Amazon Kindle DX - My Experience

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Look, for a long time I was skeptical of these new fangled "E-readers". I have always loved to read and lets be honest, who doesn't love the smell of REAL books?! I know I do... maybe a little too much ;) Anyway, after a lot of resistance on my part I finally broke down and decided to do some research on the most popular E-reader in the world, The Kindle and specifically the Kindle DX.

The Amazon Kindle has been a wildly popular E-reader for the last 2 years now. That is to say people buy this thing droves, nay, MOBS! It has been the best selling item on Amazon.com, the most wished for item on Amazon and has more 5 star reviews than any other product thats sold on Amazon. (The best place to buy a Kindle will obviously be Amazon.com)

They frequently run sales on the Kindle and the Kindle DX to get more out the door but other than those times they have a pretty standard price. The Kindle DX is $379, the Kindle with Wi-Fi is $139 and the Kindle with free 3G is $189.

The Kindle Ebook Readers produced by Amazon are some of the hottest products on the market today. There are 3 different versions of the Kindle: Kindle Wi-Fi, Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi, and the Kindle DX. The Kindle DX is nearly $200 more than the Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi and for good reason. 

The main reason it costs more is that the Kindle DX is considerable larger than the other lower priced versions. It comes with a 9.7" screen (measured diagonally) and has a different layout than the others. The Kindle Wi-Fi and Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi both have much smaller 6" inch screens. 

It really just depends on what you prefer. I personally love the bigger screen but for many the smaller screen is not an issue especially for the lower price you get. 

The kindle uses a special E-ink screen so your eyes don't get worn out by looking at a bright monitor while you're reading. The effect this technology creates is really cool because it looks just like text on paper. Its easy to read and most importantly easy on the eyes so you can read just as easily as if you were reading a real book or newspaper. The E-ink they use also has no glare like regular computer screens that are backlit.

The Kindle DX is ideal for reading newspapers and anything with a lot of graphics too. Because of its large screen it makes consuming graphics rich material much easier to do. 

When I was younger sometimes I would get bored and start going through my family's encyclopedia and read about the most random things. And with the development of Wikipedia and easy access to the Internet The largest encyclopedia is at my fingertips all day long. You can probably imagine how much real work I get done ;) To this day I feel as though I know more useless trivial facts about the world than anyone else. I should probably go on jeopardy and make millions… maybe another day.

Anyway the reason I'm telling you this is because Kindles are all integrated with Wikipedia. To me this was mind blowing. I loved it. I cant tell you how many times I've been reading a book somewhere and I come across a reference that I don't know about or would like to know more about and I have no way to get some more context on what the author is trying to communicate. Now the second I run into something that makes me inquisitive and I go straight to Wikipedia VIA the 3G network and get everything I want to know. I can tell you this one feature will enhance your reading experience ten fold! That 10X!!! That's ALOT! :)

Ok so I know I may have freaked you out a little with my wikipedia nerdiness/enthusiasm so i'll try to tone it down a bit for this next part. Kindles also come with a built in dictionary. This makes more sense and you kind of expect that would come with one but its such a useful tool to have right at your fingertips that its easy to miss when you go back to reading a normal book.

I like to think my vocabulary is expansive (In fact I like to say that I have a very 'robust vernacular' just to impress my nieces and nephews) but there come times when EVEN I don't know a certain word or would like to clarify the meaning of a word. Impossible, I know, but its true ;) We all know reading books expands your vocabulary but reading books with dictionary just one touch away accelerates that expansion. The Kindles built in dictionary is very valuable even though its not one of the flashy bullet points that Amazon's likes to advertise.

Coming in at just one third of an inch the Kindle DX is as thin as your typical magazine. No need to worry about carrying around yet another bulky device. Its easy to pack and characteristically light. 

The speed at which you can download books is exciting as well. You can access Amazons Kindle library and download an ebook in less than 60 seconds. If a friend recommends a great book or you've been dying to read something getting access to it has never been easier. 

The Kindle E-reader DX also comes with free 3G wireless. There are no contracts that come with that and no monthly payments so you don't need to worry about buying into a money sucking product.

The extraordinary thing about the Kindle DX is the long battery life. You can go for up to a week straight with your wireless turned on before you need to recharge it. And if you turn your wireless 3G internet off you can go for 2-3 times that.

Additionally you can hold more than 3000 different books on your Kindle DX. It's the perfect gift for the readers in your family.

One of the really cool features about the Kindle DX is that you can sync it up with all your devices. So if you'd like to read your books on your phone simply use Whispersync's innovative technology to sync and you're good to go.

You can highlight and share passages that stand out to you directly from your Kindle DX too. Post to Facebook or Twitter anytime you come across something you just know will interest your friends, family and followers.

The free wireless 3G coverage allow you to access the internet at home and in more than 100 countries worldwide.

Your Kindle DX also has a built in PDF reader, an auto-rotating screen and cool 'read-to-me' feature. 

With the PDF reader its very simple to carry all your important documents with you and ready to access at the push of a button. You can also easily zoom in to view small print on your PDF's that may be otherwise hard to read. 

The Auto-rotating screen moves quickly to adapt to your more comfortable reading postion. Whether you're reading a report with large graphics or simple want a new feel the Kindle DX will adjust to your needs. 

"the screen is also sharper and crisper than my Kindle 2 in a side-by-side comparison: the text is darker, and the contrast is much better, making for better visibility overall." - Alexander Scherr

"I am really satisfied by the new Kindle. It is an excellent reader. I found the screen contrast and resolution amazing, having been a systematic user of a Sony E-reader. Also, the battery lasts really long, reading is a pleasure!" - Nikos Vlandis

"Just purchased the larger 9.7 Kindle. I am the envy of all e-book device readers. Having used for 3 weeks, there are a few things I would change. Disappointed that it was not available in color as the NOOK now is" - stroup