The New Third Generation Amazon Kindle Reader
It’s been a long time coming – at least it certainly feels that way – but Amazon has finally unveiled its new, improved and enhanced Kindle reader. Dubbed the third generation Kindle by Amazon, but more likely to be known as the Kindle 3, there are a number of changes in evidence.
It seems likely that the Kindle 3′s new features will tick many of the right boxes with e-book reader devotees. It retains the same 6” e-ink technology display, but the screen contrast has been improved by 50%, which should make reading an even more pleasant experience. Page turn speed, already good in the Kindle 2.0, is now a full 20% faster.
The overall dimensions of the reader are shrunk by 21% and the weight is a mere 8.7 ozs – a reduction of 15%. Battery life s now a month – with the Wi-Fi turned off – and even with the Wi-Fi on, a life of ten days is predicted. On board storage capacity has been increased from 2 to 4 GB, enough for approximately 3,500 books. So the new Kindle is smaller, lighter, easier to read, has a longer battery life and allows users to carry a small personal library with them wherever they go. What more could you want from a mobile reader?
For many, a color screen would have been one item on their wish list. Amazon have been dedicating a lot of resource to the development of a color e-ink technology screen – but it is not quite ready for commercial release just at the moment. Perhaps it will be included in the next Kindle 4 upgrade. There is no SD slot available for memory expansion, something which some users may have liked to see. However, with 4GB memory, the majority of people won’t suffer too badly as a result.
As well as all the upgrades, Amazon have adjusted the price downwards and introduced a new Wi-Fi only Kindle for customers who don’t feel the need for a 3G connection. The new entry level Wi-Fi only model can be yours for $ 139, the Wi-Fi plus 3G model retails at $ 189. The new Kindle 3 now comes in graphite, the same as the new DX model, as well as the original white.
Amazon has also opened a dedicated UK Kindle store on their British website. UK consumers will no longer require to have their Kindles shipped across the Atlantic. To begin with the UK Kindle store will have 400,000 Kindle books to choose from. It seems reasonable to suppose that Amazon may consider opening other dedicated Kindle stores for its other “local” websites in France, Germany etc. in the near future.
Kindle 3 sales are strong. Prospective customers face a wait of around 4 weeks at the moment before their Kindles can be shipped. It does start to look as if reports of the Kindle’s imminent demise at the hands of Apple’s iPad were somewhat premature. The new upgrades, the lower prices and the fact that there is no monthly payment for connectivity, will be very appealing to many consumers. It looks as though the launch of the third generation Kindle may serve as a timely reminder of just how influential Amazon are, and will continue to be, in the world of books in general and e-books in particular