Kindle 3 Review – Latest Kindle Reader to Capture the E-Book Reader Market
Royston Chen asked:
Finally, Kindle 3 is officially launched on 28 July 2010 for ordering. With Kindle 3 being the latest kindle, it is to outbeat its competitors including iPad, Ereader and The Nook in terms of the offered prices and features. Kindle 3 review will be shared here to compare its fantastic improvements over the 2nd generation Kindle 2.
Kindle 3 Size and Weight
Kindle 3 is really 21% smaller and 17% lighter than its former Kindle 2 family model. The 6″ display size still remain as it is even with this smaller form factor. This has greatly enhanced Kindle’s portability and to outshine against all of its other competitors in the similar category. With only 8.7 ounces in weight, Kindle 3 can be read comfortably with only one hand as it is even lighter than a typical paperback and slimmer than a magazine.
Kindle 3 Battery Life
Former Kindle 2 battery life is about 14 days without wireless connection. The new Kindle 3 has certainly pushed its battery life even further to a longer period of one month without wireless condition. In real reality, its battery life may be even longer than its official stated specifications.
Kindle 3 Screen Display And Size
This 3rd generation of 6″ kindle reader has the same improvement of over 50% contrast than any other e-reader for the optimum reading experience. Kindle 3 can be read with its latest, high contrast E-ink for the sharpest texts and images. With this latest display feature, the reading experience can be almost the same like reading on printed book. Its screen display is also sharper and more natural with no glare or backlight. Therefore, it is even more comfortable to read on Kindle than reading on a computer screen. Those who know Kindle 3 for the first time will love it at the first sight.
Kindle 3 Fonts
Besides having a better display quality, its proprietary font technology has also improved to make pages turn faster even with more sharper fonts. This better feature has led to the making of words and letters more crisp, clear and natural looking. Kindle 3 also comes with 2 additional font options of condensed Caecilia and Sans Serif. It can also allow a broader range of characters like Cyrillic used in Russian, Tajik, Bulgarian and dozens of other languages like Japanese, Traditional Chinese, Greek and etc.
Kindle 3 Storage, Wireless Connectivity And Price
Kindle 3 now has a bigger 4GB of internal flash memory for storing about 3,500 books. This is more than double of the Kindle 2′s storage capacity. Similarly to Kindle 2, it has eliminated external memory card storage. For Kindle 3 with both 3G and Wi-Fi option pricing at US$189, its faster 3G connectivity has removed the need for large internal buffer storage. It can now also take advantage of its neighbouring 3G Wi-Fi hotspots for quicker download speed and to download stuffs without telco coverage. For Kindle 3 with only Wi-Fi option, it only cost US $139 and 0.2 ounces lighter to match the expectation of budget conscious book readers.
Other Kindle 3 Features
Kindle 3 has the similar social features for supporting Facebook and Twitter integration. It also gets voice-accessible menus along with text-to-speech feature to make Kindle a fully accessible device that can be used in a classroom.
Finally, Kindle 3 is officially launched on 28 July 2010 for ordering. With Kindle 3 being the latest kindle, it is to outbeat its competitors including iPad, Ereader and The Nook in terms of the offered prices and features. Kindle 3 review will be shared here to compare its fantastic improvements over the 2nd generation Kindle 2.
Kindle 3 Size and Weight
Kindle 3 is really 21% smaller and 17% lighter than its former Kindle 2 family model. The 6″ display size still remain as it is even with this smaller form factor. This has greatly enhanced Kindle’s portability and to outshine against all of its other competitors in the similar category. With only 8.7 ounces in weight, Kindle 3 can be read comfortably with only one hand as it is even lighter than a typical paperback and slimmer than a magazine.
Kindle 3 Battery Life
Former Kindle 2 battery life is about 14 days without wireless connection. The new Kindle 3 has certainly pushed its battery life even further to a longer period of one month without wireless condition. In real reality, its battery life may be even longer than its official stated specifications.
Kindle 3 Screen Display And Size
This 3rd generation of 6″ kindle reader has the same improvement of over 50% contrast than any other e-reader for the optimum reading experience. Kindle 3 can be read with its latest, high contrast E-ink for the sharpest texts and images. With this latest display feature, the reading experience can be almost the same like reading on printed book. Its screen display is also sharper and more natural with no glare or backlight. Therefore, it is even more comfortable to read on Kindle than reading on a computer screen. Those who know Kindle 3 for the first time will love it at the first sight.
Kindle 3 Fonts
Besides having a better display quality, its proprietary font technology has also improved to make pages turn faster even with more sharper fonts. This better feature has led to the making of words and letters more crisp, clear and natural looking. Kindle 3 also comes with 2 additional font options of condensed Caecilia and Sans Serif. It can also allow a broader range of characters like Cyrillic used in Russian, Tajik, Bulgarian and dozens of other languages like Japanese, Traditional Chinese, Greek and etc.
Kindle 3 Storage, Wireless Connectivity And Price
Kindle 3 now has a bigger 4GB of internal flash memory for storing about 3,500 books. This is more than double of the Kindle 2′s storage capacity. Similarly to Kindle 2, it has eliminated external memory card storage. For Kindle 3 with both 3G and Wi-Fi option pricing at US$189, its faster 3G connectivity has removed the need for large internal buffer storage. It can now also take advantage of its neighbouring 3G Wi-Fi hotspots for quicker download speed and to download stuffs without telco coverage. For Kindle 3 with only Wi-Fi option, it only cost US $139 and 0.2 ounces lighter to match the expectation of budget conscious book readers.
Other Kindle 3 Features
Kindle 3 has the similar social features for supporting Facebook and Twitter integration. It also gets voice-accessible menus along with text-to-speech feature to make Kindle a fully accessible device that can be used in a classroom.
E Reader Review Terms
Amazon Kindle 2 Vs Sony Reader PRS-700
Troy Richards asked:
It is now undisputed that e-book readers will one day replace paperback books. This revolution is spearheaded by Amazon’s Kindle a couple of years ago. The Kindle was the best-selling digital book reader since its launch and shows no sighs of waning in its popularity. Early this year, Amazon released the highly anticipated follow up to the highly successful Kindle, the Kindle 2. The new model not only features many improvements in function and design, but also a whole new host of applications.
To date, no digital book readers in the market come close to rival the popularity of the Amazon Kindle. But if you have to pick the best alternative to the Kindle 2, it will have to be the new Sony PRS-700 e-book reader. Since the launch of Kindle, Sony has worked very hard to grab a market share with the launch of the Sony PRS e-book reader series. Here is a quick look at how well these two popular models fare against each other.
Pricing: The price of a product is always one of the biggest factors in influencing a decision to purchase something. At the time of writing, the Kindle 2 costs $359 while the Sony PRS 700 cost $399. Although not a great price difference, the $40 gives Amazon’s model a slight edge over Sony’s model.
Features:The new model from Amazon feature tones of new features. One of my favorite new features is the dictionary function. Just glide the cursor over a particular word and the meaning automatically shows up in a pop-up box. There is no dictionary function in the Sony PRS model. Nevertheless, Sony’s reader does have some features not found on the Kindle 2. For example, it has LED backlighting that allows you to read in the dark. In totality, although the Sony reader does have some unique features, Amazon’s model has much more functions that are not found on any other digital book reader (e.g. free wireless capabilities through Whispernet, Wikipedia access etc).
Battery Life: Both these models have similar battery life spans. On a single charge, both models can last up to two weeks (with the wireless function off).
Storage: The Kindle 2 has 2 gigabytes of built in memory, while the PRS 700 only has 256 megabytes. Nevertheless, the Sony model supports memory cards and can handle up to 16g of memory.
Design: The Kindle 2 has a white casing with soft, rounded corners. The Sony PRS on the other hand, sports a black casing with hard and squared edges. Amazon’s reader has a little keyboard below the screen and a 5-way controller for easy navigation. Sony’s reader large depends on its touch screen to access the various functions. I personally prefer Amazon’s design. It has a sleek ‘cool factor’ to it and the strategically placed buttons adds to the convenience of use. It seems that the designers at Amazon gave the design a lot of thought compared to Sony’s designers.
It is now undisputed that e-book readers will one day replace paperback books. This revolution is spearheaded by Amazon’s Kindle a couple of years ago. The Kindle was the best-selling digital book reader since its launch and shows no sighs of waning in its popularity. Early this year, Amazon released the highly anticipated follow up to the highly successful Kindle, the Kindle 2. The new model not only features many improvements in function and design, but also a whole new host of applications.
To date, no digital book readers in the market come close to rival the popularity of the Amazon Kindle. But if you have to pick the best alternative to the Kindle 2, it will have to be the new Sony PRS-700 e-book reader. Since the launch of Kindle, Sony has worked very hard to grab a market share with the launch of the Sony PRS e-book reader series. Here is a quick look at how well these two popular models fare against each other.
Pricing: The price of a product is always one of the biggest factors in influencing a decision to purchase something. At the time of writing, the Kindle 2 costs $359 while the Sony PRS 700 cost $399. Although not a great price difference, the $40 gives Amazon’s model a slight edge over Sony’s model.
Features:The new model from Amazon feature tones of new features. One of my favorite new features is the dictionary function. Just glide the cursor over a particular word and the meaning automatically shows up in a pop-up box. There is no dictionary function in the Sony PRS model. Nevertheless, Sony’s reader does have some features not found on the Kindle 2. For example, it has LED backlighting that allows you to read in the dark. In totality, although the Sony reader does have some unique features, Amazon’s model has much more functions that are not found on any other digital book reader (e.g. free wireless capabilities through Whispernet, Wikipedia access etc).
Battery Life: Both these models have similar battery life spans. On a single charge, both models can last up to two weeks (with the wireless function off).
Storage: The Kindle 2 has 2 gigabytes of built in memory, while the PRS 700 only has 256 megabytes. Nevertheless, the Sony model supports memory cards and can handle up to 16g of memory.
Design: The Kindle 2 has a white casing with soft, rounded corners. The Sony PRS on the other hand, sports a black casing with hard and squared edges. Amazon’s reader has a little keyboard below the screen and a 5-way controller for easy navigation. Sony’s reader large depends on its touch screen to access the various functions. I personally prefer Amazon’s design. It has a sleek ‘cool factor’ to it and the strategically placed buttons adds to the convenience of use. It seems that the designers at Amazon gave the design a lot of thought compared to Sony’s designers.
Amazon Kindle How-To Series – Replacing the Battery on Your Kindle
Michael Piston asked:
Since the Amazon Kindle is a fairly new innovation, most owners have not had their Kindle e-book reader long enough to require a new battery. However, if you use your Kindle frequently and charge it often then you may get to the point where the battery doesn’t seem to last as long as when your Kindle was new. This is not an usual phenomenon – most rechargeable batteries have a “life” measured in number of re-charges.
Another reason that you may wish to replace the battery on your Kindle is that you are going to be using it for a long period of time and can’t charge it. For example let’s say you are planning a trip with a long international airplane flight. In this case you can take two (or more) fully charged Kindle batteries with you and replace them as required.
To save battery life, the Kindle goes into a “sleep” mode if you have not been reading an e-book or listening to an audio book for a long period of time. You’ll recognize when your Kindle has entered “sleep” mode because a screen saver will appear on your screen in-place of the book you were reading. Kindle comes with built-in screen savers, or you can check the site in the resource box below to learn how-to create your own.
Your Amazon Kindle has a built-in battery power meter you will find at the bottom right-side of the screen. The battery power meter is right next to the wireless signal strength meter. It’s sometimes easy to get these meters confused. The wireless signal strength indicator appears as a bar graph with a small antenna in-front of the first bar. When your battery power meter shows nearly all white you know it’s either time to recharge your Kindle or replace your battery. If the power meter goes down quickly after a charge it may be time to replace your battery.
Here’s how you replace the battery on your Amazon Kindle:
1. Turn-off your Kindle
2. Find a soft cloth or other means to protect the face of your Kindle
3. Place your Kindle face down on a flat, secure surface
4. Slide the gray back cover off of your Kindle
5. You will see the gray battery in it’s compartment
6. Note the battery compartment has a rounded “notch” on one end
7. Using your finger (not a screwdriver or any other device that might damage your Kindle) gently push the battery to the back of the compartment then lift it out
8. The battery is attached to your Kindle by a white plastic connector and several wires
9. GENTLY pull the white connector back until the battery is disconnected from your Kindle
10. Attach your new battery by pushing the white wiring connector into the proper location in the battery compartment
11. Seat the battery into the back of the battery compartment – make sure the white wiring connector is attached properly
12. Press the battery down at the front of the battery compartment – note that the battery and the compartment have a small notch and grove to help you line-up the battery
13. Replace the cover
14. Turn on your Kindle and you’re ready to get back to reading your favorite e-book or listening to your favorite audio book
Congratulations! You have just learned how-to replace the battery in your Amazon Kindle.
While this is not a procedure everyone will do regularly it’s helpful to know either when your battery does not hold a charge or if you are traveling with more than one charged battery.
One more important point! The battery in your Amazon Kindle is made from Lithium Polymer. It should be disposed of properly – likely at a battery recycling center located near you.
Since the Amazon Kindle is a fairly new innovation, most owners have not had their Kindle e-book reader long enough to require a new battery. However, if you use your Kindle frequently and charge it often then you may get to the point where the battery doesn’t seem to last as long as when your Kindle was new. This is not an usual phenomenon – most rechargeable batteries have a “life” measured in number of re-charges.
Another reason that you may wish to replace the battery on your Kindle is that you are going to be using it for a long period of time and can’t charge it. For example let’s say you are planning a trip with a long international airplane flight. In this case you can take two (or more) fully charged Kindle batteries with you and replace them as required.
To save battery life, the Kindle goes into a “sleep” mode if you have not been reading an e-book or listening to an audio book for a long period of time. You’ll recognize when your Kindle has entered “sleep” mode because a screen saver will appear on your screen in-place of the book you were reading. Kindle comes with built-in screen savers, or you can check the site in the resource box below to learn how-to create your own.
Your Amazon Kindle has a built-in battery power meter you will find at the bottom right-side of the screen. The battery power meter is right next to the wireless signal strength meter. It’s sometimes easy to get these meters confused. The wireless signal strength indicator appears as a bar graph with a small antenna in-front of the first bar. When your battery power meter shows nearly all white you know it’s either time to recharge your Kindle or replace your battery. If the power meter goes down quickly after a charge it may be time to replace your battery.
Here’s how you replace the battery on your Amazon Kindle:
1. Turn-off your Kindle
2. Find a soft cloth or other means to protect the face of your Kindle
3. Place your Kindle face down on a flat, secure surface
4. Slide the gray back cover off of your Kindle
5. You will see the gray battery in it’s compartment
6. Note the battery compartment has a rounded “notch” on one end
7. Using your finger (not a screwdriver or any other device that might damage your Kindle) gently push the battery to the back of the compartment then lift it out
8. The battery is attached to your Kindle by a white plastic connector and several wires
9. GENTLY pull the white connector back until the battery is disconnected from your Kindle
10. Attach your new battery by pushing the white wiring connector into the proper location in the battery compartment
11. Seat the battery into the back of the battery compartment – make sure the white wiring connector is attached properly
12. Press the battery down at the front of the battery compartment – note that the battery and the compartment have a small notch and grove to help you line-up the battery
13. Replace the cover
14. Turn on your Kindle and you’re ready to get back to reading your favorite e-book or listening to your favorite audio book
Congratulations! You have just learned how-to replace the battery in your Amazon Kindle.
While this is not a procedure everyone will do regularly it’s helpful to know either when your battery does not hold a charge or if you are traveling with more than one charged battery.
One more important point! The battery in your Amazon Kindle is made from Lithium Polymer. It should be disposed of properly – likely at a battery recycling center located near you.
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