KINDLE 3
The reader uses "Pearl" which is an advanced e-ink reader that gets about 50% sharper text and contrast then its competitors. "Popular Science" named the Pearl technology as a winner of "Best of What's New 2010." What makes this special is that this is the first reader I have ever tried which allows to read under less-than-ideal lighting conditions. The other devices out there need a lamp nearby or it is really hard to see what is happening on the screen. Its light weight (8.5 ounces) and convenient size (7.5" x 4.8" x 0.335") makes it easy to carry out anywhere you go with ease. Does a Kindle 3 Have a Backlit Screen? To explain it in simple terms, since I am not too fond of getting over technical, the electronic ink works similarly to the one used in newspapers and books except the particles are display electronically. This is what allows it to seem like actual paper, and also makes it easy on the eyes. After looking at the regular traditional LCD displaying laptops or tablets, a case of eyestrain usually sets in after a half an hour or so. The Kindle gets away without having a backlit screen as it is able to reflect light just like ordinary paper and this reduces glare during outside situations. As an additonal benefit, I have never felt it get hot so it makes it perfect for reading outdoors. The reader can also be viewed from all angles and this makes it easier to look it by more than one person, especially if you want to read with a child or share a passage or quote that you like with a friend. No More Insomnia For Me! I am the type of person that usually likes catching up on my reading before going to sleep. As I have turned from regular books to ebooks it also triggered cases of insomnia where I could not fall asleep for hours. Many medical practioners say that mixing electronic light and sleeping disorders is never a good thing and this was exactly what I did when using the regular LCD displays in my phone, laptop or tablet. This version of kindle is easy on the eyes and I am having less problems in going to sleep. Seems that I have finally found something that deserves a permanant space on my night stand.
Since I have bought the Kindle 3, I have noticed that with regular usage I am getting about 3 weeks of play time on a single charge. This beats most tablets, netbooks and e-readers by about two weeks if not more. It is a major feat, and I sometimes completely forget about charging it as it is not something that has to be done very often. Charging the reader takes an average of 4.5 hours and this will bring the power back up to its maximum capacity. Keep in mind that rechargeable batteries tend to lose their ability to hold a charge after a couple years. The most common lifespan of these type of devices runs at around 4 years as after that the battery can barely run at 20% of its original capacity. Amazon at that point asks for the user to ship their Kindle and will send back a replacement product with a fresh battery. This is a bit of an inconvenience since all your books will have be re-uploaded but I see it as a benefit as you will get an entirely new product so if the screen or anything else is getting worn out it will also get replaced. There are also companies which are starting to sell replacement batteries and producing videos with instructions on how to replace them. This gives additional options but I doubt the battery fails before most people upgrade to a different model. Can a Kindle 3 Read ePub Books? Amazon does not use this format as it comes with a proprietary ebook format which is solely made for its devices. Although this could spell trouble, there is a free program called Calibre that allows to convert between the different formats and supports both the ePub and Kindle format. This will not allow to copy a protected Kindle formatted book to the ePub format but does work in doing the opposite and this tremendously increases the number of books that can be read on the Amazon e-reader. The Number of Books I Can Keep Matters... The reader features 4GB of internal memory which is enough for a couple thousand books but as a downside it does not allow for expansion cards. It also allows to lend books between users for up to 2 weeks which is also very cool. Do You Have To Have a Wi-Fi or G3 to Download Books on Kindle? No, there is a cable that allows for a USB connection to a PC and this makes copying of books and music a breeze. It also has the ability to connect to router's and hotspots running of 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n and features support for the (WEP, WPA and WPA2) security formats. What About PDF Files? The eReader has a native support for .pdf files but I did not have the best experience with them as the screen is a bit too small for the larger pages and the reader forgets where I left of with this format. Hopefully this improves with additional upgrades, but is so far the weakest point of the reader. There is also support for Microsoft Word (DOCX, DOC), PDF, TXT, HTML, RTF, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, MOBI and PRC files. Multimedia Options You can browse the web and listen to music on the reader but I haven't used these options much as I really think that it functions best for reading books. There is a 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack as well as stereo speakers on the back of the eReader. Are There Games To Play On Kindle 3? Scrabble, Sudoku, Mine Sweeper and others can be enjoyed on the Kindle. Some of these are free while others cost around $5 per download so it is not a huge expense. Warranty The product comes with a 1 year warranty, and there is a 2 year extended option available. This Is What Others Have Said About The Reader!
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The Kindle is becoming
to e-book readers, what Xerox has done for copy machines.
Although the Kindle 3 is an Amazon product, many people
are starting to call all ebook readers... kindles. This
definitely shows the sort of impact that the product is
having on the market and personally, I could not wait to
get it when it first came out.
The Battery Makes This
Product Outstanding