Amazon Kindle Review
People all over the world were pleasantly surprised by the new additions to the Amazon Kindle family. Especially with the new devices such as the Kindle Fire, but one device that seemed to have been overlooked was the new Kindle itself. This version has been cut down in size to now having no keyboard, but along with that cut is a significant decrease in price! So the question we have to ask ourselves is whether or not the Kindle Keyboard is better than this new addition without a keyboard.
I would say at first glance that yes is appropriate. In my experience of having the Kindle keyboard, the keyboard itself was rarely used, and something that takes up a lot of space. The great benefit of the new kindle not having this keyboard is that it is a much smaller device, one that is both lighter and more compact. Coming in at a mere 170g means that it is lighter than most paperbacks, and therefore the only thing that you are going to be doing is touching the sides of the device to flick between pages.
Wonderful screen
The E-Ink display is much improved from previous versions, and as expected still a great screen to read on. E-ink being the closest you will ever get to reading a printed page is wonderful to read on and will never cause you eyestrain of any sorts. I can tell you from testing the device the flicking from page to page is the fastest that I’ve ever experienced on any previous Kindle device and reading in sunlight is not a problem as always. Images on the device are that much more crisp and clear while still coming in the usual black and white format. I’ve read a number of books where there were a large number of pictures and I can tell you that while the pictures in color format undoubtedly looked a lot better, the black and white images surprisingly looked good too.
The Amazon Kindle has more than enough space to carry over 1400 books on the go, which of course you can download using the built in Wi-Fi. I can tell you that Amazon were correct in their estimates as I downloaded a book with a lot of images in just a minute. The main difference aside from the lack of the keyboard to previous versions of the Kindle is the fact that this Keyboard less Kindle only supports Wi-Fi. If you are wanting to have the feature of 3G capabilities then you are going to have to get the Kindle Keyboard. I guess the main reason that Amazon didn’t include it in this version of the Kindle was to keep the price down as much as possible. You are going to have to pay significantly more for the 3G Kindle Keyboard.
No keyboard, no problem
Of course the only people that are going to find a lack of a keyboard a problem are those that search for books to buy on their kindle and those that like to use notations (if you come under the latter category then I suggest that you stop reading this review now and get a Kindle Keyboard). To replace the functionality of the Keyboard on this new kindle, Amazon have decided to include an on screen keyboard that is controlled with a five way controller at the bottom of the device. The fact is that this device is perfect usable without a physical keyboard and the only time you’re going to need it is when you are searching to new books to purchase. But you can just as easily make new purchases on your PC, so I really don’t think a lack of a keyboard is much of an issue, I certainly didn’t miss it.
Battery life on this new device is truly phenomenal, and honestly after a couple of weeks of serious use I still didn’t feel the need to charge the device! This is going to be very useful especially for those situations when you are going to be away from home for long periods of time, such as going on holiday.
Downsides
With it being a great design, having a wonderful screen, amazingly long battery life and more books that most people are able to read in a lifetime you can honestly start to wonder whether or not this device actually has any major disadvantages. I can tell you right now that I honestly couldn’t find many.
The most obvious downside to the device is the fact that the browsing experience for new books isn’t enjoyable. Now this isn’t because of the lack of the keyboard but more of the fact that a small black and white screen just isn’t as effective as a large color screen. For this very reason it definitely is preferable to search around and buy books on Amazon’s website. Once you do buy it of course your new book will be on your Kindle within a few seconds. I personally feel that for the best experience this is the way that you should be buying books.
Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that Amazon really wants to make sure that you are kept within their enclosed system. The good thing about this is the fact that you are going to be experiencing a smooth experience of buying and reading books, but it also means that any books you purchase from competitors is unlikely to be supported, simply because Amazon doesn’t support the most commonly distributed book format (ePub), one that is used by most of the other companies.
Another potential downside is the fact that in modern times people are used to more and more of their devices being touch screen and so this device having to use buttons to navigate is a little bit of taking a step backward. Of course Amazon already knows this and so it offers it customers in the USA the option of getting a touch screen version.
Conclusions
While there are a couple of minor disadvantages to this version of the Kindle they are not enough to dissuade us from getting the device. It is still one of the best kindles to date. While its features may not be enough to warrant an upgrade from a previous version of the device it definitely is a great option for those that are looking to buy their very first Kindle.
