The new Kindle DX: good for gaming?

[Pseudopsyche]

In case you haven't heard, today Amazon announced a new [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-DX-Amazons-Wireless-Generation/dp/B0015TCML0]Kindle with a 9.7" screen[/ame]. It can display PDFs in grayscale. To be honest, I don't know much about these Kindle things, so maybe you can tell me. Will this be good for reading the DDI magazines in bed? For navigating notes at the game table? Do any RPG publishers use the Kindle format? This thing is supposed to have a screen big enough for newspapers and textbooks. That should be good enough for us, right?

 

[Obryn]

I saw the specs today, and with native PDF reading, I think it will be incredible for gaming. If you have the rulebooks on PDF, that is.

It'd still be great for Dragon and Dungeon.

This is all assuming that its PDF capabilities are up to snuff. If it's got a poor display engine for PDF documents, forget everything I just said. I'd recommend waiting for official reviews and tests before plunking down almost $500 for it.

Also, if the Kindle becomes more popular, this presents another possible avenue for WotC's electronic sales. It's a more secure format; it's just there's a very limited base of potential consumers right now.

-O

 

[DaveMage]

If a color mode was available, this would be very tempting to use for RPGs.

But without color, I'm not as interested.

 

[Eridanis]

I was just about to come start a thread on this very topic!

I don't think this device itself will be a rulebook killer, but it's definitely on the right track. $489 is reasonable for what you get, but for a few hundred more you could get a laptop that displays your pdfs in color, and does everything else you need from a computer. However, I think this is a harbinger of things to come; ten years from now, its grand-grandchild will be "the last gaming book you ever need."

 

[jamorea]

I think my wife ordered me one. I have a few D&D PDFs (all legal) that I'll test it out on. BTW, the color thing doesn't bother me, I loaded up a Dragon Mag on my wife's kindle 2 and the formatting was bad but the pictures actually looked great in the greyscale.

 

[Scribble]

I was just about to come start a thread on this very topic!

I don't think this device itself will be a rulebook killer, but it's definitely on the right track. $489 is reasonable for what you get, but for a few hundred more you could get a laptop that displays your pdfs in color, and does everything else you need from a computer. However, I think this is a harbinger of things to come; ten years from now, its grand-grandchild will be "the last gaming book you ever need."

The only issue you have then is that with a laptop you loose the benefits of the kindle virtual paper deal. (IE no backlight so as easy on the eyes as real paper, plus longer battery life...)

 

[SteveC]

I would like to ask that if anyone actually picks this up and puts it to the test with some different PDFs, please come back here and let us know...this sounds fantastic.

--Steve

 

[Swack-Iron]

I've owned a Kindle 1 and Kindle 2, and would definitely love to read my gaming PDFs (all legal!) on my eBook reader. As far as the Kindle DX goes, I think you've got to consider 2 issues (beyond the price, of course):

1. It's bigger than a Kindle 2.
The Kindle 2 is amazingly portable, and can even fit in a large-ish coat pocket. The DX is looks closer to the size of a magazine so it won't be quite as portable. Of course, it's just as portable as a gaming book -- perhaps even more so because it's lighter than most gaming books.

2. Research books don't work as well in Kindle format.
Something that programmers, students, and others discovered even back with the Kindle 1 is that the Kindle isn't that great for the sort of book where you want to flip back and forth between sections. "See chart on page 189" is something you'll be unhappy to see if you're on page 56.

 

[weem]

I have been considering getting my wife a Kindle 2 (she reads a LOT). I'll have to check this one out as I have a number of PDF's myself - not enough to warrant buying this, but maybe sometime down the road.

 

[Nightchilde-2]

This is all assuming that its PDF capabilities are up to snuff. If it's got a poor display engine for PDF documents, forget everything I just said. I'd recommend waiting for official reviews and tests before plunking down almost $500 for it.

Also, if the Kindle becomes more popular, this presents another possible avenue for WotC's electronic sales. It's a more secure format; it's just there's a very limited base of potential consumers right now.

-O

This.

I would like to ask that if anyone actually picks this up and puts it to the test with some different PDFs, please come back here and let us know...this sounds fantastic.

--Steve

And especially this.

Lack of a good, portable reader (and, no, laptops/netbooks don't count for my purposes) is what has kept me from going .pdf.