Puzzled by concerns over colour patches

[Victoria]

Since i don't have a paperwhite, and i haven't seen one in person, i should probably keep my mouth shut.

....but. I'm puzzled by all the complaints about people seeing patches of colours. I've seen the photos and videos, and see the colour people are reporting. What i don't get, is why it's considered a problem.

Artists purposefully look for and record reflected colours in everything they paint. Once you know what to look for, you see it everywhere - literally everwhere. Light itself has colour - overhead lights, the sun if you're outdoors, skylight coming in windows, all influence the colours we see around us. You never actually see a white shirt for example - there are patches that are warm colours, and others that are cool. An artist painting a white shirt needs to use pink, purple, blue, etc, to make it look like a white shirt.

In addition to the influence of light, the colour of near objects also would also reflect colour on to screens. For example the colour of the shirt you are wearing . Then as others have commented, smuged fingerprints are going to influence the light coming fom the lighted screen. If i look carefully i can see red, violet and blue, all tinting the grey of the key pad of the ipad i'm typing this on.

The puzzle part for me, is, why does it matter ? Why are people seeking a pristine pure white screen, when, nothing around us is pure white? Reflected colours are beautiful.

This is the part where i should keep quiet, and i truely don't mean to trivialize others concerns, because i can appreciate that it is distracting for someone who just wants to read. .....However, i do wonder if people just ignored it for a while, if they would stop noticing the colour, in the same way that most people look at a white shirt, and "see" white, even though, in fact, the shirt has patches of pink, blue, violet, etc. our brains just adapt, unless, like an artist, we purposefully look for the colours.

[BugA]

I`d say mostly because of this (posted on Amazon`s site even before PW was available to buy):

Perfectly Balanced Whiteness
We worked on Kindle Paperwhite for over two years to perfect the uniformity of the built-in light, flattening out a fiber optic cable into a sheet, and nanoimprinting to ensure perfectly even distribution of light. Our design uses nanoscale optical diffractive patterns to enable tight control over the direction of the light. Enjoy reading with exceptional lighting uniformity and evenly balanced whiteness across the entire display.
http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/image...paperwhite.jpg

That`s what people were pre-ordering, but that wasn`t what they were getting in the end...

[Victoria]

So basically, Amazon set expectations higher than they could deliver on. If they hadn't set the bar so high, do you think people would be less concerned by the reflected colours?

[BugA]

I think so, yes. If PW wasn`t advertised as "perfect" but just "(probably much) better than a book-light", people would know what to expect (and probably many wouldn`t buy it, lol, hence the advertising part... ).

I`m currently in process of trying to convince myself that is shouldn`t be "perfectly white and even" in the first place , but just a better solution than using (carrying) a book light.

Now, some may find the "coldness" of the led lights (bluish white) distracting and may prefer the yellowish light of the "regular" bulbs, but that`s how it is at the moment. Kindle Paperyellow, anyone? I might like to see that, but doubt it`s gonna happen.

[Victoria]

Makes sense. I bet they really regret their choice of the name paperwhite. "Kindle with integrated light" might have served them better

[Pushka]

Originally Posted by Victoria

So basically, Amazon set expectations higher than they could deliver on. If they hadn't set the bar so high, do you think people would be less concerned by the reflected colours?

Exactly, people expected perfect PPW based on Bezos reviews. Had he shown a kindle with the shadows at the bottom, people might then have thought perhaps there were other possible problem areas too. That is part of it. The rest is that I expect that there are some other kindles that are worse than others.

[BugA]

Originally Posted by Victoria

Makes sense. I bet they really regret their choice of the name paperwhite. "Kindle with integrated light" might have served them better

Maybe they did regret... but maybe not I`m not a marketing agent, and this might only be one of those "conspiracy theories", but maybe they`ve put it down on paper, and concluded that income A ("perfect" advertising + replacements + refunds) > income B (realistic "Kindle with integrated light" advertising)

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by Pushka

Exactly, people expected perfect PPW based on Bezos reviews. Had he shown a kindle with the shadows at the bottom, people might then have thought perhaps there were other possible problem areas too. That is part of it. The rest is that I expect that there are some other kindles that are worse than others.

It does sound like a lot of variation between screen batches. As i say, i don't have one, and i wouldn't want black spots. But i don't think i'd mind pink or green colour reflections i've seen in photos - i'd just think it was quirky and interesting.

[twowheels]

I posted pictures of mine, which I thought to be near perfect, and somebody commented that it had pink hues. I don't see them... sure if I try really hard I can see hues, but I can see hues on any light emitting device, including this LCD monitor that I'm looking at now. It may be that some are worse than others and that the light layer doesn't lie perfectly flat or something amplifying the affect? I don't know.

For me, viewing it as a better booklight, I'm very happy with it. I would prefer, though, a warmer color, like BugA commented on, because I find the blueish-white to be harder to read at night. Perhaps the Kindle Sepia? Or perhaps the Kindle "Wheat"?

[Skydog]

Originally Posted by Victoria

It does sound like a lot of variation between screen batches. As i say, i don't have one, and i wouldn't want black spots. But i don't think i'd mind pink or green colour reflections i've seen in photos - i'd just think it was quirky and interesting.

Really? Would you enjoy reading with pink and green blotches on every page of a paper book?

[SteveEisenberg]

Even if Amazon hadn't created an expectation of perfection in their marketing literature, it would have been (and has been) provided by tech journalists who reviewed hand-picked units given to them by Amazon.

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

Even if Amazon hadn't created an expectation of perfection in their marketing literature, it would have been (and has been) provided by tech journalists who reviewed hand-picked units given to them by Amazon.

That's pure speculation that they received hand picked units.

They may have... they may have just gotten lucky... they might have gotten units that were made by a slightly different process because they hadn't started mass production yet... there are many alternate explanations that don't involve malice.

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by Skydog

Really? Would you enjoy reading with pink and green blotches on every page of a paper book?

I don't think i would mind - at least at the level i've seen in photos. I like looking for reflected colours, and find them pretty. It depends on how pronounced it was. Trying to read through a strident pattern would be difficult. But just a bit of coloured light would be fine.

I do also find warm light more relaxing - the blue ligt can seem harsh.

[sparklemotion]

I thought initially you might be putting us on here... Hmm.. I guess to each their own, but I prefer my devices not to have color hues on them. If you like that sort of thing, I can say the PW is definitely for you then.

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by sparklemotion

I thought initially you might be putting us on here... Hmm.. I guess to each their own, but I prefer my devices not to have color hues on them. If you like that sort of thing, I can say the PW is definitely for you then.

No, not putting you on, and i don't want to minimize other people's disappointment either. But as someone who paints, i looks for reflected colours in everything. You see them everywhere, so i'm not surprised by the reports. I was just puzzled over why the colours are so troubling. They could be considered a terrible defect, or, just a reflection of coloured light.

But i guess the issue is that Amazon has promised pure white screens, and didn't deliver what they promised. Also, that some people find the colours distracting when they read.