Amazon Kindle 10th Generation - Don't call it Basic!

I’ve been fascinated by eBooks for quite some time. I’ve dabbled with the Kindle app both on my old Eee Pad Slider and on my various iPads, with the latter also seeing me try out Apple’s Books, but this never really caught on. The Eee Pad in particular was far too heavy, but even the iPads were not exactly lightweights for extended reading. The solution would of course have been to go for a dedicated e-Reader, but I never really got around to it. Plus, the original editions of Amazon’s Kindle were pretty pricey, and I didn’t see any reason for spending that money on a device that was only suitable for a single task. Fast forward to 2020 and the old rules don’t really apply anymore. In addition, Amazon recently released a new entry-level Kindle at a pretty competitive price point and so I decided to simply go for it. It took a week to get the device, thanks to Amazon’s increasingly “creative” logistics processes, but it eventually got here.

Tech Specs

The 2019 10th Generation Amazon Kindle is, on the surface, quite an unassuming device. Sporting an all-plastic case, it is available in either black or white. It’s not the largest device either, tipping the scales at 175 grams, and sporting a six-inch e-Ink  touch screen display, it measures 116 by 113 millimetres, with 8.7 millimetres of thickness. It sports 4GB of storage and a lithium ion battery with a maximum battery life of up to four weeks. As with the more elaborate models in the Kindle line-up, the device comes with little in the way of accessories, only a micro USB charging cable. There’s not even a charger, but given the abundance of USB ports on all sorts of devices these days, it’s not really much of an issue.

That's all, folks! the amount of accessories delivered with the Kindle is limited, to put it diplomatically.

Speaking of USB, you don’t really need that to get content onto the device. The 10th Generation Kindle sports both WiFi and Bluetooth, enabling the user to sync all their content directly with their Amazon or Audible account. For some reason, the device can’t connect to 5 GHz WiFi networks, only 2.4 GHz networks seem to work.

Setup and First Impressions

With those preliminaries out of the way, let’s take a closer look at the device. Not that it’s much to look at, mind you. It sports a plastic case with just one physical button, which is located at the bottom of the device next to the micro-USB charging port. Why on Earth Amazon hasn’t moved to a USB-C port in this day and age is beyond me, but that’s the way it is. Apart from that, you have the LED-lit six-inch e-Ink display on the front and that’s pretty much it. Everything is controlled via that touch-sensitive display and to be honest, it works pretty well, all things considered, if you overlook the awkward position of that power button. 

Okay, Amazon. What were your designers thinking when they put an indistinguishable power button on the bottom of the device?

Setup as such is pretty straightforward and is done exclusively on the device. The touch screen works pretty well and before you know it, you’re hooked up to WiFi and logged into your Amazon account. Any eBooks you already own will be synced to your Kindle automatically, the same goes for audiobooks sourced from Audible. Much to the chagrin of my bank account, the eBook section of Amazon’s online store is available on the device, and purchasing new books is deceptively simple. Goodreads, Amazon’s social reading app, is also available on the device and seamlessly integrated into the operating system. If you’re using a third party login service, just make sure to link your Amazon and Goodreads accounts on a computer before using Goodreads on your Kindle. It’s just a lot easier. In General, the user interface and software are simple but provide everything you need and more.

Everyday Use

Physically, the device is extremely pleasant to handle. It may not have the ergonomic finesse of the Kindle Oasis, but then again, the Oasis is three times as expensive as this device. It is light enough so that reading for an extended period of time is easily possible. The all-plastic case doesn’t feel cheap in any way and is actually quite pleasant to hold, as well as being easy to stuff into a bag or even into your pocket. The e-Ink display is easy to read, and the LED light does wonders in poor lighting conditions. You won’t need it all that often though, unless you live in that den of perpetual half-light that is Ireland. In all seriousness though, the display is easily readable in most daytime lighting conditions even without the backlight.

Your Library, Goodreads, the Kindle Store, all are available straight from the home screen.

As for the display as such, it is of course a touch display and as such, any interactions with the device happen here. It is a bit sluggish sometimes, but that is not really much of an issue at all. In fact, it makes accidental inputs a lot more unlikely, particularly when you’re stuffing it into a bag or getting it out. Also, since it’s an e-Ink display, you can forget about any colours. It’s shades of grey all the way, though thankfully not fifty. Then again, you’re reading, so only being limited to greyscale isn’t really an issue. If things do get dark outside, that’s not much of an issue either, the LED light for the display does wonders, making it easy to read on evening bus or train rides, if you’re one of those who can still take them.

When not in use, the display switches to this screensaver. It virtually never turns off unless you force the device to do so.

Seen here next to another member of the Amazon ec(h)osystem, seeing your Kindle charge is probably not something you'll see too often. I've been testing mine pretty thoroughly and I've been getting a good two weeks out of the battery with some pretty intense use of the display lighting.

Then there’s Audible. I’ve never been one to listen to audiobooks all that much, so that was a new experience for me, but I decided to sign up anyway. You’re going to need to pair your Bluetooth Headphones with the Kindle in order to listen to audiobooks, something which is pretty easy on the Kindle side of things. Once you’re paired and connected, you can listen away, everything works without any issues. I haven’t really had much use for this function since I’m not getting out much these days due to the ongoing pandemic, but I can see this feature being quite handy for a lot of people. 

One feature I wasn’t expecting was a fully functioning web browser. It is marked as “experimental” and is suitably sluggish to boot, but to even have the possibility of quickly checking something online is a major benefit that I most certainly wasn’t expecting, so well done to Amazon on that count. On a final note, it is possible to import your own eBooks or PDF files onto the device either by mailing them to a special email address or by connecting the Kindle to a PC or MacBook and transferring the files over that way. This is quite handy to have reference materials and other stuff available on the device, but there does not seem to be a magnification function for pdf files on the device, or if there is, I haven’t been able to find it.

Verdict

All in all, this device offers quite a lot in a small package. It may be Amazon’s entry level Kindle, but it certainly isn’t some cheap shot or discount device. For newcomers to e-readers, this 10th Generation Kindle is really a perfect place to start. Despite being all plastic, it doesn’t feel cheap at all, and even the sluggish display isn’t much of an issue. I mean, you’re using it to read books for crying out loud, not to play Crysis, or Microsoft's new Flight Simulator for that matter. Granted, the power button is in a pretty awkward position, but you won’t be using it all that often, so it’s not really much of an issue. Overall, it’s a good device and well worth the money. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to take my bank account to its therapy session. Something about being traumatised about me buying too many books…