Ameya DalviMar 11, 2023 13:05:57 IST

Value: Rs 9,999

It’s been nearly 15 years for the reason that first Kindle was launched. The machine is at the moment in its Eleventh era. However ever since Amazon launched the primary Kindle Paperwhite, that has been a tool of alternative for many who may afford it. It was a no brainer because the Paperwhite had much better options and readability compared to the fundamental Kindle mannequin. 

With the launch of the most recent Kindle (non-Paperwhite), the selection between the 2 is probably not as easy because it borrows plenty of goodness from its extra elite cousin. We bought to strive our hand on the All-new Kindle (as Amazon likes to name it) for the previous few weeks, and right here’s what’s good and not-so-good about it.

What we favored concerning the All-new Kindle:

Extraordinarily mild and feels nice in hand
The corporate claims that this Eleventh-gen All-new Kindle is essentially the most compact and lightest to this point, and we received’t disagree. The machine does really feel extremely mild in hand and weighs simply 158 grams. To place issues in perspective, that’s lighter than most smartphones lately. Holding it in a single hand for lengthy doesn’t trigger fatigue. And its compact measurement makes it straightforward to slide it in a bag. It could match into some pants pockets too however I wouldn’t suggest doing that.

The highest and aspect bezels are slimmer than earlier than and nearly the identical measurement as the most recent Paperwhite. Nonetheless, in contrast to the Paperwhite’s, they don’t merge seamlessly into the display and are noticeably raised. There’s a solitary bodily button alongside the underside edge to activate the machine or put it in standby. There aren’t any audio system right here however one can join Bluetooth earphones or audio system to devour content material from Audible.

Much better show than its predecessors
That is by far the most important enchancment on this new Kindle. The older base Kindle screens used to have 167 PPI pixel density that made the textual content a tad tough across the edges. Amazon has bumped up the pixel density on this one to 300 PPI which is identical as that of the Paperwhite. The display measurement remains to be 6-inch (vs 6.8-inch on the Paperwhite), however it’s a lot sharper than earlier than, be it textual content or e book covers. 

Even textual content in smaller fonts appears to be like clear on this Kindle, and you’ll be at liberty to drop the font measurement to suit extra textual content per web page with out worrying about readability getting adversely affected. Issues are nice below direct daylight too, and also you additionally get adjustable entrance lighting that permits you to use this Kindle even in a darkish room. Talking of darkish, there’s extra which brings me to my subsequent level.

Darkish mode is a superb addition
Whereas the brand new Kindle can be utilized in pitch darkish, it isn’t essentially the most snug expertise for others within the room. Say you prefer to learn in mattress, the display glow generally is a distraction for the individual subsequent to you. That’s the place Darkish mode is available in, which turns the display black and the textual content white, thus offering a a lot soothing studying expertise even for the individual utilizing this Kindle. This can be a welcome addition and might merely be activated by knocking down the highest menu.

16 GB inner storage
It’s not simply the pixel density that Amazon has bumped up within the new Kindle. The storage has doubled up too from 8 GB to 16 GB. Frankly, even 8 GB was adequate provided that the scale of most ebooks is simply an MB or two at most. And 16 GB (13.2 GB accessible) will allow you to retailer 1000’s of ebooks on this machine. Think about the load of some thousand books being simply 158 grams. Don’t we love know-how?

Improved battery backup and USB-C port for charging
The battery backup has additionally seen a very good 50% enchancment over its predecessor. The corporate claims a battery lifetime of 6 weeks for the brand new Kindle; the catch being – at half-hour of day by day studying. The battery life will range relying in your utilization. At a bit over an hour of day by day studying, it simply lasted over a fortnight for me, which is completely positive given that you’ll want to cost this machine solely twice a month at most. 

It lasts that for much longer for those who don’t use it in any respect for every week or so. The standby time is nice right here with hardly any battery drain when not in use. One other notable enchancment is the presence of a USB-C port, which took a few generations too lengthy to reach, however it’s lastly right here. A normal 10 Watts USB-C charger takes about 4 hours to cost this Kindle absolutely.

What we didn’t like concerning the All-new Kindle:

A lot of the cons listed below are a results of us being spoiled by the Kindle Paperwhite. Whereas we’re absolutely conscious that there should be clear differentiators between these two units to justify their particular person existence, there are specific components that would have been added to the bottom mannequin too.

No ingress safety
That is one function of the Paperwhite I’d have actually favored to see within the primary Kindle. Whereas the extra premium machine has a correct IPX8 water immersion resistance, an IPX5 splash resistance would have additionally sufficed for this mannequin. An e-book reader is just not one thing one makes use of solely indoors. So a little bit of safety from the weather open air would have been helpful. One thing for Amazon to think about for the Twelfth-gen Kindle.

Adjustable heat mild would have been good to have
Sure, now we’re pushing it. However the heat mild function makes the Paperwhite rather more simpler on the eyes along with the extra even entrance lighting because of the 17 LEDs. Whereas there’s nothing obviously flawed concerning the All-new Kindle’s readability, the display feels a bit chilly compared, particularly in a dimly lit setting, and a contact of heat would have been nicer, if not an adjustable heat mild.

No SIM slot for information connectivity on the go
The bottom Kindle solely operates over WiFi, and there’s no possibility for information connectivity because it doesn’t have a SIM or an e-SIM possibility. So in case you are exterior the WiFi zone, you can not purchase or obtain ebooks on the transfer. After all, one can arrange a hotspot on their smartphone and do the needful, however a separate 4G/5G variant for many who care wouldn’t have been a foul concept.

Value and verdict:
The All-new Kindle (Eleventh Gen) will be bought for Rs 9,999 with a one 12 months guarantee on Amazon India. You get to decide on between black and denim blue color choices. This new Kindle is not only essentially the most compact and lightest Kindle ever, additionally it is the perfect base mannequin to this point. It additionally boasts of a handful of helpful options that had been solely accessible on the Paperwhite beforehand like a 300 PPI show and entrance lighting. 

Add to {that a} responsive UI, 16 GB storage, higher battery backup and the brand new Darkish mode, and the All-new Kindle makes a powerful case for itself over the Paperwhite, given the Rs 5,000 distinction between the 2. After all, the Paperwhite stays the superior e-book reader, however the hole between the 2 units from the identical era has by no means been so slender earlier than.