Amazon Kindle DX Review

This review will concentrate on the Amazon Kindle DX. It should be noted right away that the Kindle DX may not be for everyone. This is a very powerful and versatile device that delivers incredible screen resolution as well as many other features that some consumers simply may not need. For those who are looking for a less expensive device that still delivers top quality, the Kindle 2 may be the better choice.

For those who need it, the Kindle DX is one of the best options you have on the market today. This is especially true for students and business professionals.

The Amazon Kindle DX offers a much larger screen than its competitors. The eInk Screen that comes standard on this model is a whooping 9.7 inches, which is over twice as large as that found on the Kindle 2. This larger screen makes this device ideal for those who need to read textbooks or business-related documents. The Kindle DX screen provides a sharp, clean text that is noticeably better than much of what is found on other devices, including the Kindle 2. The eInk Screen provides a level of quality that it reduces eye strain down to almost nothing. Screen resolution is 1200 by 824, with 16 shades of grey.

Also associated with this high-quality screen is its easy ability to change font sizes. Those with vision impairments will find this feature very beneficial. Not only can users change the font size, but they can also adjust the number of words for each line, as well as the spacing between lines. The largest size of font is just under one-quarter of an inch.

The Amazon Kindle DX offers PDF Support. Unlike many other devices, the Kindle DX comes with official Adobe PDF support. The visual quality of downloaded PDFs is superb. Pages contain page numbers, and PDFs are searchable, with the given search string being highlighted once found.

The ability to download native PDF files is one of the most impressive and useful features of this device for those who work with PDF files. In fact, this one feature is often cited as the main reason many business professionals choose this device over others.

For students, the Amazon Kindle DX is a gem. It allows for easy downloading of text books and the huge screen makes reading those textbooks a pleasure. Textbooks can be downloaded at a very fast speed, often in less than a minute. In addition, Amazon Kindle edition books are often very inexpensive when compared to their hardcover cousins. The built-in dictionary and Wikipedia access also make this a good choice for students.

Students will be interested in knowing that three of largest textbook publishers are currently available for Kindle DX downloads. They are: Addison Wiley, Pearson, and Prentice Hall, Longman. Many others are also on-line and the number is expected to increase.

There is also free wireless internet with this device through WhisperNet. This allows users to connect to the web wirelessly. The built-in browser can handle most internet needs but it does have some limitations.

The Amazon Kindle DX can store up to around 3500 books, periodicals, magazines, and textbooks. The Amazon Kindle Store currently contains about 7,000 free public domain books which can be downloaded at no charge to the user. Consumers can also subscribe to major periodicals such as The New York Times.

The Kindle DX also comes with the Read to Me function. This allows text to speech in a clarity that is very impressive. This can be benefit for those who wish to explore the material on their Kindle DX as they drive, work, or do other things with their hands and eyes. It should be noted that publishers now have the right to turn this feature off if they wish. While some publishers have chosen to disable, most have not. The Kindle DX also sports long battery life. The device will run for four days with wireless in the on setting, and it will run for two weeks (or so) with wireless turned off.

The available storage for the Kindle DX is impressive, coming in at 3.3 GB. Most consumers and business professionals will find that this is plenty of space.

The device also comes with access to Amazon's free cloud storage. This means that any books you purchase from Amazon are kept stored in their cloud (or storage area). You can then download the books whenever you wish. There are currently over 300,000 books in the Amazon inventory.

The Kindle DX is a slim 0.38 inch thick and weighs in at only 18.9 ounces.

Overall Impressions: For those who need to work with textbooks, PDF files, business documents or who have vision impairments, this is the best choice on the market today. Many of the features you find on the Amazon Kindle DX are simply not available on other devices. If we were giving out stars, this would earn five out of five.