While we've seen a lot of first look reviews in past weeks, now that the preorders finally started delivering to the international customers as well, we present you our own Kindle 3 WiFi+3G international review. If you are looking for comparison with Kindle 2, read here.

The most important question for non-US (international) folks is: Does Kindle 3 with 3G allow web browsing thru 3G, or is it limited to Wi-Fi. At least this was my top question, and since Amazon is kind of evasive about straight answer, here is my clarification. At this time web browsing thru 3G works without limitations. Kindle 3 will however notify you, that for better experience and faster page load time you should use Wi-Fi instead of 3G. But it will load any page, and it is, at least at this moment, not limited to Wikipedia, as the Kindle 2 was at first…

So, now that we got this out of the way, let me tell you about my Kindle 3 experience.

I did not own a previous Kindle device. But I did buy some cheap noname Chinese 6-inch e-ink ebook reader a few years ago. Reason being that I read a lot of stuff in PDF format. Also, I did have hands on experience with all of Kindles so far, and although with Kindle 2 I was on the verge of buying, I decided against it, for the sole reason of lack of native PDF support; and I did not like Kindle DX because it is too large to read in bed, and not to mention too expensive…

WHATS NEW

Major news is that Kindle 3 now has WiFi. For all the new features and improvements, go read  comparison between Kindle 2 and Kindle 3 here.

WHAT I LIKE

Speed! Kindle 3 is fast! Page turning times are so fast that you do not notice the turn. This is a big plus for me. Also - PDF page turning is whooooaaa faaaaaaaster than that 4 years old cheapo vanilla ebook reader. So kudos to Amazon there!

Battery lasts for a month! Expect it a week or so when using LED light in leather cover. But overall this is more than 50% better than in Kindle 2.

Wi-Fi also opens a new world. It works great, even with WPA2 protected routers/wifi access points.

Webkit browser it just sexy. Although Amazon still stuffs it into experimental category, it works great, and it properly renders all the pages I visited.

Although Amazon brags about 50% better contrast, I will say that I do not see the 50% difference… Is it better - yes, it is a little. So - this is no deal breaker for me. E-ink pearl display still offers 16 shades of grey, but it seems better experience than Kindle 2.

Buttons for page turning are quieter, but still not completely silent! Amazon need to work on this! Also 4-way button on the bottom (which substitutes the 4-way joystick found on Kindle 2) makes a lot of noise when pressed. If user is using English-to-English dictionary frequently, the whole experience is not  bedroom friendly (if you have  your partner sleeping there).

Unlimited 3G data (even in roaming), with unrestricted web browsing!

Text to speech works great, although it sounds a bit robotic at times, it is still useful especially for blind and for non-native speakers.

WHAT I HATE

Also the bigger 4G flash memory is nice, but I would love to see the SD card support, which would really open up the possibilities.

It is a real shame that Amazon decided against integrating 3D accelerometer in Kindle 3 (as can be found on Kindle DX). This means that turning orientation of pages is manual, and takes few seconds every time.

I also bought the leather case with integrated LED light - I will write a separate review for it - let me just briefly note that it works great, and that it is really neat to not have to worry about changing batteries or finding the clip-on light (which many used in Kindle 2)…

I wish Kindle 3 would have a touch-screen, as once you experience this the right way (iPad and NEW generation of Sony ebook readers) it is awesome (forget the 4-way button)… Also for highlighting passages it is way faster and more convenient.