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Specs:

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How I Conducted My Analysis of Amazon’s Collection of Kindles

Between four separate eReaders (we will review the standard Kindle, the Touch, the Keyboard, and the Fire), there were more than enough reviews and articles to be read about the Kindle series. But really picking apart the differences didn’t just take me to the Internet. It also took me to my bedroom, where I gave my own older model Kindle (now known as the Keyboard) a thorough examination. Needing to travel only to Amazon’s website, as well as  respected review sites like Engadget and Cnet, analyzing Amazon’s Kindle models was simple.

 

How I Stacked the Kindles Against Each Other

Of course, not all Kindles are created entirely equally – but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of common features across all of the platform models.  To simplify things a bit, here are the elements that all four reviewed Kindles include:

 

• Wi-Fi
• Access to millions of books, newspapers, games, magazines, and documents
• At least 2GB of in-device storage
• Free access to Amazon Cloud storage
• “Special Offers”, which are advertisements Amazon includes on your device should you choose to let them. Models with Special Offers are, on average, about $40 cheaper
• The ability to borrow Kindle books from supporting local libraries
• Experimental Web Browsing (excluding the Fire, which will utilize Amazon’s new Silk platform)

 

Standard Kindle

This Kindle is not the same model as those previously released; it has been redesigned to begin a new standard for 2011. It has 2BG of onboard storage, and is nothing if not user-friendly, with buttons to turn pages on either side of the device. Its content is viewed via an E Ink display that really does, as Amazon claims, “read like paper”.

The navigation system looks to be a tad frustrating, if it’s anything like the one featured on previous Kindles. The 5-way controller of the Kindle seems quite easy to make mistakes with.  Also, the brand new Kindle will still not feature audio this time around. But once you begin reading (which is the ultimate purpose of an eReader, let’s not forget), the Kindle demands your full attention.

Being the simplest of all Kindles, this model is great as an entry level eReader; in other words, if you want something to store your books electronically so you can take a whole library with you, it is ideal. And you can keep that library open for an entire month at a time, since the Kindle can last over 30 days without a charge. And if you keep your wireless Internet turned on, one charge, which takes about 3 hours to fill an empty battery, will last three weeks or so. So with a single charge lasting weeks at a time, those who purchase the standard Amazon Kindle will not find themselves starving for their eReader charges very often at all.  The primary reason for this is that the original Kindle model uses no battery power to display a page. Instead, power is needed only when the user is physically pushing buttons or allowing WiFi to remain engaged.

Perhaps the best reason the standard Kindle is such a good choice as a first eReader is its price. The new version of Amazon’s original Kindle can be bought, with special offers, for only $79.00. For a more than reasonable price you can download books in a matter of seconds, store 1,400 of them, and read them to your heart’s content. Not to mention the fact that this device weighs less than 6 ounces and is thin enough to suit my own preference for ultra portability.

 So why even look further into Amazon’s catalogue of eReaders?  Simply put, because Amazon has more to offer with the Kindle line – so if you are in the market for a new eReader, take the time to explore all of your options before you make your final decision.

  

The Touch:

The Kindle Touch is pretty much exactly what you may think it is – an Amazon Kindle with a touch screen. Its battery will last the user a whopping two months of use with a single charge, once again, depending on your use of WiFi and your Internet configuration. This Kindle holds 4 GB of content, which could be seen as one of the best reasons to opt for it over the standard Kindle. The Touch is a dream come true for fans of the Kindle who want the reputation of Amazon’s eReader, with at least some of the functionality that comes with Apple’s iPad. BGR.com praised the “incredible” touch sensibility of the Kindle Touch’s screen, which makes the unit seem about as fluent and smooth as any of the best touch screen interfaces these days. As such, the Touch doesn’t seem to be just a big setup for a letdown like so many other touch screen devices, whose owners claim, “You just have to get used to it”. Instead, the Kindle Touch is completely under the control of your finger, right out of the box.

But the screen is not the only feature that sets the Kindle Touch apart from the others in the series: the Touch includes a text-to-speech function which will read for you, out loud, or through your headphones. The Read to Me function features the voices of celebrities and world-class narrators, which I found to be a very savvy option for Amazon to include. Having a familiar voice reading a book to you has to be one of the most comforting things modern technology is capable of delivering. The Touch, also available with AT&T 3G instead of exclusively the standard Wi-Fi, has rear mounted speakers and an audio jack, so you can listen to your books, as well as MP3 music files. And with a non-3G enabled model at $99 with special offers, or $139 without, it’s clear that the Kindle Touch is meant to be available to more than just tech and book enthusiasts.

 

The Keyboard:

The Kindle Keyboard, which I mentioned earlier, is the top selling eReader of 2011. It is not much different from its touch screen counterpart, except, of course, for the fact that it features a simple keyboard, which I am fond of. It is about an ounce heavier than the Touch, but Amazon tells us it contains up to 4 GB of storage space, like the Touch. The battery life and charge time of the Keyboard are both identical to the Touch as well. What some consumers may not know is that the Keyboard is a new alias for the original Amazon Kindle. If you own the earlier Kindle model, you own an earlier Kindle Keyboard. However, this model features audio, and, like the Touch, is offered with Wi-Fi and/or 3G.

If the Keyboard and the Touch seem similar, that’s because they are. They have almost the exact same specs in multiple categories. In fact, the brand new Kindle Touch could be called a replica of the original Kindle with little more than a different interface. So if the brand new, touch screen Kindle, with all the bells and whistles (no special offers from Amazon, and 3G capability) costs $189, how much will the user save by settling for the same eReader, without the nifty touch screen?

Nothing. Zero dollars, and zero cents.

If a customer buys a Kindle Keyboard 3G without special offers (a term you should be familiar with by now), he or she could have purchased the same model at the same price – but with a neat touch screen. Now, Amazon has designed the Keyboard to hold 500 more books than the Touch, so that’s a perk, I suppose (OK, maybe not such a perk for most of us.  I still don’t get why I need the capacity to carry any more than maybe a couple hundred books, which would take me a couple of years to read anyway). But the standard versions of both the Touch and Keyboard sell for $99. In my opinion, the Touch is the better choice by far, but if you want a few hundred extra books, and a conventional, comfortable keyboard, then the Keyboard is the right Kindle for you.

 

Fire:

The new Kindle Fire, on the other hand, is in a totally different world. The Fire is currently available, and it has surpassed eReader status. We could probably refer to the Kindle Fire as Amazon’s answer to Apple’s iPad, because this tablet features nearly everything every other Kindle has offered so far – and much more. The Fire comes complete with a 16 million color, high resolution display; a touch screen interface; the Amazon Silk Web Browser to be used with Wi-Fi (no 3G is available so far); and 8 GB of media storage. The Fire is for the customer who wants an eReader and more.  Much, much more. The Kindle Fire is priced at $199 upon release, or roughly twice the cost of the rest of the Kindle models.  Of course, there will be twice the features, too.

The Fire is also loaded with a dual core processor, so buyers should have no trouble multi-tasking. Media such as special edition magazines will include built-in audio, video, and other features, which you can enjoy while downloading a video or streaming music.

Like its sister models, the Kindle Fire can also view Word documents and PDF’s, making it just that much more practical. If all of this weren’t enough, the Fire also features Amazon’s Whispersync, which is included on the other Kindles as well. But with the Fire, this synchronization technology is taken even further. With the ability to watch movies and videos of all sorts, Whispersync will synchronize whatever you’re watching to any other Whispersync devices. So, if you pause a video on your Kindle Fire, put it down and turn on your Whispersync-enabled TV, and you can pick up right where you left off from the Fire.

If you want something to store your books with a few other cool features, the Kindle Fire is not your gadget. But if you want a device that admirably stacks up to the wonders of the iPad, you should give serious consideration to the Fire while it’s hot.

 

Online Opinions and Reviews on the Kindle Line 

The recent releases of the Fire and the Touch have both given way to some highly anticipated reviews, however there were none to be found of the Kindle Keyboard (more on that later).

 

The Amazon Kindle

When it came to the newly designed standard Kindle, reviews were pretty consistent: although it has a nice design, it has been stripped down a bit. Well, there is a reason for that, and it is the Kindle Keyboard. It should be remembered that the original Kindle is being continued under a new name with new features.  And the new “standard” Kindle for 2011 is a newly designed eReader in and of itself.

Most reviews have a positive slant. TrustedReviews.com loves its low price, and while they acknowledged the loss of a few features here and there, they gave the device a 9/10.

Here’s a quick snapshot of what a few are saying about the new Kindle:

“…the perfect eBook reader for today’s hard times.” –Mark Harris

“…different in a rather brilliant way.” –Andrew Williams

“…establishes the new class standard for affordable eBook readers…” –Jamie Lendino

 

The Kindle Touch

The Kindle Touch has been received well so far, especially considering the fact that it is Amazon’s first touch screen device. Various websites claim that it isn’t set apart from the other Kindles design-wise. However, some reviewers found its design very similar to Apple’s simple home button, power button combination.

The Touch has truly impressed some who have reviewed it thus far, and those who weren’t particularly impressed were still somewhat fond of the device. Here’s what those reviewers are telling us:

“…Amazon's best e-reader to date.” –cnet.com 

“There's a lot to like here…but there's nothing that would make us want to dump our Nook, Sony WiFi reader, Kobo or even Kindle Keyboard.” –Engadget.com

“…a nice upgrade for folks who own touch-screen phones and are comfortable with that interface” –foxnews.com 

 

The Kindle Fire

I was very eager to see what other reviewers would say about the Fire.  One review  compared it favorably to the Nook Tablet and the iPad 2, which was no surprise to me since I felt the same way after looking over the Fire myself.  Other reviews, such as Gizmodo’s, outright warned Apple to “be afraid.” Still others, such as the review by Rick Munarriz of Dailyfinance.com, strictly supported the iPad against this newcomer – but nevertheless, he could admit that for the investment, the few features the Fire is missing out on aren’t much of a setback considering the attractive price. The Fire, of course, will never quite be the iPad, and there have been a few complaints about web browsing from a few sites,  but it all in all, the Fire seems to have lived up to the hype it sparked:

“…cheap, useful, and fun to use; 9/10” –digitaldesi.com 

“…a fantastic buy. It is intuitive and capable…” –bgr.com

“…does exactly what Amazon wanted it to…” –ubergizmo.com

“…an outstanding entertainment value that prizes simplicity over techno-wizardry.” –cnet.com

The Kindle Keyboard

As I’ve mentioned previously, this Kindle model has been with us from the start. Amazon released the Kindle 1, Kindle 2, Kindle DX, and Kindle 3, all with qwerty keyboards. The Kindle Keyboard follows their footsteps, and hasn’t received much attention because in reality, it is the same Kindle we’ve come to know and love – with a new title.

 

The Verdict

Amazon is appealing to a very wide market in a very tough economy with its new line. Now that you know what makes each Kindle unique, I’ll give you the bottom line to help you choose the one that’s right for you.

 

The New Kindle: Cheaper and Simpler

 The new Kindle is for those who want an eReader stripped down for the purpose of reading books. Yes, it can do a few other things, like surf the internet on Amazon’s experimental browser, but it is quite obvious that this is designed to be a $79, bare bones Kindle to be read, not shown off. The lack of a keyboard may make it unorthodox for those who bought earlier models, but if you want a practical eReader with a fresh design at an affordable price, you can’t go wrong with this one.

 

The Kindle Touch: Modern, Flashy, Inevitable

 It makes sense that Kindle would release a touch screen device with its new line. The Kindle Touch is the answer for those who want an eReader with the Kindle’s reputation, and a touch screen interface, which is all the rage these days. And at $99 without 3G ($150 with it included), you can have the most up to date of Amazon’s eReaders at very reasonable prices. Preorder the Touch if you want an eReader that will stay charged longer, hold more data, play your music, and highlight your interests in any literary work – all without pressing a key.

 

The Kindle Keyboard: The Juggernaut

The Kindle Keyboard is the classic Amazon eReader. Ever since the first Kindle was released in 2007, the company has always had a keyboard-equipped eReader for sale. And while the Kindle Keyboard may seem like the “same old, same old,” it’s also the same recipe for happy customers. Amazon’s Keyboard model isn’t the latest and greatest in tech, but if you want the battery life, storage, price, and other features of the Touch in a classic eReader with a conventional keyboard, this is the best option for you.

 

The Kindle Fire: Amazon’s Best Yet

Amazon really has something big going for them with the Fire. This tablet has been highly anticipated, and seems to stack up nicely to the iPad, especially when you consider the difference in price.  The primary differences between the iPad and the Fire (besides the OS) at first glance appears to be the Fire’s lack of a built-in camera and microphone. And of course, the vast amount of raw disk space the iPad has built in is very impressive, but once you reach for anything past Apple’s 8 GB model, your wallet begins to have a panic attack.

If you are looking into buying a Fire, you are likely to conclude that the few things it doesn’t have are forgivable in light of the attractive price. With Amazon’s Silk web browser, a gorgeous touch screen display, a dual core processor, and about 6 GB available to the user, this tablet is very well stacked.  From games (yes, you can download Angry Birds), movies, magazines, music, newspapers, audiobooks, to just about anything else you might want in a tablet – it’s all available on the Fire for a great price – and in a tighter package, too (Fire: 7.5” by 4.7”, iPad 2: 9.5” by 7.3”).

The size isn’t the only thing that’s smaller; you can own the groundbreaking Kindle Fire for $199, or less than half the price of the $400+ iPad 2. The Kindle Fire is your gadget if you want in on the tablet craze without committing the dollars you’ll need to acquire an iPad.

Our Sources:

. For this review I have used information gathered from:

         

and also Apple, BGR & Trusted Reviews.

*Prices are only estimates and may vary from time to time, eReader central does not guarantee the stated prices.