Amazon's Kindle Ebook Readers

You have to be living under a rock if you have not heard about the Amazon Kindle ereader devices. Their sales page boasts that the Kindle is the best selling, most gifted and the most popular ereader devices for the past two years with Amazon.

I am the owner of a Nook, the first generation of Nook. After owning my Nook for a few months, I can appreciate the differences between the two devices. With each onem you have to weigh and measure what you can't live without and which features on an ereader is a must have for you. What makes the Kindle unique? The ease of use, basic web browsing capability, text to speech and allows the reading of word documents. Although, the Kindle does not have the color technology or touch screen capability, it is still a viable candidate for consideration because of its features and most importantly, price. If you are not familiar with Amazon's Kindle ereader devices this site will inform you of why everyone is so excited about the Kindles.

Kindle 3 Ereader

The Amazon Kindle 3 is the newest ereader in the Kindle line. It has the lowest price and is the most advanced of the Kindle eReader devices. It has improved clarity because of the use of the new e-ink pearl technology. It also sports a slimmer design and still kept its 6 inch rading area. The Kindle 3 comes with Wi-Fi only or with Wi-Fi and 3G. The Wi-Fi device operates the same as the Kindle 2 with the only change being that it now has Wi-Fi capability. For the most updated prices on the Kindle generation 3, check Amazon here for the best price.

The Kindle 3G plus WIFI provides a color choice of either white or graphite. Just as the Wi-Fi Kindle, it is slimmer, more compact amd has an improved screen with higher contrast and faster page turns. The battery life is one month (Wi-Fi turned off) and ten days if Wi-Fi is left on. The global wireless coverage stretches to 100 countries and territories. Further, the Kindle 3 comes with PDF support, built-in keyboard for notes, and 4GB (3.3 usable) of internal memory. The Kindle 3 is capable of storing 3,500 electronic books, it has eight fonts available, including two new extra-large sizes, it can display image files, plays MP3 and AAC audio.

Although, the Amazon Kindle has gone through a notable upgrade, it unfortunately still does not have an expansion slot for adding more memory and it does not support EPUB book files. You can lend ebooks, but only eligible Kindle books can be lent to other Kindle or Kindle app users once for 14 days. The publisher or rights holder determines which titles are enabled for lending. Additionally, you can easily sink the Kindle with other devices for example the iPhone, iPad, PC, Mac, Android device and BlackBerry using the Whispersync technology.

The battery remains sealed in the device which makes it un-removable. Owners will have to send their device back to Amazon if they have any battery issues. The battery life has been increased to one month (Wi-Fi turned off) and three weeks if Wi-Fi is on. The Kindle supports wireless delivery of unprotected Microsoft Word (DOC, DOCX), PDF, HTML, TXT, RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, PRC and MOBI files. There is still text to speech on the device.

Why is the Kindle a great consideration for consumers? Because of the upgrades to the device, an improved screen battery life, it's lighter in weight and most importantly, the price becomes a no brainer. However, despite the price, if you're feature hungry, the Kindle may not be your best buy and if that is the case, you will need to keep looking for the ultimate ereader.

Kindle 2nd Generation 3 g Wireless

The Kindle 2 is the second generation of Kindle and has the same features as the Kindle 3. It was updated on October 22, 2009, and replaced with the new International or Global Kindle model. The battery life is up to14 days (when Wi-Fi is turned off) while the battery life lasts for about one week with the wireless connection on. The battery is re-chargeable, but in order to change it you will have to send it back to Amazon to have the battery replaced. It also has 2 GB of memory, but actually 1.4 GB is available. There are no expansion slots on the Kindle to allow for more storage. The Kindle is capable of storing up to 1,500 ebooks and it supports PDF and Word DOCs formats. It also has a physical keyboard on the device and a manual adjustable rotating display so documents can be viewed in landscape mode.

Additionally, font size is adjustable, it plays MP3 and AAC audio, is compatible with Windows and Mac machines, has the new text-to-speech feature that allows text to be read aloud. Unfortunately, the Kindle 2 lacks the support for electronic library loans and free ePub public-domain books. The Amazon Kindle 2's design has been improved from the original and now has built-in wireless capabilities. However, what's interesting is that the original Kindle is the only one of the devices that came with expandable memory, via an SD card slot. None of the other Kindle devices updated from the original have expansion slots for more memory. For up to date prices on the Kindle Global Reading Device, check Amazon for the latest prices here.

The Kindle DX

Although Amazon had the DX before the arrival of the Apple iPad, the industry didn't pay it much attention because of the exciting features on the iPad. However, three months after the introduction of the Apple iPad, Amazon breathed life into the DX by first cutting the price of the device, giving it a new graphite finish, and a new screen that offers higher contrast and darker fonts. The Kindle DX still has the "free" integrated 3G wireless connectivity from AT&T, and aside from the new "high-contrast E-ink screen," no other hardware enhancements were made. The Kindle DX is described as the Kindle, only larger. The DX has the same features as the Kindle, but with a few more convienences. Such as, an increased screen size to 9.7 inches, it holds up to 3,500 books, periodicals, and documents and the display screen can be rotated automatically instead of manually like it is on the Kindle. Battery life for the new Kindle DX is one week ( with wireless on) or two weeks with wireless turned off. Additionally, the Kindle DX has 4.0 GB of memory with 3.3 used for user content.

The ereader uses Amazon's new electronic ink display with 50 percent improved contrast for the clearest text and the sharpest images. The Kindle DX has a 9.7 inch diagonal e-ink screen which doesn't get washed out in direct sunlight like the Apple iPad. Unlike a backlit computer or LCD screen, the Kindle DX screen is being touted as looking and reading like real paper, with no glare.

Owners of the Kindle DX can read Kindle books and sync their library to multiple devices, including the Kindle, Kindle DX, PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android phone and Blackberry. The Kindle DX is also identifying it as a global device with 3G wireless coverage in over 100 countries (Be advised, you may incur additional fees when buying books overseas).

If you are leaning towards the Kindle DX because of its size and features, keep in mind that it still lacks versatility. For example, the Kindle DX does not have video. Web browsing is, limited and can only be performed on a device with 3G network capability. For up to date prices on the Kindle DX, check with Amazon here.

Being able to discern each of the ereaders specs can be difficult. Here's a short video that compares the Kindle 2 and the new Kindle 3 ereader devices.