Kindle Blog
Amazon has bolstered its expected Amazon Kindle Fire launch with a batch of new ebook readers. The Amazon Kindle Touch range consists of two models, one 3G and Wi-Fi, one Wi-Fi only. Plus, the company has announced a cheaper non-touchscreen Kindle that will only set you back $79 (£89 in the UK).
Available initially in the US only, the new Kindle devices, including the basic model, dispense with the keyboard entirely, with the Amazon Kindle Touch duo both featuring a full touchscreen and, therefore, no side buttons. They each feature a tap function to turn pages (pressing on either side of the screen), and boast 6-inch 600x800 pixel resolution screens at 167 pixels per inch, there's also 16 levels of grayscale.
Each of the touchscreen devices carry 4GB of internal memory, of which 3GB is available to the owner (enough to store 3,000 books), and measure 172 x 120 x 10.1mm, weighing just 213 grams.
Battery life is claimed to be 2 months if wireless is turned off and the ebook reader is used for half-an-hour's worth of reading per day. If Wi-Fi is on, it will last 6-weeks.
The 3G version of the Amazon Kindle Touch will cost $149, while the Wi-Fi only model will set you back $99. They will both be available in the US from 21 November.
The new non-touch Kindle, however, is available now. It's 30 per cent lighter than the current edition, and comes with a multi-way controller at the bottom of the screen for navigation. Its body size is also 18 per cent smaller, although it still features a 6-inch screen like the existing Kindles and its Touch brethren.
It comes with 2GB of storage (1.25GB accessible) which can store up to 1,500 books, and battery life is claimed to last up to an entire month, when the wireless connection is turned off.
The new $79 Amazon Kindle is available in the US now and will be available for £89 in the UK on 12 October.
Naturally, all the new models are compatible with all of Amazon's own Kindle Store ebooks.
UPDATE: The $79 Kindle in the US is subsidised by "special offers and sponsored screensavers". These will appear when you turn off your device or at the bottom of the screen while you're reading. If US customers don't want such shenanigans, they will be able to pay $109 for an advertising-free version.
This makes the non-advertisement laden UK model's price of £89 much easier to understand. We'd certainly be willing to pay that little bit extra considering.
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