Kindle, Wi-Fi, 6" E Ink Display - includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers

Full Overview

The all-new Kindle - Lighter, smaller, faster - 30% lighter, less than 6 ounces - 18% smaller body, same 6" screen size - Fits in your pocket - Most advanced E Ink display, reads like paper - Built in Wi-Fi - Get books in 60 seconds - Massive book selection, over 800,000 titles are $9.99 or less - New - Borrow Kindle books from your public library

The new Amazon Kindle is smaller, lighter, and more affordable than ever, something schools and students will especially appreciate.

I've noted, however, that text-to-speech and audio capabilities are not mentioned for this version of Kindle, though these features are prominently mentioned in the descriptions of other Kindles.

Features that are not included "across the board" should be added to the Kindle comparison grid so consumers can make informed purchasing decisions. Even without these features, this new Kindle is still an excellent product for the price, but people should have no doubt exactly what it is they're buying.

This is the most attractive entry price point yet for a tablet--$79 for 1400 books' worth of storage space. But give it a few seconds of deliberation. The previous Kindle (the one with the tiny munchkin-sized keyboard) was indeed a trifle larger and heavier but not enough to justify an exchange. In fact, I could carry the previous Kindle (without cover) in my rear pants pocket and not even know it was there. Plus, the keyboard allowed for a few more convenient maneuvers (like "Search") than does the present lowest-priced Kindle, which comes with fewer controls and without "touch" technology. But the biggest down-side for some of us accustomed to the old Kindle is the absence of speakers and audio playback on the newest, lowest-priced tablet, a feature I frequently used for having the book read itself back to me.

For an extra $21 for the Kindle Touch you get not only Touch technology but twice the memory (enough space for almost 3000 books) as well as audio playback for many of those stored texts and tunes.

Unfortunately, I saw the $79 price and immediately made an impulsive decision. After looking at the revised six-Kindle line-up with a cooler head, I now see that the Kindle Touch represents the best value while the Kindle Fire promises to be a serious iPad challenger. Not only will the latter provide 4 times the memory and storage space, but you'll get a color screen along with access to Amazon Prime movies and videos.

Of course, with the Fire you're getting a tablet that comes without E-ink and a device that's twice the weight of the aforementioned Kindles. And like the iPad, it's bound to generate considerable heat. So for avid, committed readers, the Kindle Touch would still seem to represent the best value among the six choices.

A couple of cautionary notes: the Amazon-made accessories for any of the Kindles strike me as overpriced. But in my experience a decent cover is a necessity, regardless of who makes it and for how much. E-ink technology tends to be more problematic and fragile than a back-lit screen. (Regardless of what you've seen or heard, don't carry a Kindle in your rear pants pocket). Also, if you find it impractical to read a Kindle in open daylight or under a big lamp, you will need one of those clip-on lights (though there's no need to spend more than ten for an adequate one).

I am so excited. Weighs less than 6 ounces. Perfect. I envisioned this 30 years ago. No more bookmarks. No more thick books. Awesomeness. Can't wait.

Except for not connecting to my wireless network at times, it is great. Oh, yes: I bought it less than two months ago at a much higher price.

I have owned my Kindle for 9 months and absolutely love it. I can go to the web I can pick up games or books. I love being able to read while I do my workout without having my book flop closed. I read wherever I go and I don't have to tote a big heavy hardcover book or big print if my eyes are tired. Kindle support is wonderful to no matter what time of day it may be. I enjoy my kindle and have only my collection of authors to part with. I do need to get rid of some books.

Amazon has always impressed me. Their customer service has always been top notch, no matter what time I call. They offer fantastic, relevant products and services. I first bought a K2, and immediately upgraded to the K3.

With that said, I WILL NOT be upgrading to the K4.

The lower price is attractive, but that's the only thing that this new Kindle has going for it.

I don't like that text-to-speech isn't available on this one. It's not a big deal, since I don't use it a lot, but it still irks me.

I don't like that the K4 only holds 1400 books, when my K3 holds 3500. Yes, it still takes a while to fill it up, but the reduced capacity definitely isn't a selling point.

But my biggest problem is with the battery life. A month of battery sounds great, until I read the fine print: "Based on half an hour of daily reading." That's absolutely ridiculous. The iPad lasts 8-10 hours between charges. The K4 lasts for 15 hours, less than twice as long. The Kindle lets you read books. The iPad lets you read books, watch movies, surf the internet, play games, and it's also heavy enough to make a decent bludgeon.

The cheaper price is attractive, there's no denying that. But for the serious reader, look at the 3rd Gen Kindle, or other e-readers. This is not what you're looking for.

Can't wait for my new Kindle to come in--it has sharper text and is even lighter than the previous version.

Months ago I gave my Kindle3 to my son (who reads voraciously) because I thought I could use my new Ipad2 for ebooks. Subsequently my reading time has gone way down as the Ipad2 is simply not as desirable for reading ebooks as the Kindle with E Ink. I also prefer the hard buttons on the side of the Kindle to a touch screen for changing pages, so the basic Kindle is the best for me.

My wife and I share one of the older Kindles and it's great. We initially purchased the prior generation "with ads" when it came out, but the ads annoyed my wife so we exchanged it. The ads were no big deal to me and I appreciated the offers so I'm buying one of these new, slimmed down versions with ads. For $80, there really is no competitor.

AND....

With the ability to easily borrow library books on the Kindle now, there is truly NO reason not to get one.

Well done Amazon!

Kindle still does not support epub format? I'm not buying until it does.

I realize that the lack of native epub support on the kindle is not the end of the world. Epub can be converted to other formats. However, it is the dominant ebook format outside of amazon (pdf and text and html are not really ebook formats). Amazon's continuing refusal to provide native support for epub is both mystifying and infuriating.

For instance, on oreilly's site, where they offer (or used to offer) both mobi and epub, their statistics from 2 years ago show that epub was preferred approximately 2:1 over mobi.
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I'm excited for this, but I'm curious what one does if there is no keyboard. I figure that the Kindle Touch has a touch keyboard that you can pull up to browse the store, annotate, etc. If this one does not have a touchscreen, or a keyboard, how do you annotate or search the store?
Please tell me you don't have to use the four buttons to select letters -- that would be a little reminiscent of [...]