TEST – Amazon: Kindle the travel is a must, but a must, which has a price – MetroNews

What is the Kindle Travel, the most advanced electronic reading lamp Amazon? MetroNews has tested and delivers his verdict.

WE LOVED

► Compact and light
Here is a reading light which hardly takes Place (162 x 115 x 7.6 mm) and is forgotten at the bottom of a bag (180 g in the WiFi version). Travelers will appreciate its lightness, daily users of public transport its compactness. It fits easily in the hand, especially since it is easy to turn a page with side touch buttons. Finally, autonomy can easily read a book before you have to recharge the reading light, provided disable WiFi when you do not need to.

► Tactile buttons handy
Kindle Travel has four side buttons, two left and two right that have the same function: turn the page towards forward or backward. This feature, called PagePress, complements the touch screen and allows navigation in a book with one hand. New for this model: there is a haptic feedback with a slight vibration to confirm the move. We can hold the Kindle by having his finger on the page change key without this having any effect. More pressure, without moving the finger at any time, and page turns. Technology that works perfectly well and is convenient to use. We just regret the absence of a very light backlighting of these keys when in the dark: sometimes we fumbled a bit before falling over …

► A backlit display still effective
If assert that it is impossible to read on a tablet and an electronic reading light is essential would be lying, use of such a device with an E-ink display (Electronic ink with 16 gray levels) is certainly more comfortable for the eyes. First, because the glass that covers the slab is antireflective. Then because electronic ink can be read even in the sunniest conditions (at the beach for example). And when it’s dark, the Kindle Travel adapts. The 6-inch screen (15 cm diagonal) is backlit. A detail? Not at all: once you’ve tasted it, you can not do without. Perfect for reading at night without disturbing his / her partner. Moreover, it is possible to adjust the level of brightness but the unit has an automatic management function according to the ambient lighting. We used it and are captivated by its practicality. Well done!

WE LIKED LEAST

► Travel Kindle is not a baroudeuse
Despite its name, this electronic reading lamp Amazon is not protected against dust (sand station on the beach) or waterproofed. Too bad because this last feature that we could test with Kobo Aura H2O, is a real plus if you like to read in the bath or wants to enjoy his reading lamp near a pool without fear.

► The Kindle store: very simple but also very closed
Like Apple’s strategy and its closed ecosystem, Amazon Kindle e-readers are cut to work seamlessly with Amazon’s online bookstore but much less easily with other bookstores or libraries online. The Kindle can not read yet some popular formats such as ePub. However, he welcomed the arrival of the text-to-speak option, which transforms any book in audio book.

► A salty prices
A 190 euros for the WiFi version (250 euros for WiFi + 3G), the Kindle is really not travel given. This is the price to pay for a compact reading lamp, light, backlighting and ultra-easy to use. If this appeals to you but do not want to pay such a sum, the alternative is for Amazon Paperwhite. 33 g heavier on the scales and a slightly higher dimensions but 60 euros less at checkout (129.99 euros).

REPORT
addition to price a tad too high, the Kindle e-Travel is an excellent reading light which proves handy in everyday life and with good battery life. The library of Amazon is well supplied, although we would have appreciated the opportunity to use the ePub formats. With a few dollars less, we would advise you to go for it. Otherwise, there is always the Paperwhite …

Specifications

– Screen electronic ink 6 piuces (15 cm diagonal),
– density of 300 pixels per inch, 16
grayscale – Integrated lighting with automatic adjustment
– Intelligent Controls PagePress side
– 4 GB of internal memory (expandable via Amazon Cloud)
– File Formats: Kindle Format 8 (AZW3), Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, MOBI, PRC natively, HTML, DOC, DOCX , JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP
– Battery life: at the rate of half an hour per day, the unit can hold up to six weeks with wireless off and brightness set to 10
– Dimensions: 162 x 115 x 7.6 mm
– Weight: 180g to 188g in WiFi version and 3G + WiFi version

€ 189.99 PRICES
for the WiFi version and € 249.99 for the 3G + WiFi version.