Amazon has just made available the new Kindle Voyage in Italy, long been available in the United States. It is, according to Amazon, Kindle the best ever produced by the US company, equipped with the new e-ink display card with a resolution which makes it very similar to the print media. We will see together whether it is really the best e-reader on the market.
Features and Design
Kindle Voyage differs from previous versions for a particular design, thanks to the display flush with the frame protected by a chemically reinforced glass to withstand scratches. The thickness is reduced to just 7.6 millimeters but thanks to the tapered edges, arriving just 4 mm, the feeling is to have in hand a much more subtle. The rear bodywork is made with the classic rubberized finish which ensures a perfect grip even if the top is made of shiny plastic, which attracts a lot of fingerprints and is subject to easy scoring.
The display used by Amazon for Kindle Voyage is the most defined currently in circulation, also mounted on the new Kindle Paperwhite, and is able to offer a resolution of 300ppi well in a screen 6 “. With such a resolution is almost impossible to distinguish the jagged, also using larger fonts. The built-in light lets you read perfectly in any situation and in this particular we note the extreme care taken in making Kindle from Amazon Voyage.
Indeed, it is virtually impossible to see the LEDs that provide illumination, as they are perfectly hidden under the frame side. The micro-incisions on the protective glass allow a perfect light diffusion without causing discomfort during this reading. Among the many innovations is immediately reported the light sensor, which adjusts the intensity of the LEDs according to the surrounding environment. There is also a special feature, called “Night Light”, which lowers the brightness gradually in the same way our eyes adjust to the darkness.
The second major innovation introduced by Kindle Voyage the return of the physical buttons to change pages, called simply curls. Again Amazon manages to impress, with a simple and elegant solution. On the two long sides of the screen are positioned two pressure sensors equipped with tactile feedback. Pressing the bottom of the sensor will switch to the next page, pressing the top you will come back. Simple but extremely effective. You can adjust the level of pressure to be applied to change the page and the vibration level returned by the reader.
Ecosystem and Software
Kindle Voyage adopts the 5.6.2.1 version of the Kindle software, the latest produced by Amazon. The software should be optimized for the new display card and the unique features of Kindle Voyage but offers significant improvements to the software normally installed on the Kindle Paperwhite of previous generations. Remains the classic interface and very easy to use for beginners, but they are also all the problems that plagued previous versions.
I think in particular the inability to edit metadata, something rather easily achievable on e-reader marketed by Kobo, making it much more complex management of collections and, above all, of the series. If you enjoy reading the novel of the moment, an essay or a historical novel probably will not feel the need to better organize your digital library, especially if composed of a few dozen books.
With Collections you can divide books by genre so you can always find the desired reading. But if you want to read the A Song of Ice and Fire of George RR Martin consist of five volumes, or worse, the cycle of The wheel of time Robert Jordan consists of fourteen volumes, it is difficult to remember the exact sequence of reading. The only solution is to enter the series and the progressive in the title of the book, at the cost of a bad selection screen readability of the books, as the headlines would be truncated.
And if you find yourself managing a library of over 1200 titles, such as my own, created with 8 years of purchases in various digital stores, you’ll understand that the cataloging becomes a top priority. From this point of view, the software flaw Kindle lot, because you can not enter the Collections from PC but must operate only from e-reader. The operation is simply impossible because it would require several days of work with libraries with important dimensions. Annoying also the need to connect to the network to get information about the book, as the plot, the release date or the number of pages.
The ability to customize the reading remained unchanged over the years and you limited to six different font with eight different font sizes. The choice is definitely enough but given the possibilities offered by the competition, the choice of Kindle appears very limited. Amazon had promised Bookerly, a new font designed specifically for the new high resolution display of Kindle Voyage but for some technical problems the font is still at large and should be added with the next update.
The advantage software Kindle is the possibility of synchronization with the other platforms. Whether your PC, a tablet or a smartphone, you can always synchronize the progress of reading, taking up a book on your smartphone from the same point where you left off on the Kindle Voyage. Where Amazon proves a cut above the competition is the availability of securities and offers, suitable for all tastes and budgets. In addition to a catalog of over 120,000 titles in Italian prices in line with the competition, we find the offer Kindle Unlimited dedicated to the great readers, those who read at least one book a week, I would say, that lets you read any number of books by paying a monthly subscription of 9.99 euro. Not to mention the flash offers daily suggestions from Amazon.
Interesting finally the ability to surf the Internet through the browser experimental though, it is an e-reader I find a feature almost useless. The 3G version of Kindle Voyage allows unlimited access to Wikipedia without incurring any additional cost but it alone does not justify the high cost to buy it.
The formats supported by Kindle Voyage are classic and the Amazon-reader: AZW3, AZW, TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP conversion. If you have ebooks in EPUB format, the standard of most online bookstores, you’ll have to use a conversion software. Personally commend Calibre running perfectly conversion, as long as the EPUB file is not protected by DRM.
Usability
From this point of view I can only appreciate the job done with the new Kindle from Amazon Voyage which in effect gives the impression of being a premium device. The handling is perfect, in any situation you are reading. Whether you are sitting on the couch, on the beach, or you are reading in bed you will never have a hard time changing the page, thanks to the curls and the ability to turn the page by tapping the screen. Access to the main menu is very simple and is done by pressing the top of the display. This way you will have access to the settings, the browser test and the online store where you can buy new titles for your digital library.
The very low weight and reduced thickness mean that it is never annoying hold Kindle Voyage and hardly get tired. At the bottom of the display provides information on the progress of reading, including the percentage of progress and the estimated remaining time according to your reading speed.
I tried Kindle Voyage for about ten days and , using it for an hour a day the battery has dropped by 35%, thus giving me a projection of approximately 30 days of battery life, Amazon says about six weeks of battery life use of half an hour a day so I would say that in this respect view the work is great and, unless you are avid readers who spend eight hours a day to read, you will not have to reload Kindle Voyage more than once every three to four weeks.
In conclusion
It is undeniable that Amazon has done a great job in making Kindle Voyage, paying great attention to design and the materials used, although in my view, too overlooked the software side, which has remained in its evolution. It is true that a simple and immediate is easy to use even for the less demanding but some features views on the proposals of the competition are now essential. I mean the ability to view the cover of free read when the reader is switched off, the absence of a system for managing metadata that complicate the lives of those who want to carefully organize their library and still limited choice of fonts and characters personalize the reading experience.
The presence of the light sensor is definitely a plus very convenient, as well as page curls keys with tactile feedback and joined the premium design mean that the selling price of 189.99 Euros can be considered correct, given the perceived feeling of holding in your hands immediately an object of high quality. There is no doubt that the new Kindle Paperwhite, which costs 60 € less, might steal a significant number of sales, since many may consider unnecessary additional features of Kindle Voyage. Less appealing still is the 3G version, for which you need a payment of EUR 249,99 well. If you are avid readers Kindle Voyage is the best choice on the market and since it is equipped with the best technologies of the market will accompany your readings for a long time.
Display:
9.5
Ergonomics:
9
Hardware:
9.3
Software:
7.0
Battery:
9.5
Quality / Price:
8.9
Material:
9.5
User Experience:
8.8
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