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If you are in the market for a large ebook reader, the Kindle DX is on sale today only at Woot.com for $199 plus $5 for shipping.
This is the lowest price on the Kindle DX yet. Amazon ran a sale over Black Friday weekend for the Kindle DX, selling it for $279 new. But this is even better. Refurbished units are often ones that people returned. They’ve been inspected and tested and come with the same 1 year Kindle warranty so they are a pretty safe bet.
If you have been holding off on getting the Kindle DX, now is the time to pull the trigger because it is at its lowest price ever, by far.
Amazon almost never discounts their ereaders, but today until November 28th or until they run out, the Kindle DX is on sale for $259. That’s $120 off the usual wallet-shredding price of $379.
It turns out that it’s possible to get the Kindle DX, both generations, and the Kindle 2 to successfully run the Kindle 3′s software, and smoothly too.
This comes with several benefits because the Kindle 3′s software is superior to its siblings’ in many ways. The web browser is a lot more advanced, PDF support is much better and adds several new features, there are more font options, and other enhancements.
Amazon is running a Kindle Mother’s Day promotion where you can get a $25 Amazon.com gift card with the purchase of a Kindle 3G or a Kindle DX.
The offer does not extend to the $139 Kindle WiFi or the new $114 Kindle with Special Offers. The offer applies to the $189 Kindle 3G and $379 Kindle DX.
The Gold Box deal of the day at Amazon.com is the Graphite Kindle DX. It is selling for $299. The regular price is $379.
This is the first time that Amazon has run any kind of one-day sale for a Kindle. All the other times they have dropped in price it was permanent. Makes you wonder if they are getting set to introduce a new model or perhaps an Android tablet in the near future.
The Graphite Kindle DX is on sale this week for $299 from Best Buy, Staples, and possibly other Kindle retailers. That’s $80 off the regular price. This promotion is for in-store purchases only; Amazon’s online price is still $379, unfortunately.
The Kindle DX has a 9.7″ display and features the latest screen technology from E Ink called Pearl. It comes with 4GB of memory, gets up to 3 weeks of battery life, and has free 3G global wireless but no WiFi like the Kindle 3. It also lacks a lot of the refined features of the Kindle 3 as detailed in this Kindle DX vs Kindle 3 review.
Nevertheless, this is the lowest price the Graphite Kindle DX has ever been and is the first time a retailer has offered this kind of a sale on either Kindle.
With all the new tablets coming out and with the iPad 1 dropping as low as $299 this past week from Verizon and $399 from other stores, it makes you wonder how long the Kindle DX can survive at $379, even $299 for that matter.
When comparing the new Kindle 3 to the new Graphite Kindle DX, you’d think that the Kindle DX would have a better set of features. But it doesn’t.
Amazon released the Graphite Kindle DX at the beginning of July. It was the first ebook reader to have the new higher contrast Pearl screen. But it didn’t get much for feature upgrades over the previous version.
When the Kindle 3 was released at the end of August, it too came with the new higher contrast screen and graphite color, and also came with a bunch of new features, leaving the Kindle DX out in the cold. I expected Amazon to release a firmware update for the DX to give it the new features of the Kindle 3, but it’s been almost two months and it doesn’t look like the Kindle DX will get a firmware update anytime soon. So here’s a look at the differences between the Kindle DX and Kindle 3.
Kindle DX vs Kindle 3: Where the Kindle 3 Wins
Webkit Browser is much better than the basic browser still on the Kindle DX
Built-in WiFi
Page turn buttons on both sides
New nav controller better than 5-way nav wheel on the DX
Longer battery life
Weighs 10.2 ounces less
WiFi Kindle 3 costs $240 less
Voice guide reads menus and selections aloud for the vision impaired
New and improved fonts
Support for non-Latin characters: Cyrillic, Japanese, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), and Korean characters in addition to Latin and Greek scripts for certain file types.
Keyboard is much easier to use (using the keyboard on the DX is awkward the way the device is balanced)
Advanced PDF features
Add notes with the keyboard
Add highlights
Look-up words in the dictionary
Contrast darken feature works great for PDFs with light text
Kindle DX vs Kindle 3: Where the Kindle DX Wins
3.7-inch larger screen size
Larger screen is better for PDF viewing and larger font sizes
G sensor auto-rotates screen
Kindle DX vs Kindle 3: Conclusion
Given the results of this Kindle DX and Kindle 3 comparison, I would recommend getting the Kindle 3 over the Kindle DX 9 times out of 10. The Kindle DX’s only advantages are the larger screen and accelerometer. The Kindle 3 has it beat in virtually every other category.
Why Amazon has chosen to give the smaller, less expensive device more features and better PDF functionality than the larger device that was in part designed for PDF use makes no sense.
Today Staples announced that they will begin selling Amazon’s line of Kindle ebook readers and Kindle accessories at all of their 1550+ retail locations in the US later this fall.
Staples already sells the Aluratek Libre and they used to sell the Sony Readers, but currently only list Sony Reader accessories now that Sony is getting set to unveil their new line of devices tomorrow.
Staples is the second major retail chain store to sell the Amazon Kindle. Target just started carrying them a few months back, although all the displays that I’ve seen looked pretty shabby, and they only had the 6-inch Kindle and very few accessories.
Briefly, J&R listed the new Kindles on their website, but that only lasted for about 1 week before they disappeared. There was never any official announcement, so who knows if they still have them in retail stores or not.
Just checked JR.com this morning to see if they are running any sales (the Ectaco jetBook Lite is down to $99 again) and they now have the Kindle DX listed with all the other ebook readers.
It is not sold online, just at J&R retail locations which are located in New York.
This a somewhat perplexing as the Kindle is known for only being sold from Amazon and Target retail stores; you’d think they would’ve made some kind of announcement. Regardless, it provides a good opportunity to check out the new higher contrast screen in person for those that live near a J&R retail store.
Even though it would cost extra to buy in store with sales tax applied, any additional retail presence benefits Amazon in the long run. Most people are still unfamiliar with ebook readers and being able to see the Kindle DX in store and get a first hand look at how it works is a major positive.
It stands to reason that J&R will also start carrying the new Kindle 3 in retail stores once it is officially released at the end of August.
Given J&R’s limited retail presence, you’d think Amazon would try and get the Kindle in larger chain stores like Best Buy. That would put Kindle on the shelf right next to the Nook and Sony readers. But I guess Amazon only partners with companies that are in the Amazon Marketplace—not surprising, really.
Here’s a look at Amazon’s new Graphite Kindle DX outside in the 90 degree blazing sunlight, showing off the new higher contrast Pearl screen from E Ink.
The review demonstrates everything about the Kindle DX’s ebook viewing features, text-to-speech, how newspapers work, how to use the notepad from EduKindle, and a brief look at the basic web browser.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to demonstrate the wireless very extensively because I only get about 1 bar—thanks AT&T.
This video review is also located on the newly-updated Kindle DX Review page. Make sure to check it out for more in-depth details about the new Graphite DX. I forgot to mention some of the pertinent details in the video, as usual.
And in case you missed it, there’s a second video and half a dozen high-def photos on the Kindle PDF Review page.
Please feel free to post any questions and comments you have about the Kindle DX below.
