Amazon Kindle DX

Overview

The Kindle DX, which sells for $489 from Amazon, was introduced in May 2009, a few months after Kindle 2 supplanted the original. With the larger 9.7 inch screen, the DX was made for reading newspapers, magazines, PDF documents, and textbooks more easily than the smaller Kindle 2.

It has official Adobe PDF support, which makes it a good option for students and business professionals who need to carry around a bunch of textbooks and technical PDF documents. Textbooks for the DX are also much cheaper than their hardcover equivalents.

The DX is now available internationally. For information specific to your country, such as wireless coverage area and ebook selection, you can visit our Kindle International page.

Appearance and Specifications

The Kindle DX is 10.4” x 7.2” x 0.4”, slightly smaller than an opened DVD case, and weighs 18.9 ounces. It has a 1200 x 824 pixel display that supports sixteen shades of gray, and you can switch between landscape and portrait modes simply by rotating the device. The DX doesn't have any external memory slots, but it comes with 4GB of internal memory that can hold up to 3500 books.

Kindle DX

Like most ebook readers, Kindle incorporates E Ink Vizplax imaging to simulate the look of ink on paper. When you turn a page, millions of E Ink micro-capsules rearrange to either white or black to display the text on the epaper screen.

This causes the screen to refresh as you turn each page, making it to blink for a split second, but you get used to it fairly quickly. The text is very crisp and clear, and can be viewed comfortably in bright light, unlike backlit computers and phones.

Users who own both the Kindle DX and K2 comment that the DX has a higher contrast ratio, giving it slightly darker, sharper text than the Kindle 2.

E Ink and epaper technology greatly improve battery-life, giving the Kindle DX up to 7500 page-turns with a single charge. This equates to about 2 weeks of use, or 4 days if you're doing a lot of wireless navigation.

Amazon also states that after 500 charges, the battery will still hold 80% of its original charge, meaning most users can get about a decade out of each battery. Batteries are not user changeable; Amazon requires you to send it to them for replacement. The cost is said to be $60.

The unit comes with an AC adapter and USB cable, along with a quick start guide. It does not come with a cover. Recharging the battery takes about four hours.

Amazon's Video Demonstration

Features and Perks List

The free wireless Whispernet is fast and easy to use; most books download in less than a minute. And you can download and read the first chapter of a book before you decide to buy.

The wireless service doesn't end with books. The basic browser gives users access to Wikipedia, you can check your email, and the device also doubles as a GPS, working with Google Maps.

Kindle on iPhone

Amazon offers an application to sync your Kindle with your iPhone and iPod touch, allowing for easy transfer of books; it even saves what page you were on so that whichever device you use, you'll be right where you left off.

Users can bookmark, highlight, and search for synonyms and definitions right on the page. Pages can be noted upon and saved as clippings and text files. All clippings are added to a single file that can be downloaded over a USB cable.

The Amazon Kindle DX remembers the last page read for each book.

The built in Adobe PDF support, with highlighted searches and page numbers.

Ideal for people with poor vision, the DX has a Zoom feature and six levels of text size, up to nearly a 1/4” letters.

The Kindle DX has a controversial text-to-speech feature (the Authors Guild claims this violates copyright laws). The voice is computer generated and sounds slightly odd at times but is overall fairly decent. You can choose either a male of female voice. Authors and publishers now determine if this feature is active or not for a specific book.

It also supports MP3 playback, as well as audiobooks. You can listen with the built-in speakers or plug into the headphone jack.

All your books are automatically backed up by Amazon, but personal files aren't.

Works with both Windows and Mac computers.

Cons

The most common user complaints are:

The $489 price tag.
Organizing books can be difficult because there is no option to create customized folders for organizing ebooks and documents (Amazon is reportedly working on a firmware update for this feature that is supposed to be released in early 2010).
No native EPUB support; you have to convert files with Calibre.
eBooks and other digital content cost more outside the US.
Publishers don't allow for the same selection of ebooks outside the US, although Amazon states they are working toward making their entire library accessible to everyone.
It only comes in white.
It doesn't come with a cover.
The mini keyboard is unneeded 90% of the time; touchscreen would be better.
No external memory card slots.
Limited format capabilities and proprietary DRM. Picking up the bill for the wireless service, Amazon wants users to download ebooks exclusively from them. But there are a number of places that have Kindle-supported formats for free or without DRM (see ebook section below).

eBooks and More for Kindle DX

Kindle Library

Visit our dedicated Kindle eBooks and More page for a comprehensive listing of available content, including free ebooks, newspapers, magazines, and RSS news feeds. You'll also find a search box on that page if you want to see if Amazon has books from your favorite authors.

Kindle DX Accessories

Kindle Skins

If you are looking for covers, skins, screen protectors, lights, or power adaptors for your Kindle, you can visit our Accessories Page for more information about them. Skins are a good way to customize, like the one shown to the left. And there are hundreds of varieties.

Supported Formats

Text: Amazon's proprietary format AZW, PDF, TXT, unprotected MOBI/PRC.
Audio: AAX, AA, MP3.
Amazon converts PDF, HTML, DOC (Word), RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, MOBI, PRC to their AZW format.

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