So I was updating my wish list yesterday at Amazon, looking forward to getting my next batch of books upon my arrival back to the States, when I noticed Amazon’s ad for Kindle DX. Sure I knew that Amazon had launched Kindle, but to be honest, I did not pay that much attention to it. But something caught my eye yesterday, and I looked a bit deeper.
The DX version is due to be released shortly, and it is slightly bigger than the earlier version. According to Amazon, there are over 275,000 books that are available in this format, and it can read PDF files. It is very thin and light, and looks like it is easy to use and to carry around. Interesting stuff. Clearly this is the shape of things to come.
However, I do have some concerns. Its price is a bit steep at nearly $500. One can buy a notebook computer for that price. Netbooks are pushing the $200 price point, so this feels overpriced in comparison. Its screen is black and white only. To be honest, I am a bit shocked on this. Most LCD/LED screens are color, and I am not sure why this is not color. While B&W is fine for most things, there are a number of books that are fully color. Its internal 4GB storage is a bit light too. From what I can tell, the device is suppose to contact one’s Amazon account and access the various books that have been saved there. This requires wireless access, and I suspect that the actual book one is reading is Kindle’s internal storage.
It is an interesting idea, and I suspect that at some point I may even buy one. However, there are a couple of features that I would like to see added. Color, larger internal flash or HDD storage, and compatibility with one’s notebook. What I mean by this last statement is that in addition to accessing one’s web page, one should be able to drop and drag from the notebook to the Kindle device. I was reading a bit on PDF’s, and I would like to be able to select the PDF and drag to the Kindle. From what I could tell, one has to email the PDF file to an account in order to make it available. For the larger PDF files, this seems easier said than done.
Anyway, if anyone has actually used this device I would be interested to hear your feedback on it. I do suspect that this is the shape of things to come.
The DX version is due to be released shortly, and it is slightly bigger than the earlier version. According to Amazon, there are over 275,000 books that are available in this format, and it can read PDF files. It is very thin and light, and looks like it is easy to use and to carry around. Interesting stuff. Clearly this is the shape of things to come.
However, I do have some concerns. Its price is a bit steep at nearly $500. One can buy a notebook computer for that price. Netbooks are pushing the $200 price point, so this feels overpriced in comparison. Its screen is black and white only. To be honest, I am a bit shocked on this. Most LCD/LED screens are color, and I am not sure why this is not color. While B&W is fine for most things, there are a number of books that are fully color. Its internal 4GB storage is a bit light too. From what I can tell, the device is suppose to contact one’s Amazon account and access the various books that have been saved there. This requires wireless access, and I suspect that the actual book one is reading is Kindle’s internal storage.
It is an interesting idea, and I suspect that at some point I may even buy one. However, there are a couple of features that I would like to see added. Color, larger internal flash or HDD storage, and compatibility with one’s notebook. What I mean by this last statement is that in addition to accessing one’s web page, one should be able to drop and drag from the notebook to the Kindle device. I was reading a bit on PDF’s, and I would like to be able to select the PDF and drag to the Kindle. From what I could tell, one has to email the PDF file to an account in order to make it available. For the larger PDF files, this seems easier said than done.
Anyway, if anyone has actually used this device I would be interested to hear your feedback on it. I do suspect that this is the shape of things to come.
