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IRL: the Kindle Touch, a repurposed Army bag and a non-user replaceable laptop battery
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. Hi there, folks. It's that time of the week where we share our close and very personal experiences with various gadget paraphernalia. This week, Brian makes the switch from the Nook Simple Touch to the Kindle Touch, Ben explains why he'd rather replace his own laptop battery, thank you very much, and Don makes the case for a laptop bag that looks anything but.
Kindle devices selling at a rate of one million a week ahead of holidays
Amazon tends not to be all that specific when it comes to Kindle sales figures, so it's always nice to see a number from the retail giant, even if it's as broad as the one it released today. According to the company, Kindle products have moved at a rate of "more than one million per week" for the past three weeks. That number includes the currently available members of the e-reading family, including the fourth generation Kindle, the Kindle Touch (both the WiFi and 3G versions) and the Fire. According to Amazon, the latter is "the most successful product we've ever launched," having topped the company's sales charts for 11 weeks. Press info after the jump.
Ad-supported Kindle 4 has built-in $30 "upgrade", gets rid of embedded special offers
Was it too cheap? Well, here's some great news for fourth-generation Kindle users already tiring of its embedded ads looking cheap alongside their Vertu phones. You can now pay Amazon the requisite fee and unsubscribe from built-in advertising and offers. Visit the Manage your Kindle webpage and you can edit your subscriptions for the newest entry-level e-reader. There seems to be no option, however, to do the reverse just yet. Would Amazon hand over $30 to push those special offers into our currently ad-free Kindle?
Amazon Kindle review (2011)
Switched On: Between a Nook and a hard place Engadget's holiday gift guide 2011: e-readers Kyobo, Qualcomm make Mirasol color displays a reality, with the Kyobo eReader There's little question that the Fire stole the show at last week's Amazon event. After all, the new tablet marks a change for the company's Kindle line, which until now has been defined by relatively simple E-Ink-based devices. The Kindle Touch, meanwhile, stepped up to bat to take on the likes of new Nook and Kobo touchscreen readers. But while most expected that device to become the heir to the Kindle throne, the company made a something of a surprise move, offering up a new device that will bear the reader's name. Now in its fourth generation, the Kindle has shed its keyboard and been reborn as a pocket-sized, lighter-weight reader. And a cheap one, at that -- $109 for the standard version and $79 for the ad-supported. So, is the new Kindle worthy of the name that has become synonymous with e-readers? Or did the company make too many sacrifices in the name of slashing prices? Find out in our review after the break.%Gallery-135516%
