Kindle DX for AUSTRALIA

Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device (9.7" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)

Finally purchased the international version of Kindle for use in Australia. Without having the ability to see-feel'n'smell it before I purchased it was a risky USD489 (AUD$600) purchase. Spending almost A$900 with accessories, goodies and shipping was a "gulp" risk. Being in Australia and so remote was a concern but communication with Amazon is good with the free Amazon telephone call back option however returns to Amazon has been very difficult (see my separate review of Kindle Cover) I bought Kindle the week Apple announced their iPad - whilst Apple makes wonderful products, I wasn't convinced of Apple content, functionality and applicability of iPad so I bought a dedicated reader instead. Kindle arrived was easy to set-up, install and get going. I was surprised at the e-ink capability and, true as they say, it's easy to read in all light conditions but night time with various ambient lights make it difficult but not impossible. I rate Kindle DX International AUSTRALIA 3 stars. They loose one star for limited charging solution and one star for lack of colour display/limited input options which I really expect for a device at this price.

PROS:

* Easy to read and increase text size - can read without the need of glasses

* Plug into your computer to see Kindle as a USB drive where you can drag'n'drop content to it

* Right size for a book alternative - fits briefcase, travel satchel, handbag etc

* Easily fits the separate Kindle DX cover (a must have option BTW)

* Books actually download fast (even with dodgy Australian telco providers)

* Big WOW factor - be prepared for lots of stares and questions on the train, plane etc!

CONS:

* No international power plug. Big drawback - it only comes with a special Kindle USB cable. You really need a high power USB port on your computer to charge it. Will not charge from an Apple USB wall charger!

* Surprisingly we found the back catalog of books quite limited - new titles only - forget buying textbooks yet (unless they're black and white)

* Grey scale screen is nice but they need a colour version asap - hopefully with iPad and others around I expect to see an enhanced Kindle DX very soon

* Reading PDF files is limited - difficult to zoom and read

* Technical performance of the device was slow and unresponsive - press a button and it takes time to respond. This was surprising but understandable to save battery life and you get used to it

* Keyboard is so small - need magnifying glasses to see the keys and rather useless but needed.

By Matthew Holden

Hands On with the Amazon Kindle DX

Hands On with the Amazon Kindle DX

Hot on the heels of the super-successful Kindle 2 launch, Amazon announced the Kindle DX ($489 direct), a larger, higher capacity, and more expensive version. I was able to get some hands-on time with the device and found it to be just as advertised: a larger version of the Kindle. That said, that extra screen size and the new partnerships with textbook vendors could help the Kindle DX open markets previously untapped by e-book readers.
The biggest difference between the Kindle DX and the Kindle 2 is the size of the screen, which is 2.5-times larger than the original. Moving from a 6-inch display to a 9.7-inch display makes the reading experience a lot more like reading a standard 8.5-by-11-inch piece of paper. Whereas reading the Kindle 2 is akin to reading a book, the Kindle DX feels more like reading a magazine. Indeed, Jeff Bezos said at today’s announcement that presenting structured, designed content is one of the key reasons for developing the Kindle DX.
The device measures 10.4 by 7.2 by 0.38 inches, and indeed, it feels incredibly thin when you hold it in your hand. It weighs 18.9 ounces and has about the same heft as a spiral bound paper notebook. Two small slits on the left side of the device will be used to attach a protective case, but none were on display today. The back of the Kindle DX features the same brushed metal back as the Kindle 2. Not much to see there.
One upgrade that won’t be immediately obvious is the increased memory. The Kindle DX comes with 4GB of memory and room to store about 3,500 books, compared to the 1,500-book capacity of the Kindle 2. I doubt many Kindle users ever max out their libraries, but since Amazon is increasingly pushing the Kindle as a tool for reading your own documents, the extra capacity could come in handy. There is still no removable memory slot adding memory.
The Kindle DX’s interface hasn’t changed much from Kindle 2. The Home button is still the best way to restart your navigation process and the five-way directional toggle lets you navigate the menus. I still think this process could be smoothed out some, but it isn’t too difficult to move around. Although the Page Forward and Page Back commands are still along the right side of the device, they’ve been removed from the left-hand side.
One key improvement is the addition of an accelerometer. Like the Apple iPhone, the Kindle DX can detect its orientation and rotates the screen accordingly. This lets you view documents, photos, and charts in landscape mode. In fact, the device can even be operated upside down, so that left handers can use the Page Forward/Page Back keys with their left hand if they want. (Typing on the QWERTY keyboard upside down is much, much more difficult.)
The Kindle DX also adds native PDF and RTF file support. Although previous Kindles have been able to display PDFs, this support was experimental and often achieved mixed results. The Kindle DX will ship with native PDF support that uses Adobe Reader Mobile technology. The demos I saw included nautical charts, maps, and legal documents, and the results were very impressive. Of course, I will have to load my own PDFs to really evaluate this feature.
Otherwise, the Kindle DX supports the same assortment of file formats, including Kindle, (AZW) TXT, Audible, HTML, Doc, JPEG, GIF, and PNG. Files can be sideloaded via the microUSB cable or sent through Amazon’s Whispernet service for $.15/MB.
As with the Kindle 2, the Kinlde DX comes with a built-in 1xRTT EVDO modem for wirelessly loading books and other digital content using the companies Whispernet service. Whispernet works seamlessly in the background, but it should be noted the company recently moved to per MB pricing for files that you upload to the service. If users do start uploading lots of their own files to the device, as Amazon seems to want them to, this could end up adding to the price of the device.
Other than the increased size, the biggest improvement in the Kindle ecosystem is the deal with textbook publishers. The textbook market will be key for the DX to succeed. Amazon has already signed up three of the top five textbook publishers (Cengage Learning, Pearson, and Wiley) as well as 27 University Press Publishers. The Kindle DX will be used in trials with at least five universities this fall.
There are lots of unanswered questions about the Kindle DX that I will answer when the device comes into PCMag Labs for testing. That said, given how closely the device builds on the Kindle 2 platform, it seems like a useful addition to the Kindle portfolio. This will be especially true if Amazon can succeed in evolving the device from a pure e-book reader into a device for reading all sorts of digital documents, including textbooks, magazines, blogs, word documents, PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, e-mails, or any other document people currently print out.

Amazon Kindle DX

Amazon Kindle DX Review

Amazon Kindle DX was announced back at the beginning of May, but it’s taken until now for the first of the oversized ebook readers to reach buyers’ hands. The Kindle DX begins shipping this week, promising more E Ink real estate, more memory, and more file-type support on top of the Kindle 2’s existing Whispernet wireless and other features. Is bigger necessarily better? SlashGear put on our reading glasses and set to finding out.

The differences between the Kindle 2 and the new Kindle DX are obvious: a 9.7-inch E Ink monochrome display dominates the front panel, offering around 2.5x the space of the smaller ebook reader and squashing the QWERTY keyboard into tic-tac tininess at the bottom. Amazon Kindle DX has obviously worked hard to minimize the screen’s impact on the overall chassis, with mixed results. It’s a scant 0.02-inches thicker than the Kindle 2, at 0.38-inches, with a metal back-plate lending stiffness, but the left-side page controls have been dropped.

Make sure to click through for the full review, photo gallery and unboxing/walkthrough video of the Amazon Kindle DX.

That means that anybody who automatically goes to use their left-hand to turn pages (and that’s not just the left-handed among us) will have to either retrain themselves or follow Amazon’s advice and flip the display 180-degrees. Doing so obviously puts the keyboard and joystick out of easy reach, so it’s not an ideal solution.

Anybody planning on doing this regularly really should get into the habit of using the included USB 2.0 to micro-USB cable, though, as Amazon’s Whispernet conversion fees can quickly mount up. Shortly before they announced the Kindle DX, Amazon quietly changed their policy on wireless conversions: where previously they charged a fixed $0.10 per document, they now bill per megabyte. Files are rounded up to the nearest whole megabyte (MB), each charged at $0.15. Given that a typical research paper will range in size from under 1MB (which Amazon will round up) to perhaps 10-15MB depending on length, graphics and whether the original is in color or monochrome, you’re likely looking at least a dollar per conversion. Manual transfers via the USB cable (Amazon will also convert documents not natively supported and send them back to your email account) are free.

Amazon Kindle DX

Kindle DX - An Introduction

Kindle DX - An Introduction
The Amazon Kindle DX is the latest addition to the Kindle series of e-book readers. It is much larger than the other models as it is targeted at a different niche in the market (newspaper and textbook readings). This new model has a 9.7inch display, which is great for reading newspaper articles, magazines and textbooks.
The screen quality is similar to the Kindle 2, having a paper-like feel that is very easy to read without much strain on the eyes. In fact the layout and position of the keypad and buttons are almost identical to the Kindle 2. This new model is very thin with rounded corners and a matte metal/aluminum panel on the back. It measures at 10.4 x 7.2 x 0.38 inches and weights at just 18.9 ouches. It also has tiny speakers at the bottom of the unit.
One of the new features found on the Kindle DX is the ability to rotate the display. You can choose to read the content in portrait or landscape by just rotating the reader to the side, very much like the iPhone or the iPod touch.
If you plan to get an e-book reader to read mainly newspapers or magazines, the Kindle DX will prove to be a better choice over the older models. The bigger screen makes it much easier to read long articles and view pictures without the need to constantly scroll the screen. It also comes with 3.3GBs for storage that is more than enough for most of us. With the wireless feature turned off, you can use the Kindle DX for up to 2 weeks on a single charge.
For more real reviews and product information, visit Amazon Kindle DX.

By Tim Pecunia