Kindle e-books: affordable gadget or saving on quality?

Among the vast range of e-books on the consumer market today, Amazon Kindle brand products deserve special attention. According to the manufacturer, the affordable gadget is equipped with the latest technology of digital readers, which cannot but arouse interest in the Kindle line of models. Should I choose a device among Amazon books? What are the top models of the brand? And also what unique functions are endowed with electronic “readers” of the company in question? Let's figure it out.

About the manufacturer

Amazon, one of the activities of which is the development and distribution of e-books of its own brand, is located in Washington, USA. Since 1994, the main activity of the organization has been considered online mediation between sellers and purchasers of goods and services, regardless of their location. In addition to “assistance” in transactions, Amazon can rightfully be called one of the first online stores that linked its activities with the sale of consumer goods, in particular, electronic books. The company paid special attention to the correspondence between the quality of the gadget and the cost, while introducing the latest features into it (Android OS, a touch screen made on the basis of E-Ink technologies and so on). While working on its product, Amazon managed to bring the line of e-books under the Kindle brand to a competitive level with devices from Sony, PocketBook Reader and other well-known brands. What made this possible? What characteristics did the manufacturer award his world-famous invention to?

About product

Traditionally, the Amazon e-book reader comes in a cardboard box with a glossy removable surface. From its “outer layer” the black package with the device itself is “pushed” outward. Opening it, the buyer discovers the basic items supplied by the manufacturer. Most models include:

• the e-book itself;
• USB cable for downloading books to the device and recharging the battery by pairing it with a computer.

Unlike most readers on the modern market, the equipment of many gadgets of the line of the brand in question does not imply the presence of a device for charging from an outlet. However, if necessary, you can buy it at the nearest electronics accessories store for an affordable price.

The design of e-books is characterized by a classic restrained style, made, as a rule, in the basic colors: black, white, gray. The case of the latest Kindle models is made of plastic, which significantly reduces the weight of the device in order to increase the comfort of its use by the reader. When examining the appearance of the electronic book of this brand, the buyer is unlikely to be able to detect gaps, backlashes, gaps, which indicates the quality of its assembly and, as a result, the gadget's resistance to various mechanical damage. Depending on the novelty of the model, the power button is located on the back of the device in the lower or upper part. Also, the side surface of the device’s case is equipped with an input for a USB cable, and in some models it also has an audio output and a speaker. If the user wants to play audiobooks on the reader without an audio output, you must separately purchase an additional adapter that connects to a standard USB port.

Most modern devices from Amazon are equipped with a 1 GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, which is responsible for the speed of the device’s response to user commands and 4 GB of internal memory, sufficient to store several hundred e-books on the device. The manufacturer also provided a function for adjusting the brightness of its product and the presence of the screen backlight option.Despite the availability of extensive functionality, according to the “creator”, the Kindle lineup can “withstand” up to a month of battery life while using the maximum set of device capabilities.

Depending on the Price category of the purchased Electronic Reader, the manufacturer offers a screen made on the basis of E-Ink Pearl or E-Ink Carta technologies, with a 6-inch diagonal classic for products of this segment. On the first models of electronic books of the brand under consideration, there were special infrared sensors on the sides of the display for touch control of the device. Recent developments involve finding the screen in one plane with the main part of the body, which significantly increases the comfort when working with the touch component of the device.

Traditionally, Amazon’s Kindle e-books support the most popular virtual document formats:

• MOBI
• Txt;
• DOC
• DOCX
• RTF

Books of the corresponding extension can be downloaded by the user from the computer by using a standard USB cable or directly downloaded through the built-in browser of the gadget.

The interface of the device in question is similar in appearance to other devices in its segment. The upper part of the screen contains icons showing the functions available to the user. In the middle part of the display is information about downloaded documents, and in the lower part there is an advertisement from developers.

To start reading, you must click on the selected file and wait for it to load on the device. After opening the book, the user is given the opportunity:

• edit text;
• Change font size and style
• Bookmark
• highlight and leave comments on certain fragments;
• track the number of pages read and remaining;
• Go to the necessary page.

The reading functions and the available capabilities of the Amazon Reader interface are basic, user-friendly with any level of "professionalism" in working with such electronics.

The increased demand for the presented product lines of the brand, which was not long in coming after their launch on the market, stimulated manufacturers to create an even more advanced device. To this end, the latest generation of the Kindle is equipped with Bluetooth and VoiceView. If everything is very clear with the first option, then the second may raise some questions. VoiceView provides the user with the ability to "voice" the written text with an electronic voice. Unfortunately for Russian-speaking buyers, this function allows you to listen to books only in English and other languages. Playback of Russian text is not available on all devices.

When buying Amazon books, buyers should also pay special attention to the presence or absence of the advantages and disadvantages most characteristic of the segment of goods under consideration.

Benefits:

• affordable price for most models;
• Bluetooth module
• function TextView;
• ease of construction;
• simplicity and usability;
• capacious battery;
• adjustable display backlight;
• Built-in browser that provides the ability to download virtual books without using a cable.

Disadvantages:

• lack of a wire for charging from a wall outlet in some models;
• lack of audio output (on some models);
• lack of display backlight (on some models).

Top models

For the convenience of finding the most suitable e-book for your needs, it is advisable for the user to pay attention to the characteristics inherent in the top line of gadgets of the brand considered in the article.

Kindle 8

• Screen Type: E-Ink, Touch
• Screen size: 6 inches
• Supported formats: TXT, PDF, AZW3, AZW, MOBI, PRC, HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP
• Built-in memory: 4 GB
• Memory Card Slot: No
• Weight: 213g
• Additional functions: built-in Wi-Fi module, built-in Bluetooth module

Paperwhite

• Screen Type: E-Ink Pearl, Touch
• Screen size: 6 inches
• Supported formats: TXT, PDF, AZW3, AZW, MOBI, PRC, HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP
• Built-in memory: 2 GB
• Memory Card Slot: No
• Weight: 161g
• Additional functions: built-in Wi-Fi module, display backlight

Paperwhite 2015

• Screen Type: E-Ink Carta, Touch
• Screen size: 6 inches
• Supported formats: TXT, PDF, AZW3, AZW, MOBI, PRC, HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP
• Built-in memory: 4 GB
• Memory Card Slot: No
• Weight: 205g
• Additional functions: built-in Wi-Fi module, display backlight

Voyage

• Screen Type: E-Ink Carta, Touch
• Screen size: 6 inches
• Supported formats: TXT, PDF, AZW3, AZW, MOBI, PRC
• Built-in memory: 4 GB
• Memory Card Slot: No
• Weight: 188g
• Additional functions: built-in Wi-Fi module, display backlight with automatic adjustment function, light sensor

Dx

• Screen Type: E-Ink Pearl
• Screen size: 9.7 inch
• Supported formats: TXT, PDF, RTF, AZW, MOBI, JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, MP3, HTML
• Built-in memory: 4 GB
• Memory Card Slot: No
• Weight: 535g
• Additional functions: built-in 3G module, QWERTY keyboard, TextView, automatic screen rotation

Given the quality of the vast majority of existing Amazon Kindle e-book models, it will be difficult for an advanced user to make a mistake in choosing a device with a high wear resistance. However, due to the existing optional differences depending on the generation of the gadget, the buyer should pay special attention to the features described in this article. Bearing in mind the above material, anyone will be able to choose an electronic reader Amazon Kindle that meets the maximum number of stated needs.

Title	Kindle 8	Paperwhite	Paperwhite 2015	Voyage	Dx
Type of	E-ink, Capacitive, Pearl, Touch, Grayscale: 16	E-ink, pearl, touchscreen, grayscale: 16	E-ink, Carta, touchscreen, grayscale: 16	E-Ink, Capacitive, Carta, Touch, Grayscale: 16	E-ink, Pearl, Grayscale: 16
Options	6 inches, 800x600, 167 ppi	6 inches, 1024x768, 213 ppi	6 inches, 1448x1072, 300 ppi	6 inches, 1440x1080, 300 ppi	9.7 inches, 1200x824, 150 ppi
Built-in memory	4096 Mb	2048 Mb	4096 Mb	4096 Mb	4096 Mb
The weight	161 g	213 g	205 g	188 g	535 g
Price	from 4850 rub.	from 7450 rub.	from 7450 rub.	from 14500 rub.	from 20,000 rub.