2019 Kindle Review with Integrated Front Light

Amazon knows that the competition is more than served in recent dates, Firms such as Kobo and Energy Sistem have endowed their electronic books with features that do not make the purchase of the most affordable Kindle so attractive, that is why after three years without touching even a millimeter of the most basic Kindle, they have decided to give it a «wash of expensive".

We have been testing for a couple of weeks and exclusively the new Kindle with front light and some other novelty. Stay with us to discover the analysis of this new device with which Amazon wants to regain the market for affordable e-books.

Technical characteristics: Kindle (2019)

I understand that the first thing you want to know is its technical characteristics, and the reality is that Amazon is far from having “thrown the house out the window” with this renewed Kindle. Later we will analyze the specific differences with the 2016 Kindle, but to give us an idea we have a screen six inches of electronic ink, that the Jeff Bezos firm has come to call "Amazon technology", but which has not undergone any improvement at the level of resolution, we find a density of 167 pixels per inch.

The big news is the LED lighting integrated into the screen, composed of 4 diodes that emit bluish light and its intensity is adjustable. This facelift to the Kindle in addition to including WiFi 802.11b / g / n brings the connection as a novelty Bluetooth which will make it compatible with Amazon's proprietary Audilble format (AAX) that we can use through external speakers, at least in its version. However, this function is present in the Amazon Kindle User Guide.

• Supported content formats: 8 Kindle (AZW3), Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, MOBI, Native PRC; HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, PMP, and Audible (AAX).

Design: Comfortable but without innovation

At the construction level, Amazon has not touched anything at all since 2016, we find dimensions of 160 x 113 x 8,7 mm and 174 grams. Built in polycarbonate plastic, it also maintains two color variations, we can choose both white and black when purchasing it, both at the same price and with the same characteristics. Very little more to add in this regard, since we find the situation of the keypad practically in the same place as in the previous model, that is, single unlock button located at the bottom next to the charging microUSB, which I find excessively uncomfortable and that forces us to use both hands if we don't want to end up juggling to block it.

For the rest, the frames are enough to stop resting the fingers and the palm of the hand on the Kindle without having to lose field of vision or make accidental touches on the screen. Definitely when something works do not touch it, that is what Amazon has done with this Kindle that remains in the six inches of pocket-size comfort, which could not hurt to have renewed by adding at least one more inch to be able to house some more content.

Differences between the Kindle (2016) and the Kindle (2019)

However, there will be many users who want to know if we really find differences between the Kindle of 2016 and the one of 2019 with the intention of renewing or not your equipment. We focus first on what makes them look alike, and that is that we did not find any structural or proportional renovation, in the same way that the electronic ink panel continues to maintain the resolution and size of 2016. We have not gained autonomy either, for what the renovation could be called discreet, in fact the weight is the only thing that has increased, around five grams.

However, some of the novelties in this Kindle (2019) seem more aimed at not lagging behind the competition. We have an integrated dimmable light, composed of 4 LEDs that provide sufficient brightness to read in low light conditions, and the other great addition is currently absent in Spain, We are talking about the Bluetooth connection that appears both in the user guide and in the North American version of the Kindle, but which in Spain is currently deactivated, waiting we imagine a firmware update.

What could have been and was not

Amazon has decided to settle by giving a facelift that knows little about this Kindle (2019), it is true that it has included functionalities that were demanded by users and that will keep it in the top of e-book sales, but the The company had a unique opportunity three years after differentiating the Kindle again as it did at the time, and yet it has practically settled on equating it with the competition, and that is We have not found any appeal to ditch a Kindle (2016) and switch to a Kindle (2019).

(2019 version)

That is why this device seems rather focused on attracting users who were not within the Kindle ecosystem. However, as can be expected from this product, it has provided us with a basic and sufficient user experience, thanks to its resistance, portability and, above all, the ease of Amazon's OS. to read comfortably, it is still one of the most important electronic books to consider for those who do not seek complications and only ask for autonomy and being able to read quietly without surprises.