CES and Amazon Kindle 2 vs. Kindle DX - Shelly Palmer - MediaBizBloggers

I39m in Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show with 120000 of my closest friends Walking the floor and talking to exhibitors it39s immediately clear that CES 2010 is all about 3D Tablet computers smartphones and eReaders The buzz surrounding 3D televisions and Tablets is deafening but considering the number of different ereaders on display here I thought I would be fun to compare Amazon39s two offerings the Kindle 2 and the Kindle DX and give you some insights into which might be right for youBefore we get started there is one thing you need to understand When you buy a Kindle Kindle 2 or Kindle DX you are buying into the Amazon Ecosystem This means that you are agreeing you let Amazon completely control your legal legitimate filesThis is both a strength and a weakness of Kindle ereaders The concept of an ebook is not well understood by anyone Do I have to lend you my Kindle to lend you a book on my Kindle Can I let you quotusequot or quotborrowquot my file The answer to these questions is a resounding quotNoquotHowever you can register up to six Kindles on one Amazon account with one credit card This entitles you to share books between all of the Kindles on the account It also will wreak havoc with your Amazon recommendation engine Having four to six different readers buying books from your Amazon account pretty much defeats all of Amazon39s ability to recommend new books that are individually appropriateHere39s an important note Even though you can share books between Kindles on the same account you cannot easily wirelessly share periodicals between them It requires you to go to your Amazon Kindle Page and do some serious gymnastics with your mouse Many clicks many timesIf the inconvenience of several clicks several times is too bothersome for you you can purchase multiple subscriptions For example if you have four people in your family with Kindles who each want the NY Times you would each have to pay the 1399month subscription fee amp8211 at 5596month for all four kindle owners in my family amp8211 adding up to almost 700 for the entire year amp8211 OuchThe Kindle 2 which is the second generation Amazon Kindle has a 6quot screen and is about the size of a 8quot x 5quot book You may think that the small screen is a disadvantage it isn39t The Kindle 2 is the perfect size for your briefcase or for your handbag and it39s very easy to hold You can easily type on the keyboard without putting the unit down This is a plus And although it is not an instantly obvious difference the numbers each have their own keysThe newer Kindle DX has a 97quot screen and it is much bigger about 105quot x 7quot It39s heavier and it39s very hard to hold with one hand The keyboard requires you to use the alt key to type numbers So there39s almost no way you can type on it without putting it down If you like to annotate your books and papers this is an issuePeople make a big deal out of the fact that you can set the Kindle DX to autorotate the screen like an iphone The bad news here is that it chews into your battery life and worse if you are reading at an angle you may accidentally flip the image So in practice it39s a feature you will never useIf you seen the Kindle 2 you know that it has control buttons on each side of the unit where your thumbs naturally fall The bigger Kindle DX only has buttons on one side This really becomes an issue when you need to rotate the screenAlthough you can transfer word documents and PDF files to either Kindle through Amazon you can attach the larger Kindle DX to your computer and drag a PDF file right into the document folder If you are going to read a lot of PDF files on your Kindle you should seriously consider the Kindle DX Not because of the native PDF support oddly enough but because there is really no zoom control for PDF39s and you will need the larger screen to read themWhich to buy I have both If that39s not an option for you the smaller Kindle 2 is a wonderful dedicated ereader It39s priced right and you won39t be too sad in a few months when new models come out with more features The Kindle DX is expensive and doesn39t have enough additional features to justify its price tag unless you are a heavy PDF userIn summary you will enjoy either Kindle but if you39re not sure you need the larger Kindle DX get the Kindle 2 It will truly change everything about the way you readShelly Palmer is the host of MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer a daily show featuring news you can use about technology media ampamp entertainment He is the author of Television Disrupted The Transition from Network to Networked TV 2008 New York House Press and the upcoming Get Digital Reinventing Yourself and Your Career for the 21st Century Economy 2009 Lake House Press Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts ampamp Sciences NY the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy Awards For information about Get Digital Classes visit httpwwwshellypalmercomseminars Watch Digital Life with Shelly Palmer Tuesdays at 10p ET on WNBC39s NY Nonstop httpwwwshellypalmercomdigitallifeRead all Shelly39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Shelly Palmer MediaBizBloggersFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBlogger

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CES and Amazon Kindle 2 vs. Kindle DX - Shelly Palmer - MediaBizBloggers

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