Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

There are nearly 2000 reviews already written on this device... we wouldn't have bothered to add our comments except that some of the reviews that come up first because they are suppose to be the most helpful... have what seems to be inaccurate information. We have had a "KIndle Keyboard" for years now and we subscribe to both Prime and Kindle Unlimited. We still love the "Keyboard" which for those who are unfamiliar is actually a "third generation" Kindle which was originally released at the end of July in 2010. Even after four years the "Keyboard" is still quite useful and the battery is still strong. In addition to being a normal e-reader it also has audio output. It can read books to you and play MP3 files. It is a quality device and if taken care of... it will last a long time. Our experience with it is the primary reason we trust products with the Amazon name to be quality items. We actually love our newest little Kindle which is actually a "seventh generation". We weren't planning on buying one because our "Keyboard" is still going strong, but there was a promotion where it was $20 off and it came with a 6 month extension to our "KIndle Unlimited" subscription which was $30 off. So our plan was to not open it and then sell it on eBay and keep the 6 month extension to our "Kindle Unlimited" subscription. But curiosity got the best of us. So a few hours after it arrived we opened the box and took it for a spin and a side-by-side comparison with our beloved "Keyboard". So first... what did we find inaccurate in the other reviews... The screen, it does give a very good first impression. Amazon and nearly every reviewer claim that it is whiter, brighter and has better contrast than previous generations of Kindles. We have always been happy with the screen on our "Kindle Keyboard" and were not sure why it needed any "improvements". When we put our Kindle Keyboard next to the new Kindle under the same light to us the screens look nearly identical. The only real difference we noticed is that the font on the new one seems more refined and is better to look at. Not only that... there are several fonts to choose from. Side by side there is no question that a book on the screen of this latest generation Kindle looks better than a book on the "Keyboard" because of the new fonts, but to us the screen itself doesn't appear any lighter, whiter, brighter or have higher contrast. We have tablets with high resolution screens with incredible color, contrast and brightness, but we have always appreciated our older kindle because it's screen is as close to a paper book that we have found. So we are more than a little relieved that the "improvements" to the screen are pretty much all hype. The screen does refresh quicker than our 4 year old "Keyboard" to the point where it is hardly noticeable when changing pages but to us it is the new fonts that make the experience better. The next thing we noticed is that even though we are used to clicking buttons to navigate on the "Keyboard" the touchscreen really is much faster and less frustrating. I can't tell you how many times we have been clicking the down arrow repeatedly to get to a menu item on the "Kindle Keyboard" and then accidentally have touched the back button which is right below it and literally had to start all over. Even after all of these years... it still happens fairly frequently. Then there is the "home button" and page turning buttons that some people seem to think that they cannot live without. We don't get it. On the "Keyboard" we do like the dedicated buttons, without them navigating would be a bear, but with the touch screen... they really are not necessary. For example... to get to your "home screen" you tap at the top of the touch screen, then you touch the "home icon" in the top left corner and you are there. To change pages you can either swipe forward or back or just touch the edge of the screen. Personally, we prefer to use one of those little rubber tipped tablet pointers so we won't get finger prints on the screen but as long as you haven't been eating some kind of greasy food it is not much of an issue. We also like the newer software combined with the touch screen and faster processor. Everything feels smoother and more intuitive as compared to the "Keyboard". We have to admit that we use our expensive tablets a lot with the Kindle reading App especially with books that have color pictures. So we are used to navigating with touch screen devices with powerful processors, but there is something about the Kindle e-reader experience that we still appreciate with our older Kindle. With this newer Kindle you still get the dedicated e-reader experience without having to give up the more intuitive nature of a touch screen. The only other thing that we wanted to mention was the "Special Offers". Our older Kindle did not have that and we like all the interesting literary screen savers that come up on it and will miss them on the new one. But the "Special Offers" occasionally have some interesting ads. Yesterday, an ad for some reading glasses with three levels of magnification came up and we found them quite interesting and reasonably priced. We will miss the old screen savers, but the "Special Offers" don't really seem to be a problem at all. If they become irritating to us it costs only $20 to "unsubscribe". My wife and I both have expensive tablets with beautiful screens and fast processors. They are incredibly useful to us and have dozens of apps that do just about everything from video conferencing to playing games. These tablets also have a lot of personal account information and other valuable data stored on them. They are also quite attract to thieves. If we lost one of them it would be much more than a minor inconvenience. It is nice that as of now this latest little Kindle contains nothing that isn't saved to the cloud, it has little if any personal information. If it were lost all we would have to do would be to log onto Amazon and deregister it from our list of devices. We would probably also change my Amazon password just to be safe, but my point is... it is nice to have a small dedicated electronic device that is incredibly useful, but wouldn't be devastating if something happened to it. We like the way that the Amazon e-readers have continued to evolve. This "seventh generation" Kindle is lighter, faster, has a touch screen, better looking fonts and has refined software. It is a pleasure to use. We weren't planning on getting another tablet like device, but this little guy is a winner. We are keeping it.