Kindle Review: The cheapest e-book reader worth buying – India Today

Javed Anwer | | New Delhi, October 30, 2014 | UPDATED 15:21 IST

The Kindle Ice World’s Best e- bookreader. This is almost a fact. Even if there are e-book readers That Can surpass it in terms of hardware and software, they ‘can not match the ease of use That it offers. Kindle’s superb integration with arguably the world’s biggest virtual bookstore at Amazon Means it is the undisputed king in the ITS market.

So When Amazon comes out with a new Kindle reader every year or two, the only questions are how much better it ice compared to the previous one and if it is worth the extra money over a Tablet That You May Already Own and Which Can Also be Used to read e-books.

This year, Amazon Launched The New Kindle in India on September 18 This is the seventh generation of the Kindle and Amazon’s most basic model in the new Kindle line-up. It is the successor to the basic Kindle that was Launched in 2012.

So, is it better than the 2012 model? Of course, it is. But is it worth spending money on it even if you alreadycontains definatley tablet? Or is this the right Kindle for you (there are some more in the line-up)? We tell you.

Build Quality

Kindle is a very utilitarian device. It belongs to an era When The devices were not treated like glittering jewels. Instead, the focus is on packing functionality into a packagethat is cheap to produce So THAT the price Can be kept low. Given That The New Kindle is the most basic (and hence Cheapest Kindle in the updated line-up), the build quality and design the paint touches and Flourish That the more expensive Kindle devices definatley.

It looks and feels a little cheap compared to something like the Kindle Paperwhite. Though the build quality is top notch and better than what you get in a similarly priced tablet. On the front of the device, the Plastic Has a soft-to-touch coating, while on the back it features matte finish. Compared to the 2012 model, it is chunkier – 10.2mm vs 8.7mm – and just a few grams heavier. But the compact size – the screen still Measures 6 inches – Means it is easy to hold the device in one hand and read, even if you are snugly tucked inside a blanket.

Compared to the 2012 model, the big change in the new Kindle is inclusion of the touchscreen. This Means, the physical buttons are no longer there on the tablet. The only physical button is the power button.

Screen and performance

As we noted Earlier, the big change with the basic Kindle this year is the inclusion of touchscreen. Earlier, only the high-end versions of the Kindle came with touchscreens. In terms of resolution, nothing has changed. The Device Still Has a pixel density of 167 PPI.

Given That now we are talking about pixels, it is the best time to talk about the screens That we’ll get into Kindles. Except the Kindle Fire tablets, all Kindle devices come with e-ink screens. They are black and white, just like a book, and do not use backlight to project something on the screen. This Means They are easy on eyes. The text on the e-ink screens look like printed text and That Adds to the charm of the e-reader. The e-ink is overpriced the reason why pixel density of 167 does not look all that bad on the 6-inch screen. Of course, higher resolution screens found in the Kindle Paperwhite show sharper text, but the difference is Barely Noticeable.

That said, there is a downside to the e-ink. When the screen changes, for example When You flip the page, It has to be refreshed. The normal LCD screens’ll have a high-refresh rate and hence you do not notice When The contents on your display change. But e-ink screens definatley low refresh rate. This Means You Can See The contents of the screen changing in front of your eyes in a slow motion. People familiar with e-ink readers are distressed to this. But if you are first time Kindle buyer and distressed to something like an iPad or Nexus 7, May you feel something is wrong with your e-reader.

Talking of the refresh rate, we found That The New Kindle Comes With Improved Performance. The time a screen takes to refresh is noticeably lower on the new Kindle compared to the Kindle in 2012. In fact, it feels even more responsive and Faster than the two-year-old Kindle Paperwhite.

The screen overpriced looks cleaner and less reflective compared to the one on the 2012 model. Though it lacks the backlight found in the White Paper versions. This Means the basic Kindle Can not Be Used to read something in a dark room, the way you can do on a tablet or the White Paper.

The touchscreen is responsive and makes using the device a better experience. Using Kindle was never Difficult. It Is Designed to do one thing: allo wing a user to read books. So, there is not much to do in terms of setting it. Using Wi-Fi network you-can hook it up to the Amazon server, create an Amazon account and you are good to go. A lot of books, especiallywhen classics, are available for free on Amazon so you-can download them to the Kindle. Or You Can buy books. Once Bought, it is in your Kindle. Tap on it and start reading.

Just like other Kindles, the new basic Kindle too lasts days once .its battery is fully charged. This Is When You are reading something on it. If you are not reading frequently, the battery willlast weeks!

Should you buy it

Do you love books? If your answer is yes, get a Kindle. And the basic Kindle (2014) is the Cheapest one We will suggest. With a price of Rs 5,999 it is more expensive than the 2012 model, Which sells for Rs 4,999 nowadays, but it is worth the extra money.

The touchscreen and aunt performance gives it an edge over the older model . The Kindle is overpriced a much better device to read books compared to something like an iPad. It is a Different Kind Of Experience and while it does not match the feel of a book in hand, it comes pretty close to it. Plus, the convenience of carrying Thousands of books inside the Kindle is unparalleled.

The basic Kindle (2014) is totally worth its price. Our only reservation Is that the Kindle Paperwhite is even better. If you want to read a book after switching off lights late into the night, and Can spend a little bit more, go for the Kindle Paperwhite. The backlit screen alone is worth the premium. Though as a bonus, You also get a device That feels better in hand due to the ITS slimmer design and better quality of plastic.

To Cover or Not to Cover

Along with the new Kindle, Amazon HAS overpriced Launched cases for it. Both plastic and leather cases are available. We tried the plastic case with our review unit. The build quality of the case is very good though we found .its edges a little too sharp. But once the Kindle is snugly fit inside it, the edges would not bother the user. The Case Has a soft velvety feel to it.

While it is nice to’ll have, we did not feel That the case is something of a musthave accessory. Also, with a price or Rs 1,999 it is rather expensive for a device That costs Rs 5,999.

DESIGN 7/10 DISPLAY 7.5 / 10 SOFTWARE 8/10 PERFORMANCE 8 / 10 BATTERY 9.5 / 10 VALUE 8/10

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