I don't read as much as i ought any more, so am contemplating buying a kindle to encourage what I feel should be an everyday pasttime for me. I don't want a 3G model, as I already have a wireless broadband connectio. So it is a choice between the new wifi model (£89) and the one with a keyboard at £109. Does anyone have the latter or the former and what is the advantages/disadvantages of both? Also, after having researched this ereader, I have not found the kindle book downloads to be cheap. Are there some good sites, apart from amazon, where one can download free kindle ebooks? I still like the idea of being able to handle the book; I'm like that with cds - I would rather have the cd and all the artwork/info than a mp3 download.

The £109 Kindle Keyboard obviously has the keyboard, but it also has twice the memory (4GB), twice the battery life, speakers, the ability to play music, the ability to play audiobooks and it has a web browser for basic searching.

Definitely worth the extra £20.

I have the new smaller one which is perfect for my needs. It has half the battery life of the Keyboard version, I've been using mine every day for a month (wifi switched off) and I've not had to charge it yet, so it's not a big deal.

I haven't needed to use the keyboard at all apart from to initially enter my wifi password and I prefer the smaller size and no keyboard to detract from the book.

half the storage space on the small one, "Oh my God" how will I cope with only about 500 books at my disposal - oh yeah that's right I only read one maybe two books at the same time.

I really think that if you want one for reading the new £89 version is the better option. If you think you'll be needing to make notes and shop for books on the go then go for the keyboard version.

I have the basic £89 Kindle, perfect for me. I wanted something to read on, so the lack of keyboard, speakers etc... means nothing to me, I have smaller better devices to listen to music and audio books on, surf the internet etc. The smaller memory again not an issue, does any one want or need to carry more than 1,000 books around with them? it's so easy to store books on your PC and send them to the kindle or buy new books in seconds that it really isn't necessary. Again battery life yes the keyboard kindle lasts upto twice as long between charges, but the basic £89 kindle still lasts ~1 month plenty of reading time between power points.

Also just think how many ebooks you can buy for £20?

Personally I never even considered the Keyboard Kindle as I wanted something to read on and didn't want to be looking at a keyboard all the time, get enough of that at work (yes that's right I look at the keyboard when I type, my touch typing is rubbish!).

I know people with the keyboard Kindle and they love it. It's just not for me. Both have the same screen technology so are great to read on, in fact I think easier to read then real books in a physical holding of the book way. Only minor thing I miss is book covers, it would be great if the Kindle showed the cover of the book you are reading as it's screen saver instead of some random pictures.

I've been debating this also, and I think I'm going for the cheaper version. I need a device to carry around in my bag that allows me to read as much as i want, and I'm a massive reader, instead of having to log around my books or buying new one abroad. I got to the conclusion that this idea that the Kindle is at the same time some sort of tablet does not really work for me. My husband owns Ipad and by God, Kindle even the most expensive ones, look pre-historic next to it. But then the Ipad is too shinny to read on the outside, and too fragile to treat as a book. So it's simply not a reader. So why bother with a more expensive version?

I recently purchased the Kindle keyboard wifi from Amazon Warehouse refurbished edition. As far as I can tell it is brand new with the cellophane film on both front and back and comes with a USB charger. It is preloaded with both English and American dictionaries which made me think it was ex US stock as I know they already have the Kindle Touch released over there and are maybe trying to get rid of older stock.

As has already been noted the keyboard version comes with twice the memory and speakers and can play music and audiobooks as well.

Considering the "refurbished" one is actually £10 cheaper than the "cheaper" new non-keyboard Kindle I think it is a no-brainer.

Use the extra saving to buy a Gelaskin if you don't like the expanse of grey plastic

Kindle downloads do start at being free and for certain authors they become expensive!, however I have increased my reading since having a kindle as I felt the same way as yourself but I love my gadgets anyway. I read some days every week. For free books try www.feedbooks.com, which download onto a computer then you drag and drop the downloads onto your connected kindle. I have the keyboard but I agree with the other posters go for the £89 one, oh and i have found at least 6 new authors that i really liked, which I wouldn't have done with physical books as samples from Amazon are always free and you get at least 3 chapters, to try. Hope that helps

Why not the £79 one with a keyboard, double the memory and audiobook capability if you need it?

I have both and recommend the keyboardless version as its smaller and lighter with nicer page turns (less black flicker).

The battery and storage are so great on both that it's a non issue.