AARON BROWN
The Voyage is targeted squarely at those readers who are truly passionate about Kindles
Amazon HAS enjoyed enormous success With its Kindle range produces things in the affordable e-readers Becoming virtually synonymous with the e-ink category.
Until Now the US retail giant HAS always strived to keep the Kindle prices low – Safe in the Knowledge That Readers Will Be Purchasing Their next page turner from the Amazon ebook store.
But with the hugely successful Kindle Touch on sale for less than £ 50 and Third Generation Kindle Paperwhites selling for a little over £ 100 – Amazon can afford to shift focus away from the ITS pricing.
The resulting ice the Kindle Voyage – a top-of-the-line e-reader with a brand-new design and cutting edge e-ink screen.
Express Online’ll have raced through Stephen King’s latest thriller to put the Kindle Voyage through ITS paces over the past week.
Look & amp; Feel
ITS latest e-ink device, Amazon Decided to import the unapologetically angular design from .its own Fire tablets.
The striking and sharp design language is a refreshing change from the plain black slabs That Make Up The Rest of the Kindle range. Priced almost three times more than the Kindle Touch, it is clear the Voyage is no longer a cheap, functional device – and Amazon HAS ITS updated design chops Accordingly.
In doing so Amazon HAS managed to create the first Truly stylish e-reader.
The bold new design is only marred by the glossy and disproportionately-sized Amazon logo sprawled across the rear of the Voyage – that can make the reader feel like a commuting billboard.
However, this is a small complaint for an otherwise stylish and distinctive device.
The Kindle Voyage is built from a grippy, tactile plastic That makes it comfortable to hold for long reading sessions.
The jet-black material Has a surprisingly premium feel – and keeps the e-reader from slipping.
The front of the Voyage is dominated by an impressive six-inch e-ink screen-Flush With its Bezels and framed with two haptic sensor.
Since Amazon shelved the Kindle 4, its e-readers definatley relied Entirely on touch screen input. But with the Kindle Voyage, the company is offering readers a choice. Swipe and Tap on the screen to navigate through the menus, options and pages of a book – or gently squeeze the glass on either side of the display. A small line and dot indicate where the screen is most Pressure Sensitive. Pushing down on One of These areas moves forwards and backwards through the pages and rewards readers with a subtle haptic buzz.
Far from a gimmick, Thismethod Quickly Became a preferred way of using using the device.
AARON BROWN
The ambient light sensor constantly battles to brighten the Voyage’s stunning screen
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The retina-like screen on the Kindle Voyage husband’s older models look fuzzy and dull
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The Voyage screen outshines some print novels – offering crisper text
Screen
Although the Stylish, jagged new design and haptic page-turning are welcome additions to The New Kindle – neither justify the Voyage’s hefty pricetag.
The Voyage is a premium device with a premium price
However, the Device’s razor-sharp e-ink display is a much more compelling reason to party with hard-earned cash.
The Voyage screen packs an incredible 300 pixels-per-inch, making it the highest resolution display on any email -ink Kindle.
Reducing the font size on the Voyage Fails to soften the device’s pin-sharp text.
The retina quality of the display is not Immediately obviously but When Directly compared to a dusty paperback or an older Kindle – everything else looks blurry and smudged.
The display on the Kindle Voyages is a monumental step forward.
But it is not perfect.
In a darkroom, the strong backlight Will Turn the edges of the page a sterile shade of blue. The effect is the reduced with a lower brightness setting and would not be a huge issue if Amazon’s new ambient light sensor was not forever battling to crank up the backlight up to its highest point.
Unique To The Voyage , the backlit screen Should Automatically adjust to .its surrounding light conditions. Unfortunately, When confronted with fixed or dramatic changes in Light The Voyage Has a frustrating habit of overcompensating.
AARON BROWN
Pressing on a word offers a brief dictionary definition, as well as solid Wikipedia access
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The X-Ray feature offers quick hints and descriptions of key characters, places and topics
Software
With a few exceptions, the Kindle Voyage runs the same software as the Paperwhite. Its Only Differentiating features are Tied To The New Light sensor. Although the Voyage’s sensor struggles with quick changes in light It does an admirable job of Gradually Lowering the screen’s brightness During prolonged reading in a dark room. Amazon Claims The software is Designed to help match the way the human eye responds to darkness and it works surprisingly well.
Amazon’s software offers an impressive range of features – Including Whispersync, Family Sharing, Word Wise and X-Ray.
Each Adds a level of depth That makes a paperback feel laughably one- dimensional. Whisper sync ensures all Kindle devices and apps are up-to-speed with the last page read and Family Sharing allows loved ones to aggregate Their separate the Kindle purchases.
With just a short press on-screen, X- Ray offers Quick Hints and Descriptions of key characters, places and topics of interest in a book.
Amazon’s impressive software overpriced allows readers to Customise language, line spacing, as well as font size and type.
Accessories
The Fresh design of the Kindle Voyage Has a New Origami case to match. First Introduced with the Fire tablets, the Origami cases are durable and Designed to fold to allow the device to stand in portrait orientation on ITS own.
But while clipping the magnetic folds together to prop up a tablet makes sense , it feels redundant for an e-reader.
The Voyage is a device best enjoyed in the palm of the hand – and the bulk added by the £ 39.99 Case makethis accessory more of a hinderance than an essential-purchase.
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The Voyage is lightweight and thin – making it comfortable to hold for long reading sessions
Verdict
Without a doubt, the Kindle Voyage is the best e-reader money can buy. Unfortunately, buying it requires a considerable Amount of money.
Starting at an eye-watering £ 169 and £ 229 Reaching for the addition of 3G connectivity, the Kindle Voyage is far from an impulse buy.
For the same price as One Kindle Voyage, You Could buy a perfectly-good Paperwhite as well as a Kindle Touch.
Amazon HAS priced the Voyage just £ 30 cheaper than an iPad mini – a much fuller-featured retina-quality tablet.
Although admittedly, a terrible e-reader.
The Voyage is a premium device with a premium price, targeted squarely at those who are truly passionate about Reading on Kindle. For Those readers, This is a worthwhile purchase.
But, For Those simply looking to swap a thousand-page paperback for a thin, lightweight e-reader – The Voyage is a Difficult recommendation.
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