[sirmaru]

I've read all the complaints here about Paperwhite defects running from light specks, to clouds and colored lines on the units.

I believe almost all the "defects" are ILLUSIONS caused by light reflections between the various layers of the PW screen. These "defects" have probably caused far too many returns to Amazon.

These illusions are caused by using the PW at LED low light levels to "conserve" battery use. That is a huge mistake. For example, LED flashlights have almost unlimited lifetimes for their LED elements. Regular flashlight bulbs have much shorter lives. Plus, those LED flashlights use very little power from their batteries. I have four of them being used with NIMH rechargeable batteries which have yet to be recharged after SIX YEARS of use.

Keeping the PW light at the default of 22 will end almost all the illusionary defects. If a defect still bothers the user, just turn up the LED light to the maximum of 24. That is the probable level Amazon used to make their promotional pictures and videos.

In low light environments it is unnecessary to turn down the LED light level. Those LEDS are using REFLECTIVE light which does not have the same effect as direct light similar to LCD use in the Kindle Fires which do require adjusting light levels to the environment for comfortable viewing.

One can replicate these PW screen illusions by taking several panes of glass and placing them side by side. Viewing through them will produce all kinds of illusions. Using a camera on a multi-layer glass screen will also produce the illusions especially if the lens is adjusted to higher closeups.

Illusions like this are very common in deserts where multiple layers of sand in bright sunlight cause all kinds of light variations. In deep snow areas it also happens as the multiple layers of snow cause the same effect.