Review: Why you must experience the Amazon Kindle Voyage

Why do I even need an eBook reader? 'I have an app for that on my smartphone.' 'I prefer paper books to eBooks.' 'I have enough devices sucking power at home. I don't need another one just to read books.' If you keep arguing along these lines every time someone tries to convince you to buy an eBook reader, chances are that you may lose out on an amazing experience; that of using the Amazon Kindle Voyage.

For me, it was love at first sight. The feel of the 7.6-mm-thick, lightweight (188 gms) device was awesome. I could finish reading an entire book without having to juggle it from one hand to the other. The Voyage can be easily carried in a handbag or a laptop bag. Its predecessor, the Kindle Paperwhite, was marginally heavier (206 grams) and, therefore, holding it for a longer period of time was a pain.

Setting it up is simple. Just power it on and key in your Amazon account details. You don't have to connect it to a Wi-Fi hub as it comes with inbuilt 3G access. You can download your books and also browse the Amazon store for more books without any hassle.

Yet another cool feature is the PagePress: the subtly-embedded physical button for turning the pages without lifting a finger. All I had to do was apply a little pressure to the bezel to turn the page.

Voyage has a new six-inch Carta E Ink HD touchscreen display, with a density of 300 pixels per inch (ppi). The items appear sharper with a higher-resolution screen. The ambient light feature lets you read in darkness as well as in sunlight by automatically adjusting to the brightness of your surroundings.

The Kindle Voyage is the lightest touchscreen eBook reader till date, but remember, at Rs 20,499, it costs considerably more than, say, the Kindle Paperwhite. If you are a wellheeled avid reader, however, then you may have found your perfect companion in the Voyage.

BAG IT OR JUNK IT:
The Voyage may be your best-ever eBook reader companion, but it comes for a price

PRICE: Rs 20,499

PLUS: Lightweight, free 3G access
MINUS: Price