Amazon Kindle

Performance

Premium performance in a low-price package. A minor 2012 refresh improved the Amazon Kindle's page rendering times beyond their already impressive speeds, and brought sharper and even easier-to-read text to the E Ink display. Beefed-up parental controls are also new. The icing on the cake is a $10 price cut. Otherwise, everything critics loved about the Amazon Kindle's performance remains intact, which makes reviews of last year's version still helpful in evaluating the e-reader.

The Kindle's major flaw is file support: It can't open books saved in the widely used ePub format, and books downloaded through Amazon's bookstore are saved in a proprietary format that can't be read by other e-book readers. The device's four-week battery life is impressive in its own right, although the Kindle can't hold a charge for as long as the more expensive Kindles or the Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch (*Est. $100).

Features

Stacked with value-adding extras. Amazon loads its e-book reader with lots of helpful additions. Kindle owners get free access to AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots nationwide, while Amazon Prime members can download a single free e-book at a time through the Kindle Owner's Lending Library. Kindle-to-Kindle lending is also on board, and Amazon's bookstore is the largest available. The Kindle even includes a built-in dictionary and a basic web browser, although they're clunky to navigate, especially with the e-reader's minimal controls.

One drawback is the Kindle's lack of expandable storage; most competing e-book readers include a micro-SD card slot. However, the Kindle's 2 GB hard drive can hold more than 1,100 e-books, and Amazon offers free cloud-based storage for any title bought through the Amazon.com bookstore. WhisperSync technology remembers your page if you want to pick up a book where you left off on another device.

Ease of use

Great for reading, but not for everything else. Ease of use is one area where reviewers aren't big fans of the Amazon Kindle. Flipping through a book is comfortable enough -- although experts say the page turn buttons could be bigger -- but typing information is a pain with the Kindle's minimal buttons. That makes browsing the web or searching for online books more of a headache than on touchscreen e-readers or the Amazon Kindle Keyboard 3G (*Est. $140 and up), which includes a full QWERTY keyboard and free 3G cellular data. You'll need to connect to a Wi-Fi network to go online with the basic Kindle. While reviewers say Barnes & Noble devices are slightly more comfortable in hand, the Kindle is nonetheless remarkably light and a pleasure to hold.

Value

An undeniable value. The Amazon Kindle delivers a top-notch reading experience and tons of extra features for a price far lower than the competition. However, touchscreen e-book readers such as the Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch and Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (*Est. $120 and up) deliver a user interface that's more conducive to typing.

Bottom line

The Amazon Kindle continues to outshine its competitors in performance and book selection while undercutting them on price thanks to cost-reducing and unobtrusive Special Offers lockscreen ads. Reviewers say if you're looking for a non-touchscreen e-book reader, the Kindle is the best option.