Literary Quote of the Month

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies," said Jojen. "The man who never reads lives only one." - George R.R. Martin, A Dance With Dragons

Thursday, July 29, 2010

NEW Third Generation Kindle Revealed!

Third Generation Kindle Revealed!

Late last night Amazon revealed the NEW Kindle! Word spread very quickly through the internet and Kindle forums. The photo above shows the new Kindle design on the left versus the "old" Kindle version on the right. One of the most anticipated and best feature is the latest generation e-ink screen called pearl. The new screen is sharper and has 50% better contrast than previous Kindle screens and "any other eReader". Amazon revealed earlier this month E-Ink's Pearl on the Kindle DX and I can tell you first hand after seeing it that the fonts are sharper and there is more contrast between the background and the fonts. Nice that Amazon decided to share this with their smaller Kindle! And speaking of smaller, the new Kindle has a 21% smaller body, but still retains it's 6 inch screen size. Here are some of the other highlights of the new Kindle...

  • 15% lighter... weighs in at 8.7 ounces, which is less than a paperback
  • Battery life... ONE MONTH if you leave the wireless turned off; 10 days if you leave the wireless turned on.
  • Double the amount of storage- you can now store up to 3500 books!
  • Improved PDF support, with a dictionary look-up and the ability to add notes.
  • Faster page turns
  • comfortable new soft-touch textured back
Some other design changes are the buttons for Menu, Home and Back, which were on the right side of the Kindle, are now located below with the typing keys. The Navigation button is now larger, and the number keys are not displayed, which means to access them you will probably have to shift keys.

What else is great about the NEW Kindle? How about the price! You have a choice...
  • Kindle Wi-Fi only, available in graphite grey.... $139.00
  • Kindle 3G plus Wi-Fi, available in white or graphite grey... $189.00
The Kindle is slowly inching towards that magic eReader $100 price point and beats Barnes & Nobles Nook (Kindles direct competitor) by $10! I can't wait to see one of these new Kindles in person! I'm particularly curious to see the new size. One of the things I liked about the Borders Kobo reader that I tried was it's size; the Kobo was smaller than my Kindle and the size was very comfortable to hold, especially with it's soft-touch quilted back. The new Kindle size is almost as small as the Kobo and it too has a new soft-touch textured back.

Well, what do you think? If you've been on the fence about getting an eReader this may be the final push you need. And does this mean prices even lower for Sony, Barnes & Noble and Kobo eReaders again? You can read all about the new third generation Kindles and all their features at Amazon.com . Pre-orders are being taken right now, with the new Kindles being shipped on August 27th!

6 comments:

Jessica said...

Sweet! I really like the smaller size. I almost bought a kindle or nook (I was undecided) last month but then decided to wait to see what the new versions would hold. :) I really do want one but the ebook prices are the main reason I've waited so long. It's just not right when an ebook costs as much a paperback and sometimes more than a hardback.

Reena Jacobs said...

@Jessica

I know what you mean about the price. Yeah, it's convenient to have a mass of books in a little package, but nothing takes the place of a small private library. I feel like there should be a better pay off than just being able to carry a bunch of books around on vacation in a small portable device.

What happened to the idea of the big initial price of purchasing an e-Reader then saving big bucks on lower priced books? I thought the idea was to gradually save money in the long run. Ha ha The jokes on you e-Reader buyer. :)

Anyway, I definitely like the price. Despite my complaints of paying as much for an intangible e-Book, I wouldn't mind a Kindle.

A few weeks ago I picked up the Pandigital Novel for $116 after the 20% coupon and $20 rebate. I'm liking it, but still would like a Kindle. Cause I'm just that greedy.

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi Jessica,
I know exactly what you mean about the whole pricing issue. How can publishers price an ebook as much as books produced the old fashioned way! Even though I still read the old fashion way, I do enjoy reading on my Kindle, and I tend to buy books that I don't necessarily want to keep on the shelf forever. My husband buys almost all his books on the Kindle now. There are also plenty of bargains in the Kindle book store depending on what you enjoy reading too. Let me know if you decide to buy one!

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi Reena,
I had never heard of the Pandigital Novel until you just mentioned it. Looks like an iPad. And it's great that it's supported by Barnes & Noble. It's amazing how many choices in eReaders there are now.

You're right about the initial cost of the eReader was suppose to be offset by cheaper eBooks. At least now that eBook prices are going up the readers are coming down. But still, when you can get the physical book for the same price or cheaper, I find it really hard to go for the eBook.

eReaders are also great for the library. Right now my library has eBooks available to check out for 3 weeks at a time. I need to use a Sony or Nook eReader though.

Thanks for the input and sharing the info on the Pandigital!

sumthinblue said...

omg. i was going to get a nook for myself this christmas and now i want this one!!!

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi sumthinblue!
Nice that you have a lot more choices for that Christmas gift! The Nook is a nice choice too, but I lean towards the Kindle if it's the same price. Let me know what you finally get yourself!

FSB Media Book Blogger Directory
my read shelf:
Suzanne's book recommendations, favorite quotes, book clubs, book trivia, book lists (read shelf)
First To Read
Reviews Published
Professional Reader
Challenge Participant