We have been following John Ewing’s quest to find a suitable Electronic Flight Bag (EFB), including his recent but failed attempt to convert his Macbook into a Modbook to use as an EFB (it failed after a few weeks due to a “jumping” cursor problem). Recently though, a reader lent John his Kindle DX to test and evaluate as an EFB and John has posted a detailed review about using one in the cockpit.
Now in case you are not familiar with the Kindle DX, the device is a combination hardware and software wireless reader that can hold up to 3,500 books, periodicals, and documents (it was developed by Amazon.com and currently retails for US$489 on their site). Given its storage capabilities, a Kindle DX in theory should make an excellent EFB.
However, while John found plenty to like about the hardware, he soon discovered that the Kindle DX’s software to be woefully lacking due to the lack of bookmark or hyperlink support. Without these features, it is difficult to sort through, organize and access information – especially in the cockpit while flying. Moreover, the device cannot be used like a tablet computer to take notes with.
Hence, for those pilots out there who already have a Kindle DX and were considering using it as an EFB – you are better off considering another device.
Have you checked out http://www.pdfplates.com ? They offer a one-stop spot for NACO/FAA charts in PDF format, along with advice on making it work well with the Kindle.
That's all I can see. Overall, the pluses outweigh the minuses for me, and I'm satisfied with my purchase. I can now think of using my DX for work documents on a regular basis, because of the PDF reader. The screen size and screen rotation make the overall reading experience more immersive.
Overall, the DX feels more like text and less like device and comes closer to the stated goal of the Kindle: for the device to disappear, leaving only the joy of reading.