Kindle VS Kindle DX

Bokeh

Ok Im going to get an e-reader, and just not sure which one of these two to get. Those of you who have them, would you prefer one model over the other? Ive only gotten a chance to play with the new Kindle, and not the DX model. No one has it on display here. I mainly want it for PDFs, and a few other books for studying. So let me know what you think.

Devilsbane

If you want pdf then you have to go DX. The standard one will distort any graphics.

mikej412

I use my Kindle DX for PDFs and studying and the 3rd Generation 6" Kindle for recreational reading and travel.

RobertKaucher

Love my DX. I use it for mostly PDFs but I also have an addiction to Victorian era fiction, which I listen to in the car. Every now and again I buy an IT book that has text-to-speech enabled. But only if it has text-to-speech. Other wise I just get the physical or download the PDF from Safari.

Mike-Mike

PC World magazine's newest issue reviews the regular kindle and gave it a near perfect score, they only took off for the PDF's on it, but in the same boat they prefer it for it's smaller size

Sabalo

Interesting replies. I am also looking at picking up a Kindle, or a Nook, or an iPad. I'm leaning towards the Kindle DX for the e-ink, larger size (tech manuals) and to a lesser degree the 3G service. Alas, the 3G service is not listed in Iraq (duh) Kuwait, or Qatar... three of my major stops at this time.

I can use the USB sync, I suppose.

$379 is not too shabby for the size of the reader.

Bokeh

How does the Kindle do if the PDFs are converted to Amazon's native format? I found a few programs last night that are freeware that can convert the files. I just like the smaller version, but if I have to go to the DX model I will.

DevilWAH

I know a big difference. The DX is not avalible off the UK amazon website!!

RobertKaucher

Bokeh wrote: »

How does the Kindle do if the PDFs are converted to Amazon's native format? I found a few programs last night that are freeware that can convert the files. I just like the smaller version, but if I have to go to the DX model I will.

If you intend on reading any books with graphics, and what IT book does not have graphics, you will have to go witht he DX. Which programs are you looking at for conversion? I will test a few on mine and my wife's and send pics. She has a standard, I have a DX.

dales

DevilWAH wrote: »

I know a big difference. The DX is not avalible off the UK amazon website!!

if you go to amazon.com they have a seperate page you can get it from delivered to the UK, dont think your gaining much by the exchange rate though the old import tax 'n wot not soon brings it back up to near the dollars amount.

I love my dx its awesome for pdf's I've loaded all my mspress books onto it and its much better than the 6" sony I had a while back, I can actually read an MS book as it would be laid out on physical paper. Anything smaller than a DX for PDF's would be unreable, I found the layout created by a 6" reader to be confusing at best and clunky.

ziggi138

I love my DX. I have no trouble reading any of my MSpress books in.pdf format on it. I have found that the Sybex boooks tend to use smaller fonts, so i have to turn the kindle on its side for the "zoom" feature, but it still reads nicely. I tried reading a .pdf on my wife's 6" kindle, and it didnt do well at all. I would fork out the extra cash and get the DX IMHO.

Plantwiz

For those interested:
Colour e-readers coming but not from Amazon or Sony (yet) – Telegraph Blogs

I don't see how color (colour) will make a big difference.

I would agree, I like the DX size, but that price point needs to come down a bit.

I thought I'd bite on the $199 price point, but after playing with Nooks, Kindles and iPads...they are still too small or missing features to swing me completely over to an e-reader...getting closer, but not there yet. The iPad is nice...just way too expensive for me for a book reader.

I'd like a touch screen, a usb or card port (sd or micro etc..) add-on and a battery that can be changed easily by the end-user. Color is not a deal breaker for myself and of all the readers I've tested, they are far too slow at turning the page and I find that point annoying especially when I'm reading page-to-page rather then merely searching for some point.

jmritenour

All things being equal, I think I'd rather have an iPad, and just get the Kindle & Nook apps for it. Between those two, and Apple's iBook app, I'd be able to handle pretty much any ebook format out there.

DevilWAH

jmritenour wrote: »

All things being equal, I think I'd rather have an iPad, and just get the Kindle & Nook apps for it. Between those two, and Apple's iBook app, I'd be able to handle pretty much any ebook format out there.

My only issue with IPADS is you can't read them out side (or in any direct sunlight). Laying in bed at night with the lights out, I am sure they are great.

But they are not an Ebook reader and will never be much good as one in my view.

jmritenour

A good anti-glare screen protector mitigates the sunlight problem to a degree.

Myself, I still like those low-tech "book" things, so it's all the same to me. I guess I'd just prefer an iPad since it would be able to serve more than one purpose other than being an e-reader. Like running apps that make fart noises on command.

thehourman

@Boken,
Dude, if those books do not have bullets, picture, graphs, tables, etc. It will be fine; however, if the books have those it will be pretty messy. Most of the time they are unreadable.
I have the Graphite DX.

@jmritenour,
I think you will strain your eyes even more when reading using the iPad in direct sunlight. Because sunlight is much brighter than the LCD backlit, so even though you have managed to get rid of the glare, the screen will still be dark.



I do own both, and use them together. Sometimes I like to use the iPad and sometimes the DX. The cool thing about the iPad is that you can have your CBT videos, and make notes and stuff straight to the PDF.

The app that I use is Goodreader. It is pretty darn good for $1.99. It does support PDF, txt, audio, videos. Transferring files is really easy, I use the wifi file transfer.

But for reading purposes the Kindle DX would do a better job. It does look like a paper, and my eyes like it.

Sabalo

jmritenour wrote: »

All things being equal, I think I'd rather have an iPad, and just get the Kindle & Nook apps for it. Between those two, and Apple's iBook app, I'd be able to handle pretty much any ebook format out there.

I considered an iPad, but rejected it due to the TCO. The way I figured it:

$629: Minimum price for a 16GB model with 3G
$15 monthly for the minimum data plan.
$25 for "high end" data plan.
$360 - $600 - Data Fees over a 24 month period (standard gadget refresh for me)

TCO: $989 - $1229

Granted, it is more flexible... but if my primary use is as a book reader, I can do much better.... and open my laptop when I need more functionality. That's just me though. I'm not the target market for the iPad, I suspect.

Now, maybe if I could share my data plan between devices (I could not before) I would consider it. $25 to swap between my phone / ipad / laptop would be well worth it and would not cost AT&T anything extra.

Sett

I have Kindle 3 and I'll not recommend it if you want to use it for pdf's with graphics. It displays one whole page on the screen at once and the result is that the text and the images are too small and almost impossible to read. The convertion will not help because the images in the pdfs are vector ones and during the conversion they are lost but the text is preserved without any problems. If you have pdfs with raster images (which I think is rare thing) the conversion works and the result is good. I've also tried conversion from .chm books and this is also fine. For reading for pleasure the Kindle is #1, I love it, just don't buy it with the idea to read your tech pdfs on it. I don't know how the DX is.