Amazon Kindle 4 review
The new kindle 4th generation is the cheapest kindle and is likely to woo kindle fans again. It is simply called “kindle” and the previous generation of kindle is now referred as “kindle keyboard”. Though Amazon didn’t add any number, the new kindle is popular among fans as kindle 4. It is a basic kindle without the keyboard or touch interface of the other kindles.
Kindle family is growing and you have more choices to suit your preferences. Now, there are four main categories of Kindles – Kindle, Kindle Touch, Kindle Keyboard and Kindle Fire. With this kindle 4 review, we want to primarily focus on the new changes and what is missing as compared to kindle 3rd generation.
Kindle 3 Vs kindle 4
Kindle 4 has retained the same great features of its predecessor such as the most advanced E Ink Pearl display, built-in Wi-Fi, no eyestrain or glare, free Cloud Backup, Whispersync, books in 60 seconds and Easy to use. At the same time, kindle 4 had gain and loss some features.
Kindle 3 Vs kindle 4 – New Features
The new facelift of kindle 4 is well done. Without the keyboard it looks smooth, clean and very elegant. Kindle is 1 inch shorter with the same thickness and weighs 2.5 ounces lighter than kindle keyboard. Kindle has the same display size but it is smaller than kindle keyboard by 18% and lighter by 30%. It is now much better to hold in one hand with better grip.
The new Kindle is cheaper than the previous generation by $30 but you get faster page turns. The kindle processor or fine-tuning Kindle’s proprietary waveform as described by Amazon makes page turning faster. Kindle uses ARM Cortex-A8 CPU that can run at clock speeds up to 800 Mhz as compared to 533Mhz of kindle keyboard. Now, kindle turns pages 10% faster than kindle keyboard. You can read your books seamlessly than ever before.
The deal-maker
The price of kindle 4 is absolutely a deal-maker. It is priced at $79 for kindle with the special offers and $109 without the special offers. It is very interesting to note that the total cost of kindle components easily surpasses the price of kindle 4. It is available at the price of some cheap China made e-readers but otherwise is a fully equipped e-reader with the best features and platform on the market.
Kindle 3 Vs Kindle 4 – Missing Features
When you compare Kindle 3 Vs Kindle 4 there are some features that are missing with kindle 4 which are present in kindle 3. It is apparent that Amazon while maintaining the same standard also put in a lot of effort to minimize the cost of kindle.
No Keyboard: The absence of keyboard is the most apparent change while comparing Kindle 4 Vs Kindle 3. However, it is not necessarily a drawback. In fact, kindle 4 is 18% smaller and 30% lighter than kindle 3 without the keyboard and the reason why many will choose kindle 4. It also looks clean and stylish without the keyboard.
But you would really feel the inconvenience if you had own any kindle with keyboard before. You may not need to type text or need keyboard at all while reading books except the page turning buttons, but you do need the keyboard to buy books, surf websites, look up dictionary or Wikipedia, etc. Physical keyboard is much more convenient to use than using virtual keyboard via 5-way controller.
No Audio: If you enjoy listening to music or podcast from your e-reader, or use Text-to-Speech feature than this is not the right kindle for you. There is no audio option or headphone jack with kindle 4. Some would argue that these are feature we hardly use but it is still a drawback without the options.
No 3G Connectivity: There is no 3G version with kindle 4. It is only available in Wi-Fi. Many people like the convenience of 3G to download books on the go or surf web. It is not always easy to access Wi-Fi networks on the go. Moreover, you get free 3G wireless for lifetime for very less price difference.
No Power Adapter: There is no power adapter included with kindle 4. It comes with USB charging cable only which you can charge via PC or laptop. But you can use any USB power adapter from your devices such as Smartphone and tablet including previous kindles. You can also buy a new USB power adapter separately for $2 – $5.
While comparing Kindle 4 Vs Kindle 3, other changes in features include internal storage and battery life. The Kindle 4 on-device storage is 2GB as against 4GB of kindle keyboard. It can store up to 1400 books. This is good enough because you can always use Cloud Storage which is free for all Amazon content if the need for more storage space arises.
As specified the battery life of kindle 4 is one month compared to two months of kindle 3 or Kindle Touch. There is no complaining to this because even if we get around a months’ time it is still a very good offer. Other Android devices and Smartphone hardly give 5 – 6 hours of battery life.
Features and Technical details:
- Display: 6” diagonal E Ink Peal display with 600 x 800 pixel resolution at 167 pixels per inch
- Dimensions: 6.5″ x 4.5″ x 0.34″ (166 mm x 114 mm x 8.7 mm)
- Memory: 2GB of internal memory that can store up to 1400 books
- Weight: 5.98 ounces (170 grams)
- Battery life: Last up to one month
- Cloud Storage: Free Cloud storage for all Amazon content
- Interface: 5-way controller
- Web: Experimental web browser
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi wireless capability that use the 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n
- Port: USB 2.0 (micro-B connector)
- Supported file format: Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion.
Final verdict
If you own kindle 3 or kindle keyboard it is meaningless to upgrade. In fact, kindle keyboard is a better e-reader with more features and functionalities. If you need the convenience of 3G, audio, apps, touch-screen or keyboard then look for a different kindle version or e-reader.
However, kindle 4 is definitely a good buy if you want a basic and a solid e-reader to start with your quest for reading. It is very affordable, elegant, and excellent for basic reading purposes that meet all the requirements of a good e-reader.
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