Going to get a Kindle DX, only have some basic questions

CTH · 06-13-2011, 02:16 PM

Hi

I have decided to buy a Kindle DX. I live in Sweden but could get a friend to bring me a kindle DX from the US. What are the differences between the US version and the international version? As far as I have understood it, the US version will work fine in Sweden. I have heard that books are more expensive on the international version, is that true? Any other differences that could affect me?

I also wonder about the jailbreaking of the kindle, I have no problem hacking it, I just wonder what kind of advantages there is, will I be able to read more formats? (Without DRM)

Thank you

susan_cassidy · 06-13-2011, 02:23 PM

There is no such thing as a US version of the DX any more. The DX sold by Amazon is global. The old US-only version would probably not have worked in Sweden, as it ran on a CDMA network, not GSM, like the new one.

The books you can buy are limited by the country that your Amazon account is is, including what country your credit card is from. Many booksellers have geographic restrictions.

Edited to add: by the way, the DX does not have wi-fi. Check the Amazon DX page for details.

owly · 06-13-2011, 02:34 PM

Tjena :-) Just so you know you won't be able to download books from Elib http://www.elib.se THE company for fiction in Swedish both for lending via your local library or for buying, with a DX. So, if the reason your buying a DX is for the screen size and you still want to be able to borrow e-books in Swedish I'd advise looking at the Pocket Book Pro 903 or one of the Onyx Boox 90 versions.

CTH · 06-13-2011, 02:39 PM

I am well aware that I wont be able to do that, but thanks anyway

I was very much interested in the onyx but it seems that it will have some hardware or at least software issues at launch so I decided that it would be better with a DX.

Just so that I got this correctly, if I get a kindle DX from for example Best Buy in the US, it would be exactly the same as the one I would get if I order it from the Amazon site to sweden?

KecajN · 06-13-2011, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CTH

I was very much interested in the onyx but it seems that it will have some hardware or at least software issues at launch so I decided that it would be better with a DX.

Kindle DXG has firmware issues from the very beginning and they will unlikely be fixed by Amazon in the nearest future (actually there was no major firmware upgrade since its release). It costs a lot so you would better check yourself if firmware limitations are significant for you. Limited amount of formats seems to be the least important one (providing that you use only DRM free ebooks): You can use Calibre for conversion. But if you are going to read a lot of PDFs or store thousands of books it does not seem a good choice. I own DXG for almost one year and I spend more time on organizing my books than on reading them. Reading PDFs I cannot follow ToC, indexes, links etc., set custom zoom, change contrast, etc. From this perspective it is just very expensive sheet of electronic paper... :-(

CTH · 06-13-2011, 04:24 PM

KecajN: Thanks for the warning, it has certainly made me think a little bit about my choices. It is unfortunate that there is so few 9 inch e-ink readers out there.

reprep · 06-14-2011, 03:43 AM

well i too have a kindle DXG. I highly recommend it.

You can set custom zoom,change contrast, follow TOC by the help of Duokan (an alternative firmware for kindle)

I also solved the firmware problem by installing firmware 3.2.1 (the most recent firmware of kindle 3) by the help of the forum member "yifanlu". You can get more info on developer's corner

KecajN · 06-15-2011, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reprep

You can set custom zoom,change contrast, follow TOC by the help of Duokan (an alternative firmware for kindle)

I tried Duokan some time ago and I did not like it. Maybe I should try again now...

KecajN · 06-15-2011, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KecajN

I tried Duokan some time ago and I did not like it. Maybe I should try again now...

I loaded the latest Duokan in English translation and I am still not very impressed:
- I can use folders to organize books but folder list is not sorted causing navigation very difficult to navigate (currently I have 7 pages long list).
- PDF rendering is rather poor (comparing to original Kindle firmware), screen refresh is slow.
- Zoom options are quite OK
- ToC and other internal links do not work for me.

Duokan comparing to original Kindle firmware has a lot of interesting features but definitely is not ready for serious usage. I hope that some day it will be mature enough to use it on regular basis. But it has still a very long way to go.

AnemicOak · 06-15-2011, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CTH

Just so that I got this correctly, if I get a kindle DX from for example Best Buy in the US, it would be exactly the same as the one I would get if I order it from the Amazon site to sweden?

The only difference is the one from Best Buy will have a US style wall plug adapter that the USB cable can plug into while the one ordered from Amazon to Sweden will just have the USB cable but no plug adapter. (at least that's how ith works with the K3)

The Redbaron · 06-15-2011, 05:49 PM

The only difference is the one from Best Buy will have a US style wall plug adapter that the USB cable can plug into while the one ordered from Amazon to Sweden will just have the USB cable but no plug adapter. (at least that's how ith works with the K3)

According to the website... yes. The plug would be useless without some kind of adaptor anyway. Plenty of cheap adaptors available on Ebay though. Not sure if there would be warranty issues, or if the 3G would work. From what I read 3G should work everywhere there is coverage?

AnemicOak · 06-15-2011, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Redbaron

From what I read 3G should work everywhere there is coverage?

Right. There is a coverage map on Amazon that can be checked, but not all countries get all features.

Note for Sweden 3G is only for buying books and Wikipedia, no web browsing. According to Amazon when looking up Sweden...

Quote:

Blogs and the experimental web browser are currently not available for your country.

reprep · 06-16-2011, 04:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KecajN

I loaded the latest Duokan in English translation and I am still not very impressed:
- I can use folders to organize books but folder list is not sorted causing navigation very difficult to navigate (currently I have 7 pages long list).
- PDF rendering is rather poor (comparing to original Kindle firmware), screen refresh is slow.
- Zoom options are quite OK
- ToC and other internal links do not work for me.

Duokan comparing to original Kindle firmware has a lot of interesting features but definitely is not ready for serious usage. I hope that some day it will be mature enough to use it on regular basis. But it has still a very long way to go.

I agree PDF rendering is a bit poor compared with original firmware.

I have a PDF file with ToC available in Duokan, i didn't try if the internal links work fine though.

I agree with you that Duokan has a long way to go for regular use. What i do is running Duokan with help of launchpad which doesn't require restart, read my PDF and turn back to original firmware again with Launchpad.

06-13-2011, 02:16 PM	#1
CTH Zealot Posts: 129 Karma: 1000153 Join Date: Jan 2007	Going to get a Kindle DX, only have some basic questions Hi I have decided to buy a Kindle DX. I live in Sweden but could get a friend to bring me a kindle DX from the US. What are the differences between the US version and the international version? As far as I have understood it, the US version will work fine in Sweden. I have heard that books are more expensive on the international version, is that true? Any other differences that could affect me? I also wonder about the jailbreaking of the kindle, I have no problem hacking it, I just wonder what kind of advantages there is, will I be able to read more formats? (Without DRM) Thank you

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06-13-2011, 02:23 PM	#2
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	There is no such thing as a US version of the DX any more. The DX sold by Amazon is global. The old US-only version would probably not have worked in Sweden, as it ran on a CDMA network, not GSM, like the new one. The books you can buy are limited by the country that your Amazon account is is, including what country your credit card is from. Many booksellers have geographic restrictions. Edited to add: by the way, the DX does not have wi-fi. Check the Amazon DX page for details.

06-13-2011, 02:34 PM	#3
owly Guru Posts: 729 Karma: 3822612 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Sweden Device: Paperwhite 2, Kobo Aura H2O	Tjena :-) Just so you know you won't be able to download books from Elib http://www.elib.se THE company for fiction in Swedish both for lending via your local library or for buying, with a DX. So, if the reason your buying a DX is for the screen size and you still want to be able to borrow e-books in Swedish I'd advise looking at the Pocket Book Pro 903 or one of the Onyx Boox 90 versions.

06-13-2011, 02:39 PM	#4
CTH Zealot Posts: 129 Karma: 1000153 Join Date: Jan 2007	I am well aware that I wont be able to do that, but thanks anyway I was very much interested in the onyx but it seems that it will have some hardware or at least software issues at launch so I decided that it would be better with a DX. Just so that I got this correctly, if I get a kindle DX from for example Best Buy in the US, it would be exactly the same as the one I would get if I order it from the Amazon site to sweden?

06-13-2011, 04:24 PM	#6
CTH Zealot Posts: 129 Karma: 1000153 Join Date: Jan 2007	KecajN: Thanks for the warning, it has certainly made me think a little bit about my choices. It is unfortunate that there is so few 9 inch e-ink readers out there.

06-14-2011, 03:43 AM	#7
reprep Addict Posts: 202 Karma: 6720 Join Date: May 2011 Device: amazon kindle DXG	well i too have a kindle DXG. I highly recommend it. You can set custom zoom,change contrast, follow TOC by the help of Duokan (an alternative firmware for kindle) I also solved the firmware problem by installing firmware 3.2.1 (the most recent firmware of kindle 3) by the help of the forum member "yifanlu". You can get more info on developer's corner

06-15-2011, 05:49 PM	#11
The Redbaron Member Posts: 19 Karma: 22 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: Kindle 3	The only difference is the one from Best Buy will have a US style wall plug adapter that the USB cable can plug into while the one ordered from Amazon to Sweden will just have the USB cable but no plug adapter. (at least that's how ith works with the K3) According to the website... yes. The plug would be useless without some kind of adaptor anyway. Plenty of cheap adaptors available on Ebay though. Not sure if there would be warranty issues, or if the 3G would work. From what I read 3G should work everywhere there is coverage?