Editorial: Engadget on the Kindle DX
By Nilay Patel 
posted May 6th 2009 2:16PM
posted May 6th 2009 2:16PM
Update: Paul tacked on his thoughts as well.
Thomas:
Kindle, what the hell is a Kindle? While you US Americans are showering in Amazon's third iteration of E-Ink, you know what we're doing over here in Europe? Watching Sony's Reader choke-hold the marketplace in a tag-team with Google's half-million strong collection of free, public domain books. Nothing makes us happier than a good Gee Dubya joke and a polite romance set in Victorian times. I say good day sir.
Nilay:
As a Kindle 2 owner, my first reaction is to be a little ticked off -- I would have likely sprung for the DX if I'd had the option back in February, and now I just feel like I wasted $360. On the other hand, after a few months with the Kindle, I've basically given up on it -- it's just not as good as a real book, and that makes me wonder if students are really going to take to the DX when it hits colleges and universities. I spent a lot of time in college and law school at library tables stacked six inches deep in open reference books, and there's simply no way to recreate that experience with a Kindle, no matter how big the screen. Plus, I know I'm not the only one who writes all over the margin and highlights in five colors when I study -- if I tried to do the same using the tools on the Kindle, I'd basically end up with a totally inverted screen. Maybe I'm wrong and all the kids are clamoring for a $500 black and white e-book whose advantages over paper are dwarfed by its limitations, but I have a feeling the Kindle DX will be a novelty on the academic scene for a long time to come.
As for newspapers, the math simply doesn't make sense. Let's use the New York Times as an example: at-home paper delivery of the Times for a year costs a new subscriber something like $617. Compare that to the Kindle pricing of $13.99 a month plus $498 for a DX -- hello, $665.88. From a consumer standpoint, that's actually kind of a win, since the Kindle offers much more than just the Times. But from the NYT's point of view, it's totally obvious why subsidized Kindles will only be available on contract to people who aren't in the delivery area -- there just isn't enough cash coming in from their cut of the Kindle edition to keep the paper afloat. Will this change? Sure -- but not until the NYT stops spending money on printing the paper every day.
Darren:
Amazon has to be aiming at a different sector than just consumers here. Creating two devices for the same segment within three months makes absolutely no business sense, and I'm guessing the company is hoping to shuffle these things into public school systems (government checks are attractive, you know) and select universities ready to jump on the bandwagon and generate a little buzz. Truth be told, the price isn't so outrageous when you're selling this to institutions. It is a little extreme if you're a simple consumer, but again, I'm guessing Bezos isn't really expecting too many of you to care about its super-sized e-reader.
Oh, and the DX won't save newspapers -- partner papers won't even subsidize this thing if you're within range of a paper route, which is just about as myopic as it gets. Has it even dawned on these folks that people don't enjoy getting a wad of paper thrown on their deck anymore? Bottom line is this: Amazon has to be thinking outside of the consumer realm with the DX. Be it public school systems, universities or other enterprises, that is where the money is. You'll notice newspapers weren't included in that mix -- obviously, they're not interested in throwing tradition to the wind in a last-ditch effort to find a life raft. Too bad.
Don:
My thinking is that the success of the Kindle DX depends almost solely on the pricing of the content. If textbooks are 40 to 50 percent cheaper than the ones in the university bookstore then the device will practically pay for itself (even at $489), and Amazon will have opened the door to a huge potential market. Alternatively, if newspaper subscriptions are offered at a heavily discounted rate, or if the DX itself is offered at a subsidized price with a newspaper subscription, then it'll get a strong foothold in a niche that's only going to get bigger. Of course, the chances of either of those happening is probably less than 50-50, and the chances of both are slim to none, which leaves the Kindle DX in much the same position as the original Kindle and Kindle 2: a device that either needs to get a whole lot better or a whole lot cheaper.
Chris:
Amazon appears to be trying to frame the e-book market much the same way Apple (or any manufacturer, but particularly Apple) frames the laptop market: the 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pros are virtually identical in appearance, performance, and specification, for example, but the distinction is somehow totally justified. Problem is, e-books are in the very first moments of their infancy, and consumers are still looking for a single product they can rally around -- the last thing we need is nebulously-differentiated stratification across an entire product line that alienates early adopters and has the potential to hush folks who otherwise could've been evangelists for the technology. If Amazon wanted to release the Kindle 2, fine; if it wanted to release the DX, fine; but releasing two similarly-positioned devices just months apart is a confusing (and potentially upsetting) move at this point in the game, despite the company's clear signals that Kindle is as much a platform as it is a product. Talk to me again when the market's mature, guys -- in the meantime, you won't see me buying another Kindle until they're in brilliant, flexible color.
Paul:
To be honest, I don't understand the big kerfuffle. 8.5 x 11 is a really important size for a lot of people that were born before the "internet" was kind of a big deal -- what's wrong with giving them the option, even if it comes three months after the Kindle 2? Sure, it's expensive, and no, I won't be buying one, but I don't think it's too early to have multiple credible, distinct options from a single manufacturer. I also recognize that this isn't going to Change Education As We Know It, but we've gotta start somewhere. Most technology takes quite a bit of incubating before it's truly applicable to most people, and while the Kindle DX won't make e-books the de facto standard in education, it's a decent step in that direction. A future generation is going to think those paper textbooks we all used "back in the day" were pretty silly, so for the sake of generational pride I'm happy to be moving in the right direction.
I actually just decided that Amazon can take their Kindle and shove it up their collective ***es. Their site that compares the normal Kindle to the DX makes note of Native PDF vs. conversion. That is purely a artificially manufactured distinction. The original Kindle could damn well read normal PDF's, if Amazon would allow it. And yes I've heard the "well it has a smaller screen" argument. That hasn't stopped Sony's e-reader from playing nice with PDF.
I remember carrying around 30 pounds of books... I would have loved to have a DX to replace all that weight!
is no one else excited of the ideas that book bags won't have to exist?
If this device was touch screen, so I could take notes on pdf files for college classes THEN i would pay this much for it. What a waste of money. OR if it were color I might pay that much money for it. Come on, I mean, if you are going to pay that much for an ebook reader, go over and buy an iRex Iliad or the larger ebook reader by irex technologies, then at least you have a touch screen.
I'd buy this if it only had SD card support. That's a deal-breaker for me. There's no reason a device at this price point can't have such a basic feature. I love everything else about it.
I think these will be great devices after about 5+ more years of development....
Think High contrast, full color, ultra-fast refresh rate, and a full touchscreen software interface with documents tabs so you can easily and quickly flip between 3 different textbooks... Until then, the usability problems will keep this a niche product.
I think we're all on the same page here (maybe on different sides of it), but the only person who jumped on the bandwagon a bit too early (much like amazon with this product) is Paul. I mean, yeah, maybe one day we will all use ebooks instead of regular textbooks; but for my money, that won't happen anywhere near this decade, or the following. I think Nilay's thoughts fully encompass the importance of a real book and, if Amazon keeps going the way they are, the Kindle consumer group will always stay the same.
Paul FTW but, I'll be waiting with Chris for color & flexibility. (Touchscreen would be a plus.) :D
Look... it's simple. The Kindle 2 is made for READERS. People who like to read novels. You know? Those things with the words in them and absolutely no need for color ink, backlighting, or video codecs?
The Kindle 2 is made for a single purpose and it does that thing very well. That thing is to put the printed word from mass market books onto a small, thin, convenient device with a display that looks like ink, which runs for a couple weeks on a single charge.
If you want color, you're either asking for it because you want to view charts, comic books, manga, or porn on it. If it's charts, you have options with some of the LCD-based e-Readers, and the Kindle's not aimed at you. If it's any of the other stuff, you should probably just get a netbook or tablet PC.
If you want touch screen, you should probably get a smart phone, iPhone, iPod touch, or tablet PC. You're not the target audience for a Kindle.
If you want it to support flash, you should probably get a netbook or tablet PC. You're not the target audience for the Kindle.
If you want it to have a backlight, then you clearly don't understand the appeal to readers of NOT having a screen that wears down your eyes over hours of use. You should get a different device, because you're not the target audience for a Kindle.
In short, if you're thinking of using it for surfing the net, watching porn, reading manga, or storing your collection of role-playing books YOU ARE NOT THE TARGET AUDIENCE and there are other devices that do EVERYTHING you ask for: They're called netbooks and tablet PCs. Go get one.
For the rest of us who like to read real books-- The kind that don't need color ink to be interesting, useful, and worth our time-- The Kindle 2 is a perfect choice.
And let me point out that I NEVER want a touch screen on a Kindle. The last thing I need is to see fingerprints and smudges all over the page while I'm trying to read a book.
Some of you are complaining that the Kindle isn't a tablet PC.... You're right. It isn't. So go get one and leave the Kindle out of it.
Nilay has a really good point. I first thought that the Kindle might be good for school as it would cut down on the burden of carrying books. There's the point of the cost, but if it discounted the thousands one can spend on textbooks it might be cost beneficial to have the Kindle.
However, you can't sprawl out a bunch of textbooks on a table with the Kindle. You would need like 3 Kindles to do that. And as far as notetaking with the Kindle, they would have to give some kind of tablet input for that. Also, if you're reading something on your laptop, and you want to copy and cite it, it is easy. However, unless Amazon comes up with a way to move small info from the text of the Kindle to your notebook, then it really is no better than reading a case or article from the computer.
Dear Amazon.com,
I have been a satisfied customer of Amazon.com since the mid 90's. On many occasions I have recommended Amazon to my friends, relatives and co-workers for their superior service and pricing. Just last week, when my 66 year old father-in-law bought his first mp3 player, and iPod Nano, I recommended that he shop for his music at Amazon, rather than through the iTunes store.
I purchased a Kindle 2 at the beginning of March this year shortly after it's release. You claimed that it would support pdf files through your conversion service. Imagine my dismay when I put my first converted pdf on my Kindle 2. I was very frustrated with the terrible and in many cases unreadable formatting of converted pdf files. I have downloaded half a dozen different programs to try to convert my pdfs to txt files for better readability and have had little success.
When you announced the release of the Kindle DX and it's native support of pdfs I was incensed! It has been only two months since the release of the Kindle 2! You should have disclosed to your customers that you would have another product available in a few short months that would better meet that need. I knew at the time I ordered my Kindle 2 that the latest Sony e-reader had native support for pdfs, but I was reassured by my long relationship with Amazon that when you claimed to be able to convert pdfs you would do a good job. You didn't do that, and you knew that you would soon be releasing a product that did do that and you didn't disclose that fact to your customers. Now you won't allow me, and many others like me, to exchange my Kindle 2 for a Kindle DX. I feel like you pulled a bait and switch on me.
In light of your inconsiderate and unethical behavior I can no longer recommend Amazon and it's products and services to others. They say that every person who has a bad experience with a company will tell ten other people about it. I have already told four people today, and will continue to tell as many people as will listen what a bad idea it is to do business with Amazon.com. This includes several who were considering purchasing Kindles themselves, who I will now encourage to look at the other options available, especially the Sony e-reader that natively supports pdf files. There are two solutions to the problem that I see. You could accept my return of my Kindle 2, my Kindle 2 cover and my Kindle 2 two year warranty and apply that credit to the purchase of a Kindle DX; I would even be willing to accept a 10% restocking fee. You could certainly use it to replace a defective Kindle or to satisfy a warranty claim. The other solution is a firmware upgrade that provides native support for pdfs on the Kindle 2. I would prefer the former solution, but I would be willing to accept the latter. Either solution would be much cheaper than the bad publicity you will continue to create with the current situation. Remember Apple's backtrack over iPhone pricing?
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. I would like to be a satisfied Amazon customer again, but it's up to you to resolve this situation in an appropriate and timely fashion. Please don't let me down.
Sincerely,
Joshua D. Haney
Former Amazon Customer
While everyone is clammoring for students to have text books cheaper. The book manufacturers enjoy their strangle hold on students. This is proof by the fact that most undergraduate text books are for sale in india as "non export" books. Absolutely identical to american books just with a page on the front saying that they're "illegal" to import. So price comparison. I buy the book McGrawHill sells in the US. $174. I buy it in india. $32. Thanks for screwing the students. Thank you fedex for world wide delivery.
I'd love my textbooks on a kindle since I've got half of them in PDF. It would be so much nicer since I ride a motorcycle for commuting.
How about a very simple solutuion . Remove a few features to lower the price.
I don't mind syncing to my computer to download books or newspapers etc.
How much does the wireless feature add to the overall price?
Even Mecedes has an entry level model.
The future of this media is about price and market share , take a small loss per unit to get market share or these devices will be like 8 tracks .
Yes, and should there be a solar apocolypse that knocks out our tech, or maybe years from now we end up with a government that starts banning certain books (easily done when they're all digital and wireless), you'll all be wondering where we went wrong. The answer, will be encouraging DRM on the written word. Text that you cannot borrow, trade or transfer. Good job.
I just wish your RSS feed had more then 20 items on it, then I can use Calibre to check out the weeks action on my Sony Reader rather then sitting with a hot, heavy laptop in bed on a saturday morning!
Seriously, any chance of getting the RSS feed with more items? I only really get the chance to look at Engadget at the weekends and reading them on my Reader is easier then reading it on my lappy... Pretty please?