Verdict
Book lovers have become mesmerized with the new electronic book readers, and the first of that line was made by Amazon. Called the Kindle, most people have heard of this amazing little gadget. Now, there are several versions of the Kindle that are available for different price points.
The Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6" Display is the least expensive of the bunch since it is priced at just $139. Having been a bestseller for more than 2 years, this item is highly requested by consumers. It has an all new, high contrast E Ink Screen which gives you 50% better contrast. You can read with this gizmo in direct sunlight. Imagine spending your summer days by the pool or on the beach and being able to read clearly and easily on your Kindle.
Because the Kindle is lightweight and thin, you won't have to feel like you are lugging around a heavy book to read all the time. It is comfortable to hold up and read for hours on end without straining your neck or shoulders. The new and improved fonts are darker making it easier to read.
This Kindle has a 21% smaller body than previous versions, but still has the same 6 inch reading area. It is 17% lighter than the previous model weighing in at only 8.5 ounces. In fact, it weighs less than your typical paperback book.
The battery life of this Kindle is a whopping one month! One single charge will give you up to one month with wireless off. It also has double the storage allowing for up to 3,500 books. Since that is more books than a person will probably read in a lifetime, the Kindle offers plenty of storage for the average user.
With built-in Wi-Fi, you can shop for books and download them in less than 60 seconds. You will have seamless reading with the 20% faster page turns and the PDF reader allows you to use dictionary lookup as well as highlighting.
There is also a new WebKit-based browser that will allow you to browse the web over Wi-Fi.
Having a Kindle has many benefits such as low book prices. With over 550,000 books at $9.99 or less, the budget minded shopper will love this option. There are also over 1.8 million free, out of copyright, pre-1923 books available.
There are other Kindle models available that are priced higher than the basic version. For instance, there is the Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi which also has the 6 inch screen and holds the same number of books but it has free 3G wireless and global wireless coverage. It retails for $189.
The other option is Kindle DX which has a 9.7 inch screen and weighs a bit more than the other versions. It is 18.9 ounces and retails for about $379.