In my view, the Kindle is both the best and most frustrating product Amazon has made.And that's why I no longer recommend new ones.If you already own one, there's a good chance that it's got years more life in it.
And if you don't, buying a new Kindle is often the least best option.The hardware barely changes from one year to the next Reading is reading, after all Kindles age better than pretty much any other major tech gadget you can buy.If you own a Kindle that works, you won't need to upgrade it until it stops working.
Sure, some of them fail, but many users can continue using the same Kindle for a decade or more until the battery eventually gives out.A typical e-ink display is good for 90 million page refreshes.Even the most avid reader will struggle to wear it out.
The most obvious reason not to buy a new Kindle is that you don't need it.It's not like a phone or TV, where a newer device brings a newer and upgraded experience.New Kindles hardly change year-on-year.
And why would they? Reading is reading.What new features could even be introduced to improve on it? The mainstream Kindles bring improved backlighting and slightly longer battery life, and e-ink technology has gotten better since the early days.But these are only incremental improvements, and they don't have a real, practical effect on how you use the device.
Faster page turns look nice, but they're hardly a game-changer.The models that do have more eye-catching features, meanwhile, like a color screen on the Kindle Colorsoft or pen support on the Kindle Scribe, are more niche and offer little extra value to anyone who only reads books.What's more, some of these more powerful models are not even guaranteed to match their cheaper and older alternatives in terms of features.
It took two years before the Colorsoft was updated to support the same dark mode that even the cheapest Kindle has had for some time.Older Kindles still work perfectly (until they don't) Amazon effectively acknowledged all of this when it recently cut off support for Kindles made in 2012 or earlier, a move that is reported to make as many as two million devices obsolete.That's a lot of people who had never felt the need to upgrade, but will now have little choice if they want to continue using Amazon's book store.
But even then, you don't have to buy new.In my experience, Kindles are some of the most reliable devices to buy refurbished.There's very little that can break or wear out, and even minor blemishes can be covered up easily with a cover.
Ebay is packed with Kindles going cheap, not just from people who have upgraded but also from people who gave up reading and barely used their devices.You can often pick up an older model for little more than $20 or $30.The software is making the experience worse And you get further tied into the ecosystem It's easy to forget when you use a device every day, but all of Amazon's hardware is designed to sell you things.
In the case of a Kindle, it's a constant barrage of book recommendations, some more relevant than others, along with invitations to subscribe to Prime and Kindle Unlimited, or even Audible.I try to resist this as much as possible.I get plenty of eBooks from places other than Amazon and convert them in Calibre before sending them to my Kindle.
I even set up external storage on my Fire Stick, so I'm not stuck with using Amazon's store.But each time you buy a new device, it represents another step deeper into Amazon's ecosystem.That decision to cut off support for older devices is a timely reminder that we don't actually own any of the digital content we pay for, and we can lose access to it at any time and for any reason.
You can jailbreak a Kindle to make it more open, but this isn't for everyone, and Amazon tends to shut down jailbreaking methods with its software updates.If you don't want to be tied to Amazon, a better option is not to buy a Kindle at all.Kobo Clara BW Screen 6” E Ink Carta 1300 HD touchscreen Resolution 300PPI The Kobo Clara BW offers an Amazon-free reading experience in an affordable 6-inch package.
It features a high-quality E Ink Carta 1300 HD touchscreen and a waterproof design, making it one of the most competent eReaders available at this price.$140 at Amazon $140 at Rakuten Expand Collapse The alternatives are getting better Some are better than a Kindle Kindles have long been the default option for anyone buying an eReader.But it shouldn't be anymore.
There's a lot of competition out there, with devices that rival or even surpass what Amazon has to offer.Deals Shop Smart Home & Gadgets Deals for eReader Savings Explore Smart Home & Gadgets deals for big savings on e-reader tech and accessories.Compare discounts on refurbished e-ink readers, protective covers, chargers, and reading lights to extend device life and cut replacement costs.
Deals Explore Smart Home & Gadgets Deals The Kobo Clara BW is a solid Kindle-like choice that's a lot more customizable.You can install the KOReader app to open up a host of extra features, stores, and file formats.There are also some good options in Barnes and Noble's Nook range, and for ultimate functionality, you could choose an Android-powered Boox eReader.
The biggest advantage of many Kindle alternatives is that they give you more control over where you buy books.Kobo supports EPUB natively, and Boox devices can run multiple reading apps.Neither company dominates the ebook market in the way Amazon does.
A new Kindle is a tough recommendation for me.The irony is that a Kindle from five years ago is often almost as good as one released today, and that’s what makes them so difficult to justify.
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