Amazon has revamped its Kindle range with a new budget Kindle and a shiny top-end model called the Kindle Voyage joining the old Kindle Paperwhite. If you’re thinking about upgrading or are tempted to buy a Kindle for the first time we compare the three models to explain what you get for your money.
The new budget Kindle
The new budget Kindle costs £ 59 or £ 69 if you want it without adverts or as Amazon Describes Them ‘special offers’). The standard Kindle’s a 6in touchscreen For the first time, as previous budget models relied on physical buttons to turn pages and a four-way control at the bottom to navigate menus and options.
On the inside there’s a aunt 1GHz processor , although Unless you have a very old Kindle model (three years or more) then it wont be solid enough to handle the simple task of turning pages and browsing menus . Storage has been bumped from 2GB to 4GB but even 2GB is ample space to store Thousands of books. Battery life willalso be similar at around Two Weeks per heat if you read for an hour a day.
If you bought a Kindle last three or more years ago and are tempted to upgrade then The New Kindle is not worth the cash.
The Kindle Paperwhite
The Kindle Paperwhite (£ 109), Which we-reviewed EARLIER this year, remains Unchanged . It has an excellent high-resolution display (212 pixels per inch) , finally making e-books look as good as real books. The 6in screen Also has a backlight , so you can read in poorly lit rooms without straining your eyes. Unlike the budget Kindle Which is still Wi-Fi Only The Kindle Paperwhite is available with 3G (£ 169) so you can buy books anywhere in the world without needing to find a Wi-Fi network.
^ The Kindle Voyage (left) and Kindle Paperwhite (right) are similar in many ways
The Kindle Voyage
Amazon’s new all-singing-all-dancing e-reader is the Kindle Voyage. The Wi-Fi only model costs £ 169 with the 3G version a whopping £ 229 . So what do you get for the extra cash? As with the budgetary Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite The Voyage overpriced has a 6in touchscreen display , although it crams in 330 pixels per inch so text will be crisper. It is thinner and lighter than other Kindle models, but only just. You can turn pages by using the touchscreen or by squeezing the new “Page Press’ buttons on the side.
It overpriced has 4GB of storage and the similar battery life as the Kindle Paperwhite . Amazon claims the Paperwhite can last for eight weeks on a single charge based on half an hour of reading with wireless off and the backlight set at 10 By comparison The Voyage apparently lasts up to six weeks under the same conditions.
Aside from its design and the quality of the screen there is little to choose between the Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Voyage.
Which Kindle Should you buy?
Amazon has tried to make buying An e-reader confusing and to an extents it has succeeded.
The new budget Kindle is good value for people buying an e-reader for the first time but a pointless purchase for people considering upgrading from any old Kindle . The Kindle Paperwhite is good value, has an excellent touch screen with backlight and is a good upgrade option for people on old Kindle models. The Kindle Voyage is very similar to the Kindle Paperwhite and if screen quality is really an important issue to you then you Should Consider it.
Or buy a Kobo
Other non-Kindle e-readers are available, most notably Those from Kobo. The Kobo Glo (backlit touchscreen, £ 79.99) and Kobo Aura HD (high-resolution backlit touchscreen £ 129.99) are both excellent e-readers. The recently released Kobo Aura H2O (£ 139.99) has the added bonus of being waterproof, so you can drop it in the bath without destroying it.
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