Amazon updates Kindle, lowers price
Good news all round - Amazon's next version of the Kindle will not only be more powerful, but also considerably cheaper.
05 August 2010
While the iPad is getting the most media attention, it's not the only handheld device out there. Despite being massive fans of the iPad, we also love the Kindle. You might wonder why, when the iPad does nearly all of what the Kindle can do - and way more besides.
Well, as a book reader, the iPad has a few serious shortcomings. The biggest one is that you can't use the darned thing easily outdoors - the iPad's glossy LED screen is almost unusable in sunlight. Not so the Kindle - its e-paper screen is easily readable in sunlight - in fact, it's pretty close to a paper reading experience. Another iPad shortcoming is that it doesn't like heat: put it in hot sunlight for a few minutes and it stops working until it's cooled down. So, iPad book + holiday = waste of time.
The problem with the Kindle was the price: at around £260, it didn't really stack up against the iPad, which starts at around £415. Who wants a fraction of the functionality at half the price?
Well, the new Kindle is going to start at just £109 - which is a great price for a superb product. £109 gets you the wireless version, and for £149 you can have 3G too.
And it's not just a price drop - the Kindle is taking a massive jump forward in terms of its specifications, too. It about 20% smaller and 15% lighter than the current model - and there's no way you'd call the current model a brick. And, get ready for this - it has a battery life of a month. Yes, you read that right: one month.
That's a big leap: the current Kindle manages almost two weeks (reading frequently too) between charges. The reason for this is that it's actually off, not drawing power, most of the time - even when you are reading. It only uses power when you go to a new page, once the page is displayed, then it stops using power. (A small caveat here: if you keep wireless/3G turned on, it does draw power for that.)
The new Kindle will have double the storage, too: you'll be able to carry around 3,500 books with you. And of course, you can delete books from your Kindle with impunity: they remain on Amazon's servers: ready to be downloaded again when you need them.
All of which makes a great product even better. The real killer is the price - it's now cheap enough to make buying one a far more attractive proposition for avid readers.
We like the Kindle for several reasons. First, it really is a great way to read books. The screen is as readable as paper and you only need one hand to hold it - you can move forwards and backwards by clicking the button with your thumb.
The buying experience is also great - better, despite the lack of colour and pizzazz, than the iPad. Just browse to the Kindle store, find a book, click once and it's bought. You can also download sample chapters of nearly all books, free. Books arrive on your Kindle within a minute.
It's easy to annotate books as well, using the built-in keyboard - which makes it a great research tool, too.
Another big plus is that there is a Kindle app for the PC, Mac, iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch. These automatically keep track of where you are reading up to - so if you find yourself with a few spare minutes and your Kindle is at home, don't worry. Fire up the Kindle app, and it will take you to the point where you left off on your Kindle. It's seamless - and works almost every time (it doesn't work if you're reading with wireless turned off, obviously).
So, even though we love the iPad, there's still plenty of room in our hearts (and bags) for a Kindle. It's a really well thought-out product - and now at a much more sensible price.
