Amazon Kindle DX Review: Is It Worth The 489-Dollar Price Tag?
Anyone who owns or is thinking of buying a Kindle 2 has no doubt heard of the recent launch of the Kindle DX. If you are the former, this could be a great time to upgrade and if you are the latter, it could be a tough decision you have to make. When you are looking to spend the kind of money the Kindle costs, you don’t want to leap without looking. But if you do your research beforehand, you can be assured you will get the model that works best for you. And this Amazon Kindle DX Review should get you started nicely.
The Kindle 2 is the older of the two units and as such, has slightly less to offer in terms of size and capability. It is a smaller device that measures 8″ x 5.3″ x 0.36″ with a 6″ diagonal screen. At only 10.2 ounces, slightly more than half a pound, it is a perfect handheld ebook reader. And when you bear in mind that its 2GB hard drive can hold roughly 1,500 books, it’s hard to imagine you would ever find yourself without a good book at your side. The Kindle 2 sells for 259 dollars right now, making it way more affordabe than the Kindle DX.
Now enter the new Kindle DX. So what does it bring to the table besides its high price? For one, it takes reading to a whole new level by its bigger size at 10.4″ x 7.2″ x 0.38″ and an impressive 9.7-inch screen that auto-rotates. Go from portrait to landscape mode by just turning the device in your hand. This makes it a great device for reading newspapers and books that come with illustrations, and looking over charts and maps. With that size though, it also tips the scale at 18.9 ounces, nearly twice that of the Kindle 2.
The Kindle DX has twice the capacity to hold books, boasting of a 4GB hard drive. It can also natively read PDF files which is a huge convenience as the previous models required file conversion. All these features are available at the price of 489 dollars.
Just because the Kindle DX is the newer version doesn’t necessarily mean it is the better one. It may have plenty of features the Kindle 2 doesn’t, but the Kindle 2 has size on its side. The DX works well at home, but the Kindle 2 still wins out in terms of portability. The price difference may be a head-turner as well. While the DX has a lot more to offer, the Kindle 2 is still a great ebook reader and costs quite a bit less. For many people, the Kindle 2 may have all the features they need. It still replaces crumbling old books or the dozen textbooks in your backpack. Whichever one suits you best, you cannot really go wrong with Amazon’s ebook readers.
