Kindle Voyage Review

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Amazon has done amazing things with its suite of Kindle products, and the Kindle Voyage is no exception. While the Kindle Oasis is actually the flagship version of the Kindle products, the Kindle Voyage offers many of the same perks with a smaller price, which we think makes it the best buy for consumers.

How Does the Kindle Voyage Work?

Kindle Voyage works like most other e-book readers. In the simplest of terms, you download a book to the reader and can instantly access and “flip” through it as if it were an actual book. Of course, e-book readers offer a lot more than that, and Amazon is at the top of the game when it comes to seamless integration and ease-of-use for its e-book readers.

First, you can access Amazon’s library, with hundreds of thousands of books available, straight from the Kindle Voyage. If you already have your payment information set up in your Amazon account, you can literally buy a book on your Kindle with one click. You then download the book to your personal library, which exists both on your Kindle and in your Amazon account, so you can access your books on other devices, as long as you have a Kindle Reader app.

One of the best features is that you can access books from your local library and “borrow” them to your Kindle Voyage. You can also lend books you have bought to your friends, and they can do the same for you. This, along with the large library of free public domain books that Amazon has, means you are able to read thousands of books for free.

Kindle Voyage also comes with great features that can make reading easier. It offers a landscape display, so you can read your book horizontally if you wish. It has great LED lights that will make it easier to read both in the direct sunshine and in the dark. Its PagePress sensors make it easy to flip through your book as if it was paper, and its in-line dictionary and education features make it easy to look up the definition of words or access character bios just by clicking on a word or name, and then Kindle will return you to exactly where you were reading, which is a great feature.

What Can You Read on a Kindle Voyage?

Books are not the only things you can read on your Kindle Voyage. Here’s a good breakdown of all the other publication options that you can buy and access:

Newspapers: You can buy a newspaper subscription straight from your Kindle or Amazon account, which includes a 14-day free trial. You also have access to the 14 most recent issues of the newspaper, as well as the current issue.

Magazines: Magazine subscriptions work the same way as newspaper subscriptions, which also include a 14-day free trial. With magazines, you actually have access to the 40 most recent issues of the publication, as well as the current issue. You can also link current subscriptions to newspapers and magazines to your Amazon account to get access to them on your Kindle.

Comic Books: Amazon also has a wide range of comic books that you can download and read on your Kindle Voyage. The selection includes everything from graphic novels to Garfield comics, so you should be able to find anything you are looking for.

PDFs: You can upload your own PDFs to your Kindle to add to your library so you can access them when you need them. You can either use a USB port to transfer the files or use the Send-to-Kindle app. Since eReaders do better with black and white text, complex PDFs might not convert as well.

Anything interactive, like games, won’t work on the Kindle Voyage. You also can’t browse the web or access or send emails from Kindle Voyage. It is an eReader, which are all only used for reading. If you want something more interactive, there are always the Kindle Fire tablets that let you do all of that and more.

Common Kindle Voyage Reviews

Kindle is one of the top eReader brands, and Kindle Voyage is one of its top products, so it is safe to assume that the reviews for this eReader would be positive; and they generally are.

In almost every professional consumer product review of eReaders, a Kindle product ends up on top. It’s usually the Kindle Oasis, which does have more options and features than the Kindle Voyage, but at $100 more, the features are not worth the money. We feel like the Kindle Voyage is a better bargain for the avid reader who wants to take their eReader everywhere without breaking the bank on price.

On Amazon’s site alone, the more than 12,000 reader reviews include more than 80 percent 4- and 5-star reviews, with 65 percent being 5-star. Most readers see it as an important upgrade to the Kindle Paperwhite and love the high-res screen and 3G capabilities the most.

Is Kindle Voyage Right For You?

Whether the Kindle Voyage is right for you comes down to how you are going to use it and what you are looking for. Here are few questions to ask yourself.

Do I need a high-resolution eReader? If so, Kindle Voyage is the perfect choice. Of all the high-res eReaders, it is among the least expensive, which makes it a good bargain. It has a 1448×1072 resolution and 300 ppi density, which makes it very easy to read. If you read more comic books or graphic novels, this is probably a better option for you.

Do you want to use your eReader on the go? Kindle Voyage is one of only two Kindles that allows for 3G connectivity, so if you opt in for the data plan, you can take Kindle Voyage anywhere you want and still be connected. Keep in mind, you don’t need to be connected to the internet to read books you’ve already downloaded; the 3G is only needed to access books and publications from the cloud, buy new books or download books to your Kindle.

Do you read outside? Since the Kindle Voyage has an adaptive lighting option, it is easier to read in both sunlight and darkness than most other eReaders. The Kindle Oasis is the only other Kindle that has that option, and it is almost $100 more.

If you are just looking for a simple eReader that you can use at home and just connect to your home Wi-Fi, you can probably look at the cheaper options for Kindle, including the Basic Kindle or the Kindle Paperwhite, which offers more options but is still a basic eReader.

About the Author

Jeff Hindenach

Jeff Hindenach is the co-founder of Versus Reviews. He graduated from Bowling Green State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. He has a long history of journalism, with a background writing for newspapers such as the San Jose Mercury News and San Francisco Examiner, as well as writing for The Huffington Post, New York Times, Business Insider, CNBC, Newsday and The Street. He believes in giving readers the tools they need to get out of debt.