94 JULY2020|COMPUTER SHOPPER|ISSUE 389
E-READERS
FORALONGtime,themainargument
againstbuyingthebasicAmazonKindle
was that, despitethe low price,itwas
toosimple.Morespecifically,thatitwasn’
as well-made as the Kindle Paperwhite
(Shopper372), and that it had no built-in
reading light.
With the latest 2019 model, however,
those issues have finally been sorted out;
you can happily splash out £70 on
Amazon’s cheapest e-reader safeinthe
knowledge that it does much more of wha
its pricier stablemates can.
The front light isn’t the only new featu ,
either.Amazon has also added Bluetooth
and, along with it, the ability to download
and listen to Audible audiobooks.
STARK RAVINGADS
On the outside,it’s all alot more familiar.
It still has the 6in, 167ppi E-Ink touch
displayofprevious Kindles. It’s still available
in black or white, anditstill hooks in
seamlessly to Amazon’s vast catalogue of
ebooks, allowing you to search forand buy
books on the device itself.
Like other Kindles, Amazon’s latest
e-reader is available in two different flavours:
‘With special offers’ and ‘Without special
offers’.Essentially,‘special offers’ means
adverts on the lockscreen, although these
aren’t particularly intrusive.With these
enabled, the Kindle costs £70; if you want
to remove the ads, it’s £80.
At that price,the new Kindle has no
significant rivals when it comes to value
formoney –not from other manufacturers,
anyway. In fact, the only big rival
manufacturer still selling dedicated
e-readers is Kobo,whose recent products
have all been focusedmore at the luxury
end of the market, leaving Amazon to mop
up in the budget sector.
At £110, the Kobo Clara HD isn’t as fara
leap upwards as the £230 Kindle Oasis, so it
could give the standard Kindle trouble,
though of courseAmazon’s device remains
much more affordable.It’s also no longer as
cheap-feeling and plastickyasthe previous-
generation Kindle.Sure,itisn’t as nice to
pick up and hold and read with as the
Kindle Oasis, but it’s aclearimprovement
that makes it seem like you’re getting even
more foryour money.
The Kindle is solidly made,light and feels
comfortable to hold. The edges and front
AMAZON Kindle
(2019)
★★★★★
£70•Fromwww.amazon.co.uk
VERDICT
ThebasicKindleisn’tsobasicanymore,
gainingBluetoothconnectivityanda
usefulreadinglight
bezelsarealittlemoreroundedthantheold
model,butotherwiseitsafamiliardesign.
TheE-Inkscreendominatesthefrontofthe
device,slightlyinsettoaccommodatethe
infraredtouchsensors,andthisdisplayis
surrounded by quitebroad bezels.
The only other significant physical
features are the Micro USB port and
power button located on the bottom edge.
There’s no headphone jack, which means if
you want to listen to audiobooks on this
Kindle,you have to connect apairof
headphones or aspeaker to it via Bluetooth.
Youdon’t get physical buttons forturning
the page,either,which might irk some.Still,
turning pages by tappingeither side of the
screen, or swiping across, isn’t abig deal.
CONNECTTHE DOTS
However,there aresomedisadvantages to
the Kindle next to the Kobo Clara HD.First
up –and probably the biggest –isthe display,
which is lower in resolution on the basic
Kindle,atapixel density of 167ppi to the Clara
HD’s 300ppi. This deficiency isn’t night and
day, but text on the cheaper Kindle is clearly
alittle less crisp and well defined than its
more expensive rival. Our eyes were more
comfortable with the Clara HD’s sharper text.
Perhaps more of an issue is that the
Kindle’s 4GB of storage is only half that of
the Clara HD’s 8GB. This won’t be aproblem
if you plan on sticking with just text-based
books, but if you plan on using your device
to download and listen to audiobooks
regularly,you’ll quickly chomp through
that amount of storage.
Another difference is that the front
light consists of four white LEDs rather
than the Clara HD’s eight. This isn’t as big
adifference as it sounds, however: the light
on the Kindle is still comfortably consistent,
with no discernible bright or dark patches.
The two e-readers also share alack of
waterproofing and cellular connectivity,
though these aren’t serious shortcomings
unless you read alot in the bath.
Sadly,it’s also somewhat disappointing
that Amazon still hasn’t foundaplace in its
current range of e-readers forablue-light-
reduction system, which is another tool in
the Kobo Clara HD’s box. There’s also no
ambient light sensor,which would have
been preferable to having to change the
displaybrightness manually.
CLASSICAPPEAL
Nonetheless, the new Amazon Kindle
does the job admirably and, if you’ve used
aKindlebefore,you’ll be right at home
with this new model. The software is no
different from that of the most expensive
Kindle Oasis, and Audible support grants
this Kindle aflexibilitythatprevious
versions simply didn’t have.With the
addition of afront light andBluetooth
connectivity,it’s clearly the best-value
Kindle in the range.
This also makes it worth choosing over
the Kobo Clara HD.For an extra £40 it’s still
avery respectable e-reader,but its higher
resolution and low-blue light mode only make
foramarginally better reading experience,
rather than atransformative one.
