PressDisplay's 1400 periodicals for the Kindle - a Hands on. UPDATE

UPDATE January 12, 2010 - Original posting was Jan. 10, 11:30 AM


NewspaperDirect's Michael Oksinski responded Tuesday to all questions I sent to NewspaperDirect and PressDisplay.com, as described in this blog posting from Sunday night.

TWO FREE ARTICLES PER NEWSPAPER PER DAY
First, the image above shows how registered subscribers to PressDisplay's "Pay as you go" option at $0.00 per month can select, from its 1,400 periodicals, up to two articles per periodical, to read online for free each day, in their original print layout.  This is, for me, a great feature apart from the ability to read newspaper issues on our Kindles with original print layout shown.

  Trying to access an article from the thumbnails on the side will cause pop-ups that tell the reader there is $0.00 credit to read an article, so don't click from the right side to choose an article on a free basis -- the Free feature's choice has to be done from the top toolbar's Table of Contents.

  Hovering over the toolbar's Table of Contents option will bring up Sections in a menu and for each option a linked popup with specific article titles you can click to read online, which includes 2 free ones for each newspaper of interest that day.  (I haven't explored what the reading-offline feature entails.)

  The key is the "Table of Contents" in the top toolbar, which in the image above shows a pull-down menu of sections to choose from after I clicked on the TOC.

 This works well for me though it's easy to click on an article I didn't intend to, while hovering over the choices, but that's my problem, so click carefully :-)  The theory is that you can choose up to two articles per newspaper to read for free per day and would be prevented from receiving a 3rd one at no cost for that newspaper that day.  It would normally cost 99 cents to read a third article from that newspaper on the same day.  (There may be a bug on our behalf tonight because I was able to choose more.)

TIP:
From any area of PressDisplay, click on top left PressDisplay label to go to Home page.

EXPORT to KINDLE function from Online reading via PressReader:
  The Export of a prepaid full issue direct to the attached, recognized Kindle (via USB cable) from online reading still doesn't work for me as it can't "prepare" the article and stays at 0% done - but they are aware of the problem for some PressReader Kindle users and are working on it.

  Workaround for now: download it to your computer, which takes maybe two seconds and just move it over to the attached Kindle.  (PressReader sees the attached Kindle automtically and places itself at the proper drive letter and in the 'documents' folder.  Your computer's 'My Library" Export-to e-reader function (with a choice of "Kindle") works without a hitch (see body of original post below) and I can read the issue from the Kindle.

  Eventually, they'll do this via wireless access to the Kindle, they say.

SOFTWARE anomalies in a downloaded newspaper file
  They are working on the problem reported with The Independent's Sunday Travel section articles missing some column content.  The USA Today issue that I downloaded to test handling of graphics on the Kindle had no problems of any type.

  As with normal copying of text online from, say, the NY Times, a graphic character used for the first alpha character in an article is missed because it's not text.   Kindle Editions from Amazon are able to handle those well.  But Amazon carries only 92 newspapers, though one of my favorite things is Amazon's 75c Sunday NY Times, so nothing takes the place of that for me.

IN GENERAL
  If someone wants to keep up, offline, with a newspaper not easily available otherwise for the Kindle, this is a good option.   And the choices from so many newspapers and magazines around the world, for Kindle reading, is pretty nice.

  Note that some newspaper publishers have expiry dates for issues in your computer's PressReader library though.  What that means for the Kindle I'll have to ask.   Options are given for shorter or longer times by our choice, possibly depending on publisher.

NEWSPAPERDIRECT replies to Kindle-feature questions
  Here is information received from NewspaperDirect's Michael Oksinski, so you can see the quality of attention he's giving to feedback on experiences with PressReader.  Also, NewspaperDirect's PressDisplay has a Twitter presence as "@PressDisplay" on that interactive service.  Additionally, PressReader users can also write comments to the PressDisplay Blog articles, but Twitter may be more immediate and nicely brief, unlike my floods of words.  From PressDisplay:

' ...
1. As for the Sunday Independent Travel section missing paragraphs, this issue has been escalated to our XML processing team for an immediate fix.
2. Regarding the Export to eReader, I have been informed that changes have been made on the server side that will eliminate the majority of errors like the one you described. Please notify me once again if it's still not working.
3. All registered users have free access to 2 articles from the current issue of any title per day, on our site. Simply select a title and click the Table of contents on the toolbar along the top of the screen (not from Table of content listed to the right of the front page). A drop down menu will appear where you can select the article you want to read, as shown:
As for the navigation of PressDisplay, there are a lot of helpful hints located on our PD help page... '

Original Kindleworld Posting of January 10:

---

This is an update to the blog entry two days ago about Newspaper Direct's Press Display.Com now bringing the full-content of about 1,400 newspapers and magazines to the Amazon Kindle.

There is also a PressDisplay blog which contains an embedded video showing PressDisplay on the Kindle.  You can also watch it at youtube.

At the left is a print screen or screen grab from my Kindle's PressDisplay issue.

  You'll see, at the top, links to the Table of Contents and to next and previous page numbers.  Next/Previous are easier to do on the Kindle levers though.  The image is smaller to allow navigational text links.

  There's an error in the video about the Next and Previous button taking us to the next and previous 'article' -- this is true if the article page you're on is only one page long.  Next and Previous buttons work as they do on the rest of our documents -- they just go to the next page and previous page.

The first picture in a newspaper and for each section is always a full newspaper shot as it appears in print, and as with any photo in a Kindle book or periodical you can zoom the picture to fill the screen (though the picture resolution will seldom be good that way, except with the San Francisco Chronicle, which does a great job with its photo sizing and resolution).

  See the image on the right for the same newspaper picture zoomed.

  That image isn't meant for reading though.



 Following the newspaper image, there'll be, on the next pages, a text summary and then the full text story in regular text.


TABLE OF CONTENTS TIP
Story titles and page numbers will be shown, and when you move the cursor to them, they become bordered in a box that seems to be a barrier.   What you need to do is click on the box and then you can enter the area to choose page numbers.  I've seen this kind of oddity in the formatting of public-domain books (classics) too.

CHOOSING FROM 1400 NEWSPAPERS   [Edited to change 'members' to (registered) 'PressReader users']
PressDisplay.com is not an intuitive site.
  Be sure to take a look at the how-to videos.
  They organize newspaper options on the left by country, and this is a good place to start.

  If that's too vague, do a Search, at the top for a subject of interest.
  The results can be amazing. The search can go back from 3 days to more, depending on your subscription choice.

  Full issues to read online or download or extract to an ereader are usually 99c per issue.
  Here's the Membership or Registered User pricing page for personal use, not business.

  The odd thing is that those having "free" access can read two articles from any and all papers a day but no more than that from any one newspaper.  A third article in a newspaper will usually cost $.99 ... Free accounts can't print, or listen to the audio version, or share the article via email, or get a translation of the article.  All those are available to subscribers.

On that membership pricing page, it has the following in bold print:
"All registered users have free access to 2 articles from the current issue of each publication."

HOW DO YOU READ OR DOWNLOAD THE STORIES
This was not very clear.  The PressReader we're to download has options only for iPhone/Ipod, Blackberry phones, iRex, but none for Kindle or Sony.

  It turns out that we're to (1) download either the PC or Mac software
and install it, after which we can (2) Download the issues to our computer libraries (not unlike iTunes) for reading on the computer and for moving to the Kindle via the "Export to reader" feature.  The latter worked fine for me after it advised me that to use the Export to Kindle function I needed to install ".NET Framework 3.5" or a later version.
  For computers that need it, you can find that here.  I downloaded the Full 3.5 version, not just the bootstrapper.

WIRELESS delivery someday
  In their blog comments area, Michael Oksinski states that they'll be offering this on a wireless basis later as they do for Sony users.

CAVEAT
I've submitted a bug report to the blog page.  On the download I received, a main story I wanted is missing several columns, though I can read them fine in the online version there.  The technology online is pretty amazing but it takes time to experiment with all that is there.

FREE REGISTERED MEMBERSHIPS
I don't totally understand yet how that works. See NewspaperDirect's PR release at PRWeb which includes this:

' Free and Flexible Pricing Plans
From free plans (which offer 2 free articles from every issue every day), to our pay-as-you-go plan, to monthly subscriptions for personal, corporate or professional use, PressDisplay.com has pricing plans to suit every need and budget. '

Are the "free plans" different from the "pay-as-you-go plan," which is also $0.00 ?
  Nevertheless, the pricing page we're shown does say, as I mentioned earlier:
"All registered users have free access to 2 articles from the current issue of each publication."

Well, apologies for this somewhat confusing report of what I could find out while experimenting with this feature.  I'll be interested in others' experiences with it.

---

Original posting about NewsDirect and PressDisplay was done on January 6.

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.)

How Kindle DX differs from Kindle 2 in hands-on review. Updated

UPDATED 6/12/09 - I've added links or brief intros to a few stories on 6/11 that were of more than usual interest to me:


1.  A terrific photo-text report by Stanford student "Sri Lankan," as he calls himself.   His pictures are large original sized ones. To fit them on the screen in Firefox, press Ctrl-minus.

2.  Engadget's photos of the DX, many of them and very clear.  Review due soon.

3.  Washington Post's PaidContent blog - the newer item in this piece by Staci D. Kramer was her report that when text-to-read is enabled, the rotation doesn’t work.  

4.  Amazon DX Repair Guide" - These are step by step instructions, with photos, for disassembling the DX and one simple instruction to reverse the steps for reassembling it.
  Just what I would want to do, on a $500 item bought for reading and webbing.
  But, since they've done it for us, here's what they found inside:
Memory chips and processor
  *MCIMX31LDVKN5D, M91E, CTAK0915B
  *Samsung 916, K4X1G323PC-8GC3, EMA188A5
  *Samsung 907, KMBLG0000M-B998
  *MC13783VK5, AM86D, CTRE083B
  *Samsung 840, K4M28323PH-HG75, AAH055BE
  *Epson D135211B1, F09090125. E-INK

Their diagnosis:
  "The Kindle DX has many replaceable parts inside.  In many ways this product is user serviceable."

That IS news, in a way, as Amazon, a company that doesn't manufacture goods, doesn't repair malfunctioning units but replaces them with a refurbished unit and has no repair facilities in the U.S. for customers.  If the unit is damaged through user error in the first year, the customer returns it and pays $200 for a new $359 Kindle 2 and $180 for a new $359 Kindle 1.

5.  Gizmodo's full review by Wilson Rothman.

6.  DMP's first Manga offering on Kindle
  "Digital Manga Publishing (DMP) has announced on Wednesday that it is offering the first volume of Hideyuki Kikuchi and Saiko Takaki's Vampire Hunter D manga on Amazon's Kindle Store for electronic books. Kindle Books can be read on Amazon's own Kindle devices (in three different versions) and Apple's iPhone and iPod touch mobile devices...  currently, most of the offerings in the Kindle Store's manga category are works wholly or partially created outside Japan."

7.  Kindle DX PDF FAQ by abhi/switch11.  Top 10 Things to Know, The Good and the Bad, the Features and the Missing. Excellent presentation.

Click to SKIP TO MORE RECENT STORIES.__________
UPDATED 6/11/09 - There are many stories about the Kindle DX now, but not much that's new or substantial (two writers for large news entities open their DX boxes, say not much we don't already know and then try out the Kindle in bed to end their columns).

One exception is Businessweek's Stephen H. Wildstrom whose headline is that the "Kindle DX Means Business."  He at least explores the effectiveness of the PDF display.  (I've corrected his link to the math textbook, which led to an empty page that had held an older version.)   The textbook he chooses is an impressive test of the DX's capabilities.

' I experimented with a variety of PDF documents and was very pleased with the results.  In the toughest test, I loaded a PDF version of a mathematics textbook, and everything, including formulas, drawings, footnotes, and margin notes, rendered beautifully.  The only real drawback is that links, such as listings in a table of contents in a PDF, won't work in the Kindle—a limitation of the underlying Adobe software.  But you can work around this by using search to jump to the section you want.
. . .
Amazon doesn't have the large-format reader field to itself.  A company called iRex sells a 10.2-in. reader for a stiff $859 [with no wireless].  And startup Plastic Logic plans to bring a very lightweight 14-in. reader to the market early next year. '

The PDF's non-working links, normally used for jump areas like the table of contents, are a puzzlement.  It's probably not the software but the limitations of the feature-set that Amazon licensed, since we are usually able to make active links in PDFs -- or the original PDF just didn't have that feature activated.

NOTE:  Amazon's Kindle DX page tells us on the evening of June 10th that DX's will be "in stock June 17."]

FURTHER UPDATE, 6/11/09 - 5:26 AM
Wall Street Journal's Personal Technology writer, Walter S. Mossberg, has some interesting pro's and con's on his DX.  He prefers the Kindle 2 for its lightness, as he tends to read only books on it, not liking the magazine layout that he finds harder to browse articles with.  I left him a post on that, as I did for a NY Times reviewer who had not discovered the article-browsing feature within Sections.  Maybe Mossberg already knew this though.

Points he makes:
1.  Size & weight made it more awkward for him to hold for extended reading
2.  Controls are confusing when reading in landscape mode
3.  He points out that Excel and Powerpoint can be converted to PDF and thus readable on the Kindle DX.
4.  Reading standard books, he sometimes saw text that varied in shade from light gray to black.  (This can be due to the original being in color.)
5.  "I tried a variety of documents, and in many cases the results were great"
6.  There is no zoom when the PDF text is too small to read.
7.  Reading in landscape mode makes the text larger though but splits the page.
8.  "...you can adjust the margins on the DX, to obtain a line length that's comfortable for your eyes and optimal for reading speed."
9.  College textbooks could be the 'killer app' for the DX

UPDATED 6/10/09 - Original posting: 6/3/09, 3:25 PM
WIRED's Steven Levy has the first review up on shipping day, though it doesn't differ much from early reviews that were based on a short time with the Kindle DX.  The pictures are familiar but -- head on -- the difference between the screen sizes of the Kindle DX and the Kindle 2 is striking.  A couple of the images are more in sepia tone than black and white, which is sort of interesting.  They say it's comfortable to hold (despite being 8 oz. heavier).  I'm waiting for someone to review the differences in web browsing between the DX and K2 though.

Earlier (June 3)
Now that the Kindle DX has started shipping and it's a reality sooner than some had expected, many are wondering what it is really like, and some are interested in the size relative to the Kindle 2 and the clarity of the screen.

Here are some more hands-on articles and galleries that may help.

Laptop Mobile Solutions' Gallery: Hands-On with the Amazon Kindle DX has some very clear pictures from several angles.   The article by Joanna Stern is pretty brief.

Slashgear has a good video and excellent large photos - some of the more useful images I've seen.  To get to the next or previous larger photo easily, use your mouse to 'hover' over the middle of the left or right edges.

  They also have a small page for the Kindle DX specs in a nutshell, more or less, along with more slick official Amazon photos.

  The article, by Vincent Nguyen, makes some good points.  Examples:

" ...it feels a very different device to the Kindle 2.  Where that e-reader prioritizes the hand-feel and portability of a paperback, the Kindle DX feels decidedly more work-oriented.  The bigger screen - which refreshes a little slower than that of the Kindle 2, but not frustratingly so - is 1,200 x 824 resolution and 150ppi, and while still grayscale feels far more useful than that of its smaller sibling...

... noticeably heavier, and might make bedtime reading less comfortable.

... While it’s now particularly small, we’re pleased with how the keyboard has been reduced: it’s still usable for entering search terms and the like, but the front panel of the Kindle now feels as screen-focused as it should be...

  Unlike on a cellphone like the iPhone, where the rotation is completed in seconds, the E Ink display on the Kindle DX is a lot slower:  perhaps 3-4 seconds before it flips.  Still, we’d happily sacrifice some speed for landscape reading;  this really is a huge stretch of E Ink panel, and it’s in this orientation when you really recognize that the display is 2.5 times that of the Kindle 2."

The article doesn't mention trying out PDFs with the Kindle DX, now that a Kindle model has native PDF support.

Kindle users react to their new DX's

Amazon forum users report on their new DX's.

  This was so much more interesting to me than reading some of the journalist reviews.

  Here's a smattering of them:

Greg: "It's ginormous. It's like a mutant K2! How am I supposed to carry this monstrous gadget around?"

Brent (who began the thread): "...When the progress bar completed, the Kindle automatically loaded the User's Guide....I'm blown away at this presentation. I feel shepherded along by the device"

Gracie: "Like Brent, I have half a charge too. The text is significantly darker and easier to read. It's super big and wicked cool."

Brent: "If I were a leftie, I'd have *fewer* problems using the DX than using a K2...[after turning it upside down].  On the other hand, the DX can be gripped just like a regular book; you can hold it anywhere on that left-hand side (much like you would a paper book). Heck, I'm beginning to believe the DX better replicates the paper reading experience than any other Kindle so far.

Brent: "The biggest font size is MASSIVE. Larger than any large-print book I've ever seen. I don't think that's going to be a problem for folks, unless they're legally blind."
  "I have seen the future of manga, and it is Kindle. Just loaded a manga on here, and it looks great. I can foresee buying a *lot* of B&W comics for the Kindle.

[WEB BROWSING]
  "The keyboard is...weird. The keys feel mushy, and are very tightly spaced. It's not quite as easy to type on than on the Kindle 2 or Kindle 1."

  "The screen refreshes a little faster when typing, I think."

  "Man. Switch the DX to landscape mode and browse the web...and the experience is slick. Feels like a netbook. It just works.

  And when you press the menu button in landscape, sure enough the menu appears as expected on the right (as you look at it).

[ Andrys speaking here re Twitter: we can tweet from our K2's too. ]

[PDFs]
  Still Brent: "PDFs look grand.
  I flipped to a page that has a two-column layout, three tables, headers, quite a bit of fairly small text in two different fonts (one section of text is on a light background, too), and a large image.  It all looks great. Perfectly readable."

  [ Three people received their DX's on that thread. ]

  Brent still: "PDF page flips sometimes take quite a bit of time. Most page flips seem to take 3-5 seconds, though sometimes it's faster than that.

  "Interestingly, page flips are MUCH faster in landscape mode. Less than a second, no matter how many pages I go through.

  "Search appears to work fine on PDFs, but is very slow. Impressively, however, it will highlight the found term on the page."

  "Text-to-speech definitely doesn't work on PDFs."

Poppy: "As a leftie ... Looks like I can read in lansdscape mode and the button will be on the bottom - easy enough to find the toggle with a finger of my free hand and flick it, or to hit the "next page" button."

Jeffrey "I downloaded a newspaper and the photographs are very clear and easy to see. They are lighter than in the K2 "

Brent "for poorly-scanned PDFs, the DX is a poor choice for reading them. But then, that's hardly the DX's fault. ... I have some trouble reading it on my laptop, much less on the DX."

Brent: "Dictionary workup doesn't work in PDFs, since you can't select text while in a PDF. The 5-way controller does nothing while I'm reading a PDF file."

Poppy: "I used the toggle and followed the simple instructions, and voila, my newspaper and magazine subscriptions were successfully transferred to the DX!! Very cool!!!"

Greg: "So it sounds like if you can convert PDFs to a readable Kindle file, that's the way to go since you will have annotations, highlighting, font scaling, and TTS. If it's a complex PDF with images, columns, graphs and so forth, it's better to let the DX read them natively."

Brent: "...Indeed, the larger size of the device makes it a little easier to grab, for me, and I like the clean left and top edges more and more. Just makes it easier to grab."

ChuckC: "A note on PDFs. I had a Computer Programming book that is on a PDF. on the Kindle2 I had used Amazon's conversion process. It had converted it, but it was more of a text file, meaning some of the large fonts were normal size, and it just looked kind of bad. Now on the DX, since it reads PDF natively, the PDF for this computer book is PERFECT!  As Brent mentioned, the page numbers are awesome. Since you can not click the table of contents like on a Kindle book, you can at least look at the table of contents and then type the page number in..."

Brent: [ Here are Brent's photos of unboxing and how his PDFs look on the device.]

Massage student: "tried the document you listed. It looks the same on the DX as it does on my PC. BUT remember, you don't have the ability to click on "links" in a PDF document... you can "GO To" a page and you can search the document."

 That's it for the first thread of user reactions I saw.  Soon, they'll be all over the forums, I imagine.

Remember that you can read the rest of the responses and much more detailed information by monitoring the forum thread, in which a lot of questions are being answered by those having the DX in hand.

UPDATE: 6/11 - 10:28 PM
Jef, of JefTek has another very good series of photographs of unboxing his DX and showing what the DX is like with PDFs and with the web-browser on this considerably wider screen when it's tilted sideways.  He shows how you can change the margins to have a narrower column to read across and shows what a web page looks like horizontally when browsing on this device.

Hands-on Demo of DX screen rotation in real time

While we're waiting for June 10, here's a brief demo showing the auto-rotation feature. I've read that it can take 3-4 seconds to change orientation but that might be on more complex material than is shown here. There's a slight yellow-cast on the videoclip.


Click on image to run the videoclip.

Sony reader screen comparisons and the Kindle

The enlarged version of the photo at the left, from the article by Simon Cohen at syncblog.com, shows the significant loss in clarity and readability with the touch screen technology used for the Sony PRS-700's e-Ink screen.

  After lamenting that the Kindle isn't available in Canada yet Cohen explains the touchscreen's effect on clarity:

'...Because Sony's engineers had to layer a capacitive membrane over the E-Ink display to enable the 700's touch-screen features, they reduced the amount of ambient light the eInk receives, and thus the amount it can reflect.  The result is (when compared to the 505) like reading through a thin layer of onion skin paper.  Contrast is reduced and some crispness at the edge of letters is lost.  Worse still, this top layer is quite reflective and depending on where your light source is located, you need to tilt the 700 slightly backward to avoid the glare...'

In this comparison of the two Sony Readers, there are also caveats that will be familiar to some Kindle users when it comes to the e-Ink screens, which most reviewers find far easier on the eyes for any length of time than reading from an LCD screen (which can do color and backlighting at a cost to battery drain in addition to eye fatigue, though with better refresh rates).

'Some people might be aware of the light gray background of the screen itself – indeed this is probably the cause of my perception that the ink could stand to be a little darker.  We're all used to seeing black ink on a white page, or at least off-white and there's no escaping the fact that the light gray doesn't provide as much contrast as a piece of paper.

The good news is: you get used to it quickly and after a few chapters you barely notice it at all.'

Then he explains the black flash between page turns:

'Turning pages on the Reader produces a momentary flash of black before the ink resolves itself into the new set of words. This happens anytime the display needs to change what it's showing.  While a little disconcerting at first, you again grow accustomed to it. The transitional effect is caused by the nature of eInk displays.  The "pixels" work more like an etch-a-sketch tablet than like a typical LCD display.  With LCDs, each pixel can change on it's own, very quickly, and go from one colour to another in an instant.  eInk on the other hand exists in more of an ON or Off state.  To switch between these states, an electrical charge is needed.  Moreover, it seems that the entire area that is to be re-drawn must be first "cleaned" by turning all of the pixels on, then off.  Only then can the final image be rendered.  Odd as it is at first, I'm so used to it now that I wonder if a transitionless page turn would be an improvement.'

Cohen goes on to detail quite thoroughly the many differences between the two Sony readers.

Kindle DX and its target audience

So this is not the anticipated 'K3' but the 'DX'?

  Has the lower price than was expected confused the presupposed division of target audiences for Kindle-1&2 users?

  It's still packable and there is less room used by the keyboard.

  These are first reactions on the day the DX was announced.
  Online mags are showing the "first official pictures" of the DX which are all pics from Amazon's own Kindle DX page, which has a large video demo and 'guided tour' of its functioning.

  Re DX vs K2, think K2 enlarged beyond purse-size, with no buttons on the left side (favoring lefthand-users for one-handed use) and less vertical space given the keyboard (long a wish of many).  So what else does it do besides let you see content better or see more of the same while also being heavier to hold when reading books?  The Amazon page has charts showing the differences between the DX and the K2.  

  Unfortunately, they blare that it can read PDFs natively while the K2 cannot, which means they likely don't intend to provide a firmware update that will provide native PDF support for the K2 even if it would be on a smaller screen.  Not an admirable move.
  But for those who like to stockpile and miss their K1 SD cards, it will hold an average 3500 text-based books.

  And there is said to be more RAM (no figure given) which usually means faster processing capability and definitely better ability to handle web-browsing of complex pages while the auto-rotating feature (which is optional) ensures better visual displays of webpages, especially online-newspapers.  While I would not want to replace my K2 as it is always with me and fits well into my purse, no extra carrying care needed, I may sell my K1 finally and ultimately get this for home and special use outside.

  I would not get it for just books.  Nor want to hold something that large for my daily reading of books and my newspaper feeds and subscriptions.

  But even if native PDF support were to be included in the K2 later, it would be, on a 6" in screen, unreadable when the pdfs are image-scans of small text.

  So for me it's not a 'replacement' for the K2, for K2 owners.  An addition maybe, for those with enough spare change.  New buyers may be attracted to it over the K2 though, but they'll need larger carrying cases and it'll be a separate item to remember to carry or pick up unless one uses a briefcase or backpack or quite large purse.
  Those with poor eyesight, who have problems with the smaller e-readers, will also find it an attraction.

  They don't seem that different in size in some photos (though the difference is large enough for those who carry their K2s everywhere with them), but this image and this one as well both show otherwise.

 And then there's THIS! ---)   Whoa!  I've never carried around a book that size but do have them for home-use.

  For those whose primary focus is carrying books or a library of books wherever they go, the segment of that group that carries Kindles in their purses will find this less attractive, but for students and business professionals, it will be quite doable in backpacks and briefcases -- and much better for technical textbook reading as well as business presentations.  I expect professors and business users will find the PDF support and larger screen well worth it to handle papers and presentations.
Peter Glaskowsky, writing for CNet, opines that this unit will not be ideal for textbooks for the natural or formal sciences, and it's the lack of color differentiation that is most key there.

But soon the full 8x10 screens will be (and some already are) offering the ability to write directly on the screen, with touch screen control, and able to show a normal multi-column newspaper layout.  The Kindle DX still displays newspaper articles as contained text (which has been fine for readers like me).

With two units this similar though, offered only 3 months apart -- ironically with the pricing being barely more than a $100 difference and with PDFs natively read in the unit (which means that they should be able to incorporate this as an upgrade to the Kindle 2) -- it can cause some people to hesitate more before deciding what to buy - one of the Kindles or a simpler, less capable and less expensive e-reader by anyone while the market settles down. (Nevuh happens.)  Still, for me, the more options and capabilities offered, the better.  

Since PDFs, even formatted correctly, are not ideal when scaled down to the Kindle-2's 6" screen and therefore no threat to sales of the DX if readable on the K2 also, Amazon should make PDF native support upgrades to the Kindle-2 now or customers will likely wonder at what some could consider bait and switch tactics.  I'm hoping they'll do the right thing.  Or explain why it can't be done.  A competitor can do it, why not Amazon?

In the meantime, many bought the K2 for the small size and 24/7 wireless factors and won't be overexcited about spending yet another $130 for a larger version they can't as easily carry around.  The paperback-size feature has been a large attraction and I'm sure it will continue to be.

 A quick look at the Amazon forums shows less interest (at the moment) in the new model than I'd expected to see from current Kindle-1 and Kindle-2 owners.
 My next purchase of $350 or over will likely be a 10" Netbook - for now, likely the Samsung, but that can change in a matter of days in this world.  The Asus I had been planning on before reading about the Samsung, is now available for $100 + a wireless contract (not WiFi but 24/7 wireless for about $50-$60/month.  So much to consider in this rapidly changing world.

Nevertheless, business professionals and some students will find the $489 a good price when 24/7 wireless is included (for how long for free?) and if textbook publishers are sane about their pricing for Kindle textbooks.  As some have pointed out earlier, textbook publishers have been making customized books for universities under special agreements that still give them a decent margin.  Would those be willing to do a general Kindle version instead and price it appropriately?  In this economy you'd think printing companies would take stock and seek survival rather than grossest margins :-)

But Amazon has done well, where other companies haven't, in this recession and if they do well by all their customers who have already invested money in their Kindles, they'll stay ahead of the game.  An important If.  The Kindle is not like a separate TV purchase, it's more like a cable-TV subscription cable-tv-program receiver unit.  The unit, for the vendor, is about the content that can be sold.  That's something for Amazon to keep in mind.

In the meantime, if I had to make a decision between the two units today, I would still choose the K2, for its size, as I'm one who carries my Kindle everywhere and I love reading on it anywhere I am.  But if not interested in books that much or in just reading news on the run, and very active in sharing paperwork and presentations, and with no Kindle already, I'd spring for this.

UPDATES:
To get an idea of the DX features and functioning, here is a a copy of the Kindle DX User’s Guide 1st Edition in PDF format, readable on any computer.

Here's a good report, with good photos, of Jeff Bezos' announcement/press conference today, by FastCompany's Chris Dannen.

  Gizmodo's Brian Lam reports first reactions to a very brief hands-on experience with it.  This includes Gizmodo's own photos and their video of this.   They mention that it's almost twice as heavy, with somewhat stiff action in the buttons and a response-time that is almost as fast as with the K2 because although the DX has a faster processer, it has much more data to process for a page.  Brian was unhappy with the autorotate's relatively slow processing.

  Wired's Brian X. Chen weighs in with a hands-on assessment and more photos and echos Gizmodo's hands-on re the slow roundtrip for an inadvertent auto-rotate (7 seconds) while finding the 5-way wheel not to his liking on either the K2 or DX (I like its direct navigation though; even if it's sluggish it saves us from the many dialog-screens of the Kindle-1 before getting where we want).  He also finds the web-browsing slow but doesn't say relative to the K2 or to a normal computer's browser.

  Good, varied screen examples by Engadget's Joshua Topolsky during the live event.

  Hmmm, they'd almost have me (if I didn't already have a purseable Kindle2) with the note in their press release that sheet music can be used with this and page-turns done with a press of a button).

  Thinking...if the DX had been first, many would jump at the 'new' 'COMPACT' K2 :-)