Kindle

Kindle Touch

Kindle Touch 3G

Kindle Keyboard

Kindle Keyboard 3G

Kindle Fire

Is the Kindle any good?

Amazon has a great range of the latest in e-book technology. The Kindle has consistently topped the charts of many review sites, and has shown itself to be a leader in the ebook technology field. It's become the worlds best eReader, and for good reason. This lightweight and portable device made its debut in November of 2007 and has now been updated several times. This comes as no surprise considering how popular it has become and all the perks the Kindle has to offer its owner. For all of the models above (except the Kindle Fire), the Kindle offers the following advantages:

~ Advanced E Ink display, which really does read like paper with no glare. Reads easily in bright sunlight.
~ A single charge lasts up to two months (based on wireless off and a half-hour of daily reading time)
~ Over one million books, including New York Times Best Sellers, plus audiobooks, periodicals and blogs.
~ Fast download you can start reading your book in 60 seconds from payment
~ Choice of free books, over 2 million free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books are available
~ Borrow books choose from thousands of books to borrow for free (Amazon Prime membership needed )
~ Audio books (not the basic Kindle) over 60,000 Audible.com audiobooks with wireless delivery via Wi-Fi
~ Read-to-Me (not the basic Kindle) with Text-to-Speech, Kindle can read English-language content out loud to you
~ Twitter and Facebook integration built-in .

These are great features that we really love. But is the unit any good when you're using it? All of the Kindle models are well built, and have a good history of reliability. They're not complicated to use, whichever model you opt for, and in our experience most people adapted to using them straight away, even if they'd never used an eReader before.

The screen has plenty of contrast and the text is sharp. All of the Kindles use the same e-ink display (except the Kindle Fire), and as a result have one of the most readable displays of any eBook reader. Its visible in both dim and bright conditions, athough it does not have a back light - so you will need to use a separate light in dark conditions. Some covers come with integrated lights (see an example here on the Amazon site) and are well worth considering, since they also protect the Kindle.

Overall the Kindle is a great eReader, whichever model you choose. Amazon has invested a lot of time and money into developing the Kindle, and it shows.

Are there any Downsides?

Well, the basic KIndle does not have an audio player. This means you can't listen to music while you read (well, you can use your stereo suppose...) and you can't have audiobooks.

Other than that, no, there's no real downsides. All you have to do is choose which one...

Which One Should I Buy?

All of the Kindles offer an excellent reading experience, and in our opinion are fantastic value for money. So should you buy a Kindle, and if the answers yes, which one should you buy?

Kindle $79		Real basic. No keyboard, no audio capability (no MP3, no text to speech etc). Although the cheapest option, we think the more expensive versions offer better value. If you don't need music though this represents great value. Buy the basic Kindle here.
Kindle Touch $99		Touchscreen capability, and audio. For a small amount more this represents much better value than the Basic Kindle, just for the audio alone. The touchscreen interface suits some users more than a keyboard. Buy the Kindle Touch here.
Kindle Touch 3G $149		Same as the Kindle Touch but with 3G - so no need to be near a WiFi network to download your books. Useful if you out and about and not near free WiFi networks. Buy the Kindle Touch 3G here.
Kindle Keyboard $139		Still a basic model, it lets you use a keyboard on the front. No touchscreen capability, but does have audio (MP3, text-speech). Buy the Kindle Keyboard here.
Kindle Keyboard 3G $139		Same as the Kindle keyboard, except you don't need to be near a wireless network to download books. Useful if you out and about and not near free WiFi networks. Buy the Kindle Keyboard 3G here.
Kindle Fire £199		Not really an eReader in the traditional sense - more of a web browser. Not reviewed on this site. Buy the Kindle Fire here.

Are there any other eBook Readers out there?

The answer is a definite yes. Some people don't like the idea of being tied to using Amazon for their book purchases, and are very keen to use alternative ebook reader makes. Whilst we recommend the Kindle for all of the reasons stated above, we also welcome alternatives. Check out ebook-readers-reviews.net for details on all of the ebooks available out there and an independant review of each.

Why would I not just keep reading paper books?

Lets be honest. Paper books are nice. The smell, the texture, being able to flick back through them when you can't remember what exactly happened a few chapters ago... and books feel timeless. I like to be able to look at the cover, read the back occassionally, see them on the shelf, go back to it as an old friend. And if I'm going to unwrap a present, I'd rather it was an actual book rather than a gift voucher to download one. So for me, books have a definite place and I've no plans to stop reading them for good. But an eReader, particularly the Kindle, can add a new dimension to your reading range. Here's some thoughts...

Lots of books in one place
If you're travelling, the Kindle can lighten the load. With 3500 books storage capacity, its going to take some luggage to haul around even a tenth of that. But do I need 3500 books? Probably not. But I might need 5, or even 10, for a long trip. 10 books is a lot of space and weight.

Instant reading
If I see a title I like, I can download it and be reading within 60 seconds from a Kindle. Sometimes its nice to wait for a purchase, really make it that bit special. But sometimes its nice to get straight into it, no toe tapping.

Try before you buy
You can get the first couple of chapters of a book for free, to see if its your cup of tea. I can see this as a real asset to your reading experience. I've bought many a book that turned out to be not my thing. And yes, its because I fall for the carefully crafted reviews on the covers; But Kindle can make sure I don't waste my money. On its own, over a couple of years, this would pay for a Kindle for me!

Make it bigger
I'm not (yet) struggling to read print, but I know a few people who do. Kindle lets you change the font size, so that you can still read if you can't find your glasses, or if you struggle to read without the really large text. This on its own broadens your choice of books - no more waiting for the large print version. No more grappling for the magnifying glass!

So you can see that buying a Kindle can have a few advantages over the old fashioned printed book!