[ddoyle777]

I received mine about 3:30 this afternoon and have been reading, playing and loading books. To state the conclusion first, I think it is a good improvement and I'll not be returning it. Firmware is 5.2.0.

First, on the light. After reading some reviews on the web I expected the light would bathe my eyes in a healing heavenly light that would return my eyes to the health of an 18 year old and bring world peace. Nope. It's 4 lights way under the bottom bezel and there is some unevenness in the bottom 1/2 inch. I have to look for it to see it. So it's noticeable, but not aggravating to me. YMMV. I think it is going to be a very subjective thing. I didfind that once I got reading in my current book, it became less noticeable. Maybe we need to give it a week or so before we make a decision based on this one factor.

Second, brightness and dimness: my wife is a night nurse so our bedroom is almost completely dark at noon - a good test for night reading. To my delight the light will go dim enough to read in the dark. I'm very fussy about this and want a very, very dim screen. I have to use ScreenDim on my Fire because it's way to bright at its lowest setting. A sigh of relief for me here.
At the opposite end, I went to sit on the deck in a mild overcast. I turned the light all the way up and it was barely noticeable. The PW looks like a normal eink device. It's sharp and clear, and very readable, but to me the light has no effect outdoors. Personally, I'm happy with this because I'd much rather have the light set properly for night where it's critical, than for noon where it's a gimmick.
Indoors, in the afternoon, or tonight after dark, the light is very effective.
I also like the way you can set the light by either swiping up and down, or by hitting a plus or minus key. The steps in brightness are at a good interval.

Third, all the reviews said that the PW was faster than the old Touch. You couldn't prove it by me as I don't notice any different. I haven't done any side by side tests, nor do i intend to. If its not noticeable in regular use then it doesn't exist! The speed is fine - it's fast enough that it doesn't slow my very fast reading speed.

I also don't really see a great difference in clarity. It feels the same to my eyes. I'm very satisfied with the screen, and I enjoy reading on it.

One thing I do find jarring and wish I could turn off is that on the first home screen, Amazon has decided to show only three of my books on the top and under a thin line to show 4 "Editor's Choice" books. Then, underneath these four covers, is the normal special offer. As soon as you swipe over the top row of your books the screen shows only your books, and the special offer on the bottom. This is irritating, as I have constantly stopped what I was doing to think, hey wait a minute, I didn't buy Tom Wolfe's Back to Blood! Oh, wait, it's an advert.
I'll pay the fee to dump special offers in a heartbeat if it pulls this stupid trick off.

EDIT: I noticed that keeping the home screen in list view removes the Editor's Choice advert.

But, once I'm safely in a book, I'm happy and content. I'm looking forward to night time use as well.
Happy reading!