Kindle DX Reader: Not Ready for Prime Time

My university purchased me a Kindle DX Reader ($500) to assess this mode of book distribution. Amazon, the maker of Kindle, is targeting the textbook market with this third-generation model.

More generally, there is growing interest among publishers in e-books but no reader yet to make the choice truly palatable. The first Kindle Readers were "gee-whiz" show-off devices with severe limitations. Was the Kindle DX different? Here is my experience and review:

The product started burning images into the screen by day 3 and then just froze (I returned it). But here is my assessment:

STRENGTHS:

*9.7" screen (diagonal) is right for a tradebook

*Rotation of page: rotate to landscape and it adjusts accordingly

*Highlighting and note taking ability

*Reads well in sunshine

*Wireless works on regular wi-fi

WEAKNESSES:

*Price

*Limited selection of titles

*Slow loading of pages

*No color (black, white, gray)

*Clumsy 5-way controller -- a single button the size of a small ant is used for almost all commands. It drove me crazy trying to navigate, highlight, etc. One tiny slip and off you are to some other category.



*Notetaking and highlighting: I downloaded a book and loaded it. I then highlighted (very difficult) and took notes (a bit less difficult). HOWEVER, the closed-system model makes it difficult to get the notes ("My Clippings") to a computer or flash key. It converts to plain .TXT -- can you imagine?? Zotero in Firefox is far, far superior (see zotero.org). You can carry over the highlighted book but can only read it on the Kindle.

*No touch screen function: THIS is essential for the way people interact with books. What I really want is a tablet PC reduced to this size and thinness with ability to touch screen and make notes. Like a very large iPhone or Tablet PC with electronic ink. (Why doesn't some computer company do it? I hear Fujitsu has a $1,000 model that is much better but only available in Japan).

*File conversion: I planned on using Kindle to read all sorts of documents. It uploads PDFs easily from a PC but any other format must be emailed to your kindle address and then converted FOR A FEE!! A simple .doc might cost you several bucks.

*Complexity: The quick start guide wasn't enough. I had to download the 100 page manual to really understand how to get around.

*Audiobooks: ONLY available from -- you got it -- an Amazon site named Audible.com with a proprietary format (AAX).

*Search function: you can search across all of your stored items BUT ONLY THE META DATA (author, title, ISBN). Useless. With advanced desktop search engines, I was very disappointed in being able to locate content.

BOTTOM LINE:

Amazon is attempting a "closed" eco-system much like Apple products. That is one reason why I never became a Mac user--too many restrictions. However, Amazon's Kindle makes Mac look open-source friendly and Apple's design is far superior. No wonder people are speculating that Apple, not Amazon, will deliver on the promise of a worthwhile e-book reader (even though Steve Jobs infamously mocked books by saying that "people don't read anymore"). Let's hope that someone delivers on that promise because the technology is available.

GRADE: F