Kindle 3 Review

I have been using my Kindle 3 electronic book reader for about one month now. This review is aimed at people who have not yet decided whether or not to get one of these products. I am not going to compare the Kindle with the Nook or Sony Reader simply because I the Amazon Kindle is the only e-reader that I have used so far.

The model that I chose was the Latest Generation Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi with a 6" screen. The much higher price of the Kindle DX put me off going for the model with the larger screen. I am now very glad that I chose to save my money because I think the 6" models are the perfect size. It is very easy to carry around with me and when you lay the Kindle 3 flat across your hand you can hold both sides between thumb and tips of your fingers. The 9.7" model would be too wide to do that.

Even though the Kindle has been the best selling item on Amazon for the last two years. I still felt there was an element of fad about it. After having read a few books on it, I am not so sure. I like it! In this Kindle 3 review I want to present the reason why, after just one month, I am an e-reader convert.

Latest Version

Not long before the Kindle 3 came out, they reduced the price of the Kindle 2 quite considerably. Then when the latest generation products came out they maintained this new lower price. So the first thing I like about the Kindle 3 is that it comes at a reasonable price. This is partly why I decided to get one. The other reason being that I thought that, with a new model just released, now is the time to get on board.

FREE Books!

I had read about how there were over 1.8 million out of copyright books available for free download but did not appreciate how good this would be until my Kindle arrived. Basically, since I bought my Kindle I have not paid a penny to read anything. So in that respect it is already starting to pay for itself. I have downloaded loads of books for free, just because I can! Some of the titles that have cost me nothing include, Frankenstein, Dracula, Treasure Island and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I am sure you will agree that these are classics that deserve to be read. Purchasing a Kindle means I can start to make up for lost time in this regard.

Long Battery Life

As long as you turn off the 3G connectivity the battery life seems really good. I have only charged it twice since it arrived. For the first full charge I actually left the 3G on simply because I did not think to turn it off. But after reading the Instruction Manual, which is on the Kindle itself, I started to follow best practice. Just turning the 3G connection on when you want to download some books seems to be the best way.

Ease Of Use

Straight out of the box the Kindle is ready to go. Of course you have to give it some charge to get it going. Reading the Instruction Manual is the best idea but even if you do not, it is quite easy to find your way around the device. There are not all that many options anyway. While I think the iPad is cool, the new Kindle 3 is functional. I wanted an electronic book reader. That is exactly what the Kindle is. Touch screens are all well and good but we simply do not need that functionality in a reading device and that is precisely why the Kindle does not have it. These are tools for reading, not playing!

Durability

Perhaps I am speaking too soon but hopefully not. For the first few days of using my Kindle I was treating it with kid gloves, washing my hands before use, holding it very gently and not touching the screen. But there is absolutely no need. It is a tough little guy. The screen is amazing. Unlike computer screens that can get finger prints and smudges, it seems that because the screens on Kindles are different, they can stand up to much more finger abuse.

Value For Money

If you go to Amazon you can find the latest price for the Kindle 3. There are two versions. One comes with Wi-Fi access which means you have to connect to a computer network to be able to use the online features, including book download. I chose the slightly more expensive model which has 3G plus Wi-Fi access. This means that from virtually anywhere you can download books at any time. There are no monthly fees for 3G access so paying slightly more at the time of purchase is well worth it in my opinion.

Dictionary

The built in dictionary is a cool feature as well. If you come across a word that you don't know, simply use the 5 way controller to move the cursor down to the particular word and a short definition appears. If you want more information, at the click of one button you go into the dictionary view. Then when you have read the definition you simply press the 'Back' button and you are returned to the exact page of the book that you were on.

I am more than happy with my Kindle 3 purchase. It is an e-book reader that does exactly what it is supposed to. I like the fact that they have not tried to cram in as many multimedia functions as possible. At the moment I have no real interest in any other brand of reader simply because the Kindle does everything I need.

Of course, you may think this review is biased. And to a certain extent, it is. But as I said at the start, this was never intended to be a comparison. Instead I just wanted to present my experiences with my Kindle. If you enjoy reading you might want to give it a try.