Jay Marine, Director of Product Management, showing off the Kindle DX's autorotation.

I just spoke with Jay Marine, who was kind enough to let me hold a Kindle DX. It feels solid like my Kindle 2, albeit ever so slightly thicker and heavier at 18.9 ounces. This is still incredibly light and less of a burden than holding a single textbook, let alone an entire book bag full of them. Check the continuation of this post for pics and our interview with Jay.

The keyboard has changed from the Kindle 2 format with keys that are slightly elongated and the top row of the QWERTY key layout serves the dual purpose of representing letters and numbers. The speakers have also been moved to the bottom of the Kindle DX, whereas before they were on the back of the device. The back looks the same as on the Kindle 2 sans the speakers and of course, bigger.

I asked Jay Marine about the possibility of PDF support being added for the Kindle and Kindle 2, and he said it wasn't currently planned and that he couldn't comment on it more. I then asked if there was some concern on their end because of their competitors, most notably the Sony Reader offering PDF support in smaller-screened e-ink devices. He said that Amazon doesn't really focus on its competitors at all and instead focuses on designing for its customers.

I then asked him if there was any awareness or concern at Amazon regarding the people online who are tinkering with the Kindle, doing things like changing the default font on the device or changing the screensaver images. He said that Amazon had no official stance on such activities beyond what is in its Terms of Service and that Amazon doesn't actively concern itself with people who decide to try to make the device do something it doesn't. So it doesn't sound like the Kindle platform will end up in a firmware update war with users who hack away at it in the same way that Sony has done with the PSP and Apple has done with the iPhone and iPod touch.