Is it worth replacing your Kindle 3 for a 4?

[Zeebra]

Originally Posted by max99

this is what i've been trying to point out to folks all along, the K4 non-touch isn't an upgrade in any sense whatsoever, it's a stripped down yellow label device for the mass market. you have to be crazy to swap your K3 for this device.

let's looks at the facts as they're emerging, the K4 non-touch has the following:

1. Half the SD storage space of K3
2. Half the RAM of K3 (only 128MB)
3. Half the battery life of K3 (!!! why?)
4. Cheaper grade pearl eink screen (reported by tom's hardware)
5. No keyboard!

the raison d'être of this device is to be the cheapest ereader possible with a sub $100 price point.

I take exception with your fact #4 -- "cheaper grade pearl eink screen". This is false.

"No keyboard" -- some people consider this a plus, including myself. I never used the keyboard on my old kindle, so why did I need one?

Another fact you missed:
The new kindle has a faster processor than the kindle keyboard. This makes book loading, searching, dictionary definitions all come up faster. This is an upgrade.

[mrsquash]

Originally Posted by tomsem

Can you take a screenshot with K4? will there be a way to do it on KT?

tomsem,

In the Tom's Hardware review linked to in posts #42 and #63, the reviewer says that you can take a screenshot with a K4 by holding down the Keyboard and Menu buttons at the same time. I don't have one to test with, though.

[Zeebra]

Originally Posted by mrsquash

tomsem,

In the Tom's Hardware review linked to in posts #42 and #63, the reviewer says that you can take a screenshot with a K4 by holding down the Keyboard and Menu buttons at the same time. I don't have one to test with, though.

Yes the screenshot works. We also have a thread for new kindle shortcut tips here:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=152104

[markdek]

"Faster" is an upgrade on an eReader?..........hum, just what are you doing w/ that reader...lol

Tom's Hardware in fact indicates is may be a poorer screen. Argue w/ them.

Some people like keyboards...there are a lot of Blackberry, etc. phones out there w/ keyboards. It's nice to use the keyboard for shortcuts, like bookmarks, notes, etc. And the keyboard worked nicely w/ the soon to be gone free 3g internet browsering (for email, weather, maps, blogs, etc.).

Actually, I think all the Kindles are nice, and have their place...but me thinks I'll miss the Kindle 3 when it's discontinued (at the end of 2011?).

.

[Zeebra]

Originally Posted by markdek

"Faster" is an upgrade on an eReader?..........hum, just what are you doing w/ that reader...lol

Tom's Hardware in fact indicates is may be a poorer screen. Argue w/ them.

Some people like keyboards...there are a lot of Blackberry, etc. phones out there w/ keyboards. It's nice to use the keyboard for shortcuts, like bookmarks, notes, etc. And the keyboard worked nicely w/ the soon to be gone free 3g internet browsering (for email, weather, maps, blogs, etc.).

Actually, I think all the Kindles are nice, and have their place...but me thinks I'll miss the Kindle 3 when it's discontinued (at the end of 2011?).

.

Faster is an upgrade when you take into consideration searching and looking up dictionary definitions. The pop-up screen for the definitions comes up much quicker on the new Kindle than the previous.

Their are technical downgrades to this Kindle, but that doesn't mean it's an inferior product for the average user.

Take storage for example, the new Kindle has half the storage of the Kindle Keyboard. That sounds significant, but it's only a factor if you plan on loading up the Kindle with thousands of books, something which most users aren't going to do. I don't even have 50 books on my Kindle at the moment, so the extra storage on the Kindle Keyboard is a non-factor for me.

Less internal ram? OK, if you're a hacker and want to apply a bunch of different Kindle hacks then that would be an issue. Again, for the average user it isn't.

No keyboard? Like i've said previously, in a year of use I used the keyboard a handful of times -- I don't miss it. The smaller size of the Kindle is the selling point for me, this new Kindle fits nicely in my pocket, the Kindle Keyboard doesn't.

The other missing feature is audio. If you use the audio feature then it's a downgrade, if you don't then it's a moot point. Why have an audio feature you never plan to use? Like the keyboard, I never used audio. Many users are the same as myself. My entire family -- wife, brother, 2 sisters all have Kindles, and none of them use audio.

So in the end, calling someone "crazy" for switching their Kindle keyboard for a Kindle doesn't make sense when each individual user justifies their own purchases. For myself, the new Kindle is far better than the Kindle keyboard for the reasons i've outlined. I never used the extra features the Keyboard version has, and the extra size that it made the Kindle was a hindrance to me. Many users are in the same boat as myself and would consider the new Kindle an upgrade.

There's no right or wrong answer here, for some people the new Kindle is better, for others the Keyboard version is better.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Zeebra

Take storage for example, the new Kindle has half the storage of the Kindle Keyboard. That sounds significant, but it's only a factor if you plan on loading up the Kindle with thousands of books, something which most users aren't going to do. I don't even have 50 books on my Kindle at the moment, so the extra storage on the Kindle Keyboard is a non-factor for me.

For the sake of accuracy, it only has 38% of the amount of storage space: 1.25GB vs. 3.25GB.

But I agree with you; I currently have 650 books on my Kindle 3, many of them large omnibus editions, and I'm using a little less than 1GB of storage for them. Realistically speaking, the amount of storage is not going to be an issue for the vast majority of users.

[Zeebra]

Originally Posted by HarryT

For the sake of accuracy, it only has 38% of the amount of storage space: 1.25GB vs. 3.25GB.

But I agree with you; I currently have 650 books on my Kindle 3, many of them large omnibus editions, and I'm using a little less than 1GB of storage for them. Realistically speaking, the amount of storage is not going to be an issue for the vast majority of users.

I stand corrected, I never actually looked into the storage specs, I just took many reviews as gospel when they say "about half the storage".

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Zeebra

I stand corrected, I never actually looked into the storage specs, I just took many reviews as gospel when they say "about half the storage".

It does have half the amount of memory: 2GB vs. 4GB. But since the operating system uses 0.75GB in each case, it's proportionally more out of 2GB than it is out of 4GB.

[max99]

Originally Posted by Zeebra

Faster is an upgrade when you take into consideration searching and looking up dictionary definitions. The pop-up screen for the definitions comes up much quicker on the new Kindle than the previous.

Less internal ram? OK, if you're a hacker and want to apply a bunch of different Kindle hacks then that would be an issue. Again, for the average user it isn't.

half the RAM will make no difference in you estimation? i have my reservations.

[Zeebra]

Originally Posted by max99

half the RAM will make no difference in you estimation? i have my reservations.

You may have your reservations, I actually have the new Kindle side by side with the Kindle Keyboard. My new Kindle does everything faster than the Kindle Keyboard, why exactly should I be concerned with less RAM?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by max99

half the RAM will make no difference in you estimation? i have my reservations.

What difference do you think that it will make?

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by Zeebra

You may have your reservations, I actually have the new Kindle side by side with the Kindle Keyboard. My new Kindle does everything faster than the Kindle Keyboard, why exactly should I be concerned with less RAM?

You are using facts to refute prejudice.

That is cheating.

[Simca]

The only thing that worries me on the Kindle 4 is the halved battery life. I -hate- the keyboard on the Kindle 3, I couldn't care less about audio/internet browsing/etc, and the storage space is silly when I only store like 5 ebooks at a time anyway because I manage my collection with Calibre.

However, if the battery life is halved... :<

I love laying on my bed for hours reading and not having to worry about charging it every night. It may be quite annoying to get into that habit. I may go for it though. I really don't like the Special Offers (it was a gift), and I've heard you can pay an extra $30 to turn them off on the K4.

[JSWolf]

In my opinion, there is no reason to replace a K3 with a K4 unless you want a K4 with the touch screen. The non-touch will be harder to use and the keyboard model is no better.

[shinew]

Originally Posted by Simca

The only thing that worries me on the Kindle 4 is the halved battery life. I -hate- the keyboard on the Kindle 3, I couldn't care less about audio/internet browsing/etc, and the storage space is silly when I only store like 5 ebooks at a time anyway because I manage my collection with Calibre.

However, if the battery life is halved... :<

I love laying on my bed for hours reading and not having to worry about charging it every night. It may be quite annoying to get into that habit. I may go for it though. I really don't like the Special Offers (it was a gift), and I've heard you can pay an extra $30 to turn them off on the K4.

Do you need to charge your k3 every 2 days to keep reading? If not, then you don't need to worry about charging the K4 every night.

i wouldn't worry about the battery life on the K4, nor the halved memory. 2 months battery life vs 1 month, 1400 books vs 3000 books... once those specs get past certain bench mark, they matter more on paper than in real life usage.