The Paperwhite is offered in Black or Twilight Blue, along with the option of 8 GB or 32 GB storage. It can also pair with Audible to turn your Kindle into an audiobook, and Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity mean you’re always able to download your next read. Kindle claims the battery will last six weeks, but that’s based on a half-hour of reading per day without wireless connectivity. In practice, avid readers are likely to go through the battery in days, not weeks. The aesthetic design is brand new too, along with a number of performance upgrades. The 4th generation has ditched the cylindrical look of previous models in lieu of a sleek looking (and kind of adorable) spherical design. This isn’t just a visual upgrade: it also improves sound quality. This cute sphere is available in three color variations, as well: charcoal, glacier white, and twilight blue. It looks a bit more premium, blends in with all kinds of decor, and features that signature gradient light ring, now on the bottom of the unit. It can also double as an entertainment screen for playing Prime Video, music, or to guide you through recipes. It’s also very useful for calling and video calls, but the latter is currently limited to friends and family who also have Echo Shows—we’d love to see them become Skype or Zoom-enabled. Although the Echo is certainly an impressive product, its larger size may be a bit overwhelming in smaller rooms. The surround sound market is also so saturated with quality products already, it’ll be interesting to see how the Echo stacks up. That aesthetic design, like the Dot’s, eschews the old cylindrical form factor for a visually pleasing sphere, with the indicator light ring moved to the bottom. It will softly illuminate whatever surface its perched on, and the new Echo looks at home in practically any room or amongst any decor. The Echo Buds are compatible with Alexa, via the Alexa app, allowing you to have full voice control, hands-free. Although the battery life is decent, offering up to five hours of music playback per full charge, this isn’t quite as long as some of the other wireless earbuds on the market. Morning alarms can be set via the Glow, and the Rainbow Timer feature, which counts down the time by changing color, is useful for helping develop routines. The fun color changing settings are popular with kids, such as campfire mode and color flow, and we can certainly see how the Glow could inspire creativity during playtimes. The Flex also comes with a USB port, which is useful for phone or device charging, or it can also be used for one of the Flex’s accessories, which can be purchased separately, such as a motion sensor or a night light.
