Amazon Kindle DX

With its price cut below $400, the Amazon Kindle DX manages to stay somewhat competitive with the Apple iPad 2 (*Est. $400 and up) , critics say, though no reviews we've spotted address how it stacks up against the new iPad (*Est. $500 and up) , which is drawing raves for how it displays text thanks to its much higher resolution touch screen. People who really only want a big-screen device that can read books, magazines, periodicals and PDFs may prefer the Kindle DX's paper-like, grayscale E Ink screen, which gets better contrast for this newest version, over the iPad or iPad 2's backlit color touch screen.

The Kindle DX uses the same screen technology you'll find on the top-rated smaller Amazon Kindle (*Est. $70 and up) , and its 3 GB of usable storage can hold about 3,500 books. However, the Kindle DX doesn't include the regular Kindle's built-in Wi-Fi (the Kindle DX downloads books via 3G wireless only), and at almost 19 ounces it's nearly as heavy as an iPad and more than twice as heavy as the regular Kindle, which testers say can make the Kindle DX uncomfortable to hold for a long time. The Kindle DX includes a basic web browser, but testers say it doesn't work well; an iPad, with its full tablet-computer capabilities, is a better choice if you want a big-screen device that can do more than read books and documents.

PC World, CNET, PCMag.com and MobileTechReview.com all test the Amazon Kindle DX, drawing comparisons with the previous Kindle DX, the previous-generation Kindle and the iPad (since refreshed to be more powerful, and with the aforementioned high-resolution display) to help readers make the best buying decision. ConsumerReports.org also tests the latest Kindle DX and ranks it alongside other e-book readers in a chart, but with virtually no discussion of what it looks and feels like to use each one. To gauge user opinion, Amazon.com hosts a large number of owner-written reviews.