Amazon Kindle ebook reader

More: click here to watch our video review of the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader PRS-350

Until recently residents of Britain and Ireland who wanted a Kindle had to order one from Amazon’s American website and pay the appropriate taxes, but the new model is now available from the UK website and starts at only £109. That gets you a reader that can access your home wireless network, whereas if you pay an extra £40 you can get one with a built-in connection to the 3G mobile network as well.

The point of these internet connections is that unlike most ebook readers, the Kindle can be used to buy books directly, without the aid of a computer. The built-in keyboard makes it a bit larger than, say, Sony’s new reader, but it allows for proper browsing of Amazon’s ebook store. Cleverly, if you do buy an ebook using a computer, it will automatically send it straight to your Kindle if the wireless connection is on.

Books can be annotated using the keyboard, and you can share your annotations using Facebook or Twitter. If enough people highlight the same block of text the highlight will be displayed on your copy too, which we found a bit intrusive, but it can be disabled.

The screen uses the same e-ink technology as other models, but it has been improved so the background is much whiter than before (previously it was a kind of murky grey). It’s also much quicker at turning pages.

The text font Amazon has chosen is noticeably better than on other models, which makes for more pleasant reading, but we came across one annoying quirk. Comparing the same ebook (Superfreakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner) on a Kindle and the Sony, we found that when the book contained charts or diagrams that went off the side of the page, the Kindle did not display them properly, whereas the Sony made a much better stab at it.

The page turn buttons have been moved so they make more sense than on the previous model, and the tiny joystick for navigating menus has been replaced with a four-way pad, another improvement. It can also read PDFs without any conversion being required, which is a big improvement. If you want to buy new books you’re stuck with buying them from Amazon, whereas the Sony and other models give buyers a choice.

It’s well made, with a slate-grey body all round that’s pleasant to the touch, although we found that the letters on the keys started to rub off when we carried it in a bag. Overall the case is not a lot bigger than the screen size (19x12 cm), but the Sony manages to fit a screen almost as big into a much smaller case. It’s light, too, at 250g.

With the wireless connection on, the battery lasted only a few days on the 3G version because it’s constantly checking for updates. The cheaper model will last a bit longer, and both will last for a month in standby if you turn the wireless connections off.

As with all ebook readers the text can be resized easily (more sizes have been added so it caters for pretty much every taste now), and the Kindle can be used on its side in ‘landscape’ mode. As before it can play music files through the headphone socket or the small built-in speakers, and there is a rudimentary voice reader that will read a book out to you.

The USB cable supplied can be used for both copying books and charging the device, and now that it’s a UK model the box also includes a handy UK mains charger.

At the new low price this new Kindle is a real bargain that’s also easy to use.

More: click here to watch our video review of the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader PRS-350