Another possible reason to prefer the PW2 is that the battery life is better, according to the 2nd and 3rd most helpful Amazon reviews:
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review by JJCEO: "One downside is that the new Kindle Paperwhite
does have a lower battery life when compared to the previous generation. The battery life has dropped from 8 weeks at ½ hour of reading per day to 6 weeks at ½ hour of reading per day. That is due to the additional energy required for the higher resolution screen and the power to render the higher resolution of text."
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review by Desert Rat: "BATTERY: The battery of the 2013 and 2014 Paperwhites are rated a third larger than the new model.
And it is noticeable! When operating simultaneously, the new PW battery drains much faster. It is currently rated at 6 weeks of ½ hour average daily usage versus 8 weeks for the older models. That specification translates to 21 hours of use versus 28 hours of use for the older models."