16 replies to this topic

[BC1994]

I own a 2nd Generation Kindle, and have been thinking of getting a new one. Not really interested in the Fire, as I like e-ink for reading and will probably end up with an iPad at some point for tablet use. Also am not interested in the DX, which I think is the larger one.

Anyone have any pro or cons with the other two options- I guess the "new" basic one versus the Kindle touch? (Leave out the necessity of 3G or not for now- though if you have thoughts, please share)

The touch seems cool, but does the page get changed easily if it is bumped on something? How is the weight/feel of both kinds?

Just looking for thoughts in general here- at these prices, the $ difference isn't really dispositive.

Thanks!

[jayhoz]

I can't speak to the weight difference, but I actually prefer the non-touch version over the touch. It is much easier to keep your thumb on the page turn button and click when needed than it is to move your thumb back and forth over the screen each time you want to turn the page. [/firstworldproblems]

[Toe Nash]

I have the cheapest model (the one without touch and with the "special offers" aka ads). It's very light and thin, but still feels sturdy. The buttons to flip pages could be bigger and they seem a little flimsy, so I hope they'll hold up.

I have pretty much no need for the 3G. I can send stuff to it and when I get home (in my wi-fi network) it starts to download them, and if I absolutely need something on it sooner I can transfer it with the USB cable. I guess if I read newspapers on it the 3G would be nice, but I don't. Mainly I use it to read longer articles that I grab from the internet -- I just copy / paste into a Word doc and e-mail those to my Kindle, then read them when I have the time (I have a 40-minute train ride to work, so that's when I do most of my reading).

I guess it kind of depends what you want to use it for, but for me the basic model was fine.

[BC1994]

Yeah, I would pretty much be leaning towards the cheapest model, I think. Anyone have experience with the covers with the light built in?

[saintnick912]

I have the 3G/keyboard version (currently sold as Kindle Keyboard). I don't use the keyboard. I do like the lighted cover though it is very very "spot" and can be annoying to someone on the wrong side of you trying to sleep.

I've heard the touch keyboard is better than the physical one ever was, and that the on-device store (used for lending library for instance) can be a pain on the non-touch version, but I haven't used either to confirm.

Overall the best reviewed of the current was the touch, and at $99 I think that's a pretty good deal.

[SickBobby]

Paul Thurott completely trashed the Kindle Touch. It's just one man's opinion, but he is a self-proclaimed Kindle fan, so I would at least give it a read before making your decision.

http://www.winsupers...le-touch-141348

[mrsbeasley]

Yeah, I would pretty much be leaning towards the cheapest model, I think. Anyone have experience with the covers with the light built in?

I had this one for a year and never had an issue with it. The case is a little heavy and gives the Kindle some heft and the light works perfectly. It isn't ridiculously bright but covers the reading area well.

Edited by mrsbeasley, 20 January 2012 - 05:52 PM.

[Three10toLeft]

I have a kindle touch 3G with advertisements. It's the perfect compliment to my iPad, IMO.

My girlfriend has a Nook simple touch reader, which I actually prefer to the kindle. But I'm sort of locked in to amazon's book ecosystem at this point. Seeing as though you are looking at getting a new Kindle, I imagine you are as well. I don't have any complaints about the device, it does remind me in a way of the Blackberry OS, in that it clearly wasn't designed to be put on a touchscreen device. It's not unusable, just not as smooth as the OS they have running on the Nook Simple Touch. But really, how much time do you spend in the menu screen on an E-reader?

The only reason I got the 3G version was so that I could use the Whispersync technology so that no matter what device I'm reading on, iPad/iPhone/Kindle, I will always be able to pick up right where I left off.

[InstantKarmma]

I had this one for a year and never had an issue with it. The case is a little heavy and gives the Kindle some heft and the light works perfectly. It isn't ridiculously bright but covers the reading area well.

I have the exact same thing. The e-ink makes it my favorite reading device and the lighted cover illuminates the page perfectly and lets you hold it like a book.

[johnmd20]

Paul Thurott completely trashed the Kindle Touch. It's just one man's opinion, but he is a self-proclaimed Kindle fan, so I would at least give it a read before making your decision.

http://www.winsupers...le-touch-141348

I do not agree with any of his complaints. The button on the bottom is such a non issue, I have never realized it could even come close to being a problem. You only hit it when you want to hit it. There are no random hits of that button. And I'm not sure what he's talking about when he says the pages can be turned if the Kindle is stuffed in a bag. One, if the Kindle is "off", you can't turn any pages no matter what. Two, there is a high likelihood the Kindle is in a case, which has a cover, so errant page turns couldn't happen even if it wasn't "off".

And he's complaining you have to read the instructions to learn how to scroll pages? That must be a joke. Heaven forbid you take the ELEVEN seconds you need to learn how to use the commands. And what is he talking about when it comes to opening the menu? Touch the top of the screen, done. Again, I never even realized this could be a problem. He's coming out of left field.

Needles to say, I think he is WAY off with his complaints. I absolutely love my Touch and haven't had a single problem with it and that review isn't in line with my own experience.

[Soxy Brown]

I do not agree with any of his complaints. The button on the bottom is such a non issue, I have never realized it could even come close to being a problem. You only hit it when you want to hit it. There are no random hits of that button. And I'm not sure what he's talking about when he says the pages can be turned if the Kindle is stuffed in a bag. One, if the Kindle is "off", you can't turn any pages no matter what. Two, there is a high likelihood the Kindle is in a case, which has a cover, so errant page turns couldn't happen even if it wasn't "off".

And he's complaining you have to read the instructions to learn how to scroll pages? That must be a joke. Heaven forbid you take the ELEVEN seconds you need to learn how to use the commands. And what is he talking about when it comes to opening the menu? Touch the top of the screen, done. Again, I never even realized this could be a problem. He's coming out of left field.

Needles to say, I think he is WAY off with his complaints. I absolutely love my Touch and haven't had a single problem with it and that review isn't in line with my own experience.

I got a Touch for Xmas and I completely agree with jmd here. That review reads like he was using a beta model or something. His depiction is certainly not close to an accurate portrayal of the device that I've been using (and loving) for the past month. If you read through reviews on the Touch you'll see that his opinion is decidedly in the minority. Most reviewers view the Touch as the best Kindle out there.

Judging from my own experiences and the reviews that I've read, I think it really comes to down to the few minor perks the Touch has over the regular Kindle, and whether or not you care about them. Highlighting and note-taking is much better on the Touch. If you will be using a keyboard at all (even just for searching), I'd say the Touch is probably worth it. X-Ray is a pretty cool feature. Being able to highlight a word with your finger and have the definition pop right up is great. And the Touch can also play mp3 files, if one is so inclined ... though I've never used it. If you don't care about any of those additional features, then I'd just go with the $80 model. For myself, those extra features combined with the intuitiveness of a touch screen make it worth the extra $20, but YMMV. You mention that the minimal price difference isn't a big deal to you, so I'd probably just go with the Touch. I don't see any reason to spend extra for the adless version as they are totally unobtrusive. Ditto for 3G, provided you have a wi-fi network at home.

Edited by Soxy Brown, 23 January 2012 - 06:33 PM.

[notfar]

If the Kindle Touch adds any to the size I personally would pass. The cheap Kindle pretty easily fits in my jacket pockets, even the pockets in my shell. I just stick it in my pocket when I am going somewhere and I can get in some reading if I run into wait-around delays, it is great. I used to jam books in my pockets and I'd be limited based on what would fit.

[Tangled Up In Red]

The fluidity of page change rendering between my kindle (standard) and my buddy's kindle touch would make me pay the $0 (or $20 or $50 for what is requires the eyes/brain to do) for the more standard model.

[B H Kim]

Here's a good comparative review from Marco Arment of the Kindle Touch and the basic Kindle (and the Nook Touch), including a video showing that the page turns are noticeably slower on the Touch. His conclusion:

The Kindle Touch is almost a very good product, but its poor responsiveness is distracting. The Nook shows that this probably could be fixed in a software update, but we’ll see if Amazon actually does: historically, Kindles have received very few software updates, and they usually don’t include major changes. The Kindle Touch is still a good choice, and it’s my favorite of the touch readers — but it just barely edges out the Nook. (And the Nook is six months old. I’m curious to see the next one.)

The low-end, non-touch Kindle 4 is actually my favorite e-reader today. It lacks the easier text selection and periodical navigation of the touch readers, and it’s effectively impossible to type on, but neither of those interfere with the most common actions when reading. It’s faster, thinner, and lighter than all of the touch readers, the interface makes the most sense and is the most responsive, and it works best with Instapaper.

[TallerThanPedroia]

I got the Touch for Christmas and it's the first e-reader I've ever even held. While I can see in that video that the page turning is indeed slower than the other devices, calling it "slow" would be extreme. It's faster than turning the page of an actual book.

I have had a little bit of this problem, though, particularly on waking it up from sleeping. The non-reading parts do overall seem a bit sluggish.

It took me a few hours to get used to reading on the e-ink display, but now it's just like reading off paper. I'm hooked.

edit:

Oh and look, a firmware update:

http://www.amazon.co...odeId=200790650

Edited by TallerThanPedroia, 24 January 2012 - 06:56 PM.

[Soxy Brown]

It's also worth mentioning that those reviews are prior to the recent firmware updates, which have improved the overall speed of the Touch (page turns and load times), though it may still be slower overall than the regular Kindle. Not sure if there are any more recent comparisons out there, but those would be more instructive.

[Worst Trade Evah]

I have a regular Kindle 3rd generation, the $79 version with advertisements and no cell capability. It's a pretty awesome machine for that money. It's just so easy to read on -- I actually prefer it to regular books. And so convenient. I have a lot of books loaded, and if I feel like reading something different, there it is. The e-ink is just wonderful. Amazon's ecosystem is so easy and robust; it's very easy to spend money there, but I still feel like I'm getting great value. Really like this Kindle. I don't feel like I'm missing anything not having touch capability, or even the wireless for that matter. I get my wifi at home or some coffee shop, and I'm good to go. I can see getting a Fire or iPad for surfing or movies or whatever, but for any sort of sustained reading, the Kindle just seems so much better. I just wish my digital NYTimes subscription would apply to the Kindle, instead of having to get another Kindle subscription.

The Amazon case with the built-in light powered by the Kindle is very nice and convenient also, if pricey. It's almost as much as the Kindle, but seems worth it so far. I love that I only need to charge this thing like once every 3-4 weeks, at most. It's just a nifty, highly functional device.

I want to get a set of Shakespeare (Devere?!) for the Kindle -- any recommendations on which is best? I prefer something annotated and am willing to pay.