Paperwhite Second Gen: First Impressions

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by Carmelreader

About the dictionaries. If this is all old info, my apologies. I am not very familiar with the dictionaries on the PW1, but I had liked the idea of the multi dictionaries. I just tested the dictionary and at the bottom I clicked on more which led to 2nd page which had translation. Being as I was reading a book in English and the word was English too, it just said English to English. So I went and downloaded a free book in French and when I did so, along came an automatic download of a French dictionary. Again highlighted a word (French), definition was in French, clicked on more and translation and could chose from a whole list of languages to have it translated into. Hope this helps. Oh it says the translations are being done by Bing Translator.

That's the translate feature. The PW1 has this. It's not the same as the multiple dictionaries feature and you must have WiFi on to use it.

[xendula]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I see a little bit of every kind of device listed for you except any Kindle. Have you ever owned a PW1, or any kindle? Have you even seen a PW2? You are in Japan so I seriously doubt it. And yet you are somehow an expert on the PW2 who can mystically detect that they have no issues? At least Sirmaru is fanboy with extreme visual challenges, not that that justifies his attacks. But in your case there is no excuse for implying that all the MR people who are seeing hardware defects, and fine people they are, are not actually seeing these defects, but somehow imagining them due to past prejudices. Shame on you.

This.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by laura99

Well that did not go to well. The transferred me to a specialist and she basically said that is just the way it is, sorry.

If these show up in Best Buy before the 30 days I may just buy one and see if it is better. If not, may just return it and stick with the basic Kindle.

I would call them back and talk to someone else. Anytime you get a rept who isn't listening to you. "Oh there's the doorbell! I will call back later."

This time when you call. Make sure they understand the contrast on your PW2 isn't good. Tell them it's a step down from Pearl. Compare the screen to another Pearl reader.

What I would have said. Say So you are saying the screen on the new Paperwhite is worse than my little Kindle Basic here which contrasts surpasses it. So what you claim on your Kindle Page that contrast has improved is a lie? Yes I know how to trip them up.

I would call again. Make sure on the feedback survey in your email you tell Amazon everything they said and rate them badly. It will then give you another chance to try again. Amazon wants you happy. So don't give up. I've gotten Repts who tell me a bunch of B.S. Remember if they aren't listening say there's the door or this late say Something is burning I got to go!

Whiter Screen, Darker Text

IMPROVED—Enjoy even better contrast on the latest Kindle Paperwhite. Whites are whiter and blacks are blacker, creating sharp, clear text. The high-resolution display allows for elegant typeface options including Baskerville and Palatino, and all fonts on Kindle Paperwhite have been hand-tuned at the pixel level for maximum readability and comfort.

[xendula]

Originally Posted by slantybard

Quick question - if you have a US amazon account but are living outside the US at the moment, can you order a kindle from the current geolocation and register it with your US account? Given the number of returns for quality issues, it might make sense to get a new PW in my current location so I could return it for any issues instead of having a US one forwarded to me by family.

Yes, you should be able to.

[xendula]

Originally Posted by aceflor

Amazon.de is having an action for all prime members: the new PW for 99€ instead of 129€. I cancelled my amazon.es order and just ordered instead at amazon.de, where I am a prime member. The PW will arrive at our German address on October 9th but my husband will bring it here only on the 16th, but I can wait now and I did not want to miss the 30€ reduction.

My sis is not interested in the new PW, but this may sway her. Thank you for the tip!!

[xendula]

My replacement came in today, and the screen is evenly colored, no pink or green. Yay.
Alas, it is evenly YELOW - when I hold it next to the first PW2 I received and the old PW1, it is exteremly apparent. This impacts the contrast.

There are also dust particles aplenty beneath the screen, it remains to be seen if they bother me when reading. They are either bright or black dots that are always there, and I wiped the screen well, before you ask. This screen looks like a starry sky at night. The is even a whole galaxy above the lower bezel!

I'll put it through its paces and do some serious reading tomorrow.



Left to right: new PW2, original PW2, PW1


Galaxy is in the second stage light from the right.

[sparklemotion]

Xendula, I found the yellow screen really impacts the contrast too. The font looked really washed out on mine to the point where I preferred the PW1 over it. I used to think my PW1 had a yellow tint, until I got the PW2, which is REALLY yellow. I just didn't like it personally. The font on mine also seemed like it had a haze over it. I also had the dust speck issue on both of my PW2's. It didn't bother me too much, what bothered me most was the faded text and the pinholes. Also the refresh issue. I hope you like yours and are happy with it. I'm glad there are no color blobs on it.

[xendula]

Originally Posted by sparklemotion

Xendula, I found the yellow screen really impacts the contrast too. The font looked really washed out on mine to the point where I preferred the PW1 over it. I used to think my PW1 had a yellow tint, until I got the PW2, which is REALLY yellow. I just didn't like it personally. The font on mine also seemed like it had a haze over it. I also had the dust speck issue on both of my PW2's. It didn't bother me too much, what bothered me most was the faded text and the pinholes. Also the refresh issue. I hope you like yours and are happy with it. I'm glad there are no color blobs on it.

Thank you, Sparklemotion. I had the same book open on all three devices, and also found the font crisper on the PW1. Strange.

[aceflor]

xendula, from all three I like the middle one (I thin it is the first PW2 you received) best.

I ended up ordering a second PW2 in Germany for my mom for Xmas, you can order up to 5, but hopefully they will be good ones, the hassle of having to send them back to Germany right now.. I am not going myself until Xmas, so I'd have to ask my husband to take it back and send it for me, and he is not going to be amused, so hopefully both PW2 are OK....

[sparklemotion]

I think I prefer the middle on too going by the pic, xendula. Although it's hard to say because in person I might prefer the darkness of the font on your PW1 and the background color in general. At least that is how it was for me. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Good luck to you too, aceflor! I hope you're happy with both of yours.

[Carmelreader]

Originally Posted by jersysman

That is pretty cool. I like that feature. Does the other dictionary stay on the Kindle after it is downloaded?

As far as I can tell yes.

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I see a little bit of every kind of device listed for you except any Kindle. Have you ever owned a PW1, or any kindle? Have you even seen a PW2? You are in Japan so I seriously doubt it. And yet you are somehow an expert on the PW2 who can mystically detect that they have no issues? At least Sirmaru is fanboy with extreme visual challenges, not that that justifies his attacks. But in your case there is no excuse for implying that all the MR people who are seeing hardware defects, and fine people they are, are not actually seeing these defects, but somehow imagining them due to past prejudices. Shame on you.

You're right. The possibility that everyone who got a bad kindle last year also had the same bad luck this year is a far more likely possibility than those people having unrealistic expectations. I'm not implying that anyone is imagining anything. I'm implying that some people will never be satisfied no matter what they get.

[Josieb1]

I'm starting to worry about the quality of the new PW1, mine is due on Wednesday, that's the day they start shipping in the UK. Still I am going to be pragmatic, my PW1 is good, if the new one is not as good then it simply goes back as faulty with the reason listed. And I wait a few months before trying again.

For the PW1 my first two came in September last year and no 2 was just acceptable, hubby's was bought in March and thats good, and mine was finally replaced in August for no 3 and that's good so I guess it's at least 6 months to sort out the quality.....sighs

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by xendula

My replacement came in today, and the screen is evenly colored, no pink or green. Yay.
Alas, it is evenly YELOW - when I hold it next to the first PW2 I received and the old PW1, it is exteremly apparent. This impacts the contrast.

There are also dust particles aplenty beneath the screen, it remains to be seen if they bother me when reading. They are either bright or black dots that are always there, and I wiped the screen well, before you ask. This screen looks like a starry sky at night. The is even a whole galaxy above the lower bezel!

I'll put it through its paces and do some serious reading tomorrow.

You're new PW2 looks appalling. The middle one looks the best.

[myself11]

Can we still add and select custom dicts on PW2 or even that has ended?

EDIT: just took this out of the new PW manual:

"Dictionary: Your Kindle includes one or more dictionaries for each supported language. After
you have successfully registered your Kindle, all of your dictionaries will either be available
in the Dictionaries collection on the Home screen or the Dictionaries collection in the Cloud.
Available dictionaries will differ depending on the language you select.
To change your default dictionary:
1. On the Home screen, tap the Menu button and select Settings.
2. On the Settings page, select Device Options and then Language and Dictionaries.
3. Select the Dictionaries option.
4. The currently selected dictionary displays below the dictionary language. An arrow to the right
of the language indicates that there are multiple dictionary options for that language. Tap the
dictionary language to view all of the available dictionaries for that language.
5. Use the radio buttons to select the dictionary that you want to use, and then tap the OK
button.
To look up the definition of a word while reading, press and hold to select the word. A dialog
box displays with the definition of the word. If the selected word is also an X-Ray topic, by
default the X-Ray tab displays."