Kindle DX may be a lot similar to Kindle 2.0, but one things you can’t do with it is use all your Kindle 2.0 accessories for your DX as well. Some of your cables may work but definitely not your cases. The device is one hot item for the holiday season and makes a great gift.

With that in mind, here are the top Kindle DX accessories that are currently available on Amazon:

Kindle DX Covers:

Cole Haan Hand-Stained Patent Crocodile Print Kindle DX Cover: Cole Haan cases are among the best premium Kindle accessories around. For a while, they only were made for Kindle 2.0, but now Kindle DX has got its own selection of Cole Haan covers.

Piel Frama Amazon Kindle DX: a true premium case for Kindle DX. It’s made of handcrafted Spanish leather, and it does protect your Kindle DX against scratches and minor accidents.

OCTO Vintage Leather Kindle DX Book Cover with Hinge: one stylish Kindle DX case. It looks very stylish and gives you access to all the features your Kindle has to offer. It’s durable as well.

OCTO Leather Seamless Sleeve: it’s made of Italian Embossed Leather with soft microfiber interior. It also comes with seamless technology so stitching is not visible.

Cole Haan Hand-Stained Pebble Grain Leather: yet another premium stylish Kindle DX case from Cole Haan. Not as good looking as the first item on this list, but it’s still pretty good.

Tuff-Luv Leather Flip Case for DX: same as the above except it’s a flip case. You can also use it as a vertical stand.

M-Edge FlexStand for Amazon Kindle DX: if you intend to read your Kindle on your desk vertically, Flextand is the best Kindle DX stand to own.

JAVOedge Pink Croc Book Style Case: another stylish book style case for your Kindle. It gives you access to all the ports. It’s very slim too. Not as good as the Cole Haan one but way more affordable.

M-Edge Touring Kindle DX Sleeve: a very compact double zipper case for Kindle DX that keeps your Kindle DX safe against scratches and doesn’t add too much bulk.

JAVOedge Hardwood Sleeve Case: it’s made out of animal friendly material and protects your Kindle DX against knocks, scratches, and the elements.

So much for Amazon making a headway among college and university students. Amazon was banking on Kindle DX being a hit among college students. Amazon even dropped prices to make Kindle 2.0 a more affordable alternative for those students who didn’t want to pay close to $500 for Kindle DX. However, the feedback from students has been a mixed bag. Princeton University was one of the few that started their own Kindle pilot program to find out whether using Kindle DX in colleges is a viable option. Students in select classes were each given a Kindle DX with all their books and everything they needed to complete their coursework. The feedback was not what Amazon was hoping for:

…It’s clunky, slow and a real pain to operate

One student said. Here is a more detailed explanation:

Much of my learning comes from a physical interaction with the text: bookmarks, highlights, page-tearing, sticky notes… All these things have been lost, and if not lost they’re too slow to keep up with my thinking.

These comments are not by any means an indication that Kindle doesn’t work. A part of the problem seems to be that people are not used to using e-book readers to go through their coursework. That was always going to be an issue, and there will be some who will resist new technologies. I do agree that Amazon Kindle and other e-book readers are not where they need to me when it comes to emulating physical interaction for students. That’s why Apple iPad and Microsoft Carrier seem to be better equipped to become a hit with students.

Amazon did drop the ball with Kindle DX. The company did not properly target students with that device, which could be the reason why some students are not too open to the idea of using Amazon’s e-book reader in their schools. It would have been much better had Amazon introduced a “Kindle – Student Edition” with features tailored towards the needs of students only. Amazon is not yet ready to take on that risk, and Kindle DX’s hardware is not too superior to Kindle 2.0. While I do expect Amazon to improve its hardware and software in the near future, it does seem Apple and Microsoft are better equipped to capture the student market in this industry. But Amazon can always surprise us and improve Kindle’s hardware/software dramatically with the next update.

Your take: is Amazon going for too much too early in the game?

No. Amazon is not thinking about dropping its Kindle DX prices anytime soon, but it could happen for the holiday season. Kindle DX may be larger and better than Kindle 2.0 in many areas, but it’s price tags puts it out of many folks’ budget range.  Let’s not forget that Kindle DX wasn’t exactly made for the average Joe. The device is designed to help Amazon target the business and student niches in the e-book industry. But how many students can actually afford a Kindle DX these days? It’s good to know that some colleges are taking action to make it easier for low-income students to get their hands on the KDX, but if there was ever a good time for a Kindle price drop it would be now.

To its credit, Amazon did drop its prices on Kindle 2 a while back, but Kindle 2.0 was considerably cheaper than Kindle DX right from the start. Besides, no price is low enough for us Kindle fans. So there is no reason why Amazon shouldn’t come up with a limited time coupon or promotion to let more folks get their hands on a Kindle. You may say “Amazon does not need to drop its Kindle DX price.” And you may have a point. But when one of the most searched Kindle related keyword phrases on Google is “Kindle DX coupon,” you know people are looking for a way to get this killer gadget for less.

No one can tell how a short Kindle price drop promotion would turn out, but all signs point to Kindle DX becoming an even more of a hit with serial readers if Amazon does drop the price. Kindle DX is currently more expensive that most netbooks, and that is certainly something Amazon needs to address. Netbooks and e-book readers are not currently direct competitors, but that could change in the near future. I do feel Amazon needs to work towards bringing Kindle DX’s prices under $400. That will take sometime, but as the netbooks become more capable, Amazon’s hands may be forced.

Your turn: is Kindle DX overpriced?

A lot of folks have been asking me about the meaning of “Optimized For Kindle DX” since Amazon decided to label some ebooks with it. Does that mean that some book are more Kindle DX friendly than others? Kindle has come a long way since it was introduced a couple of years ago. If you remember, Amazon had labeled a few features as “experimental.” I can tell you that the whole PDF conversion was not smooth either. A lot of books that had charts and images didn’t show up right on my Kindle. With Kindle DX, Amazon has promised its customers better support for such books. As a Kindle DX owner, the last thing you want to see is charts not showing up right on your fairly expensive gadget. But even with all the improvements that Amazon has accomplished on Kindle DX, there are still books that may not show up right on Kindle DX’s large screen.

Amazon optimizing those tricky documents for Kindle DX should be good news for consumers. Just like any Amazon Kindle owner, I have had my share of e-books that don’t look quite right on the device. The platform has still a long way to go, but it will get better with the next generations. But for now Amazon is making sure it’s top books show up right on Kindle DX. I guess the question at this point is whether these Kindle DX friendly books show up right on Kindle 2.0’s small screen. Nice little dilemma for Amazon.

I admit, I am a bit surprised about this. But Amazon Kindle DX is sold out again (for the 2nd time in just a few weeks). Kindle DX is certainly a hot gadget these days, but what are we to read about it going out of stock for the 2nd time in a matter of weeks. Could it be that Amazon dropped the ball again with its demand estimations? If you remember, Amazon laid an egg with the first Kindle, and a lot of us had to wait months to get our hands on our gadgets. This time around, Amazon promises the wait time to be 4 to 6 weeks. But that’s still long enough to turn away a few folks.

Kindle DX was released to specifically target college students and business professionals who need larger screens to view their PDF documents. If you are a student, you can probably afford to wait 6 weeks, but it’s not ideal. This is the third time that Amazon has underestimated the demand for its gadget. The question at this point is whether Amazon is being too conservative with its estimates. The times are tough, and it’s reasonable for Amazon to expect less sales in these tough times. But it’s still frustrating for customers to have to wait 6 weeks to get their gadgets. Maybe Amazon could give its customers some sort of compensation to make the waiting process less painful (a couple of free e-books would do). Here is hoping that we don’t have to deal with these issues with Kindle 4.

Your take: will you wait 6 weeks for Kindle DX or is it a deal breaker?