Jealously read about these being released in the US only, but now they are available here too.

Anyone else going to get one?

Dave

I’ve not felt the resolution was a problem (I said that about my iphone 3 though so perhaps I’d be convinced after owning one) and really don’t want a light in it. What would be the benefits of it outside those?

I read it as Kindle Paperweight.

The light is a big one for me – I do a lot of reading in bed, and often don’t want to stop when the missus is tired and wants to turn the light off.

Reading with a headtorch is annoying, and disturbs her anyway. I haven’t tried the original kindle with a cover mounted light, but it seems like a bit of a bodge – having a built in light seems like a much neater solution.

I have original keyboard stylee kindle and a cover with a light built in, but for a new purchaser this would be heaps better

how will it compare to kindle fire for reading I wonder?

had I not got one of the official kindle covers for the wife a month or so ago I’d have sold my kindle and got one of these.

The amazon cover with the built in light (that uses the kindle battery) is extremely well made if pricey when not on offer. I’d have a cover on any one I had anyway so I’ll probably wait until our breaks

I’m unconvinced – it seems to be going back to the backlit screen which makes long reading on the iPad unpleasant. I like the little pop-up light on my Kindle, it’s more grazing light which seems more natural.

I’d have to see it for real, I think.

@bencooper – it’s stressed pretty heavily on the page i linked that this isn’t a backlight – it is a front light spread through a sheet on top of the e-ink display, so the light bounces off the page to your eye, rather than shining directly at you (like an ipad).

Dave

Yes, but it’ll still be direct illumination not grazing illumination. I think I need to see one for real to be convinced 🙂

Besides, my 2-year-old likes the “tiny streetlight”…

The cover-based light spills an awful lot of light. Although I’d imagine this does too… but it’d give you the option of having a neoprene cover for protection which can be removed entirely to read, which is not bad either.

actually I think that one of the benefits of the kindle cover with built in light is that the case is permanently (ok not quite) fixed to the kindle so you don’t leave it off and suffer device damage…

I’m very interested in getting one of these. Not having a backlight (frontlight, whatever) is the only reason I’ve not bought an e-reader yet. I’ve been reading stuff on smartphones/PDAs for about a decade simply because they mean I can read in the dark without disturbing the missus. It’s the only real advantage that gadgets have over a book to my mind (I still prefer books, but you can’t read them in the dark without a lot of faff). I can’t believe it’s taken this long to fix the e-reader illumination problem.

actually I think that one of the benefits of the kindle cover with built in light is that the case is permanently (ok not quite) fixed to the kindle so you don’t leave it off and suffer device damage…

Yes, I like that – just close the lid and it folds down the light, turning it off automatically. You just close it the way you close a book, no remembering to turn it off. For some reason I’m much more Luddite about books than I am about other stuff, so I like how I can just treat it like a book, shutting it and putting it on the bedside table.

All doable with the new one – the covers you can buy for it do the auto-sleep stuff.

Maybe it’s not earth shattering enough of a difference to upgrade, but it’s starting to look good enough for me to stop procrastinating and buy one 🙂

Dave

I’ve also read a review of the lit Nook – which uses LEDs at the edge of the screen to illuminate, rather than backlighting.