subject: Amazon's New Third Generation Kindle Is In High Demand [print this page] It's been a long time coming - or at least that's how it feels - but Amazon has finally unveiled its new, upgraded and enhanced Kindle electronic reader. Christened the third generation Kindle by Amazon - but more likely to be known as the Kindle 3 - there are a variety of improvements.
It seems likely that the Kindle 3's new features will tick many of the right boxes with e-book reader devotees. It retains the same 6" e-ink technology display, but the screen contrast has been improved by 50%, which should make reading an even more pleasant experience. Page turn speed, already good in the Kindle 2.0, has been made 20% quicker.
The outside dimensions of the reader are reduced by 21% and the weight is just 8.7 ozs - a 15% reduction. Battery life with the Wi-Fi off is now a month, and even with Wi-Fi turned on a ten day life is expected. Memory capacity has been increased by a factor of 2 to 4 GB, sufficient for around about 3,500 books. So the new Kindle is smaller, lighter, easier to read, has a longer battery life and allows users to carry a small personal library with them wherever they go. What more could you wish for in a mobile electronic device?
Many people would, no doubt, have been hoping for a color screen. However, although Amazon have been developing a color e-ink technology display, it simply isn't ready for commercial release right now. Possibly this could be incorporated in the next Kindle 4 upgrade. The absence of an SD slot for memory expansion might be another item that some would have liked to see. However, with 4GB memory, the majority of people won't suffer too badly as a result.
In addition to the various upgrades, Amazon have adjusted the price downwards and introduced a new Wi-Fi only model for those who don't anticipate the need for a 3G connection. Just $ 139 will get you the new entry level Wi-Fi only model, with the 3G plus Wi-Fi version on sale at $ 189. The new Kindle 3 now comes in graphite, the same as the new DX model, as well as the original white.
Amazon has also opened a dedicated UK Kindle store on their British website. UK customers will no longer need to get their Kindles shipped from the States. To begin with the UK Kindle store will have 400,000 Kindle books available. It seems reasonable to suppose that Amazon may consider opening other dedicated Kindle stores for its other "local" websites in France, Germany etc. in the future.
Sales of the Kindle 3 are high. Prospective customers face a wait of around about 4 weeks before their readers are shipped at the moment. It does begin to look as if reports of the Kindle's demise, as a result of the launch of Apple's iPad, were somewhat premature. The latest upgrades, the reduced prices and the fact that there is no monthly connection charge, will appeal to many potential customers. It looks as though the launch of the third generation Kindle may serve as a timely reminder of just how influential Amazon are, and will continue to be, in the world of e-books and digital publishing in general.
