The New Amazon Kindle 3 Is Finally Launched
by tkahuna2
Filed under Massage Chair Review
It’s been a long time coming – or at least that’s how it feels – but Amazon has finally unveiled its new, upgraded and enhanced Kindle reader. Dubbed the third generation Kindle by Amazon, there are a variety of improvements.
The latest enhancements on display in the Kindle 3 seem likely to appeal to most e-book reader fans. It keeps the same 6” e-ink technology screen, but the display’s contrast has been improved by 50%, which should make reading even better. The speed of page turns, already good for the Kindle 2.0, is now a full 20% faster.
The outside dimensions of the reader are reduced by 21% and the weight is just 8.7 ozs – 15% lighter. Battery life with the Wi-Fi off is now a month, and even with Wi-Fi turned on a ten day life is expected. On board memory capacity has been raised from 2 to 4 GB, sufficient for approximately 3,500 books. The new Kindle is lighter, smaller, has a better display, a longer battery life and lets users take a small personal library with them when they are out and about. What else could you ask for in a mobile electronic device?
For many, a color screen would have been one item on their wish list. Amazon have been dedicating a lot of resource to the development of a color e-ink technology screen – but it is not quite ready for commercial release just at the moment. Perhaps this might be incorporated in the next Kindle 4 release. Some users may have liked to see the inclusion of an SD slot for memory expansion. Nevertheless, considering that the memory capacity is now at 4GB, most people won’t suffer too much as a consequence of this.
In addition to the various upgrades, Amazon have adjusted the price downwards and introduced a new Wi-Fi only model for those who don’t anticipate the need for a 3G connection. The new entry level Wi-Fi only model can be yours for $ 139, the Wi-Fi plus 3G model retails at $ 189. The new Kindle 3 now comes in graphite, the same as the new DX model, as well as the original white.
Amazon has also launched a dedicated UK Kindle store on their British website. UK consumers will no longer require to have their Kindles shipped from the States. To begin with the UK Kindle store will have 400,000 Kindle books on offer. It seems reasonable to suppose that Amazon may consider opening other dedicated Kindle stores for its other “local” websites in France, Germany etc. in the near future.
The Kindle 3 seems to be in high demand. Potential customers currently face a wait of around about 4 weeks before their readers are shipped. It may be that all the reports of the Kindle reader’s demise, brought about by the release of Apple’s iPad, were very premature. The new upgrades, the lower prices and the fact that there is no monthly payment for connectivity, will be very appealing to many consumers. It looks as though the launch of the third generation Kindle may serve as a timely reminder of just how influential Amazon are, and will continue to be, in the world of books in general and e-books in particular