Or if you don’t give a hoot what we at the Kindle site think click the blue button to see pricing options and customer reviews (once the deliveries begin).

Of course there is a lot to attract buyers to a new touch-screen interface version of their favorite ebook reader. Because as well as simply looking better without a keyboard taking up space, many of us now find touch navigation second nature, since it is cropping up on so many of our gadgets.

But what does the new Kindle have to offer? Like most users of ebook readers I admit I couldn’t care less what the operating system is, or much of the technical mumbo jumbo that creates such clever devices. So here are the key points I wanted to know, and I assume most potential buyers will be interested in…

Kindle Touch Specification

Okay then, so what does the average ebook fan need to know about the touch version of the Kindle 4?

• Smaller than the Kindle keyboard at 6.8″ x 4.7″x 0.40″, and around an ounce lighter (7.5 oz for the wi-fi version, and 7.8 oz for the 3G model).
• Same 6″ Pearl E-ink display used on all the other monochrome Kindles, so looks great in sunlight.
• Touch-screen allows you turn pages quickly with a tap, and access all controls instantly, using either hand. For typing notes a virtual keypad can be called up onto the display at any time.
• Same memory as the keyboard model allows around 3000 books to be stored on the device. Plus you get free unlimited storage on-line too.
• Available in both wi-fi and 3G + wi-fi versions. Unlike the 3rd generation 3G models, this one only allows users to access Wikipedia and the Kindle book store using the 3G connection. For any other internet access you will need to use the wi-fi.
• Both models come as standard products, or ad sponsored ones. If you want to benefit from a significant discount in price you can take advantage of being served advertisements and special offers rather than the usual author screen-savers. If you do choose this option you can now upgrade to an ad free service by paying a fee in the future.
• Comes with Amazon’s new X-Ray feature. This downloads additional information along with any new titles, giving geographical, historical and character information regarding your book.

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A completely new addition to the Kindle range, this is the entry level tablet people have been waiting for.

Okay, so most of us would find it pretty difficult to be unaware of Amazon’s new tablet, but what is it like, and how does it compare to the rest of the range? In short; should you buy the Kindle Fire?

Kindle Fire Spec

As usual at the Kindle Reader site I won’t be going into al the technical nuts and bolts of this new gadget. If you are going to want to take one apart you’ll know far more about such things than I! What I do want to impart is the information that is relevant to “ordinary” consumers like myself, so here goes:

• This is a 7″ tablet. That makes it far smaller than an iPad which is good in some respects (more portable, lighter at only 7.5″ x 4.7″ x 0.45″ and lighter at only 14.6 ounces) but if you want a bigger screen for movies and games you might want to wait until the rumored 10″ version is released around the New Year.
• Of course this is a touch-screen display so you can spin through all your content easily and find what you’re after with a simple touch of the finger tips.
• Full color display (1024 x 600 pixel resolution at 169 ppi, 16 million colors). Okay this is pretty obvious but since so many people have been hoping for a color Kindle I thought it was worth mentioning! This makes it far better for viewing magazine subscriptions or reference material than the e-ink based models. In order to give us full color though, this is a back-lit screen which means you won’t be reading comfortably in bright sunlight like you do with e-ink based Kindle Readers.
• Display has a wide viewing angle thanks to something called “in-plane switching technology”. This means it is easy to show others what you’re viewing and is very much like the system Apple use.
• Fast internet browsing is provided by a newly developed web browser called Silk. This harnesses Amazon’s Cloud to do some of the processing for you, meaning the tablet itself doesn’t have to work so hard. Silk makes browsing quicker. There has been some minor controversy because of course this means your browsing habits are potentially stored in the Cloud too. Amazon have said this information will only be held on a temporary basis. But if you prefer to keep things very private you can choose to use only the tablet’s power for web browsing, though it would be far slower.
• The Dual Core Processor means you can multi-task and the thing should keep up with you. It’s probably better than we would expect from such a low priced tablet.
• The Kindle Fire is a wi-fi only tablet currently. We expect if and when the 10″ version is released we will start seeing 3G options. But for now it’s just wi-fi for free.
• Like their readers, Amazon’s tablet uses Whispersync to keep things up to date across devices. This means you can read part of a book on your tablet, and continue from the same point on your e-ink reader, or watch half a movie on the tablet and then the remainder on your TV.
• Although the tablet is based on the Android operating system, it has been personalised very much. This means other Android app stores will be of no use to you. But since Amazon’s own Android App store offers just about everything you might want, this is unlikely to be a concern (unless you already have other Android apps for other devices since you won’t be able to share them with this one).
• As you might expect all the built in apps are Amazon based. So you will use the Kindle Reading App for viewing ebooks, and will be most at home downloading content from Amazon too. With over 100,000 movies and TV shows, over 1 million books, and over 17 million songs ready to download you shouldn’t run out of potential content to download to the tablet.
• The memory is 8GB, which is not huge (enough for around 80 apps, plus 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books). However there is unlimited storage supplied via Amazon’s Cloud service, so you can always access previously purchased content immediately even if you have deleted from the device itself.
• The battery life is around 8 hours of reading, or 7.5 hours of video playback (with the wi-fi switched off). It takes around 4 hours to charge using the mains adaptor, but you can also charge via the USB port on a computer which is useful when travelling.
• The audio is provided by a 3.5mm stereo jack and stereo speakers mounted at the top of the tablet.
• The display itself has been strengthened chemically to make it nearly impossible to break. The result is something “20 times stiffer, and 30 times harder” than plastic.
• The biggest hit with customers is the extremely low price tag though!

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Amazon launched a Spanish site (amazon.es) in  September, selling books, electronics, DVDs, CDs, watches and games. Sadly though no Kindles or electronic books were made available to Spanish residents. But if the national press in Spain are to be believed (and since they foretold the store’s opening rather accurately why not?), it seems a Spanish Kindle store is on its way. Expected to launch by the end of the year, the store will sell Amazon’s ebook reader and ebooks direct, saving the Spanish having to order from America. And, like the real paper books sold on amazon.es we imagine there will be plenty of stock available in languages other than  Castilian. Great news for Catalans, Galicians and British ex-pats enjoying the sunny Costas!

Of course once we have the confirmed launch date of the Kindle Spain store we will be sure to update the site. For now though, if you want to buy cut price books and electronics in Spain check out amazon.es.

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How Does the Kindle 4 Compare?

Well, firstly let me explain that this is a totally unscientific comparison between the 3rd and 4th generation Kindles. My 3rd gen keyboard model works just fine, and there was no real reason to suddenly ditch it in favor of a newer model. However, in the interest in research I justified ordering the latest version by suggesting I would let my other half use it!

After a serious amount of use here are the key points:

1. Price – well it’s way cheaper, and yet the build quality actually seems better. The paddles for turning pages have a much more solid feel to them, and personally I like the more metallic feel to the newer plastic used.
2. Size - the new Kindle is significantly smaller. This makes it much more comfortable to hold, particularly when reading in bed. Of course the screen size is the same. I was a little worried initially that the screen surround would be a little too small, and might lead to me covering the display with my fingers. This is not likely as though it seems far smaller than the keyboard model, the Kindle 4 has plenty of space for even my other halve’s bigger hands!
3. Display - no changes here. You get the same Pearl E-ink with the awesome contrast. I have read others suggesting that it doesn’t look the same, with some folks saying the page is darker, and others saying it is lighter! Myself, friends and random strangers have stared at both Kindles and can see no difference, which is as it should be!
4. Battery life - this is slightly less on the smaller model. But it still goes on working for weeks at a time, and frankly I think the pay-off for reducing the weight is more than made up for.
5. Capabilities - all the Kindle readers are excellent for reading! If you want to do lots of other things the chances are you really want a tablet. The Kindle 4 is no different from amazon’s other eReaders in that it offers a great reading experience and not much else. Of course some folks will find the choice of wi-fi, or wi-fi a little impractical. If you need to use 3G to download books you will definitely need to choose the keyboard or touch models. But since many of us now have wi-fi internet routers at home (or in our favorite coffee shop) this difference won’t affect too many.
6. Memory - this is around half that of the keyboard or Touch versions. Frankly I don’t see this makes a significant difference. In theory around 1400 ebooks would fit on the 4th gen model. But to be honest, I tend to delete books as I read them so the navigation is easier. They’re always saved in my own Kindle library should I want to re-read them. I guess if you are planning an around the world trip and want to have all your books available you might find this difference a draw-back. But for most of us, I think 2GB of memory is more than adequate.
7. Did We Miss The Keyboard? - the keyboard really is the big difference between the Kindle Readers. And, I have to say we didn’t miss it at all! I would much rather user a laptop or tablet for surfing, and rarely take notes. So to be honest, the keypad has always been a little redundant. And, if I really do need to type, I still can it’s just that it isn’t in the way for the majority of the time when I am simply using the device for reading!

Conclusion – Kindle 4 or Kindle 3?

Unless you need 3G, or do type a lot on your Kindle (and cor blimey don’t you find that too fiddly?) I say save your dollars and go for the smaller, sleeker 4th generation Kindle every-time. If 3G is a must I would go down the route of the touch-screen model unless you really hate touch-screen navigation and prefer tiny round buttons for typing!

If there is anything this rather light-hearted look at the Kindle 3 V Kindle 4 hasn’t covered, leave a reply below and we’ll get back to you quick-smart!

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Update 25th Sept 2011: The Amazon Tablet Release Date looks set to be announced on 28th September. Amazon are planning a press conference in New York, and since they rarely bother with such events unless something big (like some new Kindle hardware perhaps) is set to be released, expect to get a firm release date for (and first official look at) the new Kindle tablet.

It looks like the Amazon Tablet release date is all set for August 2011.  We thought as much (it would follow on from the last big release of the Kindle 3 which was in the summer of 2010, and of course makes a lot of sense if your product is something people will want to buy in their droves in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

A report from Taiwan based tech site Digitimes is now suggesting that previous speculation about the specification of the new devices might be pretty wide of the mark.  But, timings for the release date could be even earlier than expected.

The current “news” is that the Amazon tablet (and presumably the smaller Color Kindle) will be based on processors developed by Texas Instruments.  E-ink Holdings are no longer thought to be in the picture either (these are the guys that make the current Kindle display).  Instead Wintek (based in Taiwan) will be producing the touch-screen panels (Digitimes).

It still looks like we will be seeing two devices though.  The iPad 2 competitor; aka the Amazon Hollywood Tablet, and the smaller, more basic color Kindle tablet which will come in at a price designed to suit those wanting a tablet to view ebooks, rather than a large format device with its associated higher price tag.

As usual, all we have heard from Amazon officially is to Jeff Bezos (CEO) responding to an enquiry about whether or not the company have a tablet in the works, with the comment “Stay Tuned”.  I

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