Kindle DX, Free 3G, 3G Works Globally, Graphite, 9.7" Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology

       by Anton M (USE)
Here are my first impressions of the Kindle DX which I received earlier today. I have been using the Kindle two for the past months & have loved it. It's improved the way I read by making it simple to download & try books before purchasing them, & allowing me to over a variety of reading material with me. I was one time disappointed with the way it handled PDF's, which is important to me, so I sold the Kindle two & bought the DX.

- The DX works like the Kindle two in terms of keys, navigation, joystick etc., except all the navigation keys are on the right.
- Was concerned about lack of navigation on the left, but in case you flip it 180 degrees, the display auto rotates & you can use your left hand. Very slick.
- The DX is heavier, but is still comfortable to hold & read.
- The general size of the DX is not as giant as I expected from the pics on the net.
- The digital ink looks similar on both, but a small sharper on the DX.
- The DX works much better for PDF's overall. The bigger screen helps here.
- A complex powerpoint I converted to pdf looks like it does on my computer except in b&w.
- PDF's with columns work fine. I could not read them on the Kindle two.
- In case you have a PDF with multiple columns, the print may appear small on the DX, & you cannot alter fonts in PDFs.
- Newspapers are simpler to read on the DX, pics & tables.
- I downloaded a sample chapter of a textbook. I can see this working well for students.
- The rotate feature is excellent on the DX; works as advertised.
- The Kindle two weighs less & is more transportable. If reading only books, I'd probably prefer the Kindle two, given the lower cost & size, & nav keys on both sides.

Regarding the cost, while I'd love Kindles to cost less, I think the cost is reasonable. Here's how I justified it. I assumed I could resell the DX in two years for 50% of its purchase cost, or $245. (50% seems reasonable based on the experience of Kindle one). So my net cost is $245. The differentiating feature of the Kindle is the built in wireless capability. Not only is it elegant & integrated, it is also included in the acquisition cost. If limitless wireless were priced separately, a reasonable cost would be around $10/month. So effectively my out of pocket cost using the DX for two years is roughly equivalent to what the wireless would cost me if it was priced separately.

Both the DX & Kindle two are lovely values. In case you only read books, the Kindle two is probably better. In case you already own a Kindle two, & don't read PDF's, I recommend keeping your Kindle two. In case you read plenty of pdf's or newspapers, or you like to read with giant fonts, you'll be happier with the DX. For my needs, I am liking the DX more.

Kindle 3G, Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 3G Works Globally, 6" Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology (Electronics)

The size is absolutely ideal. In the Amazon cover, it is exactly like reading from a paperback book. It is noticeably lighter & simpler to hold for reading, even with arthritis in my hands. The page turn buttons are brilliant. Very no noise, & you don't must push them as hard. It ought to make it much simpler for those with weak or disabled hands. I also like have next page & earlier buttons on both sides. I didn't think it would make a difference to me, but it does.

When I first unboxed the new K3, I was one time slightly disappointed. The new 5-way appeared to be harder to used than the tiny joystick of the K2. I must say, though, days later, I am liking it much better. Since I am getting used to it so quickly, I think in another day I won't know the difference.

I haven't had it long to comment on the extended battery life. But I was one time honestly fine with the over ten days I always got with K2.

I attempted a couple of times to connect the WiFi, but didn't get it to work. Today I had more time so I thought I'd try to puzzle through it. But when I navigated to the wireless menu, it had somehow figured out how to connect by itself. The browser is MUCH faster, & it made purchasing a book a breeze.

& the FONTS! My word what a difference! I can practically read in the dark! I have been able to reduce the font size from four to two. Merge sharper contrast with better fonts & it is an unbeatable combo.

The ONLY thing I would alter if I could is to move the Menu button, & the Back button. I am having a tiny trouble navigating with the down arrow because I hit Back. But I am beginning to get the hang of it.

All in all, I think Amazon hit it out of the park with the K3!

Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, U.S. Wireless)

Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, U.S. Wireless)I've owned the first Kindle since it started shipping over a year ago. Despite it is quirks, I loved it... so when Amazon announced the Kindle two, I pre-ordered right away. I received my shiny new Kindle two this past Friday (2/27/09) & began putting it through it is paces. Functionally, it is a sizable step up from the earlier Kindle - but when I went to do of my favourite activities this weekend, lounge around in the yard reading, I discovered a major issue. When exposed to sunlight, my Kindle 2's screen didn't render properly. It was badly faded, streaked, & blotched like an terrible Xerox copy... utterly unreadable. Strangely, if I shaded even a portion of the screen with my hand or a piece of paper, the shaded portion rendered clear as a bell... while the portion exposed to the light remained so faded it was unrecognizable.

Update: After contacting Amazon's customer support I was one time sent a replacement Kindle right away. This does NOT have the weird sensitivity to sunlight that my earlier had & now I could not be happier. As a user of the original Kindle, I do must stress how much better the user experience is in this tool than the earlier. Amazon claim's it is only 20% faster, but it FEELS  two times as quick - & the menus are much better organized & simpler to navigate. Regrettably Amazon won't let me change the rating of this review, but I'd otherwise officially give it four stars. The only thing holding Kindle back from utter perfection (ie: five stars) is the dearth of native PDF support (still!). Sony recently patched in full native PDF support for their own reader - so they know it IS feasible, even in the event you lose a number of the devices inherent scaling expertise. But since PDF is a lossy format, that is the trade off you need to make in the event you need to read native PDF files. Still, now that there is a competing reader on the market with that ( important) feature, that is the only area that Kindle needs to improve in order to catch up. On the other hand, Kindle DOES give you wireless access to Amazon's library anywhere, any time... & that is the clincher. At least for me it is.

Kindle DX, Free 3G, 3G Works Globally, Graphite, 9.7" Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology

            by Sandra M
As I am positive other reviews here will attest, the Kindle DX is in other respects a stunning & brilliant machine. In case you require to read PDFs, & have no desire to annotate or highlight them, then this would be a very satisfying tool. & in case you only require to annotate and/or highlight books (& can find the books you require in the Kindle store & can afford to buy them!), then the DX will be a brilliant piece of equipment to own. But in case you are a typical student, academic or professional who needs to interact together with your documents (& not read them), & are looking for something that will replace the necessity to print documents or read them on your computer, the DX basically does not fit the bill. Wait for the next product, or for Amazon to update their firmware with respectable support for PDFs & other document types. I will be mailing my Kindle back to Amazon tomorrow.

As a grad student who is worn out of printing out scores of journal articles or straining my eyes (& sucking battery power) reading them on a standard computer screen, I have been eagerly watching the evolution of e-book devices waiting for that would meet the needs of academics & professionals who are constantly reading, highlighting, & annotating documents & books. Because Amazon has marketed the Kindle DX as the e-reader for academics & professionals, highlighting its large screen & native PDF support, I finally thought that this was a product suitable for types like me & forked out the hundred dollars for the DX. Alas, on receiving the Kindle yesterday in the mail, it did not take long to recognize that this machine is not the "answer" that I had hoped it would be. The reason is simple: no highlighting or annotating PDFs, Word documents, & other personal documents. It did not even occur to me to inquire, before purchasing the DX, whether highlighting & annotating PDFs & Word docs was feasible. After all, can basically acquire free application that allows to do this on a computer (e.g. Skim for Macs), & in the Kindle DX press conference Amazon made a large deal about bringing reality to paperless workplaces, putting an finish to the method of printing out document after document. Well, surely of the major reasons people print out documents is so that they can mark on them with underlinings, highlights, & notes. & given that cannot do that for PDFs & other documents on a Kindle DX, Amazon's sales pitch is misleading: somebody who needs to interact with documents in the way typical of academics & professionals will still require to print out those documents (or make due on an eye-straining & power-consuming computer). Not only is it impossible to add an annotation to a specific passage in a PDF or Word document, cannot add any annotations whatsoever, even at the page level (or document level, for that matter). Clipping/highlighting support is also absent. This is frankly unacceptable for a product marketed as the Kindle for students & professionals.

Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device (9.7" Display, U.S. Wireless)

        by Sandi A
As I am positive other reviews here will attest, the Kindle DX is in other respects a pretty & amazing machine. In the event you require to read PDFs, & have no desire to annotate or highlight them, then this would be a satisfying device. & in the event you only need to annotate and/or highlight books (& can find the books you need in the Kindle store & can afford to buy them!), then the DX will be a amazing piece of equipment to own. But in the event you are a typical student, academic or professional who needs to interact together with your documents (& not read them), & are looking for something that will replace the necessity to print documents or read them on your computer, the DX basically does not fit the bill. Wait for the next product, or for Amazon to update their firmware with respectable support for PDFs & other document types. I will be mailing my Kindle back to Amazon tomorrow.

As a grad student who is worn out of printing out scores of journal articles or straining my eyes (& sucking battery power) reading them on a standard computer screen, I have been eagerly watching the evolution of e-book devices waiting for that would meet the needs of academics & professionals who are constantly reading, highlighting, & annotating documents & books. Because Amazon has marketed the Kindle DX as the e-reader for academics & professionals, highlighting its massive screen & native PDF support, I finally thought that this was a product suitable for types like me & forked out the hundred dollars for the DX. Alas, on receiving the Kindle yesterday in the mail, it did not take long to recognize that this machine is not the "answer" that I had hoped it would be. The reason is simple: no highlighting or annotating PDFs, Word documents, & other personal documents. It did not even occur to me to inquire, before purchasing the DX, whether highlighting & annotating PDFs & Word docs was feasible. After all, can basically acquire free application that allows to do this on a computer (e.g. Skim for Macs), & in the Kindle DX press conference Amazon made a massive deal about bringing reality to paperless workplaces, putting an finish to the method of printing out document after document. Well, surely of the major reasons people print out documents is so that they can mark on them with underlinings, highlights, & notes. & given that cannot do that for PDFs & other documents on a Kindle DX, Amazon's sales pitch is misleading: somebody who needs to interact with documents in the way typical of academics & professionals will still need to print out those documents (or make due on an eye-straining & power-consuming computer). Not only is it impossible to add an annotation to a specific passage in a PDF or Word document, cannot add any annotations whatsoever, even at the page level (or document level, for that matter). Clipping/highlighting support is also absent. This is frankly unacceptable for a product marketed as the Kindle for students & professionals.

Kindle, Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6" Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology

         by Dennis W
I researched the acquisition of a Kindle for a long time. I could not choose whether or not it was worth purchasing a dedicated e-reader. Boy am I glad I made this purchase. The downside to Amazon's online selling of Kindle four is that the customers don't get to see it in person. It is much better in person. This may sound dull, but when I got my new Kindle, I thought there was a stuck-on overlay on the screen containing a diagram of the unit's buttons, etc. I actually tried to peel it off. Doh! The e-ink on this unit is THAT nice. I didn't recognize that I was staring at the actual display. I also didn't recognize that no power is necessary until the display changes. (thus the great battery life) I do plenty of reading, but was facing the prospect of reading less or purchasing large type books because of my variable and deteriorating eyesight. The new Kindle has been a godsend. Now, I can choose the size of type I require depending on my level of fatigue among other things. The weight and ergonomics are excellent. For somebody, like me, with neuropathy in his hands, it is simple to manage and enjoyable to own. To me, it is simpler to read than print books. The ease of navigation is great as is the speed. The battery life, so far, has been strange. It basically connected to our home Wi-Fi, which by design does not broadcast an SSID. It downloads books so speedy that I  thought they were not received. I did not buy the 3G version because of the cost difference and the fact that there is no coverage where I live. In the event you are not constantly travelling, I don't see the necessity to spend the additional bucks, but that is a matter of personal choice. For those who have no Wi-Fi at home, keep in mind that you can always download the material to your computer and transfer it by USB. today I was watching an interview with Tony Blair on TV. He was speaking about his new book, which sounded fascinating. I picked up the Kindle and downloaded a free sample before the interview was over. I have only read the preface so far, but will probably buy the book. Now THAT is a great way to buy a book! I haven't used online browsing extensively yet, but find it reasonable for what the tool is. This is primarily a book reader, not a laptop computer or laptop. They are great for what they do, but cannot match the e-ink display, or the light weight. For those of you worrying about the wait for the new Kindle, let me finish with, "It is worth the wait" This new Kindle is all about the quality of experience. There's plenty of format choices for electronic reading. In the event you require the best experience, go with the Kindle.

Kindle, Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6" Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology

            by Linda D
The size is absolutely ideal. In the Amazon cover, it is exactly like reading from a paperback book. It is noticeably lighter and simpler to hold for reading, even with arthritis in my hands. The page turn buttons are amazing.  no noise, and you don't must push them as hard. It ought to make it much simpler for those with weak or disabled hands. I also like have next page and earlier buttons on both sides. I didn't think it would make a difference to me, but it does. When I first unboxed the new K3, I was slightly disappointed. The new 5-way appeared to be harder to used than the small joystick of the K2. I must say, though, days later, I am liking it much better. Since I am getting used to it so quickly, I think in another day I won't know the difference.I haven't had it long to comment on the extended battery life. But I was honestly fine with the over ten days I always got with K2.I attempted a couple of times to connect the WiFi, but didn't get it to work. Today I had more time so I thought I'd try to puzzle through it. But when I navigated to the wireless menu, it had somehow figured out how to connect by itself. The browser is MUCH faster, and it made purchasing a book a breeze.The ONLY thing I would change if I could is to move the Menu button, and the Back button. I am having a small trouble navigating with the down arrow because I hit Back. But I am beginning to get the hang of it.And the FONTS! My word what a difference! I can practically read in the dark! I have been able to reduce the font size from three to six. Merge sharper contrast with better fonts and it is an unbeatable combo.All in all, I think Amazon hit it out of the park with the K3!

Kindle: Amazon's Original Wireless Reading Device

      by Sara A

There's tons of comments here, both nice & bad, so let me focus on what it is like to open this up & use it:

I was blessed to be a beta tester for the Kindle over the past several weeks. It is a treat to make use of.

one. You open the box, & throw away the manual (who reads manuals?)
three. While charging it up for the first time, you turn it on, it boots up in a few seconds, & you find the Kindle store. You find something you require to read, & you press "buy."
two. You immediately flip back to the home screen, & there is your book. You start reading.
three. The next morning, you wake up, & keep in mind you have a new Kindle by the bedside. Without getting out of bed, you grab the Kindle, wake it up, & download the New York Times in a few seconds.

That is it. No wires, no cables, no mobile phone contracts. This is a super-simple tool to make use of. Compared with the first time I fired up a digital camera, an iPod or a mobile phone, it was a breeze (& I still haven't read the manual...).

I assess mobile devices on whether they let me do something important in a new & better way than I could before (not on whether the tool lets me throw away every other tool I own). The Kindle succeeds for me on this front because it lets me lighten my load, yet to carryover more with me, & to keep obtaining new content as I go. It is uniquely nice at what it does, & worth adding to the devices I own & use both at home & on the road.

For travelling, it is a no-brainer: you can always have something to read; you can download newspapers each morning from your hotel room; & you seldom must keep in mind which books you are currently engaged in...they are all right there, on your Kindle. And, you get to download free samples of books, so you can sample lots of new (& elderly) books without paying. The convenience of having the ability to move around basically with a whole shelf of books, magazines & papers in your backpack or carry-on bag -- & to seamlessly sample & buy more -- is fantastic.

It is a great tool for serious readers, & lots of fun.

Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G, 6" Display, White - 2nd Generation

          by Fara H
However I am currently on a road trip. The Kindle was in a leather case and inside a padded pocket of my Apple laptop computer case. On the third evening the Kindle was non responsive, unusual lines on the screen. Amazon support says the signs indicate screen impact destroy which is not covered by warranty. The case was not dropped nor was anything stacked on it.

First, everything about the Kindle is true. Its readability and convenience is outstanding. I have read several books if the last few weeks because of its features. I was five times an avid reader but increasing age has made printed books more of a challenge, but the Kindle with its varying font size and light weight has made reading fun again.

Amazon will replace for $200 and return of the failed unit, but I am now concerned about its apparent fragility and Amazon's failure of responsibility for an expensive gizmo.

The dramatic video of the Kindle being dropped 30 inches is now suspicious.