Amazon Kindle is a series of e-readers designed and marketed by Amazon. Amazon Kindle devices enable users to browse, buy, download, and read e-books , newspapers, magazines and other digital media via wireless networking to the Kindle Store. Currently, it comprises a range of devices, including e-readers with E Ink electronic paper displays and Kindle applications on all major computing platforms. All Kindle devices integrate with Kindle Store content and, as of March , the store had over six million e-books available in the United States.

In , Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos instructed the company’s employees to build the world’s best e-reader before Amazon’s competitors could. Amazon originally used the codename Fiona for the device. Lab asked them to name the product, and they suggested “kindle”, meaning to light a fire.

Kindle hardware has evolved from the original Kindle introduced in and the Kindle DX with its larger screen introduced in The range includes devices with a keyboard Kindle Keyboard , devices with touch-sensitive, lighted high-resolution screens Kindle Paperwhite , a tablet computer with the Kindle app Kindle Fire , and low-priced devices with a touch-sensitive screen Kindle 7.

However, the Kindle e-reader has always been a single-purpose device for reading rather than being multipurpose hardware that might create distractions while reading. The device featured a six-inch diagonal four-level grayscale E Ink display, with MB of internal storage, which can hold approximately non-illustrated titles. On February 10, , Amazon announced the Kindle 2, the second-generation Kindle. The Kindle 2 features a text-to-speech option to read the text aloud.

It also has 2 GB of internal memory, of which 1. By Amazon’s estimates, the Kindle 2 can hold about 1, non-illustrated books. Unlike the first-generation Kindle, Kindle 2 does not have a slot for SD memory cards. To promote the Kindle 2, in February author Stephen King released Ur , his then-new novella , made available exclusively through the Kindle Store. On October 7, , Amazon announced an international version of the Kindle 2 with the ability to download e-books wirelessly. This version released in over countries.

It became available on October 19, The international Kindle 2 is physically the same as the U. Amazon launched the Kindle DX on May 6, This device has the largest Kindle screen at 9.

It was marketed as more suitable for displaying newspaper and textbook content, [24] includes built-in speakers, and has an accelerometer that enables users to rotate pages between landscape and portrait orientations when the Kindle DX is turned on its side. On January 19, , the Kindle DX international version was released in over countries.

It is speculated the case color change is to improve contrast ratio perception further, as some users found the prior white casing highlighted that the E Ink background is light gray and not white. Due to these differences, the DXG runs the same firmware as Kindle 2. Therefore, DXG cannot display international fonts, like Cyrillic, Chinese, or any other non-Latin font, and PDF support and the web browser are limited to matching the Kindle 2’s features. Amazon withdrew the Kindle DX from sale in October , but in September made it available again for a few months.

Using 3G data is free when accessing the Kindle Store and Wikipedia. Its battery life is about one week with 3G on and two weeks with 3G off. Text-to-Speech and MP3 playback are supported. Amazon announced the third-generation Kindle, later renamed “Kindle Keyboard”, on July 28, The Kindle Keyboard was available in two versions.

Both versions use an E Ink “Pearl” display, which has a higher contrast than prior displays and a faster refresh rate than prior e-ink displays. However, it remains significantly slower than traditional LCDs. The Kindle Keyboard is 0. It supports additional fonts and international Unicode characters and has a Voice Guide feature with spoken menu navigation from the built-in speakers or audio jack.

Internal memory is expanded to 4 GB, with approximately 3 GB available for user content. Battery life is advertised at up to two months of reading half an hour a day with the wireless turned off, which amounts to roughly 30 hours.

The Kindle Keyboard generally received good reviews after launch. Review Horizon describes the device as offering “the best reading experience in its class” [37] while Engadget [38] states, “In the standalone category, the Kindle is probably the one to beat”.

The fourth-generation Kindle and the Kindle Touch were announced on September 28, They retain the 6-inch, PPI e-ink display of the Kindle model, with the addition of an infrared touch-screen control on the Touch. They also include Amazon’s experimental web-browsing capability with Wi-Fi. The usage of the 3G data is limited to 50MB per month. It has a PPI display and was the lightest Kindle, at 5. The first-iteration Kindle Paperwhite was announced on September 6, , and released on October 1.

The 3G access restrictions are the same as the Kindle Touch, and usage of the 3G data is limited to 50 MB per month and only on Amazon and Wikipedia’s websites; additional data may be bought. This was the first Kindle model to track reading speed to estimate when the reader will finish a chapter or book; this feature was later included with updates to the other models of Kindle and Kindle Fire.

The Kindle Paperwhite lacks physical buttons for page turning and does not perform auto-hyphenation. In November , Amazon released the 5. In March , the Paperwhite 5. The Kindle Paperwhite was released in most major international markets in early , with Japan’s version including 4 GB of storage, and in China on June 7, ; all non-Japan versions have 2 GB of storage 1. Engadget praised the Paperwhite, giving it 92 of The reviewer liked the front-lit display, high contrast, and useful software features, but did not like that it was less comfortable to hold than the Nook , the starting price includes ads, and it had no expandable storage.

Shortly after release, some users complained about the lighting implementation on the Kindle Paperwhite. Also, some users complained that the light cannot be turned off completely. It has the same 6″ screen with PPI, bezel and estimated hour battery life as the original Paperwhite.

The Paperwhite 2 uses a similar experimental web browser with the same 3G data use restrictions as previous Kindles; there are no use restrictions when using Wi-Fi. The official Amazon leather cover for the Paperwhite 2 is the same item as was used for the original Paperwhite.

The cover’s magnets turn the screen on and off when it is opened and closed. Although released in with 2GB of storage, all versions of the Paperwhite 2 were sold with 4GB of storage by September Engadget rated the Paperwhite 2 as 93 of , saying while it offers few new features, “an improved frontlight and some software tweaks have made an already great reading experience even better.

Amazon announced an upgraded basic Kindle and the Kindle Voyage on September 18, Amazon claims that a single charge lasts up to 30 days if used for 30 minutes a day without using Wi-Fi. The Kindle Voyage was released on November 4, , in the US It has a 6-inch, ppi E Ink Carta HD display, which was the highest resolution and contrast available in e-readers, as of , [62] with six LEDs with an adaptive light sensor that can automatically illuminate the screen depending on the environment.

The Voyage uses “PagePress”, a navigation system that has sensors on either side of the screen that turns the page when pressed. The Verge rated the Voyage as 9.

This device improved on the display of PDF files, with the possibility to select text and use some functionalities, such as translation on a PDF’s text. Amazon claims it has 6 weeks of battery life if used for 30 minutes per day with wireless off and brightness set to 10, which is about 21 hours.

The Paperwhite 3 is the first e-reader to include the Bookerly font, a new font designed by Amazon, and includes updated formatting functions such as hyphenation and improved spacing. On June 30, , Amazon released a white version of the Paperwhite 3 worldwide; the only thing different about this version is the color of the shell.

The Verge rated the Paperwhite 3 as 9. Amazon announced the first-iteration Kindle Oasis on April 13, , and it was released on April 27 worldwide. It includes a removable leather battery cover for device protection and increased battery life that is available in either black, walnut brown or merlot red ; the cover fits in the tapered edge. The Oasis has 28 hours of battery life if used with the battery cover with Wi-Fi off.

However, without the cover, the Oasis battery lasts about seven hours. It has nearly 3 GB of user storage. The Oasis includes the Bookerly serif font and it is the first Kindle to include the Amazon Ember sans-serif font. The Guardian ‘ s reviewer praised the Oasis’s ease for holding, its lightweight design, long battery life, excellent display, even front lighting, usable page-turn buttons, and the luxurious cover.

However, the reviewer believed the product was overpriced, noted that the battery cover only partially protects the back, and that the reader is not waterproof. The reviewer concluded, “…the Paperwhite will likely be all the e-reader most will need, but Oasis is the one you’ll want.

The Oasis is the Bentley to the Paperwhite’s Golf — both will get the job done, just one is a cut above the other. The Kindle 8 features a new rounded design that is 0. The Kindle 8 is the first Kindle to use Bluetooth that can support VoiceView screen reader software for the visually impaired. It has the same screen display as its predecessor, a ppi E Ink Pearl touch-screen display, and Amazon claims it has a four-week battery life and can be fully charged within four hours.

Amazon released the second-iteration Kindle Oasis, marketed as the “All-New Kindle Oasis” and colloquially referred to as the Oasis 2, on October 31, The device has a black front, with either a silver or gold colored back. It is front-lit with 12 LEDs, and has ambient light sensors to adjust the screen brightness automatically. The Verge gave the Oasis 2 a score of 8 of 10, praising its design, display, and water resistance, but criticizing its high cost and inability to read an e-book while its related audiobook is playing.

Amazon announced the fourth-iteration Kindle Paperwhite on October 16, , and released it on November 7, ; it is colloquially referred to as the Paperwhite 4 and Paperwhite It features a 6-inch plastic-backed display of Amazon’s own design with ppi and a flush screen featuring five LED lights. It supports playback of Audible audio books only by pairing with external Bluetooth speakers or headphones. The Verge rated the Paperwhite 4 as 8.

Amazon announced the Kindle 10th generation on March 20, , which features the first front light available on a basic Kindle. Kindle 10 uses a 6-inch display with higher contrast than previous basic Kindles and has the same ppi resolution.

Amazon released the third-iteration Kindle Oasis, colloquially referred to as the Oasis 3, on July 24, Externally it is nearly identical in appearance to the second-iteration Oasis, with a similar 7-inch, ppi E Ink display, adjustable warm light, one-handed design, waterproofing, aluminum exterior, Bluetooth support and Micro USB for charging.

 
 

 

Unless You Are a Masochist, Do Not Buy QuarkXPress – TidBITS

 
Free trial versions for both Mac and Windows are also available. The first version of QuarkXPress was released in for the Macintosh. Longtime QuarkXPress user here, since version 1.