Has the quality of Paperwhites improved?

[xendula]

Originally Posted by acti0n

6th unit arrived. Turned it on, immediately noticed a 3mm scratch near the bottom of the screen. This is the 3rd consecutive replacement that came scratched.

So weird. Out of the 9 units I received, not one had scratches on the screen or anywhe else on the unit! Any chance you could post a pic?

[acti0n]

Just got my 7th unit, this time from Best Buy. Bright dust specs under screen, large hotspot on left side of screen, large pink discolorations. Also, the light was noticeably dimmer than the previous units (max brightness on this unit was equivalent to about 18 on others). Ironically, this device actually had the most even lighting on the bottom (no blotches).

Going to exchange for another and will report back.

[acti0n]

I exchanged #7 at Best Buy, and I opened the new device (#8) there in front of them. This one had large blue and pink discolorations, which one employee saw bright as day, but another couldn't see anything wrong. I want ahead and returned this one.

One defective device is understandable, two is bad luck, but eight in a row is telling me all are going to have some issue. I await Kindle #9 from Amazon Monday.

[Andy_T]

What about giving the Kobo Glo a try?

(Guess I am doing amazon a favour with my suggestion if they can stop shipping replacement over replacement with little chance of that ending :-) )

Best regards,
Andy

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by acti0n

I exchanged #7 at Best Buy, and I opened the new device (#8) there in front of them. This one had large blue and pink discolorations, which one employee saw bright as day, but another couldn't see anything wrong. I want ahead and returned this one.

One defective device is understandable, two is bad luck, but eight in a row is telling me all are going to have some issue. I await Kindle #9 from Amazon Monday.

Now that is dedication and patience. If it were me, I'd have asked for double my money back and bought something that works without having to give it 9 tries.

[xendula]

Originally Posted by acti0n

I exchanged #7 at Best Buy, and I opened the new device (#8) there in front of them. This one had large blue and pink discolorations, which one employee saw bright as day, but another couldn't see anything wrong. I want ahead and returned this one.

One defective device is understandable, two is bad luck, but eight in a row is telling me all are going to have some issue. I await Kindle #9 from Amazon Monday.

Sorry you are going through all of this!!!
Did you write a review on amazon? If not, I think you defenitely should.

[acti0n]

Once #9 arrives Monday that will be the last. Unless it's somehow perfect, I'm just gonna stick with unit #3, which I find to be the most tolerable of the replacements -- I managed to remove the aforementioned piece of plastic sticking out of the top inner border after a little fiddling. While it does have some blotchiness on the bottom, it does not distract me from reading as bright dust specs, scratches, and discoloration would. So, while not perfect, I can at least get down to reading.

I guess this is what can happen when you're an early adopter. The Kindle Paperwhite, Nook Glow, and Kobo Glow are all the first generation of front-lift ereaders, and neither is without its issues.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by acti0n

Once #9 arrives Monday that will be the last. Unless it's somehow perfect, I'm just gonna stick with unit #3, which I find to be the most tolerable of the replacements -- I managed to remove the aforementioned piece of plastic sticking out of the top inner border after a little fiddling. While it does have some blotchiness on the bottom, it does not distract me from reading as bright dust specs, scratches, and discoloration would. So, while not perfect, I can at least get down to reading.

The billboard effect at the bottom is normal but it shouldn't be blotchy anywhere else. You may notice a green or blue shadowing around the screen edges, Kind of like a border, depending how you hold it. This is normal. All Kindles have it. The light just exaggerates it.

My PW had a plastic piece sticking out on the top edge of the screen. I was also easily able to remove it. When I first saw it I was like please don't let it be a broken pixel. My PW is pretty good, no discoloration. The contrast on the text could be so much better though.

Also as you lower the light below 5 you will notice a background becoming dirty or muttled. Just not looking clean specially where the text is. This is normal due to how eInk screens look without light.