The second version of the Kindle, called the Kindle 2, was released in February of 2009. Now, only about four months later, Amazon surprised everyone with another Kindle – the Kindle DX. The DX is larger and has some new features, but is it really better? We set out to find out!

The Kindle DX, as shown in Figure 1, comes in a plain black Styrofoam/cardboard box that is molded to cradle it on the bottom and sides. This is covered with a thick black paper pouch that has the Amazon Kindle name in the center with alphabet letters strewn about.

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Figure 1: The Kindle DX in its package

Inside the box is the Kindle DX, a small black 6-page getting started guide, a USB cable, and a plug that can be attached to the USB cable for charging from an electrical wall outlet.

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Figure 2: What’s in the box.

The first thing that strikes you about the Kindle DX, as shown in Figure 3, is that it is big.

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Figure 3: The Kindle DX.

The Kindle DX has a 9.7” diagonal display and measures 10.4" x 7.2" x 0.38" (26.4 x 18.3 x 0.96 cm). The chart below compares the size, display, storage, weight, and price of the Kindle DX and the Kindle 2.