Amazon Kindle(2014) Review

It is a pioneer effort to convert product categories synonymous with a single product. When it comes down to e-book readers, the only product that has the most recall value is the Kindle. With almost no other substitute at least as far as India is concerned, Kindle is entering into its seventh generation. While we are seeing hyper-competition in other tech product categories, e-ink readers is one category that is an exception.  Amazon has always amazed with its Kindles, last year’s Kindle Paperwhite being a case in point. Will the new Amazon Kindle continue the tradition?

Display :  Kindle introduces all-touch experience. We have been following the Kindle over the years, Kindle Touch was the first touch-enabled Kindle launched two generations ago. Last year it did not have any update to that. In fact, along with the second generation Kindle Paperwhite, the entry-level previous generation Kindle had physical buttons for navigating. This time around new Kindle ditches all the buttons for an all-touch experience.

On the hardware front, you get a 6-inch e-ink Pearl display which has a pixel density of 167 ppi. This kind of display reduces glare and helps with reading comfortably even in sunlight. It makes use of the neonode infrared (IR) technology to sense when the screen has been touched.

Design :  This kindle is feather wait. The first thing that will strike when you hold the all new Kindle is the lack of weight. Weighing in at just 191 grams, it is only slightly heavier than the gen 2 Kindle Paperwhite (206 grams). Unlike the Paperwhite, the edges aren’t rounded, but are slightly angular. In fact, the plastic back slopes up and you have a flat rectangular surface with the glossy Amazon logo carved in the top half. This design is similar to the Kindle Fire HDX tablets’ rear side. Instead of the rubberized finish seen on the Paperwhite, there is a matte plastic finish on the rear side of the new Kindle. Thanks to the fine texture on the plastic, it gives a good grip. But it does not seem like the sturdiest of materials.

Performance : Undoubtedly the screen is the key selling point and specifically the fact that it's the first basic Kindle model with a touch screen. It makes all the difference, no longer do you need to use awkward arrow buttons to navigate between books or use them to navigate across keys on the onscreen keyboard, instead you can just tap.

It is faster and more intuitive, making reading, shopping and looking words up a much more pleasant experience.  At 6 inches it's the standard Kindle size and it's a good size too, slightly smaller than most physical books but large enough to easily read from. The screen hasn’t changed much.

Amazon has also unified all its e-readers under a 1GHz processor, so the core specs on all the e-readers are almost identical, save for the fact that the ride has 1GB of extra RAM, while its predecessors have half that.