May 6th, 2009
Amazon Kindle DX: The solution to a problem that doesn't exist
From the first moment I picked up Amazon’s new large-format e-reader, the Kindle DX, I liked it. The plastic was smooth to the touch, the flat e-ink screen was easy on the eyes, and the large 9.7-in. screen only magnified just how thin the device really is.
Oh, and less page-turning, naturally.
For the most part, I like the design of the Kindle DX, whose lines it shares with its smaller sibling, the Kindle 2. The sloping corners and wide buttons are made for hands, briefcases and purses. The e-ink, by its very nature, is relaxing to your eyes and versatile in different lighting. The device is thin and light, but not flimsy. Really, the only detail complicating the device’s form is the gaggle of Casio calculator watch-style buttons at the bottom.
Amazon must truly be given credit for the Kindle family, its first foray into hardware: after all, how do you reinvent the book — a format that has been perfected over thousands of years?
But a book isn’t Amazon’s declared aim with the Kindle DX, though those with poor eyesight may prefer it over the smaller six-inch Kindle model. Instead of books, Amazon would like to bring you more content to read: newspapers, magazines, textbooks. The company’s “Kindle Vision” is to bring you content to read in 60 seconds. The DX is an extension of that goal, but it doesn’t take a radically different path.
Andrew J. Nusca is an associate editor for ZDNet and SmartPlanet.
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| 05/06/09
