Need reviews about Kindle EReader

[Maybe this reply comes too late, however, still posting it in hopes that it might help other users]

I own the basic Kindle with 6" Glare-Free Touchscreen Display and Wi-Fi

I have been a Kindle user since 2013, and my first Kindle was non-touch with buttons to operate it, and I liked that one much better.

However, when it broke down (because I stepped on it) after 2 and a half years, I had to buy this new touch Kindle because Amazon had phased out the older non-touch versions.

As a person for whom reading is as necessary as food, water and air; Kindle is a must-have gadget. I don’t leave my home without it. I travel by Mumbai trains and thus carrying and using a Kindle is much easier than juggling a fat paper back in crowded trains.

I am far from a gadget-lover but this is one gadget I can’t stop raving about. The best thing I like about the Amazon Kindle is that it reads like paper. After spending most of my waking hours in front of a computer or mobile screen, reading on Kindle offers great respite for my eyes.

According to me, the basic Kindle is worth every bit the Rs 5,999 (although I had bought it at Rs 4,999). It has a long battery life (lasts one month), 4GB storage, in-built dictionary to look up meanings of words and Wi-Fi. You can read almost all kinds of file formats on it, even PDF. It also allows you to take notes, highlight what you want, look up phrases on Wikipedia or X-Ray and make flash cards. You can also read books in other languages on the Kindle. It is sturdy, and I can use it for years without having any real trouble with it.

However, unlike the other Kindles i.e. Paperwhite, Voyage and Oasis; the only thing lacking in the basic Kindle is that you cannot read it in the dark. It has no built-in light. Although it causes a slight inconvenience sometimes, when I read way in to the night with the lights on, I have still not considered buying the Kindle Paperwhite. Because the basic Kindle suffices all my reading needs at a great price.

Rs 10,999 seems like a little too much just for built-in light. The problem is easily solved by using a small table lamp. Apart from that, the Paperwhite comes with a better resolution (300 ppi) and free 3G – again, not worth Rs 5k extra.

Same goes for Kindle Voyage and Kindle Oasis, both come with additional features like adaptive light sensor, free 3G, water resistance for higher price; all of which I don’t really feel I need.

As far as alternatives to Kindle are concerned, since I have not used any other e-reader, I tried researching. I came upon Kobo (a Japanese brand) that makes e-readers, but they are costlier and not widely available in India. There’s Nook by Barnes & Noble, but it is more of a tablet. The Pi reader by Infibeam only exists in memory now.

If you don’t mind reading on mobile/ tablet screens, then the best alternative is to download an e-reading app like Kindle, Google Play Books on your preferred device.

Please check out the offer that’s right now in Amazon for Prime users. Present price for kindle paperwhite is Rs 8249+10% cash back on SBI cards. It’s good deal check out.

However, alternative to kindle is Kobo which we don’t get in India.