Which is the Best Kindle to bring on a Bicycle Tour?

When it comes to the Kindle you get a lot more bang for your buck these days. For the record, I still own the original Kindle Fire. It is still working great, despite a cracked-glass screen. (Never leave a Kindle plugged in where your other half might walk in and trip on it - take a lesson from the wise.) The current/latest model (as of 2017) is Kindle Fire 10. Here's the tech info:

The all-new Fire HD 10, now with a brilliant 10.1” widescreen 1080p Full HD display with over 2 million pixels. The new Fire HD 10 is 30% faster with a speedy quad-core processor and 2x the RAM, plus 32GB internal storage and up to 10 hours of battery life — now only £149.99. Fire HD 10 also introduces Alexa hands-free for the first time on Fire tablets — just ask Alexa to play or pause a video, find music, dim the lights, set a timer, show your calendar, and more simply by using your voice. 

I have never had many complaints with my Kindle as regards speed: it is usually much quicker than my Mac or Asus notebook at starting up, and it rarely freezes on me. The 10-hour battery on the Fire 10 is quite amazing. I think my current Kindle's battery lasts about 3 hours when using it to do a mixture of reading books and surfing the net. The Alexa voice command feature is a huge advancement on my current model, though to be honest, I can't see how this would be much of a time-saver over using your fingers, though I suppose dictating writing or searching for items would be much easier. On this model the feature is hands-free, you only have to say Alexa and at the rest is at your command.

The introduction of a camera was one major advancement on the Kindle allowing the user to skype with family and friends while traveling abroad. And there is something cool about being able to bring friends on a virtual tour of the house or gardens. It is definitely a step up on my old model.  

The Kindle 7 tablet (it is a 7'' tablet hence the name) offers amazing value at just £49.99. It offers comparable features to the Kindle 10 for a third of the price.  It lists the following features:

• The next generation of our bestselling Fire tablet ever - now thinner, lighter, with longer battery life and an improved display.
• Beautiful 7" IPS display with higher contrast and sharper text, a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor and up to 8 hours of battery life. 8 or 16 GB of internal storage and a microSD slot for up to 256 GB of expandable storage. Available in all-new colours: Black, Marine Blue, Punch Red and Canary Yellow.
• Alexa gives you quick access to the information and entertainment you want. Ask questions, play music, get the news, weather, control your smart home and more - just press the home button and ask. (Enabled via an over-the-air software update)
• Enjoy millions of movies, TV shows, songs, Kindle eBooks, apps and games - including Amazon Video, Netflix, Facebook, Spotify, TuneIn, Instagram and more.
• Prime members get access to over a thousand books and magazines, more than two million songs, thousands of movies and TV shows and secure photo storage - at no additional cost.
• Watch downloaded videos offline anywhere with a Prime membership or Netflix subscription.
• ⭁←Enhance your entertainment experience with features you only get from Amazon - including ASAP, X-Ray, On Deck, Blue Shade and Fire for Kids Parental Controls.

So, which would I bring on my next tour given the choice? If it was just based on a weight comparison I'd probably choose the Kindle 7 at 295g versus the Kindle 10 at 500g. But then the larger screen on the Kindle 10 does offer a level of comfort when reading on tour. Then, there is the storage capacity the Kindle 7 offers 8 or 16 GB (which is truly astonishing when you stop to think about it!) whereas the Kindle 10 offers 32 or 64 GB (expandable by up to 256 GB! That is just a mindblowing amount of storage space: think about the number of books and movies you could bring with you on tour!) If I was being frugal I'd bring the 7, but if I fancied a bit of comfort and luxury on the trip, I wouldn't hesitate to bring the Kindle 10.

Yes, I believe I am overdue a newer model. You know now what to get me for my next birthday.