Did you? I didn’t. Apparently I have been out of the loop. You can now walk into a Best Buy and compare a Kindle with a Nook and hold them both in your hot little hands. Even better than this? Best Buy sends out coupons on occasion. What does all this mean? This means that I have finally upgraded my well loved first generation to a brand new 3rd generation (wifi only) version.

Tada…. (click for full resolution)

Thanks to a nifty price match, best buy gift card rebate on a Nintendo DSi purchase for one of the girls, and a $20 reward zone coupon I was able to snag my snazzy new K3 for only $89 plus sales tax.

First impressions? O.M.G. Love. Seriously. I want to fornicate with it. I didn’t think I could love a Kindle more than I already did, but I was wrong. Now, do keep in mind… I upgraded from a 1st generation so the improvements on a K2 probably aren’t as dramatic.

So, my most loved upgrades?

• The size. Ironically with the K2 they increased the length and with the K3 brought it back down the original size, but made it thinner and lighter. Its like a freaking feather…. so easy to hold in one hand. I have always read my K1 inside its leather cover but I think to read the K3 in a cover would be wasting its incredibly comfortable size.
• The page turns. I never thought my K1 was slow until I turned the page on a K3.
• The chapter marks and percentage bar. Oh how I love. Not that it will keep me from staying up til 3 am to “finish this chapter” but… its nice to see.
• The screen. Better contrast and I get absolutely no glare from the lights overhead at the gym. I always had glare on my K1 and it drove me nuts trying to find the right angle.
• Text to speech. I don’t buy audio books but I can admit I’ve used the text to speech a few times already. At the gym when I want to jog instead of walk, for example.
• Landscape/Portrait Mode. This goes along with the text to speech gym thing. I was on the treadmill thinking to myself… Damn, I’d really like to be able to plug in headphones and listen to this book right now but the audio plug is on the base of the Kindle. I can’t plug it in, keep it resting on the ledge of the treadmill, and still follow along on the page. Then I remembered the landscape mode….. I turned it sideways, adjusted the text mode, plugged in my headphones, and was able to read/listen while working out. *happy sigh*

Things I’m not in LOVE with.

• Number keys. I miss having number keys on the keyboard. It is a bit awkward to remember to hit the “sym” button when I need a number.
• The “joystick” is nicer than my K1 scroll wheel but it takes some getting used to if you don’t have tiny fingers.

All in all, well worth the upgrade. As for why I chose the wifi version over the 3g version? Well I rarely use my 3g on the K1… I just don’t find it that necessary. I buy books on the computer and transfer them via the usb cable 9 times out of 10. The only time I use the 3g is to get netgalley books and I could work around that if I needed to, but I don’t see why I would have to. I am happy to load up my kindle via wifi and or computer once a week and be done with it. If I traveled a lot I’d consider the 3G but otherwise I think the wifi only version is plenty for most people.

Just as I expected when I first read about the Kindle 3s, Amazon has really upped the game with this release. Many people will still complain about its lack of color, but for those who just want a book reading device, you can’t get much better than a Kindle. Color comes with a cost, both money and convenience wise. I held the Nook Color and was disappointed in both its battery life and the sheer weight of the device. I will choose my black and white, easy to hold above my head, Kindle over that any day of the week.