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And that leads me to my greatest complaint about the All-New Kindle: Its lack of backlighting. The device’s janky text can be hard on the eyes, especially in dim light or under lamp light. The 2016 Kindle’s text is legible enough, but I found that my eyes tired more quickly than they did after reading other e-readers. The displays on the $120 Kindle Paperwhite, the $130 Kobo Glo HD, and every device further up the scale boast resolution of 300 ppi. You might be able to live with needing two hands to read books on the new Kindle, but your eyes won’t appreciate reading a display that delivers only slightly more than half the resolution-167 ppi–that pricier e-readers offer. Moving my thumb to touch the screen repeatedly caused me to lose my grip. Without physical buttons for transitioning to a new page or interacting with the e-reader’s user interface, I found it hard to use with one hand. Its six-inch E-Ink display is set into the device slightly lower than the bezel framing it. Every device in Amazon’s current e-reader lineup has one, as do most of the ones from companies such as Rakuten Kobo, Icarus, and InkBook. Six inches is a popular size for E-Ink displays these days. It should survive most casual abuse, but be aware that it’s waterproof or even water resistant. I love the more-expensive Kindle Oasis for its size and weight, but I live in constant fear of dropping it or discovering that the heavier stuff it shares space in my backpack with has destroyed it. Weighing a mere 5.7 ounces and measuring 6.3 x 4.5 x 0.36 inches, the 2016 Kindle is light and compact enough to allow for long, comfortable reading sessions, even if you’re holding it with one hand. And did we mention its sub-$100 price tag? Unfortunately, after spending the last several weeks using one, I don’t believe any of those perks compensate for this new Kindle’s copious shortcomings. It’s lighter than the combined weight of the company’s Oasis flagship with its battery cover attached, and with no backlight to power, it can run for far longer than more capable e-readers-a month or more, depending on your reading habits.

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Amazon jammed a number of great features $80 entry-level Kindle e-reader ($100 if you want to be free of Amazon’s “special offers”).

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