Amazon Kindle DX first hands-on (with video!)
by Paul Miller 
posted May 6th 2009 at 12:37PM
- It's not really drastically different from the Kindle 2. Not in any way. The ability to auto-rotate is nice, and the big screen is definitely easier on the eyes when it comes to reading newspapers, but largely this is the same beast.
- The screen looks great. It may just be the demo units here, but the blacks seem to be darker than they are on the Kindle 2. We'll have to hold this judgment for when we've got a review unit in our hands.
- Screen refresh is largely unchanged. You'll still see those black flashes when you turn the page.
- The keyboard seems better to us than the Kindle 2's. The keys are more raised, and there's more real estate for typing. It's still not an awesome experience, but it's improved.
- The size difference really is notable. The DX is a large device. It's not the kind of thing you'll be throwing into a purse, though it's not so large that you wouldn't consider it over the Kindle 2. In fact, if we had to choose right now, the Kindle DX wins hands-down.
- $489 is a lot of money for a device like this. Amazon is really going to have to show some considerable cuts on pricing for their deals with the NYT / schools to make this attractive to end-users.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Tushar @ May 6th 2009 11:20AM
Its nice!!! But $500 ??????
Shinigami @ May 6th 2009 12:21PM
Same opinion. I'd buy one for $200 since thats the price of a netbook with similar-sized FULL COLOR screen.
But the battery won't last that long. For $500 I can get UMPC-tablet that will do just fine - it doesn't have a very long-lasting battery but it can do web, youtube, flash, videos, games ect ect ect all for the same price.
Now, if I already had a tablet PC and $500 to throw out in the window (like last year's spring), I'd really be interested in DX.
Good product but wrong time or price policy, IMO.
TareX @ May 6th 2009 12:32PM
Expensive.
joe23521 @ May 6th 2009 12:46PM
Start looking for cheap Kindle 1's and 2's on Craig's List NOW.
RyanTV @ May 6th 2009 12:46PM
totally agree. I'd need something that size and full color to make me interested.
All the books i read have pictures in them. :)
Frankenstein Black @ May 6th 2009 1:19PM
All of you FAILING NEWSPAPERS out there (and the suits that run them) WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! Get in it already instead of sitting there with a panicked looks on your faces, balled up in the fetal positing rocking back and forth wondering what will be come of you! Don’t be a dinosaur gazing up at the night sky as the technology dooms day comet streaks by...
Listen, there are plenty of folks that would pay 50c to 75c (even $1.25) for access to their local news paper. And guess what, you will save ass loads on printing and paper costs too. NOW GO MAN, GO! It’s the best you’re gonna get until flexible OLED becomes more widespread. So stop crying (and don’t even try the “tax payer bail out route”) and CLIME ABOARD THE KINDLE EXPRESS!!
PS Australian Pirates are not allowed on the Kindle Express until version 2.0 when they preload BS detection software. Just sayin ;^)...
Frankenstein Black @ May 6th 2009 1:36PM
ONE MORE THING! Hey Amazon, take a page from the cell phone carriers and SUBSIDIZE THIS BAD BOY! Example:
1. $99.00 2 year contract (subsidized).
2. Customer pays (monthly, daily, weekly) for the paper subscription of their choice
3. This will be applicable to papers that YOU (Amazon) have as part of the program
4. The customer can also pay some agreed to rate $0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00 for each paper.
5. You (Amazon) on the back end (and to recoup the subsidy) charge a fee to each paper
6. They will gladly pay it since there will be substantial printing cost savings.
7. Lastly, what choice do they (failing newspapers) have? It’s a way to stay alive!
What you get is a subsidized device with the failing newspapers GLADLY picking up the subsidy. (a) Consumer is happy - $99.00 Kindle DX (b) Amazon is happy - since they will probably move Millions of units (3) The newspapers are happy - because they get to stay alive and transition into the digital age. EVERYONE IS HAPPY, THERE IS NO DOWN SIDE!!!
Patriks7 @ May 6th 2009 2:09PM
"All the books i read have pictures in them. :)"
Once you get out of elementary school that will change.
Brian @ May 6th 2009 3:17PM
Tushar I see your point. But I've always seen the Kindle as a tool for 1-12 grade school crowd. I'm a 25 year old that was schooled in NYC and I VIVIDLY remember the amount of text books I had to carry as a kid back and forths to school. The value of these books that had to be returned at the end of every year was easily around $400. If Amazon and the NYCBOE had a subsidized 5-7 year contract for kindles to be distributed to all kids grades 3-12 (I say 3rd grade because thats serious responsibility for a 6 or 7 year old), you can eliminate a lot of wieght on the kids' backs and with updates all year round there'll be no need for out-dated text books!! A binder, a Kindle ,pens, pencils, calculator. What else is needed?
Steve @ May 6th 2009 3:36PM
I really can't believe how incredibly poor people are nowadays. I'd appreciate it if it was $100 cheaper, but this is perfectly acceptable given how much technical documents I read.
Tohe @ May 6th 2009 6:00PM
"cell phone carriers and SUBSIDIZE THIS BAD BOY!"
Wh@T? It is painful enough to watch people running around with bluetooth headsets! Imagine them holding kindles to their heads LOL.
loosely_coupled @ May 6th 2009 9:12PM
Exactly... I Love how e-ink looks and definitely see the use, but if Apple comes out with a 10" iPod touch tablet thing for $600 or $700, Its going to be very hard to want to buy one of these. Despite the obvious advantage of e-ink versus LCD for long bouts of reading, All the other functionality of an Apple tablet like web browsing, video, etc would be hard to ignore..
Wwhat @ May 7th 2009 1:14PM
Luckily tohe doesn't need a product that involves reading.
JAmerican @ May 6th 2009 11:20AM
Didn't they just release an updated version?
I think Amazon is talking a page from Apple's ebook.
Andrew88 @ May 6th 2009 1:13PM
LOL Apple doesn't sell eBooks, But I get your point, The DX is seen as a different type of product, I feel more comfortable reading on the kindle 2 then reading that, but that's just me.
uh_Iforgot @ May 6th 2009 11:20AM
...to fail
Misund007 @ May 6th 2009 11:21AM
Am I going crazy, why would I use this when I already have a netbook?
tony @ May 6th 2009 11:23AM
How about 3 to 4 weeks battery life?
What i don't get is why people aren't more mad that they only just released the Kindle 2, and now it's being superseeded already?
Llama @ May 6th 2009 11:24AM
Uh...this isn't supposed to compete with netbooks. Its an e-reader, plain and simple (Except of course, that you can surf the web and enjoy whispernet).
Chris @ May 6th 2009 11:32AM
Does your netbook have an e-ink screen that doesn't give headaches? Does your netbook screen look just like paper? If you don't own or have never seen one except for pictures on-line, then quit assuming you already have something like the Kindle already.
Corey @ May 6th 2009 11:33AM
I don't think that the DX really "supersedes" the Kindle 2-- it's not an upgrade, it's just a different model for different needs. For me, the smaller form-factor of the Kindle 2 looks to be more convenient than the DX, especially since I'm not that interested in reading PDFs.
Misund007 @ May 6th 2009 11:45AM
I think when I see it I am gonna be like; I have to have this :)
but I think the ultimate dream is one device that does everything. If we get color e-ink displays with fast refresh, then we'll be close - very close
Will @ May 6th 2009 11:46AM
A netbook would cause eye strain from reading the LCD for long periods of time. You are really just paying for the e-ink technology that goes into the device and the wireless connectivity.
adrian @ May 6th 2009 12:08PM
I could see Kindle being used as a teaching aid for students in school if Amazon made a version that was much cheaper.
SOOPERGOOMAN @ May 6th 2009 12:28PM
@ Tony, if you were bring a small solar charger with you then theoretically you could have unlimited battery supply for a netbook forever, well at least until the sun goes supernova.
@ story contributer: There are alot of grammatical errors in your story.
AL @ May 6th 2009 5:50PM
@tony
Come on - is it that much of a pain in the ass to recharge your netbook once a day? Yes, 3 to 4 weeks of battery charge sounds nice, but is that really your tipping point? I mean, we're so connected these days and near power points all the time, you'd have to camping in the forest to make that argument (anyway, we should be looking into solar cells to trickle charge the batteries and extend battery life).
The netbook argument makes sense, but the Kindle makes the whole process of downloading newspapers a lot easier for mainstream (ie. non-tech) users, which I think is the key selling point here. But if you're sufficiently tech savvy and the newspapers allow you to download an entire newspaper to your netbook, it is a worthy substitute when you factor in the price. So right now the Kindle is a good option, but not necessarily a no-brainer.
Gorilla800lbs @ May 6th 2009 11:22AM
$489 and no subsidised subscription models make Homer go something... something...
cam @ May 6th 2009 12:07PM
Go crazy?
Engadgeter @ May 6th 2009 12:47PM
Don't mind if I do...
Danny B @ May 11th 2009 8:27PM
Dohhhhh!!! (?)
John @ May 6th 2009 11:22AM
I have a Kindle 2. I'm not buying this. I was expecting more from Amazon.
Get rid of wireless, drop the memory down, add sd expansion, remove txt to speech, add textbooks.
In short I was expecting the student version, not a newspaper version.
Oh, and if they plan on putting ads in the paper, or on my kindle 2 version of the paper, i'm canceling.
Chris @ May 6th 2009 11:41AM
I have a Kindle 2 also and I knew I wouldn't be buying another one. Especially since I just bought it less than a month ago. I like the size of the Kindle 2. It's about as small as a larger paperback. I don't want anything larger.
cowabungaCarl @ May 6th 2009 1:36PM
the back-and-forth, is getting a little old, but I do agree in regards to textbooks on the DX. I don't think a 9in screen is large enough to replace textbooks. Many textbooks make use of the margins for other comments/graphics in addition to the body of text. The DX's screen is not big enough for that. Also, as mentioned above, there are many text books that have color pictures which are not useful in black and white. Considering the cost of the DX, the textbooks themselves would have to very cheap in order to make this affordable for students.
Connor @ May 14th 2009 1:05AM
Kindle is already signing agreements with major text book publishers and several universities (Such as Princeton) are receiving DX's this fall for students.
fb @ May 6th 2009 11:23AM
Im holding out for a full 8.5"x11" color e-ink screen. Then we'll talk...
Chris @ May 6th 2009 11:35AM
Yeah, and you'll still complain that it's $1,000.
Ed T @ May 6th 2009 11:58AM
Apple will have that covered - real soon now.
John Bailey @ May 6th 2009 2:09PM
Perhaps.. But it will be with a giant iPhone that only supports books bought from the Itunes store, and the fanboys will swear is making their eyesight better.
idogis1 @ May 7th 2009 6:30PM
Color can wait, I just want to price on e-ink displays to drop a little bit.
sweet greggo @ May 6th 2009 11:23AM
I like the sepia toned photo. Takes away from the fact that this device doesn't have a color display, and is irrelevant to 99.99999999% of the readers here.
Chris @ May 6th 2009 11:34AM
Yet another person who doesn't have a clue as to what the Kindle does do well.
sweet greggo @ May 6th 2009 11:40AM
@ Chris
Yet another person who doesn't have clue one as to what they are talking about.
I understand EXACTLY what it can it can not do. It's a nice device and I'm as happy as anyone to see this technology developing, but the Kindle is still too small and the non-color display really hurts it as a replacement for the college books and newspapers it wants to replace.
What I do NOT understand is why it gets so much coverage on this site.
Chris @ May 6th 2009 11:43AM
Yes, I own one AND read articles here, so I don't know what I am talking about. So you know that the screen is too small because you have read several books on it?
Talk about clueless.
sweet greggo @ May 6th 2009 11:51AM
@ Chris
I was obviously referring to your assessment of me. Maybe you can use your Kindle to download a book on reading comprehension.
And no, I haven't read ANY books on it. I had an lengthy hands on experience with at my local bookstore, and was left very unimpressed, at least for the price.
Happy for you it fits your needs, don't hate on the people for whom it doesn't.
Ethan @ May 6th 2009 12:13PM
Backtracking troll is backtracking.
sweet greggo @ May 6th 2009 12:17PM
How exactly am I backtracking?
How exactly am I trolling for that matter?
Have you always been this dumb?
Ethan @ May 6th 2009 12:35PM
Well if you're happy that it fits some people's needs, and understand how useful it will be for a lot of people, what's the problem with the coverage on engadget? Yes I have always been this dumb.
sweet greggo @ May 6th 2009 12:55PM
@Ethan
I don't think I said that I understand it fits a LOT of people needs. As a matter of fact, I don't think it does at all, unless ALL you are going to read are paperback novels on the thing.
Amazon is marketing the Kindle as a replacement for newspapers and school text books. Last I checked, neither of those are printed in only black and white anymore, and they certainly aren't only 9". Keep in mind with newspapers come ads, so imagine just how much screen will be left for the actual stories.
The Kindle needs a minimum 14" screen (8/12" x 11") and at least 256 colors for it to be a viable alternative to textbooks and newspapers. Get rid of the flickering when turning pages, too.
Engadget's coverage of this thing has been way overboard. This device only covers an extremely small niche in the world of gadgets. I understand running a story here and a story there on it, but 2 or 3 a week for the last 3 or 4 months? What's next, are they going to create a dedicated blog site for it?
Luke @ May 6th 2009 1:13PM
I did not realize how many engadget users are ignorant
Col. Readily Apparent Upon Cursory Inspection @ May 6th 2009 2:25PM
Need some help? I have another shovel and this whole process would go much faster with two people digging.