Amazon's Kindle was recently refreshed for the third time. A silver, keyboard-free chassis is the most obvious alteration. We take the company's newest e-book reader through a quick speed test and peek under the hood. Some changes are big; some are small.
Amazon's fourth-gen Kindle hasn't received much fanfare as a result of its tablet announcement. However, the company's new eBook reader features a few changes, along with a significantly lower price tag.
It's part of a dual-pronged approach intended to dominate digital media distribution. While the Kindle Fire tablet is set to take on Apple in the tablet market, the lower-end Kindle represents Amazon's efforts to continue rocking digital book sales.
The newest Kindles come in two flavors: touchscreen and non-touchscreen. But both underwent a drastic facelift. Amazon primarily focused on aesthetics and usability in its evolution. The silver color scheme and keyboard-less design are perhaps the most noticeable changes. However, the company tells us it plans to continue selling the older third-gen black model under the name Kindle Keyboard.
| Kindle (Fourth-Gen) Wi-Fi | Kindle Touch Wi-Fi | Kindle Keyboard (Third-Gen) Wi-Fi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 6" E Ink Pearl | 6" E Ink Pearl | 6" E Ink Pearl |
| Dimensions | 6.5" x 4.5" x 0.34" | 6.8" x 4.7" x 0.40 | 7.5" x 4.8" x 0.34" |
| Weight *(lab measurement) | 5.9 ounces* | 7.3 ounces* | 7.9 ounces* |
| Battery | Li-ion Polymer 890 mAh (3.7 V) | Li-ion Polymer 1420 mAh (3.7 V) | Li-ion Polymer 1750 mAh (3.7 V) |
| Text to Speech/MP3 Playback | N | Y | Y |
| User Accessible Space | 1.35 GiB | 3.21 GiB | 3.05 GiB |
| Price | $79 (special offers) $109 | $99 (special offers) $139 | $99 (special offers) $139 |
We're still waiting for our Kindle Touch to arrive, but Amazon tells us that there's very little difference between the touchscreen and non-touchscreen models, aside from the touch interface, the presence of speakers, and capacity. All of the Kindles feel the same, as they employ the same stiff ABS plastic case and rubberized plastic coating around back for scratch resistance.
Compared to the previous generation, the lack a physical keyboard makes Amazon's newest Kindles smaller and lighter. However, this changes ergonomics to a small degree.
Kindle: 4th-gen (Top) and 3rd-gen (Bottom)
The "next page" buttons are now embedded along a thinner beveled edge, which makes it a little harder to turn a page, since you go from pressing the surface of the Kindle to trying to squeeze the side.
Kindle: 4th-gen (Top) and 3rd-gen (Bottom)
The device is still connected through a micro-USB connector. Now you have to press down on the Kindle's power button to turn it on, rather than using the Kindle Keyboard's slider mechanism.


And e-readers shouldn't be compared to tablets, the only similarity is the physical form. e-readers allow you to read long books without straining your eyes anymore than with paper. Tablets on the other hand do a large number of things (of questionable usefulness) but reading anything more than a newspaper is hard on the eyes.
Sure, we can do that. Check back tomorrow.
Cheers,
Andrew Ku
TomsHardware.com
If TomsHardware is correct clients should know about it.
If the touch versions cames with a screen in the same quality like the 3rd generation, then there is a chance I will buy it.
They should have added $10-$15 for a unit and use a good panel.
As a Kin 3rd gen owner, I'm happy that my device is still superior, and don't feel a bit bad about the extra money spent on it. I don't know what the sweet spot price is they are trying to achieve, but $100 seems like more than a bargain for an e-reader. People that want to spend less money than that for a "book replacement", probably don't buy many books anyway. ;-)
I have compared my Kindle 3 wifi to a more recent Kindle 3 3G/special offers. The 3G kindle had a darker screen with noticeably lower contrast. I also compared it to the new Kindle ($79 one) and the screen looked identical. The only difference was the new Kindle didn't black out the display on every page turn, so the page turns were less noticeable.
My guess is they are using the same quality screen, you just got a good one on your K3 and a crappy one on your new Kindle.
Any updates on PDF usability? Thanks!
I'm also a grad student, looking for a PDF display device. Not really interested in ebook or anything, but just the PDF.
Also, how does the touch screen keyboard works? Is it responsive enough to be usable for searching wikipedia, or is it almost like pecking the keys one at a time? I'm wondering how useful the keyboard is. I'm trying to choose between $100 Kindle keyboard, $100 touch, and $80 non-touch.
@acku: They didn't review the Touch Screen version. This hands-on covers only the non-touch.
So advertisement supported, non-touchscreen e-readers are comparable to regular, touchscreen e-readers now?
I think you meant, "(cause: it's lighter)" The cause of the improved ease of handling is the lightness. I find the new Kindle easier to handle myself because it's lighter.
All I have seen so far is that the Kindle Touch/Nook Touch are now equals. So that being the case, I'll pick the one that supports my local hometown economy.