High Tech Gadgets and Electronics

What is a Kindle DX vs Kindle 2?

The latest in Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader family – the DX was announced in early May, just a few weeks after the launch of the Kindle 2 in February. And since then Kindle owners and prospective owners have been speculating about just how significant the changes and improvements in the DX compared with the Kindle 2 actually were. If you’re an existing Kindle owner or if you’re an avid reader wondering which of the two devices would be the best for your needs, then check out the comparison below:

Display

The Kindle DX has a 9.7″ screen (measured from corner to corner) – which is two and a half times bigger than the Kindle 2’s 6″ screen. Additional to the larger display size, the DX screen has an auto-rotate function which allows you to change from the standard portrait mode to landscape mode just by rotating the device. This makes the DX a better option for reading newspapers, magazines and any other text which contains graphics.

Overall Device SizeThe DX has overall dimensions of 10.4″ X 7.2″ X 0.38″ and weighs in at 18.9 ounces. The Kindle 2 has external dimensions of 8″ X 5.3″ X 0.36″ and a weight of 10.2 ounces. So, whilst the Kindle DX isn’t too large or heavy to carry around, the Kindle 2 is the more portable of the two devices.

On Board Memory Storage Capacity

The DX has 4 GB of internal memory – which equates to storage for approximately 3,500 books. The Kindle 2 has 2GB of storage, sufficient for around 1,500 books – not too bad, and enough to keep most people supplied with reading matter for a long while, but still some way short of the DX.

PDF Support

The Kindle 2 can read pdf files – but only after you e-mailed them to Amazon for conversion. There is a fee – very small admittedly – for the conversion. All in all, a bit of a fuss. The DX on the other hand has onboard pdf support built in so you can download your pdf files and read them directly with no conversion, no fee and no fuss.

Price

The Kindle 2 is currently available for $359. When the DX ships on June 10th it will cost you $489. It’s hardly surprising that the price is somewhat higher than the Kindle 2, the larger screen is one of the most expensive items in the device so a higher price point is to be expected. If you consider the DX’s 9 price in comparison with the 9 of the iRex Illiad – a comparable 10″ ebook reader device – the DX doesn’t seem quite so costly anymore.

Final Analysis

Although the Kindle 2 is relatively new, and was itself a big step forward in comparison with the original Kindle, the DX offers significant further enhancements. The larger display and the ability to handle pdf files is more than enough to justify you spending a little extra – especially when you consider the price of other similarly sized ebook readers on the market. Unless Amazon make a significant price cut to the Kindle 2 following the launch of the DX, go for the DX option.

For a good review of ebook readers see my good Griz friend RT at ebook Readers.

TAGS: DX, ebook readers, Kindle, Kindle 2

Gadget Insurance for Electronics

Technology these days to amazing, no question about it. With new recent breakthroughs in the form of the new iPhone being able to recognize voice recognition to the new announcement that Microsofts Project Natal for the Xbox 360 is set to have full body motion sensing capabilities with no wires and nothing plugged into you in any way at all.

However, what do you do when something go wrong? Sometimes when you have to send your gadgets off for repair, it can cost more to repair it than it did to buy it initially. For many of the cases, it’s down to the way the product has been made and that’s how the problem has occurred. Although the Xbox 360 is a powerful console in which critics have named so far the best console of the new generation it does fail in one major thing. The three red rings. To any Xbox 360 owners, seeing the red rings is horrible because you basically have to hand over your wallet. If your Xbox warranty is still in place, you won’t have to pay for the repair, however, if it is, you generally have to pay around 50 to repair a problem that should never have been there.

It always used to be a rare occurrence if your N64 or Playstation 1 broke, however, we are still seeing the flow of broken Xbox’s, but we are also seeing Playstation 3’s and Nitendo Wii’s being sent away to be fixed. It could be down to more people are playing games due to the huge amount being released within the last few months, or, it could be down to the manufacturers not fixing the problems and just selling more machines.

There is a solution to this and it comes from gadget insurance. This can be purchased to cover up to five of any gadgets you can think of for just under 20 a month. The price may seem slightly high, but if you consider having to pay for just one gadget to be repaired each month, you would end up paying more. The primary reason is because the cost to repair gadgets, if you dropped your iPhone, you would get given a 100 pound repair bill. So if you consider the maths, insuring 5 gadgets for 20 pounds a month isn’t too much to pay to avoid paying 100 pound every time you drop your phone. As well as this when it comes to fixing consoles such as the Nintendo Wii it is actually cheaper to buy a new console than top fix it which again is going to cost you a whopping 180.

You are not required to insure 5 items if you don’t want to, you can simply pay for Xbox 360 Insurance separately. Unfortunately, many companies that offer home emergency insurance policies don’t cover your gadgets like iPods and gaming consoles.

TAGS: iPhone, iPod, Nintendo Wii, Playstation, XBox 360