Comments on: Amazon's big-screen Kindle DX makes its debut

The e-commerce giant unveils its new, larger-screen Kindle e-reader at a press conference in New York.

[IgnatiusTheKing]

Now that the Kindle has native support for PDFs, does this mean that the Kindle 2 will get a software update to include that?

[kwhsy82]

I'm in the "I don't get it" category. I already have to pop $700 or so for a laptop per child. (yes, I know there are netbooks somewhat cheaper). Why I want to pop $500 for another device so my child can pay for new textbooks (instead of used), assuming she bothers to buy the textbook (instead of just sharing with roommates, study group). Physics texts today can run north of $200 for instance.

Also, folks like Pearson do have EBooks, which run on this thing called the Internet. They then also offer things like video; help on problems if students are stuck; the ability to complete and submit homework assignments. There is no need to buy a print textbook and they do a lot more than print.

Finally, I wonder how this works across departments. The economics department likes it perhaps but the biology department doesn't. What % of my children's texts run and are assigned on the Kindle? I don't think departments cooperate that much.
The effective price of a textbook these days is like $40, maybe less. You buy a used one and sell it used. The cost of the kindle plus always new textbooks: no thanks.

[R. U. Sirius]

Good gawd, that thing is totally dorky. It makes the Zune look cool, and that takes some doing.

[LuvThatCO2]

I like the idea of a large screen e-ink readers. But for this to take off Amazon needs to 1) get it below $200, and 2) add wifi & memory card support so users arent dependent on amazon's network only (allowing people to add their own files directly).

As for text books... I think its a great idea. But I suspect the reality is that kids will be lugging their laptop, their kindle, and 3 text books... rather than lugging a laptop and 5 textbooks. Not every textbook is going to be 'kindle-ized', after all.

btw, whoever was the one to suggest a laptop with attachable e-ink reader deserves a prize - great idea!

[scottthesculptor]

Go Kindle go!
Hope lot's o' peple buy these and get the ball rolling.

That way someone else will make an open version in the future for *me* to buy.

Just like that silly ipod thingy.
Took a few years but now you can buy an mp3 player that doesn't require buggy, locked down software just to use add a file to it.

[sting7k]

$500 for a monochrome LCD screen that all I can do is read stuff on? No thanks, my iPhone has a color screen and I can read news (and many news papers now have their own apps), listen to music, watch videos, go online, play games, pay bills, check facebook, make phone calls, send texts, get GPS directions, search Google, check sports scores, take pictures, check email, check weather, manage my calender, and at least 1,000 other things as well. Not to mention I could by a flat screen TV or netbook for that price, maybe even a netbook and a small flat screen TV.

How much is that access to Sprint's 3G network adding to each of these devices?

[Spartanicus]

I like the size and format of the Kindle relative to my iPhone, and for reading books, I certainly have found it superior. The larger format tempts me towards bying one.

However: I really like to read laying in bed. The #1 most irritating thing I've found with the iPhone (next to the keyboard) is the inability to lock down the accelerometer so that when I get horizontal I can force the screen to remain in the same orientation. I finally stopped trying to read the iPhone in bed.

For the Kindle, this would be a major issue for me, as I like to read in bed. Any idea if one can lock down or disable the accelerometer?

[Spartanicus]

The answer, based on looking at the Kindle DX manual, is yes - the screen orientation can be locked down.

[J-Skratchboard]

We are disappointed at the Kindle DX.

Read about why here: http://www.skratchboard.com/2009/05/kindle-dx-falls-short/

[ltonnews]

What folks seem to be missing in the $500 price is that also includes a device lifetime access to the wireless data (and other admin services Amazon provides). If use the device over 3 years and there was a $4/month charge that would be $144. If it was a $8/month that would be $288.

This is opposite of the usual cellphone/laptop wireless card situation where over 3 years pay in installments but usually end up with a larger amount of you count over 2-3 years. If want a closer apples-to-apples comparison and add a wireless data subscription to a laptop/netbook/iphone/etc. and it calculate lifetime costs over 3 years. ( and yes, on other devices can use data for other stuff, but that's getting back to what it doesn't do.)


There are plusses and minus to the kindle, but don't get caught up on the initial acquisition costs when it is the lifetime costs that matter most. It is a book/printed paper replacement.

[Saltiva]

This isn't even in COLOR- is this piece from the 80's? This is silly that they expect anyone to pay for this... can't believe Harry Potter type papers aren't here yet!

You still miss the point. This is a great device for "reading". I am not going to read my notebook or tablet computer in the bathroom -- my Kindle works just fine there. My Kindle works great in direct sunlight if I'm outside sitting in the sun, on a wall or under a tree (FOR HOURS). I have never been comfortable reading an entire book on my notebook -- I have no problem with Kindle. I do not plan to watch a movie on my Kindle -- I plan on reading. My New York Times and Washington Post are there at 5 AM on my Kindle when I get onto the subway. I am NOT going to read my laptop on the subway, especially while I'm standing. My argument here is that you are not necessarily comparing apples with apples. Enjoy the multiple uses of your laptop. I didn't buy the Kindle for multiple uses -- I bought it to read and IMHO it is better for that in the manner and PLACES where I use than is a notebook or touch computer.

[InklingBooks]

Those who watch the video on Amazon's Kindle DX page may wonder where the beautiful campus scene was taped. It's The Quad at the University of Washington when the Japanese cherries were blooming this spring. To show you better what it looks like, I've posted the pictures I took there on April 9 at:

http://inklingbooks.com/Kindle/Kindle.html

And no, I didn't see any Amazon photographers around when I was taking my pictures, so I didn't get a sneak preview of the Kindle DX.

[koviea]

I don't know what the SE part of the UW campus that's bisected by the Burke-Gilman trail is called, where on one side is Mount Rainier, and on the other an upwardly sloping grassy incline that leads to Red Square with a gravel road up the middle and parallel rows of what appear to be cherry trees on either side, but I passed by it on my bike last week and it was Drop Dead Gorgeous. Is this what you're referring to here? It was simply stunning. I plan to go back this week, before all the flowers are gone.

Is color that important when you're reading? Sure, pie charts and bart charts will look better in color than i grayscale. It depends what you want the device for. I remember having a class watch a great old black and white movie "Failsafe". Three minutes into the movie they asked if they could watch something else -- the movie was black and white, therefore there was no action, and simply couldn't be enjoyed. Maybe it's a generational thing.

[cardfan1212]

Good luck with that black and white Calculus or Accounting book. Hope the Kindle squirts water out at you time to time to keep you awake.

[LordOfMictlan]

A lot of charts and graphs would be unclear in 16 shades of gray. Try making sense of a complex 3-d cell diagram in a biology text book. Try appreciating same-value complimentary color effects in a visual design textbook. Try appreciating anything in an art history textbook. Think Atari on a black and white TV.

[ketanc]

If they hope to target students they better be sure of the DRM. Because if there is one group that can get round DRM it will be the Students. How many ipods are on the campus nowadays? How many of them are full of pirated music?
Also if the FULL Kindle experience is not offered here on the other side of the pond (Atlantic) then we will find another way or technology to satisfy the same need the Kindle wishes to satisfy. As so often happens in tech nowadays the rest of the world will settle on an alternative tech and make it difficult for Amazon to break in (iPhones in Japan!).
The best way forward is for Amazon to launch worldwide ASAP with Various subscription models or they will find the momentum will stall outside the US.
On a side note there is nothing like spreading your text books and notes all around your table while you research you essays/papers.

Can any version of the Kindle be used in Canada and if not,do you plan to make it accessible to us in the near future?

I guess what I have a big problem with concerning some of the comments posted here is that if people don't feel that the Kindle meets the use they want it for (School, textbooks, etc.), they then seem to feel that it couldn't possibly be good for anyone else for any reason. Lack of color -- if you're not reading calculus or art history books, maybe not such a big deal, especially for people who ARE reading normal text-based fiction or non-fiction boos, or possibly newspapers. Some people don't want to use Amazon's wireless network (are you crazy -- it's included in the purchase price -- no monthly charge), and you can load the Kindle directly from your computer if you want to -- it is just another removeable disk when you plug it in the USB port.

[Brent212]

I do most of my reading in bed at night. This would be a lot better for that than a laptop. Although a non-color screen kind of sucks, since a lot of what I read are magazines.

One feature that would be awesome for text books (and I'm guessing they've implemented in the Kindle, unless they're completely retarded) is searching. I can't begin to count how many times I've flipped through hundreds of pages trying to figure out where I saw that paragraph about the question I was currently attempting to answer.

[PhyllisC]

There is a search function on the K2. I haven't needed to use it a lot, but when playing with it, it worked just fine.

[sciontcya]

i can see using them in schools, maybe commuters who take long train/bus rides, but otherwise, I'll pass.

[MatthewKlees]

Actually, looking at it and the previous versions have always made me laugh, it's nothing more than a poor mans tablet pc.

[PhyllisC]

Thanks, but I've had a tablet pc (Toshiba) and based on the customer service, weight, handwriting recognition, and the whole ball of wax, the K2 better meets my needs. No, I'm not giving up my laptop--I'm also keeping my desktop--and my IPod touch, and my smart phone, but for basic reading pleasure--and NOT having to lug around a dozen books on a business trip--the K2 is fantastic. And yes, I've ordered the new toy--I may or may not keep both, but for now, I'm delighted. And yes, I'm old, but I still love electronics, gadgets, and toys--and except for reaction time, can probably beat most of you kids ;)

[ewillner]

It remains to be seen whether textbook publishers will discount the Kindle versions of their titles enough to justify the high cost of this device. I tend to doubt it.

[MoKraak]

As good as it sounds and as much sense as it makes, the digital college textbook thing isn't happening any time soon. There is far too much infrastructure in place and far too many people (including "educators") making big bucks for this industry to go away without a outright war.

Think of it this way, the digital printing industry has had the ability to print personalized bound text books on demand (which means zero inventory) for nearly 20 years and yet the system remains virtually unchanged.

[jhstoneca]

I actually think that the educators will drive this: they stand to make much more per copy from a digital book than they currently do from published materials. Lecturers can bypass the publisher altogether with a digital system. your $90 text book becomes a $25 dollar textbook and the $6 the writer received becomes $12 with plenty of margin for the online rights management company to host/promote the book.

[pentest]

They can bypass the publisher already. I have had professors that literally published their own books and sold at cost.

The books on the Kindle save you no money and if you add in the cost of the device and the fact that you can't sell it, or even share it, it is considerably more expensive then the rip off textbooks today.