The Amazon Kindle e-reader has gripped literary enthusiasts by storm. Before its introduction into the market, a large number of people disliked the concept of experiencing reading a book through its e-book version regardless of how good the text in that book may be. This concept was revolutionized for the better by the Kindle when it impressed all such people with its unique e-ink technology that made reading something on an e-reader feel just like reading the original paperback copy of the book. Here is a review of the newest and amazing Kindle 4 from Amazon.
Design And Hardware
Amazon’s specs page for the Kindle proudly boasts that it’s 30 per cent lighter and 18 per cent smaller overall than the last model — this translates into real-world dimensions of 166mm tall, 114mm wide and only 8.7mm thick. It’s light (but not enough so that it feels cheap) at 170 grams.
By virtue of its lack of physical keyboard and slimmed-down dimensions, the Kindle 4 fits nicely in the back pocket of a pair of jeans. Since it is also very lightweight, you can also carry it around where perhaps you may not even consider carrying a paperback.
Performance
The Kindle’s screen has a 600x800pixel resolution and can display 16 shades of grey, giving pictures a pleasantly comic-book type cell-shaded feel.
The display of the Amazon Kindle 4 is, in a word, excellent. If you haven’t seen an e-Ink screen before you’ll be impressed with the almost paper-like nature of the display, and the contrast between the text and background is more than enough to be easily visible in low light.
However, the screen isn’t back-lit, which is a problem if you’re reading by anything dimmer than a desk lamp. You can buy add-on cases that have built-in reading lights and this should solve the low-light problem for you.
The physical keyboard is the most notable change missing, along with the audio, to help slim it down. The physical keyboard is replaced with a graphics keyboard with five buttons on the bottom of the Kindle. This touchpad keyboard does make it more challenging to input information and scrolling through letters, but with time makes it more at ease.
Software
The on-screen interface for the Amazon Kindle is as refreshingly simple as the device’s design. It can err on the side on occasion — the home page is very basic, for example, and book titles in the store can occasionally run off the edges of the screen — but for the not-so-tech-savvy, the basic layout should be reassuring.
Verdict
The newest Kindle 4 from Amazon is an impressive product in almost every sense. If you’re willing to buy books — otherwise there’s no point buying an e-reader — then we can’t really find any serious faults with the new Amazon Kindle. The device is definitely worth your attention and should be up top high on your list should you be planning on purchasing an e-book reader for yourself in the near future.
