Paperwhite Second Gen: First Impressions

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

The big test of the Paperwhite 2013 is its ease of READING. That should be the only requirement. I find it great for reading with crisp, clear fonts, great bookmark management, great note management and other great features.

A PIN hole or slight imperfections in the screen while using a flashlight and / or magnifying glass should not cause one to give it up. That would be like giving up one of the new self driving cars, which I own, because the leather cover on the steering wheel has a WRINKLE.

The function of the device is to READ BOOKS - not be a work of art. Every print book I have seen has occasional page defects (wrinkles, light print, illegible fonts, etc.). Why should the PW 2013 be free of all defects?

If the defect/problem/issue is one that bothers you, then the ease of reading is reduced. Ease of reading could be reduced enough that it's too much of a bother. That's why the exchanges.

You may be less sensitive to color blotches, light spills/bright places and pinholes but others may not be. Don't try to say others are wrong when they say they see these things and that they are a bother. All you are doing is getting others annoyed at you.

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If the defect/problem/issue is one that bothers you, then the ease of reading is reduced. Ease of reading could be reduced enough that it's too much of a bother. That's why the exchanges.

You may be less sensitive to color blotches, light spills/bright places and pinholes but others may not be. Don't try to say others are wrong when they say they see these things and that they are a bother. All you are doing is getting others annoyed at you.

See my post right above yours comparing SIX models of eInk readers. The Kindle Paperwhite 2013 has a great record in the CUSTOMER REVIEWS compared to other manufacturers' units.

The danger of too many negative complaints here with many NOT even owning a PW 2013 is that some folks may elect to buy the competition which is not even in the same ballpark as the KW 2013 or even go back to reading print books.

Finally, the Amazon exchange / refund policy is so generous that, even if a defect is spotted, the customer will get satisfaction much easier than with others.

Plus, see this link for CNN's decision to judge the PW 2013 the BEST EREADER EVER !!

http://money.cnn.com/2013/10/07/tech...ex.html?iid=EL

[mewmartigan]

I'm quite happy with my PW2. Operation is much faster and the light basically feels the same to me. The lowest setting is definitely lower than PW1 but still not "off".

I gave my PW1 to my mom before my PW2 arrived so no side by side comparisons for me. I think if I had them side by side, I would start to get too critical.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Blossom

All I do is press on a word and the definition pops up. I then just click on the dictionary name and a drop down menu appears and I can select the dictionary I want to go to. I can switch back and forth at will. I love this feature!

My 650 has had that since day 1. That is a nice feature to have when you have multiple dictionaries.

[fearindex]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

Of course, I exaggerated the cancer death rate for effect. However, I've done some research on other eInk readers sold at Amazon. Here they are:

Kobo eReader: 54 reviews; 16 five star; 12 one star = 1.3 to 1 for a perfect unit versus a dud per this link: http://www.amazon.com/Kobo-N905-KBO-...owViewpoints=1

Nook eReader: 349 reviews; 193 five star; 45 one star = 4.3 to 1 for a perfect unit versus a dud per this link: http://www.amazon.com/Barnes-Noble-S...owViewpoints=1

Kindle Keyboard: 40,758 reviews; 28,716 five star; 2,121 one star = 13.5 to 1 for a perfect unit versus a dud per this link: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Special...owViewpoints=1

Kindle Touch: 8,068 reviews; 4,136 five star; 807 one star = 5.1 to 1 for a perfect unit versus a dud per this link: http://www.amazon.com/Kingle-Touch-e...owViewpoints=1

Kindle Paperwhite 2012: 17,300 reviews; 11,100 five star; 818 one star = 13.6 to 1 for a perfect unit versus a dud per this link: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Paperwh...owViewpoints=1

Kindle Paperwhite 2013: 250 reviews; 164 five star; 15 one star = 10.9 to 1 for a perfect unit versus ad dud per this link: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Paperwh...owViewpoints=1

As you can see all the Kindles are better than the competition by a wide margin but the best of all at this moment in time is the Kindle Paperwhite 2012 !! The Kindle Keyboard takes second place.

The Kindle Paperwhite 2013 still beats the competition by a wide margin.

That is not really a good way to find "duds", though, more like one source for overall happiness with a purchase. And it most definitely tells nothing about screen quality or variance in unit to unit screen quality, mostly just about overall popularity.

Clearly nobody is disputing Kindle Paperwhite is mostly well received. Amazon making a second generation suggests it is working well for them. The average person may not have any issues with the screen. That doesn't mean the issues discussed here can't be real, it just means they don't bother most people.

I own and have owned most Kindles, some several of, and have PW2 on international pre-order, and I too think the frontlit e-ink readers overall have brought an inconsistent experience into e-ink that wasn't there before. Apparently the process of adding touch and light guides on top of e-ink screens is really hard to get consistently right, add to this LED quality allowances, dust getting between the layers, lower text blackness and e-ink-paper-likeness suffering from the added layers etc., and I do believe people are rightly concerned about these things.

Simply dismissing those concerns because the average customer doesn't care, would render forums like this pointless. The average customer wouldn't even read or write here. Enthusiasts often have higher standards, but also higher interest level in the intricacies of different products.

Out of all the Kindles I have (since I don't have the first one), only PW had lesser text blackness than the preceding model (I know Kindle 2 had less blackness than Kindle 1), PW actually is less black than Kindle 3 Keyboard, and only PW had screen quality issues (a pin-hole, crooked screen, uneven lighting etc.). So definitely the added layers on the PW have changed the dynamic.

I think I have intimately used 6-7 regular e-ink Kindles, without any screen issues, not having heard of any screen issues from others either after the Kindle 2 sunfade teething problems (which I didn't have but were real of course and worth pointing out), yet the first PW to reach my hands had several issues - and reports online seem to confirm... and now PW2 with similar reports, and other frontlit e-ink readers from other manufacturers too.

To me it is clear the frontlight technology has added a variable to the Kindle game that wasn't there before - and this is clearly a concern to many people. Not most people, but still many people. To try and dismiss it would be a disservice to informative forums like this.

But I'll wait for the PW2 with an open mind.

In case anyone cares, I've documented my frustrations with PW (and mixed love and hate with the excellent $69 Kindle 5 with a less than excellent official lighted case) on KBoards over the past year: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,129956.0.html

Originally Posted by sirmaru

Of course, I exaggerated the cancer death rate for effect. However, I've done some research on other eInk readers sold at Amazon. Here they are:

Kobo eReader: 54 reviews; 16 five star; 12 one star = 1.3 to 1 for a perfect unit versus a dud per this link: http://www.amazon.com/Kobo-N905-KBO-...owViewpoints=1

Nook eReader: 349 reviews; 193 five star; 45 one star = 4.3 to 1 for a perfect unit versus a dud per this link: http://www.amazon.com/Barnes-Noble-S...owViewpoints=1

Kindle Keyboard: 40,758 reviews; 28,716 five star; 2,121 one star = 13.5 to 1 for a perfect unit versus a dud per this link: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Special...owViewpoints=1

Kindle Touch: 8,068 reviews; 4,136 five star; 807 one star = 5.1 to 1 for a perfect unit versus a dud per this link: http://www.amazon.com/Kingle-Touch-e...owViewpoints=1

Kindle Paperwhite 2012: 17,300 reviews; 11,100 five star; 818 one star = 13.6 to 1 for a perfect unit versus a dud per this link: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Paperwh...owViewpoints=1

Kindle Paperwhite 2013: 250 reviews; 164 five star; 15 one star = 10.9 to 1 for a perfect unit versus ad dud per this link: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Paperwh...owViewpoints=1

As you can see all the Kindles are better than the competition by a wide margin but the best of all at this moment in time is the Kindle Paperwhite 2012 !! The Kindle Keyboard takes second place.

The Kindle Paperwhite 2013 still beats the competition by a wide margin.

Hmmm...Amazon owns and controls the website wherein Kobos and Nooks are shown to have less owner satisfaction than Kindles. Amazon owns Kindle and the Kindle Bookstore. Kindles compete against Kobos and Nooks...

It is a no brainer, well for most of us anyway...

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Hmmm...Amazon owns and controls the website wherein Kobos and Nooks are shown to have less owner satisfaction than Kindles. Amazon owns Kindle and the Kindle Bookstore. Kindles compete against Kobos and Nooks...

It is a no brainer, well for most of us anyway...

I showed the Kindle Touch reviews which were not much better than the Nook reviews. I also showed that the PW 2012 had a better review spread than the PW 2013 so far.

That seems fair to me.

It is ironic that the only Kindle you own per your avatar display is the Kindle Touch. It is possible that the anterior, indirect, internal light enhanced eInk eReaders cause those with perfect vision, glass or surgically enhanced, to see a lot of defects while those with less than perfect vision to simply be unable to see them. The vast majority of folks have less than perfect vision. That could explain the wide variance of acceptance between the reviews at the Amazon site and all the complaints posted here.

Kindle Fires and iPads use posterior, direct, internal light displays and would not have the same effect.

I also posted the links for anyone to verify as they wish.

[Matches Malone]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

The danger of too many negative complaints here with many NOT even owning a PW 2013 is that some folks may elect to buy the competition which is not even in the same ballpark as the KW 2013 or even go back to reading print books.

Originally Posted by sirmaru

Of course, I exaggerated the cancer death rate for effect. However, I've done some research on other eInk readers sold at Amazon. Here they are:

People actually trust Amazon Reviews?

Why do you care so much about what other people buy? Are you Amazon?
You seem to always find some fault with a poster who brings up something negative about their kindle. Looking through your previous posts you have mentioned you are 150 years old, have poor eyesight, and think amazon is perfect. Just because you can't see defects doesn't mean they don't exist. The reason I come to mobileread is because the people here know what they are talking about when it comes to e readers. I would trust 10 positive/negative mobileread comments over 100 amazon Reviews.

[baggyrinkle]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

Of course, I exaggerated the cancer death rate for effect. However, I've done some research on other eInk readers sold at Amazon. Here they are:

Kobo eReader: 54 reviews; 16 five star; 12 one star = 1.3 to 1 for a perfect unit versus a dud per this link: http://www.amazon.com/Kobo-N905-KBO-...owViewpoints=1

Nook eReader: 349 reviews; 193 five star; 45 one star = 4.3 to 1 for a perfect unit versus a dud per this link: http://www.amazon.com/Barnes-Noble-S...owViewpoints=1

Kindle Keyboard: 40,758 reviews; 28,716 five star; 2,121 one star = 13.5 to 1 for a perfect unit versus a dud per this link: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Special...owViewpoints=1

Kindle Touch: 8,068 reviews; 4,136 five star; 807 one star = 5.1 to 1 for a perfect unit versus a dud per this link: http://www.amazon.com/Kingle-Touch-e...owViewpoints=1

Kindle Paperwhite 2012: 17,300 reviews; 11,100 five star; 818 one star = 13.6 to 1 for a perfect unit versus a dud per this link: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Paperwh...owViewpoints=1

Kindle Paperwhite 2013: 250 reviews; 164 five star; 15 one star = 10.9 to 1 for a perfect unit versus ad dud per this link: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Paperwh...owViewpoints=1

As you can see all the Kindles are better than the competition by a wide margin but the best of all at this moment in time is the Kindle Paperwhite 2012 !! The Kindle Keyboard takes second place.

The Kindle Paperwhite 2013 still beats the competition by a wide margin.

You have way too much time on your hands.

[Bob B]

Originally Posted by strindberg

...
Seriously though, a one in ten chance of a faulty unit is absolutely horrible for a company manufacturing electronics; I doubt even Apple could survive such a huge number of duds.

I agree with this for the electronics. A 90% yield is not acceptable for modern electronics manufacturing.

However, this conversation is about the screen which may have a very different yield profile and greater manufacturing variation.

[krazy4katz]

Originally Posted by fearindex

I own and have owned most Kindles, some several of, and have PW2 on international pre-order, and I too think the frontlit e-ink readers overall have brought an inconsistent experience into e-ink that wasn't there before. Apparently the process of adding touch and light guides on top of e-ink screens is really hard to get consistently right, add to this LED quality allowances, dust getting between the layers, lower text blackness and e-ink-paper-likeness suffering from the added layers etc., and I do believe people are rightly concerned about these things.

This makes me think I should keep my KK with the m-Edge light/cover combination. However, I will wait until my Best Buy gets a demo unit (they do sell the PW2, but don't have one on display) and decide then. Ah, the temptations of technology!

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by joehunt

I've just finished reading a book on my PW2 and in my opinion, it's much improved over the PW1. The recent pictures here look nothing at all like my PW2 (I've tried unsuccessfully to photograph it). Mine is very evenly colored with a very faint beige tint. No screen imperfections at all. The helvetica font is nice and dark. Footnotes are now handled incredibly well.

Everyone sees things differently and I'm just sorry that once again this year, MR PW buyers have angst over what real or imagined "imperfections" their PW will have

Personally, I never put much import in internet comments as you never know the agenda of posters (including myself of course). But for me only, this is the best ereader currently available.

The problem is eInk varies so much some will have a good screen and maybe little to no yellow and some will have too much yellow and greyish text. So you can't go by anyone's posts here to make your decision. It's a gamble. You order and hope you get a good one that you are happy with.

Last year I waited till the third batch and I got a really good one on the first try. No color blobs and even lighting while others didn't have such good luck. It has nothing to do with me seeing things differently it has to do with Amazon's Quality Control which I know they could fix as they did it for the K4 when they released the improved version.

So it all comes down to do you want one bad enough to try it and return it till you get one you like if you're not one of the lucky ones.

[induna]

My PW2 is superior to my PW1 in every way, although I was quite happy with my PW1.

[xendula]

Originally Posted by Matches Malone

Why do you care so much about what other people buy? Are you Amazon?
You seem to always find some fault with a poster who brings up something negative about their kindle. Looking through your previous posts you have mentioned you are 150 years old, have poor eyesight, and think amazon is perfect. Just because you can't see defects doesn't mean they don't exist.

[JoHunt]

Originally Posted by Blossom

The problem is eInk varies so much some will have a good screen and maybe little to no yellow and some will have too much yellow and greyish text. So you can't go by anyone's posts here to make your decision. It's a gamble. You order and hope you get a good one that you are happy with.

I absolutely agree with you and just wanted to say something to those who feel angst about ordering one as a result of the comments posted here.

From what I can see the only prolific poster (PP) who posts positive comments about his PW2 is the only PP who actually owns one. On the other hand, one PP has admitted to never even seeing a PW2, other PPs have stated that they returned their PW2s after seeing imperfections that no one else could see, etc. etc. All of this should be taken into consideration when reading these comments.

And besides, I just can't understand the reason to post dozens and dozens of times about a product I do not/have never/no longer own. Personally, if I buy something and don't like it, I'll let my feelings be known and move on to something else.