Kindle Paperwhite

[Thudlow_Boink]

@bldysabba

I have an old kindle, and I would have upgraded to the paperwhite in a second if they’d only put page turn buttons on it. What I don’t understand is - why wouldn’t they? It makes no sense.

Almost certainly, it’s because it would cost more, and they believe the increased cost wouldn’t be balanced by increased sales. But I, too, would be more likely to upgrade if the Paperwhite had page turn buttons. I like being able to hold my Kindle in one hand and turn pages by just applying a bit of pressure.

@aceplace57

I resent the extra charge for the Kindle 3g’s. As usual, the new paperwhite 3g is fifty bucks extra.

Book files are tiny. You can fit most on a floppy disk. Charging every customer fifty bucks to transfer books they bought from Amazon stings.

I’m guessing their research indicates that, if the 3G version were substantially cheaper, some customers would use it so much over the course of its lifetime that it would end up costing Amazon money. If you don’t think it’s worth the extra cost to you, don’t buy it.

[rocking_chair]

@InternetLegend

I have a Kindle Keyboard (hey, Kindles have been around long enough to have old-school versions now!) and I love it, although I would have considered myself a hard-line physical book lover. I’ve had it for two and a half years now, and I’ve been thinking about the Paperwhite, because I think the brighter background is prettier, and because I’m not all that enamored of the keyboard.

The library feature is incredible. Details may depend on your library, but mine lets me check out six books at a time, for up to three weeks each. My library (perhaps like all libraries?) uses the Overdrive Media Console. It was very easy to set up, and it’s outrageously easy to use. When I check out books, I click on the download button, choose the Kindle format, and the link opens an Amazon page where I can click on a button to have the book sent to my Kindle via wi-fi. If I want to return a book early (almost always), I can do that through the “Manage my Kindle” page on Amazon, and that opens up another slot in my library account. The only drawback I’ve found is a somewhat limited availability of Kindle-format ebooks (there are a lot of them, but I’m impossibly demanding). When my library first started offering Kindle books, there were a few hiccups (it sometimes took a long time for a returned book to register on the library site), but those smoothed out wonderfully over six months or so.

You can read magazines and newspapers on the Kindle, but it’s not great for graphics. The smallish screen doesn’t really lend itself to those formats, either. Because I chose the Kindle specifically for its non-back-lit screen, I’m willing to overlook that, and I just read those things on my laptop instead. Oh, and that’s another bonus: you can read your Kindle books on up to three other devices as well. And there’s the “Cloud” reader, which lets you access your library from any computer. You do have to choose only one device to download your library books to, but any content you own can be accessed from any of the devices you’ve chosen.

My Kindle crashed once, but I was able to talk to an Amazon representative through a live chat, and she walked me through the process of restoring all my content. I had to re-create my “Collections” (a way to group the books), but otherwise it was seamless.

I’d recommend the Kindle pretty whole-heartedly, but I’d also like to hear some opinions from people who’ve upgraded to the Paperwhite from an older e-ink version.

i also have the keyboard kindle, and also considering the paperwhite; mostly for being able to read in dark surroundings.

[madmonk28]

Can I ask about the light on the Paperwhite? I have a cover for my Touch that has an LED light built in that works fine. Is the Paperwhite backlit? and if so, isn’t that worse for your eyes?

[Trinopus]

@aceplace57

I resent the extra charge for the Kindle 3g’s. As usual, the new paperwhite 3g is fifty bucks extra.

Book files are tiny. You can fit most on a floppy disk. Charging every customer fifty bucks to transfer books they bought from Amazon stings.

@Lord_Feldon

So, you think you shouldn’t have to pay for the extra hardware and the continuing service? . . .

I’m confused. I have an older Kindle. If I buy a new one, there is an extra charge for my purchases to be licensed and readable on the new Kindle? I keep all my books on my PC, and only transfer them to my Kindle to read them. I can understand paying a (small) licensing fee so that they are all now legit to read on the new device. $50 is too much, but if I read the above posts correctly, some of that is for other stuff, not just the licensing. Am I close?

re the Paperwhite, can you turn the illumination off when its not needed? Seems like I could extend battery life by not using it in daytime, or with a bedside lamp, etc. (I guess this qualifies as a stupid question: Kindle is really good about personal choices and configuration!)

[Thudlow_Boink]

@madmonk28

Can I ask about the light on the Paperwhite? I have a cover for my Touch that has an LED light built in that works fine. Is the Paperwhite backlit? and if so, isn’t that worse for your eyes?

No. See Post #28.

@Trinopus

I’m confused. I have an older Kindle. If I buy a new one, there is an extra charge for my purchases to be licensed and readable on the new Kindle?

No there is not. What aceplace57 was referring to is that a Kindle device with 3G (i.e. one that is equipped to receive ebooks and other data over a 3G connection) is significantly more expensive to purchase than one without (where you’d have to either have a WiFi connection or connect to a computer via USB cord to get your ebooks onto the Kindle).

[bldysabba]

@Thudlow_Boink

Almost certainly, it’s because it would cost more, and they believe the increased cost wouldn’t be balanced by increased sales. But I, too, would be more likely to upgrade if the Paperwhite had page turn buttons. I like being able to hold my Kindle in one hand and turn pages by just applying a bit of pressure.

It can’t possibly cost that much more, can it? And considering that turning pages is what you’ll be doing 95% of the time you spend using the device, a dedicated system would be worth it. Terrible design decision.

[Helena330]

@Ranger_Jeff

I have a Nook Wifi and a Nook HD+. I love having a library of 856 (so far) books in a convenient portable package. I think everyone should give some sort of ebook reader a try.

I have a Nook HD and it’s the favorite thing I own. It’s always with me. I agree that everyone should try something, however. I was one of those physical book people, until I got an ebook reader and now am totally hooked.

My library uses Overdrive and I can check out 30 books at a time. gutenberg.org has public domain books. Barnes and Noble has a number of free books-I don’t know if Amazon’s the same, but Amazon does have good sales on ebooks sometimes.

I’m a fan of Calibre as well. It will convert those free Barnes & Noble (epub) books to Kindle (mobi) books.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/free-nook-books?store=ebook&keyword=free+nook+books

[Merneith]

@bldysabba

It can’t possibly cost that much more, can it? And considering that turning pages is what you’ll be doing 95% of the time you spend using the device, a dedicated system would be worth it. Terrible design decision.

It would cost some more, certainly, and it’s not like the margins on these things are all that fat. Plus, more moving parts equals more things that can go bust. And of course there the supply and support costs of having another model.

It would also raise the weight of the device to add extra buttons in addition to the extra light layer.

None of that is insurmountable, of course - but then, really, neither is getting used to the touchscreen.

[Son_of_a_Rich]

It’s kind of amusing- I read a review of the Paperwhite on Cnet, and after listing some of the positives, there was this: “The bad: Device hasn’t gotten smaller or significantly lighter since last year…” I guess they had to find some nit to pick. That should have been more of an observation than an example of the bad- these things are (imho) just about miraculous in what they deliver in such a small package.

[Misnomer]

@Merneith

None of that is insurmountable, of course - but then, really, neither is getting used to the touchscreen.

I’m used to the touchscreen, and obviously I think the Paperwhite’s positive attributes outweigh the lack of page turn buttons, but that doesn’t meant I can’t wish it had 'em.

[Merneith]

Sure. But the guy I was replying to said it was a terrible design decision. It’s not, even if some people would like a different option.

[Terr]

@Son_of_a_Rich

It’s kind of amusing- I read a review of the Paperwhite on Cnet, and after listing some of the positives, there was this: “The bad: Device hasn’t gotten smaller or significantly lighter since last year…” I guess they had to find some nit to pick. That should have been more of an observation than an example of the bad- these things are (imho) just about miraculous in what they deliver in such a small package.

What exactly is the point of making it “smaller”? I definitely don’t want the screen made smaller, and it’s about as thin and light as it can possibly get (0.4", 0.47lb).

[bldysabba]

@Merneith

It would cost some more, certainly, and it’s not like the margins on these things are all that fat. Plus, more moving parts equals more things that can go bust. And of course there the supply and support costs of having another model.

It would also raise the weight of the device to add extra buttons in addition to the extra light layer.

None of that is insurmountable, of course - but then, really, neither is getting used to the touchscreen.

Is there any way for us to quantify how much extra it would cost? Here’s a link about the early kindle 2 cost breakdown. Personally, I think it’s pretty clear that the page turn buttons would be a very marginal extra cost, but if anyone has experience on the matter, I would welcome inputs. Further data points - The current Kindle with page turn buttons(but without touch screen) is 30$ cheaper than the one with the touch screen. Interestingly, the Nook touch screen model has page turn buttons and is cheaper than the Kindle touch by 20$. So clearly additional cost of page turn buttons is not significant.

And I highly doubt that page turn buttons would add any weight to the device. Certainly not appreciable weight. Nor is there any evidence that an appreciable number of Kindles fail due to the page turn buttons being moving parts. I checked the support forums, and there’re barely any threads complaining about page turn buttons not working. So, Amazon hasn’t introduced an option that doesn’t/shouldn’t cost all that more, and would have added a functionality that is clearly a deal-breaker for quite a few people (It has also been mentioned on some of the mainstream reviews). I’ll stick with my original verdict of terrible design decision.

[Mauvaise]

@InternetLegend

I’d recommend the Kindle pretty whole-heartedly, but I’d also like to hear some opinions from people who’ve upgraded to the Paperwhite from an older e-ink version.

I had the 1st Gen Kindle, then the 3rd (Kindle Keyboard) and finally the Paperwhite. I’ve loved everyone of them, but hands down my favourite is the Paperwhite. I waited a few months to get mine after the release as apparently they had some flaws with the first runs (as can be the case).

The front edge lit is a stroke of genius. I love that I can read in bed without disturbing my husband or straining my eyes. I love that I can go on a beach vacation and bring 300 books with me so I’ll always have something I want to read and it takes up less room than one regular mass market paperback.

There are things that require getting used to. Some are “issues” with all Kindles, some exclusive to the Paperwhite. The page “turn” (or flash) is a bit different than a regular paper book, but after about an hour (or less), you forget about it and it becomes just as natural.

They really don’t have a good way of organizing your books. Introducing collections was a definite step in the right direction, but they are still a pain to set up initially and maneuvering from book to book isn’t as intuitive as I feel it could be.

For the Paperwhite, because it’s front lit with four small LEDs, you do see a bit of a shadow on the bottom of the screen in between the lights. The shadows don’t reach any of the text (at least not on mine) and doesn’t interfere at all with reading, but it was quite noticeable and even a tiny bit distracting when I first got the Paperwhite. Less than a week went by before that too “disappeared” and I don’t even notice it any more.

Like others - I really miss the physical page turn buttons from my previous Kindle. I find it a bit harder, if not actually impossible, to read one-handed with the Paperwhite.

If all you want is a a device to read books on, you can’t get any better than the Paperwhite and I recommend Kindles to all readers. If you want to do more (use the web, email, etc), you will be very disappointed. I have an iPad for that stuff. Even given the “issues”, I think the Paperwhite is one of the best pieces of technology I’ve ever owned and while I don’t feel the need to upgrade yet, when it comes time I will absolutely buy another Kindle.

[Battle_Pope]

I had one of the first-gen paperwhites and liked it a lot but ended up selling it and getting a Kobo Glo.

Mainly because the Amazon software sucks when it comes to collection and book management (via Calibre <– get this software if you have an e-reader). I’ve found the Kobo is much, much better at this and has a few nice features (the cover of your current book acts as the screen saver when you put the device to sleep etc).

[Thudlow_Boink]

@Battle_Pope

and has a few nice features (the cover of your current book acts as the screen saver when you put the device to sleep etc).

I’ve always wished the Kindle would do this! It’s the way real books work, after all.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

I’ve got one (Wi-Fi only) and I love the shit out of it. The only thing I’d change is making it a little fatter because it can be uncomfortable to hold while lying down.

ETA: It’s an older one, though - purchased Christmasish 2011.

[Battle_Pope]

@Thudlow_Boink

I’ve always wished the Kindle would do this! It’s the way real books work, after all.

It’s what really annoys me about Amazon - the Paperwhite hardware and accessories are really nice but the software just needs a few useability tweaks and I’d still be using one rather than a Kobo.

On the e-reader boards the main things I’ve seen people wanting are better collection management and the ability to add your own screen-savers without having to jailbreak but Amazon keeps locing down the software rather than adding what people are actually asking for.

[PhillyGuy]

@Rebo

Can I read magazines? Newspapers?

For me, the killer app is the New York Times Latest News Blog for $1.99 a month. It has about a dozen full stories, with changes coming over 3G once or twice an hour. However, it is basically US-only.

Free 3G world-wide cell-phone network internet, available with the Kindle 2 and 3 AKA Keyboard, is for me a tremendous newspaper feature. However, it only works well for text-oriented web sites, like this:

http://www.readingthenet.com/mob?ct=pg1&whp=30&u=twp.com

or

http://mobile.nzherald.co.nz/

or

http://mobile.nation.co.ke/

or

http://www.readingthenet.com/mob?ct=pg1&whp=30&u=m.timesofindia.com

Email is clumsy, but you CAN send and receive email for free most places in the world. Seamlessly. Without having to call anyone, or change your SIM card.

The Paperwhite 3G browser barely works and only for a couple web sites like Wikipedia and Amazon. So I would much rather have a used Kindle Keyboard 3G, as I do.

Now, lots of people hate the eInk (black and white) Kindle browser because it is extremely slow for interactive and graphic-heavy web sites. Since I am a text-oriented person, this is fine with me.

As for magazines, I am paying Amazon $1.99 a month for the Atlantic Monthly. But I just got a direct mail offer, for the paper edition, for $20 for two years. Less than half the Kindle price! I like the Kindle edition better since I always have it, but it’s not worth 2 1/2 times the price. I will be switching.

[Quimby]

For anyone who has the Paperwhite vs. the old style one: how does the battery life compare? I have always been amazed how long my Kindle goes between charges. I imagine this one is harder on the battery.