![]() The Kindle 4 uses the same high-contrast E Ink screen designed for minimal eye strain and outdoor reading that the Kindle 3 uses. The Kindle 4 is at its best when it comes to what matters most: reading books. You can create collections to organize your content, and sort by most recent, title, and author. ![]() Still the same old list with everything thrown together. I was hoping for a new homescreen with book covers and more sorting options, but nada. ![]() The Kindle 4 adds a few new features like landscape mode on the homescreen and web browser, partial page refresh, and a few other improvements, but for the most part it is the same. SoftwareĪside from subtle changes to accommodate for the lack of a physical keyboard, the Kindle 4's software is pretty much exactly the same as the Kindle 3's. What the Kindle 4 does have is this: 6-inch E Ink Pearl screen, 2GB internal memory (about 1.25GB usable), which is enough for about 1400 ebooks, free cloud storage, Wi-Fi, 800MHz processor, and 3-4 week battery life. There's also no option for 3G, just WiFi. Previous Kindle owners that have come accustomed to using text-to-speech or listening to audiobooks will be disappointed with the Kindle 4 because it does not support audio at all (Amazon could've at least given it a headphone jack). When it comes to hardware, it's more about what the Kindle 4 lacks than what it has. One good thing when searching the Kindle Store is that it gives suggestions after you type a couple of letters. It's actually pretty fast and easy to use, but you definitely don't want to get the Kindle 4 if you plan on writing a lot of notes or running extensive searches. Since the Kindle 4 lacks a physical keyboard, you use the keyboard button to bring up or close an on-screen keyboard that uses the 5-way controller to move between letters. To the right is the menu button and home button. To the left of it is the keyboard button and back button. They should make short-press turn pages and long-press skip chapters.my $0.02.īelow the screen it the same 5-way nav controller from the Kindle 3. The Kindle 4 is comfortable to hold from the bottom too, but presently the 5-way nav skips chapters instead. I do wish Amazon would add page-turning to the 5-way nav as well. They are perfectly placed so that your thumb sits on the page-forward button comfortably when holding in either hand. Some folks will probably complain about the page buttons because they are really slim and close to the edge, but I actually like them and find that they are easier to use than the buttons on the Kindle 3. The edge is beveled with four page-turn buttons that run along each side of the screen. The front has a smooth metallic finish and the back has a slight rubbery feel for grip. The Kindle 4's casing is plastic too, but it doesn't look or feel like plastic. Price: $79 at Amazon (ads) $109 at Amazon (no ads/international model) Kindle 4 Video Review All are worth checking into if you want a touchscreen and a different set of features, but if you want to go the truly budget route the Kindle 4 is a good choice. The Kobo Touch sits at $129, the Nook Touch is now $99, and the Sony PRS-T1 is $129. Add that into the equation and suddenly the price is a lot closer to that of its competitors. The low price is a result of the ads and special offers, however. But if you don't want a touchscreen and don't care about audio support, then the Kindle 4 is a really good option at $79. It's main competitor is its sibling, the Kindle Touch, which is a better value overall because of the added features and the fact it only costs $20 more. Given the combination of features and price, there's no question the Kindle 4 is the best budget ebook reader on the market. On-screen keyboard more tedious than physical keyboard for adding notes, running searches, etc.Lots of Kindle apps don't work, games and active content. ![]() No audio support means no music, audiobooks, or text-to-speech.Access to Amazon's large library of ebooks and periodicals, plus free library ebooks now too.Fast page turns, partial page refresh setting.Solid build quality, nice design, good ergonomics.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |