Kindle Devices, Apps and Accessories
Kindle devices have come a long way. Here’s what’s available now.
In the beginning, there was “the” Kindle. An electronic device for reading your book, Word document, photo, magazine or newspaper. Its pages were in black and white, to look like a book’s pages. You navigated by using buttons and an awkward keyboard. 3G was used to download books. It did have a great non-glare screen, which ran rings around other devices, when trying to read in sunlight.
Kindle was marketed to appeal to travelers, and came to be viewed as the best “beach book” ever. You had to have a Kindle to read a Kindle book. For more history, this blog about Kindle’s earlier history is a good start. Many people are still using the earlier models.
That all sounds primitive, compared to the Kindle devices we have today: better resolution, touch screens, easy WIFI connections, Special Kid’s versions, internet, games, movies and TV shows. We can access Kindle books from PC and Mac, iOS and Android. So what’s out there?
While there are Kindle readers for all ages and budgets, some people are happy with a no-frills Kindle E-reader. An electronic book, with a non-glare, readable, black and white page, is just fine for some folks. Sure, you can bundle internet, phone and movies on one device, and avoid the hassle of keeping track of separate devices. But there are pros to having a simple reader, including longer battery life, and still, less glare.
Kindle is the most basic e-reader .
Kindle Paperwhite adds better resolution and built-in light.
Kindle Voyage adds even better resolution, adaptive lighting and PagePress technology, which allows you to turn pages without swiping.
You can add 3G connectivity to the Paperwhite and Voyage models.
Kindle Fire Tablets include about what every tablet offers: video, photos, web browsing, gaming, email, social networking, cameras,and, of course, books – in color. Each generation and new model added a little more functionality, resolution, screen size and/or processing power. With the right TV set-up, you can fling your video and photos to your television, or you can mirror your Kindle Fire screen on your TV. Our focus on this site is reading ebooks. But since you can do that on these, in color, here’s a small summary that doesn’t come close to mentioning all the benefits.
Kindle Fire HD tablets give you access to Android apps. Access Facebook and Twitter, Netflix and Hulu Plus, Pinterest, and many more. You can also access the most popular email accounts. There’s a USB 2.0 port, and front and rear facing cameras. HD models have Bluetooth connectivity and advanced polarizing filtering for better viewing. Fire HD 6 is the basic model. With Fire HD 7, you’ll get a bigger screen, among other improvements. Fire HD 6 Kids edition comes in a sturdy case, has robust parental control capability, and -the best part- a 2 year, no questions asked replacement guarantee.
Kindle Fire HDX tablets offer improved display, including reduced glare, Dynamic Image Contrast and higher screen resolution. Amazon also touts longer battery life than the HD models. Of course, battery mileage varies, depending on the functions used. HDX models also offer dual-band, dual-antenna WIFI. This allows for faster streaming with fewer connection drops. HDX models also include real time help, via Mayday. Fire HDX is the basic model, with a 7 inch screen. It only has a front facing camera for some reason. Fire HDX 8.9 is the most advanced model currently available. It has a larger screen, as the model name suggests. Screen resolution is much higher, as is the processor. And it has both front and rear facing cameras.
