Deja Vu?
They look identical, but the newer Kindle, on the right of the image, is subtly more refined than its elder sibling on the left. The incredibly lightweight electronic book reader from Amazon, with its paper-like unlit screen and display that uses ink particles for a realistic and easy-to-read look, has had an update.
What’s New?
The features include:
- Just £69 from Amazon.co.uk
- Only 170 grams in weight
- More advanced electronic ink display (see below)
- 15% faster page turns
- One month battery life (I can vouch for this on the older model)
- Space for 1,400 books
- Over 1,000,000 books in the UK Kindle Store (many of which are available free, such as the classics)
- Free wireless delivery allowing you to purchase and read within seconds (less than ten seconds in my experience)
The New Display
These images show the old and new electronic ink displays in extreme close-up (excuse the dust on my older model). The new display has much smoother fonts. Up close like this, you can see that the newer Kindle has a less pixelated appearance to the lettering. You can’t see the pixels on either model, but the new one is definitely clearer. The paper background is also whiter, giving higher contrast and making it easier to read.
Page Turns
The other noticeable difference is the page turn speed. Flicking through the dictionary on both devices at once to find a page for the close-ups, the page turns on the new model are noticeably faster. The older model changes through a black screen before displaying the new page. The newer model morphs more quickly from the text of one page to the text of the next.
Ideal Christmas Present
Any avid reader will easily make the transition to the Kindle from paper books, even if they are sceptical at first. The sheer ease with which you can carry several books with you on holiday or on a long journey makes the Kindle a must-have for readers. With its affordable price, it’s sure to be on many a Christmas list again this year. The new Kindle gets a CDW Gold Award for making a brilliant device that little bit better.
