Amazon Kindle Review - Almost Everything You Want to Know About the Amazing Amazon Kindle e-Reader
By El Ray
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Kindle e-Reader
 | This is the latest generation Kindle wireless reading device, Wi-Fi, 6" display. Available with or without Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers. Amazon Price: $79.00 |
If you're looking for information on the Amazon Kindle wireless reading device, I created this Hubpage review article because I'm a big time gadget freak who loves to read. Ultimately, I hope it will help you decide if you should buy one or not. You'll get the specs, how the technology works, what it does, pricing and where to buy it.
This Hubpage also provides information on the 7 different Kindle models currently being sold, so you can understand the differences between them and be able to make a decision on which one - if any - is right for you..
So What Is A Kindle Exactly?
The Kindle is a wireless electronic reading device or e-reader that lets you browse, shop for, buy and read digital versions of books, magazines,newspapers & play games. And the newest member of the Kindle family, the Kindle Fire, also allows you to play games, watch movies, listen to music and videos.
It uses electronic paper display (E ink © Pearl display) technology to make it easier on your eyes when reading documents; you can read without the glare you'd experience on your computer screen or with other electronic readers. Not only can you read your favorite ebooks, magazines, blogs and newspapers with the Kindle, but you can also download these items directly to your device from the Kindle Store in less than a minute.
7 Amazon Kindles to Choose From
- Kindle
- Kindle Touch
- Kindle Touch 3G
- Kindle Keyboard
- Kindle Keyboard 3G
- Kindle DX (available as a U.S. and global 3G wireless device); and
- the brand new Kindle Fire
Continue reading this article to discover the differences between the 7 models.
Pros and Cons
What's So Kool About the Kindle? The Pros:
- 7 Different models to choose from
- Ready to use out of the box
- Wi-Fi or Free 3G
- Download from Kindle store in under 60 seconds
- More than 800,000 Kindle books that are $9.99 or less and even free
- Reads like paper with no glare
- Free apps to read Kindle books on PC, iPhone, Android, iPad, BlackBerry
and Windows devices
- Always picks from last page read no matter which device you're reading from
- Text to speech (English only), audiobooks and .mp3 (Kindle Touch & Kindle Keyboard)
- Can read personal documents on it (.PDF and Word)
- Free cloud storage (for Amazon content only)
- Free chapter samples of Kindle books
- Custom language preference
What's Not Kool About the Kindle? - the Cons:
- Too many models to choose from
- Color not available except for Kindle Fire
- No 3G for basic Kindle
Amazon Kindle 4
Kindle Product Specs and Details
Kindle:
- 6" diagonal E Ink® Pearl display
- Size: 6.5" x 4.5" x 0.334"
- Weight: 5.98 ounces
- Built-in Wi-Fi
- Experimental web browser
- 2GB for 1,400 books on device (can store even more
- Amazon content for free on Amazon's Cloud service)
- Battery life: 1-month off single charge (w/wireless off)
- 1 year warranty
- 5 way controller
- Price: $109.00 (price w/o Special Offers & Screensavers)
Kindle Touch 3G
Kindle Touch 3G
 | Amazon Price: $149.00 |
Kindle Touch 3G Review
Kindle Touch 3G Specs and Details
Amazon Kindle Touch 3G Specs and Product Details
Kindle Touch 3G:
- 6" diagonal E Ink® Pearl display
- Size: 6.8" x 4.7" x 0.40"
- Weight: 7.8 ounces
- Built-in Wi-Fi + Free 3G wireless
- Experimental web browser
- 4GB for 3,000 books on device (can store even more
- Amazon content for free on Amazon's Cloud service)
- Battery life: 2-months off single charge (w/wireless off)
- 1 year warranty
- Audio: Read to me (English language content), audiobooks, mp3
- Touchscreen control
- $189.00 (price w/o Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers)
Which Kindle Wireless Reading Device Is Right For You?
I've included the product specifications and details in this article so you can easily know the difference between the Kindle, Kindle Touch, Kindle Touch 3G, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle Keyboard 3G, Kindle DX and the brand new Kindle Fire.
Kindle Touch
- 6" diagonal E Ink® Pearl display
- Size: 6.8" x 4.7" x 0.40"
- Weight: 7.5 ounces
- Built-in Wi-Fi
- Experimental web browser
- 4GB for 3,000 books on device (can store even more
- Amazon content for free on Amazon's Cloud service)
- Battery life: 2-months off single charge (w/wireless off)
- 1 year warranty
- Audio: Read to me (English language content), audiobooks, mp3
- Touchscreen control
- Price: $139.00
Kindle Keyboard
- 6" diagonal E Ink® Pearl display
- Size: 7.5" x 4.8" x 0.34"
- Weight: 8.5 ounces
- Built-in Wi-Fi
- Experimental web browser
- 4GB for 3,500 books on device (can store even more
- Amazon content for free on Amazon's Cloud service)
- Battery life: 2-months off single charge (w/wireless off)
- 1 year warranty
- Audio: Read to me (English language content), audiobooks, mp3
- Keyboard control
- Price: $139.00
Kindle Keyboard 3G
- 6" diagonal E Ink® Pearl display
- Size: 7.5" x 4.8" x 0.34"
- Weight: 8.7 ounces
- Built-in Wi-Fi + Free 3G
- Experimental web browser
- 4GB for 3,500 books on device (can store even more
- Amazon content for free on Amazon's Cloud service)
- Battery life: 2-months off single charge (w/wireless off)
- 1 year warranty
- Audio: Read to me (English language content), audiobooks, mp3
- Keyboard control
- Price: $189.00
Kindle DX
- 9.7" diagonal E Ink® Pearl display
- Auuto-rotating screen
- Size: 10.4" x 7.2" x 0.38"
- Weight: 18.9 ounces
- Free 3G wireless global coverage
- Experimental web browser
- 4GB for 3,500 books on device (can store even more
- Amazon content for free on Amazon's Cloud service)
- Battery life: 3-weeks off single charge (w/wireless off)
- 1 year warranty
- Audio: Read to me (English language content), audiobooks, mp3
- 5 way controller
- Price: $379.00
- 7" multi-touch vibrant color display w/IPS technology + anti-reflective treatment
- Size: 7.5" x 4.7" x 0.45"
- Weight: 14.6 ounces
- Built-in Wi-Fi
- Amazon Silk cloud based browser
- 8GB for 80 apps + 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books on device
- (can store even more Amazon content for free on Amazon's Cloud service)
- Battery life: up to 8 hrs. reading time (or 7.5 hrs. of video playback (w/wireless off)
- 1 year warranty
- Multi-touch control
- Price: $199.00
Kindles with Special Offers and Sponsored Screensavers
The Kindle, Kindle Touch, Kindle Touch 3G, Kindle Keyboard and Kindle Keyboard 3G are available with special offers. The with special offers versions are the same in every way except (1) they feature discreet advertising of Amazon products on the bottom of the home screen and on sponsored screensavers (the ads won't interfere with your reading enjoyment), and since these models are ad supported, (2) they're cheaper than the regular models of the Kindle, Kindle Touch, Kindle Touch 3G, Kindle Keyboard and Kindle Keyboard 3G.
Books, Blogs, Magazines & Newspapers In Less Than 60 Seconds
The really cool thing about shopping at the Kindle Store is you can purchase and download more than 800,000 books, including most of the New York Times Best Sellers in less than 1 minute.
You can also receive wireless downloads of top U.S. and international newspapers, magazines and more than 250 blogs. Unless marked differently, New York Times Best Sellers and new releases are only $9.99. You can also get free sample chapters of books before you buy, you get free wireless access to Wikipedia and free out of copyright books.
Comments
Good point about the drawback of no page numbers. This is very serious if you're doing research and need to cite a specific page in a book (e.g., for a quotation or other bibliographic requirement). So let's say I've bought Kindle versions of some of the research sources I'm using for an article: what am I supposed to do, trundle off to the library and find physical copies of every book or article I've cited to match the Kindle location to the hard-copy location of the information I intend to reference?
I just got a Kindle after reading this review, and I think they're really cool. The screen is perfect for reading, and never seems to hurt my eyes like a computer does after long reading sessions.
wow, thanks for the advice, I really really want one.
too bad its like mid 300's still...
Thank you for this review, however a few months ago kindle dx (bigger screen kindle version) became available worldwide and I am planning to choose that model ;)
yeah this looks awesome but why can't it read to you through an audio built in to the kindle???
would anyone tell me if, or how much, you have to pay for books? I have saved up to get one, but if its just going to be a truckload more money to download some books, I am going to have to rethink this...
Any comments?
books are anywere from 1o dollers for most books to free and you need a pay pal account or a card
do you have to have wirelessly to use kindle or its ok not to use wirelessly.. if someone doesnt have wirelessly and doesnt want how can you connet to kindle in order to use it?
Does the kindle have a built in back light for night reading?
Nice review I voted you up. The answer to the previous question is no there is no backlight but lights can be purchased separately.
Just a heads up, there are 3 members of my family that received Kindles last year for Christmas. Several of us picked up the Amazon Leather Cover (the non lighted version), it causes the kindle to reboot. There are several posts on the official Amazon board about it. Either buy an off brand cover or fork over the money for the expensive lighted cover.
If you want older books - out of copyright - downloading from Project Gutenberg, openbooks (about a million titles!) or googlebooks is completely free. Amazon don't make this a headline, because they obviously are keen for you to buy from them, but I have downloaded seventy books in my first week of Kindle ownership, and many of them are unavailable in print or only on loan from academic libraries. Brilliant!
It's interesting to see the concerns of people so long ago about the Kindle, and how it's changed over the years.
@Kathy: Yes, it's amazing how the 1st generation Kindle has morphed into 6 versions of the device today! Note: I will be updating this article to reflect the current versions, the differences between them and some other cool stuff :).
Is ther any way to know what page you're on?
@lisa: Yes, but it depends on whether the book includes page numbers or not. If it was published with page numbers, the current page & total number of pages will display (in the progress bar at the bottom of the screen) when you press the menu button.
This article did not tell me everything I wanted to know about the Kindle. I wanted to know if you could purchace one book and have it one more than one reader at a time permanetly, like an i-pod. Or what about sharing books you've purchaced with a friend or once you've read them could you 'give' them away to another Kindle owner never to be on your Kindle again. These questions are what I want to know. This is what I do with real books and I think I will hold out until that can happen. Besides, Kindle versions of the same book are not That much cheaper. :)
@Lisa: I do have to strike a balance between information and readability. That being said, I'm sorry my article didn't provide the answers you were looking for.
You can read Kindle books on other Kindles you own or any device that has a Kindle app on it - iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, Droid or PC. But to read it on another ereader, you would have to strip the DRM (digital rights management) and format the Kindle book for the other ereader. Due to legal ramifications involved, you really should avoid tampering with the DRM. As far as sharing Kindle books are concerned, you can share Kindle books with other Kindle owners provided they are on the same account with you.
Ray
I believe I can make this hub a much better online resource, so I'm going to split it up, edit/rewrite and organize it into several hub articles along Kindle product lines.
automated ebook software 3 years ago
I think it is awesome and authors can easily write books for them.