Comparison of Kindle DX and iRex DR1000

HarryT · 06-12-2009, 04:10 AM

Given that we now have two large-screen devices on the market, the Kindle DX and the iRex DR1000, I thought it might be useful to have a thread in which we could weigh up the "pros" and "cons" of the two devices.

I have a DR1000S (the touch-screen version of the DR1000), and for me, its major strengths are:

- Large screen (obviously!)
- Excellent "multiple document" reading experience. One can have multiple documents open at once, and flip between them with two taps of the stylus. This is extremely useful for research work in which one is reading different parts of multiple documents simultaneously, or reading one doc while looking up references in another.
- Excellent PDF support, including the ability to use Mobipocket dictionaries to look up words in a PDF file, and (on the DR1000S) annotate PDFs using the pen. Extremely flexible display options allow you to display the document in whatever way works best, eliminate margins, switch between portrait and landscape, and so on.
- A "real" file manager allows you to easily store thousands of files in a directory tree.
- SDHC support means that you have no effective storage limits (all the docs are stored on the SD card - internal memory is used purely by the o/s).

Against which one has the cons:

- Comparatively high price.
- Relatively short battery life (something like 12h usage).
- It's quite heavy - you really do need to hold it in both hands.

Would any Kindle DX owner like to comment on how the DX stacks up against this?

minhiub · 06-12-2009, 05:39 AM

This topic is exactly what I am looking for since I am still debating to myself which one to choose. I really appreciate if someone could give a comparison review between both of them.

Gideon · 06-12-2009, 05:45 AM

Kindle DX-
Pro:
Large screen
Supports PDFs VERY well, as well as the mobi files
Access to Amazon's ebook store (can't be stressed enough. Content is king.)
Long battery life (not sure how much actual usage - but long!)
Free internet access, decent (if slow) browser, wikipedia, etc.
Online web store
Nice 16 shade grayscale screen, very clean and crisp
Dictionary
Annotation and Highlight
Search
Can send things to kindle in pdf, mobi, doc, or html format
Not too heavy

Cons:
Still a bit high, price wise
Only mobi and pdf's
No organization of files (well, hardly any)
Sprint coverage can be a bit spotty, also it's Sprint and that sucks on principle
Fairly closed system

I'm sure there is more... but it's almost 5 am.

minhiub · 06-12-2009, 06:25 AM

So, that means aside from Spint internet access, which can be used only in the U.S, the international customers won't have any option to get access to the internet since DX does not have wifi.

Gideon · 06-12-2009, 06:27 AM

It's not a good option for international users, no.

Unless they have some other way of buying books from the Kindle store and just download them from the computer. If that was the case, than I'd still go with the Kindle - internet isn't too big a deal for me.

HarryT · 06-12-2009, 06:45 AM

The DX may indeed be a good option for international users if they simply want a large-screen reader for PDFs - but didn't I read it a review that it doesn't support hyperlinks in PDFs? That seems like a pretty serious shortcoming for such things as technical manuals, although it's perhaps not of too much importance for journal articles and other short documents.

Gideon · 06-12-2009, 06:48 AM

I don't know if it does or not yet, I haven't came across it. But it doesn't support tables of contents in PDFs and I think that's a very big deal.

It's definitely not perfect. And I'm not holding my breath for a firmware update. But given everything I'm still pretty happy with my purchase. I can scan a few things, catch up on my journals, and read every other PDF that comes my way (though perhaps not as ideally as I'd like.)

HarryT · 06-12-2009, 06:55 AM

The DX may not be perfect, but when you consider that it's half the price of the DR1000, I'm sure that it will prove attractive to many who want PDF support, although I think that the DR's ability to work with multiple documents simultaneously may perhaps be tempting for those in academia and other areas of research.

olis · 06-12-2009, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

- Relatively short battery life (something like 12h usage).

Excuse me the off-topic question, does the battery life last 12h of continuous use (for example reading and taking notes)?
Thanks.

HarryT · 06-12-2009, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by olis

Excuse me the off-topic question, does the battery life last 12h of continuous use (for example reading and taking notes)?
Thanks.

That is my understanding, yes, although personally I just connect it to my PC for an hour a day and that keeps it fully charged, so I have no personal experience of how long the battery actually lasts. Perhaps someone else may be able to comment on this.

Edit: To give you a rough idea, I read for about 2.5 hours on my fully-charged reader last night, and the battery is now showing a charge of 82%.

wallcraft · 06-12-2009, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gideon

Kindle DX-
Pro:
Supports PDFs VERY well

I would describe the support as "basic". Just two viewing modes (portrait with margins clipped, and continuous landscape with margins clipped). No zooming for images within the page. No table of contents. No hyperlinks. No dictionary. Search within the current PDF (has anyone tested this?) but not across all PDFs. Bookmarks, but no notes or highlighting.

I can understand the lack of viewing modes, it can be argued that the large screen makes them less necessary, but I regard most of the other shortcomings as a demonstration that Amazon is not serious about PDFs.

JSWolf · 06-12-2009, 07:21 AM

Amazon is only serious about what it is that makes them money. And since they don't sell PDF, they aren't serious.

Lilly · 06-12-2009, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gideon

I don't know if it does or not yet, I haven't came across it. But it doesn't support tables of contents in PDFs and I think that's a very big deal.

It's definitely not perfect. And I'm not holding my breath for a firmware update. But given everything I'm still pretty happy with my purchase. I can scan a few things, catch up on my journals, and read every other PDF that comes my way (though perhaps not as ideally as I'd like.)

Are you kidding? Why would Amazon do that? It's obviously not that hard since Sony had that capability since June of 2008!

numindast · 06-12-2009, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gideon

Kindle DX-
Free internet access, decent (if slow) browser, wikipedia, etc.

Let's not mislead anyone. Amazon does not advertise free Internet access. Sure, it's free right now but so was wireless delivery of personal documents too, until just recently.

Also, I agree with Wallcraft, the PDF support sounds quite basic on the DX.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Amazon is only serious about what it is that makes them money. And since they don't sell PDF, they aren't serious.

This is very true, but if Amazon sees their market share growth declining to other devices, it's probable they will improve their device to make it more appealing to more people and increase their market share. I'm sure we can all agree that good PDF support is important to a not insignificant number of us, aye?

HarryT · 06-12-2009, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lilly

Are you kidding? Why would Amazon do that? It's obviously not that hard since Sony had that capability since June of 2008!

But Sony have licenced the code for PDF reflow from Adobe. Can you really see Adobe signing a deal with Amazon? I'm afraid I don't see how one can conclude that "it's obviously not that hard"; it may not be "hard" for the originators of the PDF format (Adobe) to do so, but that doesn't mean that it's not "hard" for third parties to duplicate the work.

06-12-2009, 04:10 AM	#1
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Comparison of Kindle DX and iRex DR1000 Given that we now have two large-screen devices on the market, the Kindle DX and the iRex DR1000, I thought it might be useful to have a thread in which we could weigh up the "pros" and "cons" of the two devices. I have a DR1000S (the touch-screen version of the DR1000), and for me, its major strengths are: - Large screen (obviously!) - Excellent "multiple document" reading experience. One can have multiple documents open at once, and flip between them with two taps of the stylus. This is extremely useful for research work in which one is reading different parts of multiple documents simultaneously, or reading one doc while looking up references in another. - Excellent PDF support, including the ability to use Mobipocket dictionaries to look up words in a PDF file, and (on the DR1000S) annotate PDFs using the pen. Extremely flexible display options allow you to display the document in whatever way works best, eliminate margins, switch between portrait and landscape, and so on. - A "real" file manager allows you to easily store thousands of files in a directory tree. - SDHC support means that you have no effective storage limits (all the docs are stored on the SD card - internal memory is used purely by the o/s). Against which one has the cons: - Comparatively high price. - Relatively short battery life (something like 12h usage). - It's quite heavy - you really do need to hold it in both hands. Would any Kindle DX owner like to comment on how the DX stacks up against this?

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06-12-2009, 05:39 AM	#2
minhiub Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: none	This topic is exactly what I am looking for since I am still debating to myself which one to choose. I really appreciate if someone could give a comparison review between both of them.

06-12-2009, 05:45 AM	#3
Gideon Wearer of Pants Posts: 1,050 Karma: 7634 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Norman, OK Device: Amazon Kindle DX / iPhone	Kindle DX- Pro: Large screen Supports PDFs VERY well, as well as the mobi files Access to Amazon's ebook store (can't be stressed enough. Content is king.) Long battery life (not sure how much actual usage - but long!) Free internet access, decent (if slow) browser, wikipedia, etc. Online web store Nice 16 shade grayscale screen, very clean and crisp Dictionary Annotation and Highlight Search Can send things to kindle in pdf, mobi, doc, or html format Not too heavy Cons: Still a bit high, price wise Only mobi and pdf's No organization of files (well, hardly any) Sprint coverage can be a bit spotty, also it's Sprint and that sucks on principle Fairly closed system I'm sure there is more... but it's almost 5 am.

06-12-2009, 06:25 AM	#4
minhiub Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: none	So, that means aside from Spint internet access, which can be used only in the U.S, the international customers won't have any option to get access to the internet since DX does not have wifi.

06-12-2009, 06:27 AM	#5
Gideon Wearer of Pants Posts: 1,050 Karma: 7634 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Norman, OK Device: Amazon Kindle DX / iPhone	It's not a good option for international users, no. Unless they have some other way of buying books from the Kindle store and just download them from the computer. If that was the case, than I'd still go with the Kindle - internet isn't too big a deal for me.

06-12-2009, 06:45 AM	#6
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	The DX may indeed be a good option for international users if they simply want a large-screen reader for PDFs - but didn't I read it a review that it doesn't support hyperlinks in PDFs? That seems like a pretty serious shortcoming for such things as technical manuals, although it's perhaps not of too much importance for journal articles and other short documents.

06-12-2009, 06:48 AM	#7
Gideon Wearer of Pants Posts: 1,050 Karma: 7634 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Norman, OK Device: Amazon Kindle DX / iPhone	I don't know if it does or not yet, I haven't came across it. But it doesn't support tables of contents in PDFs and I think that's a very big deal. It's definitely not perfect. And I'm not holding my breath for a firmware update. But given everything I'm still pretty happy with my purchase. I can scan a few things, catch up on my journals, and read every other PDF that comes my way (though perhaps not as ideally as I'd like.)

06-12-2009, 06:55 AM	#8
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	The DX may not be perfect, but when you consider that it's half the price of the DR1000, I'm sure that it will prove attractive to many who want PDF support, although I think that the DR's ability to work with multiple documents simultaneously may perhaps be tempting for those in academia and other areas of research.

06-12-2009, 07:21 AM	#12
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,575 Karma: 145863177 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Amazon is only serious about what it is that makes them money. And since they don't sell PDF, they aren't serious.

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