Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle e-reader Announcements

Posted on September 6, 2012 by tarzanphan60

Exciting day in the Kindle world with the announcements of new e-readers and new Kindle Fire versions.  The next few posts will cover some of the initial information that has been announced.

Kindle Paperwhite

Kindle Paperwhite is the new kid on the block of kindle e-readers.  When Barnes & Noble announced the Nook Simple Touch with Glow Light earlier in 2012, it was only a matter of time before Amazon sat down at the poker game and either raised the bid or folded.  My guess was that they were going to stay competitive and hopefully, for them, the Kindle Paperwhite will be the answer.

The Kindle Paperwhite is replacing the Kindle Touch.  I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.  When I got my Kindle Touch last year, I thought it was the worst Kindle ever created and a major step backward (even more than the Kindle that was released right before it).  No buttons, much slower in some aspects, and very few apps being ported over to it. I was hoping they would update the Kindle at least with a backlight, but the gurus at Amazon obviously didn’t want my opinion.

I do admit that I am very interested in a Kindle with a backlight.  I think e-ink is far superior in many circumstances to carrying a heavier tablet around and the ability to read in low or no light has its appeals.  I’ll probably break down and add one to my collection.

What looks interesting about the Kindle Paperwhite?  Here is some basic information:

Price:  $119 for the basic model with special offers, $139 for the basic model without special offers. $179 for the 3G model with special offers, $199 for the 3G model without special offers.

Screen size: 6″ – same as Kindle and Kindle Touch

Display Technology: Paperwhite Built-in light (as opposed to e-ink pearl for Kindle and Kindle Touch)

Resolution: 212 PPI (167 PPI on other Kindles)

Audio: No speakers – so don’t count on Text To Speech either

Storage: 2 GB on the device plus Amazon Cloud storage

Weight: 7.5 oz / 7.8 oz (3G)

Battery Life: up to 8 weeks with WiFi off.  (4 weeks with WiFi off for the Kindle and 8 weeks with Wifi off for the Kindle Touch).  They made this sound like such a big thing – but you can see we already had the 8 weeks on past models.  It is neat that the extra light doesn’t appear to drain the battery more.

<——–Things not mentioned but that should be considered———->

Charging – Amazon likes to announce that you don’t need a computer at all when you have a Kindle.  Everything can be downloaded wirelessly.  They do forget to mention that the newer Kindles actually need to be plugged into a USB port (I guess some people have these in their cars) and most people will need to either buy the additional power adapter or plug it into a computer to charge.

Apps – the Kindle store at Amazon does not seem to think much in advance about apps.  They don’t really let developers know if an app will work on a new device until the new device is released (we learned this the hard way).  They are no longer requiring all apps work on all e-readers since late 2011.  Only a small percentage of apps that work on the earlier Kindle e-readers work on the Kindle Touch.  This is a replacement for the Kindle Touch.  However, that doesn’t mean that any Kindle Touch apps will work on the Kindle Paperwhite (which might make it a Kindle Paperweight for app lovers). If apps are important, you might want to hold off making a decision on this device.

Who will the Kindle Paperwhite be great for?  Lovers of Kindle e-readers that read a lot and those who no longer want to hook a portable light on their Kindle e-reader.  This should be a very good addition to the Kindle e-reader fold.

Kindle

To keep competition strong, Amazon has reduced the price of the Kindle (with 5 way controller) from $79 to $69. Already one of the lowest priced e-readers on the market, this makes it even more of a deal.  More affordable for people who want a solid and simple e-reader in their hands.  Great price to risk on a child that loves reading but might be rough on a device.

<—-Summary—->

Well played game on the e-reader front.  I think I’ll award Amazon a 3 point shot for this portion of the press conference.

Filed under: Amazon Store, Kindle Touch | Leave a Comment »

More logic in store for Kindle Touch Owners

Posted on March 8, 2012 by tarzanphan60

Nonograms by Metalgrass Software is now available for Kindle Touch and Kindle.  I reviewed Nonograms back in November, 2011 and gave it high ratings and am excited to finally see one of these logic puzzle games made available for Kindle Touch.  The game runs $2.99 – but is addictive, fun and well designed.  I just downloaded it to my Kindle Touch and intend to play through all the games again - even though I finished them last year on my Kindle Keyboard.

Filed under: Amazon Store, Kindle Games, Kindle Touch | Leave a Comment »

Kindle String of Words Review

Posted on March 6, 2012 by tarzanphan60

String of Words Review – Review Introduction

This is a review of String of Words– a word game for Kindle by Nickel Buddy. It is available for $1.99 in the Amazon store and was released in February, 2012.  

Available on the following Kindle versions as of 3/6/2012: Kindle Touch, Kindle, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle DX, Kindle 2nd Generation.

String of Words Review – Main Takeaways                                                

String of Words is a word game where all the answers are two words and the last word of o

Kindle String of Words Active Content - success message on winning level

ne answer is the first word of another.  The graphics are nice and the game is pretty fun.

I was able to start playing this game without reading the directions and before I knew it – I had finished about 6 games.  Quick and easy to play and not too much of a brain strain – but enough to get the mental juices flowing.  If you get stuck on one clue – jump to another or work your way backwards. 

The game is geared to use the physical keyboard on some Kindles, but has its own typewriter keyboard on screen for devices that don’t have the physical keyboard.

String of Words Review – Conclusion and Overall Rating

I would give my String of Words review 4.0 stars.  I am happy to see more games come out that don’t leave Kindle Touch sitting alone in a corner.  The controls are a little clunky but this is a pleasant method of passing time.  I do recommend giving this a try if you like word games.

Filed under: Amazon Store, Kindle Game Review, Kindle Touch | Leave a Comment »

Kindle Sudoku Unbound #3 Review

Posted on March 5, 2012 by tarzanphan60

Sudoku Unbound #3 Review – Review Introduction

This is a review of Sudoku Unbound #3 – a sudoku logic puzzle game for Kindle by Puzzazz. It is available for $2.99  in the Amazon store and was released in February, 2012.  

Available on the following Kindle versions as of 3/5/2012: Kindle Touch, Kindle, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle DX, Kindle 2nd Generation.

Sudoku Unbound #3 Review – Main Takeaways                                                

Sudoku Unbound #3 is the third of the Unbound series from Puzzazz. Their Sudoku puzzles are well written.

The biggest difference is that with Sudoku Unbound #3 – they have added TouchWrite technology to allow you to utilize the touch interface on the Kindle Touch to enter your answers.  If you have fat fingers – don’t worry – there is also an alternative method to enter the numbers where you are selecting them instead of writing them.

I think the developers did a good job adapting the game for the Touch screen.  I did better entering numbers using a capacitive stylus than I did using my fingers (no fingernails and stubby fingers) but both worked reasonably well.  The screen had a hard time recognizing my 5’s and 8’s but did pretty good on the remaining numbers.

Sudoku Unbound #3 Review – Conclusion and Overall Rating

I would give my Sudoku Unbound #3 review 4.5 stars.  The touch feature does not work as smoothly as I would like – but I am not taking any points off for that because that is more a problem with the Kindle Touch itself than it is with the developers.

While there are several Sudoku games available from these developers, I was interested to see a new one (somehow this slipped by me) that was released in January. The new variation is called Symdoku Unbound #1. It is available for $2.99 on the Kindle Keyboard, Kindle 2nd Generation and Kindle DX.  Think Sudoku with symbols for a different challenge.

Filed under: Amazon Store, Kindle Game Review, Kindle Touch | 1 Comment »

New and Updated Kindle Apps and Games for February 28 (including Kindle Touch)

Posted on February 28, 2012 by tarzanphan60

There are three new items in the Kindle app store today as well as one updated item.

Update:

Chess is available for a limited time at $0.99, down from $2.99. This is version 1.1 and has some updated features and is also available now for Kindle and Kindle Touch.  If you already have this, grab the update. If you don’t have this and like Chess, then get it while it is on sale.

New:

Bricks Classic - 40 levels of brick breaking with a ball and paddle for $0.99.  Available for all Kindles with active content – including Kindle Touch.

Bubble Breaker – pop bubbles that are similar when they touch each other.  $0.99.  Available for all Kindles with active content except Kindle Touch.

PenguinRoot Portuguese Verbs - a Portuguese language tool with verb conjugator.  Available for $0.99 on Kindle 2nd Generation, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle DX.  Hope this comes out in Italian.

February has seen a much better selection of new and improved items than January had.

Filed under: Amazon Store, Kindle Apps, Kindle Games, Kindle Touch | Leave a Comment »

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