Kindle DX for CCIE

Hi,
I'm toying with buying a kindle DX to help with written study for CCIE. I have a standard kindle, but find the configs and pictures inherent in a Cisco book just too small. Being based in the uk, I can get a DX through amazon.com but after exchange rate and import taxes, it comes out at just under £350. Now this isn't a million miles away from the price of an Ipad. I know the kindle does what it says on the tin and is an exceptional reader. Are any of you using a DX as a study tool, or an Ipad.. has any UK member imported a dx, if so are there any problems with it or unexpected costs?. Interested in any opinions you may have

Andy

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Comments

nel

hey andy,

I have also looked into this and are based in the UK. your right, after import taxes etc it comes to circa £350. Imo thats too close to ipad prices and isnt worth it for what it is. Although if you want a pure ereader device then the DX trumps the standard kindle size as the DX can size the pdfs much better.

For the money i would buy an ipad, but if your like me, my eyes dont take kindly to reading for long amounts of time using LCD screens. but with an ipad you could use it for additional tools such as CBTs etc.

wirerat

If you are close to the IPad price then go for it. I have used the IPad for about a year as a PDF and ebook reader and it has never failed to have very readable text and the illustrations in the tech books are spot on.

and36y

Nel,

Same as you.. the kindle screen is fantastic, its better than a book because you can enlarge text. I commute to london and so have valuable study time on the train.. the kindle suits that purpose perfectly (cisco press books don't open very well on a crowded tube, but the normal kindle works a treat). and you're right about the ipad LCD screen. its the same when trying to read safari books on a pc.. just can't keep concentration, can't follow with a pen (trying to also learn to speed read) but you get gadgets with ipad/android.. dilemma....

Andy

Turgon

and36y wrote: »

Hi,
I'm toying with buying a kindle DX to help with written study for CCIE. I have a standard kindle, but find the configs and pictures inherent in a Cisco book just too small. Being based in the uk, I can get a DX through amazon.com but after exchange rate and import taxes, it comes out at just under £350. Now this isn't a million miles away from the price of an Ipad. I know the kindle does what it says on the tin and is an exceptional reader. Are any of you using a DX as a study tool, or an Ipad.. has any UK member imported a dx, if so are there any problems with it or unexpected costs?. Interested in any opinions you may have

Andy

Things move on don't they? Back in 2002 I used to commute to work with a small rucksack of books and labbooks. Hopefully someone can help you out here as I dont use tablets myself.

jameshardy2012

Hi all, I tried to use an original Kindle but it was pretty useless for techy books - finally took the plunge and bought an ipad2 back in October and I can say its been great - not quite the reading experience of Kindle but so much more versatile. You can even install Teamviewer to pay with your home lab.

TesseracT

I've been very happy with the ipad for studying. Copying pdfs, word docs etc into Dropbox and from there transferring to Good Reader. I've written a bunch of notes in One Note and found a cool free app called Outline which I can use to view them. Haven't tried the Kindle tho

spicy ahi

I have the original ipad and personally I love it as an e-reader. I think a consideration would be whether or not you have sensitive eyes. I can stare at the screen for a long time without any perceived issues (headaches, eye strain, etc.) but my wife can only stare at it for about a half an hour or so before she says she starts experiencing a headache. If staring at the screen doesn't bother you, then I say the iPad is certainly the option. An added bonus is you don't need a reading light at night!

Roguetadhg

Im willing to be atleast 50% of us stare at screen for hours :P

Ive used an Ipad2 over christmas. I gave it back after christmas. Not that I didn't like it, I just felt like reading on the ipad was missing the feel of having a physical book. It was a lot harder to try to highlight too. Good, yes. But I would rather have a Tablet PC with a full fledged OS, instead of a tablet- Whether OS X, Windows, or Unix.

alxx

I use a ipad 2 for a lot of reading. Chip docs and datasheets at work, books etc at home.

Don't use ibooks, get a good reader especially for pdf's with embedded graphics.
ibooks is fine for plain text.(Can view word/office files in drop box,edit them in cloudon or pages/numbers)

ipad2 is okay for reading but for a lot of reading an eink screen beats an lcd screen any day and very easily.
One thing that made a big difference from me is adjusting the brightness for the current conditions then I can read for a few hours,
but if I leave it on default brightness in ibooks get about 30 minutes before headaches strike.

The pixelqi screens are about the best of the lcds for reading - have a reflective mode and work in full bright sun.
Did a bit of work on the olpc software a few years back and the screen on those things is awesome for reading in reflective mode.

Try before you buy. Can you get a freind with a kindle and go to an apple store to compare ?
If you need few free books to test with project gutenburg

Cisco Press are still running the US$9.99 ebook special
$9.99 eBook Deal of the Day
most are in pdf , some in pdf and epub

buzz player can play the cbt nuggets videos on ipad

alxx

If you wanted to claim an ipad for work related expenses Get Console - iPhone iPad Serial Cables and Terminal Apps

Roguetadhg

Alxx, you sir are awesome.

alxx

redpark sell the cable and also normal serial cables for ipad/iphone in the US Redpark Products

The annoying thing with the console app is text doesn't wrap (can be a bit annoying when ipad held vertically)

and36y

Decided on the iPad. Reasons being, safari books, kindle books, cbt nuggets and use it as a console, use it to telnet, ping, trace route. It was big dilemma over the weekend, whether to go iPad or android. Settled on iPad because I could,t find a serial cable example for android...(I'm sure there is one)

Ankdy

blackninja

I have a Kindle DX and thought it was the best thing since sliced bread.

I have since stopped using it for tech books and only use it for general reading, but don't do much of that these days.

I have gone back to books for studying and PDFs just for reference (on my laptop), but find Google is quicker.

Lets hope you stick with it, best of luck.

Turgon

and36y wrote: »

Hi,
I'm toying with buying a kindle DX to help with written study for CCIE. I have a standard kindle, but find the configs and pictures inherent in a Cisco book just too small. Being based in the uk, I can get a DX through amazon.com but after exchange rate and import taxes, it comes out at just under £350. Now this isn't a million miles away from the price of an Ipad. I know the kindle does what it says on the tin and is an exceptional reader. Are any of you using a DX as a study tool, or an Ipad.. has any UK member imported a dx, if so are there any problems with it or unexpected costs?. Interested in any opinions you may have

Andy

For written study you are way better off with books. Use Odom and Doyle. Other than that a PC to use the Odom tests and Boson tests and surf the web to look at documentation on the cisco website. Books or printed copy of text are way better than screens where one scans and it is hard on the eyes. By all means use the Kindle etc for study when books and paper are impractical!

Good luck on the written Andy, nice to see another student from the UK. Stick up a study thread on the CCIE forum.

Turgon

blackninja wrote: »

I have a Kindle DX and thought it was the best thing since sliced bread.

I have since stopped using it for tech books and only use it for general reading, but don't do much of that these days.

I have gone back to books for studying and PDFs just for reference (on my laptop), but find Google is quicker.

Lets hope you stick with it, best of luck.

Printed text is less aggressive on the eyes than screens. Use computers, iPads etc when books and paper are impractical.

blackninja

Turgon wrote: »

Printed text is less aggressive on the eyes than screens. Use computers, iPads etc when books and paper are impractical.

The kindle is just like reading from a book, as it uses real ink to display the text.

No eye strain what so ever, can and have read for hours comfortably.

I just stopped using it for studying as I prefer books.
Can scribble in the margin, tape ref points to pages to come to back later etc.

and36y

Thanks for your input everyone... I too prefer reading from books, being able to flick from chapter to index to appendices can't be beaten.I will be using books for all home study and the IPAD for the hour I can get on the train everyday.

Andy

Plazma

I bought a kindle DX primarily for my CCIE studies. I'm in the US and back in Nov during "Black friday" I got it + a case for $300 US .. and it's well worth the money. I also do like to read when I can. I have lots of scar tissue from corneal ulcers on my eyes, so reading intensely on a computer screen really singes my retinas, so having something that doesn't do that is in my best interest.

I've got all the INE workbooks on their as well as Ruhann's Short notes and they display fine for the most part. Ruhann's comes up a bit small for me, but he's stated on his site the Kindle isn't technically 'supported' so.. I'm not overly concerned with it.