If the Kindle technology developers would read this, it would make me very happy.I think the first Kindle came out around the time I started school as a undergrad. Since then, I and other student friends of mine have been watching and waiting for Kindle to become student friendly. Kindle DX is a step in the right direction, especially with a native PDF reader, but there are still some things missing. They are:1. The acquisition of a large majority of college textbooks in the Kindle library. Considering the cost and bulkiness of textbooks (not to mention how many we have to buy every term), the ability to get them all at a reduced cost on Kindle would a great selling point.2. FULL COLOR screen. Nuff said.3. The ability to download pdf’s directly from the internet. Most professors who teach lecture-style classes now upload pdf’s of their lecture notes (usually powerpoint slides) to a course website. We download them, print them out, bring them to class, and take notes on them. A few of us take notes on the pdf documents right on the computer, but, well, you know all about reading something on a computer screen for too long. Being able to read and annotate pdf’s directly on Kindle DX is a great asset, but not having to first get them on a computer and then transfer them to a Kindle would be much more user-friendly. I can just imagine leaving my laptop at home, being able to walk into lecture, sit down, and download the lecture notes onto a Kindle–right next to my textbook!4. Digital notepad capabilities. Annotations with a keyboard is nice, but handwritten annotations are much better–both for pdf’s and textbooks. Lecturers go fast, and most of us hand-write faster than we type. Plus, we don’t just need words. We need to be able to highlight, underline, doodle, draw circles, arrows, diagrams, and anything else that comes up in class. With a Kindle with these capabilities, I’d save money on textbooks and printer ink, and probably save a lot of trees. Come out with a device like this by the time I start grad school, and it will definitely be on my, and probably many other students’, back-to-school lists.



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