Unlike reflective tablet and smartphone screens, the high contrast touchscreen display on Kindle eliminates glare in any setting, even in direct sunlight. Recent studies have shown that evening exposure to blue light from backlit screens like tablets and smartphones can suppress the body’s production of melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone that helps the body fall asleep. Because the Kindle display emits no light, you can read anytime without losing sleep.
This is the most-affordable Kindle that’s just $80 and will be available in white and black. Like all Kindle e-readers, the all-new Kindle has a battery life that lasts for weeks and not hours.
The changes here are as subtle as we’ve come to expect from Amazon. Don’t expect owners of the Kindle Voyage, Paperwhite, or Oasis to move for this new, less featured model. But they do give the cheapest device of the bunch an updated and a slight speed boost. This may be just enough to push some paper hold-outs toward purchasing an e-reader at last.
New Reading Features
Kindle comes with Amazon’s newest reading features, including:
- Export Notes—It’s now easy to export notes and highlights from a book to your e-mail, so you can always have them on-hand for reference. Receive your notes both as an easily printable PDF that’s ready to bring to your book club, and as a simple file you can open in your favorite spreadsheet app. This feature will be available as part of a free, over-the-air software update in the coming weeks.
- Built-in Bluetooth audio for accessibility—The first Kindle with built-in Bluetooth audio support, Kindle makes it possible for visually impaired users to use the VoiceView screen reader on Kindle to read the content of the screen—including reading books and other Kindle content—without the need for an adapter. This is enabled through a new out-of-box experience specifically for visually-impaired customers that allows them to pair their Kindle with Bluetooth headphones or a speaker. For other recent updates in accessibility, visit our Amazon blog.
- Chinese Word Wise Hints—Choose between English and Simplified Chinese Word Wise hints by changing the language in Word Wise settings.
- Personalized Home Screen—An updated interface and navigation makes it even easier to discover your next favorite book, manage Wish Lists, and see recommendations from friends via Goodreads.
