And this time, Amazon has corrected the foibles of its first-gen Kindle, with its large, outwardly slanting page-turn buttons that led to lots of accidental page turns. I prefer this approach, as my finger didn’t need to hover in a single place to turn the page instead, I could move my hand and still turn the page with my palm heel, or even the length of my thumb–a vastly superior experience. The much slimmer buttons for this third-generation Kindle now depress away from the screen, like a rocker-style button that melds into the edge of the device.
One thing I disliked about the gen-2 Kindle was that the page-forward and -back buttons depressed inward, into the screen the result was a noisy, mechanical press. And the new Kindle is 15 percent lighter than its predecessor (which weighed in at 10.2 ounces). But the Kindle feels dramatically lighter than Barnes & Noble’s Nook (11.6 ounces for Nook Wi-Fi, 12.1 ounces for Nook Wi-Fi + 3G) and it’s lighter and more balanced than Spring Design’s Alex eReader, which weighs 11 ounces. It’s not the lightest e-reader the Kobo eReader, which also has a 6-inch display, is nearly one ounce lighter and the Bookeen Cybook Opus, with a 5-inch display, is lighter still, at 5.3 ounces.
This is actually the first time I can say I comfortably held a Kindle e-reader in one hand. That alone makes a strong argument in favor of a dedicated e-reader.īut it’s not just about comparing the third-gen Kindle against the iPad. I can’t say the same thing for the multipurpose Apple iPad: At 1.5 pounds (25 ounces), the iPad is nearly three times the weight of the new 8.7-ounce Kindle. In fact, the resulting design is actually extremely pleasing to hold: I could hold the Kindle to read for a couple of hours and not feel as if I was encumbered by the device in my hands. Doing so doesn’t affect the functionality: In extended use, I still found I had enough room around the edges for my fingers to rest comfortably while hand-holding the device. To achieve this smaller design, Amazon has primarily trimmed the superfluous, wasted space around the edges, so the device is now dominated by its 6-inch screen. But when you look at the two devices side-by-side, it’s clear that its dimensions have shrunk. By the numbers alone, it doesn’t seem that much is shaved off: The new model measures a stout 7.5 by 4.8 by 0.34 inches, versus the 8 by 5.3 by 0.36 inches of the Kindle 2. The newest Kindle’s streamlined design enabled Kindle to shrink by 21 percent, per Amazon. Another benefit of the Pearl display: Faster screen refresh rates, which provides a significantly improved user experience (more on that later). In use, the difference in the screen contrast is striking: As on the Kindle DX (Graphite), blacks look more solid, and text looked smoother. However, the display itself has been enhanced, too: Like the Kindle DX (Graphite), the Kindle now has a 6-inch E-Ink Pearl display, one of whose benefits is 50 percent better contrast. That was indeed still my impression with the Kindle. In my experience with e-readers, a darker border enhances readability, giving the perception of better screen contrast. That said, it’s worth noting that this is the first smaller-sized Kindle in two colors: eye-pleasing graphite (the same as the Kindle DX launched earlier this summer) and standard Kindle white.
#Amazon kindle dx 3rd generation software#
The attention Amazon has paid to this model shows that the company is focusing on its hardware strategy to complement its software (with Kindle apps for iPhone, iPad, PC, Mac, Android, and BlackBerry) and e-bookstore strategies.
#Amazon kindle dx 3rd generation update#
This isn’t just a mild update or color refresh, which the recently refreshed Kindle DX (Graphite) could easily be considered, even with that product’s improved display technology. In my tests, the third-generation Kindle has better contrast than the newer models, and with the physical keyboard, it remains a unique offering amidst the sea of touchscreen E Ink e-readers.) (Editors’ note, December 7, 2011: In the fall, Amazon re-branded this third-generation Kindle as Kindle Keyboard, and continues to offer, in graphite only, the following versions–Kindle Keyboard Wi-Fi with no ads for $139, Kindle Keyboard 3G with Special Offers for $139, and Kindle Keyboard 3G with no ads for $189. The third-generation Kindle comes in two versions: The Kindle Wi-Fi costs $139, while the Kindle (as Amazon calls it) has both Wi-Fi and 3G and costs $189, the same as what the 3G-only Kindle 2 cost previously.
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