Amazon Kindle DX to start shipping on June 10th

Amazon just dropped word that the new Kindle DX will start shipping out on June 10th, a pleasant improvement on the previously vague "summer" release date. The device is still available for pre-order, and shipments of the $489, 9.7-inch, PDF-capable ebook will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

[Richard @ Jun 1st 2009 12:15PM]

Sweet! They turned that one around pretty quick. I don't have a good reason to buy a DX right now as I have a Kindle 2, but I'm sure I'll get one by the end of the year. Hopefully subscription prices drop a bit by then. Wouldn't mind reading some newspapers on the big screen!

[qakgob @ Jun 1st 2009 12:19PM]

Still no UK?

[TheSuburbanWhiteBoy @ Jun 1st 2009 12:26PM]

just preordered one

[DR House @ Jun 1st 2009 12:29PM]

Still too expinsive,299$ and i'll take one

[Shinigami @ Jun 1st 2009 12:34PM]

Kind of expensive...

[Mizzike @ Jun 1st 2009 12:36PM]

I still dont know what this is, if its an electronic book it kinda defeats the point...

[Richard @ Jun 1st 2009 12:59PM]

Yes, it's a large electronic book reader. The large size makes it suitable for displaying newspapers and textbooks. This new version also has native PDF support.

[WebmasterCorey @ Jun 1st 2009 8:25PM]

Let's make a large iphone. Interesting concept however. Wonder if it will catch on heavy like.

[rich.cho @ Jun 1st 2009 12:40PM]

My Kindle is already obsolete? damn you amazon!

[DaveHimself @ Jun 1st 2009 12:46PM]

Your kindle is not obsolete unless you are a slow witted sucker. What do you have? Kindle 2? The Kindle2 is much more portable than this DX, more "book sized." The Kindle 2 also has page turn buttons on BOTH sides which i think is an absolute must. If you bought a car from Honda and the next day they came out with a truck would you be pissed?

[myridom @ Jun 1st 2009 12:46PM]

Same here.. I listed my Kindle 1 on Ebay this past Sat.

[Richard @ Jun 1st 2009 1:01PM]

Ugh... I hate when people bitch that their Kindle has been replaced or made obsolete by the DX.

Reading comprehension for the win. This is a secondary product for a different e-book market, it doesn't replace anything or make the Kindle 2 out-of-date. If you read Engadget or had done any research on the Kindle before buying it you would have known that a large screen Kindle had been in the works for a while.

[alanh3141 @ Jun 1st 2009 1:43PM]

I bought a Kindle 2 for my wife. While the DX has the disadvantage of being less portable, in every other way it fits her needs as well or better (PDF support is huge for her). If both had been announced at the same press conference, I would have purchased her the DX.

That's what annoys me: I would have rather had the DX if it had been available when the 2 was released. However, since she's already pre-order the DX, it looks like I'm getting a rather nice hand-me-down...

[morcheeba @ Jun 1st 2009 1:45PM]

Dave - the DX has an accelerometer. If you want the page flip buttons on the left side, then hold the unit upside down & it'll display the text correctly. Yeah, it's a bit of a kludge because the keyboard is then upside down, but not as bad a missing the left-side buttons altogether.

[alanh3141 @ Jun 1st 2009 1:51PM]

Is it possible to disable the accelerometer?

[dhodge @ Jun 1st 2009 2:46PM]

Yes you can toggle and "fix" the page orientation so it stops switching with the accelerometer.

[Lewis @ Jun 1st 2009 1:20PM]

I just want to know if this PDF support will be added to the Kindle2 with a firmware upgrade

[mboo @ Jun 1st 2009 1:50PM]

If you are thinking of waiting for the price to drop, do you think it will be in September, when college is starting and they know a lot of kids will want one, or October, thereby making the rush in September pay the full price then drop it when things slow a little in October. I'm thinking October, and I think it will go to $399.

[keithhh @ Jun 1st 2009 2:04PM]

If it can handle screen play formatting, I will pre order one.

[telepheedian @ Jun 1st 2009 4:39PM]

PDF support, so probably.

[Mike Houston @ Jun 1st 2009 4:44PM]

yah that's what i been waiting for.

[Mike Houston @ Jun 1st 2009 4:46PM]

do you think it would be able to interpret scripts at imsdb.com? or would i have to convert that info to pdfs and then port over. you're not just allowed to browse text based links are you?

[telepheedian @ Jun 2nd 2009 9:39AM]

It has a full browser, so I don't see why not.

[Brian @ Jun 1st 2009 2:12PM]

The PDF support is my killer app. No longer will I have to lug my laptop around to read journal articles and technical manuals. Woo hoo for a soon-ish ship date!

[JS @ Jun 1st 2009 3:58PM]

I thought it was already shipping. I already saw someone with it last week. Though, I do live in the bay area.

[Toy Yoda @ Jun 1st 2009 4:04PM]

I read mostly science articles, usually containing colored illustrations. I'd like a Kindle capable of color. When will that come out?

Amazon has an iPhone Kindle App. I asked Amazon if I buy a Kindle Book for my iPhone will it be able to display color. They told me "no". Now, why woudn't Amazon encode color into their Kindle format? The cynic in my guesses that they want to charge you twice for the same book, in color and non-color.

[mmaestro @ Jun 1st 2009 4:36PM]

Great. Are they ever going to tell us how to get the subsidized price with a paper subscription? Make it reasonable-ish and give me my Washington Post, and I'll be a happy guy.

[iphonerulez @ Jun 1st 2009 6:57PM]

That's a very useful device, but it just doesn't seem to have the pizazz to sell in really high numbers. Guaranteed most people are going to want color, whether it's practical or not. I'm willing to pay double for an Apple tablet that runs Mobile OSX, runs all mobile apps and games and has a color display. Apple will have companies begging for them to sell books, magazines and newspapers.

This Kindle eReader should not be rendered obsolete, solely because it can be used to read literature that doesn't require all the bells and whistles that some techie people are asking for. It probably does very well for it's intended purpose. It doesn't need to be a total media device to be useful.

[LeRoy @ Jun 2nd 2009 2:34AM]

There's a huge country to the north of you and you're neglecting it. No matter what model, a Kindle won't work in Canada. We supply your natural gas and your oil, and you can't send a crappy Kindle link over the border. Today your country made visitors from north of the 49th carry passports. Nice neighbours. Please supply the Kindle because we need to read when it's 40 below.

[tekd @ Jun 2nd 2009 3:11PM]

To be fair we technically have to carry our passports when we go to Canada. And while both Americans and Canadians can get Nexus cards to get through the border more easily only the United States recognizes the card as equivalent to a passport, so US Citizens are still supposed to carry their passports when going to Canada while Canadians can get into the US with only the Nexus card. Of course in reality they don't care at the border as long as you have one or the other but still.

Anyways, it's not necessarily Amazon's fault...the hardware in the Kindle relies on Sprint's high speed data network for downloads...no Sprint in Canada=no Kindle in Canada.

[YoYoYo @ Jun 1st 2009 10:29PM]

I'm a bit confused - PDF support was somehow neglected in earlier models, and people bought them? Surely I misread the article's lead. Even only supporting PDF would seem a bit odd in this day and age. Why wouldn't the device itself be better suited to typeset say plaintext, rather than forcing the consumer to mangle their work documents into a PDF?

[albtms @ Jun 2nd 2009 12:26AM]

As far as I know, the older Kindles had PDF support but it had to go through some conversion process first, because of the smaller screen. The DX just has NATIVE support. Also, I think all the Kindles support plaintext and HTML files in addition to their bookstore format so you can pretty much put whatever you want on it.

For those that are wondering, I don't think color e-ink displays are quite mature yet. The e-ink display gives the device a very low power consumption though, and Amazon claims a battery life of four days to two weeks, depending on wireless usage. Even taking into consideration that those numbers might be inflated, it's still a damn long time. No tablet with an active screen is going to be able to pull that off.

[Jake @ Jun 1st 2009 10:55PM]

Is a slap in the face included with Shipping and Handling???

[Ranger Rick @ Jun 2nd 2009 9:48AM]

hahahaha. agreed. Bought a $20 app to read ebooks on my phone yesterday. Works awesome for me... tho i have 20/20 vision. I can see the need and appeal of a Kindle though and Im sure I'll end up getting one eventually (within the next 10 years) but come on... the price is INSANELY expensive. Ill grab a "Kindle" or competitor when they're down to at least $99. The technology should already be there for them to offer one at that price point anyway...

[zamir.evan @ Jun 2nd 2009 7:27PM]

I got notification from Amazon this morning that my Kindle DX will arrive June 12. Jealous?

[Erfanik @ Aug 12th 2009 4:32AM]

I got my Kindle DX today ... but apparently it doesnt work in Canada... THIS SUCKS!