One of the hottest e-readers in the gadget world, Amazon Kindle has ‘rekindled’ the love for reading in most of the book lovers. You can carry the whole library of books with you on the go. Read this Techspirited article to find out the types of Kindles that Amazon offers.
Did You Know?
Currently, there more than 3 million books in the Kindle bookstore.
Kindle, without a doubt, is one of the best inventions in the world. It has been a favorite among travelers who can’t carry tons of books around while globetrotting the world. So, what is a Kindle anyway? A book? No! Book shelf? No again! It’s a whole personal library of books that you can carry around wherever you go! It is an electronic reader that can hold hundreds and thousands of books. You can download and read all kinds of books, magazines, newspapers, etc.
Amazon has been a leading player in the market of Kindles. It was first released in the year 2007 and quickly became popular. Since then, it has undergone many developments and changes, keeping its basic purpose in mind. In 2010, it was announced by Amazon that their e-book sales had outdone the sales of paperbacks in the United States. Below is a list of types of Kindles available along with their specifications.
Types of Amazon Kindles
Amazon has divided the Kindle devices broadly into two: Standard Kindles and Kindle Fire, with standard Kindle having three types and Kindle Fire having four types. Take a look at each type.
Kindle
This is the basic version of Kindle. It is one of the least expensive Kindles around. It is lightweight and user-friendly. If you are looking for a Kindle just to read books and nothing else, then this one is a sensible buy for you. It has a 6-inch display, uses E Ink technology, and is made for Wi-Fi only. It displays a 5-way controller button at the bottom. It has 2 GB of internal storage, out of which 1.25 GB is available for users. You can store up to over 1,000 books. It has a great battery life that lasts around three weeks if the Wi-Fi is left on. However, it doesn’t have any audio support.
Kindle Paperwhite
It is one of the newest members of the Kindle family. It has a 6-inch touchscreen and home button at the bottom. The biggest advantage of Paperwhite is the built-in light that is useful in reading at night without any glare or strain on the eyes. It also has the X-ray feature that allows you to look up characters, historical figures, or phrases just by tapping a word. It also has the audio support that is helpful if you want it to read books aloud for you. It has a faster processor, and its battery lasts for about 8 weeks if the Wi-Fi is turned off. It also has a Wi-Fi+3G version available. The storage space is 2 GB, and you can store around 1,000 books.
Kindle Touch
Amazon introduced a touchscreen version of the Kindle with Touch that is available in Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi+3G versions both. It allows you to browse and download books wherever there is AT&T 3G wireless signal available. It has a 6-inch screen with added infrared touchscreen control. You can swipe or tap the display to navigate through the menu or turn the pages of your book. It also contains the X-ray feature that allows you to get information about the book. It has a storage capacity of 4 GB and battery life of 8 weeks.
Kindle Voyage
It is the latest entry into the Kindle world. It has a crisp 6-inch display screen with LED to light up the screen according to the environment. It comes in Wi-Fi as well as Wi-Fi+3G versions, and has up to 4 GB of storage capacity. It uses ‘PagePress’, which is a new navigation system to turn the pages with the help of sensors on either sides of the screen. It can also be disabled. Its battery life is 6 weeks with Wi-Fi off, and it can be used for 21 hours continuously.
Kindle Keyboard
It has all the features that are available on Kindle Touch. However, it comes with a physical keyboard, and not a 6-inch E Ink touchscreen. It has a 5-way controller and a full QWERTY keyboard. It is suitable for those who don’t mind typing a lot. It is bigger and heavier than the basic Kindle. It is available in both Wi-Fi and 3G versions.
Kindle DX
It is Amazon’s largest Kindle, having a 9.7-inch display screen with E Ink technology. It has high and better contrast as compared to other E Ink displays. It also presents a full QWERTY keyboard and a 5-way controller. However, it does not have a touchscreen. It has a storage space of 4 GB, which can store up to 3,500 books. It has a built-in 3G wireless technology that is available in about 100 countries. The battery lasts for about 2-3 weeks with Wi-Fi off and one week with Wi-Fi on. Kindle DX Graphite is the revised version of the DX.
Kindle Fire
In 2011, Amazon introduced the LCD versions of Kindle. Kindle Fire is the Android-based tablet that uses a little part of Android. It has a 7-inch IPS color display in touchscreen, and is the first Kindle without an E Ink display. It is available only in Wi-Fi version, and does not support 3G. It has a storage capacity of 8 GB. It is as good as a tablet.
Kindle Fire HD 7″/8.9″
In 2012, Amazon brought in more refreshed versions of Kindle Fire. It is available in two screen sizes, 7 inches and 8.9 inches, and has a storage capacity of up to 16 GB. In October 2014, the 6-inch and 7-inch screen size versions were released. The 8.9-inch model also supports 4G LTE. Other than just reading books, you can watch movies and TV shows, play games, and listen to songs while browsing the Internet.
Kindle Fire HDX 7″/8.9″
With Kindle Fire HDX came the Kindles with cameras. The Fire HDX with a 7-inch screen size sports a front-facing HD camera, while the 8.9-inch version sports a front-facing HD camera as well as an 8 MP rear camera. They have a storage space of both 32 GB or 64 GB, and are available in Wi-Fi and 4G LTE. The battery life is about 11 hours if used continuously. The 8.9-inch Fire HDX is by far the most expensive of the lot. It has a faster processor and a 2 GB RAM as compared to its predecessors.
Almost all Kindles come with special offer of models with or without ads. Needless to say, you’ll have to shell out a little more from your pocket if you want an ad-free reading. Whatever may be your choice, it won’t disappoint you and will remain a faithful reading pal. So, what’s your pick? Leave a line in the comments section below.