Why don't they just come out with software for viewing their content?

Who wants to spend $500 (even $360 is a lot) for a dedicated device which isn't useful for surfing or video?

They did for the iPhone/iPod Touch.

And while it is expensive I am much happier reading a book on the Kindle than I would be on my laptop.

Would you take the laptop or the Kindle on a trip, if you only could take one?

Especially if you could read the same content on the laptop? Maybe the contrast or the DPI of the laptop display isn't optimal, but it has more utility for other things you might want to do besides long-form reading.


There used to be companies who would come out with dedicated email devices for technophobes like older people. They came with their own service plans and they were about the price of low-end PCs.

Those never went anywhere because for about the same money, a PC let you do much more than just email.

Single-function devices are going against the tide.

My NetBook, but why should I choose? They are both quite small and light. And they fit easily in any bag I pack. And I'd bring paperback books, too. I would not try to read a book on my laptop screen. I have read enough things on it and I do not find it conducive to doing so for long periods of time.

I take my BB, too. I suppose I could just take that, right? After all, it has connectivity, a screen and a keyboard. But there is no way I'd try to read a book on it. Just like I wouldn't want to read a book on my laptop.

Yes, my laptop can do different things. But that still doesn't make it a good device for reading a book. In addition to the screen and eye strain there is also the battery life issue.

A well designed and well implemented single function device (of any sort) will always be popular, even in a world of multi-function devices. Some people do actually want a device that works specifically well at a single task rather than a generic device that does everything.

Sure, I can just buy a Scanner/Copier/Printer/Fax combo, but I'd much rather have a good printer and a good scanner that actually meets my needs than a combo device that is just OK at each function. If you want to play video games why buy a PS3 or a Wii when there are games made for PCs? Why carry a DSLR camera when your cellphone also has a camera in it?

I'll stop there, but there are plenty of reasons to have specialized hardware for specific tasks/functions. Not everyone will buy them, but for the folks who want them they are a wonderful option to have available.

Ditto on that. I just pre-ordered one as a present for myself this summer.

Hoping to see it by late July to coincide with my BD.

I held off buying the original Kindle waiting for cheaper, improved models to come along. But I figured the DX was right up my alley, size-wise, as I read a lot of magazines and newspapers, especially when traveling.

Which, as a loyal FT'er, is most of the time.

Plus I got tired of waiting for the "new, improved model" which is a never-ending wait as there's always one around the corner.

And I wanted to stimulate the economy. :)

I have both, and I take both. I couldn't read a book onmy laptop, but I enjoy reading them on the kindle. I view the kindle as a book replacement not a laptop replacement. It is smaller and lighter than multiple books.

Same for me. My Kindle 1 is about the size of a 300-page trade paperback and currently has dozens of books on it, including Doris Kearns Goodwin's 944-page "Team of Rivals" and today's Sunday New York Times. I love my netbook. It can substitute for my mp3 player, DVD player, PDA - even my cellphone. But it is not an ebook reader. My eyes quickly wear out reading large blocks of text on a computer, but I have no problem reading for a couple of hours at a time on my Kindle.

re: the DX, I see the appeal for those primarily interested in PDFs and graphics. Since those aren't that important to me, at close to $500 I can give the DX a pass.

Even ones that are pure text can get pretty big, especially if there are any images in there.

I just pre-ordered one too.

If there were images in there, they wouldn't be pure text. ;)

The DX needs COLOR and then it would be perfect.

Since that won't happen any time soon I will wait for the possibility of an Apple tablet with color touch screen. They already have the app for Kindle, so between the two I should be set.

You'll still be reading on a backlit LCD screen. Not the same as a Kindle screen. And I doubt that whatever Apple's gadget is that it will have 1/10th of the battery life of a Kindle.

As someone who reads primarily long-form narrative (fiction and non) I admit I don't share the obsession about a color screen, either. If I read the same books in print, they'd still be almost exclusively b&w.

But a color display would allow video and wouldn't limit it to one function.

Fine, single-function devices have its adherents. But when the DX is priced like a low-end laptop which can do a lot more than a Kindle, that's when Amazon has to find a large group of people willing to pay so much for one function.

It doesn't do video now because of the way it renders the pixels, not because of the lack of color. The refresh rate doesn't support motion but it does support incredibly long battery life and an amazingly easy effect on the eyes.

Yes, it is priced at the same point as a NetBook, but it is competing in a very different market space. There are lots of things I can buy for $350, many of which are electronics. And there are very few that are reasonable to use as an eBook.

And it seems that Amazon has found plenty of customers thus far.

I meant no images that were merely scanned text.