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Amazon Kindle 4

Based on 38 reviews

Excellent:

20
Good:

11
Average:

5
Bad:

2

Pros

Affordable.
Sleek and light.
Well-placed page-turn buttons.
File conversions by e-mail.
Cloud-based storage of notes and page location.
Significantly smaller and lighter than before.
High-contrast screen.
Kindle Store is fun to browse and is packed with books, lists, and customer reviews.
Hardware is lighter, snappier and all around improved.
Ads in the “special offers” versions only appear in the home screen and screensavers, never in the book.

Cons

Low price means you'll see ads.
Lacks touch input, memory-card slots, or audio playback.
Virtual keyboard is tiring to use.
AC adapter costs extra.
Meager font choices.
Still no ePub support.
Typing is torture.
Power switch is now a button, not a slider, and easier to trigger when you don’t want to.
Screen can get scuffed if you carry it everywhere, necessitating an accessory cover or sleeve.
Navigation not a joy without touchscreen or keyboard.

By Computer Shopper on November 20, 2012

The cheapest major-bookstore e-reader, the 2012 basic Kindle is a serviceable model for the budget-strapped, but it lacks a physical keyboard or touch-sensitive display, so typing and searching on it is awkward....

60
By PC Mag on November 20, 2012

The $69 base version of the Amazon Kindle is even better than before, thanks to a price drop and a slightly improved...

80
By PC Authority on February 13, 2012

The new Amazon Kindle is faster, slimmer and lighter than before, and it's cheaper too. Read our review....

83
By PC Pro on December 23, 2011

The new Kindle is faster, slimmer and lighter than before, and it’s cheaper too. Amazon has a new winner on its hands...

83
By TopTenREVIEWS on December 09, 2011

The Kindle is a perfectly simple, no-frills device for reading...

100
By CNET Australia on December 01, 2011

It used to be that the Kobo was the cheap, no-frills option, but, due to its price and feature set, the new Amazon Kindle has taken its...

79
By Computer Shopper on November 23, 2011

The cheapest on-ramp to Amazon's vast pool of content, this $79 Kindle is a light, well-made device for the money. To save a few bucks versus the competition, though, you'll have to tolerate this e-reader's awkward onscreen keyboard, lack of...

60
By DigitalVersus on November 18, 2011

The fourth-generation Kindle from Amazon has several advantages that make it one of the best e-book readers available. It's slim and light, has WiFi for downloading content and comes with a faster display. The disappointing lack of a touchscreen...

100
By Computeractive on November 11, 2011

The Kindle is well made, easy to carry and still the best ebook reader available...

100
By Ars Technica on November 03, 2011

I tend to judge the popularity of electronic devices on how often I see them in the subway or airport. By that standard, the first couple generations of Kindle were slowly gaining in popularity over the course of several years, but never really went...

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