$299 Kindle DX Sale

Posted on April 15, 2011 by switch11

Amazon is having a $299 Kindle DX sale today. The sale is on the Kindle DX 2 which has the eInk Pearl screen.

$299 is quite a good price – It amounts to a $80 saving on the regular price. It doesn’t make the Kindle DX a steal, but it certainly puts it into the ‘decent value for money’ category.

Here’s more on the Kindle DX 2 -

  1. Kindle DX 2 Photos. 
  2. Kindle DX 2 Video.

Pros & Cons of the Kindle DX 2

There are quite a few pros -

  1. Large 9.7″ screen.
  2. eInk Pearl screen which is great for reading and readable in bright sunlight.
  3. Good Battery Life – 2 to 3 weeks with wireless off and 7 days with wireless on. 
  4. The larger screen makes it better for reading PDFs and websites. 
  5. Free 3G wireless which covers store browsing,downloading books you buy, and browsing the Internet via a basic web browser.
  6. Free wireless in 100+ countries. Please note that this global wireless feature is available only for US customers.
  7. Accelerometer.
  8. Text to Speech.
  9. Super Size Fonts.
  10. The Kindle Store – the best range of new books and the best prices (except for Agency Model books which are the same price everywhere).

There are also quite a few cons -

  1. The Kindle DX 2 doesn’t have a lot of the physical upgrades the Kindle 3 and Kindle WiFi have – It’s missing WiFi, the month-long battery life is missing, and there is no secret built-in microphone.
  2. Kindle DX 2 is also missing a lot of the software improvements/additions the Kindle 3 and Kindle WiFi have including Voice Guide, PDF reader improvements (notes etc.), and the new web browser. 
  3. It’s quite heavy. It weighs 18.9 ounces which means you can’t really hold it in your hands for too long before your arms get tired.
  4. It’s a bit awkward. The awkwardness is due to the size – 10.4″ by 7.2″ by 0.38″. The thinness is impressive but the large width and height make the Kindle DX 2 difficult to hold and carry.
  5. Value for Money isn’t as good as the Kindle WiFi – even at the $299 price.
  6. No support for ePub or library books.
  7. Publishers have control over whether Text to Speech and Lending are enabled for a book.

At $299 the Kindle DX is a good option if you’re looking for a large-screen reading device. However, it’s not yet an absolute must-get.

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Kindle DX Discount – $449 Discounted Kindle with Free Subscription (Limited)

Posted on October 20, 2009 by switch11

There will be a discounted Kindle DX available ‘in select areas’ by end of the week – It’ll be a $449 Kindle DX with a $40 discount and a free Washington Post subscription included.

Not unsurprisingly it’s the Washington Post that has the news -

 The concept has evolved to enable Amazon to offer customers in select areas an opportunity to purchase a discounted Kindle and receive a free Kindle subscription to The Washington Post.

We have been working with Amazon to identify Amazon subscribers outside of the D.C. area who are not already subscribed to The Washington Post–those individuals will receive an offer via e-mail.

The Columbia Journalism Review had earlier written about the New York Times offering a free subscription with a $489 Kindle DX. That too was limited to customers in select areas.

Kindle DX Discount and Free Subscription?

This seems rather compelling on the surface -

  1. You get a $40 Kindle DX  discount.
  2. You also get a free 1 year subscription to the Washington Post.

Obviously Washington Post and Amazon feel that getting a new Post Subscriber/Kindle DX owner is worth the price of the subscription ($120) and the $40 discount on the Kindle DX.

It’s unfortunate it’s limited to certain areas.

  • You’d think the value of a new subscriber is worth whatever subsidy Washington Post are giving Amazon.
  • You also have to think the cost to the Post for every incremental subscription is rather low.
  • Amazon ends up selling books to all these new Kindle DX owners.

Kindle DX Discount, Free Washington Post Subscription offer starts Oct 22nd

The Washington Post is saying the Discounted Kindle DX offer will start as early as end of this week -

Later this week, the plan is for Amazon to start e-mailing select customers outside the Washington area, inviting them to buy a discounted Kindle DX–priced at $449 instead of the usual $489–bundled with one year of the Post’s Kindle edition.

Hopefully the discounted Kindle DX offer spreads to other newspapers and to people within a newspaper’s delivery area too.

Filed under: kindle dx, news | Tagged: , | 2 Comments »

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