Which Kindle Reader Is Best?

When Amazon first released the original Kindle reader, way back in November of 2007, it was met with interest by early adopters and gadget lovers - but it didn't really go mainstream immediately. The Kindle wasn't the first e-reader on the market, but it was backed by Amazon's pedigree in the world of book sales and that was more than enough to make all the difference.

In February of 2009, Amazon released the Kindle 2.0 and it really took off. E-books and e-readers were an idea whose time had come. E-readers really went mainstream and many electronic manufacturers were either developing or releasing readers of their own, each of which was hailed as the new "Kindle Killer".

In reality, there weren't any Kindle killers out there, not even Apple's iPad. The combination of a sound piece of electronic kit, combined with Amazon's huge library of Kindle books, was enough to propel the Kindle to the top of Amazon's best seller list where it has remained, in one form or another, ever since.

The main competition for Amazon over the past two or three years has been Barnes and Noble's Nook - both reader and tablets. There's now doubt that the Nook is an impressive piece of kit, and some might consider it to be as good as, or possibly better, than the Kindle - in terms of hardware functionality at least. However, Amazon's high level of trust, their obvious long term commitment to the Kindle family and some mixed messages from Barnes and Noble have all been enough to keep Amazon firmly ensconced in the market leading position.

Today, if you want an e-reader, then the Kindle will, for many people, be a natural choice. However, there are several models to choose from - so it's well worth taking a little time to review the various models before parting with your cash.

It's incredible to think that you can now pick up an entry level Kindle for as little as $69. That's with "Special Offers" (adverts) on the screen saver pages. You can pay extra and get rid of the ads if you like - but most people don't find them too annoying.

Whatever you do, don't let the entry level tag or the low price dissuade you - the entry level Kindle is a full blown, fully functional e-reader which is more than sufficient for anyone who just wants a simple device to read books on.

The e-ink display is great to read on. It really is just like reading text printed on paper. Once you've been using it for an hour or two, you won't even be aware that you're not reading a printed book.

One of the great things about it, in my opinion at least, is the fact that it is so small and light. It's ideal for reading on the go and will fit in your laptop bag or carry on luggage a whole lot easier than a hefty paperback novel.

There's enough memory to allow you to carry over one thousand books with you wherever you go and the battery will last for about 4 weeks - based on half an hour's reading every day.

It doesn't have a keyboard or touch screen, but if you think about it, you won't need to input text all that very often. When you're reading a book, all that you need are the "page forward" and "page back" buttons, which are conveniently located on the side of the reader.

It really is a great, value for money, basic reader and it might be all that you need.

• Small and lightweight,
  Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.5 x 0.34 inches. Weight 6 ounces.
• Storage for over 1,000 books.
  Plus free cloud storage for your Amazon content.
• Long battery life.
  You can realistically expect to go for 4 weeks between battery charges based on thirty minutes worth of reading each day.
• Choose the font style and size that suits you best.
  Select from 8 different font sizes and 3 different typefaces.
• 6" e-ink display (long diagonal).

Amazon has declared that its new Paperwhite reader is "the world's most advanced e-reader". As immodest as that sounds, they're probably right.

The big deal with the Paperwhite is the light. This uses a special light guide to project light evenly onto the reading display. That's different to a computer screen, which is "back-lit" from behind the reading surface. It makes it much more pleasant to read on (a back-lit display is like reading with a light shining in your eyes) and means that you can read your Paperwhite in bright sunlight or in dimly lit rooms.

Whilst that might be the headline attraction, it certainly isn't the only selling point about the Paperwhite. It also has more pixels per inch (PPI) than any Kindle before it - which makes the text crisp and sharp. It's great to read on.

Unlike the entry level Kindle, the Paperwhite has a touch screen for ease of input and control. It's very intuitive and easy to use.

Here's a list of the main features:

• Special design of light lights the screen evenly so that you can read in any lighting conditions.
• More pixels provides better resolution and contrast than other e-readers.
• No glare when reading in bright sunlight (or under strip lights).
• You can choose from 6 font types, in 8 different sizes.
• Go for 8 weeks between battery charges – based on an average of 30 minutes reading a day (with the light on).
• Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.6 x 0.36 inches. Weight: 7.5 oz.
• Storage for  up to 1,100 books, plus free cloud storage for all your Amazon content.

The Kindle Keyboard gets its name, rather obviously, from the fact that it has a QWERTY keyboard included. That's handy if you want to input a lot of text. Most people won't need that facility very often - but some readers like to take notes, and there are other reasons to input text.

The QWERTY keyboard isn't the only reason why you might want to consider this version. It also has the ability to play audio books (something lacking in both the entry level and Paperwhite models) and it has more memory than the other readers in the family. you can store up to 3,500 e-books on your Kindle Keyboard.

Here are the salient features of this model:

• Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.8 x 0.34 inches. Weight - 8.7 ounces.
• No glare e-ink display means that you can read in bright sunlight.
• 8 weeks between battery charges - based on 30 minutes reading a day with the wi-fi turned off.
• Store up to 3,500 e-books.
• Play audio files.