TECH REVIEW ............The New Kindles: Heavyweights In The E-book Arena

The New Kindles: Heavyweights In The E-book Arena 

You can now order all variants of Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader in India. Review of the Paperwhite and Fire HD 8.9 and offer a few accessory recommendations

Paperwhite Display
The Kindle Paperwhite has a 6-inch e-ink touchscreen with 212ppi (pixels per inch) & 16 levels of grey scale for an optimum display. It has a built-in light which illuminates the screen evenly across the surface making it easy to view/read text in any ambient lighting condition — whether in direct sunlight or in low light. Since it uses 4 low power LED's, the effect on battery life is not that pronunced.
Not Just For Reading
If you thought the Kindle Paperwhite is only for reading books, think again. It has built in dictionaries. You can also search the web or Wikipedia and even translate text into different languages. You can add annotataions to text anywhere and then export them. There is the also option to create notes or highlight particular phrases/sections and then share them with friends over Facebook or Twitter.
Unmatched Battery
Like the previous Kindle e-book reader, the Paperwhite offers fantastic battery life. With wireless switched off & light setting at 10, it claims a battery life of almost two months (half an hour of reading everyday). Even if you use it with wireless on and a brighter light setting, you should get at least a few weeks of battery life, depending on how much you use it on a daily basis.
How To Get Books
You can download books by visiting the Amazon book store from the device directly or from your computer. Any purchases made on Amazon using a web browser are automatically delivered to the device. You can also send documents to the device and download books in compatible formats from various other websites like www. manybooks.net & www.freebookspot.com. Free Lifetime 3G
With the Kindle Paperwhite 3G, you get free 3G for life. There are no monthly charges, no limit and it works anywhere in the world. You are obviously limited to the functions performed by the device — searching for and downloading books from Amazon, online search and sharing notes with friends. In India, 3G is powered by the Vodafone network.
Media Powerhouse
The Fire HD is a multimedia powerhouse with support for various audio/video formats, full HD video playback and a customised Dolby Digital Plus audio engine. The dual band, dual antenna WiFi offers faster connections for HD video. It also has powerful dual speakers on the side and a microHDMI port so that you can connect it to a larger display.
Not a Usual Android Tab
The Fire HD is the only 8.9-inch tablet with a full HD touchscreen. The interface is geared for consumption of books, apps & media. Since it syncs using your Amazon user ID, no set up is required — all content is synced over the cloud. The dual core processor, 16GB storage and 10 hour battery life is not the best for the price, but it offers smooth performance thanks to the custom UI.
Unique User Interface
Amazon has loaded up a heavily customised user interface on Android. You get a scrollable list of recently accessed apps, books, music, videos with large icons that are easy to view as well as navigate. There is deep facebook integration throughout the interface that makes it easy to share photos or post an update quickly from anywhere in the tablet.
No Google Play Store
There is no Google Play store available on the Kindle Fire HD, so you have to rely entirely on the Amazon app store for apps. The good thing is that the screening process makes sure you get the best of the apps and Amazon offers one paid app for free everyday. The downside is that you do not have the entire variety of apps that are available on the Google Play Store.
Default Apps
WIth the Kindle Fire HD, you don’t have all the usual Android apps for contacts, calendar, mail and browser. Instead, you get Amazon's own Silk browser that uses their servers to preload webpages so that they load faster on the device. The email app works with various mail service providers and automatically fetches and syncs your contacts with the device.

ACCESSORIES FOR YOUR NEW KINDLE  

Bluelounge Nest 1,050 from stuffcool.com
The Nest is an unobtrusive stand that works for most tablets & ebook readers. It can be used in two ways: horizontally (facing you at a slight angle) & vertically, using a slide-out stand. The rubber lining keeps the tablet in place and when not in use as a stand, it doubles up as a receptacle for keys, USB drives or other odds & ends.

Cooler Master Power Fort 3,400 from ebay.in
Even with daily use, the battery on the Paperwhite should last you about 8 weeks. The Fire HD will die out faster (roughly 9 hours in total). Either way, if you want nothing to interrupt your reading, get yourself a portable battery pack like this 6,600mAh Power Fort from Cooler Master.

Waterproof Pouch 1,600 from dailyobjects.com
Fancy enjoying a book on the Kindle while soaking in the bathtub? How about the beach? This waterproof pouch made by The Joy Factory is the ticket. It's made of sturdy plastic and the dual zip design makes sure that nothing gets in. The plastic is thin enough to not interfere with touchscreen operation but easily keeps out mud, dust, water and snow.

Moko Vertical Flip Case 2,200 from ebay.in
Since reading on the Paperwhite is done only in portrait mode (like a book), this is the type of case you should buy if you want to prop up the device on a table. Moko's Vertical Flip Case comes in various colours, offers auto sleep/ wake, access to the USB port, a microfiber lining and can be adjusted to different angles.

Fintie Folio Style Case 1,900 from ebay.in
Fintie’s Folio Case is ideal if you want to add a little colour to your all-black Kindle Paperwhite. It's available in 8 different colours (in a duo-tone design), is made of durable synthetic leather, includes an auto sleep/wake function, has a soft interior lining and closes with a hidden magnetic clasp built into the sides.

Hitesh Raj Bhagat & Karan Bajaj  ET130616