We take a look at the Amazon Kindle DX
The newest Kindle otherwise called the Kindle DX (or to some people the Kindle 3 – although truth be told there may be an ACTUAL Kindle 3 in the future) is the most expensive Kindle and also the biggest in terms of storage and size.
But should you get a Kindle DX or stick with the less expensive Kindle 2? Let’s look at some of the reasons why you might want to purchase a Kindle DX.
1. If you travel a lot the Kindle is a godsend. Since it can hold like a million books (ok, it’s really just 3,500) you can catch up with the latest bestsellers while lazing on the beach on the Bahama’s. One small Kindle machine weighs a lot less than carrying around just two or more books.
2. The Kindle DX has native support for PDF files – great if you use these often (especially students).
3. It’s ultra cool looking. Admit it – owning one makes you feel a step ahead of the crowd
4. Even though it’s bigger than the Kindle 2 it is still light and easy to hold. Plus you get a whole page of your book on one page (it’s also great for comics).
5. More and more publishers are choosing to publish their books electronically so nearly all new books are now available as a Kindle version.
6. Not near a bookstore? Who cares anymore – you just download your books directly to your reader – takes around 60 seconds. How easy is that!
7. You can take notes and add bookmarks. Perfect for finding that quote again later, or indispensible for reference books.
8. You have an in-line dictionary to help you define any words that you are not sure the meaning off without losing your place in your book.
The Amazon Kindle DX isn’t the only ebook reader on the market (although the Kindle still remains the most popular). There are many other’s like Sony’s reader and the Plastic Logic reader. In this article, the author looks at the similarities and differences between the Plastic Logic Reader and the Amazon Kindle DX.
Amazon Kindle DX Vs Plastic Logic Reader
By Thomas J Jarvis
Amazon’s new Kindle DX is aimed to solidify the company’s lead in the ebook reader market. The new model is poised to revive the company’s early successes and gains on their original reader models. With that, the only way for Amazon’s competitors to make an attack to its highly anticipated KindleDX reader is by advancing their ebook reader’s features.
PlasticLogic has recently introduced its big-screen e-reader at the DEMO technology convention; seems like the model’s plan of attack is strategically based on Amazon Kindle’s design flaws. For one thing, the Plastic Logic Reader features a sleeker looking and technologically advanced ebook screen technology. Even if PlasticLogic is yet to release their reader model in early 2010, it has already gained the support of some notable institutions such as Pearson PLC’s (PSO) Financial Times and Barnes & Noble Inc.’s Fictionwise.com, which are two of main players in ebook and newspaper and magazine content retail.
The ideal competitor for Amazon’s Kindle DX reader would be the one that will challenge the model in launching new reader features, managing content beyond ebooks, dominating the US as well as international market and establishing better relations among publishers. Seems like PlasticLogic answers to the challenging role of challenging Amazon Kindle DX’s lead and popularity to the market.
Now, let’s start the head to head battle of ebook reader features. Plastic Logic Reader has a 10.5 x 11.5-inch wide screen, while KindleDX has a 9.7-inch wide screen. Kindle has keyboard, home, menu, next page and previous page buttons with a 5-way controller; Plastic Logic features touch screen that is complemented with gesture-based user interface. When it comes to the operating systems, Kindle is Linux based while PlasticLogic is WinCE supported. When it comes to the hardware, Kindle DX is generally more bulky and heavier to Plastic Logic Reader’s 8.5x11x.028-inch dimensions and 12-ounce weight. Kindle regains its lead with its built-in web browsing and free internet via WhisperNet feature. Plastic Logic has not yet disclosed details of its web browsing feature.
When it comes to memory, PlasticLogic gives 6GB to Kindle DX’s 3.33 GB built-in memory. While Amazon Kindle uses E-Ink technology in all its readers display, Plastic Logic uses its own proprietary display technology, which gave its reader a no glass, flexible and unbreakable ebook reader display feature. KindleDX rallies the New York Times, Washington Post and Amazon.com as its major content partners while Plastic Logic Reader is backed up by the Financial Times, USA today, Fictionwise.com and Ingram Digital as its content partners.
Amazon’s Kindle DX is bound to be released in time for summer 2009 while the PlasticLogic is yet to be released early next year. Clearly, Amazon KindleDX holds a few clear advantages. While consumers can now preorder the Kindle DX at Amazon.com, Plastic Logic Reader is still under production. With the notably advanced features of the PlasticLogic Reader, its cost is expected to be higher that Kindle DX’s $489 cost. Also, Amazon’s WhisperNet free wireless internet is a huge advantage. At this point, Plastic Logic Reader delivers quite a challenge to the existing features of Kindle DX. However, Amazon KindleDX will sure give it a tough time keeping up with the success momentum set by Amazon’s earlier successes with its original ebook reader models.
Read our honest Kindle DX review and our Plastic Logic Reader review Or visit SimplyEasyRead.com site to submit your own review.
Tom Jarvis enjoys writing about personal hi-tech gadgets and toys.
In this article, we look at the main differences between the Kindle 2 and the Kindle DX. Both are quite similar (except for size and storage capacity), but the Kindle DX does have some advantages.
Kindle DX Vs Kindle 2.0
By John Luu
In the world of e-book readers, you have a lot of choices to select from but what name has stood out from the crowd since its inception and that is the Amazon Kindle. Of course there is always plenty of room for improvement as Amazon has shown with their recently release of their Amazon Kindle DX. Let us compare for a moment the Kindle DX vs. Kindle 2.0 models. This version of the reader features a much larger 9.7 inch display using the popular e-ink design. It is also capable of storing up to 3,500 different books and includes the much anticipated native PDF support. The display is auto-orientating so it will adjust as you move it around. It still hold the popular 3G wireless technology which allows you free access to download the books you are wanting.
On the other hand though, the standard model only has a 6 inch display which is auto-orienting. It can only hold up to 1,500 books and does not support PDF natively as it requires them to be converted online before downloading them to the device. One of the main reasons why the standard Kindle has not been as popular was due to its lacking ability to support the PDF files which can be found all over the internet. With the release of the DX though, this issue can be considered a thing of the past.
It is important to remember though that the display is known as e-ink. What this is, is it is a specially designed display that is capable of 16 shades of grey and give the appearance is if you were actually looking at paper. It reflects light the same manner as book paper and its contrast is also very similar which means there is no need for a back light. No backlight also means that the batteries will last a longer time in comparison to other readers which are currently available.
Read our honest Kindle DX review from e-book lover. Visit kindle reviews to view the full comparison and submit your own review.
Following on from the previous Kindle DX Review, this article by Wade Watson goes into more detail about the Kindle DX and whether it is a better model over the earlier versions of the Kindle 1 and Kindle 2.
Kindle DX Portable eBook Reader – Did Amazon Get it Right This Time?
by Wade Watson
Amazon.com’s new Kindle DX portable ebook reader follows the phenomenally successful Kindle and Kindle 2 portable book readers. Formally called a “wireless reading device”, the Kindle DX, as did it’s predecessors, is capable of downloading books and newspapers wirelessly over cellular phone data transmission systems. It is about the size and thickness of a letter-size notepad. While you must pay a fee for each book you download, there is no fee for the wireless data connection that connects you to Amazon. Amazon makes some publications available for no charge, including an electronic edition of the New York Times. Such advantages must be taken into consideration when looking at the Kindle’s higher purchase cost of $489.
Size Matters
The 9.7″ high display of the Kindle DX is the most obvious advantage over previous readers. The screen is two and a half times the size of the Kindle 2. This improves the reading experience of any book, and is especially helpful with reading newspapers, which allow you to scan a full page, then zoom in to an article. The next major difference is the 3500 book capacity, over the 1500 book capacity of the original Kindle. This difference may seem unimportant if, like most of us, you are not going to be reading even 1500 books on the reader, but with increasing use of graphics and the ability to store your own files, extra storage is nice to have. With 276,000 electronic books available for the Kindle DX, you certainly could fill it.
Formats
Of particular importance (and a deal maker/breaker for me) is that the Kindle DX is the first Kindle reader to allow native storage and viewing of the popular Adobe PDF format, the most commonly used format for electronic books. It was possible to view PDF files on previous Kindle versions, but the file had to be converted, with some quality loss compared to Amazon’s proprietary AZW format. Other formats viewable include HTML, TXT, Audible, Doc, JPEG, GIF, and PNG. Files can be loaded via either USB cable or via the Internet through Amazon for a small fee. Another new feature is subtle, but nice: If you rotate the Kindle DX from portrait to landscape position, it will automatically adjust the page so that you are viewing it properly.
The first two Kindle versions have been wildly successful with rave reviews. As a full-fledged PDF format reader with a much larger screen, the Kindle DX overcomes the greatest weaknesses of it’s predecessors, offering what may be the best ebook reading experience on the market, though only for those readers not put off by it’s premium price.
Wade Watson is a writer, computer technician, web designer and self-confessed gadget enthusiast who has over 27 years of experience with computers and computer-related devices.
Learn more about the Amazon Kindle DX portable ebook reader at http://kindledxreader.info/
Here is an article about the features that you can get with the Amazon Kindle DX.
Kindle DX Review
by Panah C Rad
Kindle is a revolutionary e-book reader by Amazon that has changed the way folks buy and read books. With this gadget, you can buy ebooks and receive them under 60 seconds, and you are always connected to the Internet, enabling you to do your research properly. Many skeptics complained about the screen being too small with the 2nd generation Amazon reader. That complaint has been answered with Kindle DX. Now you get a 9.7 inch screen that will let you read books in a more convenient fashion.
Here is a summary of features that you get with Kindle DX:
- 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.
Like other Amazon readers, you gain access to 275,000 ebooks available on Amazon. You can also subscribe to newspapers and magazines right on your e-reader. Overall, Kindle DX is a nice improvement over its predecessor. If you have trouble reading on those tiny screens, this is a device you should try. See a complete Kindle DX review and comparison diagram on the other side.
Interested in finding out more about Kindle DX?
Kindle DX is a great gadget if you are looking for an ebook reader that is portable and convenient to use. To find out more about Kindle DX, read our Kindle DX Review. For Kindle accessories, log on to: http://kindle2.0accessories.com
