E-Book fans have never been allowed to be spoilt for choice on choosing a glamorous device. In this world of consumer gadgets, the ebooks are considerably less shiny than the latest set of smartphones and are less powerful than even the lowest end laptops, and is also not as aesthetically appealing as a cute new television set. However, this edition of the Amazon Kindle 3G looks to change this to a certain level by bringing them out of the shadows. The first thing you should know about the "Kindle 3" is that it is more evolutionary than revolutionary. Read on to find out if this is the Kindle you were aspiring to get.

Design:

Makeover:

Talking purely in aesthetic terms, the Kindle 3G eBook Reader has had a radical makeover from Amazon, but we can also assure you the news is all positives with no major glitches. This model has been significantly toned down, and has its dimensions to be at (H x W x D) 190 x123 x 8.5 mm. By just having it in your hand, you can tell that it is less than a centimetre thick, and weighs just 241grams; it is certainly a very portable piece of technology. By just looking at the initial specification released by Amazon, we were quite worried that the Kindle 3G would feel cheap and plasticky, but gladly, that is certainly not the case. It is now more of a attractive dark graphite finishing in place of the off-white, the whole feel of the design is more grown up, more mature, and also less filthy. Now, the Kindle 3G is also available in white finishing. Overall, the built quality is very satisfactory.

QWERTY Keyboard:

The only design feature, that might irk not just us, but everybody were the miniature keys. Amazon has managed to employ a complete QWERTY keyboard on this Kindle 3G Wireless Reading Device, which is necessary because disparate to some other e-book readers, like the Sony Reader Touch PRS-650, there is no touchscreen available in this one. As you can clearly see, these buttons are a little on the small side, and even feel quite stiff. But, do not panic, it is very very far from being a deal breaker, but we are trying to say that we have reviewed much more comfortable miniature keyboards. If you have already got a Kindle, or know someone who has, you will know that you probably will not do that much typing on the keyboard anyway, unless you are a huge note taker. It is really just to make searching and menu selection easier.

Other controls:

Apart from the 26 letter keys on the QWERTY keyboard, there is also a five-way directional pad for you to navigate through the menus and making selections. The D-pad has moved from the edge to the main keyboard area. The other minor controls include Home, Back and Menu keys, and a dedicated font size switching button; a very useful inclusion indeed. As with previous Kindles, there are two page forward and back buttons on each side of the display, which allows you to flick to the next page irrespective of how you are holding the device. This is a very handy feature, and brings the Kindle a step closer to that tactile 'read it any way you like' experience that users get reclining on their favourite couch or their adored paperback.

Other tech to note is a USB 2.0  interface (micro-B connector) for connection to the Kindle UK power adapter, or optionally to connect to the PC or Macintosh computer, and a 3.5mm stereo audio jack and rear-mounted stereo speakers.

Features:

Storage:

There is approximately 3GB of storage available for storing all your content and there is heaps of space to fill too. Amazon says you will be able squeeze about 3,500 books on to the Kindle 3G, and we too stick to that. You could also choose to fill up that storage with music, PDF files, podcasts, and any of the other of Kindle’s supported file formats such as Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), MP3, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; Kindle (AZW), PNG, BMP TXT, PDF, JPEG, GIF, HTML, DOC, through conversion. You can play MP3s by pressing Alt + Spacebar, and use Alt + F to skip track.

E Ink Pearl Technology:

Moving on to the display, it is a grayscale beauty that measures 6” on the diagonal, optimised with proprietary font technology and waveform and offering a 600x800 pixel resolution in 167 ppi. You will also get the 16 level grey scale colouring. The E Ink Pearl technology used in the Kindle 3G essentially burns a picture on to the screen, by applying a charge to negatively and positively charged black and white particles. So, you might ask what are the advantages of the Kindle using E Ink, well, there are numerous. To begin with, it just consumes on its rechargeable batteries when a page is turned as it refreshes the display; this means battery life on E Ink devices is simply splendid. Amazon has specified that the Kindle 3G will last for a month off a single charge; and we do not doubt it either. However, as you can imagine, you will end up eating off the battery faster if you make frequent use of the 3G services on board.

Easy on your eyes:

That is just the first boon, moving on; the E Ink is extremely easy on the eyes. Staring at a bright LCD screen like the ones of the iPad for extended periods can result in eyestrain, but the paper-like E-Ink display is considerably easier on your eyes to stare at for extended periods. Finally, you will also be able to read it in direct sunlight, something that is not possible on many displays. To put it bluntly, the Kindle 3G's display looks fantastic. The E Ink Pearl offers an evidently higher contrast sandwiched between the whites and blacks on the page. Amazon claims the new screen is 50 per cent better in contrast than any other ebook reader. That does not mean you are going to get a book feel with cream pages, just that it will be easier to read. Text is rendered with a remarkable clarity, and perhaps the greatest praise we can give this display is that, after a short while you will stop thinking about it or noticing it, and just focus on the words themselves. Flipping the pages is amazingly swift, so if you are just captivated by the story, you will certainly not find the brief flashing display too intrusive.

Pre-loaded Dictionary:

A feature that is quite handy is that, this Amazon Kindle 3G ebook reader has been equipped with a dictionary that has been pre-loaded. For instance, while reading, if you come across an unknown word, you can point your pointer at it using the five way navigation pad, and a dictionary definition pops up.

3G Support:

The best feature of the Amazon Kindle 3G eReader is its support for 3G itself. There is also a Wi-Fi only version that is cheaper, but if you can stretch to the budget, we would only recommend this version of the model. The approach is identical to Apple's iPad offering from a connectivity standpoint, however that is where the similarity ends. With the help of Amazon's own Whispernet network, it is possible to purchase books online and have them downloaded to your device in moments, from just about anywhere. Powered in the UK by Vodafone and AT&T in the US, it means you can download a book whether you are on the beach or at the airport. This service does not have any kind of monthly subscription fees, and it extends itself to partner networks that are outside the United Kingdom.

This service allows you to potentially download the latest top selling and other books on holiday. Of course, as you can expect from Amazon, the service is simply a brilliant one, and crucially makes downloading new books almost hassle-free. It will be perfect for you if you travel often, or hate dealing around with PC syncing and stuff like that. If you are in need for a faster connection, there is Wi-Fi also on board. Connecting to Wi-Fi networks is very simple.

Browsing:

Amazon has employed a rudimentary Web browser on board, but we would not heartily recommend using it for any serious surfing, as the sluggish, monochrome display and plodding navigation will swiftly deprive you of your higher mental faculties. Cruising through the Kindle itself might feel little clunky at-times, but we never seemed to go through much trouble as most part of the menu layout is intuitive, and finding the item you want is never too mystifying.

Reading:

When it comes to reading books or documents, the Kindle 3G is well fixed for that with the software being the same as before. That means you get all the bells and whistles you would expect, including bookmarking, social interaction options and the ability to access your centrally stored books on other Amazon Kindle apps, currently the iPad, iPhone, Android, Mac and PC desktops. It is a strong package to go with some strong performing hardware.

Format Hassle:

We have been too nice to Amazon Kindle 3G so far, as there is a great deal to like about this device. But, there is one major bane on choosing the Kindle 3G over other e-book readers; to be very precise and simple, DRM. Most e-book readers support the popular, open EPUB file format that use the extension .epub, which is offered by many online e-book stores. The Kindle does not support this format, and it is a no brainer that Amazon has opted to use its proprietary .azw file. So, unless you are ready to do an awful lot of fiddling around with file conversion, you are more or less tied to Amazon's own bookstore when it comes to adding to your personal library. However, this cannot be a big deal as long as you can always find the book you want on Amazon, which is mostly the case. We tested on our part and found all the books we searched for on there, from mainstream fiction to more ambiguous science fiction. Nonetheless, we are disenchanted in Amazon for not offering support for the currently-most popular open file format.

Cheaper:

There is no doubt in the fact that the Amazon Kindle is the most popular ebook reader in the United Kingdom, dominating the market and in the process selling not just thousands, but millions. The device brings great technical news to the United Kindom for a humble sum of just £149. You can also get a Wi-Fi only model for just £109. Amazon also offers a matching leather case for the device with a clever light on it, and tries its luck by putting a £50 price tag over it. At the first glance, this casing will make people think that you are carrying a Moleskine rather than the latest gadget. This is an e-book that does not want to stand out in the crowd.

Warranty:

Amazon offers its Kindle 3G one year warranty for parts and labour.

Verdict:

Thanks to the addition of 3G, a clearer display, a lower price and a winning redesign, the Amazon Kindle 3G proves to be a heart winner. If those DRM restrictions sound like a pain to you though, check out the Sony Reader Touch Edition PRS-600, which offers memory-card slots and also support for multiple file formats.

Amazon Kindle 3G Digital Reader - Technical Specification Table

Manufacturer	Amazon
Model Name	Amazon Kindle 3G
Colour	Dark Graphite and White
Dimensions (H x W x D)	190 x 123 x 9 mm
Weight	233.0
Display technology	E Ink Pearl Technology
Screen size	6 inch
Display resolution	600 x 800 pixel
Grey scale	Sixteen level grey scale
Built in memory	4GB (3GB available to user)
Memory slots	NA
Features	Wireless eBooks supplied Bookmarking Bookmark multiple books Newspapers Magazines Dictionary Interactive dictionary Annotations Annotations transfer to PC Picture viewer MP3 / audio playback Text to speech
Connectivity	3G and WiFi
Compatible formats	AZW, AZW1 [1] MOBI, PRC (Mobipocket) PDF TXT also DOC, DOCX, HTML, HTM, RTF, ZIP can be converted for the Kindle
Image formats Supported	JPEG, GIF, BMP, PNG
Audio output	Speakers
Compatible Operating systems	PC and Mac
Ports	Headphone socket and USB
Power	Mains, USB
Battery life on single charge	One month
Warranty	Limited one year warranty