I bought 'Kindle 3' wi-fi only edition for myself a month ago and have been using it since then. Even though many TE members own Kindle, I thought it would be nice to write a brief review on Kindle which could be reference to others seeking insight.
About Kindle:
Kindle is an e-reader and a flagship product from Amazon.com.
Kindle sold by Amazon at present is it's 3rd hardware/software revision. Hence named 'Kindle 3'.
Kindle's Brotherhood & Specs:
Amazon is proud mom of three viz:
Kindle 3 with Wi-Fi , comes in graphite color only
Kinlde 3 with Wi-Fi & 3G comes in graphite & white color
Kindle DX comes in graphite.
Kindle supports - Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), MP3, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion.
Kindle Comparison:
Category
Kindle Wi-Fi
Kindle Wi-Fi+3G
Kindle DX
Display Size 6" diagonal 6" diagonal 9.7" diagonal
Display Type E Ink Pearl E Ink Pearl E Ink Pearl
Display Type E Ink Pearl E Ink Pearl E Ink Pearl
Size 7.5" x 4.8" x 0.335" 7.5" x 4.8" x 0.335" 10.4" x 7.2" x 0.38"
Weight 8.5 ounces 8.7 ounces 18.9 ounces
Storage 3,500 books 3,500 books 3,500 books
Battery Life (Wireless Off) 1 month 1 month 2-3 weeks
Battery Life (Wireless On) 3 weeks 10 days 7 days
Books in 60 Seconds Kindle Wi-Fi has Books in 60 Seconds Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi has Books in 60 Seconds Kindle DX has Books in 60 Seconds
Free 3G Wireless Kindle Wi-Fi does not have Free 3G Wireless Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi has Free 3G Wireless Kindle DX has Free 3G Wireless
Global Wireless Coverage 100 countries and territories 100 countries and territories
Wi-Fi Kindle Wi-Fi has Wi-Fi Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi has Wi-Fi Kindle DX does not have Wi-Fi
Native PDF Support Kindle Wi-Fi has Native PDF Support Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi has Native PDF Support Kindle DX has Native PDF Support
Whispersync Kindle Wi-Fi has Whispersync Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi has Whispersync Kindle DX has Whispersync
Worry-Free Archive Kindle Wi-Fi has Worry-Free Archive Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi has Worry-Free Archive Kindle DX has Worry-Free Archive
Text-to-Speech Kindle Wi-Fi has Text-to-Speech Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi has Text-to-Speech Kindle DX has Text-to-Speech
Price $139.00 $189.00 $379.00
Unboxing Kindle:
Look & Feel:
The Screen:
Kindle 3 has 21% smaller form factor then it's predecessor Kindle 2 but retains 6"
the screen size by organizing the buttons better and loosing the not so required ones.
Compared to my colleague's Kindle 2 difference in contrast is visually evident(better) in Kindle 3. Amazon claims 50% improved contrast, I've no means to verify that. 'Pearl' technology is the soul of Kindle 3 E-Ink black & White display.
The Keypad:
Kindle 3 sports a full qwerty key pad and D-pad for on screen cursor navigation.
Numeric keys are stripped down from keyboard and have been included as part of 'Sym'(Symbols) key menu.
'Aa' font key to adjust the text and orientation of the screen.
'Menu' key enables us to configure wireless connectivity, On the Go book shop from Kindle store, Book management on device etc.
'Home', 'Back', 'Del' keys does exactly what their name entails.
The Back:
Kindle 3 has rubber finish at back giving one a better grip while reading and making device more scratch resistant. Kindle comes with 2 integrated stereo speaker at the top right and left corner of it's back. Speakers are not good if used in noisy neighborhood but the 3.5 audio jack comes to rescue in such situations.
Connectivity & Switches:
Power key, 3.5mm audio jack, micro USB 2.0, mic, volume controller are at the bottom of the device.
Keeping left and right hand users page forward and back button are well placed on both side of device. Page forward key has been made slightly longer than the back key in current Kindle revision.
If you are a late night reader but don't want to bother your partner, for you on the left side of device two small power-out jacks are provided to attach external mini reading lights.
As an E-Reader:
Awesome is the word for the device, text display is clear, sharp and crisp. Reading experience is as good as reading from paper. Anti glaring E-Ink display is feast for eyes and enables prolonged reading without any/minimal stress on eyes.
Kindle has a battery life more than a month with wi-fi turned off so we don't have to bother about charging it frequently. I've charged Kindle only once but still more than 60% battery is available. Kindle 3 comes with 4GB inbuilt storage, sufficient enough to accommodate most of ours book collection.
Kindle 3 has support for native pdf, but my personal experience with pdf reading on Kindle is not as good as Kindle books, but still pdf support is a plus in Kindle feature and I am sure Amazon will keep improving on it's readability. I tried converting PDF to Kindle format but there were few alignment issues, though not a big turn-off as such.
Final Words:
With an unmatched books library of ~700,000, strikingly near to paper like display Kindle is best value for money e-reader available at the moment. I love reading on Kindle.
My Rating 4/5
About Kindle:
Kindle is an e-reader and a flagship product from Amazon.com.
Kindle sold by Amazon at present is it's 3rd hardware/software revision. Hence named 'Kindle 3'.
Kindle's Brotherhood & Specs:
Amazon is proud mom of three viz:
Kindle 3 with Wi-Fi , comes in graphite color only
Kinlde 3 with Wi-Fi & 3G comes in graphite & white color
Kindle DX comes in graphite.
Kindle supports - Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), MP3, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion.
Kindle Comparison:
Display Size 6" diagonal 6" diagonal 9.7" diagonal
Display Type E Ink Pearl E Ink Pearl E Ink Pearl
Display Type E Ink Pearl E Ink Pearl E Ink Pearl
Size 7.5" x 4.8" x 0.335" 7.5" x 4.8" x 0.335" 10.4" x 7.2" x 0.38"
Weight 8.5 ounces 8.7 ounces 18.9 ounces
Storage 3,500 books 3,500 books 3,500 books
Battery Life (Wireless Off) 1 month 1 month 2-3 weeks
Battery Life (Wireless On) 3 weeks 10 days 7 days
Books in 60 Seconds Kindle Wi-Fi has Books in 60 Seconds Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi has Books in 60 Seconds Kindle DX has Books in 60 Seconds
Free 3G Wireless Kindle Wi-Fi does not have Free 3G Wireless Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi has Free 3G Wireless Kindle DX has Free 3G Wireless
Global Wireless Coverage 100 countries and territories 100 countries and territories
Wi-Fi Kindle Wi-Fi has Wi-Fi Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi has Wi-Fi Kindle DX does not have Wi-Fi
Native PDF Support Kindle Wi-Fi has Native PDF Support Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi has Native PDF Support Kindle DX has Native PDF Support
Whispersync Kindle Wi-Fi has Whispersync Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi has Whispersync Kindle DX has Whispersync
Worry-Free Archive Kindle Wi-Fi has Worry-Free Archive Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi has Worry-Free Archive Kindle DX has Worry-Free Archive
Text-to-Speech Kindle Wi-Fi has Text-to-Speech Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi has Text-to-Speech Kindle DX has Text-to-Speech
Price $139.00 $189.00 $379.00
Unboxing Kindle:
Look & Feel:
The Screen:
Kindle 3 has 21% smaller form factor then it's predecessor Kindle 2 but retains 6"
the screen size by organizing the buttons better and loosing the not so required ones.
Compared to my colleague's Kindle 2 difference in contrast is visually evident(better) in Kindle 3. Amazon claims 50% improved contrast, I've no means to verify that. 'Pearl' technology is the soul of Kindle 3 E-Ink black & White display.
The Keypad:
Kindle 3 sports a full qwerty key pad and D-pad for on screen cursor navigation.
Numeric keys are stripped down from keyboard and have been included as part of 'Sym'(Symbols) key menu.
'Aa' font key to adjust the text and orientation of the screen.
'Menu' key enables us to configure wireless connectivity, On the Go book shop from Kindle store, Book management on device etc.
'Home', 'Back', 'Del' keys does exactly what their name entails.
The Back:
Kindle 3 has rubber finish at back giving one a better grip while reading and making device more scratch resistant. Kindle comes with 2 integrated stereo speaker at the top right and left corner of it's back. Speakers are not good if used in noisy neighborhood but the 3.5 audio jack comes to rescue in such situations.
Connectivity & Switches:
Power key, 3.5mm audio jack, micro USB 2.0, mic, volume controller are at the bottom of the device.
Keeping left and right hand users page forward and back button are well placed on both side of device. Page forward key has been made slightly longer than the back key in current Kindle revision.
If you are a late night reader but don't want to bother your partner, for you on the left side of device two small power-out jacks are provided to attach external mini reading lights.
As an E-Reader:
Awesome is the word for the device, text display is clear, sharp and crisp. Reading experience is as good as reading from paper. Anti glaring E-Ink display is feast for eyes and enables prolonged reading without any/minimal stress on eyes.
Kindle has a battery life more than a month with wi-fi turned off so we don't have to bother about charging it frequently. I've charged Kindle only once but still more than 60% battery is available. Kindle 3 comes with 4GB inbuilt storage, sufficient enough to accommodate most of ours book collection.
Kindle 3 has support for native pdf, but my personal experience with pdf reading on Kindle is not as good as Kindle books, but still pdf support is a plus in Kindle feature and I am sure Amazon will keep improving on it's readability. I tried converting PDF to Kindle format but there were few alignment issues, though not a big turn-off as such.
Final Words:
With an unmatched books library of ~700,000, strikingly near to paper like display Kindle is best value for money e-reader available at the moment. I love reading on Kindle.
My Rating 4/5
