The New Kindles -- Like'em or Hate'em?

[booklover6]

I was hoping they would increase the storage on the lighted Kindle rather than reduce it. That is very surprising. I still took a chance and ordered it. If I don't like it, back it goes.

[Serpentine]

Meh, don't really care for them. A shame that they went for such safe bets on both models. A large format and organizer versions would both have reasonable success imho. Not wild about the constant change in physical styling either, they look like generic no-name readers; I think the K4 direction was nice, maybe it could have been darker, but that's about it.

[shanghaichica]

Love the paperwhite, wish it was available in the UK. The kindle fire HD looks decent and I think I will get one as a way of accessing the media content.

[miguel1626]

Originally Posted by elemenoP

The "reading time" thing is nifty but I hope it can be turned off. It would only stress me out and make me want to read faster, to "beat" it. When the GPS tells me how long it's going to take to get to my destination, it makes me speed up and try to get there faster. I don't need to feel competitive when I'm reading.

eP

This matches my own experience exactly

I don't want any further "reading anxiety"

[spindlegirl]

It's too early to tell just yet. It'll be a while before they start stocking them in Canada. I'm not interested in the Fires or the 3G stuff.

I'll be interested to play with a demo version of the Paper White when it hits our Staples stores, but it likely won't be sold in Canada for a while. I do wish that if the Paperwhite is all that and a bag of chips, they had made a non-touch version of it, but I'll reserve final judgment for the in-person experience.

[chilady1]

I am NOT going to get wrapped up in the hype of the "new" product so I am going to wait like others and see what the reviews come up with. I will say, so far, I like what I see however, I think it is interesting that the new Paperwhite Kindle holds a lot less books that than my Kindle 3 that holds 3500 books.

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by BenG

The Nook Glowlight looks fine in sunlight (though the page turns get wonky from the heat)so I don't know why the kindles wouldn't look just as good or better.

The Nook has an IR touchscreen, while the Kindle has a capacitive touch screen, which adds an extra layer to the screen. They Sony PRS-700, 600 and 900 models had added touch screen layers (I don't think that they were capacitive, though) which reduced contrast and added glare to the screens. I'm very curious to see whether or not the added layers lessons the contrast on the Kindles.

Originally Posted by elemenoP

The "reading time" thing is nifty but I hope it can be turned off. It would only stress me out and make me want to read faster, to "beat" it. When the GPS tells me how long it's going to take to get to my destination, it makes me speed up and try to get there faster. I don't need to feel competitive when I'm reading.

eP

I agree. It would stress me out, too.

Originally Posted by Serpentine

Meh, don't really care for them. A shame that they went for such safe bets on both models. A large format and organizer versions would both have reasonable success imho. Not wild about the constant change in physical styling either, they look like generic no-name readers; I think the K4 direction was nice, maybe it could have been darker, but that's about it.

I'm not crazy about the styling, either - they do look very generic.

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

It's too early to tell just yet. It'll be a while before they start stocking them in Canada. I'm not interested in the Fires or the 3G stuff.

I'll be interested to play with a demo version of the Paper White when it hits our Staples stores, but it likely won't be sold in Canada for a while. I do wish that if the Paperwhite is all that and a bag of chips, they had made a non-touch version of it, but I'll reserve final judgment for the in-person experience.

I am tempted to buy a Kindle, as I do read books purchased from the Kindle store on my iPad and I have been waiting for an e-ink Kindle model to tempt me enough to purchase one. The Paperwhite has been the first to seriously do so, but I won't purchase one until I see it in person or at least watch some very detailed reviews comparing the new Kindle to, say, the new Kobo Glo. I love the added contrast and resolution, but the capacitive touch screen and added layer used to disperse light may adversely affect the screen. I wouldn't give up on my Sony Reader, though; I'd use both, and get the best of both worlds.

[caleb72]

I'll most likely get it, but I'm guessing it will take longer to be available in Australia so I'll have a chance to see what others are saying first.

[xg4bx]

I think the lit kindle caused me to bust a zipper. I can finally ditch my book light.

[BeccaPrice]

I'm a bit disappointed that only the Touch has the paperwhite screen and front light. I could even live without the front light and get the better screen... but I really do prefer page turning buttons to touch interface. i think ultimately I'm going to have to get dragged into touch interfaces kicking and screaming all the way. *sigh*

[stickybuns]

I like 'em, but I don't love 'em enough to actually buy one.

The improved contrast and light is a nice feature, but since my K3 is still working just fine and dandy, why spend the extra money on a new device?

The tablets look pretty good, and I do like the price point, but I still think an iPad would be better for classroom teaching (e.g. camera for taking pics of student papers, AirPlay for projecting images on the classroom screen).

[Tony1988]

They all look like nice devices. But I wont buy any of the kindles because it limits formats. Besides even if I would buy them I just do not see the need to continue buying ereaders every 6 months to a year. The one I have now is working perfectly.

[brandon7s]

Finally, I can do without a lighted case! I'm very much looking forward to the Paperwhite. Capacitive touchscreen, or at least that's what it looks like they are using, built in light, much higher resolution... what's not to love? The only thing I wish they'd do is add page turn buttons. Ah well, it's still an upgrade in every way except storage space to my Kindle Touch.

I pre-ordered the wifi version, as I have a Galaxy Nexus phone to tether it to whenever I want internet - 3G would be pointless for me.

[fjtorres]

I like them.
- I'll very likely get a PaperWhite for my mother, who reads a lot in bed.
- I *may* get a basic FireHD 9 for myself as a "hardcover" ebook reader. I've no real interest in video or gaming or the whole android app stuff other than adding Coolreader and Aldiko so lack of Google play access or GPS is irrelevant. I do have a use for a premium color ereader, though. 16GB should be fine for all my ebook needs but I might stretch to 32GB just on principle.

I'm not going to pre-order, though.
I may not get the FIRE this year: I want to wait for the in-depth reviews to see what quirks and bugs the final product displays.
I also want to see what the Win8 world has to offer weight-wise.

All that said: I'm having a hard time staying cool. If the price were a tad lower ($249) or the weight lower (under 16 ounces) I would've ordered already.

[elemenoP]

I think the parental controls on the Kindle Fires are a *really* smart feature. I bet a lot of people buy Fires as a "starter tablet" for kids, and they want parental controls.

The other kind of parental control I would want (and I've heard others request it, too) is the ability to send only certain books to the device, not every book I've bought on my Amazon account. Can you do that now?

eP