Kindle Wireless Reading Device – eReader Comparison

The Kindle Wireless Reading Device, or eReader (also known as the Amazon Kindle), has undergone a rapid transformation in a short period of time. A Kindle eReader comparison will help those interested in this reading tool to distinguish between the various versions of this product.

It seems that eReaders have been around for some time, but the original Kindle Wireless Reading Device was made available to the public as recently as November 2007. Apparently, Amazon knew what it was doing as this first version of the Kindle sold out within hours. It remained out of stock for nearly half a year.

The second generation Kindle 2 was made available in February 2009.

Later in the year, Amazon stopped selling the Kindle 2 in its original form in favor of the Kindle 2 International.

Our eReader comparison will focus on some of the major features of the different versions of the Kindle Wireless Reading Device.

Kindle 1

• Display – 6” diagonal, 4-level grayscale
• Storage – 250 MB, expandable with an SD memory card
• eBook Capacity – 200 non-illustrated eBooks
• Delivery system –Whispernet, a wireless delivery system by Amazon that lets you download books off  the web without requiring an outside internet provider.
• Positives – carry around 200 virtual books (i.e., eBooks) in the palm of your hand!
• Negatives – available in USA only; in retrospect, lacked a lot of the features and power now available in newer Kindle models and other types of eReaders;  no longer available as a new item.
• Conclusion – good starting point, but limited; has been replaced by the more powerful  Kindle 2.

Kindle 2

• Display – 6” diagonal, 16-level grayscale display
• Storage – 2 GB
• eBook Capacity – 1500 non-illustrated eBooks
• Delivery system – free 3G wireless through Sprint mobile network allows you to download eBooks at anytime and from anywhere in under 60 seconds.
• Positives – thinner, lighter unit, faster page-refreshing, allows note-taking and highlighting, customizable fonts for easier reading, longer-lasting battery charge, more power, text-to-speech option that allows Kindle 2 to read to you, more eBooks!
• Negatives – no international availability, no Portable Document Format (PDF) file support – now available in Kindle 2 International
• Conclusion – great eReader replaced by more versatile version, the Kindle 2 International.

Kindle 2 International

• Released to the public in October 2009, taking the place of the USA-only Kindle 2. Virtually the same features and capabilities as the Kindle 2, but with a few key enhancements:
• Works in over 100 countries
• Sprint mobile network replaced by AT&T mobile network in USA and roams on EDGE, 3G, and GPRS on GSM networks in other countries
• 85% increase in battery life
• support for PDF file format
• Note: Outside the USA, most countries restrict the International Kindle Wireless Reading Device from accessing most web sites. This does not affect accessing the Amazon eBook store for viewing and purchasing eBooks and magazine subscriptions. The English language Wikipedia can also still be accessed in other countries.

Kindle DX

• Display – 9.7 inch” diagonal, 16-level grayscale electronic paper
• Storage – 4 GB
• eBook Capacity – 3500 non-illustrated eBooks
• Delivery system – Amazon Whispernet (Sprint).
• Positives – for people who like a bigger display and access to more than twice as many ebooks as the Kindle 2; battery life of up to one week while using wireless or two weeks offline;  accelerometer, automatically rotating pages between landscape and portrait orientations if the device is turned on its side, unless automatic rotation is disabled by the user. The DX adds support for PDF files natively, built-in stereo speakers
• Negatives – may be larger than ideal for some, as well as costlier.
• Conclusion – If you like having a bigger display and the ability to access up to 3500 eBooks, you may not mind paying the higher price for this particular Kindle Wireless Reading Device,  released in June 2009

Interesting notes:

• Christmas Day of 2009 marked a milestone as eBook sales at Amazon overtook sales of printed books for the first time.
• Approximately 1.5 million Kindle eReaders were sold in the 4^th quarter of 2009.

Tagged with: ereader • eReader comparison • eReaders • Kindle • Kindle 2 • Kindle DX • Kindle Wireless Reading Device

Filed under: eReaders

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