[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Kindle DX: First Impressions of the Large Doc Reader here

[lamorpa]

It is best to post a comment, non just a collection of repeated facts and perfectly obvious observations: How were you able to draw the amazing conclusion that if you want to know more about the Kindle 2, you should try using one?

[DrewBoyd]

Larger is nice, but certainly not innovative. I was hoping for features that might set the stage for launching Kindle 3:

http://www.innovatio....com/innovationinpractice/2009/01/the-lab-innovating-the-kindle-with-task-unification-january-2009.html

[holzheim]

I wonder if it has overcome one of the problems of the Sony PRS-505 system. The document scanning software is subject to errors, and results in scores of what in a hard-cover printed book would be known as "typos." Virtually all the books I've read on the Sony system contain such errors, sometimes scores of them. It's very aggravating.

[Reidk]

By being able to handle PDF files the new Kindle should be able to avoid at least some Scanning Typo problems: either OmniPage or PaperPort, along with a decent scanner, can produce PDF files that are virtually "perfect copies" of the original document.
And the larger screen would permit more such documents to be displayed without scaling or the need for reformatting becoming issues

[BSnowden]

When I look at these units, I see a machine as expensive as a laptop with little utility beyond the ability to see some text and display some B&W graphics. That doesn't seem cost effective to me even though I buy books frequently. The inability to download all books by all authors makes this of limited value especially if you follow a particular author who writes series of books where there may be gaps in available downloads. The difference in the cost of a paperback and a download is a couple of bucks and I don't have to worry if the battery dies or title is unavailable for download. When you amortize it out, the cost vs utility just doesn't make much sense to me. Gadgeteers will love it. But to me, it seems to be another Betamax.

[salmoriarty]

i guess i have to keep waiting for the minority report type of newspaper

[mrloopie]

When I reviewed my Kindle 1 I said I like the removable storage, which they removed on v2 and still do not have, and that I didn’t like the fact that anyone can grab my Kindle and start to read all of my stuff. Personally I wouldn’t mind if someone read my books but Amazon is trying to sell the Kindle as a way to port all of your documents and with no security = a major flaw.

I like having my flip-top SD card in all of my devices…I’m just weird like that I guess. Makes transfering possible ANYWHERE on ANY computer without needing a cord.
I currently don’t carry sensitive documents so the lack of security wouldn’t affect me (yet), however imagine an office trying to convert to this or a student who annotates, bookmarks and highlights…the lack of security could be scary. Hmm, I wonder if a password protected PDF will work on the new Kindle?

The design change that caught my eye is no more page buttons on the left side…I use my left button a lot, probably about as much as the right buttons. I see why they did it though. When you turn it to go landscape the buttons would be at the bottom, BUT if the device can detect orientation it should be able to disable certain buttons…AND if you go to landscape mode the only page turn buttons are ON TOP. I think I would prefer them to be on the bottom…

Anyway, that was my first take...until I hold one i can't really say...

Oh, don't get me wrong I think my Kindle is awesome and I use it everyday.

[mrloopie]

EDIT: I was wrong. When orientating to landscape the buttons are on bottom where they should be. I still would miss the left hand buttons...

[masimons]

With obsoleting their last product so soon, they ought to consider a tradein program so as to make nice.

I'll wait for color too.

[SixSigma1978]

Reduce the price!!! This isn't a mass public tool - its for millionaires. 489 is a huge amount, especially for these times!!! Amazon saves a lot of margin by selling the kindle directly - bypassing retailers/contractors completely.

[JimH443]

Still an order of magnitude too small. Twenty inch color display that can be folded for under $300 and you'll start to tempt me.
This may sound laughable, but the technology isn't that far away. The $300 price tag for it may be, but the display itself isn't.

[mpheadley]

This is a great comment and I totally agree with it. The price point turns most of us off right away. What makes it that high? The e-ink technology? Is lcd cheaper but less readable? And I like the idea of having two larger screens that join together to make one but are still foldable for portability.

[davep1]

How many people made it through college without putting any marks in their textbooks? How many people sit through business meetings without marking up the handouts. I can't see this as a legitimate educational or business tool without support for inking on documents (with or without handwriting recognition).

To my mind, this would be a good device for periodical distribution, replacing tools such as Zinio. Now if I could get one free with sufficient subscriptions, I might be interested.

[JimH443]

mpheadley said:

And I like the idea of having two larger screens that join together to make one but are still foldable for portability.

Once single, foldable screen. I found an article that describes what I was thinking of:

http://www.pbs.org/m...ca-2016034.html

The user interface described is a bit too "futuristic" for my taste, but I like the hardware.

[Lizzie267]

Netbook or Kindle? I'd go with a netbook for now. A netbook is cheaper, you can do more, and it displays in color.

[BadBob]

The good thing about E-ink is the very low power used. The Kindle just uses power to wright the screen. No power is used while reading the screen. I read my Kindle about 2 hours a day, and have gone over a week without recharging. You can not even come close to that with an LCD screen as in takes constant power for the backlight. Until they can find something that uses that little power and works in color, I think we'll have to live with grey scale (16 shades) for a while.

[mpheadley]

That is very good! What else uses that type of screen technology?

Yeah, you're probably correct about having to deal with that tech for a while. Probably until OLED becomes the new standard.

[mpheadley]

oops, I should add unless led backlighting for lcd screens becomes cheap!

[JimH443]

BadBob said:

Until they can find something that uses that little power and works in color, I think we'll have to live with grey scale (16 shades) for a while.

Or live without it.