Has the quality of Paperwhites improved?
 

It's been a few weeks since I was discussing my (and others') problems with colored blobs on the Paperwhites, and I'm wondering if the newly-delivered ones have been any better than the earlier ones. What's the latest consensus? Are we still on the returning and replacing treadmill?

No color blobs here. I have had mine over a week. I set mine to 4 in a dark room. Little shadows, but no eyestrain here, older eyes so I am doing okay. At first I didn't care for, but I adjusted and set it to 4 instead of lower.

Hope that helps. It is not perfect, but pretty darn good. I am happy for now.

I went through 5 different paperwhites last month from Amazon.com and Best Buy before returning them all. I bought an iPad Mini and while I love my mini, I miss the use of an e-reader.

I took a chance and bought a Paperwhite from Staples Black Friday sale. Like "New", I don't see any color blobs. The shadows are still there, but it's not as bad as the previous ones. The screen looks real sharp with the light down. With the light all the way up, it's the best I've had.

Congrats techiegirl. So glad you finally found a good one!

I'd also be interested to know if they got any better in general.

That's great to hear, techiegirl! I'm glad you got a good one! :)

I moved up to setting 5 now. I am adjusting and since I hold the PW at arms length you need a brighter setting. 4 left me with shadows.

No color hues still. I am getting the Amazon cover today in the mail. Today is the last day (I think) to get the 30% off coupon. I couldn't stand to pay $40, $28 is better. The cover is great (have the KFHD) it turns it on and off for you.

I am almost finished with my Lincoln book from Amazon that was free. It was written back in the time of Lincoln, and the wording is quite different from our language now. But it is so interesting. I am not a history buff either. But Lincoln was a great man.

I am reading Testament on the KFHD and it is good too (John Grisham). Sorry I am loving reading. Now I am going to start reading on the SGP5 as soon as I get it all fixed up the way I like it. I haven't have any new techy toys in a while (long while) can you tell?

Which shadows are you referring to? The ones at the bottom, or shadowy blobs amongst the text?

I got over the ones on the bottom. The shadows were amongst the text. Blobs, good one. Do you have a PW?

When I turn it up to 5 I don't see shadows. But I am holding the reader at an arms length..... If I were to hold the PW in closer I wouldn't see shadows on setting 4, but I see shadows further out. Hope that makes sense.

For some reason I can see better (my old eyes) further away with bifocals. Everyone is different I guess.

How long have you had the one from Staples? Guess a short while since it was Black Friday.

What setting do you use to read in the dark? Do you hold it at arms length too? It is gorgeous to read in a lighted room, it is the best I have ever seen too. Just wonderful to read on.

Maybe you need to turn your light up also to get rid of shadows, if you are talking about shadows in the text (not on the bottom from the led). Mine improved greatly after I turned it up.

My PW had shadowy blobs even on the highest brightness. I returned it and the replacement did too. I gave up on PW at that point...unless they fix the problem with their manufacturing, which is why I'm keeping tabs on the quality.

When and where did you order them?

I have had mine almost 2 weeks, from Amazon, no blobs.

For what it's worth, the PW hit the German market about 1.5 weeks ago and so far it's at 3.7 stars out of 5, with several people complaining about blotches. Mine actually shipped sooner than announced (11/29 instead of 12/10) but I wasn't at home so I'll have to pick it up from the post office on Monday.

Keep us updated, fauxpas. I hope you got a good one.

I am somewhat disappointed that they still haven't fixed the screen issues. I am particularly surprised that Amazon would allow such a terrible quality control. I still want to get a Paperwhite, but it's just weird that some customers have to go through 2-3 replacements before they get a decent screen/lighting.

Some suspect that certain people, once seeing the blobs, always see the blobs on any Paperwhite.