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  • The Entry-Level Kindle: Why buy this eReader?
Technology Articles > Gadgets > eReaders > The Entry-Level Kindle: Why buy this eReader?

Summertime is approaching and that means vacation for a lot of people. In addition to jetting off somewhere fun or sitting poolside, you’ll want to catch up on the latest and greatest books. In today’s day and age, books tend to come in e-form and most tend to come from a device that Amazon makes. One of the most popular e-books right now it the Entry Level Kindle, which retails for $79. Mostly due to the price point, these Kindles have been flying off of store shelves.

If you’re in the market for an e-reader, you might be wondering whether or not Amazon’s entry level Kindle is worth your money or if you’d be better off purchasing a more expensive version. To help clarify the confusion, I’m going to run down the many features that this Kindle has, beginning with its easy to navigate interface and overall performance. Ready?

Interface and Performance: What You’ll Get With the Entry Level Kindle

The entry level Kindle that retails for $79 is an ad-supported Kindle. What does this mean? Essentially, small advertisements will pop up while you are browsing books or when you aren’t actually reading a book (don’t worry, the ads don’t get in the way of reading your new book!). This is the price that you’ll have to pay to purchase one of Amazon’s “under $100” e-readers. There are other e-readers from Amazon that are less than $79, but it’s really worth it to purchase the ad-supported one, since it comes with better overall performance and features (plus, the ads really aren’t a big deal!).

Advertising aside, this Kindle is e-ink capable, which means that you can read your books in direct sunlight without squinting at the screen or trying to see what you’re reading – just think of how your laptop acts when you try to work in the sunshine, and then subtract that annoying glare and you have e-ink. Sadly, this screen isn’t backlit, so you will have to have a light source to read when not in the sunshine.

Flipping pages is simple enough with the flick of a finger and pages do turn relatively quickly. It’s also nice to note that Amazon has done away with those annoying flashes that appeared between each page turn, which is really a great thing. If you’re picking up a Kindle for the first time, you won’t have any trouble figuring out how to use this device. If you do, however, Amazon is always there to help you out.

Battery Life and Content

It’s hardly necessary to point out the massive amounts of content that you’ll have access to when you purchase this Kindle – I mean, it’s Amazon. But, just in case you aren’t familiar with Amazon’s content, for some reason, you will have access to the largest e-book library anywhere. Of course, you do have to pay for books, but Amazon’s prices are tough to beat.

Another important feature of this Kindle (and any e-reader you might be considering purchasing) is that the battery on this Kindle will last for weeks. If you connect the Kindle to WiFi (yes, it’s capable), that battery life will decrease, but that’s to be expected. When all is said and done, the entry level Kindle is really an excellent purchase for a price that can’t be beat.