Showing posts with label Kindle Voyage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kindle Voyage. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Amazon Kindle Voyage Review 2016

Wow! I purchased my 1st Kindle back in late 2007. Yes. The original Kindle. I still have it and use it occasionally. A couple of years ago, I move on to the 1st gen Kindle Fire. I just revived the Kindle Voyage and Origami case for Christmas. And all I can say is Wow!
First of all let me state that I am an avid reader, at least a few hours each day, and it took me a long time to justify the cost of owning a dedicated ereader, more so with purchasing the most expensive one on the market. But, after a few years ereading, starting with the original iPad, then an iPad mini, then a kindle fire, I finally decided to take the plunge and buy a Kindle, specifically the Voyage with 3G. Why after so many years? I think the increase in resolution and the frustration with compromise during my many hours of reading made the choice ultimately an easy one.
I read about 6 to 10 hours a week. Mostly on the Long Island Rail Road and/or NYC subways. I do a lot of standing. The Kindle Voyage is very light and comfortable to hold. The text is amazingly clear. The LED lighting is even across the entire display. I like how it automatically adjusts given the current lighting conditions.
The page turns are fast. I like how the Kindle estimates how long to the end of the chapter and I can see how long to the end of the book. I know a lot of people did not like the location system on the Kindle from day 1, it now also has real page numbers. I’ve gotten used to locations and can judge how long the book is from them. Page numbers are nice though.
I had an opportunity to use the Origami case to stand the book up the other day. I was eating lunch and wanted to keep reading. It turned out to be quite useful. So I am now sold.
I like the page turning options. I haven't yet set myself on particular method. I like both tapping the right side of the screen as well as using the new pressure sensitive buttons. I like that the left button also moves the page forward. So I can easily do page turns with either hand. I’m guessing lefties will like this too.
I can honestly say that Kindle Voyage is better than a dead tree book at this point. It works in natural light, outside, at night in the dark. When at the gym, I don,t need to fight to hold a book open. The battery lasts over a week (I can't say how long but I know it lasts at least that long). It's lighter than carrying around a book. And is easier to read than a book while standing on the train.
Judging by some of the negative reviews, people seem to not like the price tag. You can buy cheaper Kindles, so I don't get it. I am likely to spend well over 400 hours this year reading. Spending a couple of hundred dollars for that amount of entertainment is inexpensive to say the least. Couple that with how cheap (even free) Kindle books are and you get a lot of value for your money. I get a book each month from the Kindle Lending Library and often a book from Kindle First (I'm an Amazon Prime customer).
Kindle Voyage Vs. Kindle Fire
In comparison to the Kindle Fire:
It is smaller. I have the 7" HDX, and even that feels incredibly bulky next to the voyage. The resolution is so similar that the eye cannot really discern the difference (323 ppi for the fire vs 300 ppi for the voyage). My one complaint about the fire was that I generally hold the reader with my left hand, making a page turn a two handed evolution. The voyage corrected this shortfall with the PagePress sensors; I can't say enough about how this small change has drastically impacted my reading experience for the better. Another aspect that discouraged me from buying a dedicated ereader was the lack of color; I thought that books looked lifeless and bland. I wanted the cover to show the rich colors of a real book, and that is still lacking in the voyage, but the eink display feels so much more like reading an actual book it more than makes up for this shortfall. While reading, which is 99.9% of the time, this is not even a factor.
Once the libraries began the digital lending the kindle was a must buy for me, hence the original fire.
This is simply the best Kindle and purpose built reading device on the market today.


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Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Best Leather Cover Case for Kindle Voyage

Kindle Voyage Cases
My previous ereader was the 1st gen Kindle Paperwhite. To me, the Paperwhite + Amazon Leather Cover was the perfect combination. It felt great in the hand, offered decent protection against scratches and scuffs, and you didn't have to fiddle with any switches to turn the darn thing on or off: just open the cover, like a book, and start reading. When you're done, close the cover, and it automatically sleeps.
I was disappointed when Amazon didn't offer an equivalent leather cover for the Kindle Voyage, instead offering an awkward and bulky Origami Cover. I rarely need to prop up the Kindle on a table -- it's light enough already to just hold in my hand -- so I did not want the additional complexity and weight of the Origami Cover. Also, it's ugly!
So ever since I switched to using the Kindle Voyage, I've been on the lookout for a cover that would match my experience with the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Leather Cover. The TAGreat Kindle Voyage SmartShell Case looked like it fit the bill. It only had a few mixed reviews, but it was less than $10 including shipping, so I ordered one anyway.
It arrived yesterday (3 days ahead of schedule!), and I've been using it for all of an afternoon, evening and morning. So far, I'm pretty happy with it. I had trouble getting the Kindle Voyage into the cover until I figured out the trick to it: first insert the right edge of the Kindle into the right edge of the cover, then push the left edge of the device into the left edge of the cover. Do that and it's literally a snap. There appear to be some magnets on the rear of the case that mate with magnets on the rear of the Kindle Voyage, so the device feels really secure once it is in the case. The auto sleep/wake functionality works just like the Paperwhite leather cover did. The device automatically wakes when you open the cover and it automatically sleeps when you close the cover.
An aside: if you have a Kindle Voyage with ads -- er "Special Offers" -- you'll want to pay the extra $20 or so to get rid of the offers if you like the idea of auto sleep/wake. A special offer is shown whenever you wake the device, so you have to do any iPhone-like "swipe to unlock" gesture to dismiss the offer and get to your book. It ruins the magic of simply opening the cover and reading right away.
The exterior material is not nice as the Kindle Paperwhite Leather Cover. The PU (synthetic leather) material is very thin and looks like it will damage easily. The Paperwhite Leather Cover was definitely a step up: it still looks as good as new two years later. Only time will tell whether the TAGreat material will fare as well. On the other hand, the TAGreat costs about a fifth of the Paperwhite Leather Cover, so I think it is still a great value.
Also, as other reviewers have noted, the design of the cover leaves the top and bottom edges of the Kindle unprotected. I don't consider this a big deal, though. It actually helps makes the cover *lighter* than the Paperwhite Leather Cover, which is a nice improvement in my opinion.
The interior material is a soft touch fabric that seems like it will be gentle on the screen and the back side of the Kindle. The hinge works just like the one on the Paperwhite Leather cover. It allows you to easily fold the cover all the way back. I suspect that this is the part of the cover that will wear out first as it is entirely dependent on the robustness of the PU material I described earlier.
The case uses some pretty strong magnets to keep the cover closed so there's no chance that the cover will accidentally open. On the other hand, you may find opening the cover a bit difficult. The Paperwhite Leather Cover had a metal tab centered on the right edge of the cover that served as a robust affordance for opening the cover. That was definitely a superior design. With the TAGreat case, it's easiest to open the cover from the bottom or top edges where a bit more of the edge of the cover is available for leverage.
Overall, I'm really pleased with my purchase. The TAGreat is a reasonable solution for Kindle Voyage owners who miss the wonderful Paperwhite Leather Cover. Although there are some compromises in quality and design, it's lighter, thinner, and a lot less expensive.

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