DX - Initial Observations

poohbear_nc · 06-11-2009, 02:54 PM

The response to the 5-way stick seems a lot faster than on K2 - and smoother - if you hold it to scroll your cursor down the page or through selections. A faster processor? Overall - actions seem faster -- page turns, etc.

The Amazon cover is just like the K2 cover - except there are 2 embedded magnets in the right margin that hold the cover closed. I wish they had added corner loops on the right side like M-Edge has.

The ability to alter number of words per line seems a bit clunky - what your screen looks like seems to be governed partly by the margins for the page -- choosing fewer or fewest in the books I've played with just condensed the text into the middle of the screen.

The look of poetry with long lines (Whitman's Leaves of Grass for example) is gorgeous in landscape mode. No more irritating weird line breaks as seen on the K2.

OK - I'm playing with it at work - don't tell!

poohbear_nc · 06-11-2009, 04:13 PM

I notice considerable dark screen ghosting when going from screensaver to text - need to use Alt-G to clean up the background - esp those screensavers with lots of black - so far the worst is the Virginia Woolf image. But -- Alt-G does work on the DX.

Switching from portrait to landscape is fairly fast - but it seems to take twice as long to switch back to portrait. Also, if the DX goes to sleep in landscape mode, there is a considerable delay when woken up before it moves back to portrait mode.

Gideon · 06-11-2009, 04:21 PM

What version of Whitman's works are you using? (Here, feedbooks, amazon, etc?

gv3 · 06-11-2009, 04:32 PM

I too just received my new DX. I have had a K2 since they came out. It's a bit hard
to tell how good or bad the device is due to the fact that whispernet is taking forever
to re-download my content to my new device. One book I did buy has problems
on the DX, and that is "Solaris Internals" There is a diagram in it that is no longer
correct, it's now in the e-paper equivalent of inverse video. I'll likely comment more
as the downloads actually happen. I suspect Amazon is overwhelmed with upgraders.

poohbear_nc · 06-11-2009, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gideon

What version of Whitman's works are you using? (Here, feedbooks, amazon, etc?

I've got several versions from Amazon - the one I looked at today is the MobileReference omnibus volume "Works of Walt Whitman"

poohbear_nc · 06-11-2009, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gv3

I too just received my new DX. I have had a K2 since they came out. It's a bit hard
to tell how good or bad the device is due to the fact that whispernet is taking forever
to re-download my content to my new device. One book I did buy has problems
on the DX, and that is "Solaris Internals" There is a diagram in it that is no longer
correct, it's now in the e-paper equivalent of inverse video. I'll likely comment more
as the downloads actually happen. I suspect Amazon is overwhelmed with upgraders.

My downloads also took a long time to occur - so far all K2 books are compatible with DX - but still looking.
So be patient folks! I let it download while I ate lunch.

poohbear_nc · 06-11-2009, 04:44 PM

The keyboard is very awkward for me. To compress the space occupied by the keys, numbers are combined with the top row of letters - to type a 3 for example, you have to click Alt-E. All independent symbol keys are gone - you have to use the SYM key for anything that's not a letter or number.

For those folks used to texting on a cell phone keypad, the keyboard will probably seem way too wide - esp. for 2-thumb typing - which is virtually impossible if you have the DX in the Amazon cover.
For older folk, the wider spacing of the keys will probably be easier to use than the smaller K2 keyboard.

Bookathon · 06-11-2009, 04:48 PM

Can somebody confirm that table of content on pdf is not supported, if it does not than how we suppose to browse the few hundred pages pdf book, other one is inability to change font size?

How are complex pdf with multicolumn, charts and graphs are being dispalyed

poohbear_nc · 06-11-2009, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bookathon

Can somebody confirm that table of content on pdf is not supported, if it does not than how we suppose to browse the few hundred pages pdf book, other one is inability to change font size?

How are complex pdf with multicolumn, charts and graphs are being dispalyed

I would guess you would have to set bookmarks to use as substitute chapter headings for navigation.

poohbear_nc · 06-11-2009, 04:52 PM

Accessing the web with Whispernet is just as agonizingly slow as the K2 - but boy do those web pages look great!

All activities on the Experimental Web section take a long time to complete - even moving between menu & screens - so if you use Web be patient - or you can lock up your display.

Slow_hand · 06-11-2009, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bookathon

Can somebody confirm that table of content on pdf is not supported, if it does not than how we suppose to browse the few hundred pages pdf book, other one is inability to change font size?

How are complex pdf with multicolumn, charts and graphs are being dispalyed

Everybody is obsessed with the TOC, but how about links within the PDF. Depending on the book/document, JUST AS IMPORTANT.

I saw elsewhere this functionality is not working with this firmware version. Poohbear, could you check this?

Thanks!

myridom · 06-11-2009, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bookathon

How are complex pdf with multicolumn, charts and graphs are being dispalyed

I loaded Pocket Sky Atlas (pdf) and am amazed at the detail in the star charts. This rocks. I also opened a few regular PDF files for work, great rendering. Even a PDF of Sky & Telescope rendered correctly.

Now, I tried to do a capture (Alt-G) to show everyone, and it created .PDR files as a result. I am unable to open this file with my usual suite of Adobe junk.. So I'm not sure about that yet. I need to open the file at home and take a look at the headers..

I'll post a pic of a star chart tonight when I get near a camera for everyone to see.

Oh BTW.. My DX arrived...LOL

MyridoM

sirbruce · 06-11-2009, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slow_hand

Everybody is obsessed with the TOC, but how about links within the PDF. Depending on the book/document, JUST AS IMPORTANT.

I saw elsewhere this functionality is not working with this firmware version. Poohbear, could you check this?

TOC does not work.

Links in PDF are not accessible.

Dictionary in PDF is not accessible.

You can't move the 5-way controller to acess the cursor when viewing a PDF at all.

Multicolumn works fine.

All PDFs are shown under "Personal Docs", not Books.

Basically it's just a PDF viewer, not integrated into the Kindle software at all.

myridom · 06-11-2009, 09:24 PM

http://haunterofthenight.com/2009/06...charts-in-pdf/

Edit: I added the extracted PDF page for comparing..

Here are 3 pictures I took of the PDF Star Charts I tested on my DX. Sorry the pictures are not that great and do not show the greatest quality. I had trouble with the auto focus. I'm a point and shoot kinda person. The flash washed them out and when I turned it off; I had to color correct for the florescent lights, so that also changed the quality..

Overall, I am loving the PDF support. As noted by other threads, some of the PDF's are hard to read in portrait, but look much better in landscape.

JSWolf · 06-11-2009, 11:03 PM

So do you think Amazon botched the PDF viewer?

06-11-2009, 02:54 PM	#1
poohbear_nc Bah! Humbug! Posts: 64,228 Karma: 135242149 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	DX - Initial Observations The response to the 5-way stick seems a lot faster than on K2 - and smoother - if you hold it to scroll your cursor down the page or through selections. A faster processor? Overall - actions seem faster -- page turns, etc. The Amazon cover is just like the K2 cover - except there are 2 embedded magnets in the right margin that hold the cover closed. I wish they had added corner loops on the right side like M-Edge has. The ability to alter number of words per line seems a bit clunky - what your screen looks like seems to be governed partly by the margins for the page -- choosing fewer or fewest in the books I've played with just condensed the text into the middle of the screen. The look of poetry with long lines (Whitman's Leaves of Grass for example) is gorgeous in landscape mode. No more irritating weird line breaks as seen on the K2. OK - I'm playing with it at work - don't tell! Last edited by poohbear_nc; 06-11-2009 at 02:57 PM.

06-11-2009, 04:44 PM	#7
poohbear_nc Bah! Humbug! Posts: 64,228 Karma: 135242149 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	DX Keyboard The keyboard is very awkward for me. To compress the space occupied by the keys, numbers are combined with the top row of letters - to type a 3 for example, you have to click Alt-E. All independent symbol keys are gone - you have to use the SYM key for anything that's not a letter or number. For those folks used to texting on a cell phone keypad, the keyboard will probably seem way too wide - esp. for 2-thumb typing - which is virtually impossible if you have the DX in the Amazon cover. For older folk, the wider spacing of the keys will probably be easier to use than the smaller K2 keyboard.

06-11-2009, 04:52 PM	#10
poohbear_nc Bah! Humbug! Posts: 64,228 Karma: 135242149 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	DX on the Web Accessing the web with Whispernet is just as agonizingly slow as the K2 - but boy do those web pages look great! All activities on the Experimental Web section take a long time to complete - even moving between menu & screens - so if you use Web be patient - or you can lock up your display.

06-11-2009, 09:24 PM	#14
myridom Enthusiast Posts: 41 Karma: 108 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Panama City, FL Device: Kindle	http://haunterofthenight.com/2009/06...charts-in-pdf/ Edit: I added the extracted PDF page for comparing.. Here are 3 pictures I took of the PDF Star Charts I tested on my DX. Sorry the pictures are not that great and do not show the greatest quality. I had trouble with the auto focus. I'm a point and shoot kinda person. The flash washed them out and when I turned it off; I had to color correct for the florescent lights, so that also changed the quality.. Overall, I am loving the PDF support. As noted by other threads, some of the PDF's are hard to read in portrait, but look much better in landscape. Last edited by myridom; 06-11-2009 at 09:32 PM.

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06-11-2009, 04:13 PM	#2
poohbear_nc Bah! Humbug! Posts: 64,228 Karma: 135242149 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	I notice considerable dark screen ghosting when going from screensaver to text - need to use Alt-G to clean up the background - esp those screensavers with lots of black - so far the worst is the Virginia Woolf image. But -- Alt-G does work on the DX. Switching from portrait to landscape is fairly fast - but it seems to take twice as long to switch back to portrait. Also, if the DX goes to sleep in landscape mode, there is a considerable delay when woken up before it moves back to portrait mode.

06-11-2009, 04:21 PM	#3
Gideon Wearer of Pants Posts: 1,050 Karma: 7634 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Norman, OK Device: Amazon Kindle DX / iPhone	What version of Whitman's works are you using? (Here, feedbooks, amazon, etc?

06-11-2009, 04:32 PM	#4
gv3 Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: Kindle2	I too just received my new DX. I have had a K2 since they came out. It's a bit hard to tell how good or bad the device is due to the fact that whispernet is taking forever to re-download my content to my new device. One book I did buy has problems on the DX, and that is "Solaris Internals" There is a diagram in it that is no longer correct, it's now in the e-paper equivalent of inverse video. I'll likely comment more as the downloads actually happen. I suspect Amazon is overwhelmed with upgraders.

06-11-2009, 04:48 PM	#8
Bookathon Bookaholic Posts: 72 Karma: 142 Join Date: Dec 2008 Device: Kindle 1, 3, Ipad	Can somebody confirm that table of content on pdf is not supported, if it does not than how we suppose to browse the few hundred pages pdf book, other one is inability to change font size? How are complex pdf with multicolumn, charts and graphs are being dispalyed

06-11-2009, 11:03 PM	#15
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 80,782 Karma: 150249619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	So do you think Amazon botched the PDF viewer?

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