All you need to know about the new Kindles, and which one should you buy

When Amazon launched the Kindle e-book reader four years back, no one would have expected it to go on to become a competitor to the latest mobile computing devices. But with the launch of the newest Kindle offerings from Amazon and the announcement of an exclusive Kindle browser, that is exactly how it is looking. Even a couple of years back, you could choose between the Kindle 2 and the Kindle DX. Between the launch of the third generation Kindle in July 2010, and the Touch and Fire launch in September 2011, Kindle has broadened its lineup significantly. While it is all very exciting, you may be wondering what all these different Kindles are all about and which one is right for you.

Amazon Kindle

Overview

Basically, with the new launch, you now have three kinds of Kindles. The Kindle Fire is a 7-in color touchscreen tablet running Android. Kindle Touch is an e-book reader with a 6-in touchscreen. Then there is the Kindle Touch with 3G that enables users to quickly download books even if there is no wi-fi access. You have the old Kindle which is as good as new, as it is lighter, and cheaper, and comes with the standard five-way controller and cursor pad and no touchscreen. Finally, you can still get your hands on the basic Kindle Keyboard with 3G or the Kindle DX with a keyboard.

Pricing and availability

The new old Kindle is now available at a special offer price of $79 with ads, $109 without. The Kindle DX costs $379 while the Kindle Keyboard with 3G costs $139. The Kindle Touch is priced at $99 while with 3G it is priced at $149. The Kindle Fire is priced at $199. All the variants of Kindle are available from the Amazon online store at www.amazon.com.

What’s great?

The most amazing thing about the new Kindles is, of course, their price. Industry insiders have revealed that the new Kindles actually are being sold at a loss, and that is easy to guess at looking at the $100 price gap between the Kindle Fire and the nearest tablet in the market, and the $300 that it beats the iPad by. In addition, the lower end Kindles have already set the standards as far as e-book readers are concerned with their advanced e-ink technology, state of the art contrast control and 16 grayscale shades for rendering images.

What’s not so great

As far as the Kindle Fire is concerned, it is too early to pass a judgement since only after it is launched will a clear picture emerge. At the time of announcement of the Kindle Fire launch, Netflix, Twitter and Pandora are all aboard, as well as all of Amazon’s growing range of apps and services. In any case, the Kindle Fire is not positioned as a competition to the Kindle reader. The Kindle reader has a couple of things about it that are not so great. It comes across as extremely fragile, with its very slim profile and its large screen presence, and is a little awkwardly balanced with its heavier bottom. Battery life has improved in leaps and bounds across the first three generations of Kindle, but it still is an issue in locations or situations where you cannot charge it. Many critics point out that an e-book reader is not a book kind of a book. Well, that is true. If a book book is what you were looking for, Kindle is not it.

Things to watch out for

The Kindle is heavier than some of the lighter but equally powerful e-book readers available. The always on wi-fi access does not transition across service providers internationally. The 4GB that is now a standard on the new Kindles translates to about 3500 books. The Kindles do not come with external storage, though they offer unlimited storage of all Amazon content. If 3500 books is a small number for you, you will have to opt for the 8GB Fire Tablet or go with Amazon content which will be stored in the cloud. This also means you will not have access to it if you are not online. With the Kindle Fire and the exclusive Silk browser that is going to ship with it come attendant privacy issues of whether you want the world’s largest online seller of everything be an insider to your browsing behavior.

VerdictWith its new array of Kindles, and the attractive pricing, Amazon has clearly moved into a new level of the game as far as internet marketing is concerned. Not only are each of the new offerings leaders in their particular segments, with the Fire tablet, Kindle is now taking on the world of mobile computing. For the basic reader of e-books, the new old Kindle at $79 is value that cannot be easily matched by any other offering in the market. For tablets, a price point of $199 is something that will lead to a massive restructuring of the products and players in the field.

Other alternatives

The closest match to the Kindle reader is the Nook from the online giant, Barnes and Nobles. The Nook runs Android, and comes with a color screen. It also has a expandable Flash memory slot and a battery that can be replaced by the user. The Sony e-book reader is also a product worth mentioning here, since it has almost all the advantages of both Kindle and Nook. The Sony readers weigh less than the Kindle and come with the ability to view two pages side by side, just like a book. However, it is more expensive and has a smaller on-board memory.

Word around the web

Laura June at Engadget says,

What's clear, however, is that if you're looking for a standalone e-reader (i.e., a portable replacement for physical books), this is the go-to, standard-setting device.

Amazon's not exactly a company with a keen design eye; their homepage still looks like it has one leg stretched into the 90s. But the Fire's home screen and sub-menus are detailed without being overwhelming, and simply pretty. For its purposes, Amazon's cooked up something better than Honeycomb.