MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Is it worth replacing your Kindle 3 for a 4?

stonetools · 10-03-2011, 02:25 PM

I'm thinking that some of things folks are calling a "down grade" aren't really a "down grade " at all. Let's take storage. How many books do you really need ( or even WANT) to have on your KIndle at any one time? The Amazon blurb claims it can hold 1400 books. Let's say they are off by a factor of two. Do you really need more than 700 books on your Kindle at any one time? Seriously?

Lets consider battery life. Let's say the K$4 can only get a week of battery life, so that every Saturday night you have to plug it in before you go to bed. Is that really a problem, when you have to plug in your Android smartphone every night and your laptop every few hours? Unless you plan on going on safari in the Congo or hiking in New Guinea, a week's battery life should be quite enough. (According to Amazon's specs, the K4 will do better than that).
For me, the big drawback would be the interface. The lack of the keyboard or the touch interface would make it a pain to navigate, IMO. There are a couple of users in the Kindle Forum who already have theirs and they saythey can navigate about fairly easily. I'm wondering if they would feel that way in a month's time. Still... $79.00. The cheap bastard who lives inside of me is sorely tempted!

10-03-2011, 02:25 PM	#43
stonetools Wizard Posts: 2,016 Karma: 2838487 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Washington, DC Device: Ipad, IPhone	I'm thinking that some of things folks are calling a "down grade" aren't really a "down grade " at all. Let's take storage. How many books do you really need ( or even WANT) to have on your KIndle at any one time? The Amazon blurb claims it can hold 1400 books. Let's say they are off by a factor of two. Do you really need more than 700 books on your Kindle at any one time? Seriously? Lets consider battery life. Let's say the K$4 can only get a week of battery life, so that every Saturday night you have to plug it in before you go to bed. Is that really a problem, when you have to plug in your Android smartphone every night and your laptop every few hours? Unless you plan on going on safari in the Congo or hiking in New Guinea, a week's battery life should be quite enough. (According to Amazon's specs, the K4 will do better than that). For me, the big drawback would be the interface. The lack of the keyboard or the touch interface would make it a pain to navigate, IMO. There are a couple of users in the Kindle Forum who already have theirs and they saythey can navigate about fairly easily. I'm wondering if they would feel that way in a month's time. Still... $79.00. The cheap bastard who lives inside of me is sorely tempted!