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WilliamG · 10-15-2012, 11:39 PM

OK throwing my 2 cents in, and this is copied from my post on the Kindle boards.

Well, I'm going to go as far as to say that the Paperwhite is simply not even CLOSE to the device Amazon advertises.

First, the "print" on the Paperwhite doesn't even come close to that of the Kindle Touch. It's obvious there's a layer above the Paperwhite display for the capacitive touchscreen, and it simply fades the text and makes it look decidedly UN-book-like.

I took a few photos since pictures, in this case, can contain many words (literally, and figuratively).

You can clearly see that the Kindle Touch has the better book-like text. It's a night/day difference, and the Touch is much easier on the eyes.

Second, as both images show, the uniformity of the screen is a huge distraction. I'm not even talking about the ridiculous stage-lighting at the bottom. Look at the hues!

So while the lighting may not be even on the Kindle Touch, it was never even reading a REAL BOOK, so the "authenticity" is intact. With the Paperwhite, I'm oh-so acutely aware that I'm reading using technology that wasn't ready for release.

It will frustrate me when people inevitably reply, "I don't see any color casts on your screen. You're just crazy," but there's not much I can do about that I suppose. I say we should be holding Amazon to a higher standard, especially since they spent so many years "perfecting" this. THIS is the result of years of R&D? Someone should be fired.

These will be the first Kindles my wife and I have ever sent back (two replacements for the defective two had the same issue). I've owned every single Kindle release (and the Sony Reader PRS-500 before it), so I'm sad that this wasn't meant to be this time.

You'll note Amazon's "announcement" page here.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.htm...vglnk-c1533-20

Look at the dark-room pictures Amazon posted (where it's easiest to see the different hues). They cooled off the color temperature which has given the page a distinctive green look to hide the reddish hues that are doubtless present in the device in the photos. (In the daytime you don't notice the different hues as the ambient light overpowers the LEDs in the Paperwhites so there was no need to Photoshop those images).

Here's a 3-second modification to one of my photos that shows what Amazon did to hide the pink:

Original:

3-second modification to cool up the temperature of the image. It's not perfect, but you can see the pink is gone, and I think the pink is notably more offensive than the green, though neither are acceptable to me:

Looks strikingly similar to what Amazon has likely doctored, right? Their image isn't perfect either, but much less untoward with a color temperature modification:

^ ^ *Nobody's Paperwhite looks like that in the dark, because quite simply it appears to be doctored. Even with their doctoring you can tell the different casts of color in Amazon's images. It's impossible to hide completely.

Shame on Amazon. Shame.

10-15-2012, 11:39 PM	#156
WilliamG Addict Posts: 303 Karma: 60998 Join Date: Sep 2006	OK throwing my 2 cents in, and this is copied from my post on the Kindle boards. Well, I'm going to go as far as to say that the Paperwhite is simply not even CLOSE to the device Amazon advertises. First, the "print" on the Paperwhite doesn't even come close to that of the Kindle Touch. It's obvious there's a layer above the Paperwhite display for the capacitive touchscreen, and it simply fades the text and makes it look decidedly UN-book-like. I took a few photos since pictures, in this case, can contain many words (literally, and figuratively). You can clearly see that the Kindle Touch has the better book-like text. It's a night/day difference, and the Touch is much easier on the eyes. Second, as both images show, the uniformity of the screen is a huge distraction. I'm not even talking about the ridiculous stage-lighting at the bottom. Look at the hues! So while the lighting may not be even on the Kindle Touch, it was never even reading a REAL BOOK, so the "authenticity" is intact. With the Paperwhite, I'm oh-so acutely aware that I'm reading using technology that wasn't ready for release. It will frustrate me when people inevitably reply, "I don't see any color casts on your screen. You're just crazy," but there's not much I can do about that I suppose. I say we should be holding Amazon to a higher standard, especially since they spent so many years "perfecting" this. THIS is the result of years of R&D? Someone should be fired. These will be the first Kindles my wife and I have ever sent back (two replacements for the defective two had the same issue). I've owned every single Kindle release (and the Sony Reader PRS-500 before it), so I'm sad that this wasn't meant to be this time. You'll note Amazon's "announcement" page here. http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.htm...vglnk-c1533-20 Look at the dark-room pictures Amazon posted (where it's easiest to see the different hues). They cooled off the color temperature which has given the page a distinctive green look to hide the reddish hues that are doubtless present in the device in the photos. (In the daytime you don't notice the different hues as the ambient light overpowers the LEDs in the Paperwhites so there was no need to Photoshop those images). Here's a 3-second modification to one of my photos that shows what Amazon did to hide the pink: Original: 3-second modification to cool up the temperature of the image. It's not perfect, but you can see the pink is gone, and I think the pink is notably more offensive than the green, though neither are acceptable to me: Looks strikingly similar to what Amazon has likely doctored, right? Their image isn't perfect either, but much less untoward with a color temperature modification: ^ ^ *Nobody's Paperwhite looks like that in the dark, because quite simply it appears to be doctored. Even with their doctoring you can tell the different casts of color in Amazon's images. It's impossible to hide completely. Shame on Amazon. Shame.