Amazon Kindle Touch Review

[easyazon-image-link asin="B005890G8O" alt="Kindle Touch 3G, Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 6" E Ink Display - includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/417j8GAjnyL.jpg" align="center" width="500" height="500"] While it may have been something that everyone’s been waiting for a long time now, Amazon have finally produced a touch screen Kindle. This means that the physical keyboard has now gone and, as many thought the only downsides to the Kindle were the lack of touch screen and the terrible keyboard, the Kindle Touch should win many hearts. Have a quick look over this Kindle Touch Review summary to see it’s right for you.

What’s great about the Kindle Touch is that it has two versions – a 3G and WiFi version and a Wi-Fi-only version. The new standard Kindle only offers Wi-Fi. What’s also great about the Kindle Touch is that the battery life is longer than the new standard Kindle.

For those that aren’t big fans of tablet PCs such as the Kindle Fire and, for those that love to read outdoors and love the eInk technology, the Kindle Touch looks to be the perfect eReader.

Kindle Touch Specification

Average Price: $99 – $139 (Wi-Fi) or $149 – $189 (3G)
Release Year: 2011
Battery Life: Two Months (Wi-Fi off)
Screen Size: 6 inch
Screen Type: e-Ink touchscreen
Weight: 7.5 oz (Wi-Fi) or 7.8 oz (Wi-Fi + 3G)
Storage Size: 4GB
Internet: Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi + 3G in 3G Model
Main eBook Format: AZW (Kindle)

What We Like About the Kindle Touch

Battery Life: The battery life on the original Kindle already lasted a month with WiFi switched off. However, Amazon have pulled even more surprises out the bag with the Kindle Touch by giving touch functionality and two months of battery life! While you may think that the touch technology would mean that battery life would have to be sacrificed, it’s actually the other way around. This is perfect for those that love to travel and don’t want to have to keep looking for a power source.

Price: The Kindle Touch is a little more expensive than the Standard Kindle – but, only $20 more for the Wi-Fi version. That extra $20 gets you several additional features (shown in the next paragraph). If you don’t mind having a few special offers and adverts on your Kindle device, then you can also pick up the Kindle Touch for an amazing $99. There’s no doubt that this is a great deal for those that want the features of an eReader at such a fantastic price – this will be perfect for students.

Extra Features: The Kindle Touch has a few more added features compared Standard Kindle. The new Kindle Touch now has speakers for having your books read to you and also the ability to play audio books from Amazon’s Audible service and MP3 files.

What’s also interesting about the new Kindle Touch is that it has a feature that hasn’t previously been available on the Kindle or the Kindle Keyboard. The X-Ray feature is a way of allowing you to see the features within a book. For example, using the Kindle Touch X-Ray feature, you can take a glance of different sections of the book, a certain character, a topic, a place and even an idea. This is a way to get great information out of the book for research, studying or because you need to know what happens in the book before class the next day!

3G Connectivity (3G Model Only): It was the 3G aspect of the Amazon Kindle that made Amazon the market leader for eReaders. The ability to download eBooks instantly from anywhere in the world without having to pay for a data subscription is something that Amazon has been famed for. The fact that it is also available on the Kindle Touch will please many.

Whispersync: Amazon’s Whispersync technology returns for the Kindle Touch. The technology ensures that your reading is always up to date by tracking where you last reached on a book so that you can find your place again. What’s great is that it not only tracks the place where you last got to on your actual Kindle device, it tracks it whether you read on your phone or your computer or your tablet – whatever. The Whispersync always keeps you updated no matter where you last read a Kindle book.

Cons Of The Kindle Touch Models

Size And Weight: It would be nice to have a Kindle with a touch screen, more battery life, both Wi-Fi and 3G options AND still have lit lighter and sleeker than the standard Kindle. Obviously, you can’t have it all just yet and, coming in at 8 ounces, you should be able to tell that the Kindle Touch is heavier than the original that came it at less than 6 ounces. It’s still light enough to hold for hours and not get strain, however.

No ePub eBooks: Amazon have still not yet allowed you to use ePub book formats with the latest range of Kindle. This isn’t the end of the world because you can still use Calibre. However, it would also be nice if Amazon gave customers a little more choice of where to get their eBooks from and not try to dominate the whole market for the sake of exclusivity.