Kindle

On the latest Kindle the screen remains unchanged and is excellent, most significantly in sunlight. The most striking difference is the size of the Kindle - significantly smaller than the keyboard version and now looking more like the Sony eReader range. I don't need a keyboard - although you have access to a virtual one on the Kindle screen but only can only slooooowly select keys using the 5-way control on the front of the Kindle. I much prefer this compact, very light, form. The finish is also better in my opinion. I prefer the silver casing to black, and certainly the white available in US earlier-generation Kindles. Another flagged improvement is the speed of `virtually' turning the page. There is a minimal improvement but it's still not possible to repeatedly press the next page button without the Kindle quickly falling behind.

Lower specs, excluding the keyboard which I think is a plus, is the anticipated time before the Kindle needs to be recharged - one month instead of two. One month is fine for me. The storage is also reduced but Amazon archives all your purchases in the Cloud so when you have Wi-Fi access you can download them just in case you're running out of storage space. As the Kindle will hold more than 1,000 books this is not likely to be an issue. Further, listening to music and audio books is no longer an option on the Kindle (which has no speaker) so the storage won't be clogged with large sound files. Storage space is not critical therefore. I also find that with Wi-Fi pretty ubiquitous these days that the loss of a 3G is fine. Where you're likely to struggle finding a Wi-Fi access point you're also likely not to be in a 3G area but can still rely on a slower GPRS or Edge mobile download. It is possible to connect the Kindle to a PC and move e-books to it via the USB cable so the Wi-Fi less have a work around (but you need Wi-Fi at least once to activate it on receipt).

Overall this is a refreshing update of the Kindle focussed on the key features of an e-reader - a good screen/size ratio, lightweight form, ease of downloading new books, and an excellent screen. And thanks to the focus on core features it's cheaper than earlier versions. Recommended.

Update: If you're considering investing in a new Kindle the Kindle Touch which, as the name suggests, comes with a touch screen might be worth a look. This adds the functionality of a touch screen, innovative searching of content in addition to a standard dictionary, more storage space and a longer battery life. It's currently £20 more than the standard Kindle and available late April 2012. Check out the Amazon Kindle comparison page.

I already have the original Kindle with the keyboard and have been extremely pleased with it. As soon as I saw this smaller, lighter version of the Kindle I thought I would get it to carry around with me when I go to work and in my handbag.

It has the same functionality that is available on the original Kindle, it just doesn't have a physical keyboard. If like me you didn't use the keyboard much then it is worth losing it to gain a smaller reading device. There is an on-screen keyboard available for inputting data which is controlled by the four way selector button. It is more time consuming to use than the physical keyboard but I didn't find it to be too much of an issue.

This Kindle is significantly smaller in size and lighter in weight than the older version. This means that it is much more comfortable to hold for long periods of time without making your wrists ache from holding it. Despite being lighter it still feels sturdy, solid and well made.

The front of the Kindle has the four way controller button which is used for much of the functionality and making selections. There is still a home button which takes you as you would expect, back to the home page of the Kindle. This is where your downloaded books and collections are stored. There is a keyboard button that brings up the onscreen keyboard and a back button that takes you back to the previous screen. The final button is the menu button that contains most of the functionality and options you will need to manage your Kindle.

On the right and left hand side of the Kindle you have the forward and backward buttons that allow you to change pages. By being on both sides of the device it means that you can use your preferred hand to turn the pages. The buttons are less prominent than on the original device but they seem just as easy to access and turn pages with.

The Kindle comes with a USB charger which will enable you to charge it directly from a computer, laptop, netbook etc. Note that this Kindle does NOT come with the plug adaptor for mains charging - this option needs to be purchased separately.

After charging and switching the Kindle on the screen and e-ink looked sharp, it was easy to read the words on the screen - a good contrast between them. Also, your eyes won't get as tired if you read for long periods of time as there is no backlight - something many other e-reader devices use.

This newer Kindle has less storage space than the original one, you can store around 1,000 books instead of 3,000 but this isn't a problem as you can remove books after reading them. Amazon store all the books that you have purchased and you can redownload any book you have removed within a few seconds.

The battery life is also lower than the original Kindle. I normally had to charge my original device up once a month - it seemed to go on forever. So even if this one needs charging every three weeks, so what? You can extend your battery life by turning off the wireless option once you have downloaded your books.

As someone who had virtually stopped reading books before purchasing a Kindle it has made a huge difference to me. I am never without my device and generally get through a book every one to two days. If you enjoy reading books and you haven't already bought yourself a Kindle then I would highly recommend treating yourself to one.

Ordered the new Kindle on launch day as a birthday gift for my wife, who always has her nose stuck in a book. It's her birthday in a couple of weeks and she is going to love this! Received it yesterday 7 days ahead of schedule so that was a good start. I've never used a Kindle (or any other reading device) so thought these few basics would help anyone as clueless as me:

Delivery
I had assumed I would need to sign for this, which can be a pain if you're not at home. In actual fact, mine was delivered by the postman who just popped it through the letter box with my normal mail, so that was a bonus as you don't have to be at home to receive it. Well packaged and it just comes in a cardboard box, with the Kindle, a USB power lead and very basic instruction booklet showing what the buttons are.

Charging
Mine came about 60% charged. I quickly discovered that apart from using the USB to charge from my computer, the Kindle uses a standard USB charger identical to various smart phones, so you don't need to a computer to charge it which is very handy if travelling without your laptop. Mine is currently plugged into my HTC Desire phone charger and is charging away as I type.

User Guide
This is all held within the device and explains everything you need to know - and also lots of other stuff you probably don't. Very informative.

Buying a Book
I decided to download one of the free books (there are loads) to test it out. Rather than using the device, I just went onto the Amazon E-book site, selected a book, logged into my Amazon account and that was it. I had the Kindle turned on whilst doing this and it downloaded the whole book in literally 5 seconds. Amazing!

Screen and General Feel of the Kindle
Brilliant! Looks great, text is very clear and the general 'feel' of reading on it is just great.

Buying as a Gift
As I bought this on my Amazon account it has automatically registered to my account. I'm fine with that and don't mind paying for all of my wife's future purchases. It is easy however to re-register the device to someone else's Amazon account, so if it is a gift for a friend or relative that's no problem.

Overall a great little device and well worth £89 of anyone's money.