Third generation: Kindle Keyboard
Amazon announced a new generation of the Kindle on July 28, 2010. While Amazon does not officially add numbers to the end of each Kindle denoting its generation, reviewers, customers and press companies often refer to this updated Kindle as the "K3" or the "Kindle 3".
The Kindle Keyboard is available in two versions. One of these, the Kindle Wi-Fi, was initially priced at US$139 / GB£111, and connects to the Internet exclusively via Wi-Fi networks. The other version, considered a replacement to the Kindle 2, was priced at US$189 / GB£152 and includes both 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity. The built-in free 3G connectivity uses the same wireless signals that cell phones use, allowing it to have download and purchase capability from any location with cell service. The new Kindle with 3G is available in two colors: classic white and graphite. Both models use the new E ink "Pearl" display, which has a higher contrast than prior displays and a faster refresh rate. However, it remains slower than traditional LCDs.
The Kindle Keyboard utilizes a Freescale i. MX353 applications processor, Freescale MC13892 power management chip, Epson EINK controller and Samsung DRAM and Flash. Other hardware changes include a larger 1,750 mAh lithium polymer battery, AnyDATA DTP-600W 3G GSM modem and Atheros AR6102G 802.11bg Wi-Fi chip.
The third-generation Kindle is 0.5 inches shorter and 0.5 inches narrower than the Kindle 2. It supports additional fonts and international Unicode characters. An experimental browser based on the popular WebKit rendering engine is included, as well as text-to-speech menu navigation. Internal memory is expanded to 4 GB, with approximately 3 GB available for user content. Battery life is advertised at up to two months of reading on a single charge with the wireless turned off.
Pre-orders for the new Kindle began at the same time as the announcement of the device, and Amazon began shipping the devices on August 27, 2010 in the United States and United Kingdom. With the announcement of the Kindle Keyboard, Amazon also launched an Amazon.co.uk version of the Kindle store. On August 25, 2010, Amazon announced that the Kindle 3 was the fastest-selling Kindle ever.
In late January 2011, Amazon announced that digital books were outselling their traditional print counterparts for the first time ever on its site, with an average of 115 Kindle editions being sold for every 100 paperback editions.
An ad-supported version, the "Kindle with Special Offers" was introduced on May 3, 2011, with a price reduction of $25 less at $114. On July 13, 2011, Amazon announced that due to a sponsorship agreement with AT&T, the price of the Kindle 3G with Special Offers would be lowered to $139, $50 less than the Kindle 3G. With the 2011 Kindle announcement, the price of the "Kindle Keyboard with Special Offers" was reduced to $99.
The Kindle Keyboard generally received good reviews after launch. In their Kindle Keyboard Review, Review Horizon, describes it as offering "the best reading experience in its class" while Engadget says "In the standalone category, the Kindle is probably the one to beat".
After the introduction of the low priced Kindle version, and Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire readers in September 2011 Amazon began describing the older Kindle version as the 'Kindle Keyboard' instead of the Kindle 3.
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