Kindle 3 review – cheaper and better ebook digital reader

The Kindle was not the first ebook digital reader to enter the market, but was the one that revolutionized this segment of electronics and is even today the most popular such device on the market. Backed by great quality and a huge content library from Amazon, this is indeed a very nice gadget. And it now reached the 3rd generation, as Amazon recently launched the new Kindle 3 digital reader.

In the rows below I’ve put together a Kindle 3 review, speaking about most aspects you should know about the new device, including its good parts, but most importantly its bad points. First, let’s see a couple of things on specs for the 3rd generation Kindle:

• Display: 6 inch , e-ink , 600 x 800 px resolution at 167 ppi, 16-level gray scale
• size: 7.5 x 4.8 x 0.335 inch
• weight: 8.5 ounces (Wi-Fi version) , 8.7 ounces (3G version)
• storage: 4GB – only around 3.2 GB available for content (3500 books)
• battery life on stand-by: ~1 month – fully charges in around 4.5 hours
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g connectivity and HSDPA 3G modem (only for 3G version)
• supports: Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF,  MP3 natively; HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion
• 3.5 mm audio jack, stereo speakers, text to speech, accelerometer (for automatic portrait/landscape change)

Kindle 3 digital reader - improved features, looks and prices

Now, if you’re familiar with the previous generation, you’ll see that not much has changed in terms of specs. There are tweaks that make the new version better, but it is true that the Kindle 3 is not a revolutionary product, but a welcomed evolution from its predecessors.

Looks, design and ergonomics

More compact and lighter

When compared to the second generation, the new Kindle 3 is more compact and way lighter. It managed to keep the same display and the QWERTY keyboard while being 20% smaller and 15% lighter, and that’s something every one of you will enjoy. It is also now smaller than the Nook as well and way more thinner, plus 25% lighter. So there’s no doubt Amazon managed to make the Kindle 3 an easier to carry around device.

In terms of design, you’ll notice the cooler shape, with smooth edges and round corners. You’ll also notice that you can now get the Kindle in a Graphite finish, besides the standard White one available before.

Keyboard is still present and keys are a tad smaller, which makes it even more cramped and difficult to use for those with bigger fingers. For the rest of you, should be just fine. I can say I have medium sized hands and can use this keyboard without a problem. Side buttons for turning pages are now smaller too, which i particularly like, but once again, for those guys with big fingers might be unpleasant. Still, all of us will enjoy the fact that buttons and keys are now quieter and they don’t clank when pressed as before.

Display

On a first look, you’ll say this is the same screen as on the previous generation, but that’s not true. Although size and resolution remained the same, this display on the Kindle 3 comes with 50% increased contrast. This translates in crisper content and more intense gray shades, making letters darker and easier to read.

Better Contrast

The screen still uses e-ink technology so it’s great for reading in direct light, where content does not wash out like on LCD display. You will need a light source during the night and Amazon provides a cool LED night-light that tucks into the case when not used. The bad part is that neither the case or the lamp are offered by default and will cost you around 60 bucks for both.

Inside and features

There are a couple of improvements in terms of features for the 3rd generation Kindle.

First, we now get twice as much memory: 4 GB. However, only around 3 GB of those are usable for content, which is enough for a couple of thousands of books. Still, if you decide to load some music and photos on your Kindle, you’ll easily run out of space, and there’s no option to extend it (an SD card-slot would have been nice).

There’s also a new battery on the Kindle 3. Charges in around 5 hours and can last you up to 1 month with wireless OFF or a couple of weeks with it ON. However, it’s not replaceable, so in time (years) it will loose some of its power and you won’t have any solution to change it with a new one.

And speaking of wireless, as an addition to previous generations, this Kindle now brings Wi-Fi 802.11g/g connectivity. There will be two versions available, a cheaper one with only Wi-Fi, and a more expensive one with Wi-Fi and that 3G, usable to download books on the fly, for free, in up to 100 countries in the world.

Content support

With so many types of content available online, this is one of the most important aspects of an ebook-reader. And is where the Kindle still has problems in front of its competition.

the perfect reading device

You get native support for TXT, PDF,  MP3 files and you can add HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP files through conversion (will require installing a free software on your PC/Mac, attaching the Kindle via USB and convert those files). And of course, there’s Amazon proprietary AZW format, used for all content bought from the Kindle Store and with a bunch of restrictions.

You should know that content in the Amazon Kindle Stores comes with perhaps the best prices available online. However, you won’t be able to lend your books to friends or use that content on other machines except for Kindles or a computer with the Kindle for PC app installed. The good part is the Kindle for PC is free and works on Macs/PCs and all these new Android powered touch screen tablets available these days. And even on Blackberries and the iPad. So you can use your Kindle content on all these.

Still, the Nook allows you to lend content to friends for up to 2 weeks (for free) and both the Nook and the Sony Reader come with support for Google’s ePUB files, which are available online, most of them for free. The Kindle on the other hand lacks those.

So as a conclusion to this problem, if you already have a collection of content from other sources, you might have problems using it on Kindle. If you don’t you can buy it from Amazon in time and then be able to use it on the Kindle readers and all those devices that support Kindle for PC.

There are some other cool features I should mention: you get text to speech, you have the option to play music in background while reading your books and pages turn faster and smoother on the new generation than before. Plus, there’s a new browser, and together with that Wi-Fi connectivity option, should make the Kindle 3 better for browsing static content.

Prices and availability

Here’s another aspect where the older Kindle suffered in front of the competition: prices. Since Nook enter the market, Barnes&Noble’s aggressive pricing policies made their device cheaper than the Kindle 2. But that changes with the new Kindle: there are in fact two different versions now:

• Kindle 3 Wi-Fi , which sells for $139, with Free Shipping within US borders
• Kindle 3 Wi-Fi+3G , which goes for $189, also with Free Shipping

What’s also cool is that you can now order the Kindle 3 internationally and Amazon will ship it to your door, regardless of the country. However, there will be some delivery costs added, based on where you’re living.

Night-light case - the perfect Kindle 3 cover

There are also a bunch of accessories for the Kindle you should consider. Out of them, the most important are the Kindle 3 Covers, I’m going to details more about them in a further post, but you can take a look of some of the best options here. Also, that night-light is a must have, and you can get it together with the official Amazon Kindle 3 case for $59.99 (Free Shipping in US).

Pros and Cons

Before we draw conclusions, let’s see a summary of the pros and cons for the new generations Kindle.

The pros:

• way better prices
• thinner and lighter
• better display with improved contrast
• twice as big storage space
• Wi-Fi connectivity, next to existing 3G
• new web browser
• battery life is excellent
• buttons were redesigned, are more ergonomic and quieter when pressed
• available in Graphite and White
• comes with text-to-speech and can play music in background

The cons:

• still no support for ePUB books and you still can’t lend books to others
• no SD card to increase storage space
• battery is not replaceable
• those of you with big fingers will find the new keyboard and side buttons cramped

Conclusions

Like I’ve said before, the new Kindle 3 is not a revolution, but an evolution. Amazon positions it as a device specially designed for reading, in order to delimit from the iPad and similar such touch screen tablet gadgets entering the market these days. And while those are more versatile, for strictly reading, you can’t beat digital readers. And the new Kindle 3, with its improvements, is the best of such devices, although it has those problems with content support, mentioned above.

What’s even cooler is its price: only $139 for the Wi-Fi version, that’s a bargain. And that’s in fact the version I’ve ordered and I would advice you too to get, unless you really want to be able to download content wherever you are. But with hotspots available all around, I just don’t see the point to pay those 40 bucks extra, I’d better spend them on a proper case and other accessories.

Also read this post for a comparison between the Kindle, Nook and Sony Reader . And don’t hesitate to comment, your feedback will as always, be greatly appreciated.

Tags: Amazon, Kindle, Reader