So...the lady friend wants a kindle, initially she thought she had decided on the touch screen, then she had doubts and decided on the keyboard, now (unsurprisingly) she can't make a decision.

So...could any of you offer advice, opinions or recommendations on the various forms of the Kindle available?

Thanks in advance

I've never used one, so couldn't directly say.
However a reasonable question would be: Does she prefer touchscreen mobile phones or phones with physical number buttons?
I'd have though that would give her an idea of which to buy.

Has the good lady had an opportunity to caress the above mentioned articles in person for a direct comparison?

Both valid points -

Mr Lev - she does prefer touch screens however she doesn't have to read a book off her iPhone. She's concerned that she'll not be able to read the screen too well with finger marks all over it, she's also concerned that she'll touch the screen at the edges when holding it (which skips the page).

Mr Matt - Nope, she hasn't yet been done, she's off to the shops tomorrow to test run them however it can be hard to get a good feel for what the product will be like long term just by using it for ten minutes hence asking for advice here.

Thanks

I've always been put off by the page load times on the Kindle so far. In the news this week I've seen that they've released an update that should help with this. At the moment the update is available but isn't being pushed to the devices atm, so consider that display devices may not have been updated if performance seems sluggish. I haven't had a chance to test the difference yet, but if it makes it more useable then I'll want a kindle asap.

I've got one of the old steam powered Kindles and I love it. A word about the screen - unless you're eating greasy chips the screen stays remarkably fingerprint free (and I'm quite anal about that sort of thing). Page refresh times don't bother me either as my braincell is getting on now and doesn't put in the effort it used to. Just get one - you can always sell it on if it doesn't meet expectations.

Al

I was going to say the same as Al RE the screen.

Also, I was in Tesco the other day and looking at the new kindles.

This one... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kindle-Wi-Fi-6- ... d_i=468294

Anyway, the page turns were lightning fast compared to my kindle.

This is mine... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kindle-Wireless ... 114&sr=1-4

The page turns on mine aren't particularly slow. It's still quicker than it would be to physically turn a page etc...

I have the new Kindle - the one without the keyboard. I love it, and the pages refresh faster than I can flip a page in a book.

One thing though - if your lady friend is planning to use it for more than just reading i.e. facebook etc.., get her one with a keyboard. Navigating the on-screen keyboard is the only negative point about mine, but I don't really use it for anything other than books.

I vote for the older one.

I really don't get on with touch-screens - especially not whilst reading by lamplight.

AFAIK the touch screen one isn't out in the UK is it?

Just checked and I was right. The only options are the keyboard one (i.e. the old one) or the non-keyboard one (i.e. the one with the 5-way switch).

No touch one yet in the UK.

Fair enough.

(I meant the keyboard one btw.)

The first thing even I tried to do was 'swipe' with the latest standard UK version Ollie linked to , there's also nothing wrong with the page refresh times IME with that version

Unless you plan to make full use of Amazon store browsing/buying (3G?) or are absolutely desperate to log on somewhere quickly, I'd go with the touch version.

Thanks all, input passed on and I think she might go with one of the newer ones although not sure which yet.

The touchscreen is available here although she's still unsure about it.

We're definitely getting one now at least!

Not from Amazon, so it'll be a pretty safe bet that any for sale in the UK will be US imports - not necessarily a problem, just be aware of what you're buying.

Indeed.

Also, you may (although I'm not certain) have trouble tying it to an Amazon UK account.