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Is the Kindle DX Worth the Money?
An anonymous reader writes "Now that some little time has passed, and the hype has died down a bit, I'm wondering if anyone has taken the $500 plunge and gotten a Kindle DX. From the academic-paper-reading-geek perspective, is it worth the money? How well does it work with PDFs, and is it easy to get them on and off? I haven't been able to find any good reviews on the interweb that address its usability as I would like to use it."
Not really - the screen is only a bit bigger than the regular Kindle, doesn't handle PDF's very well (i.e. keeps all of the white space around the edge of docs) and offers no ability to annotate. I am waiting for ePaper products to get considerably cheaper and get something with specs similar to the iRex Digital Reader 1000S. I also find that for just fiction reading, I tend to do better with a smaller, narrower screen rather than a large screen with small font.
Is it just me, or are random nonsensical first-posts getting more randomly nonsensical?
I got a kindle DX as a gift, and i absolutely love it. PDFs can be transferred to/from it extremely easy, just plug it in via usb and drag and drop. My biggest gripe about the PDF support is that you have no control over the font size, as you do with the books you purchase through Amazon, nor can you use the search function or the inline dictionary. But PDFs are still easy to read on the device, and I much prefer it to reading them on my computer screen.
I am a poor college student though, so if it weren't a gift I probably would have bought a netbook and saved myself some money.
It worked beautifully for the 2-3 higher mathematics PDFs I tried it with. All ot the little set theory symbols were displayed crystal clear. I don't think the screen is as readable as the PRS505's, however it's still good.
...by any means here, but I'd never buy a Kindle unless I can borrow or lend a Kindle book like a dead tree book. Serialize it to the purchaser, and have the mothership ensure it's only on one device at any one time. To me, that's a reasonable compromise. The way it is now SUCKS and should be avoided at all costs (pun intended....)
I seriously considered getting a Kindle DX, but after a little digging I found that it's not quite there yet for my use. So while I don't have personal experience with one, I did spend some time looking into it.
I'd love to eliminate the need to print PDF documents (like journal articles) for comfortable reading away from my computer. Once I heard that the Kindle DX supports PDF natively and has a large screen, I thought it might be perfect. Before prices were announced, I actually expected it to launch for $600 (comparable to the iRex Iliad). To my surprise, the price was cheaper.
As an added bonus, the free Whispernet (Sprint network) Wikipedia access has been expanded to include a rudimentary web browser. It would be unwise to buy a Kindle expecting this feature to remain free, though.
What's not made clear is that the PDF support has drawbacks. It cannot zoom, except to turn the device into landscape mode, which provides a small magnification. Fortunately, the software does automatically eliminate margins, making the screen about the right size for most documents. What's worse is that all of the annotation features available for ebooks and other documents do not work with PDFs; no highlighting, no note-taking, etc. I think it supports bookmarking, but that's it. For me, this is a deal breaker (at least until the price drops much further). I'm hoping that since this is a software limitation, it might be fixed with an update. I've learned not to count on feature additions in firmware until I see them, though, so I'm holding off on the purchase. Hopefully the price will drop before the end of the year anyway.
More strange is the method of firmware update. Apparently the Kindle 2 gets an update automatically if you leave Whispernet on long enough (usually overnight). I realize Amazon is doing this because they don't want users to need a computer and want to make things as simple as possible, but I would still strongly prefer user pull to Amazon push of content like software updates. Perhaps this behavior is configurable, I'm not sure.
I found it interesting that (at least some) newspaper subscriptions were made cheaper with the DX. If you save $4/mo on two subscriptions each, in about 18 months that will pay for the price difference between the Kindle 2 and Kindle DX. Since neither unit is sold retail, I don't have a very good sense of how comfortable they are to read from, or how annoying I would find the screen wipes (as the eink screens refresh the content). The good news is that the return policy from Amazon seems pretty reasonable, and you can return an opened unit within a few weeks for a full refund. If it supported annotations (and zooming might be important on some documents), that's how I would try it out. Until that's supported, or the price drops substantially, I'll just wait.
"The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent." --Carl Sagan
Laptops don't have e-ink displays and are cumbersome. Laptop batteries are measured in hours, the average being 2-3 hours for a brand new battery, whereas ebook readers have a battery life measured in weeks or even months (try reading a 500 or even 300 page book in 2 hours). Breaking out a small ebook reader while cozied up in a chair is much easier than breaking out the laptop and trying to hold it in one hand.
Books take a lot of physical space and the contents are not quickly accessible. You can fit the contents of an entire bookstore on an ebook reader and you can perform text searches upon those ebooks with results returned in seconds. If I want to lend someone an ebook I simply email it to them. This means I can lend any book to anyone I know, anywhere in the world within seconds.
...after a little digging I found that it's not quite there yet for my use. Yeah, greyscale sucks for porn, doesn't it...
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
I own a DX - my mom and wife went in together on a Kindle 2 for my birthday, several days later Amazon announced the DX. Returned the K2 and got the DX a couple of weeks back. I have used it every day since receiving it, and have thoroughly enjoyed using it. Excellent reading device and experience. The DX simply allows me to read, without getting in the way.
Loading PDFs using USB is trivially easy; once, too rushed to plug the DX into my work laptop, I emailed a work-related PDF document to my kindle email address; $0.15 saved me a few minutes. Amazon will convert some documents to Kindle format via email if you cannot convert to PDF on your own. One downside on PDFs: have not figured out how to magnify other than rotating the DX. I cannot testify to complicated graphics, as I have not loaded any technical PDFs on my DX.
A few technical reviews I've found that you may find helpful:
http://www.matthewdavidwilliams.com/2009/06/12/technical-document-pdfs-on-the-kindle-dx/
CNET Review
Gizmodo Review
Hope this helps. There are other reviews out there.
If the Government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law;
I just don't understand who is stupid enough to buy a Kindle at full price considering how crippled it is. The device should be subsidized to reflect its proprietary nature or the software should be opened up to make it more useful. FFS even Sony (a company not exactly known for embracing standards) has a more open reader that costs less.
Even less fathomable is why publishers are letting the ebook market degenerate into competing formats, proprietary readers and possible market dominance by Amazon. One would think it is in their interest to come up with and dictate a single book format, one which all readers can implement, one which all stores can sell books with. It sounds obvious but a single format would level the playing field and catapult ebooks into the mainstream.
Why not a laptop, you ask?
Because a laptop battery doesn't last for two weeks.
Because a laptop screen can't be read from any angle.
Because a laptop is much heavier than a Kindle.
Because a laptop doesn't have always-on, free Internet access.
Because a laptop is not a book reader.
Disclaimer: I own a KindleDX and am incredibly happy with it.
you have a lot of good points, but there are some things that you fail to recognize:
For one, the size and weight of books. For a casual reader, the KindleDX is overkill. It's large, expensive and the benefits don't outweigh the hassles (recharging, fragility, etc). For those of us that have large libraries of tech books, the KindleDX allows us to store our entire bookshelf on a single device that takes up less room and weighs significantly less than a single book.
This brings me to my second point: The Kindles (an ebook readers in general) have better displays for reading large quantities of text. It's easier on the eyes than a laptop. Also, for those of us that use mass transit to commute and don't always have a seat, a laptop is not an option. Have you ever tried to stand up in a crowded subway and use a laptop? Even sitting down and using the laptop is a pain. Laptop battery life is also significantly worse than the Kindle's--my kindle hasn't needed to be charged a single time since I got it nearly 3 weeks ago. It also beats out the laptop because you can travel light with it; you don't need to carry a laptop bag. All you need is the device, and since it doesn't require frequent charging, you don't even need to bring the charger (USB cable) with it.
Third point: When using ebooks for reference (or following a tutorial in the book) while you're doing work on the laptop, it's nice to have a separate device. This was one reason why I stuck to buying physical books rather than purchasing PDFs exclusively.
So, while $700 (KindleDX + tax + shipping + 2 year warranty + sleeve) is quite a steep price to pay, for those of us that will use it a lot, it's worth the price. If I wasn't in such need for the solution, I would have held off a year or so and waited for it to come down in price or for a cheaper solution to be released.
My coworker picked up the Sony PRS-700 a couple months ago and he's mostly very satisfied. It was around $375 + tax, but has a significantly smaller screen. Although it's got a touchscreen, the touchiness is kinda flakey and it's got some weird glare because of the touch surface. Also, PDF support in the thing is mediocre--the zoom sucks and it really needs a larger screen.
I was going to hold out for the PlasticLogic (http://www.plasticlogic.com/) but I was hoping for something that I could get real books on, too. Since I really liked the Kindle (my dad picked one up last year) and the features that come with it (cellular websurfing/wikipedia/wireless book delivery and books that you can buy FROM the device), I opted for the DX.
Like I said, the DX isn't for everyone. It's pretty big and it's expensive, but I feel that I'm definitely getting my money's worth.
...spike
Ewwwwww, coconut...
It's cheaper, smaller, and it's pretty much a full Linux based computer... oh and it has a colour screen too!
I'm sorry, but at $500 you can buy any of a number of laptops, netbooks or PDAs that all do much more than the Kindle does. Their price point is definitely in the wrong place for such a limited device.
And it fails on the second property you mentioned. For PDF, a netbook is about the smallest practical display. Not to mention the fairly short battery life of the N series web tablets. I have an N800, and I agree. they are great for the proper tasks. But reading PDFs is not one of them. I know. I tried with my N800, and the screen size was only one of the drawbacks. Loading time was the worst.
I'm a keen e-book reader. Got myself an e-ink based reader last year, and I love it. For it's intended task, it's fantastic. That task being reading fiction. NOTHING ELSE
But I have a grand total of zero PDF files on it. Because when it comes to using PDF files, the current range of readers are all basically crap. Including the Kindle DX. The screen updates far too slowly. so paging back and forth is irritating. Search if it works, is slow. looking up the index is also slow, and usually set over several pages if it even has links..
If you want to read fiction, great. You will get onto the habit of pressing the next page button mid way in the last sentence of the current page, so you don't even notice the page refresh blink after a few chapters. And as fiction is read one page after the other, it is perfectly suited to this. Graphic novels may be ok. A bit small on a 6 inch screen, but the bigger Kindle screen might work out ok. These too are page by page, not random access.
But if you need to read a few paragraphs here, look in the index, and read a few pages somewhere else.. All common tasks with manuals.. Forget it. Get a netbook for portability or a tablet for functionality. Both great choices for manuals and text books. Do yourself a favour. Avoid e-ink displays unless the primary function is fiction reading. No matter how big the screen. You will either be disappointed, or worse.. end up justifying the extra cost of a 9 inch book reader that only works for manuals in the same way an iPhone works as a camera.
There are supposed to be a few new displays coming out that are better suited to fast access, but you are realistically looking at several years before they are on sale anywhere. The current generation are a dead loss for PDF files.
It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it.
As pointed out in this review:
You can't organize PDFs into directories on the Kindle, which makes accessing a large number of PDFs a serious problem. It's like 1984.
(The lack of PDF annotation capability is also a headache.)
If a thing is not diminished by being shared, it is not rightly owned if it is only owned & not shared. S. Augustine
The RIAA do not approve your use of the word lend in that sentence. Clearly you meant aiding and abetting first degree piracy against the crown in an act of sedition.
Seriously though. Is 'lending' as easy as you say while using legit sources? I'm sure with torrented books it will be wonderful. However, it does sound like a great way to store all books ever written in your living room.
I picked up the Kindle DX on release day (much to my amazement, as I figured the initial stock would go entirely to preorders) and then took it on a 2 week trip. I'm quite pleased with it, although I definitely believe that it will only appeal to a narrow market.
Pros:
Cons:
If the Kindle were actually like that, it would be wonderful, but I'm pretty sure you can't email your books around. E-ink is great, but the Kindle is too expensive, its books are too expensive, and I'm not going to deal with a company that puts limits on what I purchase.
I am waiting to see what Google does. I think that they are the only possible company that has the inclination and sheer might to give us an e-book reader and content that is reader friendly.
From one academic-paper-reading-geek to another: Don't waste your time with the Kindle DX. I am a professor and did order one- with very high hopes of going beyond paper! To warn others, I also posted a review of my experience with the Kindle DX on my blog: http://ecotope.org/blogs/post/Kindle-DX-Not-ready-for-Academic-users.aspx But there was no way to really use the thing the way you need to if you are an academic-paper-reading-geek! I returned it after about a week. Maybe next year there will be a machine with the right stuff! I hope so!
Depends on where. For example, online e-book stores are a booming market in Russia - virtually all titles on the market are available in dozens of formats, from open TXT, RTF, PDF and FB2, to reader-specific formats such as LIT and LRF. No DRM at all. And even a new release generally costs no more than 50% than a paper book, and older books are 3x-4x cheaper - overall it's $1.5-$2 for a typical fiction book. A lot of ways to pay, from CC and direct debit to pay terminals and pay-by-SMS.
This isn't like AllOfMP3, either - no legal loopholes used, they work directly with authors and publishers (who set the prices). Quite a few authors have direct contracts, bypassing the publishers entirely. Thankfully, those people understand that setting the prices too high will only result in more piracy.
Coupled with any eInk-based reader (mine is Sony, but it's more a matter of taste), it's really great - a convenient pocket library at very affordable prices.
You could have that in U.S., too (with prices adjusted for your standard of living). What, you don't? Well, maybe your free market ain't so free...
#2: http://www.teleread.org/2009/06/22/device-limits-fuzzy-on-downloads-for-kindle-books-if-so-should-the-ftc-investigate/
And a Kindle wielding friend of mine was complaining that newspaper subscription he uses is limited to one device, too. Which is insane.
#3: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44350&highlight=amazon+banning
This dude now has a $350 door stop.
#5: Yes, my bad.
#6: That still doesn't change the fact that until this problem is addressed (and Amazon has enormous leverage here, while I personally don't), Kindle will not be able to replace books for me.