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twowheels · 10-11-2012, 02:45 AM

I know there are about 100 threads on this topic already, but I believe that I have a few new points worth mentioning now that I've [finally!] received my Paperwhite.

Overall, I'd say the device is a winner. As a former K3 user and having borrowed a Touch for the last few days to see if I liked the touch interface, I'd say this beats them both. That said, I do see some of the issues mentioned. Here are my thoughts on those, and some new ones:

Clasp on magnetic cover rattles! Anybody else have that? If my cover is open and I tap it, there's a rattle! Probably not enough to bug me once I get used to it, but I do hear it now! Haven't seen anybody mention this one yet.
Unlit color: My K3 is slightly whiter, but it's also far whiter than any other Kindle that I've ever compared it to. I think that I just got VERY lucky when buying it. With the light up a little bit the PW looks whiter.
Blue tinge: I see it too, but I don't think it's a defect. I think that there color temperature of the light is uncomfortably white... too white for a dark room. They focused so much on making it look white, that it's hard to look at and hurts your night vision. I think that a cooler light temperature would have been a big improvement. I'm not sure I like it yet, and find the case light on my K3 to be much more comfortable.
Color blotches: I think I see what people are talking about. There are regions of dark & light text if I look closely. I strongly suspect that this is due to the font rendering. It appears to me that they've taken advantage of the higher resolution and tweaked the font rendering engine for improved shape and kerning. The problem is that going for best shape & kerning means that some letter strokes will fall on a pixel boundary and some will fall between pixel boundaries and the sharp edges will become part of the anti-aliased gray region. This causes some letters to look very sharp and bold and some to look weaker and washed out. I think I'll quickly stop noticing as it's rather subtle and the benefit of improved rendering will outweigh the blotches. I especially love the Baskerville font.
Shadows: I see them. That said, I find that I prefer to use the device at a low enough level that I can barely tell that it's lit. Just enough to give a contrast boost. At this level I don't see the shadow. In brightly lit rooms I don't need lighting, and in dark rooms it's more even than the case light I had before, so I'm not complaining about that. I find 5-11 to be a comfortable level in most indoor settings and ~2 to be best at night.
Bright spots: I saw some... wiped away a fleck of dust and they went away. Might not be the cause of all, but possibly the cause of some!
Bezel Depth: FAR better than the touch. The touch cast BIG shadows on the device outside. This one casts much smaller shadows. The K3 casts none, so it still wins here.

While there most definitely are some defective units out there, I think that I got a good one and I think some of the noise is disappointment from Amazon over-promising and under-delivering and a little bit of the power of suggestion due to the bad devices that did come out. My GF saw it, and she's not been privy to any of the ongoing discussions here, and she immediately said it's MUCH better and that she wanted to take it. I offered to upgrade hers, but she said not to waste the money, the K3 w/ case light was good enough.

10-11-2012, 02:45 AM	#1
twowheels Wizard Posts: 1,854 Karma: 13432974 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Kobo Clara HD, iPad Pro 10", iPhone 15 Pro, Boox Note Max	Even More Paperwhite Thoughts I know there are about 100 threads on this topic already, but I believe that I have a few new points worth mentioning now that I've [finally!] received my Paperwhite. Overall, I'd say the device is a winner. As a former K3 user and having borrowed a Touch for the last few days to see if I liked the touch interface, I'd say this beats them both. That said, I do see some of the issues mentioned. Here are my thoughts on those, and some new ones: Clasp on magnetic cover rattles! Anybody else have that? If my cover is open and I tap it, there's a rattle! Probably not enough to bug me once I get used to it, but I do hear it now! Haven't seen anybody mention this one yet. Unlit color: My K3 is slightly whiter, but it's also far whiter than any other Kindle that I've ever compared it to. I think that I just got VERY lucky when buying it. With the light up a little bit the PW looks whiter. Blue tinge: I see it too, but I don't think it's a defect. I think that there color temperature of the light is uncomfortably white... too white for a dark room. They focused so much on making it look white, that it's hard to look at and hurts your night vision. I think that a cooler light temperature would have been a big improvement. I'm not sure I like it yet, and find the case light on my K3 to be much more comfortable. Color blotches: I think I see what people are talking about. There are regions of dark & light text if I look closely. I strongly suspect that this is due to the font rendering. It appears to me that they've taken advantage of the higher resolution and tweaked the font rendering engine for improved shape and kerning. The problem is that going for best shape & kerning means that some letter strokes will fall on a pixel boundary and some will fall between pixel boundaries and the sharp edges will become part of the anti-aliased gray region. This causes some letters to look very sharp and bold and some to look weaker and washed out. I think I'll quickly stop noticing as it's rather subtle and the benefit of improved rendering will outweigh the blotches. I especially love the Baskerville font. Shadows: I see them. That said, I find that I prefer to use the device at a low enough level that I can barely tell that it's lit. Just enough to give a contrast boost. At this level I don't see the shadow. In brightly lit rooms I don't need lighting, and in dark rooms it's more even than the case light I had before, so I'm not complaining about that. I find 5-11 to be a comfortable level in most indoor settings and ~2 to be best at night. Bright spots: I saw some... wiped away a fleck of dust and they went away. Might not be the cause of all, but possibly the cause of some! Bezel Depth: FAR better than the touch. The touch cast BIG shadows on the device outside. This one casts much smaller shadows. The K3 casts none, so it still wins here. While there most definitely are some defective units out there, I think that I got a good one and I think some of the noise is disappointment from Amazon over-promising and under-delivering and a little bit of the power of suggestion due to the bad devices that did come out. My GF saw it, and she's not been privy to any of the ongoing discussions here, and she immediately said it's MUCH better and that she wanted to take it. I offered to upgrade hers, but she said not to waste the money, the K3 w/ case light was good enough.