same screen quality….why upgrade?

[ucfgrad93]

Originally Posted by Synergi

The only thing making me consider upgrading to a Touch is the new interface. I don't know about you all, but I hate the pages and pages of lists on the K3. It looks like the KTouch can display your books covers on screen and I prefer that better.

I don't think that the new Kindles will display book covers on the home screen. The pictures below were taken from Amazon's website. The one with the book covers had a caption under it that says "Shop the Kindle store direct from your device." The other picture has a caption that says, "Home screen with special offer examples."

[Barty]

Originally Posted by Synergi

The only thing making me consider upgrading to a Touch is the new interface. I don't know about you all, but I hate the pages and pages of lists on the K3. It looks like the KTouch can display your books covers on screen and I prefer that better.

Sorry, no. You're looking at the book shopping screen. The home screen still looks the same (text list).

[Synergi]

Originally Posted by Barty

Sorry, no. You're looking at the book shopping screen. The home screen still looks the same (text list).

Ahhh well there went my only reason to upgrade lol. I do like bookshelf on Fire.. I don't like the home screen where it shows your most recent item. What if its something I don't want anyone to see.. not that I read anything bad but still.. I can see it now.. you read twilight.. ewww..

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by Zeebra

Faster processor, smaller overall size and it's lighter. Removing the keyboard makes it even more like a paperback novel in size. Some people really like that.

I find reading on my Nook Touch more 'immersive' and more like a 'real book'. No buttons and keyboard to remind you that it is a computer (well, NT has buttons but they don't look like buttons). Smaller/lighter is good too, given that the screen size is the same: it fits in more pockets and purses. I'd prefer a slightly larger screen with more resolution (trade paperback size) but apparently that is not where demand is right now.

[TheLost]

The new kindle is faster then the K3... 533Mhz vs 800Mhz.

The screen refresh has changed. It doesn't black out as much and refreshes faster.

The screen actually looks better. Look at some of the side-by-side images people have posted in other screens and you'll see there is less glare. Some people agree the screen has better contrast / grey scale.

Doing a side/by/side with my K3 and K4.. If i was a betting man i'd say they used a different screen. It does appear to be nicer.

I don't like the keyboard... i've never used it. It took me 5 seconds to get my K4 on my WiFi network using the selector buttons. I'll never use the 'on screen' keyboard again.

I like the case better then the K3. The pictures online don't do it justice, you need to hold it in your hands. It has a very soft feel to the back.

I personally like the buttons on the side... If i want to touch something i'll grab my iPad.

@ $79 for me its a no brainier to upgrade.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

They are not treating the K3 as a previous Kindle.

Amazon has never numbered their Kindles. The users have called them K1 -K4. Right now Amazon is selling the Kindle Touch and the Kindle Keyboard.

Well, they definitely number the firmware versions, e.g. 1.x/2.x/3.x/4.x...

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by tomsem

I find reading on my Nook Touch more 'immersive' and more like a 'real book'. No buttons and keyboard to remind you that it is a computer (well, NT has buttons but they don't look like buttons). Smaller/lighter is good too, given that the screen size is the same: it fits in more pockets and purses. I'd prefer a slightly larger screen with more resolution (trade paperback size) but apparently that is not where demand is right now.

The nook touch would probably be my choice except for the weird storage reservations (only a tiny portion available for non-B&N purchased content). But that can easily be circumvented with SD cards. Touch plus page turn buttons... just as nature intended.

But I still don't like the tinyness of any of the new readers that have eliminated the physical keyboard. My hand shouldn't be bigger than the device.

[marcosv]

If I didn't just order the Kindle Fire, I would buy the touch version only to be able to quickly punch in a page number to jump to. The missing number keys on the K3 really hurts how I like to navigate within an ebook.

[gweminence]

The new versions have a better processor. Page turns and loading will be faster.

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by tomsem

Well, they definitely number the firmware versions, e.g. 1.x/2.x/3.x/4.x...

True but they don't advertise them as a K1, K2, K3, or K4. They are all just Kindles.

There was never a Kindle Classic on the website. So while the numbering of firmware indicates that they know that there are differences, they don't market or advertise as if there are differences.

[bhartman36]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

True but they don't advertise them as a K1, K2, K3, or K4. They are all just Kindles.

There was never a Kindle Classic on the website. So while the numbering of firmware indicates that they know that there are differences, they don't market or advertise as if there are differences.

No, but my original point was that they don't normally continue to sell/support old versions, either. This does seem to have changed now, though. I see on the site they still have the K3 (which they're now calling the "Kindle Keyboard") alongside the Touch and non-touch K4's. Do I expect that to last? I'm not sure. If they see a lot of support for the keyboard version, it might. But they're not exactly pricing the K3 aggressively. The Kindle Touch 3G will cost you just $10 more than the K3 3G. To me, that means two things:

1) They still believe there's a sizeable portion of people who want a keyboard.

2) Whatever differences in the screens people perceive might not be real. It would be strange to me if they were charging virtually the same price for screens with different technologies.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by bhartman36

2) Whatever differences in the screens people perceive might not be real. It would be strange to me if they were charging virtually the same price for screens with different technologies.

There is no different technology. All these screens come from eInk in Taiwan. The identically same screen is used in all these different 6" devices: Kindles, Nook, Kobo, Sony, etc.

[Stingo]

Originally Posted by HarryT

There is no different technology. All these screens come from eInk in Taiwan. The identically same screen is used in all these different 6" devices: Kindles, Nook, Kobo, Sony, etc.

That said, although the screen may be the same, the optimization and overlay may be different. Also, the font rendering may be different. I have held a Nook Touch side by side with a K3 and the K3 has clearly sharper letters and slightly better contrast.

[Sydney's Mom]

I put my K4 beside my K3, and I am darned if I can notice a difference But I'm glad I got it because I never used the keyboard anyway. Now it is the size of a paperback book, but a lot thinner (remember some of those Stephen King pbs?). I'm setting up categories and moving books - I love getting new electronics! What a Friday night!

[bhartman36]

Originally Posted by Stingo

That said, although the screen may be the same, the optimization and overlay may be different. Also, the font rendering may be different. I have held a Nook Touch side by side with a K3 and the K3 has clearly sharper letters and slightly better contrast.

In the one shot I've seen on here that seems to show a difference, to my eye, the difference is in the font sizes. The K4 font appeared to be bolded. It could be (and this is rank speculation on my part) that the font sizes are calibrated differently somehow. The newer Kindle didn't seem like it was higher contrast. The font just looked bolded to me.