory. Of this 4GB, right around 3.3 GB is available for user content (The operating system files take up the missing .7 GB) Amazon increased the storage capacity on the Kindle DX because they planned on people using it to store large amounts of information (Text Books and PDF files) 3.3 GB will hold about 3500 regular books, and we estimate around 500-800 college size text books (This depends on the size of course).
We feel this is more than adequate for 99% of the people who use the Kindle DX, those who need more space will have to delete some of their older documents they don't use anymore or wait for another electronic book reader to come out with more memory or step down to a smaller screen Nook which has expandable memory.
Memory compared
Kindle DX: 4 GB total
Kindle 2: 2 GB total
Nook: 2 GB total + expandable memory
Communication
The Kindle DX incorporates a 3G cellular modem which uses the Sprint network (Check your coverage) to wirelessly download books, magazines and other content. This device will not work wirelessly outside of the United States, although it can still be used with help of a computer (To download content). The next version of the Kindle DX may utilize AT&T's wireless connection but we are not sure yet.
UPDATE ON 01/07/2010: Amazon has released the Kindle DX with International (Global) wireless. It will hold an AT&T SIM card inside the new version just like the Kindle 2.
Communications comparision
Kindle DX: UPDATE: 3G AT&T Network (US & Global)
Kindle 2: 3G AT&T Network (US & Global)
Nook: 3G AT&T Network (US Only)
Keyboard & Navigation
Navigation is done with the buttons on each side of the Kindle DX as well as a 5 way controller. This is exactly the same as the Kindle 2 and works like a charm. We had no trouble navigating around with the joystick (5 way controller) or the buttons. If this is your first purchase it will take you only a few minutes to aquaint yourself with how to navigate around the device screens.
5 way controller (Joystick)
The keyboard is slightly differant than the Kindle 2. In the picture below you can see how they are different. The Kindle DX keyboard and keys are longer than the smaller Kindle 2 reader. Nothing much to report here, they look a bit different but work the same.
Kindle DX Keyboard (Not actual size)
Kindle 2 Keyboard (Not actual size)
Accelerometer
The Kindle DX has a cool feature built inside, it is called an accelerometer and is similiar to the ones found inside devices such as the iPhone and iPod touch. Basically how this works, is when you want to read with your device with two hands horizontally, simply turn the device and your content (Books, magazines, etc) will automatically turn and be formatted for you to read in this fashion. No other electronic book reader has this feature and it is great. We sometimes we want to hold the device differently and this allows us to do that, quickly and easily.
Normal mode:
Then turn the Kindle DX and it changes to landscape mode automatically!
Personal Document Conversion
The feature that is most used on the Kindle DX is the PDF conversion. Business people and university students use this feature extensively, it allows you to bring your PDF documents where ever you are going and is very useful.
When you recieve your Kindle and register it, you are assigned a special e-mail address just for your Kindle. Simply e-mail your personal documents to your Kindle DX e-mail addess (for example:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
) and they will be automatically converted and sent to your regular e-mail address and then you can transfer them via USB cable to your Kindle.
You can e-mail your personal documents to your actual Kindle e-mail address (For example:
Ryan@kindle.com
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) and they will be converted and sent directly to your Kindle DX. There is a charge for this feature (15 cents per document). Because of the cost we recommend converting using the free method or using Calibre (see below).
You can also make use of an excellant program for electronic books called Calibre. It will store your electronic books and media as well as convert your books to any other format and can even send them to your device. This program is the best one out their and is highly recommended by us. Best of all it is free. (Calibre homepage)
Battery Life
The battery life is great on the Kindle DX. Expect to read around 4 days with the wireless turned on. Turn the wireless off and you can read up to 2 weeks. Since you only need the wireless turned on when you buy a new book or browse the Kindle store, it is not necessary to leave it turned on.
Cost
The Amazon Kindle DX retails for $489.00. This is an increase of $230 from their other product the Kindle 2. The Kindle 2 has recieved numerous price cuts because people are buying them at an incredible rate, thus pushing down the cost to manufacture. The Kindle DX while popular, is still used by a niche group of people and therefore has not had the same fortune of multiple price reductions. We anticipate this reader falling to between $399.00 - $450 within the next year (Possible wishful thinking).
While the Kindle DX is more expensive, the people that need the larger screen real estate don't seem to complain to much about the price as it works perfectly for their needs.
Price comparision:
Kindle DX: $489.00
Kindle 2: $259.00
Nook: $259.00
We hope that you have enjoyed this Kindle DX review and sincerely hope that you enjoy using your Kindle DX, we had fun with ours and we know you will too! The Kindle DX currently (Dec 15th, 2009) has around a 4 week wait until you get it, so if you want it, buy it now!
Product Page
Kindle DX
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