Amazon Kindle Touch – First Impressions
First impressions? Wow, this is what the Kindle should always have been. No more stupid toggle bars and irksome little keyboard buttons! Complete control via touchscreen, and it is fantastic. I think that had I not been using Apple’s touchscreen technology for several years now on my various iPhones and iPads, I might have found this somewhat less easy to use, but within seconds, I was up and running with the Kindle Touch model I just received, and delighted at how well the touchscreen works. It is pretty responsive. It makes using The Lutheran Study Bible, as shown in the photo, a real breeze. Frankly, I hated trying to navigate heavily annotated documents before on the Kindle, the little joystick thing followed by the little trackpad thing, was a real pain. The screen looks a bit brighter than the previous model, and it is more compact, sleek and easy to hold.
I opted for the Touch model without advertising and with 3G. I found that I really missed the convenience of having a connection wherever there is/was cell phone service on my previous Kindle. And since there are no service charges or ongoing fees when you get 3G, you effectively are buying unlimited wireless internet. Of course it also comes with WiFi, which makes downloading a lot faster.
So, the Touch was everything I was hopeful it was going to be when I first read about it.
I highly recommend it!
My concern with a touch screen has always been that the way I hold my Kindle, I usually have my thumb over some part of the display area while I’m reading. Have they accounted for this somehow, or will I be forced to keep my thumbs off the display area?
You probably put your thumbs on the screen so as to avoid hitting the toggle bars! Beyond that, I have no opinion about your thumbs or where you would/could/should put them when you hold the Kindle.
I’ve heard some complaints that the touch screen was not as responsive as the iPad/iPhone — do you find that’s true?
The complaint is based on the assumption that the Kindle has the processing power of an iPad or iPhone, and that is not the case. It is plenty responsive though, as much as, if not better, than the former versions without touch screen.
Quick comment–
I have the Kindle Touch Wi-Fi & 3G with sponsored/special offers encased in a brown genuine leather 3-position easel-style case from i-Blason. Since I did not have much experience with Apple touch devices, it was not as easy for me to work with the Kindle Touch in the beginning. It’s getting better now.
Last week, it seemed it would not go to the Kindle Store (“application could not be accessed”) and would get very slow. It was frustrating, and then while dealing with it, suddenly a message appeared on the screen saying an update was being applied to make the Kindle Touch experience smoother (mine was turned on for wireless). It quickly installed and now it is working great.
I think both the Kindle Touch and Kindle Keyboard have their strengths and weaknesses with somewhat different ways of accessing various features and menus. That was the learning curve for me. I hope the Kindle Keyboard does not get phased out since it is useful for those with disabilities, including those with poor motor abilities, the blind and others, and for others who just prefer the keyboard. I like both versions of the Kindle for various reasons and will carry both at times.
Agreed, The Lutheran Study Bible is quicker and easier to access on the Kindle Touch for various features including footnotes, study notes, and other goodies!
If I get a kindle anytime soon, it’s definitely going to be the Touch. I don’t mind the Special offers (and you can always pay the difference later on to make the Special Offers go away), but I haven’t made up my mind about WiFi only vs the 3G mode. Didn’t they say that web browsing would not be supported on 3G?
I know that you could surf on previous kindles with 3G, but I thought they said that was going away with the new models (though you CAN still surf the web over WiFi). So about the only thing that 3G would give you is access to the kindle store over 3G and little else. Could someone clarify this for me?
I realized that as an iPod Touch (3rd generation – no camera) owner, I had no need for kindle fire, but I’d love to have an eInk reader, and I think the kindle touch would fit the bill perfectly for me.
Thanks for reviewing your new kindle Touch, Pastor McCain!
The Kindle Touch allows access to Amazon.com and Wikipedia only via 3G. If you try to go elsewhere, it will show a message saying that it can be accessed via wi-fi.
3G on Amazon.com and Wikipedia is much better on the Kindle Touch–faster and more accessable with easier use of article mode.
As for wi-fi browsing on the Internet via Kindle Touch–it’s faster to load and easier to work with. Among other things, they provide the web URL for mobile version of the Yahoo Mail, making it easier to work with than on the Kindle Keyboard.
The Kindle Keyboard is slower in either wi-fi or 3G mode for accessing the Internet.
Two options for you to access the Internet anywhere on the Kindle Touch to overcome the inconvenience of wi-fi only mode are:
1) using your smartphone as a wi-fi hotspot for your Kindle Touch to connect to. Not sure if all smartphones have this feature, but check this for any smartphones you are considering or see if it can be added to your current smartphone. I do not have a smartphone so have no experience with this.
2) a mi-fi air card such as the Verizon mi-fi card or the Virgin Mobile pay-as-you go mi-fi card that creates a wif-fi hotspot anywhere to enable up to 5 wireless devices to connect up to it.
I was trying to buy a Virgin Mobile mi-fi card at a store for use with the Kindle Touch and my laptop and the mobile wireless expert tried to interest me on the option of buying a smart phone with the wi-fi hotspot feature for an additional monthly fee added to the normal monthly plan.
(I haven’t bought anything yet so have not tried either of the above, but those are the options I’m mulling.)
Despite having an iPad, I got one of these (ad supported) and one for my mother (who has ALS and has trouble holding a book). We both love it.
There is an issue, at present, with the stability of the reader when Wifi is turned on. Both my mother and I have had it start acting erratic, slow down, turn pages on its own, and/or spontaneously reboot. We have even both seen it get stuck in a reboot loop. It does not do this right away, but after a week or so. None of these problems occur when Wifi is off, however, so it’s probably a good idea to turn off Wifi when you aren’t using it.
I assume that Amazon will address this with a firmware update and everything will be copacetic.
Sorry to hear it, I’ve had no such issues/problems.