Is the Kindle DX decently priced? (poll)

[doctorow]

We've all been drooling for something bigger than the Kindle or the Sony Reader, and for most of us the outrageously priced iLiad has also not been an option.

So, what do you think? Is $489.00 a good price for the Kindle DX? This makes it around 35% more expensive than the Kindle 2; but it's screen is also around 60% bigger in diagonal!

[sirbruce]

I think it's $30 too expensive, plus the leather cover which is another $50! I also don't like they removed the next and previous page buttons from the left side... no doubt a cost-cutting move, which they could shrug off by saying "just flip it over!"

But I pre-ordered one anyway.

[Kali Yuga]

Seems too high to me for a non-student. For a student it's a little hard to judge, without knowing a) the prices the textbooks will cost, and b) how well the DX displays charts and diagrams.

E.g. if the device costs close to $500, but you save $250 on textbooks every semester, it's a good deal.

[olis]

The direct competitor of the kindle dx is the irex dr1000s that costs $859.
I would say that $489 is really a good deal for a 10" device.

[markbot]

Amazon is using a price skimming strategy, which is the correct strategy for an innovative tech device. they want to extract as much producer surplus as possible from "innovators". the demand curve is downward sloping, so u have the fewer innovators who are willing to pay a higher price....as more people "imitate" the technological diffusion will spread attracting more mainstream buyers...and amazon can thus lower the price when volume increases (and they'll have to do this to attract the mainstream buyers with lower "reservation prices". so it'll be able to breakeven at a lower price....and also the increased volume will further "the learning curve" so the cost of producing the kindle will decline perhaps, thus lowering cost and price with it.

so i would say, we should expect a sizable price drop by Christmas on both devices....like $50.

[Daithi]

I guess it depends on what you compare it against. When compared to the irex dr1000s it is a flat out bargain. Or, compared to the iPhone (yes, I know - apples and oranges) it is pretty reasonable. But, compared to the netbook for which I just paid $350 it doesn't look so hot. However, I actually expected Amazon to charge more, so I'm happy (I pre-ordered one).

[astra]

Originally Posted by Daithi

When compared to the irex dr1000s it is a flat out bargain.

[DesiLinguist]

I just pre-ordered! It's what I have been wanting and it's cheaper (and larger) than an iLiad which is what I currently own. And on top of that, I have the whole Kindle store available too. Definitely not overpriced, IMHO.

[dmaul1114]

Seems pretty reasonable to me given the increase in screen size. I don't need the larger screen, but seems like a fair price for people who do.

[catsittingstill]

Of course I'd love to see it even cheaper! But it's frankly less than I was expecting (I picked 600$ in the last poll and 650$ wouldn't have surprised me a bit.

It's a lot cheaper than the only other large screen e-book reader I know about (iLiad), though of course it doesn't have stylus markup, which the iLiad does. On the other hand, I don't think the iLiad has search capability, which is very important to me.

So, yes, I think the price is reasonable, given what it is.

[wallcraft]

The price is aggressive enough that it is going to cause problems for other vendors. I think iRex is essentially dead in the water unless they can drastically cut prices. Adding a touch screen makes a lot of sense at this screen size, but I can't see how anyone can price a ~10" EInk Reader with touch screen for more than $600 now.

[markbot]

if u consider the 3G network and actually use it frequetly to browse the web, $500 for the device is actually a bargain. your cellular 3G data plan is $30+ per month. include the tax and that's $400 per yr right there! but of course, the majority of the people who buy the kindle dx probably have 3G phones, like myself.

it'll save u money on news paper subscriptions also if u use it to surf the web, which I plan to do when I'm not in the subway.

[Roy White]

I have the iPhone and I'm so tired of squinting at the tiny little screen. Yes I'm using it this very minute to post this. I almost bought he kindle2. Now I'm glad I didn't. 500 bucks for a bigger screen? No problem. The problem is, my Sony reader is still going strong! Beat up and dented but no problems.

[emellaich]

Originally Posted by doctorow

but it's screen is also around 60% bigger in diagonal!

I usually like to compary by surface area, even though we usually compare screens by diagonal measure. In this case, the resolution in dpi is different, so the best comparison might by in pixels.

Measuring by pixels, the Kindle DX screen is twice as big as the Kindle2.

1200*824=988,800

600*800=480,000

[Johannes]

Indeed, e-ink at 49.5 cents/kilopixel... that's a bargain