Kindle Voyage Review (from the guy who wrote that jumbo Kindle vs. Kobo article)

MariusMasalar · 10-24-2015, 04:40 PM

Hi folks, me again!

I'm sharing another article I recently published. If you recall, a while ago I posted a very in-depth examination of how Kindles and Kobo e-readers compare and was delighted at how much great feedback and discussion was sparked around here.

At the time, I was only given access to the Kobo Aura H2O and the Paperwhite 1 & 2. Since then, I've been able to spend time with the Paperwhite 3 and—finally—the Voyage, which still isn't available in Canada.

This is mostly a review of the Voyage and how it compares to the Paperwhite 3, but I also take some time later in the article to speculate about some potential future paths for the product line.

Without further ado:

Amazon Kindle Voyage Review

As always, I hope it's helpful!

And for the record, I don't run ads of any kind on my blog, nor do I use affiliate links or any other form of sneaky monetization, so you can read in peace.

hardcastle · 10-24-2015, 07:22 PM

I was surprised by your impressions of the Voyage's build quality and design, mostly because they ran so counterpoint to what I usually see online.

I agree that the saving and caching of online articles is an interesting proposition. I used to use the Instapaper Kindle-eBook-production function very heavily. But I found that over time, my usual sources of online long-form writing became so heavily dependent on hotlinks everywhere that my interest began to decline. Medium might be a good counter example right now...maybe it would be nice to have.

MariusMasalar · 10-24-2015, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hardcastle

I was surprised by your impressions of the Voyage's build quality and design, mostly because they ran so counterpoint to what I usually see online.

I was expecting to have the complete opposite reaction as well, so I was as surprised as you are :P It really is fine once you pop it into the cover, but otherwise I found the back distinctly less likeable than the PW3 in purely tactile terms.

Barty · 10-24-2015, 11:34 PM

Thanks for the review. So you think the pw3 and voyage screen look about the same. Several people say with the voyage they don't feel like they're looking through a piece, like the text is floating on top. You don't feel that way?

MariusMasalar · 10-24-2015, 11:42 PM

An initial impression suggests that, yes, but after reading the two side by side for a while I felt like the flush surface of the Voyage was deceptive. It makes it seem like there's a bigger difference in that respect than there actually is. Reading both side by side in the dark, where you can't really see the frame, helps demonstrate this.

Once you set aside differences in screen texture and distance from your face from one being indented, the actual discrepancies between the two screens are so subtle as to be essentially meaningless in any practical sense. Colour temperature was the biggest difference; my PW3 has a noticeably cooler screen than the Voyage.

jscris · 10-25-2015, 10:48 AM

Thank you for the extensive review! I, too, think the Origami case makes all the difference for the Voyage. For side reading at night it's great. That's the main reason I got the Voyage and the Amazon case. Worst thing about it is the button being covered so when you fall asleep and wake up you have to uncover the button to turn it back on in order to read some more (no, I don't go to sleep and sleep all night). I've remedied that and really love it now. I read at my desk some now, too, using the easel. I would still like a remote for page turning for cold nights.

kobayashi · 10-25-2015, 04:07 PM

Odd that there was no mention of the poor backlight and screen color gradient on the Voyage compared to the PW3 and H2O.

HarryT · 10-25-2015, 04:30 PM

Assuming that you mean the FRONTlight (no eInk screen device has a backlight), I think personally that it's a lot more even than the light of the PW. It doesn't have the "shadow cones" at the bottom that the PW has, for example. As far as colour gradient goes, yes, it's there, but very few people see it.

MariusMasalar · 10-25-2015, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kobayashi

Odd that there was no mention of the poor backlight and screen color gradient on the Voyage compared to the PW3 and H2O.

There was no mention because I didn't have a poor frontlight on the Voyage unit I was testing. Nor are there shadow cones on my Paperwhite (there are on my original and PW2).

It may have to do with unit variation as I've read several other reports that discussed the screen issues, but I genuinely didn't have much to complain about as far as the screen quality on these two units.

Like I said earlier, the Voyage definitely had a noticeably warmer screen tint (not extreme, just noticeable), but it wasn't uneven and there was no gradient.

kobayashi · 10-25-2015, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MariusMasalar

There was no mention because I didn't have a poor frontlight on the Voyage unit I was testing. Nor are there shadow cones on my Paperwhite (there are on my original and PW2).

It may have to do with unit variation as I've read several other reports that discussed the screen issues, but I genuinely didn't have much to complain about as far as the screen quality on these two units.

Like I said earlier, the Voyage definitely had a noticeably warmer screen tint (not extreme, just noticeable), but it wasn't uneven and there was no gradient.

Any top-down pictures of your Voyage to share? I've never seen one without the color gradient.

MariusMasalar · 10-25-2015, 05:38 PM

Afraid not, just the head-on one and the one from an angle comparing to the PW3 screen (both in the article).

I'd take one now for you but I don't have the Voyage anymore as it wasn't mine.

10-24-2015, 04:40 PM	#1
MariusMasalar Tech Whisperer Posts: 70 Karma: 259394 Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Toronto Device: Kindle Oasis, Voyage, Paperwhite 3; Kobo Aura One, H2O	Kindle Voyage Review (from the guy who wrote that jumbo Kindle vs. Kobo article) Hi folks, me again! I'm sharing another article I recently published. If you recall, a while ago I posted a very in-depth examination of how Kindles and Kobo e-readers compare and was delighted at how much great feedback and discussion was sparked around here. At the time, I was only given access to the Kobo Aura H2O and the Paperwhite 1 & 2. Since then, I've been able to spend time with the Paperwhite 3 and—finally—the Voyage, which still isn't available in Canada. This is mostly a review of the Voyage and how it compares to the Paperwhite 3, but I also take some time later in the article to speculate about some potential future paths for the product line. Without further ado: Amazon Kindle Voyage Review As always, I hope it's helpful! And for the record, I don't run ads of any kind on my blog, nor do I use affiliate links or any other form of sneaky monetization, so you can read in peace.

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10-24-2015, 07:22 PM	#2
hardcastle Zealot Posts: 138 Karma: 3651501 Join Date: Dec 2013 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2, Gray Kindle Basic	I was surprised by your impressions of the Voyage's build quality and design, mostly because they ran so counterpoint to what I usually see online. I agree that the saving and caching of online articles is an interesting proposition. I used to use the Instapaper Kindle-eBook-production function very heavily. But I found that over time, my usual sources of online long-form writing became so heavily dependent on hotlinks everywhere that my interest began to decline. Medium might be a good counter example right now...maybe it would be nice to have.

10-24-2015, 11:34 PM	#4
Barty doofus Posts: 2,524 Karma: 13088847 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Voyage	Thanks for the review. So you think the pw3 and voyage screen look about the same. Several people say with the voyage they don't feel like they're looking through a piece, like the text is floating on top. You don't feel that way?

10-24-2015, 11:42 PM	#5
MariusMasalar Tech Whisperer Posts: 70 Karma: 259394 Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Toronto Device: Kindle Oasis, Voyage, Paperwhite 3; Kobo Aura One, H2O	An initial impression suggests that, yes, but after reading the two side by side for a while I felt like the flush surface of the Voyage was deceptive. It makes it seem like there's a bigger difference in that respect than there actually is. Reading both side by side in the dark, where you can't really see the frame, helps demonstrate this. Once you set aside differences in screen texture and distance from your face from one being indented, the actual discrepancies between the two screens are so subtle as to be essentially meaningless in any practical sense. Colour temperature was the biggest difference; my PW3 has a noticeably cooler screen than the Voyage.

10-25-2015, 10:48 AM	#6
jscris Addict Posts: 393 Karma: 123456 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Central US Device: k1 - KAO2, ipads, h2o, KA1, inkBOOK, T80s, Mars, Nova Pro	Thank you for the extensive review! I, too, think the Origami case makes all the difference for the Voyage. For side reading at night it's great. That's the main reason I got the Voyage and the Amazon case. Worst thing about it is the button being covered so when you fall asleep and wake up you have to uncover the button to turn it back on in order to read some more (no, I don't go to sleep and sleep all night). I've remedied that and really love it now. I read at my desk some now, too, using the easel. I would still like a remote for page turning for cold nights.

10-25-2015, 04:07 PM	#7
kobayashi Groupie Posts: 176 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Jan 2015 Device: KA1	Odd that there was no mention of the poor backlight and screen color gradient on the Voyage compared to the PW3 and H2O.

10-25-2015, 04:30 PM	#8
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Assuming that you mean the FRONTlight (no eInk screen device has a backlight), I think personally that it's a lot more even than the light of the PW. It doesn't have the "shadow cones" at the bottom that the PW has, for example. As far as colour gradient goes, yes, it's there, but very few people see it.

10-25-2015, 05:38 PM	#11
MariusMasalar Tech Whisperer Posts: 70 Karma: 259394 Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Toronto Device: Kindle Oasis, Voyage, Paperwhite 3; Kobo Aura One, H2O	Afraid not, just the head-on one and the one from an angle comparing to the PW3 screen (both in the article). I'd take one now for you but I don't have the Voyage anymore as it wasn't mine.

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