Amazon’s Gold Box Deal today: Kindle DX for $269 ($110 off)
Amazon’s Gold Box Deal is not usually Kindle related, but today’s is. You can get the big reflective screen model, the
Kindle DX, Free 3G, 9.7″ E Ink Display, 3G Works Globally
for $269. That’s $110 off. There are definitely people who love the DX…and it’s the only model I’ve never owned. Somebody jokingly said to me this week I should open a Kindle museum, and I couldn’t without that…but I’m still not ready. I just don’t see me using it, and the software is close enough to another model I have that I don’t really need one to test things.
Besides, I suspect I’m going to be spending some significant money soon on other (new) Amazon hardware.
They also have other Kindle accessory time-limited deals today:
Their six AM deal already sold out…and it’s a new deal every hour, it looks like.
You can look ahead and see (generically) what the deal is.
For example, the 9:00 AM (Pacific Time) deal is a charging speaker dock for the Kindle Fire. I may check back in and look at that. There are covers and sleeves…and at 2:00 PM Pacific, a deal on power adapters for all models.
This certainly might suggest new models will be announced soon. That doesn’t necessarily mean a new KDX…a large screen backlit model might (maybe, possibly, I’m not committing) be seen as moving into that niche. However, I don’t think 6″ reflective screens are going away.
I don’t think we’ll have an announcement before the August 15th end of the 40% off sale they are doing for people with an Amazon rewards Visa card.
After that? Maybe…the big press event last year was on September 28th. We may not have to wait that long for some announcement, though: there may be more than one.
Regardless, check out these deals.
This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.
August 10, 2012 at 2:50 pm |
Saw these deals earlier this morning. My first thought was that they were clearing out lots of Fire and K3 related merchandise to prepare for new model releases soon. It may also be a “planned event” to raise speculation and buzz among the “speculators” who … speculate publicly and raise even more buzz. Anticipatory behavior now sets our minds in motion. Have we, in effect, become a part of Amazon’s marketing effort? In any event I’m sitting a bit closer to the edge of my chair in anxious anticipation. Did someone whisper “squirrel” … are we all silently watching and listening for that tell-tale movement in the bushes so we can swoop in for the kill. I am.
August 12, 2012 at 6:23 pm |
Thanks for writing, Harold!
I completely understand that anticipation.
Yes, we owners are part of Amazon’s marketing…and that’s the way it should be, right? Brand loyalty says something good, I think…although people being willing to switch says something as well.
August 10, 2012 at 2:57 pm |
I have to tell you how much I enjoy your blog. I have it on my K2 and I not only enjoy all the info you pass on, but take advantage of some of the offers you mention that I missed. Such as my new “Mindle” thanks to your hint. I love it. Now I am on to see the Gold Box deals you mentioned. Thanks for keeping this book addict informed.
August 12, 2012 at 6:18 pm |
Thanks for writing, Mary!
Thanks for the kind words! I understand being a book addict.
August 10, 2012 at 3:42 pm |
Did you see this?
http://gizmodo.com/5933590/110-says-all-the-new-kindles-are-coming-next-week/
August 10, 2012 at 6:09 pm |
Thanks for writing, Kat!
I hadn’t seen that one…not out of line with what I think, for the most part.
The blogger does say that all of the Kindles will be frontlit, and one of them will be 10″ Kindle Fire. Of course, that doesn’t make a lot of sense…why frontlight a backlit tablet? In the future, we may have technology that switches back and forth between backlighting and reflective screens, but I think it’s too soon for that. I think the blogger may also not have realized that you can buy out of the ad-support, if you want.
The 40% off deal ends on Wednesday…my guess, and I’m not positive about it, is that we won’t get a product announcement that would compete with the Mindle before that. However, Thursday or Friday might be good for some announcement: I think if they were going to do a full-on press event, they’d need to announce it more in advance. I do find it a bit ironic that, in order to introduce a high-tech, wirelessly driven device, journalists have to travel to a physical location so they can put their hands on it.
August 15, 2012 at 3:42 pm |
I did get this special offer and it arrived yesterday. I was also able to use the Visa offer to get a discount on a cover, so I got both Kindle and cover for less than $290.
Probably the only reason to get a DX is because you want a large e-Ink screen, and I did (unlike you, Bufo, I dislike reading on the K-Fire or any backlit screen). I was unsure about how I’d feel about a Kindle that was a bit out-of-date. Well, I’ve had it less than 24 hours and so far I *love* it. The software is at the level of the Kindle Keyboard when it first came out, and that’s not bad (The Kkb is my other RSK Kindle, and I also have a K-Fire). BTW, Bufo, if you need anyone to check something on a DX, don’t hesitate to ask.
In case you’re wondering, I wanted the larger screen for two main and one minor reasons: 1) cookbooks, 2) my eyes aren’t getting any younger, and 3) music. I love to cook and collect cookbooks. I don’t care about color in cookbooks, but screen size makes a huge difference. I don’t just follow recipes in the kitchen, I actually do *read* cookbooks,
especially old ones. (I have 10-20 made-of-paper cookbooks from the 19th century).
Also, I didn’t realize how much easier it is to read on the larger screen. Part of that is that the screen is up-to-date: a side-by-side comparison with my Kkb shows the DX with much better contrast and crisper text. So I am very happy with it.
A nice side effect is that I can give my Kindle Keyboard to my Mom. She won’t let me buy her a KIndle because she says she won’t use it enough to be worth it (she has no internet, so it’d have to be a 3G Kindle), but she would let me give her my old one. And no, I’m not so selfish that I wouldn’t give her the DX if she could use it, but the biggest con of the DX is that it is HEAVY and my Mom doesn’t have much hand strength–they way she likes to read, she would want to be able to hold the Kindle in one hand.
August 15, 2012 at 5:03 pm |
Thanks for writing, D.!
I’m glad that worked out so well for you! I can absolutely see the value of the KDX…the increasable text size is one of the man reasons I prefer e-books. Bigger words mean fewer words per screen…I don’t like to have my reading slowed.
Are you keeping your Mom on the same account so you can share books?
August 16, 2012 at 3:20 am
I prefer the more words per screen a lot more than I thought I would. It was especially nice when reading while eating — less page turns required! Okay, that’s trivial, but it’s not the only reason. I’m not really sure why I like it better; maybe it just feels more natural — number of words on a page are closer to what I’m used to after a lifetime of reading p-books.
It’ll be my Mom’s decision whether or not she wants to go on my account, but I’ll try to talk her into it. After all, I already have a very full library to choose from. She’ll want to read mostly in her native language (German), which I don’t read, but It’ll be easier for me to help her find books, I think, if we’re on the same account. And there are some English books she’ll want to read.