Taking Kindle DX on the road
I have both a Kindle 2 and a Kindle DX. Initially, I intended to use my DX at home, and to take my K2 with me when I travel. I make about thirty business trips per year.
For my past few trips, I’ve opted to bring along the DX with me. The DX has an appeal for business users (with its large format and native PDF-reading capabilities), and I figured I should put it through its paces on the road. So, here’s a ‘road warrior report’ on my experiences traveling with my Kindle DX.
First, in terms of portability, the DX slides easily into my backpack – right where my Kindle 2 typically rides. (Top view of bag shown below.)
Going through airport security, the DX evidently qualifies as a “large electronic device”. About half the time, I’m asked by the TSA security scanner to remove it from the backpack and to run it separately through the scanner. From now on, I’ll probably just pull it out and separate it. I’ve rarely had to do that with the Kindle 2 – only on one occasion was I asked to run it through separately from my backpack.
For use on the plane, I found the Kindle DX worked great. It’s not so big that it’s unwieldy, and I do enjoy the larger screen. The shots below are on a small twin-prop (Horizon Air, which is a feeder airline for Alaska).
Using the DX in landscape mode pretty much fills up the tray table area, at least on this small plane. I don’t see myself using landscape mode often, and rarely on an airplane.
Right now, my plan for using the DX and the K2 has reversed. I would be happy with either device – but my preference for travel is the DX. And, ironically, I prefer the Kindle 2 for at-home reading; most of my reading at home is in bed and I find the smaller size and weight of the K2 to be preferable for that.
I know we have other frequent-flying Kindle owners out there – - let us know your road warrior reports on Kindle, Kindle 2, and/or Kindle DX.