MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Search for the perfect lighted Kindle e-ink reading experience (alternatives to PW)

fearindex · 11-24-2013, 04:17 AM

Paperwhite 2's magic fading a little?

Reading l_macd's comments on PW2 reading in low-light got me writing some of the thoughts last night's reading session invoked me with the PW2. As my relationship with my PW2 "normalizes", as the newness rubs off but also as I get accustomed to it, I think I'm beginning to really feel the one big thing I always - even before seeing a Paperwhite 1 - thought is the problem with this technology.

First of all, I don't find my PW2 screen defective or with major issues. Its lighting is even-enough, the screen isn't crooked and doesn't have pin-hole, the text blackness while not at $69 Kindle levels is still more than passable. I like the resolution and graphics it shows, the beautiful UI etc. PW2 screen, for me, has crossed a mental threshold and I think my replacement unit represents what one could call a "good PW2". It is a keeper. I can read on it without noticing flaws in the screen, they got the technology to that point - and for that I applaud Amazon. Fix the QA and get this into every buyers hands and lots less would complain.

But, and there is this one constant "but", that I feared would be there from the moment I pre-ordered the Paperwhite 1 before its release last year - and last night began to feel affecting the enjoyment again. I don't feel like I'm reading a book, I feel like I'm reading a screen. I think the fact that I've been reading non-fiction on my PW2 so far has shielded me from this, but trying to settle into fiction I found myself having difficulty of suspending disbelief, living the author's world.

The one thing that has been great since my first Kindle, the Kindle 2, is reading it at night, like a book. With the Kindle 2 I used an external reading lamp, but since Kindle 3 the integrated lighted covers have removed the necessity of a reading lamp. And with this setup, e-ink does its magic beautifully for me, I feel like tucked in with a good book, the darkness and the written world taking me away to places. That has, for me, been the magic of e-ink - it replicates a printed book, the integrated lighted covers and e-books just making it all more convenient than real books.

And I'm just not sure PW2 does that sufficiently in my reading scenario. Were I to use external lighting, obviously I could turn the PW2 light down and be content, but even that isn't quite as simple. On PW2 the text isn't, thanks to those light and touch layers, quite there on the top of the screen like printed text or regular e-ink is normally. Also, were I to use such external (e.g. clip-on) lighting as I do with regular e-ink Kindles, the slightly more textured layers on top of PW2 screen would show more than the even e-ink of regular Kindles, further decreasing the look and feel of a faux printed page because with a light so close those things matter. And of course, since PW2 doesn't support reading lights, a clip-on light would need to be battery powered - further inconvenience.

PW2 is probably at its best when reading in sufficient ambient lighting, with its own light set just so that it isn't visible, but helping offset insufficient ambient lighting. I can see how PW2 does help in these scenarios. But in darkness, I feel like needing to push the lighting way down (to 6-8 range) to decrease the feel of looking at an LCD screen, and then it becomes awfully dark - and still, with the slightly bluish (it is bluish in that scenario even though my PW2 looks quite yellow compared to PW1) rectangle staring you in the face in the darkness, I just can't quite espace the feeling that I'm looking at a screen, even squiting at a screen because making out the text gets a bit harder at those light-levels...

Last night, for the first time since I got the replacement, good PW2, I not only thought of returning to my $69 Kindle "4B" again (I've done that often as I've compared these moders), I actually set out to do so after a stint on the PW2 - but then felt so tired that decided to go to sleep instead. Didn't happen last night, but for the first time it almost did.

The saddest part is, with PW2 and the $69 Kindle "4B", I feel like I'm going to have to compromise one way or the other. I like the touch page change on PW2 (although it could do with a little more configurability), the tapping dictionary and footnote pop-ups, the cover view and the generally far more pleasant UI that adds a nice little touch to the experience - those are important things and I'd love to love the PW2 because of them. On the basic Kindle I like the reading progress bar, but most importantly the darker text and more paper-like/reading-lamp like reading experience - where it just gets easier to dive into the world of the book.

Either way, seems like I'm going to have to compromise.

11-24-2013, 04:17 AM	#71
fearindex Addict Posts: 207 Karma: 279043 Join Date: Oct 2013 Device: Kindle(s)	Paperwhite 2's magic fading a little? Reading l_macd's comments on PW2 reading in low-light got me writing some of the thoughts last night's reading session invoked me with the PW2. As my relationship with my PW2 "normalizes", as the newness rubs off but also as I get accustomed to it, I think I'm beginning to really feel the one big thing I always - even before seeing a Paperwhite 1 - thought is the problem with this technology. First of all, I don't find my PW2 screen defective or with major issues. Its lighting is even-enough, the screen isn't crooked and doesn't have pin-hole, the text blackness while not at $69 Kindle levels is still more than passable. I like the resolution and graphics it shows, the beautiful UI etc. PW2 screen, for me, has crossed a mental threshold and I think my replacement unit represents what one could call a "good PW2". It is a keeper. I can read on it without noticing flaws in the screen, they got the technology to that point - and for that I applaud Amazon. Fix the QA and get this into every buyers hands and lots less would complain. But, and there is this one constant "but", that I feared would be there from the moment I pre-ordered the Paperwhite 1 before its release last year - and last night began to feel affecting the enjoyment again. I don't feel like I'm reading a book, I feel like I'm reading a screen. I think the fact that I've been reading non-fiction on my PW2 so far has shielded me from this, but trying to settle into fiction I found myself having difficulty of suspending disbelief, living the author's world. The one thing that has been great since my first Kindle, the Kindle 2, is reading it at night, like a book. With the Kindle 2 I used an external reading lamp, but since Kindle 3 the integrated lighted covers have removed the necessity of a reading lamp. And with this setup, e-ink does its magic beautifully for me, I feel like tucked in with a good book, the darkness and the written world taking me away to places. That has, for me, been the magic of e-ink - it replicates a printed book, the integrated lighted covers and e-books just making it all more convenient than real books. And I'm just not sure PW2 does that sufficiently in my reading scenario. Were I to use external lighting, obviously I could turn the PW2 light down and be content, but even that isn't quite as simple. On PW2 the text isn't, thanks to those light and touch layers, quite there on the top of the screen like printed text or regular e-ink is normally. Also, were I to use such external (e.g. clip-on) lighting as I do with regular e-ink Kindles, the slightly more textured layers on top of PW2 screen would show more than the even e-ink of regular Kindles, further decreasing the look and feel of a faux printed page because with a light so close those things matter. And of course, since PW2 doesn't support reading lights, a clip-on light would need to be battery powered - further inconvenience. PW2 is probably at its best when reading in sufficient ambient lighting, with its own light set just so that it isn't visible, but helping offset insufficient ambient lighting. I can see how PW2 does help in these scenarios. But in darkness, I feel like needing to push the lighting way down (to 6-8 range) to decrease the feel of looking at an LCD screen, and then it becomes awfully dark - and still, with the slightly bluish (it is bluish in that scenario even though my PW2 looks quite yellow compared to PW1) rectangle staring you in the face in the darkness, I just can't quite espace the feeling that I'm looking at a screen, even squiting at a screen because making out the text gets a bit harder at those light-levels... Last night, for the first time since I got the replacement, good PW2, I not only thought of returning to my $69 Kindle "4B" again (I've done that often as I've compared these moders), I actually set out to do so after a stint on the PW2 - but then felt so tired that decided to go to sleep instead. Didn't happen last night, but for the first time it almost did. The saddest part is, with PW2 and the $69 Kindle "4B", I feel like I'm going to have to compromise one way or the other. I like the touch page change on PW2 (although it could do with a little more configurability), the tapping dictionary and footnote pop-ups, the cover view and the generally far more pleasant UI that adds a nice little touch to the experience - those are important things and I'd love to love the PW2 because of them. On the basic Kindle I like the reading progress bar, but most importantly the darker text and more paper-like/reading-lamp like reading experience - where it just gets easier to dive into the world of the book. Either way, seems like I'm going to have to compromise.