Kindle DX not worth $300 more than K2

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mdovell

Well it depends I'd say in terms of what you do. even with pdf zooming you still have a larger display on the dx...larger photos can work a bit better.

In all honesty if I had the original I'd feel like it was a game boy (no offence) if my fingers reach all around something electronic then forget it.

I suspect that for many people, the $499 16GB iPad might be more tempting. Only very slightly more expensive, and significantly more versatile.

[eboyhan]

I am a KDX owner; I have gotten good value for my money out of it. Nevertheless, today it is probably not particularly relevant in the marketplace, and it is certainly mispriced.


The market for KDX-like devices is not dying: I think Amazon will make another run at a device targeted at business and educational users. This latter group was the initial target of the KDX, and Amazon was not universally successful here. Amazon did however, get a lot of very valuable feedback on the needs of these specialized users.

I believe in the months ahead that Amazon will come out with a wifi-only low priced reader (at $149 or lower), and a second generation device targeted at the business and education community.

For this specialized device to be successful it needs to be priced somewhere in the pricing hole between $189 (K2 price) and $499 (entry iPad price). It will need to have a screen size larger than that of the KDX (something approaching 8.5x11). It will need to have a PDF reader as good as Adobe's, and will need to incorporate many of the UI suggestions they received from the university pilot of the KDX (audible menus, audio recording of lectures, easier highlighting, and note taking, user selectable fonts, stylus input, etc).

I don't think the KDX-like marketplace is dead, but it does need to evolve to better handle customer needs. There is ample room for differentiation between what the iPad does, and what a business executive, or a college student might find optimal for their needs.

[SamuraiXSendai]

If they could make the DX lighter and more responsive, there would definitely be a market for it. I just got the Ipad and it is H-E-A-V-Y. I thought they would be good for seniors, but my mother wouldn't be able to hold it up.

The touch interface does make reading PDF's much, much easier though. And since I have access to millions of PDF's (I work in an academic Library) that's extremely handy for me.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I suspect that for many people, the $499 16GB iPad might be more tempting. Only very slightly more expensive, and significantly more versatile.

This is what I love about Apple as a marketing machine. They have made the connection that an iPad is $499 ... and every "competitor" has to deliver value at that level or less.

But the $489 Kindle DX is the same size screen, in b&w, and e-ink to boot, for $10 less. Good grief! Buy an iPad, right?

Except ... the iPad is all about multimedia playback and "always connected". The reality: most consumers are opting for the 32 GB iPad with 3G built-in and requires (at least) $15/mth data plan to "make it go". That's $729 on day one and $180 in data charges in year one -- over $900.

So, yeah, I get it: the iPad delivers more ... $900 iPad vs $489 Kindle DX. Notice, please, it costs more.

No one buys a Kindle 2 or Kindle DX to stay up-to-date with YouTube. Kindle delivers a text-centric, 2 week battery life, international experience with multi-platform interaction. And, at abt half the price of an iPad, even for the Kindle DX.

iPad apps, on the other hand, can't be shared on a PC or other mobile phone or tablet.

The iPad is a very expensive, lovely, consumer toy for anyone with $900 to toss it's way ... plus ongoing app charges. A Kindle DX or Kindle 2, on the other hand, is half or much less than half the price, and delivers a terrific bookstore, mobile reading with free international 3G access, a great (b&w) screen, two week battery life ....

Sure, if the DX drops $100 it's more attractive than today. But that $489 is already WAY cheaper than the "typical" iPad. If cost effective large screen reading is your goal, Amazon's DX remains and excellent choice.

[mdovell]

I can see a potential upgrade of a touchscreen..maybe that would help with the pdf support.

it reminds me that some functions of items don't always work well or are expected. For example laptops work great...but yet I've hardly ever seen anyone print from them (unless it was a wireless network at a school) to lug around a laptop usually means you aren't printing..

I can see the dx maybe dropping to about $400 as isn't there that sony around the same size?

the network is one of the biggest things with the kindle...which is interesting as kindle exists as an app on some devices but as of yet not other ereaders (nook, sony etc)

[Talldog]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

If cost effective large screen reading is your goal, Amazon's DX remains and excellent choice.

I couldn't agree more with all of the points in this post. I'd love to be able to justify an iPad (even the WiFi only model), but I can't do it. I need the versatility of my laptop, and there's no way the iPad matches my DX as a reader. In addition to the eyestrain, sunlight and battery life issues, the lightest iPad is more than 25% heavier than my DX (24oz vs. 19oz).

As far as its value relative to a K2, it's all about the screen size. If you want that screen, you have to pay for it. My wife has my old K2, and I would never go back to that screen size.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

This is what I love about Apple as a marketing machine. They have made the connection that an iPad is $499 ... and every "competitor" has to deliver value at that level or less.

But the $489 Kindle DX is the same size screen, in b&w, and e-ink to boot, for $10 less. Good grief! Buy an iPad, right?

Except ... the iPad is all about multimedia playback and "always connected". The reality: most consumers are opting for the 32 GB iPad with 3G built-in and requires (at least) $15/mth data plan to "make it go". That's $729 on day one and $180 in data charges in year one -- over $900.

So, yeah, I get it: the iPad delivers more ... $900 iPad vs $489 Kindle DX. Notice, please, it costs more.

With the greatest respect, the fact that one could spend $900 in a year on a top-end iPad does not negate the point I made, which was that the $499 16GB WiFi iPad makes a damned good bookreader, and may well be considered by many potential customers as a more flexible alternative to the $489 DX, especially given the fact that one has access to exactly the same Amazon library as one does on the DX. $10 more for a device with 8x the storage capacity and a vastly greater range of capabilities is pretty tempting. I speak as both a Kindle and an iPad owner.