Comparing Kindle 2 & Kindle DX
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Related subjects: Hyper-convergence (Web 3.0), I.T., J.E. Robertson, Media, Science & Technology, TheHotSpring.net Comments Off
The Amazon Kindle 2 is ideally sized for one-handed reading. In this category, it beats the traditional book, because it’s single pane is more ergonomic for the purpose of reading with one hand and seeing the text clearly at a consistent angle, than struggling to balance a side-bound traditional book.
In this sense, it is comfortable for holding, but anyone could argue that the traditional book is more rewarding from a sensory perspective, with flipping pages, constant subtle movements that stimulate the eye and hold the reader’s attention, near zero glare and good and reliable contrast.
Comparing the Kindle 2 to the Kindle DX, however, brings a new set of metrics into the discussion. The Kindle 2 has a much smaller screen, which makes it less paper-like and more like a digital device. On its own, with no case or cover, the Kindle 2 is, from this reviewer’s point of view, the most comfortable digital text reading experience I have had.
If the text is too small, you can simply enlarge it, up to something comparable to 24-point Times New Roman (on a Mac laptop). I also find the navigation tools, the keyboard and 5-way navigator button, along with the home, prev page and next page, menu and back buttons, are more flush with the device than on the larger DX, giving it a more subtle, less prone to accidental pressing, kind of feel.
The qwerty keyboard is also ideally sized for two-thumb typing, for most adults’ hands. This makes searching and note-taking far more efficient and enjoyable than on the DX, which really doesn’t lend itself to thumb-only typing, because the keyboard is flatter, wider and gathered near the bottom of the device, which, being larger than the Kindle 2 is also more top-heavy if held near the bottom for typing purposes.
For me, the Kindle 2 is optimal, in terms of e-paper readers as currently produced. It is the right weight, the right size, and it can accompany me and a single thin blank book, without intruding too much into my space. It makes it possible to do a lot of research and a lot of for-pleasure reading without carrying around a lot of weight. This is good for reasons of both logistics and physical health. Remember, ergonomics is not just for comfort, it’s for sustained physical health: the super-light weight makes carrying one’s reading material much less physically taxing, and even the weight difference between the Kindle 2 and the DX matters.
The DX is designed to handle larger-format publications, like textbooks, which may have images and tables and graphics worked into the text. Its larger-format display is useful for this, but the device still suffers the significant disadvantage as compared with paper of its being unable to deliver vivid color. Amazon is right to be considering a foray into more expansive layout environments, like newsprint, magazines and textbooks, but in the age of the iPhone, one is tempted to say the Kindle family of devices needs a more malleable touch-based interface that would allow for actually showing fixed-layout files in their native proportions.
The Kindle 2 is more convenient and comfortable, but the DX gives the reader room to breathe, a little more of the sense of being immersed in the text environment, which enhance the level of engagement. That makes it more like a content-rich magazine or a top-flight printed newspaper.
Both Kindles also have the virtue of being something special to the publishing industry: a way to allow for sales and royalties, in part from impulse buys, and a return to the idea that text well-wrought is meant to exist for its own sake, not as “content value-added” for a multimedia undertaking. This common trait is perhaps their most important contribution to the eReader marketplace. But both devices also need to figure out how to marshal the attraction of free web browsing and free downloads into a mechanism for producing book sales that keep the ePaper platform at the leading edge of the digital content transition.
For someone who does a lot of reading in all media, including online reference and quality newspapers, journals and magazines, I like both devices for the way they facilitate the instant updating of such materials, right to my bedside, kitchen or cafe table-top. It’s also useful to be able to take notes and underline as I read, to go back later and piece together my research and my own ideas about it.
But I’m using an iPod Touch to not only read and do research, but also to do more complex word processing, edit and archive email correspondence, and amass an extensive library of free classics. I can buy from the Kindle Store and read here or on a Kindle registered to my account. I find the versatility of the touch environment conducive to efficiency. But sensory overload is a worry, and certainly a constant distraction from reading text.
For ease of use, comfort and portability, I’d rate the Kindle 2 more of a success than the Kindle DX. Fox text-only, or even single-image plus text, the Kindle 2 is also more comfortable. But one has to recognize the functional benefits of the larger display for certain types of documents. Amazon’s people will need to do better with producing a comfortable viewing environment for PDF documents, let the device be more deferential to the layout and styling of publishers. But, the DX will truly come into its own of and when Amazon is able to deploy a touch-enabled color e-paper display.
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