Amazon Kindle - A Class Apart

Build Quality and Design

The product itself is a nicely designed device. It’s solid, slimmer than most other readers and it feels lighter, as well. All the QWERTY keys feel just about right. We don’t expect users to be typing a lot with the keyboard, but you could technically use this to send somewhat long e-mails. It’s easier than using an onscreen keyboard on a resistive touchscreen.

Pretty when turned off

The power button lies at the bottom edge of the device. Slide it and you’re welcomed to a nice glowing green indicator. There is also a 3.5mm audio jack at the bottom that you can use to listen to music on your earphones or listen to books. Remember that this device has the text-to-speech functionality and Amazon also has audio books on offer as well.

There are also two speakers placed on either side at the top of the reader, at the back.

Performance

The text rendition on the Kindle is beautiful. There isn’t any backlighting but the whites on the Kindle look a lot cleaner and the text appears darker and more contrasted as well. Reading is extremely easy on the eyes in almost all lighting conditions. The brighter white makes the text a little more visible under poor lighting as well. The kind of fonts used is also what makes the Kindle so impressive.

Settings for the Kindle

Performance of the reader is superior to the Pi2 as well. Pages for example, switch switch faster and this includes the page rendition while browsing the web. Don’t expect it to be anywhere near the 

The text-to-speech synthesis is strictly OK. It’s an experimental feature and although the speech is clear for the most part, it might run into hiccups with complicated words or names. The Kindle has options to change the characteristics of the reading voice too. The speaker is fairly loud and the quality of  the voice audible.

We noticed no heating or instability issues while using the Kindle. The experience was generally flawless except for the faint screen refreshing issue.

Verdict

The Amazon Kindle is an excellent eBook reader. It’s a little restricted than other eBook readers in the sense that you can’t simply dump a load of eBooks on the Kindle and start reading them. It’s a great reading experience and although this Wi-Fi model sells for just $139, shipping charges to India are bound to push this price a little close to Rs. 9,000. We’ve noticed a few models being sold by local traders for around Rs. 9,000, which isn’t too bad a deal either. If you’re an avid reader as well as a loyal Amazon user, you will be very pleased with this purchase.