Amazon are a US company that make some of their products available in the UK. The first four items mentioned below are available in the UK now, the next two are expected to be available soon and the last - the Kindle DX - is only available through the US Amazon website.
Apart from the differences between readers and apps given below, there are other differences which are not so obvious. For example, some newspaper and magazine titles are available for the readers but not the apps.
Kindle (reader)
This is the fourth version of the Kindle, so some people refer to it as the Kindle 4. It has been available in the UK since the middle of October 2011. The main difference in terms of accessibility to the previous version is the removal of the speaker and headphone socket, making audio output impossible.
The Kindle has a 15cm diagonal monochrome e-Ink display. It is the size of a slim paperback book and weighs 170g; despite this it can store 1,400 books. The battery can give up to 15 hours of reading time, and takes three hours to recharge. It has a Wi-Fi connection and the only controls are a 5-way (four arrows with an Enter key), and Font size, Home, Back and Keyboard buttons. When the Keyboard button is pressed, an on-screen keyboard appears which can be navigated with the 5-way.
Once a book is open, its text can be altered with the Font size button. There are no font options for menus or other facilities such as the dictionary or the purchase of eBooks from the device. You can use the Amazon website to purchase eBooks and have them sent wirelessly to your Kindle device.
Benefits
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E Ink Pearl display for improved contrast and sharper display.
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Three font options: standard, condensed and sans serif.
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Eight text size options, up to point size 36 (approximately).
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Three settings for customising line spacing, equating to single-, 1.5- and double-line spacing approximately.
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Three settings for customising words per line by increasing margins, with column widths of approximately 8cm, 6.5cm and 5.5cm.
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Preserves visual settings: when you open a book and customise your settings, they apply equally to any other book you open.
Obstacles
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No text-to-speech available.
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No text colour inversion option.
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Cannot increase font size of menus, on-screen controls or keyboard, or Store.
Kindle Keyboard (reader)
The Kindle Keyboard is the new name for the Kindle 3, which became available in 2010. The renaming took place when the new Kindle (some people call it the Kindle 4) became available in October 2011.
There are two versions of the Kindle Keyboard: a Wi-Fi only version and a Wi-Fi plus 3G version that can connect wherever you are, like a mobile phone. Unlike a mobile phone, there is no ongoing charge for the 3G facility in the UK and many other countries. The Wi-Fi only version, which is considerably cheaper than the Wi-Fi plus 3G version, is becoming progressively harder to find in shops or on websites.
It is possible to use the Kindle Keyboard to purchase and download eBooks directly to the device, but this facility does not work with the speech or magnification facilities. You can also use the Amazon website to purchase material and have it sent wirelessly to your Kindle device.
Benefits
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Text-to-speech feature for eBook content which can be turned on with a keyboard shortcut (Shift + Sym). This feature has to be turned on each time you open a book.
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Voice Guide (audible menus) for most menu items which can be turned on with a keyboard shortcut (Shift + Space). Once Voice Guide is switched on, it stays on whenever you turn on the device.
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E Ink Pearl display for improved contrast and sharper display.
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Three font options: standard, condensed and sans serif.
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Eight text size options, up to point size 36 (approximately).
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Three settings for customising line spacing, equating to single-, 1.5- and double-line spacing approximately.
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Three settings for customising words per line by increasing margins, so column width of text can be 5-6cm (2 inches); 6-7cm (2.5 inches) or 7-8cm (3 inches) wide approximately.
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Preserves visual settings: when you open a book and customise your settings, they apply equally to any other book you open.
Obstacles
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Text-to-speech feature is not enabled for all eBooks: RNIB estimate it is enabled for approximately 80 per cent of titles.
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Minimal navigation possible while text-to-speech is on.
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Voice Guide does not work on the Kindle Store, so you must use a computer to buy books and have them delivered to your Kindle Keyboard.
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Text-to-speech does not echo text input.
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Voice Guide and Text to Speech features do not work seamlessly together, so functions such as 'Table of Contents' and 'Search' are inaccessible to audio users.
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No text colour inversion option.
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Cannot increase font size of menu items or Kindle Store.
Download our quick guide to using the Kindle Keyboard's accessibility features, or our initial user assessment of the Kindle Keyboard.
Kindle for PC with accessibility (app)
The Kindle for PC app allows you to read Kindle books on a Windows computer. In May 2011, a version called Kindle for PC with Accessibility that incorporates a text-to-speech engine was released.
You need a screen reader to read the menus, controls and list of books available in the app, but once you open a book, a keystroke can be used to start reading it with the built-in text-to-speech. Unlike the Kindle Keyboard, the text-to-speech will work with any book acquired from the Kindle Store.
Benefits
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Built-in text-to-speech for content of all books from Kindle Store.
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Choice of two voices and three speed settings.
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Continuous reading or single page modes, and navigation by sentence.
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Many font size options up to approximately point size 56.
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Three colour options: white on black, black on white, and sepia.
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Margins are adjustable, which affects words per line.
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Brightness is adjustable from within the program.
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Some keyboard navigation, which could be useful to people with low vision.
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Preserves settings across all titles.
Obstacles
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Colours cannot be customised outside the range identified above.
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Adjustable text size applies to content only, not menus or other controls.
Download a document containing more information about Kindle for PC with accessibility:
Other Kindle apps
There are Kindle apps for Mac computers, iPad/iPhone/iPod touch, Android and Windows Phone. While these will support the magnification and colour-change features of the device they are on, it will not be possible to vocalise book content with a screen reader. The information below relates to the iPad.
Benefits
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'Zoom' increases font size to point size 80 approximately.
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Screen brightness is adjustable.
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Inherent White on Black option for content only.
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Content and menus accessible with iPad's White on Black function.
Obstacles
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Only four font sizes, up to point size 14 approximately.
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Not accessible with VoiceOver.
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No custom colour options.
Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire (readers)
These two devices were announced in the US at the end of September, but neither is available in the UK as yet and so their accessibility features are unconfirmed. The Kindle Touch differs from the Kindle in a number of ways:
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It is a touchscreen device
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It has storage for 3,000 books
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The battery lasts for up to 30 hours
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It weighs over 210 g
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It supports Audible audiobooks
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There are two versions: Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi plus 3G
Whereas all previous versions of the Kindle are monochrome devices, the Kindle Fire has a 17cm full colour screen and is capable of playing films, TV shows and games.
Kindle DX (reader)
The Kindle DX is very similar to the Kindle Keyboard, and shares many of the same benefits and obstacles. It differs in that it has a larger screen - 24.25cm diagonal - and a slightly different keyboard layout. It also has no VoiceGuide speech for menus or the book list, which means it's very difficult for someone with no sight to use.
The Kindle DX is not available within the UK, but can be ordered from the US Amazon site.