Should I buy a Kindle DX?

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by DustyDisks

Something that is ridged enough that will not break just looking sideways at it. Anything that is held in two hands has to be protected from twisting and flexing, and that protection (With in limits) adds bulk and weight.

Quite. I don't see a 9.7" reader getting much lighter or smaller than the current crop (KDX, PB90x, Boox M9x), which weigh pretty much the same.

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by SCION

I would be willing to buy one for $225. My preference is a touch screen, but I can put that want to the side.

I think that Amazon would sell more at that price point but I don't see that happening. The proce on the DX has remained steady even as the Kindle price has dropped.

I think that there is an economies of scale issue here. That Amazon needs to sell many more DXs before they can drop the price because the production cost for a small run of the larger screen is a great deal higher.

Amazon would probably see the DX take off with a lower price, touch screen, and better PDF support without having to hack the device. The lower price would make it more attractive. The touch screen would decrease the size and weight. And the PDF support would help make the device more useful for academics and business people.

I am guessing that Amazon has enough data on who has a DX and who is interested in getting a DX to have decided that it is not worth the risk to update the DX.

Again, I hope I am wrong. I love my DX. I just don't think that Amazon has seen enough love for the DX to make it happen.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Amazon would probably see the DX take off with a lower price, touch screen, and better PDF support without having to hack the device. The lower price would make it more attractive. The touch screen would decrease the size and weight. And the PDF support would help make the device more useful for academics and business people.

I am guessing that Amazon has enough data on who has a DX and who is interested in getting a DX to have decided that it is not worth the risk to update the DX.

Again, I hope I am wrong. I love my DX. I just don't think that Amazon has seen enough love for the DX to make it happen.

I'm not sure the touch screen would drop the weight all that much, if any. The Boox M91S (sans touchscreen and keyboard) weighs 510 g, the M90 & M92 (with touchscreen) 520 g and the DXG 536 g.

Pretty much a wash; I doubt anybody is going to notice a less than 5% weight difference.

Still, a KDX Touch with official 3.x firmware would be nice. Or even just an official, Amazon-sanctioned 3.x firmware! Technically it can be done, as the hacks demonstrate. I would even settle for a 'Don't come whining to us if it falls over, but here is a 3.x upgrade for your DX. If it breaks, go back to a supported version.' But probably not everybody would.

But I have to agree with you: it's not going to happen, sadly...

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Because most people are not serious readers. The research I saw showed that half of all Americans had not read a single book in 2009. Half the population of the US had not read a book in an entire year.

Can you share that link with us? :-) ... not that I don't believe, just want to read the stats as well.

[ProfCrash]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20381678...oks-last-year/

2007, 25% of Americans had not read a book

http://www.nea.gov/news/news04/ReadingAtRisk.html

In 2002, half of American adults in the study read literature. The report does not define what literary reading is but I am guessing it is not romance, mysteries, and action adventure books.

[smariner]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I love my DXG because I love the bigger screen. I am not sure that I would recommend a DXG because I do not think Amazon is doing much to support the DXG. I am a bit concerned that the DXG will not have the ability to read the new format that Amazon is putting out.

Can anyone elaborate on this? I am considering getting the Kindle DX (for $259!) -- but, I'm debating after reading this comment. Why would amazon not support the new format on the DX?

[ThomasC]

smariner, the DXG shares the same firmware 2.5.8 as the K2 Kindles. When Amazon comes out with a new ebook file format either they will provide an update to this firmware or they will provide the ebooks in both file formats imho. No way they are crazy enough to put out a file format that robs them of ebook sales.

If I were you I'd mainly base my decission on whether or not you can see the benefit of a larger 9.7 inch e-ink reader. Also, study the DXG manual and try to make sure it does what you want it to do.

Cheers,
Tom

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by smariner

Can anyone elaborate on this? I am considering getting the Kindle DX (for $259!) -- but, I'm debating after reading this comment. Why would amazon not support the new format on the DX?

My advice.

If you don't read PDFs at all, poetry or anything that requires such a big screen, stick to a regular 6 inch Kindle.

Unless your vision is bad or poor, you can do basically the same with any of the most current Kiindle devices.

[smariner]

Originally Posted by jocampo

My advice.

If you don't read PDFs at all, poetry or anything that requires such a big screen, stick to a regular 6 inch Kindle.

Unless your vision is bad or poor, you can do basically the same with any of the most current Kiindle devices.

I read computer/technical books...so, I am thinking that a big screen would be useful.

[ThomasC]

Originally Posted by jocampo

My advice.

If you don't read PDFs at all, poetry or anything that requires such a big screen, stick to a regular 6 inch Kindle.

Unless your vision is bad or poor, you can do basically the same with any of the most current Kiindle devices.

jocampo, I understand that you sold your DXG ~9 months ago because you were not happy with it and are now much happier with your 6 inch kindle. I think that's great.

However, while I respect your opinion, I don't think that many current DXG owners would agree with your advice. I think that most DXG owners simply use it as a very nice ebook reader, full stop. To me it's just like reading a nice big hardcover book compared to reading a small pocketbook using my K3. Not to say that you cannot enjoy both though.

I'm a fairly big guy (with good eyesight btw) and the extra weight of the DXG is no big deal. My wife, on the other hand, is quite a bit smaller and prefers the K3. I even offered to buy her one of these $259 DXG's for Xmas and she said she preferred her 'nice little K3'. So there you go, each to there own.

I think that if you are lucky enough to get one of these $259 DXG's you are going to be very happy with it. But if you don't like it you can always return it to Amazon anyway. Even if you sell it later, you are not likely to lose many $'s imho.

smariner, I do have a number of technical manuals (pdf's) and the as long as they are less than ~6mb file size they all work very well. If you are trying to use larger than +15mb pdf's I'd stick with an ipad because these start to get painfully slow and very large +30mb ones can crash the DXG (requiring a hard reset).

Cheers,
Tom

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by smariner

I read computer/technical books...so, I am thinking that a big screen would be useful.

Because the lines will cut off, yes, plus Amazon bookstore has the best computer selection I've seen, compared to O'Reilly.

However, Kindle for iOs, using an iPad, does exactly the same. And jumping between chapters is way easier and faster. Trust me, I've been there, done that before, know what I'm saying.

But if you will find yourself reading more novels and pure text books and more frequently, a 6 inch eink device is better, in my opinion. Your wrist will more comfortable after a while and is faster turning pages than a DXG, because the Kindle 3 has a more recent firmware, even the battery life is better on 6 inch eink devices, we're talking about 3 weeks to a month.

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by jocampo

Because the lines will cut off, yes, plus Amazon bookstore has the best computer selection I've seen, compared to O'Reilly.

However, Kindle for iOs, using an iPad, does exactly the same. And jumping between chapters is way easier and faster. Trust me, I've been there, done that before, know what I'm saying.

But if you will find yourself reading more novels and pure text books and more frequently, a 6 inch eink device is better, in my opinion. Your wrist will more comfortable after a while and is faster turning pages than a DXG, because the Kindle 3 has a more recent firmware, even the battery life is better on 6 inch eink devices, we're talking about 3 weeks to a month.

For you. I prefer the larger page. I strongly prefer the DXG and I read only novels and the like. I like having more words on the screen and it feels just fine in my hands. I also like being able to have more collections without having to flip through a ton of screens.

It is a personal choice. If I had to give up one of my readers I would give up the K3 before the DXG.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

For you. I prefer the larger page. I strongly prefer the DXG and I read only novels and the like. I like having more words on the screen and it feels just fine in my hands. I also like being able to have more collections without having to flip through a ton of screens.

It is a personal choice. If I had to give up one of my readers I would give up the K3 before the DXG.

I can see his point, but I agree with you. I also prefer the larger screen and would not go back to a 6-incher. Much as I loved both my Bookeen Gen3 -- which I bought the first day it came out 4 years ago and which was, at the time, more expensive than my current DXG -- and its replacement when it broke, a BeBook One (Hanlin V3 OEM).

If my DXG ever gives up the ghost, I'll get another 9.7", be it a a new DXG (already did once when I lost the first one), a PocketBook (if they ever come out with a Pearl screen one) or an Onyx Boox (if they fix the firmware issues).

[Tom Swift]

Well, I bought a Kindle DXG after all. A friend is going back to Canada for Christmas so I ordered one from Amazon and had it shipped to her place. I was not going to bother after reading all the comments about the old firmware but once I discovered the hacks, I decided to get it. Hopefully it won't be too difficult to upgrade. Can't wait until January, when she comes back to China.

[SkyDream]

Originally Posted by mbovenka

If my DXG ever gives up the ghost, I'll get another 9.7", be it a a new DXG (already did once when I lost the first one), a PocketBook (if they ever come out with a Pearl screen one) or an Onyx Boox (if they fix the firmware issues).

I would recommend the Boox 92 over the Pocketbook if this question ever came up for you.