Kindle DX, Free 3G, 9.7" E Ink Display, 3G Works Globally

I have owned both Kindle 1 and Kindle 2, so I'm already committed to the basic idea: e-ink reading in a slim form factor with excellent connectivity to a large selection of books and subscriptions. I have come to rely on my Kindle experience, and it has seriously enhanced my reading.

The DX was not an obvious upgrade for me, but two features put me over the edge: the larger screen, and the native PDF reader. I now have the DX in my hands, and can report PROS, CONS, and NEUTRALS:

PROS:

-- the larger screen is a definite plus. I use the larger type size on my Kindle 2 (older eyes), and at this type size I get far more text per page on the DX. This makes the whole reading experience more book-like (and should be a boon to people who buy large-print books.)

-- the screen is also sharper and crisper than my Kindle 2 in a side-by-side comparison: the text is darker, and the contrast is much better, making for better visibility overall.

-- on a side note, the larger screen also makes it possible to read poetry on the kindle, even at large type sizes. On earlier Kindles, the smaller screen cut off lines, so that you would lose the sense of when the poet ended the line. On the DX, you can see the whole line exactly as the poet meant it, with the cut-off in the right spot.

-- the PDF reader works as advertised, and is extremely convenient. PDF documents appear on the DX exactly as they do on a computer screen. Moreover, you can drag and drop your documents directly to the device using the USB cable (or use the for-a-fee email if you absolutely must.) The only downside: at least for the documents that I've used so far, I cannot adjust the type size as I can with native Kindle documents.

-- screen rotation also works as advertised: it operates as a mild zoom on both graphics and text and offsets slightly the downside of not being able to adjust the typesize on PDF documents. One nice design touch: the four-way navigation stick introduced on the Kindle 2 is rotation-sensitive, and will move as expected relative to the screen rotation.

-- more of the device space is devoted to the screen, while the white plastic border around the screen seems to have shrunk, both in general and compared to the proportion of screen to plastic on the Kindle 2. I like this (but see below about the keyboard).

-- storage: I like the increase in storage space, and don't mind the lack of an external storage card. I can see some people having trouble with this, but only those folks who either a) must regularly carry around PDF documents totalling more than 3.5 GB of space or b) must have nearly 3500 books regularly at their fingertips. I fall in neither category.

CONS:

-- price: it's expensive, as you can tell pretty quickly. If you value the larger size, and the native PDF reader, these features may justify the roughly 30% premium you pay for the DX over the Kindle 2. In truth, the DX SHOULD cost more than the Kindle 2, and a 30% premium isn't unreasonable. But, for my money, Amazon should drop the price on the Kindle 2 to $300 or so, and charge $400 or a little less for the DX. Still, I bought it, and will keep it at this price.

-- one-sided navigation buttons: all of the buttons are now on the right side, and none are on the left. I'm a righty, so I shouldn't complain, but I found myself using both sides on the Kindle 2. Lefties have reason to complain, I think.

-- One-handed handling: I often read while I walk, with my Kindle in one hand, and something else in my other. Because of the button layout, this will be more difficult on the DX.

-- metal backing: I miss the tacky rubberized backing on my Kindle 1. When I placed my Kindle 1 on an inclined surface, it stayed in place. Not so my Kindle 2 and now my DX. This is not a complaint specific to the DX, but it's still there.

NEUTRALS (i.e. things worth noting):

-- weight: the DX is heavier, noticeably so. This is only an issue if, like me, you regularly use the kindle with one hand . . . and even so, it's still doable.

-- keyboard: the keyboard has 4 rows, and not 5: the top row of numbers from the Kindle 1 and 2 has been merged into the top qwerty row, so that numbers are now only accessible with an alt-key combination. The keys are vertically thinner too, so that the whole keyboard is no more than 1" tall (compared to over an 1.5" on the Kindle 2). At the same time, the keys themselves are a bit easier to press, a bit more protruding than on the Kindle 2. For someone with big fingers (like me), this will be a slightly harder keyboard to use, but only slightly.

That's all I can see. Overall, the pluses outweigh the minuses for me, and I'm satisfied with my purchase. I can now think of using my DX for work documents on a regular basis, because of the PDF reader. The screen size and screen rotation make the overall reading experience more immersive.

Overall, the DX feels more like text and less like device and comes closer to the stated goal of the Kindle: for the device to disappear, leaving only the joy of reading.

This review was written back when the DX first came out and--as has been brought to my attention--needs to be updated a bit. I will indicate where things have changed for the better within the body of the review:

I owned the K1 and then the K2 and love them both, so I was really looking forward to the DX. My plan was to use the DX at home, and keep my K2 for carrying all over creation with me. It wasn't long, though, after my DX arrived the day before yesterday before disappointment set in.

Don't get me wrong, there is a LOT to like about the DX:

1) Pictures are awesome on it, if the publisher formats them properly.

2) Those who complain about darkness of text on their K2 (a problem I've never had, btw) will be thrilled by the DX's very dark text.

EDIT: LIKE THE KINDLE 3, THE DX NOW SPORTS A NEW E-INK DISPLAY THAT HAS MUCH BETTER CONTRAST, SO TEXT & PICTURES REALLY "POP."

3) The ability to rotate the screen is great. Gives you a closer look at things like maps and charts.

4) The browser is a bit faster than on the K1 or K2, though that isn't saying much--it is still very clunky to use.

EDIT: THOUGH STILL CLUNKY, THE BROWSER *HAS* BEEN IMPROVED FOR EASIER USE. BUT STILL DON'T PLAN TO DO A LOT OF WEB SURFING WITH IT.

5) But web pages look pretty good on the DX.

6) It holds 3500 books.

BUT.....the DX just isn't all that. It has drawbacks that are really making me consider sending it back before my 30 days are up:

1) First and foremost, while it is true that it natively reads PDFs, it is really only a PDF *viewer*. You can't change the font size on PDFs, links will not function on them, and the ability to magnify pictures doesn't work on them either. So you better have LARGE fonts on your PDF before you load it. Looking at the PDF in horizontal mode helps a bit, but not by much.

EDIT: WE NOW HAVE THE ABILITY TO ZOOM IN ON PDF DOCUMENTS, WHICH HELPS IN READING THEM--BUT IT WOULD STILL BEHOOVE USERS TO USE LARGER FONT SIZES IN DOCUMENTS BEFORE CONVERTING TO PDF FORMAT.

2) The DX is too big to hold comfortably. It's not really all that heavy, but it is top heavy and you feel a pull on your hands. And that pull is really evident if you try to use the keyboard while holding it--you practically have to lay the DX down flat, it becomes so difficult to type.

3) They merged the number keys with the QWERTY keys (losing a line of keys). What development genius thought it would be helpful and an "improvement?" To go to a location within a book you have to click Menu, choose "go to," then click the Symbols key, choose the numbers you want, then close Symbols before you can choose "location." Whew! Or you can click Alt + the letter button at the top that corresponds to the number you want. Joy.

4) Before my DX came, I really didn't think this would bother me at all, but I have to say: I really HATE the fact that the "next page" button is only on one side. I mostly use the left hand button. And yes, with the DX's rotation ability you can turn it upside down, placing the "next page" button on the left side.... However, when you do this, the button is so high up that you have to slide your hand (not your thumb, your whole hand) up in order to turn the page. May sound nit-picky, but it is truly a PITA to break off reading to do it. Not only that, but having the keyboard at the top makes it even more top-heavy than when it is right side up!

5) when you rotate the DX so that it is horizontal, the "next page" button is either at the bottom or the top--in either case you can't just flick your thumb and change the page. Again, a PITA.

6) If you leave the rotation feature on "Auto" when you are not using your DX it drains your battery, so you must remember to turn the feature off when you stop reading.

7) Still no folders. An organization nightmare three times bigger than that of the K2 (which itself had increased the same problem on the K1): the possibility of storing 3500 books but only being able to sort them by author, title, and "most recent first."

EDIT: AMAZON HAS NOW GIVEN ALL KINDLE USERS THE ABILITY TO CREATE "COLLECTIONS." THIS LETS YOU ORGANIZE YOUR BOOKS BY GENRE OR WHATEVER YOU LIKE, SO THAT'S A BIG HELP. HOWEVER, FOR SOME STRANGE REASON, UNLESS YOU RESORT TO FIXES LIKE PUTTING SYMBOLS BEFORE THE COLLECTION NAMES WHEN IN "VIEW BY COLLECTIONS" IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO ALPHABETIZE THEM! I WOULD HOPE THAT THIS GETS FIXED IN THE NEAR FUTURE WITH A SOFTWARE UPDATE.

I will be fiercely debating with myself in the next week or so, on whether I really want to keep the DX. It is so disappointing. It has the potential of being a really great e-reader...but as it stands now, it isn't. It's OK. But for $489, it should be a lot more than merely OK.

EDIT: I DID END UP RETURNING MY DX THE FOLLOWING WEEK. THE PRICE HAS SINCE DROPPED--IT NOW COSTS $379--BUT IT *STILL* ISN'T ALL THAT.

First off, I am a first time kindle buyer, so this review will be more geared to those buyers thinking of entering into the kindle market, not a comparison of past editions.

My first impression of the Kindle DX was that it was actually very small compared to what I expected. The entire device is slightly smaller (in height and width) than a piece of paper, with the screen taking up approximately 85-90% of the front. This was actually a nice surprise, since I wanted something very portable, but good for magazines/research articles. After seeing the size of the DX, I think a K2 would have been way too small for what I want. At the same time, the device is very hefty. Picking it up, it becomes almost tiring to hold up in one hand for too long (another reason I think this one is better geared toward short articles instead of extended novel reading). It has a nice solid feel to it, but for some reason I was expecting it to be lighter.

The kindle only takes a couple of seconds to power up and immediately goes to the last article you were reading. A row of buttons are positioned on the right, which let you go to the main home page, go to the next page of an article, previous page, bring up a menu, or go "back". There is also a small four-way joystick to navigate around (which also has the ability to be pressed for selections). The joystick is very sensitive and easy to navigate with, although not overly sensitive that you hit things by mistake (at least very often - it has happened a couple of times so far).

For those in the market for an ereader and can't decide between the Kindle and another device, I can tell you what made me go toward the Kindle: Whispernet. It is a free, no subscription based service that comes on all Kindles. You get free access to the internet anywhere Sprint reception can be found. You can purchase books/magazines/newspapers anywhere, and have them in less than 60 seconds. You can access the web, check your web-based email, look up directions, find weather reports, movie times, etc. Although the Kindle terms say that normal web browsing might result in extra charges, my assumption is that this clause will just cover amazon if they choose to charge for web in the future. As of right now, everything is free. The Web Browser is very rudimentary and does not show pages very well. Even most pages designed for mobile phones showed up badly for me, although some were okay. The browser is very slow, but could really come in handy if some information was needed and no internet was available.

I have tried several blogs and magazines, as well as the native pdf viewer and all seem to produce well formatted articles with crisp, clear pictures. Lighter pictures tend to show up better as darker pictures blur together if they do not have enough contrasting elements. The one problem I have noticed with the pdf viewer is that some text/elements can end up being very small and hard to see. The pdf viewer is stuck on one size, which is slightly smaller than most pdf's are intended to be viewed at. There is no way to increase font size, and the only way to zoom is by rotating the display. This zooms in on the top or bottom half of the screen. Rotating to a landscape display actually helps that problem a great deal, but some sort of zoom feature would have been nice. You can search in pdf documents or go to certain pages, but it is impossible to annotate as the Kindle lets you do in normal document files. Pdf documents can be sent to the Kindle DX via usb cable or through a special email that is set up for the device. However, documents that are sent via email are charged a small fee (I was charged $0.45 for a pdf slightly larger than 2MB - I will use the usb cable from now on unless it's absolutely necessary to use email). Blogs I have subscribed to have continuously updated over the time I've had the DX... it is nice to have a constant stream of info to read even when not in the position to surf the web. Most blogs and magazines are subscription based with costs ranging from free to $1.99 or more for the more popular ones. This fact turns many people off since blogs can be found free on the net, but the convenience of having them constantly updated with no internet connection required and brought to you in an easy to read format makes them somewhat worth it in my opinion. Having read through some and watched constant updates while writing this review, I think I will be more likely to keep the blog subscriptions even more than the magazines subscriptions. Most blogs and magazines give you a 14-day trial to see how well you like them before committing to a purchase. They can be organized into separate articles/sections, and are easy to navigate.

There is a text-to-speech function that can be used in most books (Random House published books excluded because of a lawsuit brought against amazon). The sound of it seems a little old fashioned with an extremely computer-sounding voice, but it is a nice addition. You can also play MP3's, but don't expect extremely high-quality sound. The Kindle DX has a earphone jack on the top of the device, or small speakers on the bottom of the device for these funtctions.

A keyboard is present at the bottom of the device. It has a QWERTY format, but with the numbers located on the top row of letters (a shift button selects them). It is fairly easy to type on in my opinion, but takes a little getting used to. The buttons are small, rounded and don't take much to push. For this reason, it is difficult to tell if you hit the button acurately or not, and often times you find you hit wrong keys by accident. The Kindle actually tends to be a bit wide to easily type if you have small hands like me. Larger hands should do fine.

As for the screen, the e-ink is easy to read, easy on the eyes, and it is crisp and has a nice resolution. Highly detailed pictures showed up nicely as long as they weren't too dark. The only complaint I would have about the screen is that it is very reflective. I need to make sure I'm not around any bright lights before reading. Otherwise, the glare interferes.

SHOULD YOU BUY THE DX?: Well, I think that comes down to what you want to read. The DX is a nice reader (although expensive!). It is probably the perfect size for reading magazine articles, journal articles, and newspapers. The articles come out as being crisp and easy to read, and having them constantly delivered to you is great. I think the device might be a little on the heavy/large side for continous reading of books, so for that, I would probably go with the Kindle 2 instead. For textbooks, I think the verdict is still out. Being able to flip through the pages of textbooks and quickly find information still isn't completely replicated by the Kindle. However, the search features of the Kindle could prove to be invaluable in studying, and there's no doubt the kindle helps in areas of portability. The DX replicates figures and images nicely, but in some textbooks, color is vital. That could be the downfall of the DX when it comes to Textbooks.

CONS/FOR FUTURE KINDLES: There's quite a few things that prevent the DX from being perfect, but maybe they can be added into future editions. First and foremost: Folders/Organization! Right now, all articles/blogs/newspapers/books get clumped together in one big menu. Why is there no way to organize these and place them in categories? This would be a huge improvement and would take very little effort. Also: Color. As I just mentioned above, color is a huge part of many textbooks, articles, etc. As soon as the technology is ready, a color kindle will be a huge improvement. A memory card slot was included in the first Kindle; however it was removed in the second and DX. This needs to be added back. Especially for those of us with large pdf libraries, we need the extra memory slot. Not to expand the memory so much as to just give us a portable way of getting articles onto the kindle. As of right now, you can be charged to have articles sent to the Kindle, or we can be near a computer. Why not add the memory card slot back and give us one more option? A better web browser, some sort of side-lighting for nighttime reading, touchscreen, thinner, and lighter are other suggestions I can think of to strive for.

UPDATE: So, after using the DX for a while now, I have come to absolutely love it. Unfortunately, so has my girlfriend, so I don't get to see it much anymore.

A few small things have come to annoy me though, so I would like to point those out. First, the screen rotation is becoming more and more annoying. I find the screen rotating on me many times when I don't want it to. Slightly changing the position of the device suddenly leads to the screen being rotated, and then it takes another few seconds of shifting it around to get it back the way you want. There should be a way to turn screen rotation off if you know you won't want it bothering you for a while. A simple setting could then be turned on again for normal use. (UPDATE: Apparently, you can disable the auto-rotation. User A.Nichols wrote in the comments: "Push the button with the Aa (to change font size) and you'll find the option to set change screen rotation from Auto (default) to portrait. I found the screen rotation to be annoying also when reading, it's easy to accidentally change the angle.")

Another thing that has come to bother me is the screen lag. Very often, it's as though the screen sticks after you push buttons. You push them again and again, and then the screen finally unsticks and you fly through 3-4 pages. It's difficult to tell if the device didn't register the button you pushed or if it's just running behind. Unfortunately, this has resulted in my purchasing a book that I didn't mean to (amazon was nice enough to remove the charge though). Usually you get a "Would you like to cancel your order?" immediately after purchasing on the kindle, but this time I guess I pushed too much and flew through that screen too.

Even with these small issues, I can't put my Kindle down. It is the best money I have spent in a long time.

July 5 update: I've apparently been living under an e-reader rock because today is the first day I hear of the new dark gray DX. If you are contemplating the whether to go with the white or gray DX -- DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!! Get the gray!! The one thing I learned with my Sony Readers is that the darker the bezel -- the more contrast between the screen and the easier it is to read. So even if the screen and nothing in the e-ink display has changed and everything else is the same except for the color of the bezel -- the darker bezel will make for an easier more constrasty reading experience. FINALLY, Amazon gets a clue and realizes that the darker bezel will make for better reading though it may not look as "nice" as the white!

FIRMWARE UPDATE as of 11.30.2009:

I have now M-Edge Platform Jacket for Kindle DX (Genuine Leather--Pebbled Navy)--Back to School Sale!! because you can set the Kindle up to stand by itself on the table next to you or a lap desk. This makes it easier to to view music, knitting patterns, or just plain books (addressing some users complaints about it being "too heavy" to hold comfortably).

I had been disappointed that the Kindle automatically goes to sleep after 5 minutes because if you are using the Kindle for reading patterns or music, it times out on you while you are still "working" on a page. However, Amazon come out with a new firmware release... the Kindle DX now stays on for 20 minutes before going into screen saver mode which is a big improvement.

In addition, with the new firmware, you have the option of converting your PDFs to Kindle format -- which should address the lack of "zoom" and "annotation" features -- at least there is a workaround for now.

UPDATE as of 06.16.2009: The Kindle may have just literally saved my career and saved my "backend". I had an interview yesterday and thought I knew where I was going. I'm one of the last dinosaurs not to have a Garmin and got lost. After circling around for awhile and getting more and more uptight about missing my interview, I remembered the Browser on the Kindle.

On the K2, the browser was basically unusable because of the size. However, with the DX, I was able to go to Google Maps, look up the address and had my directions in just a couple of seconds. The map was rendered beautifully and the turn-by-turn directions could be bookmarked and even if my DX fell asleep, it awoke still displaying the directions. THANK YOU KINDLE!!!

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The UPS truck arrived a couple of hours ago. I feel like a kid on Christmas Day and I got (just about) everything I wanted!

My Sony PRS-505 has finally and officially become my "Emergency Backup Reader"

My romance with ebook readers got off to a bumpy start when I got my first eInk device -- the Cybook Bookeen. Firmware issues and awkward buttons made it rather disappointing.

Then I found true love with the Sony PRS-505. I loved the metal case. I loved the "Collections" (essentially folders features). I loved the looks and loved the display.

However, the Kindle 2 woo'ed me with the size of its content collection. However, for reading I still ultimately preferred my Sony.

Now, with the larger Kindle DX, I've set my Sony aside and there is a new love in my life. Let me count the ways:

1. SCREEN SIZE: Reading on the Kindle DX vs 6" readers is like the difference between sleeping in a King sized bed vs a Twin Bed or riding in the backseat of a 2-door 1981 Honda Accord vs bucket seats in a Honda Odyssey. You feel like you have room to breath. The larger screen allows you to maximize the use of the real estate -- taking advantage of larger fonts and more white space. This makes text much easier to read -- even if you are just reading regular books.

2. KEYBOARD: I also love that they have compacted the keyboard so that it doesn't dominate the overall appearance of the device. The smaller keyboard in no way compromises the ability to type. However, it improves the look by making the proportions more appealing and it means the device isn't horrifically larger than the 6" device.

3. PDF + BIG SCREEN = LOTS MORE USES: I can transfer my knitting patterns (complete with knitting graphs and diagrams) and cello music to my e-reader.

Using the Kindle for knitting -- I can highlight my place in the knitting pattern making it easier to work more complicated stitch patterns.

I play cello and many of my music books are available in PDF format -- again the Kindle is wonderful for carrying all my music with me at one time. Turning pages is faster and easier than with a physical book. The kindle sits well on the music stand (though you want to make sure the tray of the music stand is taller than the Kindle or the Kindle will be "top heavy" making the bottom slide forward and potentially falling off the stand.

4. SCREEN ROTATION -- You can rotate the screen in any direction and the page quickly re-orients itself. You can keep rotating 360 degrees and the screen follows you. The buttons remain the same but the thumb stick also reorients so that if you push right relative to the current orientation, that always means "page forward" no matter what direction you are in.

If you are left handed and really bothered by having the buttons only on the right side, you can turn the device upside down and voila -- now your buttons are on the left side.

5. BUTTON CONFIGURATION -- I actually PREFER having the next page and back page on the same side and in a contiguous location (as opposed to opposite sides of the device like the Kindle 2). It makes one-handed reading easier without having to reach over to the other side of the device to flip back and forth.

6. SOLID feeling -- I like the heavier feel -- it is comparable to the heft of a hardbound book.

7. READING While charging -- this sounds like a little thing but with the Sony, if you have the device plugged in for charging, you can't read on the device at the same time.

There are a two things I still think the Sony does better:

1. COLLECTIONS: It would be nice to have folders so that music could be separated from technical books which is also separated from knitting patterns etc. The absence of folders is even MORE annoying on the DX because you are likely to have a much more diverse collection of books/documents on there.

2. EPUB SUPPORT: ePUB would allow users to acquire content from public libraries and virtually any other online ebookseller. But that is basically why Amazon isn't doing that... they WANT you to only get your content from them. Frankly, the ability to view PDFs without having to do a bunch of emailing back in forth is a huge leap forward so I guess it is sort of a "baby steps" thing.

Sony has just really dropped the ball by not bringing out a larger format. You wouldn't think that a couple of extra inches on the screen would make that much of a difference in terms of your reading enjoyment. But then again, going from a 17" monitor to a 19" monitor is a huge difference in terms of usability of a computer screen.

All in all -- Amazon really made a brilliant move with the DX. It is clear that they have really thought through the little things this time around and even the DX is a substantial improvement over the K2. I'm very very happy!

[NCJAR]

I don't generally write reviews, but I hope this one will be useful for other scientists who are contemplating a Kindle DX. My use for the DX will be different from most of the users who have posted reviews. I maintain a library of nearly 4,000 PDF manuscripts/grants/documents. I probably have minimal use for eBooks from the Kindle Store. The number of PDFs is constantly growing as new research manuscripts are published (and downloaded to my computer). My principle reasons for purchasing a DX were to:

1) Carry the electronic equivalent of binders of PDFs with me when traveling. An iPod for PDFs. This is a metaphor that works for the way that I view an eReader, though it probably doesn't apply equally well to everyone.

2) Have an easier way to read papers when traveling. Easier means not worrying about battery life, unfurling a laptop in a cramped airplane, or carrying a bag full of papers.

3) Reduce eye strain from staring at a computer screen by moving serious reading from the laptop screen to the DX.

From my preliminary use, I think the DX is a qualified success. Text in manuscripts looks great. Figures from manuscripts do not render well in portrait mode if there is a lot of detail; switching to landscape mode helps substantially. Zoom into individual images/sections of PDFs would be welcome.

Navigating large numbers of PDFs from the home screen is currently clumsy. Lack of directory support to organize large numbers of files is an issue. I've read about users using complex naming conventions to use 'search' as an indirect way to find files. Renaming hundreds (or thousands) of files to make them easier to find is not a great solution. I suspect this will improve in time, either through a firmware update to this device or in the next generation of hardware.

I'm also hoping against hope that one or more of the reference manager software providers (Bookends, I'm looking at you) realizes that their software is to the Kindle as iTunes is to the iPod. If I could manage the content of my Kindle through a reference manager, I would be thrilled. The idea of downloading a paper and syncing it in one step to the Kindle to take with me is really appealing. This wouldn't completely overcome the problem with a flat file hierarchy once the papers are on the Kindle, but it would help organize getting content onto and off the device.

The biggest surprise to me is the functionality of the web browser. Yes, it is pokey to render pages. No, I wouldn't want to use it to web surf. But if I had a destination web site that is heavy on content, I think reading on the Kindle will be vastly superior to reading on the iPhone or other mobile/tablet devices. I do doubt, however, that wireless data access will remain free on the Kindle long-term. I can't imagine how Amazon will be able to continue subsidizing the data costs. I think that this is a feature that should be enjoyed while it lasts, but I wouldn't be surprised if it goes away at some point in the future.

Though it adds another $50 to the cost, I think the matching case is attractive, functional, and creates an easy-to-carry package.

So is it worth the high cost? I don't think I (or anyone) can really evaluate that until determining how well it integrates into daily work habits. I suspect that I will get heavy use out of it, but then I read a ton of PDFs. I do hope that the PDF support for dictionary lookup, highlighting, and annotation improves, but I base my review on what the product does - not what I would like it to do.

Hope this helps other heavy PDF users!

(Preliminary note: despite the date on my review, this is a review of "Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G, 3G Works Globally, Graphite, 9.7" Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology," the latest version as of spring 2011 when I wrote this. I have slowly updated my review as new software updates have come out, and now I have the new hardware to review as well. Be warned that many older reviews may be for the first- or second-generation DX, since Amazon doesn't seem to see a problem with lumping them all together.)

First, I'll mention the usual stuff that other people have: the e-ink screen is very readable (nothing like an LCD, which is good for both eyes and battery life). I think the new "pearl" screen on the new (graphite) DX has increased contrast and perhaps a slightly whiter background, as well, which is nice. (Or it could be the graphite bezel tricking my eyes; either way, I like it.) There are so many positives, along with the fact that it's convenient to carry this instead of a bunch of books or papers.

I've been using the DX since it was first released, and there have been several nice updates along the way. Be warned if you read older reviews: some of the bad things have been taken care of. For example, "collections" now act like folders, allowing you to organize your files, and the PDF viewer has gained some zoom functionality, although you still have few options as to where exactly to zoom.

You can look elsewhere for the advantages of this device, which I have summarized above; in short, it isn't terrible, and I've really enjoyed it. However, there are a few cons I wish I would have known, especially before purchasing the latest generation:
* I expected this device to get all the love the Kindle 3 has gotten. For example:
** Kindle 3 has a new WebKit-based experimental browser; the one still has something like the original DX software. Usable (and has saved me from getting lost outside a city once!) but a bit awkward.
** Kindle 3 has WiFi and 3G (or, optionally, Wi-Fi only). Kindle DX has 3G only. It's (currently?) free for most things, which is nice, but Wi-Fi would be great to have at home or school because it's so much fater. Without reading the specs too closely, I really expected the new DX to have it and was disappointed when it didn't.
** Kindle 3 has a new 5-way controller with actual buttons; this one still has the original DX joystick-like mechanism. I don't have a strong preference one way or the other and actually like using the joystick to browse through links or words in a dictionary lookup, but I do sometimes accidentally move it to a side when I mean to press it down. The discrete buttons do not have this problem.

* Like the new Kindle 3 (but unlike previous Kindles except the DX line), the number row on the keyboard has been merged with the upper QWERTY row. This means you need to type Alt+letter to get the desired number. I don't understand why; it's much more cumbersome when you're trying to go to a location number or need to type a number for any reason, and the DX is big enough and the keys small enough that they should have room.

However, my main concern is that the Kindle 3 got many updates that the DX did not. Some are hopefully software-fixable (e.g., Web browser), but some are mysteriously and, presumably, permanently absent in the hardware (e.g., Wi-Fi).

My Kindle DX shipped July 30. I really liked it until today. There is a white out on about 1/12 of screen so you cannot read many words on the page and the text is running veritical and horizontal at the same time. The product has not been dropped or otherwise damaged during use. When I called Amazon Kindle support they said they had never heard of problem, even though I told them I found in a few seconds on the web. They asked me to reset, which I did, but problem persisted. I was then told that the problem was not covered by warranty!!!!!!!!!!! I asked how could they know that without looking at device and they said it was not on known list of manufacturer defects. They told me to not even bother sending it in for warranty service but if I wanted a new one, I could pay them $250.00!! I spoke to 2 supervisors at the Washington call center who gave me the same line. Amazon is not standng behind this product, and this is the worst example of poor customer service I have encountered. I asked them how could they make a technical diagnosis over phone and they had no good answer, just kept repeating that it was not a covered defect. I asked them why they would not just say "send it in and we will take a look at it", and they said it was a waste of time because it was not covered (even though they were 3000 miles away from unit and had not seen it) They wiggled when I demanded a written explanantion of denial of warranty service ( which to me is breach of contract.Kindle DX: Amazon's 9.7" Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation) DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT. Amazon should be ashamed of itself. They have lost a valuable and up to now loyal customer.

As a grad student who is tired of printing out scores of journal articles or straining my eyes (and sucking battery power) reading them on a conventional computer screen, I have been eagerly watching the evolution of e-book devices waiting for one that would meet the needs of academics and professionals who are constantly reading, highlighting, and annotating documents and books. Because Amazon has marketed the Kindle DX as the e-reader for academics and professionals, highlighting its large screen and native PDF support, I finally thought that this was a product suitable for types like me and forked out the five hundred dollars for the DX. Alas, upon receiving the Kindle yesterday in the mail, it did not take long to realize 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, and other personal documents. It did not even occur to me to inquire, before purchasing the DX, whether highlighting and annotating PDFs and Word docs was possible. After all, one can easily acquire free software that enables one to do this on a computer (e.g. Skim for Macs), and in the Kindle DX press conference Amazon made a big deal about bringing reality to paperless workplaces, putting an end to the routine of printing out document after document. Well, surely one of the major reasons people print out documents is so that they can mark on them with underlinings, highlights, and notes. And given that one cannot do that for PDFs and other documents on a Kindle DX, Amazon's sales pitch is quite misleading: anyone who needs to interact with documents in the way typical of academics and professionals will still need to print out those documents (or make due on an eye-straining and power-consuming computer). Not only is it impossible to add an annotation to a specific passage in a PDF or Word document, one cannot add any annotations whatsoever, even at the page level (or document level, for that matter). Clipping/highlighting support is also completely absent. This is frankly unacceptable for a product marketed as the Kindle for students and professionals.

As I'm sure other reviews here will attest, the Kindle DX is in other respects a beautiful and wonderful machine. If you just want to read PDFs, and have no desire to annotate or highlight them, then this would be a very satisfying device. And if you only need to annotate and/or highlight books (and can find the books you need in the Kindle store and can afford to buy them!), then the DX will be a wonderful piece of equipment to own. But if you are a typical student, academic or professional who needs to interact with your documents (and not just read them), and are looking for something that will replace the need to print documents or read them on your computer, the DX simply does not fit the bill. Wait for the next product, or for Amazon to update their firmware with respectable support for PDFs and other document types. I'll be mailing my Kindle back to Amazon tomorrow.

Here are my first impressions of the Kindle DX which I received earlier today. I've been using the Kindle 2 for the past three months and have loved it. It has improved the way I read by making it easy to download and try books before purchasing them, and allowing me to carry a variety of reading material with me. I was disappointed with the way it handled PDF's, which is important to me, so I sold the Kindle 2 and bought the DX.

- The DX works like the Kindle 2 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 if you flip it 180 degrees, the display auto rotates and you can use your left hand. Very slick.
- The DX is heavier, but is still comfortable to hold and read.
- The overall size of the DX is not as big as I expected from the pictures on the web.
- The digital ink looks similar on both, but a little sharper on the DX.
- The DX works much better for PDF's overall. The bigger screen really helps here.
- A complex powerpoint I converted to pdf looks just like it does on my pc except in b&w.
- PDF's with columns work fine. I couldn't read them on the Kindle 2.
- If you have a PDF with multiple columns, the print may appear small on the DX, and you can't adjust fonts in PDFs.
- Newspapers are easier to read on the DX, especially pics and 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 2 weighs less and is more portable. If reading only books, I'd probably prefer the Kindle 2, given the lower price and size, and nav keys on both sides.

Regarding the price, while I'd love Kindles to cost less, I think the price is reasonable. Here's how I justified it. I assumed I could resell the DX in 2 years for 50% of its purchase price, or $245. (50% seems reasonable based on the experience of Kindle 1). So my net cost is $245. The differentiating feature of the Kindle is the built in wireless capability. Not only is it elegant and integrated, it is also included in the purchase price. If unlimited wireless were priced separately, a reasonable price would be around $10/month. So effectively my out of pocket cost using the DX for 2 years is roughly equivalent to what the wireless would cost me if it was priced separately.

Both the DX and Kindle 2 are good values. If you only read books, the Kindle 2 is probably better. If you already own a Kindle 2, and don't read PDF's, I recommend keeping your Kindle 2. If you read a lot of pdf's or newspapers, or you like to read with large fonts, you'll be happier with the DX. For my needs, I like the DX more.

First, let me say that I purchased and use my Kindle DX daily. I thought about how to accurately write this review for some time now. When it gets right down to it, all eReaders on the market - and the flood now hitting the market - use the same e-ink panels made by the same company, generally have the same features as far as reading an actual book, etc. When this was a niche product in a market with no real competition than the product would get a much higher rating. However, it is now a market with many choices. The only way to be fair about writing a review is to assume that there are some basic functions that MUST exist (wireless access, reader screen quality, basic zoom/bookmark features, etc.) that all e-readers today have. The review should be what is UNIQUE about the Kindle DX and review those features. If you just want to download a book and read it on an e-ink panel than every single e-reader on the market today will work fine.

To that end, when looking at what makes the DX unique, I have to honestly say that I would not purchase this reader again - there are better options out there with several more just announced. After careful consideration, it becomes clear that Amazon just felt that they could get away with a sub-par device based on their name and position in the market.

1) PDF issues: This is a larger format reader, presumably for the purpose of reading standard sized documents (8.5" by 11"). It is also being marketed heavily to students. Both of these demand native full PDF support. While the Kindle DX does render PDF's, it does so in an extremely crippled way. While I am well versed with the fact that some PDF's are rendered as images and the document itself does not contain links or text, most do. Despite that fact the Kindle does not allow you to change font size, add bookmarks, highlight text, use the dictionary feature, zoom in, use any links (i.e., the Table of Contents), etc. In other words, it presents that pages as pictures and provides absolutely zero "digital control" over the documents - the very features that someone would want to use an electronic reader instead of a hardcopy for. I purchased this device as an engineer because I have hundreds of PDF's (manuals, client systems documentation, etc.). I have found that I am completely unable to use it for the reason I purchased it for. Other readers treat PDF's as any other document allowing all the same e-reader functions and there is no reason - short of not wanting to pay Adobe a license fee - that the Kindle does not have this same functionality.

2) File formats: While the Kindle DX does support several file formats, Amazon is one of the last holdouts to insist on providing content in a DRM protected proprietary format. They also do not read many industry standard formats. CHM and LIT are two of the HUGE formats that come to mind. Many publishers - especially of technology books - release in CHM format, essentially a slightly marked up HTML derivative that should be easy to render. MOBI and others come to mind as well - with over 1,000,000 public domain titles available from many web sites in these other formats. Yes, I understand protecting content - but Amazon has gone overboard in trying to lock down the Kindle to only offer "all the features" on their proprietary format. This locks you in to buying eBooks from the Kindle store. I understand the financial drive to do that - but most of us have documents that we have created, or content we have previously purchased for other platforms and have rights to, that we would like to read on the Kindle. Devices that restrict access to their own formats are generally given away or sold for a very low cost, with the understanding that the profit will be made on content (think about some of the original movie on demand set-top devices). Amazon is selling this as a standalone device, and needs to not intentionally cripple it. And yes, there are tools to convert file type - which usually result in formatting issues and the burden should be placed on the end user.

3) File System Flaws: Amazon advertises the ability to hold 3,500+ books/documents (a HUGE exaggerating in and of itself). Even if it held 350 titles, the file system has a HUGE problem. There are no ways to create any type of folder structure. You have to go to a single large flat listing of the documents on the reader and hit Next Page over and over - a painfully slow process in and of itself - and hope do don't miss the title you were looking for and have to start over. Yes, the titles do start in alphabetical order, but they change based on most recently read being moved to the top. It is a ridiculous and unrealistic expectation to put more than a couple dozen documents on a device without any way to organize them into folders. The official Amazon reply: You can add tags and search by tags. Yep, you can - and if you want to take the couple weeks it would take to add tags to a couple thousand PDF's then you have far more free time than I do. The Kindle was purchased to save time - not to use my entire annual vacation time to organize it.

4) No Card Reader: For some unknown reason, Amazon decided to not include any type of card reader. The memory can hold a large number of books - but PDF's can get to be 100MB or more if they are heavily diagrammed. The memory cannot be upgraded, so there should be some method to pop in a memory card. All of my cells phones have had this feature...and my $500 Kindle DX does not?

5) Ergonomics: I admit that the e-reader market is emerging so there has not been a large pool of users to pull opinions from. That said, it seems that the Kindle DX made it through the art department and skipped the usability testing department. While it looks great and each to carry, the 5-way joystick thing, the lack of Next/Previous page buttons on both sides (that existed on previous models) and the absolute worst keyboard I have ever touched do not help the device. Again - being marketed to students and professionals - just look at the official page on the Amazon site. What is on the screen on the largest image there? It is a power plant diagram - not a page from a NYT Best Seller list. There should be a way to quickly type notes on things. There is no possible way a student could sit in a lecture and flip through pages and be able to type in notes and keep up with the class on this thing - completely unrealistic.

6) No Desktop Application: While Amazon advertises that no computer is required, they leave out the fact that even if you had one there isn't really anything you could do with it. There should be some application similar to Apple's iTunes that will auto convert file formats and allow organization of files and folders (if they existed), allow backup in case the device is lost/stolen/damaged and needs to be replaced, etc. This is especially true for students that would desire a full sized keyboard to add notes to documents/books and sync with the Kindle.

Bottom line: The Kindle DX is an absolutely great e-reader for someone that wants to simply read books, is comfortable buying only Kindle content and just desires a larger screen. This is what I am now using it for. To this end it works great. If this is your only expectation - then get out the credit card. If you have fantasies of using it to actually read PDF's with any functionality, store a large number of documents, use it in a classroom setting, etc. then get a different e-reader and sacrifice battery life and get a tablet or laptop and wait for the next generation.