Amazon Kindle 2011 Pro Reviews

The ultimate goal for any e-reader is to melt away, to become invisible and leave only words on a digital page behind. Thanks to an almost impossibly small, thin, and light shell, Amazon's latest (and cheapest) Kindle nearly pulls it off. I suspect that the Kindle Touch will be the better value with its audio support and simpler interface for just $20 more, but in the meantime, for $79, you really can't go wrong.

There's nothing here to make existing users want to swap their Kindle for this one, and if you want 3G and the keyboard you can still buy the older Kindle version with its keyboard for £149. However, we have to take our hats off to Amazon. A lower price, and reduction in features most people won't mind make this new Kindle attractive.

The Kindle 4's small flaws prove to be less important than the much more obvious reduction in size. Amazon's offering was always cheaper than its nearest rival, Sony's Reader, but bigger. Now it's effectively the same size. Ignore red herrings such as storage capacity and storage expansion - the Kindle 3 has sufficient space and the Cloud behind it for the rest - and you're really just left with brand and format personal preference, and pricing. If you only care about the latter, the Kindle 4 is the only e-book reader to consider.

If you've ever played with a Kindle, it shouldn't surprise you to learn that the fourth-generation is one solid device. The hardware is well made, the processing is snappy and the screen is extremely easy to read. It is, however, sorely lacking in the bells and whistles department, with a renewed, almost one-track focus on reading. Nowhere is this more evident than in the lack of a keyboard or touchscreen, making browsing quite the chore. Naturally, though, typing is at best a secondary feature on a device like this. And if you felt strongly enough, you could always get the Kindle Touch for an extra twenty bucks. Ultimately, though, this question of value comes down to price. The Kindle is $79 with ads and $109 without -- a steal compared to the $139 launch price of the Kindle 3 and Nook WiFi. We've heard that the Kindle tends to be a money-loser for Amazon, with the company earning back its hardware losses with strong book sales, and that may well be the case here. But at that price, the new Kindle is likely to end up in the hands of users who have been eyeing e-readers, but are loathe to part with $140. And while this certainly isn't the best or most fully featured e-reader we've seen -- and can't be considered an upgrade over last years model, the new Kindle is the best e-reader $100 (or less!) can buy.

In our opinion the Kindle is still the best-looking ebook reader: it is thin, sleek, has a nice brushed-metal finish and a high-quality 6in screen. Apart from the design there's not much here that's new but the smaller, lighter, more portable Kindle gets everything right. At £89 it is great value and still the best ebook reader available.

Kindle Keyboard owners won't find a compelling reason to upgrade, but those in the market for their first Kindle will likely love this new lightweight eReader.

Now that Amazon has split its Kindle lineup into three different categories, the basic model serves as a great entry-level reader and an excellent gift. Aside from its smaller size, however, it does not offer many reasons to switch from the third-generation model.

The new Amazon Kindle rings in at a bargain $79 price, establishes the new class standard for affordable ebook readers, and still features the best ebook store on the market.

If you want a straightforward dedicated ereader, it's hard to see past the neat form factor, superb book choice, amazing screen and eye-catching price of the Amazon Kindle. If you want more features, you might want to wait for the Kindle Touch or Kindle Fire, but for most people the decision is very simple - buy the Kindle.

An expansive selection of reading material from Amazon, long battery life, and an immersive reading experience, all for just $79. What's not to like? Just the lack of a usable keyboard and tiny page turn buttons. If you can minimize your need for typing, and don't mind a bit of ergonomic discomfort, the ad-supported Amazon Kindle with Wi-Fi is a great eReader choice, offering useful features such as public library access to eBooks and Kindle-to-Kindle lending. Still, it might be worth spending $20 more to get all the same features in an ad-free package that has a touchscreen keyboard.

The new Kindle is here. And while it's not categorically better in every respect, it's different in a rather brilliant way. It's more portable than its predecessor and the new intermittent refresh eradicates the sluggish page turning of other ereaders. The screen quality has been given a slight upgrade too, darker text offering better contrast. It misses out on a handful of periphery features, like MP3 playback, but as a device to simply read books and newspapers on, it can't be beaten for under £100. Or at any price, in fact.

If you don't want to spend the extra $20 to upgrade to the forthcoming touch-screen version, the entry-level 2011 Kindle is a great choice for an ultraportable and superaffordable no-frills e-ink reader.