The Kindle No-Touch/No Keyboard $79-$109 Model is available right away and here’s a software update for it already

K4nt sw v401Software v4.0.1 update for the Kindle 4 NoTouch/NoKeyboard model is already ready for download as an option.  What it does is allow you to have e-Ink refreshes on every page, as the default is to not have it refresh on each page.

Both the Nook and Kobo Touch devices do not have e-Ink refreshes (aka black flash page-turn) on each page.  While that can be nice, others have found that the less frequent black flashes are more disconcerting when you’re not used to seeing them (you can ignore something regular) and others did not like the dimming of the fonts that occurred with subsequent page turns.  So, now there will be an option.

“After your Kindle is updated, it will have a new “Page Refresh” option within Kindle Settings for turning on/off page refresh on every page turn.

I was not here last night and have not done info-pieces for the new e-Ink models, but will have those tomorrow.  In the meantime, all are pre-orderable but the other 2 new models are not available until Nov. 21 while this simple Kindle 4 with almost no features except WiFi, reading, lightness, is shipping.

Any searches for words, or any instructions needing typing such as location number or typing the first alpha character for a title look-up, will require use of an on-screen keyboard-diagram via which you can use the front bottom controller to “select” each character one by one.  It also has no audio and therefore no speakers :-), which further means no text-to-speech (TTS) but not many seem to use that feature. Me? I’d pay the $20 additional and get the abiility to use other tools if/when I want.

However, it’s only 6 oz’s, is therefore very light and very small and may be good for those who never plan to do searches or much keyboard input. For some, size is very important, in snug purses, pockets, etc. Truly portable even if not my own preference.

Via A Kindle World Blog

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