Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Customers like the ease of use, size and battery life of the Kindle. For example, they mention it's easy to navigate and type, and fits in any handbag or coat pocket. Customers are also happy with quality, portability, and cost. That said, some complain about the lack of backlight.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
3,533 customers mention2,996 positive537 negative
Customers find the Kindle easy to use. They say it's easy to navigate and type on because of the touch screen. They also say it is perfect for readers and great for travels. Customers also mention that it is easy to access footnotes and the dictionary. They appreciate the helpful user guide that they can download right off the bat.
"...Amazon itself has its own helpful user guide for you to DL right off the bat, so if you do ever get lost that thing should save you a lot of..." Read more
"...I need to type something the keyboard on the new Kindle is incredibly easy to use. Typing on the old one was a pain in the butt...." Read more
"...It's super light, intuitive, and insanely easy to use...." Read more
"...Reading is easy on this one: in comparison to my Kindle Keyboard, the previous version of Kindle, and a Kindle DX the letters on the screen are much..." Read more
2,620 customers mention2,380 positive240 negative
Customers like the quality of the Kindle reader. They say it's a nice device, very usable, and perfect for content from Amazon and PDFs. Customers also mention that the operating system is good, but it could be better. Overall, customers say it works great and is a functional tool for the job.
"...For that price the device is positively charming. It's my first Kindle and I really could not ask for more...." Read more
"...The kindle 7 is a piece of technological art. It's not pretty in that sense, but it's a work of art in what it does and offers...." Read more
"...Text is crisp and easily readable. Contrast excellent...." Read more
"...In general the operating system is good but I imagine it can get a lot better...." Read more
1,625 customers mention1,533 positive92 negative
Customers find the portability of the Kindle Fire HD to be relatively light, easy to use, and perfect for people who dislike bulky tablets. They mention that it's heavier than the previous Kindle, but not by much. The touchscreen does not add any bulk to the device and has a textured feeling.
"...It's super light, intuitive, and insanely easy to use...." Read more
"...This "seventh generation" Kindle is lighter, faster, has a touch screen, better looking fonts and has refined software. It is a pleasure to use...." Read more
"...: not being backlit, having ridiculously good battery life, being very lightweight, and being cheap enough that I don't have to worry too much about..." Read more
"...(With 6" Glare-free Touchscreen and it does not add any bulk to the device and has a textured feeling making it easy to hold when reading...." Read more
1,278 customers mention939 positive339 negative
Customers find the screen of the Kindle Fire HD 8 to be very readable with good contrast. They say the clarity of the screen is excellent, and the display is comfortable to read from. Some customers also mention that the resolution of the display seems fine, and is close to what you would get in a regular book. Overall, customers are satisfied with the readability of the product.
"...The resolution of the display seems fine to me and very close to what you would get in a normal sized book...." Read more
"...against the versions of Kindle mentioned above, the text on this Kindle is much darker and reads a lot better...." Read more
"..."Keyboard" because of the new fonts, but to us the screen itself doesn't appear any lighter, whiter, brighter or have higher contrast...." Read more
"...All-in-all I have to say that this is easier on my eyes than any screen or even a regular book. And it is getting me back to the joys of reading!..." Read more
1,221 customers mention982 positive239 negative
Customers like the size of the book reader. They say it has a very small form factor, and can fit in any handbag or coat pocket. Some say that it has readability and ease of use, a small footprint, and light weight. Some mention that it can fit into a PaperWhite case. Overall, most are happy with the size and weight of the product.
"...Not only that, but it's touch screen, has wifi and is just the right size...." Read more
"...great readability and ease of use, small footprint and light weight...." Read more
"...-You can adjust the size of the font as needed.-It's a good size that is large enough to be about the size of a paperback book but small..." Read more
"...This item is small and light weight, just what I wanted...." Read more
1,196 customers mention1,046 positive150 negative
Customers like the cost of the book reader. They mention that it's good value, cheap, and a great investment for bookworms. They also appreciate the lending library and the automatic return of books.
"...Cheap, fast, easy to use, and all around a nice product to own with good and simple build quality...." Read more
"...but until then, the kindle 7 is my e-reader of choice and worth every penny!" Read more
"...In nay case, the kindle is a great investment for book-worms with its multitude of features and has potential for web-browsing (on occasion),..." Read more
"...One of my favorite features is that this particular Kindle is the cheapest because IT HAS NO BACKLIGHT...." Read more
843 customers mention693 positive150 negative
Customers like the battery life of the book reader. They mention that it has an excellent battery life, and that the battery was half full.
"...The good news is the battery lasts days, not hours...." Read more
"...I mean, it'll hold thousands of books! And the battery will last hundreds of hours!..." Read more
"...after four years the "Keyboard" is still quite useful and the battery is still strong...." Read more
"...than a general purpose tablet: not being backlit, having ridiculously good battery life, being very lightweight, and being cheap enough that I don't..." Read more
1,213 customers mention214 positive999 negative
Customers find the lack of backlight easy on their eyes. They also say the device does not have a light built in, and it requires light to read. Some mention the light is uneven and blotchy. Overall, customers are disappointed with the backlight of the Kindle.
"...Yeah, it doesn't have a light. And yeah, it's boring black and white, but you know what? Who cares? It's for books! Books don't have lights...." Read more
"...Lighting ****It needs a light when it gets dark... but that is because it's supposed to be like a book...." Read more
"...This Kindle requires light to read but that's not an issue for me. It's just like a book - you need a light to read...." Read more
"...I had the PW first gen and the light was really blotchy and i personally noticed that my eyes strained when reading with that bluish white..." Read more
I bought on a splurge and I don’t regret it. When I read on my phone I find myself wandering off to different apps. This keeps me in my book for hours. I thought the lip on the back was weird but I actually like it because it feels like you’re holding a real book. There’s some wear as I was expecting with it being refurbished. Nothing that is enough to bother me. Worth the $35
I got this thing as a refurb and it's basically brand new. I can see nothing that would suggest much use for sure. No problems with the screen as of now and the touch mechanism to me is working perfectly. Updating the thing was a breeze. So let's get into detail on the device...
The normal Kindle I suppose is the poor man's e-reader at this point in Amazon's lineup. But I am waiting until the 16nm tablet revolution to get one of their high-end tablets. I didn't want to pay more than I needed for something that I just read text on, and the paperwhite seems to have its fair share of screen problems. This one was only 64 dollars base price. I got a used case to go along with it.
For that price the device is positively charming. It's my first Kindle and I really could not ask for more. Amazon's software if very mature at this point, so you have a variety of fonts, readability settings, and core attributes to modify to your liking. After a couple minor fixes for my own personal use I was off downloading my entire Kindle on PC library. Easy. Fast. I could not ask for anything easier. The experimental browser also gets the job done. Bookmarks and decent website compatibility as long as it doesn't use too much Flash or Java. The device works perfectly for a college accessory and textbook device when needed.
Not all textbooks are compatible with the lower end devices though. That was the only downside to the cheapest one in the lineup. My Glossary of Literary Terms was sadly not okay with this e-reader.
Navigating and using features like highlights, x-ray, dictionaries, and the page functions took about 20 minutes for me to get the hang of it all. Again, everything is set up to help the customer get up and running very easily. The various swipes are easy to remember and incredibly intuitive at this point. I can flip, preview, cancel, and just all around enjoy the book I am reading without hardly any hassle at all. I for one did not think the page turning was too sensitive on mine. Seems about right for such a device. Amazon clearly has some very mature software here that complements the Kindle hardware in synergistic fashion.
I don't use too many of the community features like Goodreads, but that is there for you too if you want to be involved in the gigantic Kindle community. Other great community functions that are less pervasive include notes on what people highlighted in the book, which I found to be a nice feature. And then you have other functions like about the book, which gives you some really nice info about what you are reading the first time.
The one thing some people are going to not like is probably the storage. 4GBs is not really what I call enough space for the future. Luckily, I do have a lot of Delphi collections and my books fit on here nicely at this point. I have about 2.3GBs left after DL'ing 70 or so products. Amazon itself has its own helpful user guide for you to DL right off the bat, so if you do ever get lost that thing should save you a lot of time.
The resolution of the display seems fine to me and very close to what you would get in a normal sized book. The somewhat dim display works very well for and is basically about the brightness of a normal literature page. I was comparing it to a bunch of my books and came away quite pleased with what they have here. Of course a bit more resolution would be nice, but for what is here you can still get fairly small fonts and good detail. This is not a reader for the dark, obviously.
Anyway, I don't think there is too much else to say. I'll update the review as I go along, and take a note on battery life, but for now this thing is a great little device. Cheap, fast, easy to use, and all around a nice product to own with good and simple build quality. It sync'd up with my Amazon account right away and there was absolutely zero trouble getting this thing to work correctly. Highly recommended to those on a budget or to those that do not have any need for the higher-end tablets and readers. Unlike some of the other products, this one doesn't have any inherent screen issues, either.
I love my Kindle. I bought one when the price dropped below $100 back in 2011. A touch screen sounded nice, but physical buttons were OK by me. At $79, the new touch screen Kindle was definitely tempting, but I resisted until Thanksgiving when the price dropped to $49. Two days later I had my new Kindle & my husband had my old one. He's been a read paper books or read on the tablet or phone kind of guy. Two weeks later when the price dropped to $59 I asked him if he wanted Santa to get him one. After comparing the 2, he said yes. So, why this Kindle?
Designed for readers
Physical books have dark print on a light background. They don't have built in lights. You sit in a spot with adequate lighting and read them. The same is true of this Kindle. Of course, sometimes it would be nice to be able to read in the dark or see the color in a book. Fortunately Kindle apps are available for almost any device and Amazon syncs across my devices. That means I can switch to using my tablet or phone when I need color or a light. For the record, I don't do that very often.
Ease of Use
I really didn't mind the physical buttons on my old Kindle. I also don't miss them. It's so much easier to hold the Kindle when I don't have to position my thumb on the edge of the device so I can turn the page. On the relatively rare occasions when I need to type something the keyboard on the new Kindle is incredibly easy to use. Typing on the old one was a pain in the butt. Getting a definition or highlighting a passage is a matter of touching the screen, not repeatedly pushing a button.
Adjustable Fonts
Need reading glasses? I do. Sure, I can read normal sized print in physical books, but my Kindle lets me adjust the font size to make reading easier. This isn't a new feature, but it's easier than it used to be.
Battery Life
The bad news is I don't get the projected month on a charge. The good news is the battery lasts days, not hours. Amazon bases their claim on 1/2 hour of reading per day (15 hours per month)and leaving wi-fi off. I spend an hour or 2 a day reading, so that cuts the estimated battery life at least in half. The Kindle uses battery only for page turns and accessing wi-fi. I leave wi-fi on. I also use a larger font and I read more than 1000 wpm. Google says the average person reads 250-300 wpm. The font size and reading speed mean at least 4 times the estimated page turns. Battery life may not be what Amazon claims, but it's certainly within expected parameters. And it definitely beats battery life on my phone and tablet.
Good Reads
I have't previously used Good Reads, but I do now. I love that it's integrated into this Kindle.
Family library
This wasn't available on the old Kindle. I like sharing books with my husband. We don't have any children in residence, but the family features sound great.
Buying Experience
Books don't have to cost money. I usually don't go into a bookstore or a library in search of a specific book. I go to a section and choose from what's available. I do the same on Amazon. I do most of my browsing in the free best sellers list. Since free books don't necessarily stay free, I buy whatever looks like I'd like it. I don't always like them and/or read them but I have more than 800 purchased books, most of them free. And all I have to take with me on the plane is my Kindle. Of course, at the bookstore I can sample the book before I buy it. Amazon lets me download a free sample. Once I buy a book, Amazon downloads it to my Kindle in about the time it takes to read this sentence. Amazing.
Other book sources
**Public libraries. The selection of ebooks at my library is significantly smaller than the selection of paper books. (No, ebooks don't cost the library nothing. They are actually significantly more expensive.) That said, the selection has definitely improved. Books check out for 1-3 weeks. The process is ridiculously easy. Check out the book & select Kindle. Overdrive takes you to Amazon, where the buy button has been changed to the borrow button. Don't count on finishing the last chapter after lending period ends. The book will stop functioning the second the lending period ends. The good part of that is that there are no fines for late returns. **Prime Lending Library. Check out 1 qualifying book per month with no due date. I have a wishlist of Prime books I want to read. I checked the library for them. Most weren't available,so my free sources don't overlap. This is a nice perk of Prime, but definitely not a reason to sign up. Prime books are only available on Kindle devices, not Kindle apps. **Kindle Unlimited for $9.99/month. I didn't expect to like my free trial, but I did. I could easily find and read more than $10 worth of books per month. Most (all?) of my Prime wishlist is available on Kindle Unlimited. While I like Kindle Unlimited, I have suspended my subscription for the moment. I will probably renew periodically. My husband wasn't impressed with the selection. I browse bookstores. He shops for a specific book. Kindle Unlimited is more suited to browsing.
Special Offers
As previously implied, I'm cheap. That said, I did wonder about the Special Offers. Buy the Kindle with SO. Pay the $20 difference later if they bother you. You will see them as a screen saver and at the bottom 1/2 inch of the home page. You do NOT see them when you are actually reading. I don't spend much time on the home screen. I spend even less time looking at the screensaver. I spend most of my time on the Kindle actually reading. Some deals aren't bad, so I occasionally look at the list in the menu. It's definitely not worth $20 to me to get rid of them.