[Klip]

My brother is considering getting a ebook reader.  He want to use it mostly for reading academic papers and making annotations, probably while he is travelling.

He is considering getting a Kindle DX.  Any advice on this?  Is there another e-reader that may be more suited to somebody who wants to do a lot of annotating?  He does not want to get a ipad

 

[Ann in Arlington]

What format will the content be?  If it's PDF the DX will work well for reading.  I'm not sure how much notetaking capability it has when using the PDF reader functions, however.

If they're mostly text, and not copy-protected, however, he may be able to convert them adequately to Kindle's native format (mobi or prc).  There are various utilities, mostly free, readily available on line for converting almost any format.  Notetaking is pretty good in that case and the question becomes whether he wants the extra screen size of the DX or the portability of the standard sized Kindle.

The DX does NOT have WiFi, only 3G.  The regular Kindle, as you are probably aware, comes with WiFi or both WiFi and 3G. 

And the DX is at least twice as much cost-wise.

 

[Annalog]

Between the smaller Kindle and the Kindle DX, I find it much easier to type on the 6" display Kindle keyboards than on the keyboard on the Kindle DX. When I need to type on DH's DX, I find that I need to place the DX on the table when typing long notes instead of holding in my hands and using my thumbs which is how I annotate on my K2. Keep in mind, however, that I do not have large hands.

However, the larger screen on the DX does make PDFs and documents with images much easier to read.

Also, the files where the Kindle stores the annotations, both the MyClippings.txt and the files that contain the book annotations, bookmarks, and current location, such as the .mbp files associated with the .mobi, .prc, and .txt files, can be transferred between Kindles. For example, I transferred the .mbp file containing my notes on Lord of the Rings from my K2 to DH's DX so that he could read my comments. Of course, since the actual book file has DRM enabled, we had each downloaded the book itself from Amazon.

 

[Xopher]

Plus, all annotations are synced to kindle.amazon.com (if you have sync turned on). It makes it easy to retrieve note later when on a laptop or computer. I take notes all the time on my K3 (and previously on my K1). It took a little while to get used to the keyboard, but once that was done, I got pretty good at it.

You can also highlight and make notes using the Kindle for Android app, as well as the Kindle for PC app (I would assume the same with iOS devices) and those notes will sync between devices. I haven't tried taking notes on my phone, but I would assume that it should be pretty simple. Typing note on my laptop is just as simple as typing anything on the laptop.

I think that is one of the selling points for me. It doesn't matter the device (phone, tablet, computer, ereader), you can go from device to device (on the same account) and have similar features across all of them.

 

[Ann in Arlington]

Plus, all annotations are synced to kindle.amazon.com (if you have sync turned on). It makes it easy to retrieve note later when on a laptop or computer.

I'm not sure this is the case for content that you acquire from elsewhere than Amazon. . . .

 

[Xopher]

I'm not sure this is the case for content that you acquire from elsewhere than Amazon. . . .

This is true. It only syncs items purchased through Amazon. Otherwise, you have to copy the file over as listed above.

 

[Klip]

Excellent, thanks !

All of this really helps