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Amazon Kindle updated, ditches keyboard

Amazon has updated the popular Kindle ebook reader, and it's just £90 -- but that's a lot more than in the US.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
Expertise Films, TV, Movies, Television, Technology
Richard Trenholm
2 min read

When it comes to setting prices here in the UK, Amazon is cruel to be Kindle. The online retailer and ebook champion has ditched the keyboard from the popular Kindle ebook reader, and although it's just £90 that's a lot more than our friends across the pond have to pay.

As long as they don't mind a few adverts, that is. The new Kindle with ads on it costs $80 -- just £50 -- in the US. The advert-supported model isn't on sale here, so we're stuck with the pricier model.

The all-new Kindle is 18 per cent smaller and 30 per cent lighter than the current model, weighing 170g. It has the same 6-inch e-Ink screen, which is easier to read outdoors than a tablet or phone because it doesn't suffer from eye-bothering glare.

The screen also uses very little battery power, so can go for a whole month without needing to be recharged.

Amazon reckons the processor is 10 per cent faster, so there's less of a wait when you turn the page. It has built-in Wi-Fi to pluck ebooks from the air in a matter of moments, and can hold around 1,400 books. Your books are also stored online, so you can download them again whenever you want. And if you want to read on a different device, like a phone or tablet, your bookmark is kept in place even on the other devices thanks to Whispersync.

The new Kindle is on sale now from Amazon, and will be delivered from 12 October. Do you think the price is right, or do you feel cheated?

Amazon today announced several new products. The hotly anticipated Kindle Fire is a 7-inch tablet powered by Android.

Amazon also unveiled the first touchscreen Kindle, the Kindle Touch. It comes in 3G and Wi-Fi-only flavours, and works by tapping the screen to turn the page. UK prices for the Fire and Touch have yet to be confirmed.