Amazon’s Revamped Kindle DX Improves Display

PC World - What a difference a display can make. Turning on the $380 Amazon Kindle DX (Graphite) second-generation large-format e-reader was all it took to see that Amazon's claims of a higher-contrast display than its predecessor were true.

The blacks truly look black, whereas the blacks on the original Kindle DX were dingy and gray. Words on the new Kindle seem to jump off the page. The screen has a lighter, more solid background to its E-Ink display than the first generation did, too. Regrettably, the darker text also means that you can more clearly see the jaggies in the de­­fault (and only) text font, at least at the default font size. Note that the new reader is housed in a dark gray ("graphite") exterior, as opposed to the off-white case of the original Kindle DX and Kindle 2. I prefer the darker chassis--I find that the dark border is easier on the eyes, enhancing reading.

Page turns left me with the impression of being zippier than on the first Kindle DX, but still sluggish compared with an LCD-based e-reader. Amazon does add Facebook and Twitter support, so you can highlight a passage and share it with your social network.

At $380--an attractive price--the Amazon Kindle DX continues to excel as a large-format E-Ink-based e-reader, for both Kindle books and PDFs. But you'll need to consider the trade-off involved in purchasing this Kindle instead of a multipurpose tablet like Apple's $499 iPad. E-Ink displays continue to hold battery-life and readability advantages (especially in bright sunlight), but the LCD-based iPad is more responsive, and it supports color.