Amazon Kindle - Free 3G and Wifi Enabled (kindle 3.1)
I have been thinking about getting a kindle for a while and I finally bought one, the most expensive of the two. I had initial doubts about it but after using it for two weeks, I have to say that I love my kindle!
- What is a kindle?
Basically the amazon kindle is a e-reader. This means that you can have hundreds of books with you in a digital format. It is lighter and thinner than paper books and it has added extras that you don’t get with regular books, such as a MP3 player, internet access and it can read your books to you.
- Which kindle should I buy?
There are two kindles. There is the kindle which is wifi enabled and there is the kindle that is wifi enabled and it also has free 3G connectivity. The wifi enabled kindle will be able to connect to your wifi router at home only. Whereas the kindle with 3G will be able to connect to your wifi at home and it will also be able to connect to the 3G network - so with this feature you will be able to connect to the internet via your kindle away from home. On the amazon site it says that the 3G kindle has global wireless coverage - in over 100 countries and territories.
The kindle with just wifi will be great for people who want to read on the go and don’t go on the internet constantly - with this kindle you will be able to connect to you home wifi and other free wifi hotspots (they have free wifi connectivity in McDonald’s!)
Or if you want to go on the internet away from home and away from any wifi hotspots, you should get the kindle with 3G connectivity and wifi. I go on the internet everyday so I bought this kindle. I also bought this kindle as I would like to see if I can connect to the internet when I go on holiday next month.
Overall, both kindles are the same in terms of appearance and the majority of the features. There are only four differences between the two amazon kindles:
1. The more expensive kindle has 3G connectivity and the other only has wifi. 2. The 3G kindle is slightly heavier than the wifi only kindle - there is only a 6 gram difference in weight though. 3. The wifi only kindle has a longer battery life than the 3G kindle (when the wifi is enabled on both devices). 4. The price, as the 3G enabled kindle is more expensive than its wifi only counterpart - a difference of £41 between the two kindles.
- Kindle features (3G kindle)
- 3G and wifi enabled
- 6” screen (measured diagonally)
- E Ink pearl display type
- 247 grams
- Capable of storing 3,500 books
- Text-to-speech
- Supports PDF format
- Battery life with the wifi on: 10 days
- Battery life with the wifi off: 2 months
- 190 mm x 123 mm x 8.5 mm
- Built in MP3 player
- Built in web browser
- Appearance of the kindle
The kindle (wifi only or the 3G version) only come in one colour, which is graphite black. It looks to me like a dark metallic(ish) grey colour, which is nice and sleek looking. It has a 6” screen and it has a keyboard at the bottom of the kindle. It has the button to turn the page to the right and left on each side and it has “Amazon Kindle” printed on the front and engraved on the back.
There are two two speaker sets on the back of the kindle. You can buy covers, cases and stickers for your kindle to make it look nicer or more colourful.
- The buttons, switches and all of that jazz
There is a normal qwerty keyboard at the bottom of the kindle and there is also a square navigation button on the right hand side of the keyboard, which allows you to navigate the kindle menus. The is also a “Back”, “Home”, “Menu” and “Sym - symbol” button. The symbol button allows you to type in numbers, punctuation and various other symbols, such as “@” and “£”.
Below the keyboard, on the bottom edge of the kindle, there is the volume control button, a headphone jack, the kindle charging slot and the on/off button. The on/off button is a bit different as you don’t press it, you slide it.
- Portability and ergonomics
The kindle is really thin and it is fairly small and lightweight, the dimensions are as follows: 190 mm x 123 mm x 8.5 mm. I have been using my kindle everyday for the past two weeks and I have found that it is really easy to hold for fairly long periods of time. It is easy to hold, it fits in my hands well and it feels really durable too. Because of it small size it is really portable, it hardly takes up any room in my bag and it is light too.- Packaging and what comes in the box?
The box for the kindle is brown, black and white in appearance. It has the “Amazon kindle” logo on the side along with the type of kindle (either wifi only or “Free 3G and wi-fi”. On the bottom end of the box there is a ‘stamp’ which states that it is “certified frustration free packaging”, which for me was not completely true. I found that it was fairly easy to open, but still caused slight frustration on my part, but it was not too bad.
The box contains the kindle, which is very well packaged and protected in the box as there is a lot of padding and no room really for the kindle to more around. The box also contains the quick start guide/instruction fold-out booklet. The third and final item in the box is the charging mains adaptor/usb lead.
- Quick start guide/instruction booklet
The instruction booklet is really easy to read and follow, it is set out clearly and it has diagrams. It has information on getting your kindle set up (amazon account and wifi set up), buying books and it also has a image of the kindle and states what the buttons/switches are for. It also explains what the main buttons on the keyboard are for and on the back it has a kindle support contact information.
The quick start guide is useful although it does not have a lot of information on how to navigate around the kindle, for example, it does not tell you how to get onto the web browser or the MP3 player. So it is ok, but it could be improved by explaining the menus and how to access other areas of the kindle.
- Setting up my kindle (amazon account)
The first thing you have to do is slide the on/off switch located at the bottom edge of the kindle, which lights up green until the kindle is switched on fully.
You will then have to plug the kindle into the mains using the mains adaptor provided in the box. From there you will have to follow the instructions to create a amazon account.
If you have an amazon account then you don’t need to create a new one, you just have to sign in to your existing account. I already had an amazon account so I just logged into my account and my existing amazon account was then connected to my kindle. This process did not take long as I already had an account, although I think if you had to register and create a new account it would not take long either.
- Wifi set up
Where I live I have a wifi router set up already that my computers and ipods are already connected to, so all I did to connect my kindle to my personal wifi network is: to press menu, go to settings, then wifi settings and it is fairly easy to connect and set up the wifi connection.
I just had to enter my personal wifi details (a username and password) and it did not take long - probably less than five minutes. You can check if your wifi is on, as at the top right hand corner of the screen there will be a “off” or “on” sign. You can switch the wifi on or off at any time by: pressing the menu button and the first option will be either “turn wireless on/off”.- Pre-installed items on the kindle
There are a few pre-installed items on the kindle before you download any thing, these include: the kindle users guide (2nd edition), the Oxford dictionary of English and the new Oxford American dictionary. I don’t really need the dictionaries on my kindle, and I definitely don’t need two, but I can’t seem to delete them. Other items such as books and magazines can be bought directly from the kindle uk store.
- Kindle main screen
The main menu of the kindle when you first buy it (before you have downloaded any items) will have the pre-installed items in a list - the dictionaries and the kindle users guide 2nd edition. There will also be “archived items” at the bottom of the list. The archived items sub heading once opened will reveal a list of all of the books which you had on your amazon account already - if you didn’t have an amazon account or downloaded any kindle books before then there will not be anything in the archived items.
The main menu is in black and white/grey scale, as the screen always is. You move down the list/main screen using the square navigation button. Moving around the main screen is easy using this button and quick - fast response. To navigate through the main screen you use: 1. the square navigation button to move down the list of books/documents. 2. You can use the “back” and “Home” buttons to go back to the main screen if you are not on it. 3. You can use the forward and back buttons on either side of he kindle to move through the pages of books/documents that you have on your kindle.
Once on the main screen you can view the kindle users guide, dictionaries and books/magazine you download by clicking on them with the centre of the square navigation button.
You can also view the options for the books by clicking to the right arrow on the square navigation button - in which can are lead to a page where you have the options to search though the book, remove the book, add notes/marks and go to the beginning/end of the book.
- Menu
The menu can be assessed any where on the kindle. For example, if you are on a page in a book, if you press the menu button on the right hand side of the keyboard you will get a drop down menu on the screen. For there you have the options to: turn the wireless on/off, go to the kindle store, view archived items, go to settings and experimental.
- Experimental
The experimental option in the drop down menu will take you to a page on the kindle where you have the options to launch the web browser, play the MP3 and it has the text-to-speech option on the experimental sub heading.
I use the web browser quite a lot when I am not reading on my kindle, when you click the “launch browser” option you will be taken to the last internet page you had open or you will be directed to a page of internet sites such as google and hotmail - which make it really easy to get to the site you want. The browser is really easy to use, you navigate using the square navigation button. The internet loads quite quickly - not as quickly as my iMac but it is fairly quick, although everything will be in grey scale as the screen is not in colour. It is a bit odd at first going onto facebook or windows hotmail and everything is grey, but you get used to it quickly and it does not really bother me - you can not view videos on youtube though as adobe flash player is needed.
There is a built in mp3 player in both kindles (you can listen to music through the speakers at the back of the kindle or using headphones as there is a headphone jack at the bottom of the kindle). I have not used the MP3 player on my kindle and I don’t know if I would really use it as I have my iPod touch and I also have music on my phone - but I may put some songs on to my kindle in case my ipod breaks, which would be awful!
- The kindle store (buying and downloading items)
You can access the kindle store by pressing the menu button and then the second option from the top of the drop down list is “shop in the kindle store”. This option will take you directly to the kindle uk store. You can then access books, magazines and newspapers. The books, details about the books and also the reviews of the books are clearly visible on the kindle store and it is very easy to read.
I have bought four books from the kindle store in the past two weeks and I have downloaded four free kindle books too. I find that the whole buying and downloading process is super fast and easy - with no fuss and you don’t need to type in any details and it does download the books in less than one minute.
- Price of kindle books
I have bought four books from the kindle store and all of the books have been priced at less than £5.50, which is quite a good price - although some new and used books on amazon, the paper back and hard back versions of some of the books I have bought are slightly more expensive on the kindle.
But you do get the books in about one minute or less and you have it in a digital format so you can’t really lose it and it is backed up.
I have downloaded four free books from the kindle store too including, “The legend of sleep hollow” (which I am loving at the moment - maybe because as I am reading it I am picturing Johnny Depp in the film sleepy hollow), “Medieval Europe” and “England under the Tudors”. I really like that you can download all of these free books from the kindle store - there are lots of free books and most of the are classic books.
One thing that I really like about the kindle store and buying from it, is that you can download a sample of a book before you buy it, to make sure that you like it first. I have downloaded two sample before I bought the books and they are really great - they are just the same as the normal full versions of the books but they are only about a chapter long.
- Screen and Readability...(I don’t think that is a word, but it is now)
The screen is in grey scale, it is not colour and this is the only thing that I had concerns about before I bought it. As I am used to really colourful bright and graphical interfaces - such as the apple iMac, my ipods and my windows netbook. I did not know if I would like or get used to the Ye Olde grey scale screen, but I found it really easy to adjust to the lack of colour and it makes the books easy to read. The screen for me is very clear, sharp and it looks and reads like a normal paper book, which is great. And there is not glare from the screen so I can read it in bright sunlight and there will be no glare from the sun reflecting on the screen, which is great, especially if you are going to take your kindle on holiday (which I will be doing) or if you live in a sunny country.
Overall, I like the screen as it is really easy to read from, there is no glare, it is sharp and it is quite big too. It does take a little bit of getting used to, as it is grey scale and I am not used to that but other than that it is great. Of course it would be better for the books covers and web browser if the screen was in colour but for reading it is great just the way it is.
- Keyboard/square navigation button
The kindle has a qwerty keyboard. The button are small circular button, they are the same colour as the rest of the kindle and the letters/text on the buttons is an off white colour. The buttons are raised and they are easy to press - its is not as easy as typing on my blackberry curve - but it is fairly easy to type on. At first it was a little odd and a little difficult to type on - I ended up typing on it as my dad does with the computer key board - pressing on letter at a type slowly. But after a few days it gets easier and I have kind of become used to the keyboard now and I find it easier to type faster on it now.
The square navigation button is one of the main tools to navigate on the kindle. The edges of the square are use for moving around a page, a website for example. And the inner small square is basically a enter or return button on a normal keyboard.
It is fairly easy to press and it did not take that much getting used to. Pressing the edges of the keyboard are a little more difficult as it is such a small surface area, but you get used to it after a few days of using the kindle.
- Charging and connecting to a PC/MAC
I charge my kindle using the main adaptor and lead that is provided with the kindle. The lead and main adaptor look very ‘Apple’ to me - in terms of the design as they are white and looks quite sleek like all Apple Macintosh designs/products. I charge my kindle a couple of times a week and I use it basically every day. It is really easy to charge you just plug in the mains adaptor and the smaller end of the lead into kindle - it does not have a special screen or notice when it is charging.
I have connected my kindle to my imac once since I have had my kindle - but I don’t really know why you would need to - unless you did not have the main adapator part and needed to charge your kindle. The main adaptor part is connect to a lead, which can then be removed from the main adaptor and can then be used as a usb lead. I like the the main adaptor and lead and be separated and you can use the lead as a usb lead for the kindle - so you don’t have to carry around to separate leads.
- ‘Screen savers’
I don’t really know what to call these, but I call them screen savers - when you switch off your kindle (which is just like putting a computer into sleep/hibernate, as the kindle never actually switches off fully) a grey scale screen will appear with an image on. The image on the screen just means that the kindle is not fully switched on, like it is in sleep or stand by. The image on the screen changes every time you switch your kindle off again. The images include that of authors such as Agatha Christie, Alexandre Dumas and Virginia Woolf. Other images are that of book covers - I think they are book covers anyway and my favorite screen saver is an images of various birds on a branch. They are all in grey scale and it would be nicer if they were in colour, but all e-readers at the moment are in gre scale/black and white - as far as I know.
- Battery life
The battery life on my kindle is really good, I do tend to use it everyday and I keep the wireless switch on, on my kindle, so that does drain the battery quicker than if I switched the wireless off. But overall it lasts a while, although I tend to charge it a couple of times a week just to make sure that it will have a charge if I want to use it.
- Cleaning and protecting your kindle (covers/stickers)
I find that my kindle does not really need ‘cleaning’, although it can get some dust on it and then I just use a screen wipe over it and it gets rid of any particulates. I would recommend buying a cover/case for your kindle. I have not dropped mine (yet) but if I do it does seem study and durable - but a case/cover would prevent your kindle from getting any marks on it. I bought a leather case from my kindle from ebay and it was less than £5 and it is a really high quality (in terms of it look and feel) which was a bit surprising as it was so cheap.
But I would definitely recommend cases/covers for your kindle. You can also buy ‘stickers’ for your kindle - they are not little stickers, they cover the whole kindle (front, back and the spaces between the keyboard keys). The stickers are really brightly coloured and they make the kindle look so much more appealing than the monotone dark grey colour. I plan on buying a sticker as I had had one for my ipod for a while now and they look great, they are easy to apply/take off and they don’t leave marks.
- Price and availability
I bought my kindle from a large Tesco store and it cost the same as the amazon online price - £152, which is a good price in my opinion and the kindle is well worth the money. The free 3G and wifi kindle that I have is more expensive than its wifi only counterpart which is now priced at £111. I did not know you could buy it from tesco, as I thought you could only get it from amazon, but it is more widely available than I thought. It can be bought from amazon.co.uk, currys and pcworld for the same prices. Cases, covers and stickers can be bought from ebay, amazon and there are a few on play.com too.
Conclusions
Positives
- Great for traveling - light, thin and it also feels really sturdy and durable
- The ‘Screen savers’
- Easy set up - account and wifi set up
- Very easy to read from - like reading from a paper back book
- Clear, easy to read, sharp screen
- Easy to navigate main screen and menu
- Keyboard/button are easy to use - takes a little bit of getting used to though
- Free kindle books - mainly classic books but they are great
- I really like that you can sample a chapter of a book before you buy it
*The kindle store is very easy to use
- Download time is super quick - downloads in a minute or less
- Huge storage capacity - 3,500 books
- Has a built in MP3 player
- Web browser - 3G connection or wifi
- Global wireless coverage - over 100 countries
- Kindle store has over 741,093 books (as of 12/06/2011) and it also contains magazines and newspapers
- Main adaptor and usb lead - not a lot of wires which is good, especially for traveling
- No glare from the screen - easy to read in bright light
- Battery life - lasts for a while with one good charge
I could go on for a while with all of the positive aspects of the kindle (free 3G and wifi) as in my opinion it is great! Although there are some negatives...Negatives
- The quick start guide could be improved - with more information on how to access different areas of the kindle - as it just focuses on setting up the kindle
- Some of the kindle books are more expensive than if I bought a new or used paperback version of the books from amazon
- I have bought and read a lot more books and that means that in the past two weeks I have spent about £15 or just over on kindle books - although I have some free books too
- In summary, would I recommend the Amazon Kindle 3G and wifi enabled e-reader?
I would definitely recommend the amazon kindle 3G and wifi, as in my opinion it is amazing! It is great for reading on the go, it looks sleek and it is light weight.
It can hold so many books/magazines and it is like reading a normal paper back book - even in bright sun light. You can download a sample of a book before you try it (which I have done a couple of times, and then bought the books after reading the sample.). The kindle store is easy to use and you can access it directly from your kindle - you can also download the kindle app for free, for you pc, apple mac and ipod too!
For more information: www.amazon.co.uk - where there are videos, reviews and more information on both kindles
Thank you for reading my review - this review will also be posted on dooyoo under my username tigger1992x
An e-reader, mp3 and web browser all in one - it's the Kindle! 
A wonderful review