The Amazon Kindle is the most popular e-reader in the world, providing access to a wide range of digital books, audiobooks, comics, and magazines. Buying a Kindle e-reader is essential for long reading sessions. Many people use the Kindle app on their smartphones, but it tends to cause eyestrain when reading for extended periods. A new Kindle is more expensive than buying an older one. Currently, we are on the 11th generation for the base Kindle and the 12th generation for the Paperwhite, Paperwhite Signature Edition, and Kindle Color Soft.
What Kindle e-reader is best to buy if you are new to Kindle or if you have been a longtime user? It depends on your use case. An older Kindle can be purchased for less cash, usually half the price of the current generation. E-INK technology does not undergo significant changes from one generation to the next, and e-paper tends to retain a similar appearance. Overall performance is not game-changing if you buy a Kindle that is a couple of generations behind the current model. One of the significant advantages of purchasing an older Kindle is that it no longer receives many updates, so if you like the look of the library or home screen, that is the experience you will get. Power users want to jailbreak their devices, and buying an unsupported Kindle will ensure that you can do this only once and don’t have to worry about it again.
Buying an older Kindle does have a few drawbacks, depending on how old you buy one. Buying an 11th, 10th, or 9th generation model doesn’t have any issues, but once you start buying older ones, you will have to contend with battery problems. If you buy a used device, it has likely undergone numerous charge cycles, which can degrade its battery life. Even if you buy a new Kindle, lithium batteries degrade over time. So, skip the Kindle DX, Kindle Touch, or the first-generation Paperwhite.
A new Kindle has lots of advantages. Amazon officially supports a Kindle for up to five years after it first started selling on the Amazon website, which means you will receive lots of firmware updates and enhancements. The latest generation Kindle Paperwhite and its variants all feature the latest generation E Ink Carta 1300 e-paper displays, which greatly enhance page-turn speed and overall performance. The Kindle Color E-reader is Amazon’s first color e-paper e-reader and is a solid option, now that the yellow-bar issues have been resolved. The Scribe is a viable option for reading, too, since it features a 300 PPI screen and a large ten-inch display. All 12th and 11th-generation Kindles all have Bluetooth, which means you can buy and listen to Audible audiobooks via wireless headphones.
One of the downsides of buying a new Kindle is the need for frequent updates. Amazon frequently updates the home screen, library, and settings menu. So if you like how everything works now, it can be changed at the drop of a hat, and it’s not possible to downgrade the firmware to an earlier version.
No matter what Kindle e-reader you buy, as long as it’s not too old, you can continue to buy e-books, comics, graphic novels, and other digital content. A Kindle Unlimited subscription provides access to a copious amount of content, in addition to magazines that look great on an e-paper screen.
Wrap Up
Whether you buy the latest generation or purchase one that is old, reading is the most important thing. Life these days is full of things that demand our full attention, and reading is essential for learning new things, expanding the mind, or simply providing comfort. The only thing to bear in mind is not to buy a Kindle. N will be more trouble than it’s worth before 2015, since they are unsupported for their worth. I suggest the 9th generation at the oldest, and if you have the budget, consider buying the latest generation.
Recommendations? Old Kindles, I suggest the Kindle Oasis as my top pick, since the build quality is high and has page-turn buttons. They are getting harder to find on Amazon, but can be purchased via eBay and other websites. New Kindles? I suggest the 12th generation Paperwhite as my top pick, it is generally on sale and is not expensive.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.