Has the quality of Paperwhites improved?

[JLeighs]

Originally Posted by xendula

Interesting that the CS rep was so upfront with you, and especially that (s)he told you about the different perception depending on color sensitivity! That's the first time I am hearing Amazon acknowledging this, and I find it intersting because I suspect they bank on the fact that not everyone is as color sensitive as myself, for instance.
Which PW did you get: WiFi? WiFi+3G? With or without SO?

Yes, I was surprised that he was so candid with me. I got WiFi without Special Offers

[mroek]

Originally Posted by Blossom

Is it really that blue or is that your camera? Mine is a fluorescent cool white. It has no color tints other than the greenish border from the bezel which you only see when holding it a certain way.

It's the camera's auto white balance that is a bit thrown off. In reality it is a lot less blue, and to my eyes it it more like a cool white. However, at very low levels (< 5) in a dark room the color looks a lot warmer.

Edit to add:
The candid responses some of you are getting from Amazon could also be viewed as an attempt from their side to gain accept for this problem, and to prevent customers from entering (or continuing) the return/replace-dance. After all, it costs Amazon money to do that, even if they are returning refurbished (or repackaged) units.

[Andy_T]

Originally Posted by TallMomof2

I must be incredibly lucky as I received my PW the first day they came out and I've been very happy with it.

Well, continue reading these threads, and somebody will point out to you some reasons to be unhappy with your PW

[tmf2]

Originally Posted by Andy_T

Well, continue reading these threads, and somebody will point out to you some reasons to be unhappy with your PW

Or ...though a enormous number screens are subpar many "so love" the paperwhite. Its all subjective, backlit, sidelit toplit whatever it still feels like a lcd to me rather then eink.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by JLeighs

He said, and I quote "They all have color hues to some degree because one of the screen layers (I think he clarified later that it was the capacitive touchscreen, but I'm not positive) is not dispersing the light the way it should."

Nice to have that confirmed, the capacitive touch screen layer always seemed the most likely cause of the problems since the Kobo Glo with it's infra red touch screen doesn't suffer the same issues. Hopefully they'll either work out a fix for it for the next model, or alternatively go back to the infra red touch screen instead. For those that have both the Kindle Touch and Paperwhite, is the capacitive touch screen really that much of an improvement, or would it not really matter if they reverted back to the IR touch?

[sparklemotion]

Originally Posted by l_macd

Nice to have that confirmed, the capacitive touch screen layer always seemed the most likely cause of the problems since the Kobo Glo with it's infra red touch screen doesn't suffer the same issues. Hopefully they'll either work out a fix for it for the next model, or alternatively go back to the infra red touch screen instead. For those that have both the Kindle Touch and Paperwhite, is the capacitive touch screen really that much of an improvement, or would it not really matter if they reverted back to the IR touch?

I have both the touch and the PW. The capacitive screen is definitely not that much of an improvement to have to put up with color hues, let's just say. I'm not sure exactly what is causing the hues, I actually thought it was the LED's, but I don't really know.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by l_macd

Nice to have that confirmed, the capacitive touch screen layer always seemed the most likely cause of the problems since the Kobo Glo with it's infra red touch screen doesn't suffer the same issues. Hopefully they'll either work out a fix for it for the next model, or alternatively go back to the infra red touch screen instead. For those that have both the Kindle Touch and Paperwhite, is the capacitive touch screen really that much of an improvement, or would it not really matter if they reverted back to the IR touch?

I allo have both. The capacitive touch is definately a noticeable improvement. The Touch sometimes does not like me tapping, and have to do it twice. Plus with the big bezel putting in bookmarks is a hassle. Also on the PW quick short swipes appear to work better too. So I would say that the new touch screen is a lot nicer and an improvement. Not commenting on if it is worth one way or other. If I had problems with my color, it might be different, but I am happy with my PW, so me personally like the capacitive touch better, others maybe not.

[Doc109]

Just got my PW...

PW is quite blotchy in darkness - Kindle Fire is much better for these scenarios. It looks fantastic in indirect lighting to high light. Very sharp text. I particularly like Futura font.

I notice no coloration on the screen.

I don’t understand why the font size selection includes so few reasonable sizes (for me, anyway). When using Futura, for example, the four smallest sizes are punishingly small. I could pull off #4 but I really don’t want to, whereas the 1st three are just unusable. #5 (fifth from the left) looks nice, then the final two are enormous. I can understand the need for big fonts but the multiple tiny fonts - not so much.

I love my K3 but in indirect lighting it is too dark. The clip-on light is too bright. The PW fixes that problem. Will likely become the go-to reader during daytime and indirect night lighting, and I anticipate continuing to use the Fire in darker scenarios - for which it's not perfect, but not bad.

[Parody]

FWIW, I just got a Paperwhite and (thankfully!) no blotches, or at least nothing like some of the pictures on here. To my eyes the backlight appears ever so slightly blue; this is more apparent at lower backlight settings. Loving it so far!

More font selections (or maybe a couple bolder variants?) would be nice.

[GoSharks]

Originally Posted by Parody

More font selections (or maybe a couple bolder variants?) would be nice.

If you read the thread 'What font are you using on your PW....', there is a simple way to increase your font options and add your own fonts. Glad you got a good PW, I really like mine.

[acti0n]

Hey everyone,

Over the past week I've gone through 5 defective Paperwhites with a 6th on the way (all 503s):

#1: 1 inch long distracting hotspot on left edge near the bottom. Blotches.
#2: Small bump in outer rubber, blueish-green tint to the light. This was the only unit that had even lighting on the bottom.
#3: The top inner border of bezel was not cut straight. There was a 4x1mm piece of plastic jutting out over the screen. Blotches and 2m thick shadow running along the bottom.
#4: 1 inch scratch on the lower right part of the screen. Blotches.
#5: 3mm scratch on the lower left part of the screen. Bright dust specs under screen. Blotches.

I'm not exactly giving these devices a thorough inspection -- these are things I've noticed within just 30 seconds of unpacking the device. It makes me wonder why their quality control can't do the same.

I've got a 6th one being delivered tomorrow, but I'm not optimistic. I'm sure at this point Amazon has spent more on over-nighting me 5 replacements than I paid for the device.

I really wish I didn't spend $30 on a case from a non-Amazon site, because at this point I'm ready to throw in the towel and just get a refund (I doubt Amazon would reimburse me the expenses for that case, so I would be out $30 when all is said and done).

[mroek]

It's a shame that some of you are getting PWs with so many flaws.
I've photographed my own PW again (in a dark room), this time with a fixed white balance on the camera, and on the picture it is possible to see that mine also has a pinkish area top left. In real life the entire screen looks a little blueish compared to the image, but the pink area is really difficult to see (for me, at least).

I am quite happy with mine, and I enjoy reading on it. My first book read on it was "The Hobbit" (hadn't read it before), and the imperfections shown on the image does not bother me.

[xendula]

Originally Posted by acti0n

Hey everyone,

Over the past week I've gone through 5 defective Paperwhites with a 6th on the way (all 503s):

#1: 1 inch long distracting hotspot on left edge near the bottom. Blotches.
#2: Small bump in outer rubber, blueish-green tint to the light. This was the only unit that had even lighting on the bottom.
#3: The top inner border of bezel was not cut straight. There was a 4x1mm piece of plastic jutting out over the screen. Blotches and 2m thick shadow running along the bottom.
#4: 1 inch scratch on the lower right part of the screen. Blotches.
#5: 3mm scratch on the lower left part of the screen. Bright dust specs under screen. Blotches.

I'm not exactly giving these devices a thorough inspection -- these are things I've noticed within just 30 seconds of unpacking the device. It makes me wonder why their quality control can't do the same.

I've got a 6th one being delivered tomorrow, but I'm not optimistic. I'm sure at this point Amazon has spent more on over-nighting me 5 replacements than I paid for the device.

I really wish I didn't spend $30 on a case from a non-Amazon site, because at this point I'm ready to throw in the towel and just get a refund (I doubt Amazon would reimburse me the expenses for that case, so I would be out $30 when all is said and done).

I have gone through a series of replacements in November (or maybe October?) and am impressed that you got to see so many devices in only one week. That means that at least they are trying to rectify the problem. It took me a lot longer to get replacements, and repeat phone calls.

Some of the defects you described, I had as well on my first units. However, I have never had a device where the plastic casing was an issue, and neither did I have scratches on the screen. This tells me that their quality control has gone the wrong way: down, not up.

Very disheartening! I can tell you that if you do get a good unit, you will love it, but going through so many replacements is unacceptable and does not paint a good picture of their QC.

Please keep us posted either way.

[acti0n]

6th unit arrived. Turned it on, immediately noticed a 3mm scratch near the bottom of the screen. This is the 3rd consecutive replacement that came scratched.

[new]

Originally Posted by acti0n

6th unit arrived. Turned it on, immediately noticed a 3mm scratch near the bottom of the screen. This is the 3rd consecutive replacement that came scratched.

I have bought numerous glasses (eye) that came with scratches and have ignored them. Is it that bad?