Kindle vs Kindle Touch ?

bonjurkes · 04-23-2012, 05:36 PM

So hopefully I am planning to order one of the Kindle models tomorrow. Actually I was thinking of ordering Kindle Touch with ads for 99$. But I saw on amazon that there is Kindle (dunno the model) for 79$.

I really liked idea of using touch screen but as far as I read many people complain about the sluggish touch screen reaction and other stuff. So I am wondering should I buy Kindle or Kindle Touch?

PS: I read about the Kindle deal (30$ gift card) at Walmart on Friday. Is it a good idea to order Kindle from there instead of Amazon and use 30$ gift card for buying a nice cover?

edit, I think that 30$ gift card deal is only for normal Kindle not touch

And I think walmart doesn't sell Kindle online.

tomsem · 04-23-2012, 06:17 PM

I have not tried Kindle but like my Kindle Touch (especially since the 5.1 update). I like to use TTS sometimes and ability to type more quickly than Kindle allows using the 5way. Much easier to select text and navigate IMO. Xray too. PDF support is better as well (using new implementation rather than Adobe Reader tech, it supports PDF bookmarks & links). You get 2GB more storage, and ability to listen to audiobooks, MP3. I haven't had issues with performance myself.

Some people will like having page turn buttons, slightly lighter weight, ability to use water resistant covers (beach & bathtub reading).

bonjurkes · 04-23-2012, 06:20 PM

Okay, you made me remember why I preferred to buy Kindle Touch

So I think I don't have any luck about Walmart deal.

Skydog · 04-23-2012, 06:24 PM

I do not understand comments claiming the Kindle Touch is "sluggish." I find its response equal to, if not faster, than that of a K3/Keyboard, Kindle non-touch and DXG. The page refresh rate is fast, navigating, highlighting and searching is much quicker (and better, IMHO) as well. The "D-pad" on the Non-Touch is cumbersome.

jojoba · 04-24-2012, 01:36 AM

I had a Kindle non touch and recently sold it and got a Kindle Touch. The lack of a physical keyboard combined with the lack of touch screen totally annoyed me, I found it such a drag to type stuff. If I had ordered the keyboard version the first time around I would probably have kept it.

HarryT · 04-24-2012, 05:21 AM

The responsiveness of the Touch is excellent, in my experience. I've had one since November last year.

Casey57 · 04-24-2012, 08:51 AM

We own both the keyboard and Touch and I enjoy them pretty equally. If I had to make a decision today, I would probably go with the Touch because I rarely use the keyboard unless I am making a book purchase. The touch technology on the Kindle Touch works very well, IMHO. I have experienced no problems.

Pomtroll · 04-24-2012, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Casey57

We own both the keyboard and Touch and I enjoy them pretty equally. If I had to make a decision today, I would probably go with the Touch because I rarely use the keyboard unless I am making a book purchase. The touch technology on the Kindle Touch works very well, IMHO. I have experienced no problems.

Same here.

lioslaith · 04-24-2012, 12:27 PM

I use both as well, as a new Kindle Touch owner I will continue to enjoying both types of Kindle depending on how I feel and which one I want to use when I go to 'pick up' a book. So to say.

I found the reports of sluggishness untrue when I began to use my Kindle Touch at the weekend, maybe if it had been sluggish a software update fixed it prior to the UK release?

When my hands and wrists are particularly painful and stiff I hope that using the touchscreen will be easier than continually pressing physical buttons on my Kindle Keyboard version for me.

LovesMacs · 04-24-2012, 05:22 PM

I haven't used the Kindle non-Touch version but... the original Kindle Touch firmware was a little sluggish whenever you wanted to pull up a menu or turn a page. The sluggishness has been fixed in later firmware updates. The responsiveness is now quite fast and I can change pages just like tap, tap, tap.

I suggest going to a store with Kindles on display to see how they fit in your hand.

silasgreenback · 04-25-2012, 01:48 AM

I recently upgraded to a Kindle Touch and love it. Zero sluggishness, store navigation is twice as nice and typing is much easier.

Unrelated to OP's gift card mention but regarding gift cards nonetheless: if you buy an ad subsidized model, you can't pay for removal with a gift card - credit only, so that may be something worth considering if you don't want the entanglement of having a credit card tied to your account.

HarryT · 04-25-2012, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lioslaith

I found the reports of sluggishness untrue when I began to use my Kindle Touch at the weekend, maybe if it had been sluggish a software update fixed it prior to the UK release?

I don't believe so. I've had my Touch for about 5 months now and have never encountered any sluggishness in page turning.

nynaevelan · 04-25-2012, 11:44 AM

I had my Touch for 5 months also and I did experience the sluggishness, but this only seemed to happen when the indexing files accumulated. I did a lot of transferring and removing of books via Calibre and never used the kindle itself to remove books from the device. I think this threw the device for a loop because the index files were not being removed. Once I cleaned out my indexing folder and let it re-index (I did this once a month) the sluggishness went away. Though I did notice if I had more than 750 books on the device this affected the speed as well. When I say sluggishness, I am only referring to page changes, I rarely used the menu so I didn't pay much attention to the speed changes there.

I have since replaced my Touch with the K4 because my second Touch died on me. They both have pros and cons and I do not like one more than the other, though I will say overall the k4 works better for me because I can use Calibre to manage my collections, something I could not do with the Touch. But for individual collections adjustments and typing notes, I find the Touch much more user friendly, at least for this user. The keyboard on the k4 is not easy to use, luckily I do not type that many notes.

jbcohen · 04-25-2012, 12:01 PM

There has been some great debate here about the Kindle Touch, I want to cover a slightly different issue then the merits of the kindle vs the kindle touch, namely the price. I have found over the years if you see a tech product that you want to buy, imagine a reasonable price you want to pay for that product and wait, someone somewhere will eventually sell you that product for the price that you had in mind. However, be realistic don't set a price goal of $1.00 thats probably not realisitic.

The Kindle Touch is nice but I am not sure that I am willing to pay $100 for it. I will pay somewhere around $60 for the product. Now all I need to do is wait eventually I will get that price, may be a while but my current kindle three is working just fine so I am in no hurry.

tubemonkey · 04-25-2012, 01:04 PM

Another thing to consider in deciding between the K4 and KT is price.

For the price of one KT ($99), you can get two K4s. Starting Sunday at Walmart (in-store only), the K4 goes on sale for $49. You pay $79 and get a $30 gift card on the spot. You can then use that gift card immediately for other purchases; like groceries. I did just that last Feb when I bought a Kindle Fire for $149 ($199 + free $50 GC).

I'm thinking about picking up a couple of K4s for gifts.

04-23-2012, 05:36 PM	#1
bonjurkes Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 14052 Join Date: Apr 2012 Device: Kİndle Touch v5.3.2	Kindle vs Kindle Touch ? So hopefully I am planning to order one of the Kindle models tomorrow. Actually I was thinking of ordering Kindle Touch with ads for 99$. But I saw on amazon that there is Kindle (dunno the model) for 79$. I really liked idea of using touch screen but as far as I read many people complain about the sluggish touch screen reaction and other stuff. So I am wondering should I buy Kindle or Kindle Touch? PS: I read about the Kindle deal (30$ gift card) at Walmart on Friday. Is it a good idea to order Kindle from there instead of Amazon and use 30$ gift card for buying a nice cover? edit, I think that 30$ gift card deal is only for normal Kindle not touch And I think walmart doesn't sell Kindle online. Last edited by bonjurkes; 04-23-2012 at 05:56 PM.

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04-23-2012, 06:17 PM	#2
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,900 Karma: 27013865 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	I have not tried Kindle but like my Kindle Touch (especially since the 5.1 update). I like to use TTS sometimes and ability to type more quickly than Kindle allows using the 5way. Much easier to select text and navigate IMO. Xray too. PDF support is better as well (using new implementation rather than Adobe Reader tech, it supports PDF bookmarks & links). You get 2GB more storage, and ability to listen to audiobooks, MP3. I haven't had issues with performance myself. Some people will like having page turn buttons, slightly lighter weight, ability to use water resistant covers (beach & bathtub reading).

04-23-2012, 06:20 PM	#3
bonjurkes Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 14052 Join Date: Apr 2012 Device: Kİndle Touch v5.3.2	Okay, you made me remember why I preferred to buy Kindle Touch So I think I don't have any luck about Walmart deal.

04-23-2012, 06:24 PM	#4
Skydog Wizard Posts: 2,286 Karma: 7409537 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Circling Earth @ Mach .83 Device: Elipsa 2E, Sage, Libra Colour, Libra 2, Clara 2E, Oasis3, Voyage	I do not understand comments claiming the Kindle Touch is "sluggish." I find its response equal to, if not faster, than that of a K3/Keyboard, Kindle non-touch and DXG. The page refresh rate is fast, navigating, highlighting and searching is much quicker (and better, IMHO) as well. The "D-pad" on the Non-Touch is cumbersome.

04-24-2012, 01:36 AM	#5
jojoba Addict Posts: 277 Karma: 1039638 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Europe Device: Kindle Paperwhite, iPad 3gen, Cybook Odyssey FL HD	I had a Kindle non touch and recently sold it and got a Kindle Touch. The lack of a physical keyboard combined with the lack of touch screen totally annoyed me, I found it such a drag to type stuff. If I had ordered the keyboard version the first time around I would probably have kept it.

04-24-2012, 05:21 AM	#6
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	The responsiveness of the Touch is excellent, in my experience. I've had one since November last year.

04-24-2012, 08:51 AM	#7
Casey57 Connoisseur Posts: 65 Karma: 1000454 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Philly suburbs Device: Kindle 3/Kindle Fire/Kindle Touch/iPhone/iPod/iPad	We own both the keyboard and Touch and I enjoy them pretty equally. If I had to make a decision today, I would probably go with the Touch because I rarely use the keyboard unless I am making a book purchase. The touch technology on the Kindle Touch works very well, IMHO. I have experienced no problems.

04-24-2012, 12:27 PM	#9
lioslaith Zealot Posts: 145 Karma: 1000000 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Scotland, UK Device: Sony 505, Kindle, Kobo Vox/Glo, Nook	I use both as well, as a new Kindle Touch owner I will continue to enjoying both types of Kindle depending on how I feel and which one I want to use when I go to 'pick up' a book. So to say. I found the reports of sluggishness untrue when I began to use my Kindle Touch at the weekend, maybe if it had been sluggish a software update fixed it prior to the UK release? When my hands and wrists are particularly painful and stiff I hope that using the touchscreen will be easier than continually pressing physical buttons on my Kindle Keyboard version for me.

04-24-2012, 05:22 PM	#10
LovesMacs Fanatic Posts: 513 Karma: 2644386 Join Date: Apr 2012 Device: iPhone, Kindle Touch	I haven't used the Kindle non-Touch version but... the original Kindle Touch firmware was a little sluggish whenever you wanted to pull up a menu or turn a page. The sluggishness has been fixed in later firmware updates. The responsiveness is now quite fast and I can change pages just like tap, tap, tap. I suggest going to a store with Kindles on display to see how they fit in your hand.

04-25-2012, 01:48 AM	#11
silasgreenback New Leaf Turner Posts: 260 Karma: 1026664 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Hadestown Device: Kobo Glo	I recently upgraded to a Kindle Touch and love it. Zero sluggishness, store navigation is twice as nice and typing is much easier. Unrelated to OP's gift card mention but regarding gift cards nonetheless: if you buy an ad subsidized model, you can't pay for removal with a gift card - credit only, so that may be something worth considering if you don't want the entanglement of having a credit card tied to your account.

04-25-2012, 11:44 AM	#13
nynaevelan eBook Junkie Posts: 1,526 Karma: 1464018 Join Date: May 2010 Location: USA Device: Kindle Fire 2020, Kindle PW2	I had my Touch for 5 months also and I did experience the sluggishness, but this only seemed to happen when the indexing files accumulated. I did a lot of transferring and removing of books via Calibre and never used the kindle itself to remove books from the device. I think this threw the device for a loop because the index files were not being removed. Once I cleaned out my indexing folder and let it re-index (I did this once a month) the sluggishness went away. Though I did notice if I had more than 750 books on the device this affected the speed as well. When I say sluggishness, I am only referring to page changes, I rarely used the menu so I didn't pay much attention to the speed changes there. I have since replaced my Touch with the K4 because my second Touch died on me. They both have pros and cons and I do not like one more than the other, though I will say overall the k4 works better for me because I can use Calibre to manage my collections, something I could not do with the Touch. But for individual collections adjustments and typing notes, I find the Touch much more user friendly, at least for this user. The keyboard on the k4 is not easy to use, luckily I do not type that many notes.

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04-25-2012, 12:01 PM	#14
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,030 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Where am I? Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature edition and a Samsung S24 Ultra	There has been some great debate here about the Kindle Touch, I want to cover a slightly different issue then the merits of the kindle vs the kindle touch, namely the price. I have found over the years if you see a tech product that you want to buy, imagine a reasonable price you want to pay for that product and wait, someone somewhere will eventually sell you that product for the price that you had in mind. However, be realistic don't set a price goal of $1.00 thats probably not realisitic. The Kindle Touch is nice but I am not sure that I am willing to pay $100 for it. I will pay somewhere around $60 for the product. Now all I need to do is wait eventually I will get that price, may be a while but my current kindle three is working just fine so I am in no hurry.

04-25-2012, 01:04 PM	#15
tubemonkey monkey on the fringe Posts: 45,746 Karma: 158575914 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Seattle Metro Device: Moto E6, Echo Show	Another thing to consider in deciding between the K4 and KT is price. For the price of one KT ($99), you can get two K4s. Starting Sunday at Walmart (in-store only), the K4 goes on sale for $49. You pay $79 and get a $30 gift card on the spot. You can then use that gift card immediately for other purchases; like groceries. I did just that last Feb when I bought a Kindle Fire for $149 ($199 + free $50 GC). I'm thinking about picking up a couple of K4s for gifts.