Buyer Notice – Important: Some of the big boys in the US & UK like Walmart , Target, Best Buy and RadioShack have started selling the whole kindle range for the exact same price as on Amazon, in their brick and mortar offline stores, last year. This is not at all the case and will not, if ever, happen in South Africa. Understand that the offline/online stores in South Africa are buying their stock directly from Amazon. So there is no way for them to match the Amazon stock price.
There is actually two offline stores now selling the device in South Africa which I wont name here for obvious reasons. These stores and some of the online sites can cut cost on import tax, duties & shipping because they order in bulk, but you will always find that they are still a couple of hundred bucks above the Amazon stock price. And with repairs the device goes directly to Amazon tech lab anyway, not to your SA supplier. Fact! Besides you will need an account with them anyway to buy your Kindle books. Your device will come fully setup and ready to go. So we here at eReaderPlanet recommend buying ONLY directly from Amazon. Please follow the rest of our buying guide below.
Kindle Comparison Chart
| Kindle Wi-Fi | Kindle Touch | Kindle Keyboard, Free 3G + Wi-Fi | Kindle DX, Free 3G, Graphite | |
 |   |  |  |
|
| Display Size | 6" diagonal | 6" diagonal | 6" diagonal | 9.7" diagonal |
| Display Type | E Ink Pearl | E Ink Pearl | E Ink Pearl | E Ink Pearl |
| Size | 6.5" x 4.5" x 0.34" | 6.8" x 4.7" x 0.40" | 7.5" x 4.8" x 0.335" | 10.4" x 7.2" x 0.38" |
| Weight | 5.98 ounces | 7.5 ounces | 8.7 ounces | 18.9 ounces |
| Storage | 1,400 books | 3,000 books | 3,500 books | 3,500 books |
| Battery Life (Wireless Of) | 1 month | 2 months | 1 month | 2-3 weeks |
| Battery Life (Wireless On) | 3 weeks | 6 weeks | 10 days | 7 days |
| Books in 60 Seconds |  | | | |
| Free 3G Wireless | (Touch 3G) | | |
|
| Global Wireless | 100 countries (Touch3G) | 100 countries | 100 countries | |
| Wi-Fi | | (Touch WiFi) | | |
| Native PDF Support | | | | |
| Whispersync | | | | |
| Worry-Free Archive | | | | |
| Text-to-Speech | | | |
|
| Price | WiFi $139 3G $189 Duties $22 Shipping $31 WiFi - Total $192 3G - Total $242 |
All International Kindle Purchases | Important Product Information
 | Your international shipment is subject to customs duties, import taxes and other fees levied by the destination country. Fees shown upon checkout. | |
 | Kindle ships with a micro-USB cable for charging your Kindle via a computer USB port. | |
 | You can transfer personal documents to your Kindle via USB for free at anytime. Service fees for transferring personal documents via Whispernet are currently $.99 per megabyte. | |
 | Wireless download times can vary based on 3G or EDGE/GPRS coverage, signal strength and file size. (See chart below) | |
 | Kindle books, newspapers, and magazines are currently priced and sold in United States dollars. | |
 | Access Wikipedia via Whispernet on the experimental web browser. Access other websites like Google via a Wi-Fi connection. | |
 | Kindle includes a 1-year limited warranty. |
Kindle 3G coverage for South Africa. Map depicts an approximation of coverage
Search Country Specific, Kindle 3G Coverage Below. Map depicts an approximation of coverage
From the days of the first huge computers, to laptops and palmtops, and finally to these smart digital book readers that are actually much more than that, technology changes very fast. We have seen this happen over the last few decades. And here we stand today with the Amazon Kindle, which has now become a global craze. Thousands of these devices have already been sold, and thousands of others are considering getting their own gadget. Are you one of them?
Since the early days when it was first launched, there have been many versions of the Kindle. We have seen the first generation Kindle, the Kindle DX, the Kindle Keyboard, Kindle Touch and the Kindle Fire, which is the latest gadget to hit the stands. There’s been a huge demand for all of them. Quite frankly, it is not that there have been no negative points of these gadgets, but the fact is that, the plusses outnumber the minuses by a great deal, and that’s precisely why, these readers have emerged as the most popular devices in the market. If you are thinking of buying the Kindle, then here are some reasons why you should do this.
Why You Should Buy The Kindle – The Top reasons
• The Kindle digital book reader lets you download and save thousands of books, magazines and newspapers. You can save them in the digital format, and so, you don’t have to purchase all those hardcover books anymore. It saves you space because you can store thousands of books in just a small device. This is a great device to have if you are somebody who reads a lot.
• Not sure whether you should buy a particular book or not? There’s nothing to worry. The Kindle lets you download the first chapter and read it free. Once you have read this, you will find it easier to decide.
• Kindle lets you see movies, listen to music and even play games.
• You can read PDF files and other business or personal documents easily.
• You can choose from millions of book titles at the Kindle Store. You will get almost all the bestsellers here. Many books are available for just $9.99. You can read Kindle Shingles for even less. Kindle Shingles are short stories or essays.
• The Kindle is extremely lightweight and small. It sits into your palm easily. You can carry it on the inside pocket of your jacket and even a large purse. This is what you need if you love to read when you are traveling. You don’t have to take all those books with you again. The Kindle is thinner than your average book.
• It is a truly portable device. You don’t need a computer to download the content. Kindle Wi-Fi ensures that you do not need to search for a Wi-Fi hotspot. You will love the free 3G + Wi-Fi. The 3G works globally.
• There is no monthly fee or contract amount that you have to pay.
• You will be able to read the Kindle books on your desktop or laptop too if you need to. The books will sync automatically with your computer’s application.
• The use of e-ink technology ensures that you can read even under direct sunlight. There is never any glare, which was a common problem with LCD screens.
• There are many font style and size options for you. You will be able to make the adjustments easily. The text is available in many languages and not just English. The Kindle DX, Kindle Keyboard or the other devices are now truly global.
• This is a really simple gadget. You can turn the pages easily, create bookmarks, make notes or highlight any text you want. There is also the library feature that lets you find the meaning or definition of any word you are unsure of.
• There was a time when the Kindle was sold just to people in the US. Now however, you can buy this device from just about anywhere. Amazon is shipping it to more than 100 countries. However, Amazon has restricted shipping policies for the Kindle Fire though.
• This gadget looks very pretty and smart.
Who Is The Kindle For?
This gadget is actually for anyone and everyone. Whether you are a business person who is always on the move or a mom who works from home or attends to your kids, you are sure to find this most handy. This is a great gadget for kids and students as well. There are book rental facilities that let you take the Kindle books at affordable prices. Students are always on a budget and so this feature will surely help them. Retirees love the Kindle Wi-Fi too as they finally have the time to read all those books. Just make it a point to complete reading 2 books in a week, and you will be able to read more than 100 titles in a year. This is a great device for everybody who cares about the environment. Don’t read paper books, and you can save the trees.
How The Kindle Performs When Compared To The Other Gadgets
Of course there are other digital book readers too. There’s Nook from Barnes & Noble, Galaxy, and there are others from several more electronic manufacturers. However consumer reports have revealed that people from across the world have shown a preference for the Kindle. It sells more than others. And that’s why the Kindle is the top selling product on Amazon.
The Different Kindle Models
A lot of Kindle models have been sold over the years. So which one should you buy? This guide will inform you about each of these models and help you decide.
The First Generation Kindle
Launched in November 2007, this was the original product from Amazon. It was an instant hit. Amazon was able to sell out all the products within just 6 hours flat. But the demand kept pouring in, and so, there was a five month waiting list for this gadget. The memory space here was 250 MB, and it could hold 200 books. It was priced at $399. The screen size was 6 inches. The first generation Kindle is however not on sale any more.
Kindle DX
Kindle DX was the second product to be launched. It was launched in June 2009. For the first time, users could read content both on landscape and portrait mode. All you had to do was just rotate the gadget. The screen size at 9.7 inches was also larger here. This device was PODF file compatible as well, and so, you could easily download PDF files to your Kindle DX and read them. Because of this, the gadget began to be used for business purposes too. Users could view charts and graphs. Its battery life was also improved as compared to the first generation readers. If you used the Kindle Wi-Fi, then the battery lasted for a week, and without this, you could use it for anything between two and three weeks.
Kindle Keyboard – Wi-Fi & Kindle Keyboard 3G
For the first time, Kindle provided free 3G + Wi-Fi. This product was launched in August 2010, and though initially it was named Kindle 3, but later on, it began to be known as Kindle Keyboard 3G. The Kindle Keyboard 3G provided both Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity. You could access from almost anywhere, and naturally, the users all loved it. The Kindle Keyboard just provided Wi-Fi only. This product was smaller in size and more lightweight too as compared to the DX model. It had an improved memory space and was thus able to hold up to a staggering 3,500 books at any time. It also supported mp3 music and audio books as well. For the first time Amazon introduced the e-ink technology to make reading completely glare free and a pleasure.
Kindle Touch
If you want a digital book reader that comes with text to speech features, mp3 and is audio book compatible too, then this is the one for you. If you love touch screen, then too you should select this free 3G + Wi-Fi model. You will be happy to know that the 3G works globally. The Touch will not cost you a fortune as well. It has been priced at $99, and $139 with the special offers. It continues to use the advanced e-ink technology, thus making the text and images really crisp. It comes with all the advanced features that users have come to expect from a Kindle. Its memory space is also very good. It combines everything and yet, is extremely easy to use.
The Kindle Fire
This is the latest gadget from Amazon. The Kindle Fire was launched in November 2011. This is where Kindle breaks the barrier and becomes much more than just a simple digital book reader. It today offers a complete entertainment package, as you can see movies, play games, listen to music and browse the web much better than before. The web browser is very fast. You will love the full-color display and the other smart apps too in this gadget. There are no monthly fees and no contracts. The internal storage memory has been increased to 8GB. Amazon Cloud provides you unlimited content storage abilities. Its battery life is also much better – just charge your Fire once, and you can use it for 8 hours straight.
There Are So Many Kindle Products – Which One Should I Buy?
It is an important decision that you will have to make here. So be careful – it is always a good idea to do some research before you make up your mind. There are many factors that must be considered. For instance, do you want global 3G, do you want Wi-Fi+3G, do you want a bigger or better display, or are you looking for a digital book reader that can save you money? Just keep the following in mind, when you are buying a Kindle.
• If you are looking for a Kindle with Wi-Fi but don’t really need global 3G, then you should go for the 4th generation Kindle – it just costs $109. There is the Kindle Keyboard too with Wi-Fi that costs $139. However this model is unavailable at this time.
• If you are a frequent traveler, then what you need is a device that comes with global 3G. There are two options for you here. You could select the Kindle Keyboard 3G – it comes with free 3G and Wi-Fi, and costs $189. The second option for you is the Kindle DX – the 3G here works globally. The DX model costs $379.
• If you want a bigger and better display, then you can select Kindle DX or the Kindle Fire. The DX model has an incredible 9.7 inch display with e-ink technology. The Fire has a 7 inch full color multi-touch e-ink display and it offers Wi-Fi too. But you should know that the Kindle Fire and Touch models are not available in South Africa at this time. So remember this when you are making your decision.
• If you want the cheapest model, then there’s a model available for you that costs a mere $79. This 6 inch gadget will however display advertisements on your screen. You will receive special offers and sponsored screensavers on the display. You can get this same gadget without these offers and screensavers if you feel agitated or distracted by them. It will cost you $109. That’s an additional one-time investment of $30, and so, it is certainly worth it. And the fact is that, you cannot anyway buy the $79 Kindle in South Africa, because this model is not available in the country. So go for the $109 Kindle in South Africa if you wish to save money.