For most bibliophiles, making the jump from paper books to digital books isn’t easy. Plus, the feel of a real book can’t really be matched by an eBook reader. On the other hand, the convenience provided by the latter is hard to ignore, and even staunch detractors can’t deny the fact that an eBook reader really is a life-saver if you love to read. Could be a transformative purchase. That’s where the latest Kindle comes in. Marking the entry point into the world of digital books as the most affordable eBook reader from Amazon, the Kindle 11th-gen brings with it some notable new upgrades.
Said upgrade doesn’t apply to the overall aesthetic, as the new Kindle comes with a familiar plastic body and an understated, minimalist look. Save for the power button on the bottom edge, there are no other keys on the device, so usage is touchscreen-based only. The screen on the fascia is recessed within the frame, with the Kindle lettering placed below the wide chin, and the back is smooth and slightly curved towards the edges, with a large Amazon logo as the main attraction.
There’s also a smaller LED on the bottom edge, and this time as a major upgrade, a Type-C port for charging. Gone is the Micro-USB port which seems antiquated in this day and age. Amazon throws in a Type-C cable, but you’ll need to find your own charger… although that’s not something to count against.
The new Kindle is also compact enough that you can easily hold it in the palm of your hand and slip it into a jacket pocket or bag whenever you want. At 158 grams, it’s also featherweight… which is a good sign for a device you’ll want to hold in your hand for long periods of time, and carry it on your person for long periods of time. There’s no IP rating here, which means you can’t use it in your bathtub, and it needs to be manually adjusted when the backlight is on. Of course, Amazon reserves these features for the more premium Paperwhite and higher-end models, so while I still count their absence as a cons… you can still get these features if you As long as you’re willing to shell out. More.
The latest Kindle doubles the storage to 16 gigs, up from 8GB in the previous model, so you get more room to store your precious book collection. Most importantly, the Kindle 11th-gen has a much sharper screen than before – 300 ppi versus 167 ppi. This is a huge leap forward and makes a huge difference in readability – text appears much sharper and clearer.
Speaking of usage – you can set it up in a jiffy if you choose the Simplified setup option after the first boot, using your phone and Amazon credentials to register. There’s support for dual-band Wi-Fi, and once that’s ready, you can go ahead and choose from the millions of titles available. While there are free books too, sooner or later you’ll want to download others, and Amazon makes that process easy as well. You can buy books directly from the Store on Kindle, and if you’re a Prime member, many paid titles are available for you to read without paying extra. And then there’s the Kindle Unlimited subscription service, which also gives you access to a much larger library of premium books.
The interface is intuitive, and reading a book is as simple as tapping on it to open, tapping on the right side of the screen to flip to the next page, and tapping on the left to flip back. Swiping down from the top of the screen gives you quick settings, while swiping up from the bottom shows you your position in the book and options to jump forward or backward. Remember—these are digital books that aren’t restricted by the limits imposed by paper tomes, so you can bookmark, view the table of contents, highlight words or paragraphs as many times as you like. Special mention should be made of the Lookup and Vocabulary Builder features, which allow you to look up the meanings of difficult words, all of which are collected in the Vocabulary Builder for your reference and use later. Then there’s the X-Ray feature that gives you more information about the book you’re reading, including notable clips, people, words, images, and more.
Decision
The Kindle has been the only worthy option for anyone looking to buy an e-book reader since it debuted in India, and Amazon has been expanding its model portfolio as well as regularly upgrading existing models. From that perspective, the question isn’t whether or not you should buy a Kindle, but which model you should buy. Priced at Rs 9,999, the new Kindle 11th-Gen makes for a compelling option for those who are still hesitant about going digital.
Editor’s rating: 4.5 / 5
Pros:
- compact and lightweight
- sharp screen
- type-c port
Shortcoming:
- no auto brightness
- no ip rating
