Amazon Kindle Voyage review

No longer the most premium Amazon ereader

Kindle Voyage review
Expensive, but a very nice experience

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The funny thing about Amazon is that it doesn't really have a huge amount of competition in the ereader space. Of course, there are rivals, but for the catalogue and ease of use, most people are aware of what Amazon is doing over the others.

There's also no real direct comparison to the Kindle Voyage, as it's a very well-specified device that no other brand has been mad enough to try and put out. Others are all about getting the best price and the most books into readers' hands, where Amazon has tried to improve the experience.

Kindle Paperwhite

Kindle Voyage

The obvious rival is its predecessor. Still on sale for £109 in the UK and $119 in the US, this model offers many of the same tricks and experiences at roughly two-thirds the price.

What do you lose? Well, the text isn't as sharp, the backlight doesn't adapt to your surroundings (and is a little less uniform) and you don't get the fancy forward and back buttons.

Beyond that, you probably won't notice much of a difference. But those page turning buttons, when you get used to them, are a real differentiator, and the backlight uniformity on the Voyage is so much more pleasing, along with its more compact dimensions.

Kobo Aura H2O

Kindle Voyage

The big win here is that this ereader is waterproof – and it's also got a bright and easy to read e-ink screen, although nowhere near as sharp as on the Kindle Voyage.

It's got a simpler user interface, and has a clever combination with the Pocket app, which allows you to save things on the web you fancy reading and then check them out at your leisure on an ereader.

It's not as powerful by any means though, and not actually that much cheaper thanks to being £140 in the UK.

Nook Glowlight

Kindle Voyage

An ereader that doesn't quite match the quality of even the Kindle Paperwhite, let alone the all-new Voyage.

That said, it's only £80. That's an excellent price for something that's more compact, offers a bright and premium glow and has a nice and sturdy design.

The battery life is impressive, and the design is such that the Glowlight fits snugly into any bag.

It doesn't have the resource of the Kindle library, and there's a real sluggishness to the touchscreen. It also takes time to browse and download books, which irks when the Kindle is so swift at the task.

That said, it's a really good budget option should you be unwilling to part with your cash in the white halls of Amazon.

iPad mini 3

Kindle Voyage

I've chosen this over something like the Kindle Fire HDX as it's slightly better for what people will want in a tablet. Available for £319 it's rather a lot more money, but offers a huge amount more in the functionality department. (The Kindle Fire HDX is actually only £199, but I feel that it doesn't offer as wide a range of functionality).

The main question here is: what do you want it for? If you're someone who values the experience of reading, or likes to settle down for a long session with a hot cup of cider (or shots of absynth, if that's what does it for you) then the Voyage is the luxury item that offers the best experience there.

But if you're only going to read a couple of times a week and would love the power of one of the best tablet experiences on the market the rest of the time, the iPad Mini is a great option, if not a little more cumbersome.

iPad mini 3 review

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.