Love my Kindle DX
Well I've had the Kindle DX for a while. Here's my random collection of thoughts.
It's heavier than the Kindle 2 but it doesn't bother me. I have a bad hand and reduced strength but I'm still able to hold it somewhat easily in my hand. Holding it's a moot point since it usually just rests on my leg or on my stomach. Guy has the smaller one but I'd rather have the bigger version.
PDF viewing is usually fine. This depends on how the PDF was rendered. There's no real zoom on the PDF viewer on the Kindle so you're somewhat stuck at the default size. You can rotate it and cut the page in half. This increases the text and image size but that's about it. If someone decided to put two pages on a single PDF page, you're stuck reading very small print.
I don't use the text to speech option. It's like having a book read to me by Steven Hawking. It's jarring to imagine Sookie Stackhouse (a young blond waitress from the South) speaking like this:
"I...wa...ted...for...my...fiiiiiirssst....vam....pi...re....to....shooow....up."
I haven't used the mp3 playback yet.
Battery charging is pretty decent. I charge it about every four days even though I could charge it less if I wanted.
The clip on light works fine. The only issue is you can't have the light directly over the Kindle. You'll get a bright area that washes out the text. As long as you put it at an angle you're fine. The light adds to the weight but not that much. Sometimes I just clip the light to the lamp and use it that way. The light is somewhat concentrated so I can read while Guy's in bed next to me.
The web browser is VERY BASIC but it's better than no browser at all. Most of the side links you tend to ignore show up first on the kindle so you have to scroll though links before you get to the meat of a page. For example, TVtropes.org has about 4 pages of links (The Kindle renders those first and then the "real content"). I usually just click Next Page 3 times and I'm there. If you're viewing text centric sites you'll be fine. Anything more pretty becomes semi frustrating. It's not like you're seeing a small version of your favorite website but rather a row of content. Image a three column table. Instead of seeing them side by side sometimes it'll render like a long list.
The internet connection is free so I can access my favorite sites. It's somewhat slow (or it's taking time to render). Either way it's not as fast as surfing on my desktop.
Ordering books is easy. I ordered Skeleton Crew from Stephen King and I was able to read it by the time I walked to the back bedroom.
"There's just something about holding a old book in your hand". There probably is but I seem to be reading MORE with the Kindle. Despite it being heavier, I find the Kindle is easier on my arm muscles since I can just put it on my abdomen. I don't seem to miss the old paper books too much.
So if you like reading... get a Kindle DX. =)
It's heavier than the Kindle 2 but it doesn't bother me. I have a bad hand and reduced strength but I'm still able to hold it somewhat easily in my hand. Holding it's a moot point since it usually just rests on my leg or on my stomach. Guy has the smaller one but I'd rather have the bigger version.
PDF viewing is usually fine. This depends on how the PDF was rendered. There's no real zoom on the PDF viewer on the Kindle so you're somewhat stuck at the default size. You can rotate it and cut the page in half. This increases the text and image size but that's about it. If someone decided to put two pages on a single PDF page, you're stuck reading very small print.
I don't use the text to speech option. It's like having a book read to me by Steven Hawking. It's jarring to imagine Sookie Stackhouse (a young blond waitress from the South) speaking like this:
"I...wa...ted...for...my...fiiiiiirssst....vam....pi...re....to....shooow....up."
I haven't used the mp3 playback yet.
Battery charging is pretty decent. I charge it about every four days even though I could charge it less if I wanted.
The clip on light works fine. The only issue is you can't have the light directly over the Kindle. You'll get a bright area that washes out the text. As long as you put it at an angle you're fine. The light adds to the weight but not that much. Sometimes I just clip the light to the lamp and use it that way. The light is somewhat concentrated so I can read while Guy's in bed next to me.
The web browser is VERY BASIC but it's better than no browser at all. Most of the side links you tend to ignore show up first on the kindle so you have to scroll though links before you get to the meat of a page. For example, TVtropes.org has about 4 pages of links (The Kindle renders those first and then the "real content"). I usually just click Next Page 3 times and I'm there. If you're viewing text centric sites you'll be fine. Anything more pretty becomes semi frustrating. It's not like you're seeing a small version of your favorite website but rather a row of content. Image a three column table. Instead of seeing them side by side sometimes it'll render like a long list.
The internet connection is free so I can access my favorite sites. It's somewhat slow (or it's taking time to render). Either way it's not as fast as surfing on my desktop.
Ordering books is easy. I ordered Skeleton Crew from Stephen King and I was able to read it by the time I walked to the back bedroom.
"There's just something about holding a old book in your hand". There probably is but I seem to be reading MORE with the Kindle. Despite it being heavier, I find the Kindle is easier on my arm muscles since I can just put it on my abdomen. I don't seem to miss the old paper books too much.
So if you like reading... get a Kindle DX. =)