Kindle For Kids
HTC Desire (AMOLED Android), Kindle 3 and iPad displaying the same book. I've made a video showing a book being downloaded on the Kindle 3 from Project Gutenberg.
Article by John Carter
Kindles range in price from $ 79 up to $ 199; you get more bells and whistles with each price increase. Here's a look at the similarities and differences between the various versions .First, here's a list of what all versions have in common.Every version of the Kindle has the following capabilities:All versions have built-in WiFi - some more powerful than others (details below, in the breakouts of the different models)Easily find the book you want and download it in 60 seconds - no computer or external software necessary.All versions of the Kindle are ready to go, right out of the box. No software to download, no computer necessary to activate and get going.You can email documents and PDFs directly to your Kindle Fire so you can read & make notes on them no matter where you travel.All Kindles now have the most advanced E-ink display, which actually reads the same as paper books, and without any glare. As easy to read in direct bright sunlight as in your living r oom.Now you can enjoy more than 800,000 titles on your Kindle, which are priced under $ 9.99You can download and read the first chapter of any Kindle E-book for free before you make the commitment to purchase the entire book.You'll enjoy adjustable text sizes, making it easy for anyone to read - one of the eight different font sizes and three font styles will be ideal for every Kindle user.The new high-powered processor makes easy, quick, seamless page turns, and Amazon's Whispersync technology allows you to read Kindle downloads on your other devices, such as iPhone, iPad, Android devices, Blackberry, Mac, PC, web browser with free Kindle reading apps, or Window Phone 7. Whispersync synchronizes the last page you read, as well as any annotations and bookmarks between all of your devices - so whatever device you're reading on, you can pick right up precisely where you left offKindles now all have free Cloud backup, so you never have to worry about losing your books. Downloa d previously purchased e-books again anytime - free and wirelessly If you love classic books now out of print, check this out - access millions of free out-of-copyright titles printed before1923 - absolutely FREEBorrow Kindle E-books from your public library, with no due date.Easily email PDFs and documents directly to your Kindle so you can read and annotate them anywhere, anytime.Download magazines, newspapers, games and documents as well as booksSo those are the similarities. Now let's examine the differences.Kindle (Basic)It's lighter, faster and smaller than previous versions - it weighs less than 6 ounces, and still has the 6" display screen. It can easily fit into your pocket.It holds up to 1400 books, so you can take your personal library everywhere. It has a one month battery life, so you don't have to worry about losing battery power - when the WiFi is off, a single charge will carry you through 30 minutes a day for a whole month.Amazon's retail price: $ 79.99Kindle TouchThis model also has the compact 6" screen, but is available in two models - the regular Touch - $ 99, and the Kindle Touch 3G starts at $ 149, with special offers.The Touch holds up to 3,000 books, and offers a 2 month battery life; so both of those features are essentially double what the basic model offers. The battery is fully recharged in 4 hours, via the USB cord being plugged into any computer. The Kindle Touch's touch-screen couldn't be easier to use - it allows you to shop, search, turn pages and take notes with great ease.The Touch weighs 7.5 ounces. If you're an Amazon Prime member, you can borrow thousands of books absolutely free, and this includes one hundred current as well as former New York Times bestsellers You can borrow one of these titles per month at no charge, and no due dates.The Kindle Touch features Text-to-Speech, and can read English langu age content to you out loud.Built-in WiFi makes it easy to connect both at home and on the road, with completely free WiFi access at AT&T hotspots across the country.A unique feature of the Kindle Touch is X-Ray - this lets you access the "bones" of a book. In other words, with a simple tap, you can instantly read all the passages in the book about things such as fictional characters, historical figures, places and points of interest, ideas and more. It also gives you broader access to detailed Wikipedia and Shelfari descriptions.Additional differences with the Touch 3G model: Offers global free 3G wireless with no contracts or fees. Download instantly anywhere, without having to search for WiFi hotspots. It's the only E-reader with text-to-speech, audio books and mp3 support. Exclusive EasyReach Touch technology lets you easily read using just one hand.Kindle FireThe Kind le Fire is the cream of the crop of Kindles, featuring a full color 7" multi-touch display and WiFi. It has ultra-fast cloud accelerated web browsing, called Amazon Silk. With the Kindle Fire, you can access not only books, newspapers and magazines, but you can also download over 19 million TV shows, movies, and songs, as well as thousands of the hottest apps, games - even Netflix, Hulu, Pandora and more.The Kindle Fire has an extremely powerful dual-core processor and an extra-wide viewing angle of the vibrant color touchscreen - just the same as an iPad. So it's perfect for sharing your screen. It also has IPS (in-plane switching mode).The Fire is perfect for reading and enjoying over 1,000 beautifully illustrated children's books, with its stunning, vibrant full color touchscreen.The Fire gives you access to 18 million songs from Amazon's mp3 store. You can also stream music from Amazon's Cloud drive, or download and listen while offline.The Kindle Fire's screen has been chemically strengthened to be more than 20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic, which make it extra durable and extremely resistant to accidental dings, bumps and scrapes. The Kindle Fire weighs 14.6 ounces. It retails on Amazon for $ 199. It has the same X-Ray technology as the Touch, as well as the Whispersync technology.So there you have it - a Kindle for everyone. The only question is - which one will YOU choose? For more information, please go to Kindle For Kids.
I picked up my pandigital novel 7 at Radio Shack on sale. My theory is that I could get a lot of uses from my computer similar to a tablet computer at an inexpensive "e-reader" price. The theory has thus far proven valid. I've been able to install a youtube application (though the instructions with the device suggested I could not), to install an app for my mog.com subscription music account, to install TuneinRadio which streams lots of internet radio, and to add Kindle and Kobo e-reader apps to the in-built Barnes & Noble Nook app. In addition to the SlideMe marketplace, I've been able to download apps from the Amazon marketplace. This little device has been a lot of fun, and very useful.
Article by Steve
Having been a little overwhelmed by the choices between all the new Kindles and which one to get, I ordered this new basic $ 79 Kindle first to take for a spin. So far, I like what I see. I also own a Kindle 3 so that's the only device I can really compare it to at this time (I think a comparison between other tablets and this Kindle is meaningless, this device is all about content and delivery):
1. Form-factor - Compared to the Kindle 3, this Kindle feels more compact, lighter and easier to hold. My hands wrap around this better than K3. Reading books for a few hours at a stretch will be easier on this device compared to the K3. It is the lightest such device I have used compared to all previous Kindles and other tablets.
2. Screen - I personally like the fact that there are no keys on the device and that keys come up on the screen when you need them. Delivers a better overall reading experience. However, navigating through the on-screen keyboard with th e 5-way controller can be taxing if you need to do a lot of searching, and you might miss the full physical keyboard. I hardly search on the Kindle itself, I search for books on my laptop so this is a non-issue.
3. Price! - At $ 79, you can't go wrong. Compared to buying paperback or hardcover editions, you will recover the cost of this in a matter of a few months because most Kindle content is priced cheaper than print editions (and you get it instantly, and can access it wherever you are). Not to mention all the free Kindle downloads available in the catalog.
4. Display - almost the same E-ink display at the K3. No glare no reflection. You can sit in bright sunlight and read it just like a book. Page turns seem a lot faster on this compared to the K3. Screen size of the Kindle 3, this new Kindle, and the Touch is exactly the same in size.
5. Wi-Fi - this can be a pro or a con (no 3G) depending on a user's personal preference. If you travel often and woul d like to be able to download content anywhere without worrying about getting a wi-fi connection, you're better off sticking with the K3 or waiting for the Touch/Fire. For me, 3G is not a major issue.
6. Text to Speech and Audiobooks - These two features are lacking in this device. I personally have never used these features on my K3. If you listen to audiobooks or TTS or music on your Kindle, again the K3/Touch/Fire might be better options.
7. Storage - this device can store 2GB which they claim is approximately 1400 books. For me, that's a massive storage capacity and it will be years before I get close to that capacity. Again, if you download books occasionally and have a moderate Kindle downloaded content on your device, 2GB is plenty. Of course, think ahead and see how much you would expect to download in the coming 2 years (I am assuming the device will be outdated and replaced within this time-frame).
8. Battery life - too early to tell but Kindle ba ttery life tends to be great. Specs state that the battery life of this device is 1 month compared to 2 months for the Touch or K3. 1 month is plenty (Android phones need to be charged every hour!). At least I know that if I'm going on a long flight, this device won't need charging if I charge it up in advance.
9. Power adapter - this Kindle does not come with a power adapter, only a USB charging cable. You can either buy it separately for $ 8-10, or use your existing USB power adapter. Any USB adapter would work with the charging cable (previous Kindle versions, Apple's portable devices, and most HTC phones, come with a standard USB power adapter that would work for this device). There are also plenty of $ 2-3 adapters available here if you search for USB chargers.
Bottom line - the choice between this basic Kindle, the K3 Keyboard, the Touch, and the Fire is really a personal preference. This device itself is meant for the minimalist Kindle user who, like me, reads say a 2-3 books a month, wants a device comfortable to hold, and doesn't need any fancy bells and whistles on the device. I guess it depends on what you use your Kindle for. If it's just the basics, this is the perfect device to get.
In my humble opinion, the choices:
(i) If you have a DX or an old Kindle version, or if you don't have a Kindle yet and are an average book-reader, this is definitely the one to get - baseline model that is affordable and is a pure e-reader.
(ii) If you have Kindle 3 and don't really need an upgrade, I recommend sticking with the K3, it's a better device than this one in terms of features. If you do need to upgrade, the Touch is probably a better option because of all the additional features, at a small incremental cost.
(iii) If you're looking for the loaded full-on Amazon content experience with access to all the apps, streaming audio and video, and playing the "strangely therapeutic" Fruit Ninja, wait for the Fi re!
I sincerely hope this review helps you decide whether this Kindle is right for you. If you are still unable to make a decision, it may be worthwhile to wait for the Touch and Fire to be released, and see the reviews on those devices before making a final decision.
I've been involved in retail book sales for more than a decade, and eBooks have been on the horizon now for nearly all of that time. I think they may have arrived. I downloaded the free Kindle software for my phone just to see what it looked like. Then I downloaded a book that I was planning to read anyway, thinking I'd get started on the phone, and later grab the real copy from the coffeeshop to finish it. But I found the reading experience on the phone to be pretty nice, and before I knew it, I'd finished the whole book. And started on another. Four novels in, things look strangely different. It's easy to overlook just how much reading I do in a typical day. Checking news and gadget blogs isn't really a good use of time, but that's what I'd been in the habit of doing when I was waiting in line somewhere, or had 20 minutes of downtime. Since my phone's with me *all the time,* it's been trivially easy to spend that time reading a good book instead. (Note: However you go about reading them, I highly recommend Christopher Fowler's Peculiar Crimes Unit mysteries.)
Article by Sweet Whitney
Designed from the ground up, Kindle Fire's simple, intuitive interface puts the content you love at your fingertips - spin effortlessly through your recent titles and websites straight from the home screen. Whether you are in the mood to watch, read, listen, play or browse, you can get to all your favorite content with a single touch. It's that simple.
Movies, apps, games, music, reading and more, plus Amazon's revolutionary, cloud-accelerated web browser -18 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, and booksThousands of popular apps and games - Ultra-fast web browsing - Amazon Silk - Free cloud storage for all your Amazon contentVibrant color touchscreen with extra-wide viewing angle - Fast, powerful dual-core processorAmazon Prime members enjoy unlimited, instant streaming of over 10,000 popular movies and TV shows
What People Are Saying About The Kindle Fire
"The Fire gives me the features I want at a price point that's less than half of the i Pad 2. I can check my email,browse the Internet, maybe play a few games, most importantly, I can read magazines in color on a Kindle." - Gizmodo
At $ 199 the Fire is less than half the price of the Apple iPad, which starts at $ 499.It is the first tablet from a major company to seriously undercut the iPad in price." - New York Times
The Kindle Fire is the tablet you need at the price you'll be willing to pay." - Technology Review
Amazon's Kindle Fire is likely to be the first successful tablet not sold by Apple, and thereare several good reasons for it: the low price of $ 199, the convenient, portable size of 7 inches,and a rich catalog of books, movies and music offered through Amazon's Web-based services." - Ars Technica
The Fire is the real deal and it's going to disrupt the equilibrium of the existing market for media devices." - Chicago Sun Times
There's a new mayor in Droidville. But this guy didn't roll into town with pomp and circumst ance.He strolled down Main Street and simply offered more than any other candidate, extolling a planbased on down-to-earth sensibility and affordability. Meet the Kindle Fire." - Seeking Alpha"
Movies, magazines and children's books come alive on a 7 vibrant color touchscreen that delivers 16 million colors in high resolution. Kindle Fire uses IPS (in-plane switching) technology - similar technology to that used on the iPad - for an extra-wide viewing angle, perfect for sharing your screen with others.
Enjoy your favorite magazines with glossy, full-color layouts, photographs and illustrations. Choose from hundreds of titles, such as Bon Appetit, Elle, and Oprah. Special editions of titles like Vanity Fair, Wired, and GQ come with built-in video, audio and other interactive features.
Kindle Fire features a state-of-the-art dual-core processor for fast, powerful performance. Stream music while browsing the web or read books while downloading videos.< /p>
Read bestsellers, children's books, comic books, and cookbooks in vibrant color. The Kindle Store offers over 1 million books, including 800,000 titles at $ 9.99 or less. In addition, over 2 million free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books are also available such as Pride and Prejudice.
State-of-the art Kindle Fire display is chemically strengthened to be 20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic, making it extra durable and resistant to accidental bumps and scrapes.
Stay in touch using our built-in email app that gets your webmail (Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail, AOL etc.) into a single inbox. Import your messages and contact lists from other email accounts. Additional email apps are available in our Amazon Appstore for Android.
Kindle makes it easy to take your documents with you. You can e-mail documents - including Word, PDF and more - directly to your Kindle so you that you can read them anytime, anywhere.
