Kindle 2022 review: The lightweight hardbound

The Amazon Kindle has a 6-inch display and is a compact device. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/Indian Express)

At 6 inches, the new Kindle is also great to hold for long hours, especially when you have just a few fingers out of the blanket on a cold Delhi night. And there is just one physical power button at the bottom, so handling is as simple as it can be. The 300-PPI display makes everything look sharp and clear.

The backlight is a great help for those like me who prefer reading themselves to sleep and do not want to bother others in the process. And the dark mode makes it even easier on the eye. In fact, the brightness is perfect for reading out in the bright winter sun too, though it’s too cold these days to read anything longer than a short story outdoors.

My Kindle library is seen on the Amazon Kindle 2022. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/Indian Express)

The controls with brightness and the fonts give finicky readers like me the ability to fine-tune settings exactly the way they want. But then going back to reading a physical book becomes a pain.

As part of my New Year resolution to read more, I bought Melody Razak’s Moth, which looks at lives in Delhi just before Partition. The book was engaging, and on the Kindle reading is as natural as it is on a book, just more convenient.
But I feel the navigation out of the book and into your library needs to improve. It is still like it was years ago, and hasn’t adjusted to readers, who are now more familiar with swipe-ups and double taps. There has to be a better way to return to one’s library.

The cover of Melody Razak’s Moth is seen on the Amazon Kindle 2022. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/Indian Express)

Also, it is time Amazon made buying new books easier, especially in India, where QR codes and UPI are ubiquitous with micro-payments. Even now, if you don’t have a balance in your Amazon wallet, you need multiple devices to buy a new book. And for some strange reason, I was not getting the buy option on the Kindle edition of many books, like The Emperor of All Maladies which I was trying to download after listening to Siddhartha Mukherjee at the Express Adda this week.

The Emperor of All Maladies cover is seen on the Amazon Kindle 2022. I had some trouble adding this to my library. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/Indian Express)

That said, it is now much easier to set up a new Kindle, as the app assists you on your phone. Plus, one-tap access to the dictionary is a great feature that adds so much value. You can also highlight portions you like. And X-Ray, which lets you tap on a character and scan her presence in a book, has been one of my most-used Kindle features for years now.

One tap on the Kindle will let you access the dictionary (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/Indian Express)

With 16GB storage, you can literally carry a public library in your jeans pocket. Charging is easier now with the USB-C port, and you don’t need to carry an extra micro-USB cable just for your Kindle. Anyway, the charge will last at least a week with heavy reading, so a charger is not that important here.

At the present price of Rs 8,499, this Kindle is a great upgrade for those on earlier versions or a good buy for those who want to move on from physical books and access the unlimited world of words. While you can now read Kindle easily on your phone or tablet, there is something about a Kindle that is akin to the feel of holding a book, similar to the trophy value of possessing that new hardbound. And that is why you will get this one.