Elegant, Easy-to-Use E-Reader
Lose Yourself in Your Reading
The most elegant feature of a physical book is that it disappears while
you're reading. Immersed in the author's world and ideas, you don't
notice a book's glue, the stitching, or ink. Our top design objective is
to make Kindle disappear — just like a physical book — so you can get
lost in your reading, not the technology.
Ergonomic Design
Kindle is easy to hold and read. We designed our e-reader with long-form
reading in mind. When reading for long periods of time, people naturally
shift positions and often like to read with one hand. Kindle's
page-turning buttons are located on both sides, allowing you to read and
turn pages from any position.
Precise 5-Way Controller
Kindle has an easy-to-use 5-way controller, enabling precise on-screen
navigation for selecting text to highlight or looking up words. No
on-screen fingerprints.
Never Gets Hot
Unlike a laptop, Kindle never gets hot so you can read comfortably as
long as you like.
Wireless Capability
Built-In Wi-Fi
Kindle automatically detects nearby Wi-Fi networks at school, home, or
your favorite café. At a hotel or café that requires a password? Simply
enter the password and connect to the network. Once you have added a
Wi-Fi network, Kindle will automatically connect to that network the
next time you're near the hotspot.
Free Access at AT&T Hotspots
Enjoy free Wi-Fi access at AT&T hotspots across the U.S. for shopping
and downloading Kindle content — no AT&T registration, sign-in, or
password required.
E Ink 101
Latest Generation E Ink
Kindle uses E Ink Pearl – the latest generation of E Ink technology
available – to deliver clear, crisp text you can read without eye
strain.
How Electronic Ink Works
Electronic ink uses actual ink particles to create crisp, print-like
text similar to what you see in a physical book. Kindle uses
proprietary, hand-built fonts to take advantage of the special
characteristics of the ink to make letters appear clear and sharp.
Reads Like Real Paper, Even in Bright Sunlight
Because Kindle's electronic display uses E Ink, it looks and reads like
real paper. Kindle's screen reflects light like ordinary paper and uses
no backlighting, so you can read as easily in bright sunlight as in your
living room.
Adjustable Text Sizes, Font Choices Kindle has eight adjustable
font sizes to suit your reading preference. You can increase the text
size of your favorite book or periodical with the push of a button. If
your eyes tire, simply increase the font size and continue reading
comfortably. Kindle also has three font styles to choose from – all
optimized and hand-tuned to provide the best reading experience.
Custom Fonts
Kindle uses hand-built, custom fonts and font-hinting to make words and
letters more crisp, clear, and natural-looking. Font hints are
instructions, written as code, that control points on a font character's
line, improving legibility at small font sizes where few pixels are
available. Hinting is a mix of aesthetic judgments and complicated
technical strategies. We've designed our proprietary font-hinting to
optimize specifically for the special characteristics of electronic ink.
Faster Page Turns
Kindle now has faster page turns. We've done this by fine-tuning
Kindle's proprietary waveform, the series of electronic pulses that move
black and white electronic ink particles to achieve an optimal display
of images and text.
Support for Non-Latin Characters
Kindle supports the display of non-Latin characters, so you can read
books and documents in the translation that's right for you. Kindle
displays Cyrillic (such as Russian), Japanese, Chinese (Traditional and
Simplified), and Korean characters, in addition to Latin and Greek
scripts.
Full Image Zoom
Images and photos display crisply on Kindle and can be zoomed to the
full size of the screen.
Rotate Between Portrait and Landscape Mode
Switch between portrait and landscape orientation to read maps, graphs
and tables more easily.
Real Page Numbers
Easily reference and cite passages or read alongside others in a book
club or class with real page numbers. Using the computing fabric of
Amazon Web Services, we've created algorithms that match specific text
in a Kindle book to the corresponding text in a print book, to identify
the correct, “real” page number to display. Real page numbers are
available on tens of thousands of our most popular Kindle books,
including the top 100 bestselling books in the Kindle Store that have
matching print editions. Page numbers are displayed when you push the
menu button.
Carry and Read Your Personal Documents
Kindle makes it easy to take your personal documents with you,
eliminating the need to print. You and your approved contacts can e-mail
documents - including Word, PDF and more - directly to your Kindle and
read them in Kindle format. Your personal documents will be stored in
your Kindle library on Amazon and ready to download conveniently
anywhere at any time. You can add notes, highlights and bookmarks, which
are automatically synchronized across devices along with the last page
you read using our Whispersync technology.
You can read your PDFs in their native format, view them in landscape
mode, or zoom in up to 300% to view small print and detailed tables and
graphics. You can also convert your PDF document to the Kindle format so
that it reflows like a regular Kindle book.
Dictionary and Search
Built-In Dictionary with Instant Lookup
Come across a word you don't know? Kindle includes The New Oxford
American Dictionary with over 250,000 entries and definitions for
free. Kindle lets you instantly lookup the definition without ever
leaving the book – simply select the word with the cursor and the
definition will automatically display at the bottom of the screen.
Search Wikipedia and the Web
Kindle makes it easy to find what you're looking for. Just enter a word
or phrase and Kindle will search every instance across your Kindle
library, in the Kindle Store, on Wikipedia, or the Web using Google
search.
Notes and Sharing
Bookmarks and Annotations
Add annotations to text, just like you might write in the margins of a
book, with a virtual keyboard that appears just when you need it. And
because Kindle ebooks are digital, you can edit, delete, and export your
notes. You can highlight and clip key passages and bookmark pages for
future use. You'll never need to bookmark your last place in the book,
because Kindle remembers for you and always opens to the last page you
read.
Popular Highlights
See what millions of Kindle readers think are the most interesting
passages in your books. If several other readers have highlighted a
particular passage, then that passage will be highlighted in your book
along with the total number of people who have highlighted it.
Share Meaningful Passages
Share your passion for books and reading with friends, family, and other
readers around the world by posting meaningful passages to social
networks like Facebook and Twitter directly from Kindle, without leaving
the page. Want to post or tweet about a great new novel or newspaper
article? When you highlight or create a note in your book or periodical,
you can easily share it with your social network. Help your network of
family and friends discover new authors and books.
Public Notes
Share your notes and see what others are saying about Kindle books. Any
Kindle user – including authors, book reviewers, professors and
passionate readers everywhere – can opt-in to share their thoughts on
book passages and ideas with friends, family members, colleagues, and
the greater Kindle community.
Lend Your Books
Lend eligible Kindle books to other Kindle or Kindle app users. Each
eligible book can be lent once for a period of 14 days. Not all books
are lendable — the publisher or rights holder determines which titles
are enabled for lending. For more information on how to lend Kindle
books, visit our
help page.
Public Library Books
Customers can check out a Kindle book from their local library and start
reading on any Kindle or free Kindle reading app.
Customize Your Kindle
Choose Your Language
You can customize your Kindle with the language you prefer. You can set
your default language on Kindle to English (US and UK), German, French,
Spanish, Italian, or Brazilian Portuguese.
Organize Your Library
Organize your Kindle library into collections, or categories, to easily
access any book you are looking for. You can add an item to multiple
collections to make organizing and finding titles even easier. For
example, you can add the same book to your "History" and "My Favorite
Authors" collections.
Password Protection
With password protection functionality, you can choose to lock your
Kindle automatically when not in use.
Special Offers
Special Offers and Sponsored Screensavers
You'll receive special offers and sponsored screensavers directly on
your Kindle. Examples of past special offers include:
• $10 for $20 Amazon.com Gift Card
• Save up to $500 off Amazon's already low prices on select HDTVs
• $1 for a Kindle book, choose from thousands of books
Your offers display on your Kindle's screensaver and on the bottom of
the home screen – they don't interrupt reading. You can set your
personal Kindle Screensaver Preferences to give us hints on the style
and types of sponsored screensavers you'd like to see.
The Kindle Store
Access the Kindle Store wirelessly right from your Kindle – search and
shop the world's largest selection of books that people want to read,
plus magazines, newspapers, blogs and games. We auto-deliver all your
purchases in seconds – simply search, buy, and you're ready to read.
Personalized Recommendations
Kindle makes it easy to discover new titles with recommendations
personalized just for you. The Kindle Store uses the same personalized
customer experience you're used to across Amazon.com, matching our best
recommendations to your personal reading habits.
Over a Million Books
The Kindle store contains the largest selection of books people want to
read: over a million books, including over 800,000 at $9.99 or less. We
work directly with publishers to get the latest bestsellers, biggest new
releases and the titles most popular with tens of millions of Amazon's
book customers.
Over 2 million free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books are also available
such as Pride and Prejudice and Treasure Island.
Newsstand
Shop and subscribe to your favorite magazines and newspapers such as
Time, Newsweek and The New Yorker, from Newsstand. New
editions are auto-delivered wirelessly direct to your device the second
they go on sale.
Blogs
Stay up to date with the latest tech stories, sports results and news
updates from your favorite blogs. Subscribe to popular blogs such as
Gizmodo, The Onion and ESPN to receive auto-updates on
your Kindle throughout the day.
Games
Take a break from reading to enjoy a selection of great games specially
designed for Kindle, like Every Word and Number Slide.
Experimental Features
WebKit-Based Browser
Kindle features an experimental web browser based on WebKit to provide a
better web browsing experience. Now it's easier than ever to find the
information you're looking for right from your Kindle. Experimental web
browsing is free.