Kindle Paperwhite, 6" High-Resolution Display (212 ppi) with Built-in Light, Wi-Fi - Includes Special Offers

CUSTOMER REVIEW



This is the fifth e-ink Kindle reader that I've bought. My wife and I were early adopters of Kindle, and when we buy a new Kindle, the old one goes to the next niece or nephew in line. I loved the original Paperwhite, with its small size, touch screen, front-lighting, and virtual keyboard. The all-new Paperwhite is a definite step up, and for me, it was worth the move, but others will have to decide for themselves. If you read a lot, and you don't already have one of the newer e-ink Kindles, it's definitely worth upgrading to the Paperwhite. If you have the original Paperwhite, the upgrade is well worth considering. Although I've only had the new Paperwhite a few hours, I'm already glad I upgraded. Here's a summary of my initial impressions of the new Paperwhite.

SIZE: It's the same size as the original Paperwhite - 6.7"x4.6"x0.36". The weight has been reduced slightly from 7.8 ounces to 7.3 ounces. The Paperwhite is very comfortable to hold in one hand, which is how I usually read. The really good news is that if you have a case for the original Paperwhite, it will also fit the new one (thank you, Amazon). If you buy a case, I highly recommend that the case include the magnetic AutoWake function. It's much easier to turn the Kindle on and off without fumbling for the small power switch.

LIGHTING: The front-lighting is noticeably improved over the original Paperwhite, which had slightly visible shadows coming from the bottom edge where the LED lights were located. (It didn't bother me, but some readers were annoyed by that.) I couldn't see any shadows in the new Paperwhite, where the lighting appears brighter and more uniform. With the Paperwhite's front lighting, you'll never need a clip-on light, even in total darkness.

TOUCH SCREEN: The text appears a bit crisper with more contrast, even though the 212 ppi resolution is the same as the original Paperwhite (but it's much better than the 169 ppi of the earlier Kindles). Unlike backlit tablets and phones, which wash out badly in sunlight, the Paperwhite is very readable in any lighting condition from total darkness to bright sunshine, simply by adjusting the lighting level. The touch screen's responsiveness has been noticeably improved. Swiping the page with a finger or touching the left or right sides of a page turns it immediately. With my old Paperwhite, I sometimes had to swipe or touch twice. The new Paperwhite is definitely more responsive with faster-turning pages.

BATTERY: According to Amazon, "A single charge can last up to eight weeks (based on a half hour of reading per day with wireless off and the light setting at ten)." Certainly not all Kindle readers fit this profile. As much as I read, and because I download so many books that I leave the wireless turned on, I routinely recharge it about once every week or so just to bring the battery to full charge. In any case, the battery life is several times that of backlit tablets and phones. With the high-speed chargers that are available now, battery life shouldn't be an issue with the new Paperwhite.

OTHER COMMENTS: As a touch screen e-book reader, the Paperwhite has no physical I/O, aside from a power button and a recharging/data port. Unlike earlier e-ink Kindles, there's no provision for audio output, so you won't be reading audiobooks on the Paperwhite.

NEW OR IMPROVED FEATURES: The X-Ray feature from the original Paperwhite has been retained and improved to be more context sensitive. The new in-line footnotes that can be read without losing your place will make footnoted nonfiction books a more enjoyable experience, as will be the new navigation feature that lets you scroll forward and backward without leaving the page you're on. I haven't had a chance to play around with those very much, but what I've seen so far looks very promising. The new Paperwhite does not include FreeTime for kids or the built-in version of Goodreads (now owned by Amazon), but these features are expected to be added in a software update by the end of this year.

SPECIAL OFFERS: It's $20 more if you want to eliminate the special offers. You can do this at the time you buy the Paperwhite, or you can do it later online. Honestly, you get used to the special offers very quickly, and in my opinion, it's not worth the money to do away with them. Also, they don't interfere with your reading - you only see them when you turn on the Kindle, and after swiping the screen with your finger, they go away.

THE VERDICT: The new Paperwhite is the state-of-the-art e-ink ebook reader. With improved screen contrast for better readability, a more sensitive touch screen with faster page turns, and some new or improved features that enhance the reading experience, it was worth upgrading from the original Paperwhite.

Note: I also have a Kindle Fire HD 7", which I use for web browsing, emails, apps, and music, but for most reading, I prefer the Paperwhite, unless a book has color photos or illustrations.
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Update (10-31-2013): After using the new Paperwhite for a month, the added feature that I love the most is the Page Flip. When you're on a page, swipe up from the bottom, and a slightly smaller pop-up of the page appears. The pop-up has page turn arrows to go back or go forward in the book (you can also just swipe the pop-up page). When you're ready to return to your original page, press the "X" in the upper right corner of the pop-up, and the pop-up page goes away. It's as close as you can get to holding your finger between pages in a printed book while you flip pages. This is really a helpful feature.