The Kindle DX has not been as successful as Amazon expected it to be among students and the people involved in the world of academia. The device does have a large E-ink screen but its software is very limited. Amazon has been selling the Kindle DX for around $380 for quite a while now. The company did decide to drop its price to $259 just for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping events. But the future for the Kindle DX remains quite unpredictable.

Many have been wondering why Amazon is keeping the Kindle DX around. There is no question that there is demand for larger E-ink e-readers. But in its current form, the Kindle DX won’t sell well. Besides, smaller Kindles are going for around $100. Most people are not willing to pay close to $400 just to get a limited e-reader these days.

As TechCrunch suggests, a new Kindle DX may be already in the works. Amazon has kept the current model around for far too long if it indeed intends to discontinue it once and for all. Since the Kindle Fire 2 will have an 8.9 inch screen, there is still a place for a 10 inch e-reader in the Kindle family. One way or another, the future of this device will be determined by the next summer.

What’s your take? Do you think Amazon will keep the Kindle DX around?

The future of Kindle DX does not look that bright. Amazon is planning to release 7 and 10 inch tablets to the market in the next few months. Kindle DX is a great e-reader but it simply can not hold its own against 10 inch LCD tablets among consumers. Amazon has already tried discounting Kindle DX once.  As Jeff Bertolucci at PC World suggests, Amazon either needs to improve Kindle DX drastically or start dropping that price.

It is truly a shame that we do not see large-screen e-readers these days. Kindle DX was a nice try. But Amazon will most likely not invest in improving the device unless its tablets underperform badly. We have been optimistic about E-ink’s color screens making their way to new e-reader models. A color screen Kindle DX that does not cost a whole lot could give e-reader fans another option.

So what will Amazon do? It is very likely that the end of the road is near for Kindle DX (for the time being). Amazon will most likely discount Kindle DX for the holiday season (for events such as Black Friday). But I doubt the company will kill it off. 10 inch e-readers are underrated. There certainly is a market for them. Amazon just did not have the right recipe.

We have heard a ton of rumors about Amazon’s upcoming tablets. The company plans to introduce as many as 2 new e-readers and 2 tablets to enhance its presence in the e-reader and tablet-PC markets. Amazon may not be going after Apple iPad directly with its first tablet but it does intend to introduce a powerful 10 inch tablet in 2012. According to Digitimes, Amazon’s 10 inch tablet will be mass produced in the first quarter of 2012.

Mass production of Amazon’s 10.1-inch tablet PC reportedly will be conducted in the first quarter of 2012 with Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) to handle the orders, according to sources from upstream component suppliers.

Not surprisingly, Amazon is expected to ship as many as 30M Kindle e-readers in 2011. Kindle 4 is slated to be released later this year with a touchscreen display. The company will start shipping its 7 inch tablets some time in October. At this point, it is not clear what the future holds for Kindle DX. The device was launched with a lot of promise behind it. It is still a great catch for anyone needing an e-reader with a large screen. But with Amazon launching a 10 inch tablet, Kindle DX could be on its last leg.

Amazon has not shown any hints that it intends to keep improving Kindle DX. The device was never a hit among students. It won’t outsell the 6 inch Kindle considering its high price. With Amazon’s 10 inch tablet shipping in 2012, will keeping Kindle DX around be even necessary?

What’s your take? Should Amazon keep Kindle DX around?

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Sponsored screen-savers on your Kindle won’t take away from your reading experience though one has to wonder whether Amazon should have offered a better deal to make Kindle with special offers more attractive.

If you want to pick up the more expensive Kindle models and save some money, you are in luck. Amazon has just started a promotion for mother’s day offering free gift cards with the purchase of Kindle 3G or Kindle DX. Kindle DX was selling for $299 just a couple of weeks ago. So this is not the best deal offered by Amazon. These deals are running for a limited time anyway.

This could seem like a fluke if only a few cases were out of stock. But it seems the majority of Kindle DX cases are no longer being offered on Amazon. Even M-Edge has a number of cases that are “no longer available.”

It could just be that Kindle DX is not as popular as Kindle, so accessory makers do not have a reason to offer too many options to shoppers. Or maybe some of these accessory manufacturers have gotten a hint or two from Amazon about Kindle DX’s new design. Maybe Amazon is completely redesigning the product, making the current crop of Kindle DX cases useless for it.

Of course, we have not been able to get an ounce of new information from Amazon on Kindle 4 and Kindle DX 3. We will know more about Kindle DX and its future before the start of the next Fall semester.

Amazon Kindle DX is truly an interesting device. Amazon launched the device a while ago to target college students and business professionals. It may have the same screen technology as Kindle 3 but it is still running an older generation software. The device used to sell for around $500 but Amazon had to drop its price to $379 to keep it competitive against tablets and alternative devices.

Kindle devices usually do not get discounted on Amazon. In fact, Amazon has already been quite aggressive when it comes to pricing Kindle 3. So it is surprising to see Kindle DX Graphite getting a major discount on BestBuy. BestBuy is offering the device for only $299. Interestingly enough, Amazon has still not dropped its own price.

Kindle DX may be a wonderful e-book reader. But Amazon won’t be selling too many of these without a major price drop. Apple iPad 2, Xoom, and Samsung Galaxy may not be E-ink readers but they do not cost a whole lot more than a Kindle DX. Let’s not forget that the original Kindle was priced $399 at first. Kindle 3 is now selling for as low as $139.

All signs point to Amazon dropping Kindle DX’s price sometime soon. There is a good chance a new Kindle DX will make its debut later this year. Could it be the rumored tablet Amazon seems to be working on? That is not clear at this point.

Let’s face it. iPad 2 is going to become the best selling tablet on the market in a short while. Apple has not made revolutionary changes to the device, but Steve Jobs is the master of selling water as gold. iPad 2 is a decent upgrade over iPad 1 but most iPad 1 owners can probably manage fine without having to invest another $500 in a new Apple tablet.

iPad 2 is great for doing business, playing games, watching movies, and even reading. Still, those who have been hesitant about switching from paper books to Kindle for their reading needs are going to find the reading experience on iPad 2 even more disconnecting.

iPad 2 can be quite distracting for those not used to Apple products. It does have a larger screen than Kindle 3 but that advantage is out of the window when one compares iPad against Kindle DX. Kindle DX has been getting the “little brother treatment” from Amazon so far. But with a price drop, it could become a major competitor to iPad among e-book adopters. Here are a few reasons Kindle DX is already superior to iPad 2:

• Screen: E-ink e-readers offer a much superior reading experience than LCD tablets. Xoom and iPad 2 have beautiful screens but reading on them still feels like reading on a laptop screen.
• Battery Life: Apple iPad offers hours of battery life in wireless mode. Kindle DX can go for a week with wireless turned on.
• Design: iPad 2 may be superior in design among tablets, but it was never developed for e-books only. Kindle DX is still lighter than iPad 2. To be fair, Apple has done a wonderful job making iPad 2 more compact.
• Less Apps: this may sound counter-intuitive but those who need a device to read only e-books on (or listen to audiobooks) don’t need thousands of apps. Apps can be distracting and waste hours of time you should be spending on reading books.

It’d be dishonest to discredit what Apple has accomplished with iPad 2. At the same time, the device is still not the best option for those who need a dedicated e-book reader.

Video credit: Mobile Tech Review

Amazon is planning to take full advantage of the holiday shopping season to boost its Kindle sales. The company intends to offer a portion of its remaining Kindle 2 units for $89 each for Black Friday. It is not clear how long this deal will last but from our past experiences with Amazon, it should not go for too long.

While Amazon has dropped its first generation Kindle DX price to $329 recently, we were hoping for a better Kindle DX deal for Black Friday 2010. Amazon has not announced any plans for that. Kindle 2 is still a very impressive e-book reader. But gifting old generation e-readers to others is not exactly the best way to celebrate the holidays. At the very least, Kindle DX gen 1 units are more impressive.

Will you be picking up Kindle 2 for $89 on Black Friday? Do you consider this to be a good deal considering that Kindle 3 WiFi only costs $50 more?

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Amazon Kindle 3 may get all the coverage in the news these days. But Amazon does have big plans for Kindle DX. In fact, Kindle DX got the “graphite look” a bit earlier than regular Kindle. Amazon had high hopes for Kindle DX. The device has a large enough screen to be useful for students, teachers, and researchers. Unfortunately, it is too expensive for a lot of people at this point. Since it’s still priced somewhat close to Apple iPad, it could be losing some market to that device, especially among college students. With Nook 2 coming out soon, now is the time for Amazon to be more aggressive with Kindle DX. Amazon won’t be introducing its Android tablet to the market this year, but it can surely offer a different flavor of Kindle DX — Kindle DX WiFi.

Kindle DX WiFi could be priced aggressively to go after Nook 2 and Apple iPad. Amazon has had a lot of success with its $139 Kindle, so there is no reason it shouldn’t bring a WiFi-only version of Kindle DX to the market. Here are just 5 reasons why it should do it now:

• Kindle DX is too expensive: while having the ability to download books on the road without having to look for a WiFi network is nice, there is no question Kindle DX is still out most people’s price range. Amazon could potentially offer this device for just under $300. That would give the device a better chance to succeed.
• Compete with Nook and other devices: B&N may be quite excited about its Nook 2. But the fact remains that Nook 2 does not take advantage of E-ink technology. A cheaper Kindle DX could put even more pressure on Amazon’s competitors in this field. 
• Not everyone needs 3G: Kindle is not exactly an internet tablet. 3G functionality is nice if you are traveling around the globe and want to have a way to download content anywhere. But many of us can do without it.
• Increase adoption rate: during Kindle DX trials, many students complained about Kindle DX being too expensive and not offering a good bang for buck. That could all change if Amazon prices Kindle DX WiFi aggressively.
• Larger screens are underrated: Jeff Bezos has claimed 6 inch screens to be the perfect display size for e-readers. Considering that Apple has had a lot of success with the iPad, there is no reason Amazon can’t with Kindle DX.

Kindle DX has been in the shadow of its tiny family member since the very start. It’s about time Amazon got serious about the future of Kindle DX. An aggressive pricing strategy would be a good start.

Any thoughts?

It seems Amazon is not satisfied with selling Kindle through Target and Staples. BestBuy will be getting its own Kindles to sell too. Amazon.com is one of the most successful websites on the Internet, and it has helped Amazon sell a decent number of Kindle readers. But, there are still a lot of people who rather purchase such devices offline. That explains why Amazon is forming these agreements with the above-mentioned retailers. For BestBuy, the move is a no brainer, considering how popular Kindle has become:

Our goal is to help people choose the device that’s right for them by providing the broadest selection of popular e-readers of any retailer, in one convenient place that enables people to easily see, touch, try and buy,

said Chris Homeister, senior VP and general manager of home entertainment at Best Buy, in a statement. It is not clear how much this move will help Amazon but as long as it can get more Kindles in people’s hand, Amazon will be happy.

Buying Kindle from Amazon.com is much more convenient though. Amazon ships the device for free and does it quite fast. But many shoppers just have to touch and feel these devices before buying them. Kindle being sold in BestBuy, Target, and Staples should give shoppers plenty of chance to do just that.

Would you buy your Kindle from an offline store?