I got my first Kindle. This is a nice ebook reader. I'm going to jump right in and tell you what I found to be its Pros and Cons. Then I'm going to tell how it compares to its biggest competitor, the Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch.
Kindle's Pros:
Great Screen: Many people do not find LCDs hard to read on (e.g. smartphones, tablets, Kindle Fire, Nook Color, etc.), but virtually everyone will find E-Ink easier to read, any time of day. Especially the newest E-Ink Pearl displays. They simply look like paper and ink. I have never experienced any eye strain reading E-Ink book readers, but I have with LCD based phone/tablet screens.
Thin and Lightweight: This Kindle is thinner than any paperback and lighter too. This makes it very easy to hold in a sitting position, and for long periods too. It also makes it easy to transport in a purse, backpack, or messenger bag (or in luggage for traveling). Many people like to take a few books when travelling, and this Kindle lets you take as many as you want and adds virtually nothing to your travel burden.
Good Value: Even without a touchscreen, the Kindle is a good value. It is a well-made product, it offers cloud storage of your books (and well it should, since it offers no ability to expand storage capacity with an add-in microSD card), the screen is excellent, Amazon is a dogged competitor in book pricing. The Kindle 4 is the best value of Amazon's E-Ink readers. Some may be tempted to get the version with the built-in light. If you can afford it, sure, go ahead. But let me point out you don't have to spend $20 for a fancy-schmancy book light. Your local dollar store has them for ... wait for it ... a buck. They work perfectly well to light the screen, don't suck down your Kindle's battery, and best of all, don't add $50 to the price of the Kindle.
Amazon Customer Support: I've dealt with Amazon for years, and they have always done the right thing in terms of customer service when I have had issues with products or deliveries.
Kindle Lending Library for Prime Members: Prime members get their own library. That's a great benefit to them. I'm an "adjunct" Prime member, though, so I don't get to benefit from it, but it's great for primary Prime members.
Library Support: I was happy to see Amazon join the program for Overdrive and public library ebook lending. This is such a huge benefit to everyone who has ebook readers. Especially people on fixed incomes, who like ebook readers for the ability to change font sizes, and love them for the ability to borrow library books.
MicroUSB Port for USB Charging: Good call for Amazon to support the universal USB standard for charging. You can charge from a computer USB port, an AC adapter, car charger, etc. Don't worry about buying one: if you have a smartphone (other than apple) or Bluetooth device that came with a microUSB cable charger, it will do the job.
Parental Controls: Another good choice for Amazon to implement parental controls, where they can restrict access to the Kindle's web browser, store, and archived items.
Long Battery Life: I couldn't even put a dent in the battery gauge using the Kindle for several days, for several hours a day.
Excellent Highlighting and Notes Features: I really liked the highlighting and notation capabilities, and that I can access the highlights both in book and from the home screen. You can also choose to show highlights and notes by other users (general population), or by a selection of Amazon users you follow.
Cons:
No Touchscreen: Yes, I know they offer a touchscreen model. But they charge a bunch more for it. Their main competitor offers touchscreen in their most basic model, for only a few dollars more (don't let the $99 list price fool you ... the Simple Touch is usually available for 10 bux more than the Kindle).
No Expandable Storage: Personally, I like to add free books from Project Gutenberg to my ebook reader. I can add thousands, with graphics, if I can add a microSD card for storage. However, Amazon chooses not to include that feature.
Not Easy to Hold Laying Down: For those of you who like to read in bed (that's where I do all my book reading), the Kindle 4 is not very easy to hold and be able to turn pages. The front bezel is slippery plastic and thin, so it's hard to grip one-handed. But if you manage to, it's nigh impossible to hit the page turn buttons. Most of the time, I found I had to let the bottom edge rest on my belly, hold it upright with one hand, and reach down with the other hand to turn pages. Sometimes I think products are designed and tested by people who just sit in their cubicles and never try the products in real-life situations. The ads show people sitting on the beach reading. Sure, pretty easy to hold the thing in that position. But try laying down! That's how real people read!
Button Design: Have they always been like this? I found the buttons prone to inadvertent presses whenever I held the Kindle. I prefer to hold it one-handed, and it seems that the button size and location makes it hard to grip the thing without accidentally hitting a page forward or back button.
Proprietary Format: Amazon's use of its proprietary format for ebooks means you have only one source of contemporary books: Amazon. Now, Amazon is a fine company, but personally, I find choice - being able to shop for the best deal - to be a benefit.
Kindle vs. Nook:
I have used Nook ebook readers for a couple of years, so I am very experienced with B&N's products and services.
Here are the winners and losers in various areas:
Ties:
* E-Ink screens are equal quality
* Battery Life: really long for both
* Page Turns: both used to be pretty slow, both are now acceptably fast
* Book Prices: whenever I've checked, Amazon has better prices sometimes, Barnes & Noble has better prices other times, and they're very close a lot of times
Nook Wins:
* Touchscreen
* Use your own screensaver and wallpaper
* In store reading for free
* Expandable Storage
* Comes with charger (EDIT: 1/14/13: some commenters report that B&N now charges for the charger; be sure to check before you buy!)
* More universal book file format (epub) vs. proprietary Kindle format
* Fonts: more fonts, more sizes, more margin selections, more leading (line spacing) selections
* Easier to navigate: the user interface is just more logical and it's easier to find what you're looking for
* Better ergonomics: Nook is easier to hold, sitting OR laying down. The buttons don't get in the way of fingers. The touchscreen give alternative options to page turning (touch edge or swipe). The Nook Simple Touch and the Glowlight version have a large dimpled back that make it easier to hold.
Kindle Wins:
* Highlighting and Notes: much easier to use and access with Kindle
* Kindle Lending Library: this may be Amazon's answer to B&N's in store free reading
* Device is Lighter and Smaller: easier to transport, though the smaller size and lighter weight do not make it easier to handle
* Support: Amazon's product support is legend, in my book. B&N released a software update for Nook Simple Touch once that broke Wi-Fi, they refused to acknowledge the problem for many weeks, and took over 2 months to fix it. Inexcusable.
Bottom Line:
For me, Nook Simple Touch is the superior ebook reader. Comparatively, Amazon has few advantages in design or use. Nook is easier to hold and has better ergonomics and navigation, has expandable memory, has more display adjustments, uses a more universal ebook format, lets you read books for free in their store, and has a touchscreen. Kindle has the Lending Library for Prime Members as an advantage, it's a little lighter and smaller, has better product support, and a better highlighting/notation function. Now, with that said ... the Kindle is an excellent ebook reader too. When I choose Nook as superior, it does not negate that Kindle is a great product. And if you have a compelling reason to go with Amazon's product, then by all means do so. You will love it and enjoy it, almost surely.
This might sound strange, but I downgraded to this model Kindle after having a Paperwhite for over a year and a half. While I liked the Paperwhite, it had its downfalls, in my opinion, by not having at least page-turn buttons. I missed those, and wound up not using the Paperwhite like I've used past models I've owned. I'm no expert on ereaders, but I've owned nine different Kindles over the years, six different models, and I came back to this one for its ease of use and the page-turn buttons, which make reading with either hand easier and more comfortable than the touch areas on the Paperwhite. I do miss the backlit screen, though, so the search will probably continue.
My first Kindle was a keyboard, which was the basic model at the time. It lasted almost five years and was seldom out of my hands. When I tried to replace it, I discovered that the keyboard was only offered on pricey models, so I went with the basic model at the time - no keyboard, but with buttons for "Home" etc on the bottom and ones on the side to turn pages. It cost $70 and lasted one month. They replaced it with a refurbished one that lasted less than a year.
By that time, the basic model was sans ANY buttons at all and I hate to "swipe." So I bought a used one with buttons. Cost me $35 and lasted 9 months. When it died, I ordered this one. It's very pretty and shiny and unscratched. It was either owned by a person who takes really good care of their stuff or by an illiterate who received it as a gift. I've had it two weeks and it's already acquiring a comfortable live-in look. A couple of more weeks and it'll look like a survivor of the Bataan Death March. I read, therefore I am.
Doesn't hold a charge as long as some Kindles I've owned, but it was only $30 and it has a nice clear screen and the features I want - meaning buttons. To hell with swiping! Cheap, does the job, and keeps an old device out of the landfills. What could be better?
I have owned a Kindle for several years now. I have had the 2nd generation Kindle and I have had the Kindle Keyboard. When my mom expressed interest in getting a Kindle I decided to give her my Kindle Keyboard because she doesnt have Wifi in her house and my older Kindle Keyboard had 3G, which is what she needed. And I decided to buy the Basic Kindle for myself because (1) I didnt want to wait for the Paperwhite to come out and (2) I just needed Wifi and (3)and most importantly I JUST WANT TO READ A BOOK, not listen to text-to-speach, or go shopping on Amazon, or listen to music, etc. All I want to do is read a book...thats it! This Kindle is perfect for that. Its smaller and lighter, the pages turn faster than the Keyboard version, it basically has everything I need to download a book and read a book with a much better price than the Paperwhite or Keyboard. Yes, you have to navigate through the keyboard on this kindle with a 5-way controller, but I rarely use the keyboard anyway. To download a book, I just search and buy books on my computer and send them to my Kindle...which is much quicker no matter what version of Kindle you have. So if you dont need, want, or use all the extras then I would definitely recommend the Basic Kindle for $69 with special offers, because who really pays attention to the screen savers anyway.
This is the third Kindle I have bought. I bought one for my Father and now this one is for my girlfriend. One little known feature of the Kindle is your get your own @kindle.com email address when you buy one. You can use this email address to email books to yourself or to other people. I routinely download .mobi and .epub books online and email them to myself and to my Dad (and soon my girlfriend). Within seconds they will magically appear on your Kindle's home page.
Feature Product
- Reads like real paper with no glare, even in bright sunlight
- Weighs less than 6 ounces - lighter than a paperback and fits in your pocket
- Up to one-month battery life on a single charge
- Download books in 60 seconds with built-in Wi-Fi - holds over 1,000 books
Description
The all-new Kindle - small, light, and perfect for reading. Enjoy 15% faster page turns, new darker fonts for easier reading, and new parental controls. Kindle reads like paper with no glare, even in bright sunlight, and holds over 1,000 books so you can take your library wherever you go.
Reads Like Real Paper, No Glare Even in Bright Sunlight
Kindle uses an electronic ink screen that looks and reads like real paper. The matte screen reflects light like ordinary paper and uses no backlighting, so you can read as easily in bright sunlight as in your living room. Unlike tablet screens, Kindle has no glare.
Lighter Than a Paperback, Thinner Than a Pencil
Less than 6 ounces, Kindle is lighter than most paperback books, and weighs half as much as many tablets, making it easy and comfortable to hold in one hand for extended periods of time. At just over a third of an inch, Kindle is also thinner than a pencil.
One-Month Battery Life
Kindle also has the advantage of significantly lower power consumption than tablets. Kindle does not require power to maintain a page of text, allowing you to read for up to a month on a single charge, with wireless off and a half hour of reading per day, versus hours on a tablet or smart phone.
Easy on the Eyes
Every time your eyes switch from a bright screen to a dimmer, ambient room, your eyes have to adjust, which may result in fatigue. With Kindle the page is the same brightness as everything else in the room so there's no adjustment needed. Kindle also has eight adjustable text sizes and three font styles to suit your reading preference. If your eyes tire, simply increase the font size and continue reading comfortably.
Read in Any Position
When you read for long periods of time, you often switch positions to get more comfortable. Kindle has a uniform contrast ratio that does not change with your viewing angle, so you can read in any position.
Books in Under 60 Seconds
Kindle connects easily to your home Wi-Fi network or Wi-Fi hotspots on the road for quick, convenient access to books and content anywhere you can access Wi-Fi. Also, enjoy free Wi-Fi access at AT&T hotspots across the U.S. Find a book and start reading in seconds with our fast, free wireless delivery. Carry more than 1,000 books - keep your library with you wherever you go.
Global Language Support
Kindle supports the display of non-Latin characters, so you can read books and documents in your favorite language. Kindle displays Cyrillic (such as Russian), Japanese, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), and Korean characters, in addition to Latin and Greek scripts. Kindle also provides access to several international dictionaries.
Real Page Numbers
We match the pages of a Kindle book to the text in a print book to identify the corresponding "real" page number. Easily reference and cite passages or read alongside others in a book club or class.
Fast Page Turns
Kindle's powerful processor is tuned for fast, seamless page turns.Precise 5-Way Controller
Kindle has an easy-to-use 5-way controller, enabling precise on-screen navigation for selecting text to highlight or looking up words. No on-screen fingerprints.
Supports Children's Books and Comics
Kindle supports children's books with Kindle Text Pop-Up, and comic books with Kindle Panel View which allows you to read a comic book panel by panel.
Whispersync
Our Whispersync technology synchronizes your last page read, bookmarks and annotations across your devices so you can always pick up where you left off.
Organize Your Library and Free Backup
Organize your Kindle library into customized collections, or categories, to easily access any book you are looking for. You can add an item to multiple collections to make organizing and finding titles even easier. Automatically back up your library in the cloud, so you never need to worry about losing your books. Re-download wirelessly anytime for free.
Built-in Dictionary with Instant Lookup
Come across a word you don't know? Kindle includes The New Oxford American Dictionary with over 250,000 entries and definitions for free. Instantly lookup the definition without ever leaving the book - simply select the word with the cursor and the definition will automatically display at the bottom of the screen.
Carry and Read Your Personal Documents
Kindle makes it easy to take your personal documents with you, eliminating the need to print. You and your approved contacts can e-mail documents - including Word, PDF and more - directly to your Kindle and read them in Kindle format. You can also send documents to your Kindle using Send to Kindle.
Compare Kindle E-readers
| Kindle | Kindle Paperwhite | Kindle Paperwhite 3G | |
| Starting Price | $69 | $119 | $189 |
| Screen Size | 6" | 6" | 6" |
| Glare-Free Screen | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Built-in Light | No | Yes | Yes |
| Resolution | 167 ppi | 212 ppi | 212 ppi |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi | Free 3G + Wi-Fi |
| Storage | Over 1,000 books Plus free cloud storage for all Amazon content | Over 1,000 books Plus free cloud storage for all Amazon content | Over 1,000 books Plus free cloud storage for all Amazon content |
| Dimensions | 6.5" x 4.5" x 0.34" | 6.7" x 4.6" x 0.36" | 6.7" x 4.6" x 0.36" |
| Weight | 5.98 oz | 7.3 oz | 7.6 oz |
| Battery Life | 4 weeks wireless off | 8 weeks wireless off | 8 weeks wireless off |
I've had this a week now. I also have a Kindle Fire HD I have had for about a year, with the case on, the Fire HD is heavy. I love the HD, and never leave home with out it, but many times I wish I could just slip my books in my pocket and run. I go a lot of places on the run, take others places where I wait for them to shop or what ever, and there is not WiFi to play on my Fire HD. I just want to read. My reading time has come up from one book a year to 50 books a year, and now my reading will go up even more.
This was the perfect answer. So feather light It is incredible. It is taking me a bit to not swipe the screen to turn a page, and get used to the lay out and use of the various buttons, but after an hour I had read the built in owners manual, learned the ins and outs of the buttons and had it set up. It connected to my WiFi instantly. The on screen key board has taken a bit to get used to but once you use it a few times you can do it pretty fast.
I wondered how all my content, library of books would be transferred from my Fire HD, to this device. To my pleasant surprise after connecting to my Wi-Fi, the next time I looked at the home menu my entire library of over 300 books was there, archived. I just click a title and it down loads in seconds.
I honestly can't tell the difference between the print on this and the print on my Fire HD. Pixel wise, my eyes can't differentiate a thing.
I love the texture look of a "page from a book look". The no glare is amazing. There are times and places I can't read or see the screen on my Fire HD, and this just runs circles around the reading in bright light. Yes!
We travel or go camping where one can't just plug it in, so the battery life will be awesome, to be able to read weeks at a time and not constantly wondering where you are going to plug it in for a charge. UPDATE: After reading several hours a day for several days, the battery indicator shows little signs of going down, and that is with the Wi-Fi on continuously.
PROS: Love the screen. Super feather weight, You can arrange books by authors and so on. (I can't do that on my Fire HD!) Plus, it's easy on the eyes and my wallet. My power adapter charger are interchangeable with both the Kindle Fire HD and this Kindle 4th generation E-reader. So I don't have to buy a new cord or charger. It came with a spare cord (No, it didn't come with the charger.) My cat has chewed up my cord pretty good so I will use it until it dies and still have one on the side waiting.
CONS: Key board on screen takes some getting used to. No light, but I knew that before I bought it.
I had VERY seriously considered the latest greatest Kindle Paper White 2013. After reading so many disappointing feed backs I decided that all I want is a light weight book reader, small, and I could not justify the extra expense to have the touch screen. The more I thought about it the more I thought how I could use that extra money, such as on more books to read.
I love the latest technology. I am a grandma of eight. I will be the first to want what ever new gadget comes out, so for me to decide on a lower tech device says a lot. I do my home work. After reading user reviews and talking to people at a well known electronics store, I was sold on this 4th generation Kindle. I was impressed by how many said they liked the quality and build. This is the main reason I went with the tried and true before they are no longer available.
I did call every local store from here to Timbuktoo to find last year's 2012 Paper White. I tried eBay and Amazon themselves to no avail. I would have went with that, had I been able to find one. If you have the last 2012 model I would hang onto that baby! Buy new but don't let go of the old.
Bottom line, for the money, and quality, easy on the eyes reader, that is feather weight light, you can't go wrong. I'm very happy with my decision.
UPDATE: After owning this for more than a month I have only had to charge it twice, I read three to four hours a day, not every day, but I'm extremely happy with my Kindle reader, it's staying power, and reliability!
(This was originally 5 stars. Read my edit 1 below to see why I marked it down a star.)
I got this for Christmas, and I've noted down my thoughts and impressions of it. I might add to it later if I get any more thoughts or opinions about it.
This review is divided into three sections. Screen and Hardware, Interface and Dealing with PDFs.
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Screen and Hardware:
The screen is just about as good as they say. It is incredibly crisp, the text actually looks very close to ink on paper, and due to the lack of a backlight, it will not make your eyes tire the way an iPad or another tablet would. For heavy readers, an e-reader like this is essential. Your iPad cannot do this. However, I have never tried the Kobo or Nook, so I cannot make any comparisons. All I know is what I see, and I see a very nice, high quality screen that is excellent to read on.
The screen is a bit small. The whole kindle itself is about the size of one of those small mass-market paperback books, and the screen is even smaller than that. But it is still a surprisingly sufficient size, especially since you can modify the text size. I would have liked to see more fonts (Georgia is far and away my favorite font and it is a tad sad not to see it there), but the three fonts it does have are very good. I also would have liked to see a mode like on the Kindle software for Windows where you can make it a black background with white text, but it's a feature I can live without.
Another thing I noticed is that the screen can tend to pick up a lot of dust, which is very visible. I find myself wanting to softly swipe it aside every hour or so. Getting a case will probably help with this so it doesn't pick up any dust while I'm gone.
The kindle is amazingly light - it is the lightest electronic appliance I have ever held. It is easily manageable with one hand and will not weigh you down at all. This is one of the highlights of this device as far as I am concerned. It is far lighter than any book I have ever held, so finding a good position is not a concern at all.
The Kindle connects via a USB cable to your computer. This is how it charges, and it is the easiest way to transfer new files onto the kindle. You can also transfer them wirelessly, but it is much faster and more convenient to do so through your computer.
On either side, there is a page forward and page back button. So, this means there are two of each. I don't really know why they did it that way, but once you get used to the fact that left does not equal back, it works fine. The only thing I can think of is maybe they wanted to make it more ambidextrous, but I'm really not sure.
The screen on this model does not light up, but I don't see that as a big deal. Just like a real book, if you are reading near a lamp or light source, you're fine. And just like a real book, you can get a clip-on light to help you read.
However, and this is my one somewhat major qualm, the screen is not as light-resistant as I have heard it is. It is definitely far better than most screens out there, but reading next to my lamp tilted towards me at night can be hard, as the light bulb causes enough reflection to block out the words it covers. I have to tilt the screen just a bit so the light bulb does not reflect on it. This is still far superior to any LCD screen I've used on that end, but it is not completely non-reflective. You do still need to worry about that a little.
Overall, the hardware in general is excellent. It feels very sturdy, it is incredibly light, the screen is everything you have heard it is and it is overall a good product. However, if you're going to bring it anywhere, you should get a case to protect the screen.
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Interface:
The Kindle interface is minimalistic, but good. I purchased the cheaper model with the ads, but the ads are very non-obtrusive. They are not there while you read, and all the ads are directly from amazon and all book-based, so there's no outside companies advertising. The ads can also sometimes show good deals on books, so I think they're actually worth keeping around. Plus, the $20 to make them go away can be something you pay for down the road, so I recommend buying the $70 version first to see if you'll be okay with them.
*(Edit 1 below talks further about the ads. They're not as shiny and nice as I thought. I highly advise you read that edit.)
Book titles show up as text followed by the author name - for PDF files, it just shows the file name as whatever you named it. Below each name is a series of dots. The more dots there are, the longer the book is. As you progress through your book, dots will begin to bold along the line marking how far you have gotten. This is useful as a quick reference for how far you have progressed through a given book.
You can store your e-books in Collections, which is basically a fancy word for folders. This is very convenient and the way you should probably organize your books, especially once you start getting a decent collection. I have 14 books right now, so it is the only good way for me to sort my books.
However, I do find it annoying that there is no way to sort the folders. The folder you entered into previously will be on the top. If you try to organize things differently, it will spew all of your books back onto the home screen, which doesn't do much good when you have a lot of books. So, you will need to live with the folders being organized based off of the last one you went into. This is a very minor gripe.
One other small gripe I have is the page numbers. A good number of books do not have 'real' page numbers. Most do, but plenty don't. For example, I purchased the Humble e-Book Bundle 2 some time ago, and none of those books had 'real' page numbers, just the location thing. In general that is good enough to generally know where you are, but for someone like me who likes to review books in detail when I finish them, it can be important for me to cite a section of the book and where in the book I took it from. That is very difficult with e-books that do not support real page numbers. I really wish that there was a way to make any .mobi or .azw3 file have real page numbers, even if I would need to edit the file manually on my computer, but to my knowledge, there is no way to do that. If the book didn't come with real page numbers, there is apparently nothing you can do. At least Amazon is starting to tackle this issue by having some books have real page numbers. It's a lot better than when no books had this feature.
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Formats (dealing with PDF's):
The standard formats the Kindle works best with is .mobi and .azw3. Those are virtually the exact same format. It does also accept PDF, but PDF's are not ideal on the kindle. On most PDF's, the text becomes so small that you have to squint to read it, and there is very little you can do to adjust that on the Kindle.
If you are going to be using PDF's on the kindle, you should use two free pieces of software to help you. They are both full multi-platform (Linux, Mac, Windows), so no worries there. Download Calibre E-book Manager and K2pdfopt.
Calibre is the best e-book filetype conversion software that exists. Some PDFs will indeed fare fine in the 6-inch screen of the Kindle, but when you come across one that doesn't, you should try to use Calibre to convert the PDF to .mobi or .azw3. Sometimes it will work fine, other times it will be disastrous. (Always back up your PDF in case something goes wrong.) If in the case it all hits the fan no matter what you do with Calibre, turn to K2pdfopt.
K2pdfopt is a program specifically designed to turn large, hard to read PDF's into small, easy to read PDF's, specifically with the Kindle in mind. (Isn't that convenient?) It is incredibly easy to use (as easy as dragging and dropping said PDF onto the interface) and in general it does a good job. Still, as software is not perfect, it will occasionally not do the job either, but it is your best bet if Calibre doesn't work.
Between the two, about 80% of all your PDF-to-Kindle needs should be covered, at least enough to make it bearable. The other 20%, well, that's life, I guess.
This is by no means something to sway you from buying this. Quite frankly, it's nice of Amazon to even let you put different formats on there to start with. They very easily could have restricted this to their proprietary formats.
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All in all I am very happy with my Kindle so far. I'll add to this review later if I see fit to do so.
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*****************EDIT 1*****************
This is a negative edit regarding the ads. On the sleep screen, there was a special offer for a new Kindle case for $15 (which was then marked down to $10 while ordering.) I thought this was a discounted $40 Leather Kindle case... it wasn't. It's the outdated Kindle Keyboard case, which does not fit the regular Kindle. I figured they would sell me a case that would fit the kindle the ad was on, but nope. It was a case for a very particular, outdated model of the Kindle, and for nothing else. There was no indication of this whatsoever while ordering it - it just said it was a Kindle Case, perfect for *my* kindle. After I found out what happened, I very swiftly cancelled the order before any money was actually taken.
Amazon really, seriously, drastically needs to get on this immediately. I was actually somewhat in support of the special offers before this, but now I'm not so sure. I don't think I want to pay to get rid of them, but I'm probably not going to trust them anymore. This one was a severely outdated ad that actually flat-out lied to me about what it was. It also lied to me about it being a 'special' offer, as that particular case is actually sold for $10 normally. A 'special' offer should imply something special you get for owning a Kindle, right? All that this 'special' offer did for me was link me to an outdated, useless product with its everyday standard price, and withhold the details on what it even was. They could have at least shown me its full name before I ordered it!!! That is very dishonest and not what I expected from Amazon at all. I'm actually mad about this and I am taking a star off for it. I'm probably going to contact Amazon about it sometime tomorrow. I'm just happy I was able to get my money back.
So yeah. If you keep with the ads, beware. They might be dishonest about what they're selling you. Especially don't trust the one with the case.
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I hope this review was helpful to you! This review is also on my stuff-reviewing blog, Nice Guy Steve.
My blog is here: niceguysteve (dot) blogspot (dot) com
When I bought this Kindle, I already had the original Barnes and Noble Nook, a device which I loved and paid way too much for. However, sneaky Amazon sent me a coupon which made buying a Kindle a mere $9. How would I pass up such a deal? Fast forward to over 5 years later, and my Nook is long dead, while this particular Kindle JUST KEEPS GOING. It basically lives in my purse, and takes a pretty solid beating. I did buy a nice case for it, and I'm sure that's helped. Every once in awhile, I'm tempted to buy a new Kindle, but I'm worried that a new one won't be nearly as hardy.
I've owned this eink reader for a few years now.
The things I like about it are:
* eink is readable in all types of light. A big advantage over using a color tablet with a glare surface.
* you can store a library of books on the reader - probably more than you can read in a lifetime
* the battery lasts forever. I can easily take this on a trip, use it and never have to charge it. Even over time, the battery keeps charge for about a month with light or no use.
* the price. I can easily take this to the beach and not worry about it getting stolen
The things I don't like so much:
* Navigation. I really wish this was a touch screen and the newer ones are. It's clunky using the bottom keys and page/up down. This certainly helped keep the price low, but it's still a bit of a pain to use.
Of course, you can't read in the dark with this natively. I bought a complementary case with light which works ok. If you d a lot of reading in the dark, probably better to buy a paperwhite or something with back-lighting. That option would probably reduce battery life considerably though.
I already own the Kindle Fire HD but I wanted to buy a reading-only-capable device that wouldn't distract me from a book with movies and apps and I wanted an ereader that I could tote around easily without it being too heavy or big.
When I was looking for the ereader to fit the bill I was originally considering the Kindle Paperwhite, but then decided against it because I didn't really need the glow in the dark feature since I already have a lit Kindle Fire HD so I bought the regular Kindle instead.
The experience started from the very beginning. The shipping was so incredibly fast; I ordered it on a Friday and received it on Saturday! It was so unexpected, it was set to arrive by Tuesday! Amazon really wowed me there.
Okay so I've owned this for a little more than two months now and thought I should share my thoughts on this Kindle for those people who can't decided whether to buy this Kindle or not.
First of all it's incredibly light. At just 5.98 ounces it's the perfect weight for those marathon reading sessions I usually have, but it's not too light to the point where it feels delicate and easily breakable.
The page turning buttons are different from the Kindle Keyboard's buttons because they are pushed in at an angle instead of straight down and I actually like them better because when I grab the Kindle from both sides I don't trigger a page turn.
I've heard a lot of negative reviews on the five way controller because it's pretty much the only way to interact with the stuff on the screen. You have to use it to control the on-screen keyboard, navigate through a book, search up a word, highlight sections of a book and take notes. I highlight things in books all the time and search up words and using the 5 way isn't bad at all for these commands, but I have to admit that using the 5-way controller for the on-screen keyboard and taking notes is really annoying. I mean it moves around the keyboard really quickly when you scroll through, but it's still annoying for people who use the keyboard a lot. I really don't use the keyboard all that often so it's not too big of a deal for me.
The screen is really nice too. It has a matte screen that has really no glare in even the brightest of lights and the words are crisp and dark. This has to do with the black bezel that makes it contrast with the off-white kind of grey 'paper' background and therefore makes the black printed words jump out at you. I have absolutely no problem with the screen's readability.
I know there's only like 1.25 GB of space or something, but that's enough to fit about a thousand books and although having more memory would be nice, I don't think I'll ever be exceeding the memory space soon. And if I do, I would not only pat myself on the back, but I would just archive the books I've already read and make space for more. See no problem there right?
Battery life is fantastic. Since ereaders really only use energy to turn pages and use wifi, ereaders have incredibly long battery life and the kindle is no different. It says it last for a month or so with wifi off and I find that pretty true. I almost always have the wifi off unless I'm downloading a book and if I do leave it on for a while it lasts for about three weeks and that's incredible. I love not having to plug in another device at night.
I also really like that most books I download have the ability to use the publisher's font. I think it makes reading on the Kindle seem that much more like reading from and actual book.
Now with any amazon device I feel like I have to mention Amazon's ecosystem. It's unbeatable in terms of books and I have yet to search up a book and not find it. The classics are free and most books are $9.99 and under and it's just great.
And for those of you who aren't sure about getting and ereader because you feel that it diminishes the importance of physical books I say this: It doesn't matter whether you read a book from a phone, computer, ereader or physical book; it's all about the story. Where you read a story from is just the transportation. I think getting an ereader allows you to read more because it's more portable than an actual book, you never have to leave your house (if you have wifi) to get a book, and you can carry around hundreds of books around with you without carrying a lot of weight.
If you're looking for a inexpensive, light and simple entry ereader this Kindle is perfect. I adore it and I pretty much always have it on me because it's just so easy to carry around. This Kindle is putting my Kindle Fire HD to the back of the room to the point where the Fire is getting barely getting used now. Once you receive this ereader I think you'll fall in love with it's simplicity and size and will be like me in the fact that you won't be able to put it down.
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