The anticipation for a new gadget can often be more exciting than getting the actual product in your hands. Apple’s new iPad definitely offers some nice updates with the Retina display, 4G and improved camera, but is it a worthy upgrade for someone that already has an iPad 2? Janet, Dave and I are here to give you our take on Apple’s latest tablet.

If you’ve been hanging around The Gadgeteer for awhile, you know that we post occasional dual author reviews that offer two sides/opinions to a product. This time we’re adding one more voice for a trio review. Janet and I have experience with all 3 iPads, but Dave upgraded from the original iPad. He also lives in an area with 4G coverage, so he’s able to tell us what it’s like to use the new iPad 4G enabled on the road.

My comments will be in Black, Janet’s will be in Blue italics and Dave’s will be in Red bold.

Note: Click the images in this review to see a larger view.

Hardware Specs

• Dual-core Apple A5X custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip with quad-core graphics
• 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch Retina display with IPS technology, 2048-by-1536-pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi)
• Dual-core Apple A5X custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip with quad-core graphics
• Available as Wi-Fi a/b/g/n only, and Wi-Fi/4G for Verizon and AT&T
• Dimensions: 9.5”h X 7.31”w X 0.37” deep; 1.44 pounds (wifi), 1.46 pounds (4G)
• Storage: 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB
• Bluetooth 4.0 technology
• Back camera: 5MP, Video recording, HD (1080p) up to 30 frames per second with audio
• Front camera: Video recording, VGA up to 30 frames per second with audio; VGA-quality still camera
• Photo and video geotagging over Wi-Fi
• Built-in 42.5-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery with up to 10 hours of battery life for surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music
• Sensors: 3-axis gyro, accelerometer, ambient light
• Location: Wi-Fi and digital compass
• Check the Apple iPad page for more information about the Wi-Fi only model and the Wi-Fi/4G models

Package Contents

• iPad
• Dock Connector to USB Cable
• 10W USB Power Adapter
• Documentation

The Physical Differences

Julie: A quick look at the new iPad when compared to the iPad 2 will not reveal any major physical differences. It’s only when you pick both devices up at the same time or do a close comparison that you’ll notice that the new iPad is slightly heavier (~.11 lbs) and thicker. Both of these differences aren’t real noticeable, at least to me. The tablet feels solid and comfortable to hold. That said, I don’t use mine as a book reader where I hold it for hours on end like Janet. My usage tends to last less than an hour at a time, doing email triage, RSS feed reading, and some game playing.

Janet:  Hmm..  I weighed both the iPad 2 and the new iPad on my trusty digital kitchen scale, and I found the iPad 2 weighed 1 pound, 5.2 ounces.  The new iPad weighed 1 pound, 7.07 ounces. That’s a difference of about 1.87 ounces on my kitchen scale, or about 0.117 pounds difference, which is very close to Apple’s stated difference of 0.11 pounds.

Julie: The image above shows a stack up of the original iPad, iPad 2, and new iPad from bottom to top.

Janet:  Julie’s right, there’s not a lot of difference in appearance between the iPad 2 and new iPad.  The new iPad seems to be just a bit thicker and a little less sloped when viewed from the side, as you can see in the above picture.  If you haven’t spent as much time with an iPad 2 as I have, you might not even notice that difference.  That said, the slightly different shape doesn’t make it feel any different in my hand.  At first, I noticed the weight difference, but I’ve gotten used to it, especially after I cased it up.  I ordered the white, and I’ll admit I was a little disappointed that people aren’t going to see me with it and immediately know that I’ve gotten a new iPad. 

According to Apple specs, the new iPad is 0.6mm thicker than the iPad 2.  I don’t have caliper hands, so I can’t even feel that slight difference.  I was worried that the slightly different thickness and shape would mean the new iPad wouldn’t fit in some iPad 2 cases, and that meant I’d have to wait for a new back cover to use on the new iPad.  That’s not the case, if you’ll pardon the expression.  I tried the HyperShield back cover  from my iPad 2 on the new iPad, and it fit perfectly.  Like all TPU cases I’ve used, the HyperShield had developed some discoloration, so I purchased a new iPad 2 back cover (not a HyperShield) to use on my new iPad.  When my new cover arrived from Amazon, I was upset to see it was a stiffer type that snaps on the corners instead of a softer type that folds up over the edge, like the HyperShield.  I was surprised to see that the new cover snapped on easily and fits like a dream. The new iPad also fit perfectly into the Sena Borsetta purse/case and the Kensington KeyLite keyboard folio I recently reviewed.  It actually fit a bit better in the Kensington case than the iPad 2 did.

I’ve read articles saying that Apple has done something with the sleep/wake magnets that cause some third-party covers not to work with the new iPad’s automatic sleep/wake function.  Some reports even say that old Apple Smart Covers don’t wake the new iPad properly.  I have a variety of Smart Covers in the house: one I bought at the iPad 2 launch, a leather one I received as a birthday present in December, 2011, and a leather one my husband bought for his new iPad.  All three of these Smart Covers fit on the new iPad, and all three sleep/wake the new iPad flawlessly.  The Sena Borsetta doesn’t have the magnets.  The Kensington keyboard folio has them, but they didn’t work well for the iPad 2 because of the way the cover fits over the iPad 2.  The Kensington performed the same way for the new iPad – the new iPad would sleep if I aligned the Kensington’s front cover so it was straight with the back cover and pressed the two sides together to make the case close.

Julie: I purchased a new leather Smart Cover with my new iPad and also have an older non-leather one I use with my iPad 2. Like Janet, both work fine with the new iPad. The other cases I use are typically slip covers, which also work fine.

Dave: I am using my new iPad without a case or Smart Cover…totally embracing the feel and form of it (definitely better than the original iPad). Although, I am considering purchasing a leather Smart Cover for it and will be reviewing Zagg’s invisibleSHIELD HD which will add protection against scratches while supposedly not impacting the great look of Retina display. But for now, I am using it naked, carrying it around in the Renaissance Art Messenger Bag (for the iPad) I reviewed a few years ago.

Janet: I still do use my iPad for hours a day.  I have to charge it every night, and sometimes I have to plug it up while I’m still using it at the end of the day.  Even starting from the first day of use, it didn’t feel any different to use.

Julie: Except for that gorgeous display

Janet: Right!

Dave: For those of you who still own the original iPad (aka, who skipped the iPad 2), upgrading to the new iPad is sooo worth it. When the iPad 2 was released, I had not been using my iPad all that much, and from an operational standpoint, I did not see any compelling reason to upgrade. With the new iPad, I decided to try embracing the device and use-experience it once again and so far, I have zero regret taking the plunge. In addition to the new iPad’s better look and feel (compared to the original iPad), the screen and 4G/LTE definitely make it a worthwhile upgrade.

From the left: USB plug on new cable, USB on old cable, 30-pin connector on new cable, old 30-pin connector

Janet: There is one physical difference that doesn’t involve the iPad directly.  The charging cables that came with the new iPad have slightly longer reinforcement sleeves at the plugs.  My old cables are bent from long use, and I’ve been worried the connections inside were pulling loose.  Hopefully the new sleeve will protect the juncture better. 

Dave: This is a close up of the cable that Apple included with my iPhone 4. As you can see, the point where the cable meets the plug is failing. I would say approximately half of my iCables are in this condition (and I do not abuse my tech-stuff at all). Apple appears to be addressing this design/engineering weakness….a minor but positive thing.

Julie: Janet, good eyes noticing that difference! But all the real hardware updates are under the hood, with the major ones being the Retina display, Camera, Graphics processor and 4G.

Retina Display

Julie: Doubling the screen resolution from 1024 x 768 to 2048 x 1536 pixels really improves the user experience of the iPad. Everything looks so much nicer. Text is crisper and images are more lifelike. Check out a comparison…

Above is an icon on the iPad 2.

Julie: Here’s the same icon on the new iPad. Notice how you can’t easily see the individual pixels on this image the way you can on the first / iPad 2 image? The increased resolution makes eBook reading much more comfortable and makes game graphics really pop. After using the new iPad for just a brief period, I found that going back to the iPad 2 felt like the difference between HD and standard def TV channels. You know how it is when you turn to a channel that broadcasts shows in non HD and you’re like YUCK, this is garbage. You’ll feel the same way once you set your eyes on the new iPad.

One other thing that I noticed right away is that apps made for the iPhone look MUCH better when you put them in 2X (full screen) mode now. They almost look like a native iPad apps. I now run all the iPhone apps in full screen on the new iPad.

What do you guys think about the Retina display? Do you agree that it’s a game changer?

Janet:  I always thought the screen used for both the original iPad and iPad 2 looked great, and I even said in my review of the iPad 2 that I didn’t care it didn’t have the Retina display.  I felt so foolish after I got an iPhone 4 and saw how beautiful the Retina display is and how easy it is on the eyes.  After I got used to a Retina display on the iPhone, looking at my iPad 2 felt like I was looking at it through one of those wire mesh window screens.

Dave: I love the screen. I find the Retina display the best feature of the new iPad. When my friends and associates ask if they should get an iPad 3 (vs sticking with or buying an iPad 2 for less money), after explaining the improvements I advise them to go to an Apple Store and look at the iPad 2 and new iPad side by side to see if the screen alone is worth the $100 more.

Julie: I didn’t have a complaint with the first two iPads displays either. But once you go Retina, you’ll never go back. Or something like that…

Janet: I agree with Julie that reading on the new iPad is much easier on my (aging) eyes.  Both the iBooks and the Kindle apps have been updated for the Retina display, and ebooks look beautiful on the new iPad.  Actually, text is nice and sharp in the Safari browser, too.  You can easily tell which apps have been optimized for the Retina display, because graphics can be a bit fuzzy in apps that haven’t been upgraded.

Dave: Even with very good eyes, the improved viewing experience and clarity is awesome. It definitely makes reading books and magazines an even more enjoyable activity.

Janet: I also agree with Julie that iPhone apps look much better on the new iPad than on the older iPads.  Even when screen-doubled, they are much sharper and easier to read on the new iPad.

Janet: People always want to know how the screen looks in sunlight, so I took the new iPad when I went to pick my daughter up from school.  Sitting in the driver’s seat was very bright, but I wasn’t in direct sunlight.  I had to increase my screen brightness, but it was very easy to read my ebook copy of one of The Walking Dead graphic novels.  These pictures were taken with my iPhone 4, not my Nikon D5100, but I think they are clear enough to give you a good idea.  The pictures haven’t been edited to improve the picture.  (I did crop the following picture so you couldn’t see how desperately my floor mats need vacuuming. )

There was a patch of bright sunlight on the passenger seat, so I laid the new iPad there and took another picture.  I left the screen brightness at the same setting used for the previous picture.  Part of the screen is hard to see, but I think that’s at least partially due to reflections.  You can tell the light was bright enough to wash out the edges of the white iPad.  You might not be able to sit uncovered with the sun shining over your shoulder onto the iPad screen, but I think you could read outdoors if you’re sitting under an umbrella or in the shade.

Dave: I agree with Janet, that the iPad is totally usable device outdoors and with the fact you might have to angle it in such a way that reflections are minimized. I grant you, it is cloudy a majority of the year here in Seattle, but on those rare days the sun is out, the iPad screen is still more than readable.

Julie: I used mine in the car with full sun light streaming in and found the only issue to be heat. I could see the screen just fine, but it felt like the iPad started getting hotter than it should. I was also using 4G at the time… 

Upgraded Camera

Julie: Although some people might use the iPhone 4S as their primary camera, I am pretty sure that would never be true for the new iPad. I can’t imagine using such a large device as a camera. That said, the new iPad’s camera has been upgraded so that it’s now on par with the iPhone 4′s 5MP camera. So if you want to take pictures with it, those pics will turn out great.

Check out some sample images below.

Left to Right: iPad 2, iPhone 4S, new iPad

Left to Right: iPad 2, iPhone 4S, new iPad

Janet:  The 5MP iSight camera is better, but the new iPad is still too cumbersome to easily use as a camera.  Apple did do one thing in iOS 5.1 to make it a bit easier to use; they moved the on-screen “shutter button” to make it easier to reach.  When I try to use the iPad as a camera, it’s usually in the horizontal orientation with my hands in the middle of the two sides.  The shutter button used to be in the middle of whichever edge of the iPad was at the bottom as you held it, and my fingers couldn’t stretch to press that button without jiggling the iPad.  Now the shutter button has been moved to the middle of the right edge, as you hold it, as seen in the above screen shot from my new iPad.   I can easily reach that button with my thumb now.

Julie: It’s funny you should mention that update. When I was taking those sample images, it took me a few seconds to find the shutter button. I thought something was wrong with the camera app for a little while. The new location is MUCH more convenient…

Janet: The iSight camera has an ƒ/2.4 aperture and a five-element lens, and there’s a hybrid infrared filter to cut down glare for sharper, brighter pictures.  The camera lens is located at about the same place on the back of the iPad, but it’s noticeably bigger than the iPad 2′s camera (see image above with new iPad on the right).  The bigger camera lens fits inside the camera opening on all the iPad 2 cases I’ve tried with the new iPad; none of the old iPad 2 cases have interfered with taking pictures with the new iPad.

Julie: I read that the camera in the new iPad is the same one used in the iPhone 4. I wonder why they didn’t just use the same camera as the 4S?

Janet: Probably because the iPhone 4′s camera is cheaper than the one in the iPhone 4S, and using it was a necessary cost-cutting measure because they were giving us the Retina display and the 70% bigger battery needed to power it.

Like before, you can tap on the part of the picture you want optimized for lighting and focus for still pictures.  Tech specifications for the iSight camera mentions face detection for still images; it can automatically detect and use up to 10 faces for automatic lighting balance and focus. 

Janet: The iSight camera can take 1080p HD video, and it has automatic video stabilization to minimize shakiness. 

The front camera seems to be the same as the one in the iPad 2 – VGA-quality photos and video up to 30 frames/sec.  It seems to be as starved for light as the front camera on the iPad 2.  You know, I think it would be better if they just got rid of the back camera and put the iSight camera on the front.  I think more people would be interested in having a good camera for Face Time chats with friends and family.

Dave: I agree, the forward facing camera does seem like a waste of effort. I do not believe that most folks will not be using their iPads to take pictures but would appreciate a better camera for Face Timing (something I hope to do more of with the Gadgeteer Kid while traveling for work).

Julie: Apple should just make both the front and back cameras the same…

Graphics Processor Upgrade

Janet:  Apple uses their new A5X chip in the new iPad, a “custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip with quad-core graphics.”  Tear-downs show that the new iPad has 1GB of memory, which is double that of the iPad 2.  Tests done by Insanely Great Mac show that the actual CPU seems to be the same as the one used in the iPad 2, and only the graphics processor is quad-core.  You can watch IGM’s video detailing their testing and benchmarks for the original iPad, iPad 2, and new iPad for more details, but the bottom line is that the off-screen graphics performance is significantly better for the new iPad.  The actual graphics display performance is almost identical for iPad 2 and the new iPad, which suggests most of the extra performance from the quad-core processor is needed for the retina display.

4G LTE

Dave: Living in a 4G/LTE area, I get to speed-test the new Verizon 4G LTE iPad.

iPhone 4 / 3G	New iPad / WiFi	New iPad / 4G

All of these speed tests were conducted in the same location (downtown Seattle) and time with strong signal strength (4-5 bars) across the board. The speed test on the left was taken on my iPhone 4 (3G), middle was taken on my new iPad (WiFi), and the test on the right was taken on the new iPad (Verizon 4G) LTE.

The WiFi and 4G speeds are on the same order of magnitude; both are two orders of magnitude faster than 3G. The numbers do not lie, the new iPad’s LTE is very responsive and zippy. From an operational/use standpoint, there is little difference between WiFi and 4G. There was a tiny bit more of a lag, but overall dancing the Net from site to site felt just like WiFi. Even though it will eat up your monthly data allotment, watching video was seamless….I experienced zero bumps or hiccups.

Julie: I only have 3G coverage in my area. I went ahead and bought the 4G iPad just in case I might need / want that ability. Since it’s going to be awhile till we have 4G here, I will probably only use the data feature when I travel. I do think the prices for the data plans are not really based in reality. For example, $30/mo for 2GB; do you realize that if you want to stream a movie, it will probably use the entire 2GB (and then some). Who in their right mind would pay $30 to watch a movie on their iPad?

Janet: I live in a Verizon 4G area, and there are several other areas nearby that have 4G coverage.  I opted not to buy the 4G model for a couple of reasons.  I don’t want to pay for another data plan when we’re already paying for 3 iPhone 4 data plans.  I can also stop at most any fast food place or coffee shop for a quick soda and some free WiFi if I need to get my iPad connected for some reason.

Julie: You can also turn the hotspot on in your iPhone and use that too. I’ve done that before and it works great. It’s not 4G though…

Janet: Right, but turning on the hotspot costs $20.00, and a soda’s only about $2.00.  ;)

Dave: While I too, do not want another monthly fee and wish it was more like 4-5GB/$30, the convenience of always-on connectivity is (very) worth the cost for me. I travel a great deal for work, and when I am home my schedule is hectic to say the least. So, finding/stopping by a hotspot can mean the difference between being on time or late for whatever my next activity is. I look at the $30/month cost as a dollar per day….one third to one quarter the cost of a Starbucks latte. Literally pocket change.

I only stream video while in WiFi areas, knowing if I did watch video on 4G I would chew through my data limit in little to no time, as Julie said. But that is just a reality of the current carrier/data limit dynamic. I find that I can regularly check emails, surf the Net, and play Words with Friends as much as I want and not go over my 2GB limit.

Julie: I didn’t think I was going to get a chance to test the 4G feature in time for us to post this review, but by chance, I was in Indianapolis this weekend and took my iPad with me. I thought I had made a mistake by not turning the data feature on before leaving. At first I thought it required you to turn it on while you had WiFi coverage as it took me two tries to get it initialized while we were driving down the interstate. I had some weird connectivity issues while driving north on I65 from Columbus to Indianapolis. Even with full bars, it would sometimes say it couldn’t connect to 3G. I finally gave up and didn’t try again until later when we were at the Indianapolis State Fair Grounds. Then I used it in car while waiting for Jeanne to finish up at the Rock and Mineral show we attended there. Indy has 4G coverage and it felt very snappy… Just like I was at home on WiFi. It was also wonderful to use Google Maps with the new iPad as we were trying to navigate to a restaurant for lunch.

I do wish that you could turn off the data feature and only be charged for the time/data you use. I’m not sure if that’s the case now, but you could (can?) do that with the hotspot feature…

Battery Life

Julie: So far battery life seems to be about the same as it was with my iPad 2. Have you guys noticed a big change between the original iPad or iPad 2?

Janet:  Every iPad I’ve owned has consistently given me at least 10 hours/day, and the new iPad is no exception.  I did make sure to run my battery completely down, until it turned itself off, the second day I used it.  (I’ve heard you should do this a couple of times to “condition” a new battery.  I don’t know if that’s true, but I do it anyway.)  I don’t keep my screen very bright (at about 25-30% on the brightness slider) and I don’t keep Bluetooth turned on, but I do leave WiFi on all the time.  I leave it in sleep mode instead of turning it completely off, but it really doesn’t have a lot of standby time except when I’m asleep.  I don’t watch movies or play music on my iPad, but I spend hours a day surfing, reading, and playing games (I’m addicted to Bejeweled Blitz).  A couple of days ago, I got about 12 hours on a charge.  I don’t expect that every day, but I do expect I’ll get a solid 10 hours of use between charges.

Dave: I leave my WiFi and LTE on all the time, plus have my brightness set at 75%. I have yet to drop below 50% battery power during a day’s worth of use. I forgot how long the iPad lasts on a charge; easily able to handle 2 hours of airport waiting plus a coast to coast flight.

Julie: I’ve always been extremely happy with the battery life on my iPads. I love that I can ignore the iPad for even a week or two and when I come back to it, it still has a charge. Try that with your iPhone!

Janet: Just a note – The new iPad has Bluetooth 4.0, which should use less power than the Bluetooth radios used in previous models of the iPad.

This and That

Julie: There are reports that the new iPad runs too hot…

Janet:  I’ve read the reports about the new iPad being too hot to hold.  I haven’t found this to be true, but I don’t use my iPad under the extreme conditions they tested with.  I always hold my iPad in the horizontal position, with the home button on my right.  I’ve noticed the bottom edge, especially on my right, sometimes feels warm.  I’ve never thought it was hot, and I’ve certainly never been burned.  I always rest that edge on my chest, and trust me, I’d be complaining to everybody who’d listen if I got burned.  I have noticed that it gets warmer when I’m using it while it charges.

Julie: Mine did run noticeably hot that first day I was playing with it setting it up, which had me really worried when I started reading the articles complaining about the heat. But I’ve not had any issues with it since that first day. The back might feel slightly warmer than the iPad 2, but it’s no where near what some people are complaining about. What about you Dave?

Dave: Whether I am watching a movie or using LTE, my iPad gets warm but definitely not hot. My iPhone 4 has been much warmer on occasion but even then I would not classify it as ‘hot’. That said, I have read several of the quantitative thermal testing write ups, and while warmer than the iPad 2, it’s not painfully so…. . Personally, I think it is all just media hype trying to get readers to read their commentary…trying to create another ‘antenna-gate’ out of nothing.

….and if nothing else, the new iPad makes a great hand warmer on a cold, stormy Northwest evening.

Janet: Dictation is another new feature for the new iPad.  You can only use dictation when you have an internet connection, because what you say is apparently sent to Apple for translation.  You won’t even see the microphone button on the keyboard if you aren’t connected.  You can speak in small chunks – about 40 seconds or so – before you have to wait for translation.  You also have to say what punctuation you want added.  I tried it, and it did do a good job of understanding what I say, even getting my daughter’s first name right.  Still, I think this would be better for sending a quick email, rather than writing War and Peace. 

Conclusion

Julie: I opted for the 64GB 4G iPad and a Smart Cover. With tax, the total price was not far from $1000. Yes, I know that’s a crazy amount of money to pay for a tablet… but I did it anyway. Am I having buyer’s remorse? The first couple of days I had a little… Mainly because that’s a lot to pay for a pretty display since I’ll very rarely use the camera or 4G. I do really love that display though… and now I can’t imagine not having a retina display.

That said, in my opinion, I would advise current iPad 2 owners who are thinking about upgrading, that they should probably save their money and wait for next year’s iPad. Whatever you do, don’t go play with a new iPad because once you see how nice that screen looks, all bets are probably off. What do you guys think?

Dave: Like Julie, I splurged and got the Cadillac 64GB 4G/LTE (black) iPad. But instead of a Smart Cover, I opted for the AppleCare+….eking me just over a cool grand. I have zero buyer’s remorse and am having a great time using my new iPad, primarily due to the Retina display and the 4G always-on connection.

Janet: I got the 32GB WiFi iPad, and I’m using the red leather Smart Cover I already had.  My husband got the 32GB WiFi and a leather Smart Cover -  so about $1360 with tax for our purchase.  We have not the slightest hint of buyer’s remorse.  I don’t care about the camera or the 4G;  I think the Retina display alone was worth the money for an upgrade.  I use my iPad all day long, except when I’m writing for The Gadgeteer, and my aging eyes thank me for the sharp, clear display.  My husband, Butch uses his at work and at home.  He also says the Retina display is worth the update.

I think many people would agree with Julie, that there’s just not enough “new” to warrant an upgrade from an iPad 2.  I think the Retina display alone is worth upgrading, but maybe that’s just me.

Julie: Let’s hear from you. Did you upgrade from the original iPad or iPad 2? Any buyer’s remorse?

Filed in categories: Featured Items, iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Reviews, Tablet Computers and Gear

Tagged: iPad, Tablet

Apple iPad (3rd Generation) Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 25, 2012 at 1:00 pm.

Amazon introduced their first Kindle device back in 2007 when the dedicated eBook reader population was made up almost exclusively by Sony’s Reader line of products. The eReader population has grown to include more brands than I can count and in the last 5 years, we’ve seen the technology in this category evolve from e-Ink devices to readers with color LCDs. After several popular e-Ink Kindles, Amazon’s first color device is the Kindle Fire. Although it may look and act like a tablet, Amazon does not want you to compare the Fire to an iPad or dedicated Android tablet. They say the Fire is just a content consumption device for books, magazines, music and video.  Of course telling people not to compare their device to other tablets, will cause them to do the opposite. I’m going to take a look at this already very popular device and let you know what I think.

Note: Click the images in this review to see a larger view.

Hardware Specifications

Processor: 1Ghz Texas Instruments OMAP 4 dual-core processor
Operating System: Android
Display: 7″ multi-touch 1024 x 600 pixel resolution at 169 ppi, 16 million colors
On-device Storage: 8GB internal (approximately 6GB available for user content)
Battery Life: Up to 8 hours of continuous reading or 7.5 hours of video playback, with wireless off. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as web browsing and downloading content
Charge Time: Fully charges in approximately 4 hours via included U.S. power adapter. Also supports charging from your computer via USB
Connectivity: Wifi 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, or enterprise networks with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks
USB Port: USB 2.0 (micro-B connector)
Audio: 3.5 mm stereo audio jack, top-mounted stereo speakers
Content Formats Supported: Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VP8
Size (in inches): 7.5″ x 4.7″ x 0.45″ (190 mm x 120 mm x 11.4 mm)
Weight: 14.6 ounces (413 grams)

Included in the Box

Kindle Fire
U.S. power adapter (supports 100-240V)
Quick Start Guide

Let me start out by showing you how the compares to the iPad 2 as far as device size. For me personally, a 10 inch display like the iPad’s is the sweet spot when it comes to web browsing and magazine reading. The smaller 7 inch display of the Fire is definitely great for portability, but it feels cramped when I’m using it for web browsing and viewing magazines. That said, I find the screen size of the Fire to be just fine for reading books, watching full screen video and playing games.

The Kindle Fire has a very spartan design. It’s available only in Black and you’ll find no flashy chrome trim, LED status lights or menu buttons on this device. Actually it has only one button… a tiny power button located on the bottom edge.

The front of the device has the display with a narrow bezel around all the edges.

The display is crisp and clear, with colors that are bright and vibrant. It’s not Samsung brilliant, but it’s still very nice. The image above does not do it justice. It’s very difficult to photography glossy color LCDs like the Fire.

The back of the Fire is made of a soft rubber like material that attracts smudges and grease.

Along the top edge are two speakers. Don’t expect to be able to hear audio in noisy environments. Even at max volume, it’s not very loud. In a small room, it works fine though.

On the bottom edge you’ll find a 3.5mm headphone jack, micro USB connector for charging and the power button. That’s it. No dedicated volume buttons, microphone and no camera. These omissions definitely restrict the Fire from being considered a full fledged tablet since you’ll be unable to use it for Skype calls and other video chat type applications. The omissions do not end with the microphone and camera though. The Fire also does not include a flash memory card slot for file expansion and it lacks Bluetooth connectivity as well. The lack of Bluetooth means you will not be able to connect a wireless Bluetooth keyboard or headphones. The lack of a flash card slot isn’t a deal breaker since Amazon gives you free file storage in the cloud for all their content and the built in 8GB of memory (6GB available for user content) enables you to store 80 apps, 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books directly on the device.

In hand the Fire feels really solid. It feels like a slab of Lucite with no flexing, creaking or cracking. It’s comfortable to hold in your hand because the edges are rounded and the back has a slight grip to it.

User Interface

The Kindle Fire is powered by the Android operating system, with a highly modified front end.

The home screen uses a familiar bookshelf motif that consists of multiple shelves. The top shelf is a carrousel / cover flow style stack of icons of the latest accessed apps, books, music, videos and webpages. You can flip through the icons by dragging your finger across the stack. I don’t really like flipping through the icons because frequently I’ll tap an icon and nothing will happen or it will flip to the next icon in sequence and launch that one instead. You can add your own icons to the bottom shelf, which is designated to hold your favorite apps, books and magazines. If you add more than 4 favorites, a new shelf will be created to add more. Then the whole home screen will scroll up and down.

At the top of the screen is a search box that will allow you to search the content on your device. As you type a book title or app name, you’ll see a list of matching items that filters as you continue to type the search criteria. The search feature will not drill down into books though. It will only allow you to find items based on titles, authors and artists.

Below the search box is a navigation bar that takes you to the 7 areas on the device: Newsstand, Books, Music, Video, Docs, Apps and Web.

Like other Android devices, you can view your notifications by swiping down from the top left corner of the display. To access the volume slider and other hardware settings, you tap the little gear icon in the upper right corner.

You will also notice a Home icon and back arrow at the bottom of the display. This is a menu that isn’t static on the screen. You usually have to tap the screen to have it appear. I really prefer a dedicated home button (and volume buttons) of some sort on my devices.

Reading Books

Here we see the book area. You can view your library by cover art grid view…

Or display it as a list which shows the title and author. In list view it also shows a percentage of how much you’ve read for each book.

It would be great if there was a way to file books in named folders, but the only way to organize the book list is by author name, recently read or by title.

Notice the Device / Cloud button at the top of the display. You’ll find these buttons on the Books, Magazines and Apps pages. When you’re on the device tab, you’ll see the books, magazines and apps that have been installed directly on your device in the 8GB of built-in memory. The cloud on the other hand, is an online storage space for you to securely store and access all of your own personal content, from your own personal movies, mp3′s, documents, etc. You can access your “Cloud Drive” on Amazon from almost any device that can access the internet.

Your amazon account includes 5GB of free cloud storage. For $20 per year more, you get 20GB of storage space, plus unlimited space for your mp3 music files. If you need even more memory, there are additional paid plans.

Of course you can access Amazon’s store to browse and purchase books. You’ll need a WiFi connection though as the Fire does not include built in 3G connectivity like other Kindle devices.

I like the interface for the store a lot. It’s simple and easy to navigate. I always found the store on older (non-touch) Kindle’s to be a little tedious to use.

I love that you can download a free sample of a book that you’re interested in buying. The samples show up in your library with the rest of your books.

I found the book reading experience on the Kindle Fire to be enjoyable. I’m already very comfortable reading on devices with a color LCD as I do almost all my reading on an iPhone. I always switch the background to black and the letters to grey, but you can also have a white or sepia background.

When you’re reading there are no distractions on the screen. Just words.

To see the clock, you have to tap the center of the screen. Turning pages is accomplished by tapping the left or right side of the screen. You can select words or phrases for a definition. You’re also able to highlight and make annotations.

You can then view your notes and highlights for each book by clicking the menu button at the bottom of the display.

Reading Magazines

Reading magazines on a 7″ display isn’t a wonderful experience in my opinion because you can’t easily read the magazine pages as intended due to the screen size.

The Fire’s magazine reading interface does offer a solution to that problem by allowing you to toggle into a Text Mode. If you look at the image above on the Left, that’s the normal magazine page. In order to comfortably read the small text, I have to zoom in. But if I toggle to Text mode as seen above on the Right, the article text is reformatted in more of a book style. Pictures are still shown and you can even search text. However, you can’t annotate, highlight or bookmark pages in magazines.

FYI: turning the Fire into landscape view makes things worse. It shows 2 magazine pages side by side with even tinier text.

Listening to Music

The music player on the Fire isn’t overly fancy. It has the necessary features to get the job done. Just remember, that the max audio output from the built-in speakers is pretty low and the Fire does not have dedicated volume buttons. The music player has a volume slider right on the screen though.

You can use the music player to stream music stored in your cloud drive. But of course, you’ll need to have a wifi connection to do so.

Watching Video

The Fire comes with a free month of Amazon Prime service. Amazon Prime gives you free 2 day shipping on tons of products and unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows at no additional cost along with newer movies and TV shows that can be rented or purchased. For example, right now you can rent The Help for $1.99 for 48hrs. Or buy episodes of The Vampire Diaries for $1.99.

I did cartwheels (ok, not really…) when I saw that the original Star Trek episodes were available for free. I watched the very first episode, which I had somehow managed to have never seen. The episode streamed perfectly with no hiccups, pausing or stuttering.

It’s important to note that the Prime Instant Videos are streaming only. So you’ll need a Wifi connection to enjoy them. However, rented movies and purchased TV shows can be downloaded so that you can view them even when you’re offline.

Apps

The Kindle Fire is powered by Android, but you will not be able to access the standard app market with this device. You’ll only be able to use Amazon’s own appstore, which is a bit of a bummer considering that Amazon’s appstore does not include all the apps that the app market has to offer.

Don’t get me wrong, Amazon offers a very good selection of apps and even offers a paid app for free each day. But I hate not having it all. I’m greedy. One example of an app that I’d like to install on the Fire which is not included in Amazon’s appstore is the official Gmail app.

The good news is that there’s an email app included on the Fire. I set it up to connect to my Gmail account. Yay right? Well… not really. The app is ok for reading and responding to messages.

In portrait mode you can thumb type.

Or kinda touch type on a very cramped keyboard when in landscape orientation. But here’s the bad news… you can’t connect to your gmail/google contacts. What is up with that? Grrrr…

Good news again… you can use the Fire’s web browser to access your Gmail and your contacts.

Web Browsing

Browsing my favorite sites on the Fire is an ok experience. It’s not nearly as comfortable as browsing on the iPad due to the screen size though. You can browse in tabbed mode as shown above.

Or full screen mode, which gives you a few extra lines per screen.

In landscape mode, it’s much easier to read the text, but you have to scroll more often.

Browsing on a small screen can also cause frustrations when tapping links when they are small and next to each other. A lot of times you’ll need to zoom in so that you can tap accurately. I don’t know how many times I tried to tap something and would end up tapping an adjacent link and then have to press the back button.

Book marks can be viewed by thumbnail or list.

One of the touted gee whiz features of the Fire is this new web page loading technology called Amazon Silk. According to Amazon, it’s supposed to be a revolutionary Cloud-Accelerated “Split Browser” that dramatically improves web page loading times. Unfortunately, I really haven’t noticed it being any quicker than surfing on my iPad. If anything, it actually feels SLOWER to me. I wanted to do some speed test with my favorite Speedtest app, but guess what? It’s not in the Amazon market and my attempts to sideload it failed.

Another weirdness I noticed is that some flash based sites like CNN’s video pages, prompted me to install the latest Flashplayer and thought the Fire was an OSX device. Of course trying to install it didn’t work.

I had the same issue with Hulu.com. Android fans always brag about being able to load flash enabled sites but it feels hit or miss to me. I never really notice the lack of flash on my iPad because I don’t visit many (any?) flash enabled sites.

Performance

Changing from screen to screen, app to app, loading books, magazines, etc, all feels snappy. The Kindle Fire has a dual core processor, so it’s not laggy by any means. The only lag I can really complain about is with the web browser. I’m not the only one complaining, so I’m hoping and expect Amazon will improve the tech behind Amazon Silk.

Battery Life

No complaints here at all. Battery life is great. I can get days and days of use out of the Fire before needing to charge. Granted, I don’t watch many videos or surf for long periods of time using this device.

Conclusion

The Kindle Fire is already a wildly popular device because of its sub $200 price tag and Amazon’s brand reputation. The reasons why I like the Fire are its price, compact size, nice display, snappy performance and good battery life. The reasons why I don’t like this device are the lack of 3G, Bluetooth, dedicated volume and menu buttons, laggy web browser and no access to Google’s app market or core apps (Gmail, Calendar, etc.). I understand that this is Amazon’s first “tablet” device, so I’m cutting them some slack and am hoping that that future models will address at least some of these deficiencies.

I don’t consider the Amazon Kindle Fire to be a real tablet.  But it will be many people’s first taste of Android and using a tablet style device. I think this device is causing ripples in the tablet market which will benefit all of us. Even an iPad fan like myself.

Filed in categories: Android related, eBook Readers and Gear, Featured Items, Reviews, Tablet Computers and Gear

Tagged: Android, ereader, Kindle, Tablet

Amazon Kindle Fire Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 31, 2012 at 11:10 am.

An e-reader should be pretty simple to review, one like the Kindle Touch that has only two buttons even more so. Amazon‘s ebook reader has one primary task: displaying the pages of the reader’s books.  Sure, there are other features of importance like availability of content, size and weight, and overall usability issues. But in a world where we expect our mobile phones to do everything from telling us where we are and how to get where we want to go, to capturing high-definition video, playing 3D games, maintaining contact with multiple remote servers, and even making the occasional phone call, an e-reader is downright simplistic.

For something so simple, this review has taken me well over a month to write and has been a bit of a struggle. Part of that time was spent reading a few books on the device. I’m sure Julie (Editor-in-Chief of The Gadgeteer) thinks I chose Moby Dick and War and Peace, but that was hardly the case.  (They were actually John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Stephen Hunter’s  Dead Zero and Stephen King’s 11/22/63).

When faced with a challenging writing assignment, I try to have some fun along the way. I’ve sprinkled in a few quotes from some authors and other well-known folks here and there to give a hint about the following section. And while I’m you sure you’ll agree that the quote by Eleanor Roosevelt was directly related to her frustration with the lack of a quality light for the Kindle Touch, I may have twisted the context of some of the other quotes just a wee bit.

“All hope abandon, ye who enter here!” – Dante Alighieri

So, fair warning to those of you looking for a concise, specification-filled review of the Kindle Touch; you’re probably going to be disappointed, if not disgusted. A quick search will find plenty of those types of articles available on the web, some quite good and probably more informative and worthy of your time than what you’ll read here. As I begin this review I’m not sure if I like or would recommend the Kindle Touch. This is going to be a case of I’ll know what I think about the Touch after I read what I’ve written (my apologies to William Faulkner).

Without hesitation though, I highly recommend to anyone that enjoys reading to give one of the popular e-readers a try. They’re all relatively inexpensive and will enhance your reading experience. So much so you might rediscover that reading a good story might just be better than Facebook updates about someone’s kid graduating from preschool, or almost any YouTube videos. Well, except for the videos of people trying to swallow a tablespoon of cinnamon…

While reading those first three books on the Touch, I became frustrated enough to consider returning the Kindle to Amazon…once by using a brick as the delivery method. The great display, Whispersync, and my preference for doing business with Amazon kept me grasping for ways to get past some of its flaws. Mind you, there’s no killer problem with the Kindle Touch, but I have had to workaround, fix, and learn to live with some problems.

I have always enjoyed reading, but being naturally and profoundly lazy there was a period when I chose the ease of a remote control or the challenge of slaying dragons on a computer screen. Traditional books can be cumbersome. Even paperbacks can be hard to slip into a pocket, and carrying several on a trip can get heavy.  There’s also the issue of bookmarks, ripped pages, spills, pizza stains, and fighting with bindings while trying to read one-handed.

A couple of years back my wife gave me a Kindle 2 for my birthday. It was one of the best gifts I’ve ever received, and she enjoyed it too. The Kindle made it easy for me to get back into reading and gave her periods of much-needed relief from my constant babble. I have read over 120 books on that Kindle, mostly trash/bestseller type stuff (please don’t equate the number of books I’ve read with any form of higher intelligence on my part, as my wife and friends, and soon you readers, have more than enough evidence to the contrary).

I have carried my Kindle on several long trips and many short ones, everywhere from Moscow to the pickup line at my sons’ schools (and the bathroom too). The Kindle makes reading easy and portable. I prefer it by a wide margin to paper-bound books. The E Ink screen is easy on the eyes and works well with just about any light source from that of a tiny LED book-light to direct sunlight.

“Books are uniquely portable magic” – Stephen King

An e-reader should be the wand that triggers the magic – a tool that brings forth the pages of a book without getting in the way of the words. While smartphones, tablets, and computers can be used for reading, they tend to treat books like the written warning at the end of a prescription drug commercial. These devices generally have greater weight (or tiny displays in the case of smartphones), highly reflective backlit screens, cutesy page-turning animations, and cackling flocks of unfriendly fowl.  Reading on one of them is something you do as a last resort when you can’t connect to the internet, and you’ve slaughtered enough pigs to make even the most apoplectic bird content.

I didn’t upgrade to the Kindle 3 because I didn’t want to spend $200 on what I believed to be a minor upgrade. I was wrong. When it comes to e-readers it’s all about the screen, and the Kindle 3’s display was markedly better than mine. I figured I’d wait for the 4^th generation expecting the type of technological leap we’ve seen in computers.

The Kindle Touch currently has three siblings at Amazon. There’s the Kindle (starts at $79) a non-touch, non-keyboard e-reader that utilizes page-turning buttons and a “D-Pad”. The Kindle Keyboard 3G (starts at $139) which is really the Kindle 3 re-branded (it appears this model is only going to be offered until supplies run out). My test subject, the Kindle Touch, completes the non-tablet ebook reader family at Amazon, though they do offer the Kindle Fire, which is a 7” tablet with an full-color LED-display and ebook-reading capabilities.

Amazon is still fairly new to the consumer device design marketplace. The Kindle was their first branded device, and while the early Kindles were well-built, the physical controls and user-interface were a bit simplistic, and even rough, in parts. I was hoping that the Kindle 4 would bring an improved display, more comfortable form factor, refinement of the user-interface, better sharing and borrowing features, and a light that drew power from the device itself.

 “If you look for perfection, you’ll never be satisfied.” – Leo Tolstoy

Perhaps I was hoping for too much, and now I’m a bit disappointed in the Kindle Touch. I considered moving to the basic Kindle (non-touch-screen version), but the reports (Tom’s Hardware) of it having an inferior screen kept me with the Touch.

Author’s Note 1/4/2012: I recently purchased a Kindle (non-touch) and spent about an hour comparing text on the two with a magnifying glass. I don’t have a microscope at my disposal, but under a 10x magnifying glass I couldn’t see any difference whatsoever between the two devices on the same letters in the same words with the same font, and sizing chosen. The reviewers at Tom’s aren’t the type to sensationalize so I can only assume they got a bad device, or perhaps weren’t comparing pages that had both received a full refresh. At this time, I have to believe the screens are of the same quality and type.

“As soon go kindle fire with snow,
as seek to quench the fire of love with words.” – William Shakespeare

So, what’s to love about the Kindle Touch? Several things actually…but above all else it’s the fantastic E Ink screen. To differentiate the Kindle from the others, Amazon continues to provide and improve its best-of-breed “Whispersync” cloud service, and the new super-Index tool called X-Ray can be useful, or at least interesting, when reading non-fiction.

Nothing else would matter if the Kindle’s display wasn’t great. E Ink screens have really improved since the first two generations of the Kindle (which is substantially the same as the screen used in the previous model). The contrast, high reflectivity of the text, and slightly off-white background really cause the words to “pop” off the screen. It is the most comfortable, eye strain-free way of reading that I’ve experienced on an electronic device. Unlike its LED-screen based relatives the Kindle screen does not wash out even in the full-on Florida sun. It actually becomes a better reading medium than traditional books when you consider that readers can tailor just about every characteristic (typeface, font size, line, word and margin spacing) of how the words appear on the page.

The Kindle Touch and its major competitors from Sony, Barnes & Noble and Kobo all use screen technology developed by E Ink Corporation. For those of you unfamiliar with E Ink, it employs a magnetic-like process (particles attracted to either positive or negative electrodes) to draw the correct particles to an area of the screen, creating the desired characters/images. These highly-reflective particles make it possible to view the image in many types of lighting. The look is very similar to that of print on paper. The process requires only a small amount of power when first displaying the page, allowing E Ink devices to use smaller, lighter batteries that can go weeks or months without requiring a recharge.

“Size matters not” – Yoda

I’ve got to disagree with the little green guy on this one at least when it comes to e-readers. Size does matter in a couple of ways. The actual screen size of the Kindle (6-inch diagonally) is comparable to the size of many paperback books. That’s fine for general reading, but for those of you who are more interested in magazines, newspapers, or textbooks (unless you’re willing to give up the graphical element of those publications), you may want to consider a larger-formatted reader like the Kindle DX (9.7-inch E Ink monochrome screen) or one of the full-size tablets that come with color LED displays.

But for pleasure reading, you really want as much screen and as little anything else as possible. Or so I thought. The Kindle Touch is three-quarters of an inch shorter (6.8-inches versus 7.5-inches), slightly narrower (4.7-inches versus 4.8-inches) and about an ounce lighter (7.5 ounces WiFi/7.8 ounces 3G/WiFi versus 8.5 ounces/8.7 ounces) than its predecessor. The reduction is primarily due to Amazon’s decision to do away with the physical keyboard, moving it on-screen. The Touch is slightly thicker (.4-inches versus .34-inches) than the Kindle 3 and its non-touch sister model, most likely to allow for the touch-screen paraphernalia.

“You’re holding it wrong.” – Steve Jobs

When I first saw how small my new Kindle Touch was I was delighted right up until I tried to hold it with one hand and read. There is barely an inch of bezel on the top and bottom and six-tenths of an inch on each side. I found it difficult to hold the Touch and not have my thumb or its shadow covering part of the screen. Because it’s a touch-screen with no physical buttons for page-changes, your thumb or one of your fingers has to be close enough to easily reach the screen.

This was never a problem with the older Kindles as they had physical keyboards and buttons on the side bezel. You naturally held them by the side of the keyboard and extended your thumb up to hit the change page button. With the newer non-keyboard models, the best one-handed grip comes from putting your hand along the bottom corner of the Kindle and then extending your thumb along the slim bezel.

Well, the Kindle’s bezel may be slim but my thumb is not. As I tried shifting my grip I was quickly and annoyingly reminded that the power button, which used to be a slide switch located at the top of the device in earlier models, was now positioned on the bottom edge and requires just a light touch to wake or sleep the device.

The proper Kindle Touch grip appears to be to a modified pinch on either of the bottom corners with your thumb laying on the bezel along the side of the screen. That wasn’t all that bad until I added my Belkin “eBook Light for Kindle” to the top of the device. The 2.75-ounce clip-on light at the top of the device made the whole thing feel off-balanced. Coupled with the device’s thinness it became uncomfortable to hold. Amazon did attempt to make the Kindle easier to grip by applying paint with a rubbery-like feel to the back, but for me it isn’t enough.

Fat thumb and thin bezels don't mix well.

I tried to correct the problem by wrapping a couple of wide rubber bands lengthwise around the Kindle to give it a bit more grip along the bezel. This didn’t really do much more than convince my wife that the decline in my cognitive skills was accelerating. I considered Velcro, and even constructing a prosthetic finger. Eventually, as with all DIY projects, I grabbed the duct tape…this time, though, it was to attach the Kindle to a brick and return it via “air mail” to Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos.

I then realized that it’s a great deal more pleasant reading in my den than a jail cell and decided to search the greatest catalog of “hazarai” (assorted junk for you non-Yiddish speakers) in history, eBay, for a solution. I found a very inexpensive leather case with a cover that wraps around the back. The case gives me something to hold on to, and has made holding the Kindle Touch with one hand much more pleasant.

While I was searching for a solution or at least examples of how others grasped their Touch, I noticed that almost every picture of someone holding a Kindle on the Amazon website featured a female model with slim fingers. Somehow, I don’t think that’s an accident. If you can completely cover a quarter with your thumb you may want to try holding a Touch with your favorite light attached before taking one home.

“It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Speaking of cases and lights, the Kindle 3 and now the Kindle Touch, both have contacts on the back for the purpose of powering a book light with the internal battery. Amazon has released a case with such a light but its $60 price tag is bordering on ridiculous when you consider that the Kindle Touch pricing starts at $100. Perhaps a third party will develop a clip-on light that utilizes those contacts, relieving us of the weight and replacement bother associated with batteries.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” – Edwin Rolfe

Despite the Kindle Touch being lightweight, thin, and constructed mainly of plastic, it has a very solid feel. There’s no discernible flex or creaks when you handle the device.  The Touch’s look is best described as minimalistic, featuring two dark shades of gray. This was a nice choice by Amazon as there’s nothing about the device to distract or reflect light back at the reader.

The screen is inset by about an eighth of an inch below the bezel. The riser up to the bezel can cast a small shadow and is black, making it a bit difficult to see the small font they used on the black status bar at the top of the screen. While you can adjust the size and many aspects of the fonts in the books themselves, the status bar has no such options.

Micro USB, headphone and power button are located on the Kindle's bottom edge.

The Kindle has two ports, a micro USB port for charging and file transfer, and a 3.5mm stereo audio jack grouped together with the power button on the bottom edge of the device. The back of the Kindle features grill holes for twin speakers, and between them sit the aforementioned power contacts. The only physical button other than the power switch is made up of four parallel horizontal lines and is centered just below the screen. Pressing this button returns the reader to the Kindle’s home screen.

What's in the box...

The Kindle Touch is shipped in a box designed to safely deliver the Kindle at a low cost. Inside you’ll find the device, a small instruction card, and a standard micro USB to USB charging cable, but no charger. I believe this was a bit too miserly on Amazon’s part and they make that worse by not mentioning the omission anywhere on their website.

The Kindle Touch is Amazon’s first attempt at applying a touch screen to the Kindle operating system, and it shows. There are several inconsistencies where the same gesture causes different results, and other instances where the reader needs to use a different gesture to accomplish the same task. I hope Amazon recognizes the importance of a consistent user interface and is working towards better incorporating touch into the Kindle operating system.

While touch screens are a necessity when you’re using a tablet and they’ve made smartphones far easier to use, there’s nothing about the touch interface on an e-reader that makes them significantly better than the alternative. Navigating the Kindle’s peripheral functions, like looking up the definition of a word, browsing in the Amazon store, and using the web browser is easier with the touch screen. Typing is certainly better than on the new Kindle (non-touch), but when it comes to that primary function of displaying pages of text, the touch screen is superfluous.

At some point in the future, I expect that to change as publishers begin to take advantage of the touch capabilities within the books themselves. I just can’t wait for the day when each page of my book contains a slew of contextual links granting me important options like the ability to purchase an “actual” replica of Harry Potter’s wand. Actually, I’m sure that incorporating links to peripheral information like diagrams, pictures, or even small apps will add to the value of some types of books, but isn’t that more in the realm of a tablet?

The Kindle uses IR (infrared) touch-screen technology which means there are a number of intersecting light beams over the display (this is probably the reason for the inset screen). This allows for touch (and sometimes near-touch) detection by anything, not just a bare finger like the capacitive touch screens found on most tablets. The downside to this is that almost anything can and will turn pages and sometimes flip through several of them. More than once I’ve had to back-track through several pages after something inadvertently contacted the screen. I don’t recall ever having that problem with physical page buttons. On the upside, it’s now possible to change pages easily with your nose, gloved hand, or the straw from your drink (take that tablets!).

 “A common mistake that people make when trying to design
something completely foolproof is to
underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.” – Douglas Adams

The older Kindles and the Kindle (non-touch) model utilize page-turning buttons on the sides of the screen. Generally both sides had page forward buttons and there was a smaller page back button on the left-hand side of the device. This allowed the reader to hold the device with either hand and still turn pages. In order to accomplish the same functionality on a touch screen, Amazon developed their “EasyReach” interface.

As you can see from the picture above, the screen is divided into three segments: a large section for paging forward, a slim section along most of the left-hand side for paging back, and a section along the top for calling up the status bar and a contextual menu. Paging forward and back may also be accomplished with the now-familiar swipe in the appropriate direction. When holding the Kindle with my right hand, I touch to go forward, and use my thumb to do a short swipe to move back. On the left side, I just touch close to the margin to go back and reach with my thumb about an inch or so to page ahead.

The most serious interface flaw I encountered is the lack of visual feedback when you touch a screen element. Unlike computers and tablets where pressing a button with a mouse or a finger has the object change state in some way, there’s no similar indication on the Touch. Except on the home screen where touching an option causes the selection to highlight, and user interface consistency connoisseurs to cringe.

There are a few other incongruities throughout the interface and they can be a little bothersome, but the majority of the time Kindle Touch users will be reading books and the EasyReach system for changing pages works quite nicely.

“Much ado about nothing.” – William Shakespeare

Bill and I agree that way too much is made about page changing speed on E-Readers. This measurement is used both to show the improvement in e-readers from generation to generation and as a competitive claim among the various manufacturers. Even the most unhurried e-reader is much faster than physically turning the page of a book. So, while I guess the Kindle Touch is faster at changing pages than my old Kindle 2, I never felt like I was waiting on the older device.

While not as meaningless, Amazon has come up with a method of limiting the page refresh effect when a page change takes place. In prior versions each page change was met with the page quickly going completely black before displaying the new text. The latest generation allows readers to choose between that redraw occurring every page turn or every five page turns. I’ve never found the effect to be bothersome because it happens so fast, but for those that are, things are getting better.

“A wonderful thing about a book, in contrast to a computer screen, is that
you can take it to bed with you.” – Daniel J. Boorstin

Dan, the wonderful thing about a Kindle Touch is that you can bring roughly 3,000 books to bed with you, or on an airplane, a bus, the beach, or the bathroom. When you finish those you can wirelessly connect to a bookstore and have access to millions more. You can also borrow them from libraries and share them for limited periods with your friends. Oh, and should you forget your Kindle Touch, you can access all of those books through any device with an internet connection including computers, cell phones, and tablets. Amazon is one of the largest providers of cloud services in the world and they provide Kindle owners with free storage and delivery of books purchased through Amazon. Once you have purchased a book it will stay in your online library for as long as you like. You can also store up to 5GB of your own personal documents on Amazon’s servers at no additional cost.

Amazon also offers a variety of newspapers, magazines, and blogs via subscription that are delivered to your device on a regular basis..

Delivery is either through WiFi, which is built into all Kindles, or 3G service if you purchase the 3G model. The 3G service is included and unlimited for book transfers and browsing the Amazon store, but no longer allows for unlimited web browsing with the Kindle’s built-in browser. The browser handles mobile sites reasonably well, draws real usability benefits from the touch screen, and deserves to be removed from the “experimental” section it has been buried in since debuting on the Kindle 2.

While there are two versions of the Kindle Touch WiFi and 3G/WiFi, there are four prices. If you’re willing to let Amazon send you advertisements and special offers, the price of the Kindle Touch WiFi is $99. If you’d prefer not to get the ads it will cost you $139. The 3G/WiFi model costs $149 or $189.

I’d recommend purchasing the version with the ads. They do not intrude on reading in any way since they appear as a screensaver or as a small banner at the very bottom of the home screen.. Some of the offers are quite good and if you tire of them you can pay the difference and remove the ads permanently. While you can subscribe to the special offers if you have paid for an ad-free version, it doesn’t appear that Amazon will provide you with a $40 refund.

“Mozart’s music is like an X-ray of your soul -
it shows what is there, and what isn’t.” – Isaac Stern

Amazon’s new X-Ray feature enables the reader to quickly see every reference to a character (historical or fictional), phrase or idea within the book, how often and where those elements exist in the book, and then pull information from Wikipedia or Amazon’s Shelfari service. While I didn’t find a lot of use for this feature with the fiction I read, I can see where it could serve as a valuable aid in reading non-fiction and in fact-checking some of the more “inventive” biographies and books on history.

“I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully.
Most people never listen.” – Ernest Hemingway

The Kindle Touch features a couple of audio services. You can use the device as a music player, although the limited memory (4GB) isn’t going to convince anyone to give up their iPod anytime soon. However, for those who like to read with their ears, Amazon owns audiobook retailer, audible.com. You can purchase and have your audiobooks delivered to your Kindle via Whispersync, but only when connected via WiFi. The audio player isn’t bad and the internal speakers are more than passable, although I’m sure most will want to listen with headphones.

The Kindle Touch also comes with a text-to-speech program. When the publisher approves it, you can have the Kindle Touch read the book to you. This isn’t an audiobook; it’s a computerized voice that mispronounces and generally stumbles through the text in your choice of a male or female monotone. Why the publishers ever thought this would hurt their audiobook sales is a mystery to me. You can get a few chuckles out of the capability by having it try to read some science fiction. A Kindle trying to interpret Klingon can either be hilarious or make you want to fall on your D’k tahg (dagger).

“All sorts of computer errors are now turning up.
You’d be surprised to know the number of doctors
who claim they are treating pregnant men.” – Isaac Asimov

My early experience with the Touch was soured by what appears to have been a corrupted system file. I initially loaded three or four books on to the device using a nice e-book management packaged called Calibre to transfer one while retrieving two others from my archive on Amazon. Everything became sluggish, page turns were irregular, and the device ignored some commands. Finally, while trying to open a book, I got an error message stating that the “app could not load”. The Touch then crashed and rebooted, and not long after did the same thing again.

I called Amazon and as has been my experience with them for the past 15 years, the customer service was very good. After a brief attempt at troubleshooting the problem, the rep offered me a full refund or an exchange. I chose the exchange and a new device was shipped for next-day delivery.

Since the device was broken I figured I might as well spend some time trying to figure out and fix the issue. This comes under the age-old male theory of, “If something won’t work, force it; if it breaks it needed fixing anyway.” I connected the Kindle to my PC and began rooting around in the various directories (kids, don’t try this at home especially with your parent’s Kindle unless you intend on getting a place of your own in the very near future). Being far too lazy to actually go through each file and figure out what it does, I decided to delete all the content I had installed.

When that didn’t correct the issue I made the determination that everything had to go (kids, see above warning). I then watched as the device did a complete restart. I have a feeling the Kindle then realized what might come next and formatted its memory and re-created its system files. Whatever the reason, the device has worked extremely well since. I returned the replacement unopened and have been using my Kindle Touch without a recurrence or any other issues.

The Kindle Touch is also capable of loading some game apps distributed through the Amazon store. I’ve never tried them and if that’s important to you I’d suggest looking at the Kindle Fire or another tablet.

“A conclusion is the place where you got tired thinking.” – Martin Henry Fischer

After several rough weeks I’ve grown to like (not love) my Kindle Touch. I like the quality of the display over the older Kindle, I like and dislike the new smaller size, I’m ambivalent about the touch functionality, and I’m happy that Amazon continues to provide a vast selection of e-books and the Whispersync service. Being able to borrow e-books from many libraries and share books (at Publisher discretion) with others is also a nice feature.

There are some interface issues that I hope Amazon will iron out. I am also looking forward to the next generation of Kindles in hopes that they’ll incorporate some form of lighting, perhaps the illuminated optical film recently announced by FLEx Lighting II, LLC. At this time I would recommend the Kindle Touch with special offers for anyone who wants to try out an e-reader, or who has been using the Kindle 1^st or 2^nd generation devices. If you already have a Kindle 3 and can live with the slightly larger size, there’s really not an overwhelming reason to upgrade.

“The end of labor is to gain leisure.” – Aristotle

I’m done for now…gonna go put my feet up and read for a bit.

Filed in categories: eBook Readers and Gear, Featured Items, Reviews

Tagged: Amazon, Kindle

Amazon Kindle Touch Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 2, 2012 at 11:54 am.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only person who was disappointed a month ago when Apple failed to announce the iPhone 5 after many months of rumors and speculation. Instead, we were offered the iPhone 4S – an evolutionary instead of revolutionary update to the one year old iPhone 4. Even though I wasn’t eligible for an upgrade, I went ahead and purchased one because I’m crazy like that. Am I glad that I spent way too much money for it, or do I have buyer’s remorse? Keep reading to find out.

Note: Click the images in this review to see a larger view.

Hardware Specifications

Operating System: iOS 5
Processor: Dual-core A5
Memory: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions available
Display: 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch retina display, 960-by-640-pixel resolution at 326 ppi, 800:1 contrast ratio (typical)
Wireless: World phone
UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz);
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz)4
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz only)
Bluetooth 4.0
Digital Camera: 8.0MP, Video recording, HD (1080p) up to 30 frames per second with audio
Battery: Rechargeable lithium-ion, Talk time: up to 8 hours on 3G, up to 14 hours on 2G, standby time: up to 200 hours
Internet use: up to 6 hours on 3G, up to 9 hours on Wi-Fi
Video playback: Up to 10 hours
Audio playback: Up to 40 hours
Size: 4.5 x 2.31 x 0.37 in (115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm)
Weight: 4.9 ounces (140 grams)

Package Contents

iPhone 4S
Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic
Dock Connector to USB Cable
USB Power Adapter
Documentation

By all outward appearances, the iPhone 4S looks and feels almost identical to the iPhone 4. The only notable exception is that the 4S has a SIM slot on the right side for world phone capability. But other than that, they are dead ringers for each other.

For that fact, I’m not going to go over the buttons, switches, display and body details. You can go read my iPhone 4 review if you’d like more info on those features. This review will focus on the main updates to the 4S, which are mostly under the hood and include:

• Updated processor
• Updated antenna design
• Updated camera
• Siri voice assistant

Processor

Let’s start with the brains behind the iPhone. The CPU has been upgraded to an A5 dual-core chip, which is said to deliver up to two times more power and up to seven times faster graphics than the iPhone 4′s single core A5 chip. I’ve been using the 4S for the past month and so far I really can’t tell THAT much of a difference in speed between it and my 4 for every day tasks.  I did some side by side testing of both phones and found that booting from power off and launching all my normal apps was only about 1-2 seconds faster on the 4S. This wasn’t something I even noticed until I did the side by side comparisons. I’ve actually never had a complaint with how fast apps launch on iOS devices, so if they are now 1 second faster, it really doesn’t make me want to jump up and down with glee.

On the graphics side of things, I purchased a couple games to do some more side by sides between the 4 and 4S. I decided on Modern Combat 3 and Infinity Blade just because they are both high end games that are very rich in graphics. It’s crazy how large mobile games have become. Modern Combat 3 requires a little over 1GB and Infinity Blade takes up almost 600MBs!

Since both phones have the same resolution displays, the games look the same at first glance. But upon closer inspection, the biggest difference that I noticed were that objects on the 4S are brighter and have more reflections. Here are a couple examples.

Modern Combat 3 on the iPhone 4. Notice how dark the soldier is.

Modern Combat 3 on the iPhone 4S. The soldier is quite a bit brighter. And yes, I had both phones set to the same brightness level when I did these comparisons.

Another example shows a screen shot of Infinity Blade on the iPhone 4.

Here’s Infinity Blade on the iPhone 4S. Notice the highlights, brighter armor and reflections?

Game play also felt a little smoother when panning around a detailed screen. I think it will really depend on the games themselves to be optimized for the 4S. You’re only going to notice improvements on high end type games though. Titles like Cut the Rope and Angry Birds, which have simple graphics will not feel or look any different on the 4S.

When it’s all said and done, the speed and graphics updates on the 4S are nice, but the improvements aren’t so great that the performance gap between the two phones really makes that much of a difference in my opinion. After playing games on the 4S and then playing the same games on the 4, I didn’t feel like the 4 was too slow.

Antenna

The iPhone 4S has a new antenna design which is supposed to improve call quality and download speeds even though the 4S isn’t a 4G phone.

“iPhone 4S is the first phone to intelligently switch between two antennas to transmit and receive, so call quality is better. It also doubles the maximum HSDPA data speeds to 14.4 Mbps.8 Which means faster connections, faster loading and reloading, and faster downloads.”

It’s nice to know that this new design has solved the whole death grip issue. But I’m not so sure it improves call quality and / or download speeds all that much - at least not for me. I’ve not had any issues with call quality on the previous iPhone once I switched from AT&T to Verizon and am not noticing any significant changes with the 4S.

The same is true for download speeds. I really haven’t noticed any significant difference on the 4S. Even when I have full bars and a 3G connection, updating the weather, reading news via the USA today app, checking for app store updates, downloading mail, etc all seem to be just as fast or slow as before. 3G speeds via Verizon have never been all that consistent for me in the first place. I can do speed tests using the free Speedtest.net app every hour and see wildly varying results each time.

Camera

Honestly, the reason why I decided to go ahead and splurge on the iPhone 4S purchase, was the upgraded camera from 5MP up to 8MP. Resolution isn’t the only upgrade though. The whole camera has been redesigned with a  custom lens that has a larger f/2.4 aperture to allow for better low light photos.

Here are some sample images comparing the iPhone 4 and 4S.

iPhone 4 picture

iPhone 4S picture

iPhone 4 picture

iPhone 4S picture.

Video recording has been improved from 720p up to 1080p. That’s 1280 X 720 lines of resolution vs. 1920 X 1080 progressive lines of resolution. More lines means a sharper picture. Here are some sample videos.

iPhone 4s video sample. Max the gadgeteer mascot makes a few cameo appearances.

iPhone 4 video sample.

If all you ever do is view your pictures and videos on the iPhone’s display or your computer’s display, the upgrade from 5 to 8 megapixels and 720p to 1080p probably won’t seem like a big deal. The increase in pixels is helpful if you ever decide to print the images or watch the videos on a larger screen though.

Siri

Besides the upgraded camera, the other feature that I was most anxious to try on the 4S was Siri. In case you’ve been living under a rock, Siri is a built in personal assistant that listens to your voice commands spoken in regular words. Here are just 2 quick examples of things you can ask:

The quoted text in each screen shot is a question that I have asked Siri. You can get Siri’s attention in several ways. If you hold the phone up to your ear when you’re not in a call, she’ll ask you what she can help you with. You can also hold down the Home button to talk to her. If you use earbuds with built in microphone, you can hold down the mic button to talk to her. Bluetooth headsets can also be used by holding down the call button for several seconds.

In addition to asking questions and getting answers like the ones shown above, you can also say things like “set the timer for 5 minutes”, “wake me up in an hour”, send a text message to Jeanne saying I’ll be late getting home”, “remind me when I get home to call Dad” and lots more.

In actual usage, I’ve found that my voice commands are recognized pretty well as long as I speak slightly slower than normal and remember to enunciate instead of mumble. Siri is fun to play around with… and that’s the problem, I seem to only use it for entertainment, just to see what she’ll say to kooky questions. I’ve spent way too much time asking things like “Do you love me?”, “what’s the meaning of life?”, “open the pod bay doors”, “are you real?”, etc. I wonder just how many “real” commands Siri responds to every day vs. silly questions. I ask this because on numerous occasions, I’ve asked a question only to be told that the network couldn’t be accessed.

After some initial testing / goofing around with Siri, I find that I almost never use this feature. I definitely do not use it at work or in public because it just seems way too dorky to talk to your phone like it’s a person. In the privacy of my car or home, it’s another matter though. But even so, I just don’t seem to use the feature much at all. I’d like to start using it to dictate news and/or reviews while I’m driving to and from work. So we’ll see…

Battery Life

So far battery life on the iPhone 4S has been somewhat disappointing. I seem to be charging my phone more often than I did with the iPhone 4. Even after updating to iOS 5.01, which was supposed to fix battery issues, I’m not seeing much of an improvement. I’m still usually able to get through a day without charging, but my old iPhone 4 was able to last at least 2 days or longer. I am almost always close to a power source, so it’s not a big deal for me, but of course I wish it was better.

Bottom line

If you’ve read this far, you’ve probably already figured out the answer to the question in the first paragraph of this review: Am I glad that I spent way too much money for the iPhone 4S, or do I have buyer’s remorse? The answer is that I’m suffering from a moderate case of buyer’s remorse. It would have been different if I didn’t already have an iPhone 4 and/or I had been eligible for an upgrade through Verizon. But neither of these cases were true and I spent $649 on a 16GB iPhone 4S that has only a slightly better user experience than my perfectly fine iPhone 4. Oh well, that’s one of the down sides of being a gadget freak. It’s just too hard to resist the lure of a new device.

Those of you that don’t already have an iPhone 4 and are considering the 4S, go for it. It’s a great phone (and will be even better once they get the battery life issues sorted out). But if you already have the 4, my advice is to wait for the mythical iPhone 5. You’ll be glad you did. In the mean time, anyone want to buy a month old iPhone 4S that is in mint condition with no contract? Seriously…

Filed in categories: Featured Items, iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Reviews

Tagged: Apple, iOS, iPhone

Apple iPhone 4S Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 18, 2011 at 11:00 am.