Kindle DX 2 - Page 2

pboss · 05-18-2009, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

And rumor has it that Sony is also going to bring out larger screen reader later this year.

That would be kool. Can you point me to some resources on that?

TallMomof2 · 05-18-2009, 12:45 PM

I'm not an Apple fangirl even though I own a few of their iPods (caved into the kids) but an Apple tablet would have to be miraculous in order for me to be interested. The miracles include:

Lightweight, less than 1.5 lbs preferably under a pound;
Reasonably long battery life with wifi turned off, at least 16 hours;
ebook support that does not introduce *another* DRM scheme and supports at least one current DRM scheme and many open formats;
Cool to the touch, I have a Samsung Q1 and it puts out quite a bit of heat and it's heavy; and
Reasonably priced, this one alone will keep me from purchasing one because IMHO Apple products are overpriced.

I'll stick with my dedicated reader for now.

kindlefan87 · 05-18-2009, 11:43 PM

My main question would be, do they even have the technology available to create color on this sort of screen? I know that the kindle works similar to an "etch-a-sketch" by moving small pieces of material together to form text, images, etc.

dmaul1114 · 05-18-2009, 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markbot

i don't see why people are yapping about the apply tablet lcd. it's LCD! it's not going to have enough battery life and it isn't epaper. people will definitely not be buying the apple tablet in place of an ebook.

No, something like that can't replace an e-book for an avid reader.

But it would probably sell like hotcakes, since the average person is much more apt to buy some multi-function multimedia tablet over an ereader since the average person doesn't read many books anymore and spends more time surfing the the net, watching movies/tv/videos, listening to music, playing games etc. etc.

People forget that this site full of readers who like tech gadgets is a niche minority in today's society. Especially if you focus on younger generations. So a tablet device that does all kinds of stuff, and also can read books, can really expand the e-book market beyond just the avid readers who aren't set on reading physical books--which is all they appeal to now.

It can't replace an e-ink reader for avid readers who need the battery life and easy on the eyes screen. But it would be fine as a reader for people who mainly buy it for the other features and will seldom ever be reading anything for more than an hour or two.

But in any case, we should be rooting for Apple to put out such a device--especially since it would probably use the Kindle store (like the iPhone/iPod touch already does). We may never buy the device as a reader, but if such a device takes off it will expand the market and get more publishers excited to put out ebooks, prices down and volume of sales increases etc. etc.

Though I could see myself eventually getting some kind of tablet device if it can display A4 PDFs close to full size and allow me to easily highlight and annotate them with a stylus since I currently print out scholarly articles to mark up. I'm kind of wedded to that (as I've outlined many times here), but a good tablet solution down the road could get me to change my mind.

mdibella · 05-19-2009, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

And rumor has it that Sony is also going to bring out larger screen reader later this year.

After the way they treated me when I tried to return my PRS-700, they can keep it!

askenase13 · 05-19-2009, 11:59 AM

I predict a good color Kindle in 3 years. The first version (and probably the second) will not be that great. Then, once there is a color kindle out in large format, magazines and comic books will be sold that way, almost exclusively.

brecklundin · 05-21-2009, 05:23 AM

Buy whatever works for you now...tomorrow you could get hit by a bus while crossing the street reading on your Kindle. And then where will you be?

Me? I'm waiting...hoping that bus will come along sooner rather than later.

JSWolf · 05-21-2009, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pboss

That would be kool. Can you point me to some resources on that?

Sorry, but there are no details available.

talaivan · 05-21-2009, 09:52 AM

On an Apple tablet, you'll probably be able to use all the iPhone apps. There will be a bunch of eReader apps (as there are on the iPhone) and you will be able to use the Kindle store and perhaps the Sony one as well. And, of course, you'll be able to read fb2 books and all the other formats -- and I'm sure someone will enable you to flow pdf's as well (though that never works a smoothly as one would like). This in addition to software for everything else under the sun. So yes, it would sell and would certainly pose very serious competition to the Kindle and other ePaper readers. The tens of thousand of apps will give it a huge market. And reading on a backlit screen is quite OK as long as the resolution is good.

markbot · 05-25-2009, 03:41 PM

some doubt is creeping into my desire to actually purchase and keep the DX. at this point the best course of action is to buy it and then later make a decision on either to keep it or resell it on ebay. i'll cross the bridge when I come to it.

ultimately, I think the price is giving me pause. $540 is a lot for a book device that will probably last 3 years at most until a color one comes out. $180 per year. $15 per month. of course, i can always sell my first kindle to shave off another $100. this gets it to $12 per month.

the first kindle would cost me about $18 per month, depending on when the DX comes out.

dwallbaum · 05-26-2009, 12:16 PM

I would be happy with the advertised "crisp white background"....

The grey isn't bad, but its not what the brochures hyped.

cush · 05-26-2009, 04:42 PM

I'm getting into this topic rather late but I thought the Kindle was supposed to be an ebook reader, not a tablet or mini-laptop. We own two Kindles, both V1, and find they do a great job as book readers, but mediocre as an Internet access device. Color is not an issue for me since I would buy art and other graphically intensive books as paper versions anyway.

dwallbaum · 05-27-2009, 08:28 AM

This is where the fun is coming in.... "feature creep" is going to inevitably hit the Kindle - can Amazon succeed in keeping the Kindle an ebook reader, or will it be turned into a webbook or something with enhanced PDA functions? It is already on the Sprint system... add a phone function? Don't want to clutter the OS with all these features? Add a port to the back to which users could add their own modules - phone, GPS, enhanced MP3 or video?

Now, personally, I like devices to be specialized devices... I like my Palm T5 serving as my PDA, my cell phone as my cell phone and my Kindle as my eReader. But... data are data and chips are chips.

Near as I can tell, the thing slowing down the Kindle from being multi-function is the eInk display not being real great at tasks that require quick refreshes. And eInk appears to be fragile.

But.. five years down the road, another display system will be out, and I can see the Kindle either being dead, or morphed into something more general purpose than it is now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cush

I'm getting into this topic rather late but I thought the Kindle was supposed to be an ebook reader, not a tablet or mini-laptop. We own two Kindles, both V1, and find they do a great job as book readers, but mediocre as an Internet access device. Color is not an issue for me since I would buy art and other graphically intensive books as paper versions anyway.

cush · 05-27-2009, 05:16 PM

Yes, dwallbaum, good points. I too like my electronic devices to be specialized, not broadly multifunctional. It will interesting to see how the Kindle morphs.

I suspect that when a 8"x10" eink display becomes available that the market for student etextbooks will boom, even if there is no difference in price from traditional paper versions. Don't know how the inability (now) to somehow resell the books after they are used by the original student would play out but I'll bet Amazon could work out a trade-in scheme.

dwallbaum · 05-28-2009, 02:13 PM

Hi cush;

I read that some publications are going to be subsidizing the cost of the KDX with a long-term subscription to their publication. A few magazines and newspapers are involved in this.

So, a KDX as a leased piece of equipment? Could be. I can see universities basically leasing KDXs to students. Several schools are giving laptops to students now, since a 'puter is a basic learning tool now.

I can see some type of convergence that would make sense.. support for a bluetoothed external keyboard? Then you could have a reasonably-functional web browsing tool and text editor -- after you get over the eInk refresh issue. But, this is a slippery slope toward moving the Kindle away from being an eReader to something else.

It would be very interesting to be a mouse in the corner of Amazon's Kindle product development meetings now.

Don

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05-18-2009, 12:45 PM	#17
TallMomof2 Kindlephilia Posts: 2,017 Karma: 1139255 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Snowpacolypse 2010 Device: Too many to count	I'm not an Apple fangirl even though I own a few of their iPods (caved into the kids) but an Apple tablet would have to be miraculous in order for me to be interested. The miracles include: Lightweight, less than 1.5 lbs preferably under a pound; Reasonably long battery life with wifi turned off, at least 16 hours; ebook support that does not introduce another DRM scheme and supports at least one current DRM scheme and many open formats; Cool to the touch, I have a Samsung Q1 and it puts out quite a bit of heat and it's heavy; and Reasonably priced, this one alone will keep me from purchasing one because IMHO Apple products are overpriced. I'll stick with my dedicated reader for now.

05-18-2009, 11:43 PM	#18
kindlefan87 Probably Awesome Posts: 2 Karma: 20 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Ohio Device: Kindle	My main question would be, do they even have the technology available to create color on this sort of screen? I know that the kindle works similar to an "etch-a-sketch" by moving small pieces of material together to form text, images, etc.

05-19-2009, 11:59 AM	#21
askenase13 Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Boston area Device: Kindle DX	I predict a good color Kindle in 3 years. The first version (and probably the second) will not be that great. Then, once there is a color kindle out in large format, magazines and comic books will be sold that way, almost exclusively.

05-21-2009, 05:23 AM	#22
brecklundin Banned Posts: 1,906 Karma: 15348 Join Date: Jun 2007 Device: mine	Buy whatever works for you now...tomorrow you could get hit by a bus while crossing the street reading on your Kindle. And then where will you be? Me? I'm waiting...hoping that bus will come along sooner rather than later.

05-21-2009, 09:52 AM	#24
talaivan Groupie Posts: 178 Karma: 4710362 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Sony prs-505	On an Apple tablet, you'll probably be able to use all the iPhone apps. There will be a bunch of eReader apps (as there are on the iPhone) and you will be able to use the Kindle store and perhaps the Sony one as well. And, of course, you'll be able to read fb2 books and all the other formats -- and I'm sure someone will enable you to flow pdf's as well (though that never works a smoothly as one would like). This in addition to software for everything else under the sun. So yes, it would sell and would certainly pose very serious competition to the Kindle and other ePaper readers. The tens of thousand of apps will give it a huge market. And reading on a backlit screen is quite OK as long as the resolution is good.

05-25-2009, 03:41 PM	#25
markbot Guru Posts: 612 Karma: 7511929 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: New York, NY Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 2	some doubt is creeping into my desire to actually purchase and keep the DX. at this point the best course of action is to buy it and then later make a decision on either to keep it or resell it on ebay. i'll cross the bridge when I come to it. ultimately, I think the price is giving me pause. $540 is a lot for a book device that will probably last 3 years at most until a color one comes out. $180 per year. $15 per month. of course, i can always sell my first kindle to shave off another $100. this gets it to $12 per month. the first kindle would cost me about $18 per month, depending on when the DX comes out.

05-26-2009, 12:16 PM	#26
dwallbaum Zealot Posts: 100 Karma: 77 Join Date: May 2009 Device: Kindle2	I would be happy with the advertised "crisp white background".... The grey isn't bad, but its not what the brochures hyped.

05-26-2009, 04:42 PM	#27
cush Virtual Staggerwing Flier Posts: 68 Karma: 602 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: San Diego CA USA Device: Kindle (and an iMac)	I'm getting into this topic rather late but I thought the Kindle was supposed to be an ebook reader, not a tablet or mini-laptop. We own two Kindles, both V1, and find they do a great job as book readers, but mediocre as an Internet access device. Color is not an issue for me since I would buy art and other graphically intensive books as paper versions anyway.

05-27-2009, 05:16 PM	#29
cush Virtual Staggerwing Flier Posts: 68 Karma: 602 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: San Diego CA USA Device: Kindle (and an iMac)	Yes, dwallbaum, good points. I too like my electronic devices to be specialized, not broadly multifunctional. It will interesting to see how the Kindle morphs. I suspect that when a 8"x10" eink display becomes available that the market for student etextbooks will boom, even if there is no difference in price from traditional paper versions. Don't know how the inability (now) to somehow resell the books after they are used by the original student would play out but I'll bet Amazon could work out a trade-in scheme.

05-28-2009, 02:13 PM	#30
dwallbaum Zealot Posts: 100 Karma: 77 Join Date: May 2009 Device: Kindle2	Hi cush; I read that some publications are going to be subsidizing the cost of the KDX with a long-term subscription to their publication. A few magazines and newspapers are involved in this. So, a KDX as a leased piece of equipment? Could be. I can see universities basically leasing KDXs to students. Several schools are giving laptops to students now, since a 'puter is a basic learning tool now. I can see some type of convergence that would make sense.. support for a bluetoothed external keyboard? Then you could have a reasonably-functional web browsing tool and text editor -- after you get over the eInk refresh issue. But, this is a slippery slope toward moving the Kindle away from being an eReader to something else. It would be very interesting to be a mouse in the corner of Amazon's Kindle product development meetings now. Don

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