The Kindle Fire might have grabbed all the attention, but the fact is that there were three other devices launched by Amazon last week, taking the total Kindle count to seven. We try to work out which suits you best.
E-book lovers have never quite had it so good. After being largely restricted to reading digital editions on the Kindle and tablets, they now have a whole variety of Kindle book readers to choose from, across different price segments and with different capabilities. Which is great. And confusing too. Because suddenly from having to choose between two Kindles – a large screen and a small screen one – users now have to make up their minds from seven of them. If you are getting muddled by the choice Mr Bezos offered you, here is our simple guide to Which Is Your Kindle.
Kindle($79)
What it is: Amazon refers to it simply as the “Kindle” on its website. And well, that is all there is to it. This is the most basic Kindle of them all – with a six inch E-ink display and Wi-Fi connectivity.
Get it if: You are on a tight budget and are more of a reader than a book browser. The absence of a hardware keyboard is going to make searching for anything on the Kindle Bookstore a real pain. Reading is an absolute joy, though.
Kindle Touch ($99 with special offers and $139)
What it is: The Kindle’s E-Ink display getting the joys of multi-touch and a touchscreen, and losing the keyboard. No 3G, though.
Get it if: You like to browse around for books on your e-book reader as well as read them. Very portable. Just make sure there’s Wi-Fi handy. We would recommend the $99 version, as the special offers and screensavers will not really affect your reading experience much.
Kindle Touch 3G ($149 with special offers and $189)
What it is: The 3G avatar of the Kindle Touch. The good part is that for the extra $50, you are getting a lifetime of 3G free.
Get it if: You love to read, browse the store for books, and well, this is the best part, love to browse the Web on the move too. Yes, the browser is not the greatest in town, but will handle most basic sites well (no video, though!). This is OUR favorite Kindle, we must confess – it is a very lightweight tablet with staggering battery life. Again, we do not mind the special offers, so would advise the lower cost one.
Kindle Keyboard ($99 with special offers and $139)
What it is: The good old Kindle (with better looks and a sleeker frame, though) with the classic E-Ink display and the keyboard, but minus the 3G
Get it if: You read a lot of digital books, but also like to search for terms and occasionally, even go online to browse for books. The keyboard can be handy, you know. And battery life rocks – up to a month on a single charge.
Kindle Keyboard 3G ($139 with special offers and $189)
What it is: The classic Kindle form factor with better looks and 3G thrown into the mix. The Kindle most people have at the moment.
Get it if: You want a light, portable e-book reader that can also double up as an Internet browsing device. The keyboard makes typing a reasonably comfortable experience and while the browser is not the greatest, free 3G for a lifetime does let you browse freely. Pun intended. Perfect for those who love to browse and buy books – and do not know exactly when they might want to do so.
Kindle Fire ($199)
What it is: Amazon’s Android tablet, which is brilliantly tied to Amazon’s store, giving you access not just to books, but music and videos too. AND it has an awesome new browser that works at the rate of knots.
Get it if: You love reading books, and also want a good tablet. Unlike the Kindle Touch, the Fire is a full-fledged tablet capable of multi-tasking and handling videos and games. Mind you, you will be largely tied to Amazon’s vision of Android – no Android Market – but there will still be lots of stuff to go around. And we do not mind the missing cameras one bit. Not an iPad killer, but one of the best value for money Android tablets we have seen. Mind you, reading books will be better on the E-ink display devices.
Kindle DX ($ 379)
What it is: The classic Kindle with an iPad-sized display. With 3G. And a keyboard.
Get it if: You want a larger display on which to read your digital edition collection. 3G is free for a lifetime in best Amazon tradition, and battery life super. But honestly, you can get a Fire AND a Kindle 3G for lesser, so we do not really know why this product is still around. Big display lovers might love it, but even Amazon seems to be phasing it out – it is not mentioned on the main Kindle page.
