[quatermass]

Let me start off by saying that the Kindle has been my favorite piece of tech since I first saw and purchased a Kindle 2. I've purchased and been happy with nearly every iteration since and wherever I go, my Kindle is close at hand. When the Voyage came out I wondered if we'd reached Peak Kindle; it was, and still is, close to perfect for me. Pocketable and with a glorious screen; white as paper with sharp contrast in the text. A clear improvement over the original Paperwhite.

Then the first Oasis was released and I had to sit out the release party as it was above my pay grade. I've since bought one used and love the little device; a screen as white and sharp as the Voyage but the battery in the case thing had me constantly worrying about how much charge remained at any given time, as I preferred to use it caseless. The last thing you should have to worry about with a Kindle, so I went back to my aging Voyage.

I've tried out the subsequent Oases and Paperwhites and have found them to be close to unreadable. Ghastly yellow tinted screens, soft contrast, fuzzy fonts, plastic screens (?). I struggle to read on them as they cause my reading speed to slow considerably. Just too fuzzy. I couldn't have a long reading session using one as my eyes got exhausted. Headache inducing. The press that repeats that "a warm screen is easier to read at night and is better for the eyes" is the opposite of my experience. Sounds like marketing. I prefer that cool bluish light at all times. Just me?

The Oasis 2 was the last I could read on somewhat comfortably. But each new device is getting yellower with the Oasis 3 being the nadir. Even with that orange screen slider at minimum, pages looked like a book that had been left open under the summer sun for a month. Is this really what the majority now prefer? A white screen with sharp contrast used to be the holy grail on Kindle forums, now few seem to want that anymore.

I took a chance on the latest Paperwhite as some posters reported getting screens as white as a Voyage. It was not to be. I returned three Paperyellows before giving up.

My second Voyage is now showing its age with diminishing battery life. I'm trying to find another Voyage for the future, as it's getting clearer that Amazon is no longer interested in keeping me, or those like me, as a customer.

I find it interesting that on Amazon's Kindle product pages, every Kindle photo, apart from those demonstrating the color temp slider, display bright white screens. If they believe most now want yellow screens, wouldn't their advertising show the true tint of the actual product? What goes on here?

Please, Amazon, for me, bring back the Voyage. Or something even better.

On another subject, has anyone noticed Amazon's Kindle customer service becoming as mediocre as their hardware? Used to be that reps were clearly Kindle users who kept up with complaints on forums. Now it's robotic reading from scripts with rote restart procedures and no hint that they're aware of the idiosyncrasies between the different devices through the years. It used to be a pleasure dealing with them. Now I dread it. Unfortunately it's no longer possible for me to be thrilled with a Kindle right out of the box, cuz I know what's coming.

- Disgruntled Old School Kindle Owner