Comments on: How the Kindle DX could be worth the price

The Kindle DX will retail for $489 when it's made available this summer. Don Reisinger has some ideas on how Amazon could improve the DX to make it offer more value.

[bluerain44]

Actually, for some jobs, it is worth the price. You're just looking at the wrong market.

One market is Lawyers. Lawyers have to read and mark up mountains of paper every day. Looking at this on a laptop screen is murder. Headaches abound. Lawyers will pay $1000 for it.

[nrg.dude]

Since lawyers overcharge for their services, why should that make it OK for Amazon to overcharge for this product?

[JuergenHartl]

These people will gladly spend the extra cash for a Tablet PC.

[domulys]

"Since lawyers overcharge for their services, why should that make it OK for Amazon to overcharge for this product?"

In a society built on capitalism, it's perfectly acceptable (nay, essential!) for companies to charge whatever they want. Besides, price is often based on cost of production, which in this case is extremely high. Don't want to pay it? Then don't buy it and stop complaining.

[russkeller]

Still as much as I'd like to get one, I'm not paying for it since they're just going to fill it full of ads anyway. Once it's fully supported by ads, subscriptions, and free I'll pick one up.

[TonyV1963]

I'm surprised CNET is bothering to report on the Kindle. The Kindle is a perfect example of stillborn technology. High-end, expensive, overblown, overhyped, and yet obsolete in so many ways to older technology.

[SIGHUP]

Yea, and they should add 2 raid 0 western digital raptors and 4 gigs of ram, a GeForce GTX video card, a Blurray player, Bluetooth and some prepackaged games and movies. Seriously, I am glad Amazon did not listen to people like you and kept it simple with a usable battery life.

[pkbptw]

What you are describing to me sounds like a netbook PC with a touch screen...small screen....light weight...color display...better web browsing capabilities.

[brandonbradshaw]

It appears this is as useless as the iPod. Crippled with DRM, overpriced, and lacking support for crucial formats. I have literally thousands of pdfs waiting for am ereader. Not supporting pdfs natively is a deal breaker, i will not spend my time and treasure sending my pdfs off for conversion

[zyxxy]

I believe the K2 does support PDFs natively.

[ballmerisanape]

"Useless as the iPod" ..."Crippled with DRM"....... Put your Zune down and look around.... it's 2009.

[domulys]

"Put your Zune down and look around.... it's 2009."

Well said!

[monkeyfun14]

Eh actually Zune had DRM free songs before Apple..

If marketed properly, this product could have a huge market in academic scientists and physicians. I have hundreds of pdf documents for every project I work on, that are hard to read and annotate on a laptop, but hard to manage, index, and carry around on paper. Add in the ability to carry around reference works and textbooks and you have a killer product. Add 1) the ability to integrate with EndNote and 2) subscriptions to academic journals and you could really revolutionize how academics interact with literature in their field.

[dave_p_1]

The Kindle is a general purpose toy for the masses. It is not a well designed productivity tool. For example, for physicians, MotionComputing makes a tablet computer that can handle everything the Kindle can but can also display things in color, accept handwritten notes, and can be disinfected using standard hospital disinfectants. Those kinds of details are what separate tools from toys.

That's not to say that toys are bad. if the Kindle 3 has a screen that rolls up (like the one Polymer Vision has demonstrated) it might just be too cool for me to pass up. But right now, meh.

[dave_p_1]

While I agree with the need for a touch screen - not just for highlighting and navigation but also for scribbling notes on a page - I still think the price is just too big a problem.

Amazon needs to work a deal with periodical publishers so that the Kindle is free if you commit to a certain dollar value of subscriptions. For example, home delivery of the NY Times where I live (Washington DC) runs almost $700 per year. I am in no way tempted to subscribe at that rate. However, if I got a Kindle in exchange for the $700 commitment, that would be a different proposition.

[edger]

And what you are describing is a device which is not great for reading for long periods of time and has a limited battery life if using on the go! Still you guys are missing the point as to who and why this technology is interesting and useful. Just because you don't see a purpose or can't afford doesn't mean that others do see a use and can afford.

[dave_p_1]

It's not a question of affording it. I paid $3000 for a computer that runs Vista and fits in my pocket and I pay $70 per month for 3G connectivity. The thing is, I can see the value in those expenditures in my life.

While $500 is no big deal, the Kindle 2 seems, to me, to be a waste of money. I can pay $489 for a Kindle with no books or buy about 60 paperbacks which are smaller and lighter (individually), and are printed at a higher resolution. You can also write on them and you can transfer them temporarily or permanently to friends without worrying about DRM. The only advantages the Kindle has are searching and storage of multiple books in a small space. Personally, I'll take the 60 paperbacks.

[edger]

Brandon.........you are obviously a man of overstatement..........."appears as useless as the iPod"...........even users of other media players have to have some respect that over 100 million iPods have been sold. This alone discounts your comment that the device is useless. It actually is preferred by the overwhelming majority of the buying public

[terminalblue]

it should also have a TV tuner, screensaver, SNES emulator and subwoofer...


SERIOUSLY, the elegance of the kindle is its simplicity and its clear purpose. the PSP suffers from "swiss army syndrome" by packaging way to many features in an unprepared package. $500 is a great price for the DX, keep in mind that it is not for everybody, and the price reflects that.

Would i buy on, yes i would, the larger screen and PDF functionality are plenty worth it. any one that reads numerous PDF's are technical manuals could benefit from it.

If you want a tablet PC then buy one...or an UMPC.

[myles taylor]

I disagree with most of your points but agree with your bundles books one. My main reason for never purchasing an e-Reader is because I'd have to purchase books for it and if I'm going to do that I'll just buy the book. Maybe they should start including digital copies of the books when you buy them. If read a book and love it, I'm going to want a hard copy and then I have to buy it twice. If the books were something like $2 or so I could justify it but it just isn't worth it to me.

I disagree about color and web browsing. It's not what the device is for and those "features" are just thrown in to add some icing to the cake to make it more useful. That's not what it's intended for; so why should they put a lot of effort into developing those features? Color? The whole concept of e-Ink is for it not to be color and easier on the eyes.

I love the idea of making college books available on there for half the price, but as was pointed out in another article, you'd have to have it for three years to see a savings.

[cubbie524]

I don't know who made the statement that it would take 3 years to see a savings.....
If the e-textbooks are almost 50% off than you would have saving the first semester of full time college. 3 years is very innacurate for a true full time student.

I buy books that are 200-300 dollars a piece. It would be nice to have a break in price. Not to mention I am a distance learning student through the University of Massachusetts. All of my books need to be shipped to me in California which is almost 100 dollars for 4 books.

With proper support from major universities the Kindle DX will be the newest technology for students. Not to mention that I have heard Universities will be giving free content like school maps and class notes for download. This would be great information to keep on a Kindle.

[bobt555]

Here's an interesting take on the whole Kindle phenomenon:

http://marquescamp.wordpress.com/2009/04/29/the-end-of-the-world-may-be-nigh-and-its-the-kindles-fault/

[rskolin]

What a useless article! Yeah, it doesn't have a color screen (none of them do), doesn't make phone calls or French toast, or allow you to watch your favorite TV show while your reading. But this is exactly what college students need in lieu of spending tons on textbooks or lugging around 50 pounds of soon-to-be-outdated books in a backpack. You didn't read nor understand why this device was created in the first place. It's an e-reader for heaven's sake!! Get real!

[VoxLocus]

YOU JUST DON'T GET IT.

The Sony Digital Reader is $299. Size of the Kindle 1 & 2. No WiFi. No 3G wireless.

The price of the Kindle(s) includes the 3G wireless. Available in most of the US.

The browser does work, but it is crude by comparison to FireFox on my MacBook Pro. Duh. On the other hand, I can ONLY connect my MPB to the 'net at WiFi hotspots, or to a wire. I have a "subscription" to AT&T WiFI, but I could spend hours driving around towns looking for AT&T hotspots. Sure, there's some free ones. Or I guess I could just park outside someone's house and mooch off their unsecured (usually Linksys) Router.

Guys, the Kindle is a reader. Blogs that come in from Amazon come in great. The Wall Street Journal is easy to read.

The browser? If you have a Kindle, you need to FIND the mobile 'net sites formatted for PDAs. Here's one that works great on the Kindle: http://wapedia.mobi/en/

I'm in "Tornado Alley" and was at a Border's when the tornado sirens started blasting. Border's management, even with their own computers and a WiFi hotspot, couldn't tell how much danger we were in, or how close the storm was to our location.

I flipped open my Kindle, clicked on www.wunderground.com, and pulled up the local radar. Not pretty in greyscale, but certainly clear enough to see the path of the tornadic storm was 10 miles south.

I suppose I COULD sign on to AT&T or Verizon or Sprint or T-Mobile and get a wireless data plan for my computer, at ABOUT $60 A MONTH.

$720 a year for such a plan will more than buy the Kindle DX, which has free wireless thereafter.

[haansman2]

Well, since the reports out of Asia are that Apple has put in massive orders for 9.7 inch (touch?) screens and flash RAM -- I, personally, was amused to see reports on the net and local TV about Kindle DX. My understanding is that Apple will make some sort of Touch/Kindle/NetBook. So I see this product as an attempt to grab a bit of the market before the crush of Apple; IMHO

I totally agree with the suggestion that the Kindle DX is very useful to attorneys, the medical profession and various scientist.

[typefighter]

Until "netpaper" (or whatever substance it was the subway rider was reading in "Minority Report") comes around, I think Amazon is taking Apple's lead here. Don't get bogged down in features you can contain in a thin package. Don't clutter the device or sacrifice battery life with marginal features. And focus on building an online store that locks out competitors. Still not sure I'd buy one, but enough people already have to make the venture worth Amazon's while.

[rgs67]

Has anyone received any other information regarding Amazon's lack of response to its Kindle 2.0 owners lack of upgrade path to the DX platform?

I just received the K 2.0 on 2/25 and am very disappointed in Amazon's lack of support for their current user base. This is the canned email that I received:

Hello,

We don't have an option to upgrade your Kindle to a Kindle DX at this time. I'm sorry if that's disappointing news.

We're still offering the Kindle (2nd Generation) in addition to the Kindle DX, and we're providing support for all three Kindle models.

You do have the option to sell your Kindle and use the proceeds to purchase a Kindle DX.

Strong customer feedback like yours helps us continue to improve the service we provide, and we're glad you took time to write to us. I'll send your comments to the Kindle team.

Thanks for your interest in Amazon Kindle.

Please let us know if this e-mail resolved your question:

If yes, click here:
http://www.amazon.com/rsvp-y?c=bwbeguag3240634061
If not, click here:
http://www.amazon.com/rsvp-n?c=bwbeguag3240634061

Please note: this e-mail was sent from an address that cannot accept incoming e-mail.

To contact us about an unrelated issue, please visit the Help section of our web site.

Best regards,

Jonathan K.
Amazon.com
We're Building Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company http://www.amazon.com/your-account

---- Original message: ----



_____

In response to Amazon's announcement of the Kindle DX I am contacting you in regards to your policy not to provide existing Kindle 2.0 customers and upgrade path to the DX.

My Kindle 2.0 was purchased (2/9) and delivered (2/25) due to shoulder issues that I have and my ability to carry books and periodicals around.

The portability of the product has helped -- but there are limitations in the product offering of periodicals', magazines, newspapers, and text books and I still have to carry additional things.

If I was aware that there would be an upgraded product announced less than two months and after I received the system that better met my needs I would have postponed the purchase of the product.

It is surprising to find that Amazon.com is not providing an upgrade path for many reasons:

a) Kindle 2.0 was purchased (2/9) and delivered (2/25);

b) Since my purchase of the product I have yet to see another Kindle user;

c) Amazon.com is not a hardware manufacturer and this only hurts its image as it enters the a new and emerging market segment;

d) Early Adopters / Technical consumers like myself are examples to the spectrum of potential Kindle consumers from other Early Adopters all the way to the Mass Market Consumer -- Every time I use the Kindle 2.0 in public I am asked how I like the product, its utility and its limitations.

e) When looking for assistance on the site for customer service I was directed to your Costa Rican call center, although they were courteous they were not very helpful in providing me the information I needed to contact your executive brand, marketing, product management teams regarding my issues. All the information I was provided was the [e-mail] address.

Since I was not given a direct contact for this issue stated above I trust that your call center operations have directed me to the appropriate email address to review my comments and concerns.
I am interested to know if anyone has experienced the same lack of support or some other acomodation.

[krschreyer]

They didn't provide an upgrade path for K1 to K2. Apple doesn't provide upgrade paths to new models of iPods. Computer manufacturers don't offer upgrade paths. Console game systems don't provide upgrade paths.

I have no idea why you'd expect one, as they are not an industry norm.

[Regulator7]

Boo hoo. I bought product X and 3 months later Xv2 came out. Welcome to the world of consumer electronics.

[xkrissixo]

Actually selling your old kindle on ebay seems like a good idea seeing as theyre in high demand, then you could use that money to buy a dx (on ebay). but beware they might come out with a dx upgrade very soon seeing as how many consumers have complaints.

[Inconnux]

What a complete waste of money. Black and white reader should be $50 max. I can buy a netbook for far less that does 10x what that thing can do. I can't believe they have sold one of those.

[c-n-e-t]

So with these "few additions" Amazon's DX is supposed to be worth it, huh? What are you, some sort of *******?!!?! What you suggest sounds like a completely different machine! While you were completely revising it why didn't you suggest they include a teleportation button?!?, *******!!