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Just because it costs a lot to manufacture doesn't mean it's a sensible price. Imagine I could build you a nuclear powered car that would never need refueling, but costing $4,000,000. You could understand that the price is high because nuclear powered cars are new technology. Does it make it worth $4,000,000 when you can buy a good petrol car for on hundredth the cost? I'd say no. The market for $4,000,000 cars is limited because it's not worth the premium to the vast majority of drivers.
Similarly with the DX, you're charging people $500 for the convenience, but the alternative option is a $400 laptop if you want to read electronically or a $5 book if you don't mind carrying around your current reads. In context, I think that's a very high premium on a relatively small value add. In some markets (for instance offices where there are very large numbers of documents produced), it makes sense. For most leisure readers and even many 'serious' readers, I'd question it.
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