Poll: Will you buy a Kindle DX?
By Laura June 
posted May 6th 2009 6:28PM
posted May 6th 2009 6:28PM
posted May 6th 2009 6:28PM
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How about an option for "would buy but aren't in the USA"?
Ditto. Where's the love for us Canucks?
they just added a new option. Surely they can add ours too D:
How about an option for "I read on my laptop, which is actually perfectly fine."
I find it humorous that everyone is suddenly getting behind the whole eBook and PDF book craze. I have over 250 GB of books and pretty much read my textbooks and notes exclusively on my tablet.
Not only is it cheaper, lighter, and easier on my back, I can also dump them into OneNote and annotate/search.
Exactly, how dumb do you have to be to have 3G but no wifi for those of us who aren't in the US all the time? I travel outside of the US most of the time so, using one is a pain in the butt. Seems to me that being able to get connected anywhere would be a primary value. If I'm home on the couch why does it have to be 3G?
@nerdtalker
Laptops and whatnot are fine but the paper-like quality of e-ink cannot be overlooked. I was sitting beside a guy on the airplane with a Kindle this weekend and was stunned by the quality of the text. Until seen in person it's hard to realize just how much better it can be.
how about a simple "NO" option? what a waste of money.
you guys are trying too hard to be funny. just stop it.
Would, but can't. It's not available in Europe.
Yikes, the "Wahhh, we're not in the US" comments started early this round. I mean, the "we get bent over up here in Canada" comments are a given, but I smelled some Europeans too. Or maybe that was just hairy armpits.
@Harry Reifschneider
Proves that people's desires rarely get to people who make decisions, "they know what you want better than you do, and its 3G you want, not wifi".
Pity though. Would be nice to need no cable to download books. No 3G with fair prices in my country.
This Kindle DX must have gotten about six posts in a day. It's worthy of that many posts and it should be a fairly useful product to the few that will buy it.
I guess when the Apple tablet comes out there'll be about 25 posts or so. Of course, any Apple product is deserving of a lot of posts. The Apple tablet will put this e-Ink device to shame.
@nerdtalker
battery life is also quite different. 2 weeks vs the 2-7 hours. you get from laptops.
tempting but you know, for university textbooks, color usually helps plus you know an A4 sized screen. particularly since most of my PDF books are A4 sized, depends on how good this thing scales it.
Silly Engadget. I don't know why it's so cool to hate Sony these days... I never gave two shits about them before, but now it seems like they're finally making some cool stuff. So why all the hate? Is competition suddenly verboten?
After checking out the original Sony Reader and Kindle in person, I liked the Reader better than the Kindle for the form factor. Now the Kindle is sleeker and dropped significantly in price. But still a bit large for my personal tastes. I really like it being smaller (pocket book size). And as cool as the wireless Kindle store is, let's be serious... you're gonna be downloading ebooks form "other" sources for the most part. The Kindle also has a funky file conversion process that I don't like (though maybe that's changed since the original Kindle?). I also don't like how buying a Kindle ties you into Amazon, like nobody else in the world can sell ebooks. eBooks and eReaders should be standardized.
Monocle all the way baby!
I also prefer to don a top hat and spats when I read Hemingway.
Totally, when this thing can run an immersive "ractive" and train my Vicky children in the vein of Grimm story telling, you can count me in. I'll even wear a top hat.
I'll wait for the Engadget Recession antidote please...
Yep. Too expensive especially for a student like me. If I can't annotate it easily, I'm not interested.
Honestly, where's the "This shit's too damn expensive" button?
how about an option for people who simply dont want it or any ebook reader, besides one that makes us look like a tool.
Yea I agree! this is a flash in the pan like the Segway. I doubt it will see much long-term use or growth in its current form. Its sooooo boring.
I agree. I won't be interested in e-ink until it can be used on a real computer. Even if I did read a lot like I used to, $500 is way too much for that single function. Maybe the Kindle 10 will be more interesting.
Would NEVER buy an eReader. Waste of money unless you're a student. And even THEN......
not a waste of money at all. It saves on shelf space and books are actually cheaper. For avid readers, it makes a lot of sense.
it sure is not a waste of money, especially if you are on a long trip, ( days, weeks) and planning to read books, no need to carry physical books. Less luggage, more books. Also, I think Kindle is a very good eReader
I would consider being a student an even bigger downfall. Although textbooks are expensive at least you can sell them back at the end of the semester. With good timing and a little patience you may even make a profit selling on amazon. These e-readers will most likely offer little discount on textbooks, and will be semester long subscriptions. That way the publisher can bend you over twice of you need the same book for another class in a different semester.
saves on bookspace? how about using your local library?? that way you dont have to keep the book!
@ MasterBruce
While it does save on shelf space, $9.99 is not cheaper than the $2-5 I usually pay at the used book store or on half.com...
I actually agree that it is a waste of money... until I can highlight and write on the pages I will not want one.
I try to be as active a reader as possible and I scribble notes and highlight to keep myself engaged in the material (especially for the technical books that I read)... Until I can do that on one of these readers in a way that is just as engaging and satisfying as a real book, I won't want one...
The other thing that will be missed, and this is extremely egotistical, is that it takes up too little space when I finish a book! I like to put the books that I've read on a shelf so that I can see how much progress I've made. I also like to crack open the book and see how much I've read versus how much is left.
All these little things make reading a physical book much more enjoyable than a digital book.
@Pete
That's all and good... IF your local literary actually has the kind of books you want to read. Those of us in smaller cities especially suffer from the lack of content.
Plus you have to drive there. Which can be a hassle if the Library isn't anywhere near where you live. And you have to remember to return the book on time.
@Kevin
Highlighting is possible on the Kindle. And although you cannot write notes directly to the screen, annotations can be made with the Keyboard.
As for seeing how much you've read vs how much is left, there is a little progress bar on the bottom for that.
I know about the progress bar... I'm talking about reading a 1000 page book and holding up and seeing that you've read over 1 inch of solid pages. A progress bar on a computer tends to always be the same length.
I prefer to write in the margins with a pen, which is why some of the other e-books that offer a stylus attract me a little bit more.
For all my love of gadgets, there is still a piece of me that likes books as physical objects. Probably similar to the part of me that likes to do part of my design work with a real pencil and paper before I start coding. It makes what I'm doing "feel" more real.
Please don't take this the wrong way, I think that the kindle and all the other e-books are great pieces of technology. I'm just saying that in my world, I prefer somethings to be more tangible.
eReaders will never *replace* books, they'll coexist, serving different markets. eReaders are better suited to reading fiction, especially when on holiday when you don't want to weigh your baggage down, but for non-fiction stuff, especially reference books and student textbooks, an eReader is just no substitute,
I read a helluvaload of physical books, my home is packed with them. I like the feel of actual physical book in my hands whathaever it might be. There's something about physically turning the page and having the book 's bottom end go thinner as i read more and not worrying about tech stuff (battery life, screen brightness, etc) that absorbs me.
"methinks"? is this Rengadget?
Anyway. I think the size and feel of the Kindle 2 is perfect. I don't see myself moving to the DX. Part of the reason I wait for paper back is the size.
dont people read books just so they can put them on their shelves after to look smart?
What you read them before you put them on the shelf? that is clever, I will try it sometime.
Yawn.
I can't find my choice. I read books, on computer. Kindle is simply too expansive...
Man, I had good timing. Check it out!
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/9279/kindlepoll.jpg
I voted "I read real books by candlelight, wearing a monocle."
:P
I'm waiting for the rumored Apple tablet.
Until then I'll make do with the iPhone's Kindle app and Stanza.
If Apple comes out with a one-line e-book reader that costs $5,000 and takes 10 minutes to render a single character, will you still buy it just because its an Apple? Something tells me you would.
Pshh.... not if it lags like that!
Someday, but I'll wait for the technology to improve 1 or 2 more generations.
At this rate we'll have the fourth generation in about 6 months if not sooner :P
I'll buy one as soon as they give me a tiny remote for the palm of my hand that will allow me to turn the pages without lifting my arms. This is for those many hours spent at the Red Cross with needles in both arms...
Detox?
Dr. Dre?
I'm just pissed off that amazon didn't release both at the same time, having this around would have given me pause when ordering the kindle 2
there should be an option for: "I was, but then they said it $500"