Kindle DX finally coming back in stock

The Kindle DX is now "expected to ship in 2 to 3 days."  Why did they run out for so long - small runs?  Much higher interest than anticipated?  What happens when the Fall Semester nears?

At any rate, here's a portion from a more recent review of the DX that is pretty thorough.

Brad at Sunset Lake Software reviews it from the standpoint of scientists and engineers.  Some of his comments:

" So far, I'm finding it to be an extremely useful device, with a screen that works very well for many types of documents, including scientific papers and technical manuals.  The Whispernet data connection is really cool and provides a strong differentiator for this reader versus others on the market right now...

While seeming a little too small at first, I think Amazon got the size just right.  The screen is large enough to display detailed content, yet the Kindle is still portable enough to take with you everywhere...

I tried a bunch of complex PDFs on the Kindle, and all of them rendered flawlessly.  The images below illustrate various documents, including a research paper, a page from my Ph.D. thesis, a spec sheet from a microelectronic component, and pages from Apple's Human Interface Guidelines.  The text and vector art are sharp and clear, but text that was already in small print within two-column research papers might be difficult for people with poorer eyesight to read.

Unfortunately, the only way to zoom in on a PDF is to rotate the device into a landscape mode, which widens the PDF to fit that orientation.  It would be very nice if Amazon were to add a portrait zoom function in a future firmware update. "

Brad doesn't seem to write notes on PDFs though, and that's not possible anyway with Amazon's current Adobe licensing.  As mentioned before, for adding notes, you'd have to convert a copy of the PDF to MOBI/PRC via one of 3 free utilities, mentioned in earlier articles here, to get a copy which pays less attention to intended layout but allows highlighting and notes added as well as all text to be findable when doing a full search of the Kindle contents.

See the full review and photos here.

Also, here's that video of the DX used for pilots' approach plates;
 it's the most accurate representation I've seen of the DX rendering PDFs.

Some photos I took earlier of the DX screen, in vertical and then landscape modes are here.

Updated for minor corrections and addition of video information for those who missed the approach plates story. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

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(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
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Chicago Sun-Times review of DX, and my first-look

Good review by Andy Ihnatko for the Chicago Sun-Times.  Two answers to his question re the DX looking "great but who's gonna pay $489"  are along the lines of Ihnatko and yours truly.  I got my Kindle DX on the same day that review was published, Thursday.

See UPDATE 6/30 at bottom re number keys and alt/shift-combo keys.

  I'll do some photos and a small write-up after trying it out more.  It looks huge in photos (and it's not small) but it seems smaller once in your hands although of course it IS heavier than the Kindle 2, which remains my take-out Kindle when I'm out and about, in the city.

  I'll say one thing right now -- the keyboard is far better than the Kindle 2's, as I can type about twice as fast on it and the 5-way speed going up and down lines is much faster.

  I've put many PDFs on it, and it's a beautiful thing.  Will do photo comparisons of font appearance and screen contrast also, during the next week.  The material jumps out at you it's so clear.  And I've already felt (and so have friends) that the 6" Kindles were both very clear.  But this is on another level.

  However, Amazon has managed to miscalculate once more and the DX is now again not in stock for another 4 to 6 weeks. So for those interested in getting the device, it's back to pre-ordering to get a better spot in the line.

  Ihnatko's very entertaining review matches my own reactions to the DX, but still, if I could have only one Kindle it would have to be the one I can easily carry around with me outside, the 6" version.  For men, it may be different.

  I did think about buying a separate shoulder-strap flat-carrier for the DX, but the Kindle 2 will do fine for portable use.  Also a determining factor is the strength of need for accurate viewing of PDF's.  While the Sun-Times headline asks who will pay that price, he does mention the usual $30-$60/month cost of 24/7 wireless, which alone pays for the 6" device in a year, not including book-cost savings.

  And for new people reading, yes, the Kindle accepts books from almost any source around except for copyrighted books with digital-rights put on by another company.  Sony and Amazon adhere to that kind of thing, which is partly from publisher pressure.  But if you've paid for a book, you should be able to read it on any device so they'll have to work on that and it seems the trend is toward that.

I did find out that when reading a PDF, the dictionary is available to you within the PDF via the SEARCH box which comes up at the bottom when you start to type a word.  You can type in a word that puzzles and then 5-way to the right to choose the 'dictionary' option, which then starts a look-up on the word and brings up the full definition and when you press the BACK button, you're back to that spot in your PDF.  That's it for now.

UPDATE 6/30/09 - KEYBOARD: Alternative, sequential alt and shift key combos
  The Kindle DX's keyboard numerals share the top row space with alpha characters, and this choice has drawn many complaints especially because it had seemed the alt-key would have to be pressed simultaneously with the number key.

  It turns out that the number-combos work if you press them sequentially.  While this still won't be workable for math students or for anyone needing to do notes with numbers, it's considerably better than having to press the alt-key and a number key at the same time when holding the Kindle.  The sequence should be done fairly quickly though, as there is a time limit, I found.

  The sequential key sequence also holds for capitalization of letters.
The shift key doesn't have to be pressed at the same time as the alpha-character but can be pressed just before it.  (This is also true for the Kindle 1 but not for the Kindle 2.) Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!