Amazon Kindle DX First Impressions

After playing with the DX this weekend, here are my first impressions of the device:

• It’s much heavier than the Kindle 2, noticably so. This causes trouble for those Kindle users that have lauded the ability to read one-handed or holding the device above your head. It’s still easier to take on vacation or a business trip than a pile of hardcovers, but is not ideal for one-handed reading while grasping onto a train pole.
• There’s no Next Page or Previous Page buttons on the left side. I’m not saying this is a positive or a negative, but just something to be aware of.
• The official Kindle DX Cover from Amazon (which is not included in your purchase of the DX) is now magnetic. The edges are magnetically strong enough to hold shut around your Kindle. This is a nice feature to prevent pens, papers and other items in your bag from falling in between the Kindle screen and the cover.
• It appears to have faster page turns and loads than the Kindle 2 (which had faster page turns than the original Kindle). It’s especially noticeable while browsing the Kindle Store.
• This may be obvious, but far more content fits on each page than on the Kindle 2. Thanks to the larger screen size, you won’t have to turn the pages as often.
• Landscape mode is interesting. It works well while holding the device vertically, however if you are holding it horizontally (reading while laying down or placing it on a desk), it doesn’t work as well. Turning pages in landscape mode is a little more difficult since the buttons are designed to be accessible when holding the device normally. I’m also not quite sure what landscape mode is good for.
• Thanks to the larger screen size, the book covers in the Kindle Store are much larger and easier to browse through.
• Articles with accompanying pictures display more cleanly. For example, while viewing the latest Amazon Daily blog entries, pictures aren’t pushed to the next page in order to display them. Often, you can see the image next to the text that is referencing it.

After spending some time with the device, I quickly decided to stick with my Kindle 2 and give the DX to my husband. The DX is simply too large for my reading purposes. I often read on the train, holding onto the Kindle with one hand and a pole with the other. The DX is too heavy and unwieldy for that. However, I can see how some people might find it to be just their size.

Since I won’t be using the device full time, my husband is going to write a guest review of the DX once he has had a chance to experiment with it. Stay tuned for that review soon.