Amazon has NEW KINDLE for $139 - Kindle 3 is released!

[TravelingGal]

Caveat, wifi only for the $139 version....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38456511/ns ... d_gadgets/

However, the 3G model is there too, it's just $189. So the new version is out, surprise!

 

[lyra]

Cool! I might buy one for my daughter for Christmas then. I'm totally satisfied with the 2, but a scaled down version would be great for someone like my daughter who doesn't read quite as much as me.

 

[TravelingGal]

Here are the upgrades...and what I think in red.

Kindle at a Glance
New, High-Contrast E-Ink Screen
50% better contrast than any other e-reader. The clearest text and sharpest images.
This is nice, but I think the Kindle 2 reads fine. I saw the nook and think the contrast there is better than Kindle 2, but didn't feel the need for it...it was actually glaring to me at first, but I think Kindle 3 owners will love it.

Read in Bright Sunlight
Unlike LCD screens, Kindle's screen reads like real paper, with no glare. Read as easily in bright sunlight as in your living room.
You can do this in Kindle 2, no biggie.

Lighter Than a Paperback
At only 8.5 ounces and 1/3 of an inch thin, Kindle is lighter than a paperback and thinner than a magazine.
Probably the nicest bonus...just sounds like a sexier new shell. Still page turners on both sides, so no issue there. Menu, toggle and back buttons have been moved to the bottom by the keyboard. I think this is nice since those buttons on Kindle 2 can get in the way and be accidentally hit. But it depends where you keep your fingers, which for most people is near the page turning buttons I imagine.

Holds 3,500 Books
We doubled Kindle's storage so you can carry up to 3,500 books.
Nice in theory, but I've been reading tons of books nonstop since December and I think I maybe have 100 books on my Kindle. I can't imagine having 1500 books, much less 3500. But if you like downloading lots of free stuff, it might be nice. The Amazon "locker" keeps the books you take off from your Kindle, so I don't see this has a huge reason to upgrade.

Battery Life of Up to One Month
A single charge lasts up to one month with wireless off. Keep wireless always on and go for up to three weeks without recharging.
Would be great for travel. The Kindle 2 battery life works fine for me though. But a month would certainly be better!

Built-In Wi-Fi
Connect to Wi-Fi hotspots at home or on the road. Includes free Wi-Fi access at AT&T hotspots across the U.S.
Never had an issue with their 3G, so again, not much of an incentive for me unless it's a lot faster. I would imagine it's also a battery drainer? However, this would be GREAT where people don't have access to their whispernet service.

Quieter Page Turn Buttons
Quieter page turning means you won't disturb your partner when you want to read all night.
OK, this would ONLY be a problem if you had sonar ear partner and you read at night. Seriously, the book light would be more of an issue as a disturbance...the Kindle 2 buttons are quiet...I just checked!

Share Meaningful Passages
Share meaningful passages with friends and family with built-in Twitter and Facebook integration.
Might be nice for people who are interested in book club kind of stuff?

Simple to Use
Kindle is ready to use right out of the box - no setup, no software to install, no computer required.
Nothing new.

Improved PDF Reader
Now with new dictionary lookup, notes and highlights, and support for password protected PDFs. Easily carry all of your documents on the go. Books in 60 Seconds
With fast, free wireless delivery, you can start reading books in less than 60 seconds. No computer required.
Can't say I use the PDF reader to know.

Massive Selection
Over 630,000 books, including 109 of 111 New York Times Best Sellers, plus audiobooks, periodicals and blogs. For non-U.S. customers, content availability varies. Check your country.

Free, Out-of-Copyright Books
Over 1.8 million free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books are available such as Pride and Prejudice. Learn more

Low Book Prices
Over 510,000 books are $9.99 or less, including 80 current New York Times Best Sellers.
Hmph. 9.99 books are getting harder to find!

Free Book Samples
Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy.

Read Everywhere with Whispersync
Your Kindle books can be read on your Kindle, iPhone, iPad, PC, Mac, Android device, and BlackBerry. Our Whispersync technology syncs your place across devices, so you can pick up where you left off.

Worry-Free Archive
Books you purchase from the Kindle Store are automatically backed up online in your Kindle library on Amazon. Re-download books wirelessly for free, anytime.

Read-to-Me
With Text-to-Speech, Kindle can read English-language content out loud to you.
Not new, Kindle 2 has it too.



So basically, it's just nice for all you who have held off! A sexier, smaller Kindle for you...and hopefully faster interacting with the net!

ETA, I just read the full article I posted...the bezel around the screen is thinner...looks nicer, but the turn buttons and space around the edges is thinner too. I am not sure I would like that because my fat fingers rest pretty soundly on the bezel now. But Kindle 2 bezel IS fat, so Kindle 3 is probably just fine...I'd love to see a review if anyone gets one!

ETA 2, numbers row is gone on the Kindle 3. No big deal there for me...I never used it on Kindle 2.

ETA 3...geez, you'd think I could see it all at once and post, but no. On the new one, the Previous button appears to be on both sides. That's great! Home has moved down to the bottom by the keyboard.

 

[Blackpaw]

Grrr amazon - my kindle 2 arrived a week ago (though i dont get it yet) and a cover is on the way...

Grrr amazon

 

[Blackpaw]

Waaaaaaaaaaaaa i want to cry. Blast amazon...

 

[TravelingGal]

Blackpaw, you are under the 30 day window. Call Amazon. They will take the return and you can preorder the new one. I don't know where you got the cover, but perhaps you can return that too.

If I had the option, I'd always go with the latest.

 

[Blackpaw]

That's what SO and i are thinking Tgal - only trouble is the cover is from Elizabeth David designs (hasnt arrive yet but i assume she's started?) and i doubt it could be returned he's going to call and check.

ALso, question for those with Kindle 2 (which is what i have) - can you download books from amazon, project gutenberg etc FROM the device? i thought you could but now im not so sure. How do you download amazon books to it? and if you're overseas would you be able to download books from amazon to kindle 2? Im in Canada and i thought the coverage map was everywhere you could get wifi for downloading on the Kindle 2, but now i worry im confused with the Kindle DX 3g or whatever it is...

 

[TravelingGal]

Call and see. Hopefully she can resell the cover and I'm sure they'll be making them from the new one soon.

Kindle 2 can download via 3G. There is no wifi, so whispernet is the only way it works. Kindle 3, for the same price, includes wifi, which would be a nice perk if you are in an area that doesn't have access to Amazon's whispernet.

Unless there are any buggy issues with Kindle 3, for the same price and extra features, it seems to me it's worth getting over the Kindle 2 if there is a choice.

 

[jas]

TGal = enabler.
*runs off to share this information w/ DH and remind him that yes, I do have a birthday this year.

 

[panda08]

Thanks for the great run-down, TGal! DH was talking me this morning like a kid on Christmas morning about how excited he is about the Kindle 3. He had stayed up most of the night reading reviews! He wanted to order it now even though it won't ship until late Aug. and I had to do all that I could to hold him off so that I can get it for him

 

[Blackpaw]

Thanks Tgal im afraid im super confused about what the one ive got does now!

For those with an Elizabeth David Designs Kindle 2 cover, the new kindle is .5 of an inch smaller and thinner - do you think it would still fit in the Kindle 2 cover?

 

[TravelingGal]

Great timing, wasn't it Panda!

Jas, tell him you have 5 birthdays this year...you deserve it!

The only thing I see with the number row not being there is putting in location numbers if you use those won't be as easy. But I never use locations...I still have yet to take the time to figure it out.

It will be interesting to see if people think it's nicer to hold and easier to turn the pages. My Kindle is housed by a zipper m-edge cover, so the weight is irrelevant since the cover also houses the reading light. I actually like that it's bigger as I just let the entire thing rest on my forearm when I'm reading. Or I hold it with both hands, letting the bottom of the Kindle rest on my belly. The screen is comfortably high enough where my reading gaze and neck position seem fine. Not sure if an inch down would make a difference.

Anyway, I'll have to check one out if they continue to sell them at Target.

 

[TravelingGal]

Blackpaw, the one you have in your hands uses 3G service. Like a cell phone. And like a cell phone, there are some places where it is not going to get reception.

The Kindle 3 has 3G (the $189 version at least) AND wireless. Which means if you are not in an area with reception, but in an area with wifi, you can hook the Kindle up. So in your house, if you had a wireless router, you could use that. Out and about, Kindle is offering free connections to AT&T hotspots. If there was to be a different type of wifi connection, you'd have to pay for it (which wouldn't be worth it).

So if you buy the $189 one, I would say the wifi is nice, but you'd probably use the 3G more often out and about.

If you buy the $139 one, it would be best if you had a wireless network at home to download, unless you want to actually connect via USB to the computer. Basically I would only buy the $139 one if you primarily research and buy books at home, or have an AT&T hotspot in places you commonly frequent.

As to the cover, most 3rd party covers use little notches to keep the Kindle in place, so my guess is that it would not fit. You don't want to open the cover and have your Kindle fall out and hit the floor.

 

[TravelingGal]

Here is the size difference between 2 and 3...

 

[Blackpaw]

Ah ok! thanks Tgal SO is going to call elizabeth david designs about the cover and see if its made/shipped yet to see what can be done.

 

[mrscushion]

I forgot my Kindle 2 on a transcontinental flight last week... and it hasn't turned up in American's Lost & Found. At least now I have an excuse to get a new one! Definitely getting the $189 one with 3G.

 

[lyra]

I just pre-ordered the $139 one as a birthday gift (Sept.) for my daughter. I didn't realize that the regular covers would not fit, glad you told me T-Gal! I'll have to find one that will now. argh.

PS. T-Gal, is there a way for me to have both kindles registered to me so my daughter and I can share books? We have the same taste.

 

[TravelingGal]

Lyra, yes you can have up to 6 Kindles registered up to one account (last I checked anyway) and then share all the books to that account.

That means though that one of you will be paying for ALL books ordered, at least to Amazon.

 

[lyra]

Thanks T-Gal. That's not a problem, she can just pay me back if necessary. Usually I order the books and she reads them anyway, which means right now she's actually borrowing my Kindle to read a particular book.

I hope there are covers available soon. So far I can't find one that is guaranteed to fit.

 

[TravelingGal]

They just announced yesterday and Amazon is very tight lipped before announce. I think by ship date (August 27, I think it is), there are should be some options. Plus this gives Amazon a jump start on its own cover, which has a reading light powered by the Kindle's battery...a cool feature.

 

[risingsun]

I love my Kindle 2. I don't mind that it is slightly larger and I like that it looks like a Star Wars accessory. The page turner is in a very good spot, for me. One of my problems is that I didn't read all the information. You can have bookmarks, visit Wikipedia and write notes, without losing your place. I should really learn how to do that.

I just finished The Passage--all 784 pages of it! My DH bought it in hardback. Guess whose laughing now

 

[TravelingGal]

Risingsun, I have pillars of the earth and just bought world without end today (since the kindle price dropped) and BOY am I happy I can carry those two around electronically!

 

[starshine]

Soooooo...graphite or white? Any thoughts?

 

[TravelingGal]

I've never tried to read on a darker color ereader (I've held the darker Sony ereader though) but I've read that some people find the dark frame distracting...they can always "see" the darker frame while the white frame does a better job of "melting away."

Me, I'd choose the white.

 

[starshine]

Thanks TGal!

 

[lyra]

Soooooo...graphite or white? Any thoughts?

You know, I got a black fancy skin for my K2, so I never think of it as white. The skins are great if a bit pricey. I guess it will be a while before they come out for the K3, but they are a nice way to accessorize IMO.

 

[Blackpaw]

I'll definitely go for white if i get to swap mine (even though that means i wont get it until a few weeks after my bday now). SO has emailed Elizabeth David about the cover, just waiting to hear back. She has put an update on her store to say that people who have ordered a cover for the kindle 2 can swap for a kindle 3 if they want to - hopefully it will be the same for me even though we put the order in a couple of weeks ago...

 

[Blackpaw]

Good news! Elizabeth David hadnt started my cover, so im getting one for the new kindle, and we're sending back the old kindle! only downside is i have to wait well past my bday, but ive waited so long a little longer wont hurt me thanks tgal and everyone else for your help/advice

 

[LGK]

Yay! They have *black*!

There may have been an incident involving my 4th Kindle 2 that popped the bottom open last night. There may have been three martinis involved in the Kindle Bashing Incident. If that were the case, and I was mayyyybe slightly tipsy, I might possibly have upended my purse at the top of the stairs and my (4th) Kindle just might have rolled all the way down them. (Note to self: avoid three martinis with dinner, it will lead to no good and probably broken Kindles and other mayhem; the last time I had more than one martini at that particular restaurant a few months ago, I still haven't heard the end of it from DH... my sister and I get into enough trouble together sober. Give us two martinis each and much badness ensues.)

The first Kindle died after 11 months and was a victim of the hardwood floors too. Amazon kindly replaced it free and the replacement was a refurbished one that didn't work, had a loose part. So the second replacement worked great for a few months until I dropped it in the bath when my cat fell 20 feet or so and broke his hip. I *knew* that one was my fault so I bought the replacement myself that time. Which I just possibly dropped after the Martini Incident.

It still works though, but the bottom is all mooshed. But the battery is getting pesky and only stays charged for a couple of days. I would ADORE the 1 month battery life on the new one! That sounds like, hands down, the best thing about it. And the black shell. Love that. The smaller size is cool in theory, but the K2 is plenty little, and I really need them to be a bit sturdy as I am obviously good at mangling them.

I'll probably hold off a while before getting the new one. As long as the squashed bottom is only a cosmetic issue, anyway. I think #4 is maybe 5 months old?

ETA: Just talked with DH. He wants my mooshed K2 for jogging with, and I want the K3 for my Costa Rica trip at the end of August, I realllly want the extended battery life for that trip. Not sure if I'll get the WiFi or the 3G one; I actually download free stuff and transfer it via my computer 95% of the time, rather than using Amazon's store. So maybe I should save a few $$$ and get the WiFi one, since we have WiFi at home & work.

 

[April20]

Good news! Elizabeth David hadnt started my cover, so im getting one for the new kindle, and we're sending back the old kindle! only downside is i have to wait well past my bday, but ive waited so long a little longer wont hurt me thanks tgal and everyone else for your help/advice

Awesome! I have one of her covers for my Kindle 2 and I was thinking if she'd already started it, it might not be that big a deal to run a seam 1/4 down and make the corner pieces that hold it a wee bit smaller, but you don't need that!

Her cover was a little stiff at first in that the front flap didn't easily fold behind the Kindle, but it's loosened up over the last few weeks and I really, really love it. I'll be surrounded on a plane by people with Kindles and my cover is always prettiest. Not that the businessmen care.