The new, slightly pricier basic Kindle – is the perfect budget ebook reader
Pros
- Integrated reading light
- Audible audiobook compatibility
- Low price
Cons
- No water resistance
- No page turn buttons
- Half the storage of the Paperwhite
For a long time, the main argument against buying the basic Amazon Kindle was that, despite the low price, it was too simple. More specifically, that it wasn’t as well made as the Paperwhite and that it had no built-in reading light.
With the arrival of the 2019 model, however, those issues have finally been sorted out; you can happily splash £70 on Amazon’s cheapest ebook reader safe in the knowledge that it does pretty much everything its pricier stablemates can.
Amazon Kindle (2019) review: What you need to know
The front light isn’t the only new feature, either. Amazon is also adding Bluetooth and, along with it, the ability to listen to download and listen to Audible audiobooks.
Amazon’s ninth-generation Kindle ebook reader has also had a mild redesign but the core features haven’t been upgraded. It still has a 6in 256ppi E Ink touch-sensitive display, which is easier on the eye than smartphone and tablet screens. It’s still available in black or white and it still hooks in seamlessly to Amazon’s vast catalogue of ebooks, allowing you to search for and buy books on the ebook reader itself.
It lacks some of the more advanced features of the Kindles further up the range but nothing that would seriously get in the way of the enjoyment of a good book.
Amazon Kindle (2019) review: Price and competition
Like other Kindles, Amazon’s new ebook reader is available in two different flavours: “With special offers” and “Without special offers”. Essentially, “special offers” means adverts on the lockscreen, which in my opinion aren’t particularly intrusive. With these enabled, the Kindle costs £70; if you want to remove the ads, it’s £10 more expensive – £80.
At that price, the new Kindle has no significant rivals when it comes to value for money – not from other manufacturers, anyway. In fact, the only big rival manufacturer still selling dedicated ebook readers is Kobo, whose recent products have all been focused firmly at the luxury end of the market, leaving Amazon to mop up in the budget sector.
The only real choice you have to make, then, is between the various different models (with or without special offers) and buying the slightly more expensive Kindle Paperwhite (£120), which has more storage space, a crisper display and a slightly sleeker design. Alternatively, if having a built-in light doesn’t bother you, you can save £20 and opt for the old eighth-generation Kindle, which is still on sale and costs £50.
Amazon Kindle (2019) review: Features and design
The good news is the basic Kindle is no longer as cheap-feeling and plasticky as the eighth-generation device. Sure, it isn’t as nice to pick up and hold and read with as the Oasis is, but it gives the Paperwhite a run for its money.
The 2019 Kindle is solidly made, is light and feels comfortable to hold. The edges and front bezels are a little more rounded than the old model, but otherwise it’s a familiar design. The 6in E Ink screen dominates the front of the device, slightly inset to accommodate the infrared touch sensors, and this display is surrounded by quite broad bezels.
The only other significant physical features remain the micro-USB port and power button located on the bottom edge. There’s no headphone jack, which means if you want to listen to audiobooks on this Kindle, you have to connect a pair of headphones or a speaker to it via Bluetooth. You don’t get physical buttons for turning the page, either, which might irk some potential buyers. But turning pages by tapping either side of the screen, or swiping across, isn’t a big deal.
There aren’t many differences between this basic Kindle and the slightly pricier Paperwhite, but those that do exist are significant. First up – and probably the biggest – is the display, which is lower in resolution on the basic Kindle, at a pixel density of 256ppi (pixels per inch). This deficiency isn’t night and day, but text on the cheaper Kindle is clearly a little less crisp and well defined than its more expensive sibling. My eyes are more comfortable with the Paperwhite’s sharper text.
Another difference is that the front light consists of four rather than the five LEDs of the Paperwhite. This is less of a deal breaker, though: the light on the Kindle is just as consistent as the Paperwhites, with no discernible bright or dark patches. It’s also not IPX8 waterproof or available with cellular connectivity like the Paperwhite is but, again, these aren’t serious shortcomings.
Perhaps more of an issue is that there’s half the storage inside the regular Kindle (4GB) than there is in the cheapest Paperwhite (8GB). This won’t be a problem if you plan on sticking with just text-based books, but if you plan on using it to download and listen to audiobooks regularly, you’ll quickly chomp through that amount of storage.
It’s also somewhat disappointing that Amazon still hasn’t found a place in its current range of ebook readers for a blue-light-reduction system as in the rather impressive Kobo Forma or that Amazon hasn’t included an ambient light sensor. You have to adjust the reading light manually if you want to change the intensity.
Still, the new Kindle does the job admirably and, if you’ve used a Kindle before, you’ll be right at home here. The software is no different from that on the most expensive Kindle Oasis and, at the end of the day, a book is a book is a book, whether your penchant is for trashy fantasy or more cerebral reads.
Amazon Kindle (2019) review: Verdict
To be brutally honest, none of the 2019 Amazon Kindle’s shortcomings affect the 2019 Amazon Kindle’s overall appeal. Although it’s not the cheapest Kindle, the addition of a front light and Bluetooth connectivity, it’s clearly the best-value Kindle in the range.
If you’re looking for a cheap replacement for your ageing 5th-generation Kindle, or perhaps something even older, just go out and buy one of these. You most certainly will not regret it.
Source: expertreviews.co.uk