Looks like Amazon is going to have a number of new Kindle models, including next-generation versions of the Kindle Fire in both 7 and 10 inch versions, and also an updated Kindle Touch that incorporates screen illumination (for parity with the new Nook version that came out a few months ago). Amazon is even rumored to be working on a Kindle phone. But the Kindle DX (with a 10 inch screen) is still stuck in its previous-generation, overpriced ghetto. You can buy a DX today but you’re getting the older version of the eInk screen, not the new one with faster refresh times and better contrast on the latest eInk Kindles. And you’re paying a monstrously inflated price reminiscent of the first-generation Kindle hardware. The DX doesn’t even have the same software as it’s smaller brethren, including the advanced PDF support. For these reasons the DX is basically a dinosaur that has been unchanged for almost 3 years. One of the reasons I held out for so long in buying a Kindle of my own is because I kept hoping for a DX refresh, but they still haven’t even discounted the aging hardware.
I would still buy the old DX if they dropped the price in half. And if they came out with a new version, I’d find it compelling at the same price point it is now – imagine how amazing a Kindle DX Touch would be? It would be smaller, lighter, thinner than an iPad 3 and would have 100 times the battery life. It would be a much more natural platform for reading digital newspapers and magazines. And we can dream even bigger: what if the DX had a more advanced touch screen to allow note-taking with a stylus? Suddenly it would be more compelling than an iPad for hundreds of thousands of students. In fact given the cheaper hardware and longer battery life, a note-taking DX would be a real game-changer.
4 responses to “Will Amazon update the Kindle DX?”
I don’t understand this “holding out” thing. You see a thing, you buy a thing. You aren’t buying a trip to space, it’s just a gadget!
its because these gadgets are not needs, they are wants. To justify the expense, it should match my intended usage as perfectly as possible. Its worth holding out if I am aware that a future iteration may meet those use requirements more fully. If the device was a genuine need (like a cell phone) then I agree, but the device that is the best fit and be done with it. But who really needs an ereader? no one.
You are ignoring my point: the expense is so insignificant that it does not need justifying.
well, its not that insignificant. A hundred dollars or two is not a negligible cost.