Did Amazon clean up their product images for the PW?

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by fratermus

JPG artifacts are frequently apparent in 8x8 blocks (or tiles) similar to what's seen above. This would be most apparent in blocks that contain widely different values (like the border of the screen or areas around text).

I'm agnostic on this matter so far. Is there a link to the original image? I didn't see if at first glance.

It's one of the most prominent pictures on the product page. It's the one comparing the PW to the Touch.

[elemenoP]

But did you guys also notice how much grayer the original Kindle screens became in the Amazon product shots, after the Paperwhite came out?

eP

[Barty]

Originally Posted by elemenoP

But did you guys also notice how much grayer the original Kindle screens became in the Amazon product shots, after the Paperwhite came out?

eP

Uh huh. I never see a touch looking so gray in its own ads.

[Heifzilla]

It's a conspiracy!

[fratermus]

Originally Posted by twowheels

It's one of the most prominent pictures on the product page. It's the one comparing the PW to the Touch.

I see it now. On my platform/browser it was a postage-stamp sized thumbnail visible only after scrolling down a full page. For onlookers, this appears to be the the original image in question.

To my eyes it looks like the same artifacts are present on the Touch screen, only less visible because the PW's bg is lighter.

[scrapking]

It's been interesting reading the back and forth about whether it's doctored and, if it's doctored, whether that's OK or not.

It seems to me that in advertising (and brand building), you want to promise as much as you can without actually ever disappointing the consumer. I can see a company with an infomercial being less concerned with managing customer expectations after the sale, they're usually one-shot wonders, but a company like Amazon doesn't have that luxury. Amazon can't afford to simply close the sale however they need to, and to heck with the consequences after the consumer gets the item.

The "Kobo Glo" and the "Nook with Glow Light" both promise to glow. No one can dispute that these devices live up to that promise.

The Amazon Paperwhite promises to be as evenly white as paper. There does seem to be some dispute about whether this device lives up to that promise. That's a problem.

Over-promising and under-delivering is never a good idea.

[Yolina]

Without necessarily being "doctored", the lighting when doing the shots makes all the difference. Take the picture of the woman reading in the dark on Amazon's site - people might think that the only light is from the Kindle, however if you look at it properly, you can tell there's at least one (I'd say more likely 2) other light sources there

[bkilian]

What you're seeing in your image is normal jpeg compression artifacts. Jpeg always has trouble with high contrast sudden changes. Try compressing an animation frame, and you'll see the same effect near the black lines.