Paperwhite Second Gen: First Impressions

[FanciFreez]

Opps.. I Hope I posted this in the right thread.. sorry if I didn't.. I was talking about not buying a Warranty..

[FanciFreez]

Originally Posted by benjamin11900

I think reading black on "yellow" is easier on the eyes than reading on white.

But I could be wrong.

+1.. you are right in my opinion.. less contrasty on "yellow".. very light yellow that is..

[sparklemotion]

I noticed on Kindleboards there's a hand full of people exchanging theirs due to pin holes and one person had a black mark.

[Bookworm_Girl]

I had Best Buy gift certificates so I could not resist the temptation. What a difference from last year's model! I'm actually a bit shocked. It's that obvious! My old PW suffered from color blobs, newsink smudges, severe light shadows, etc and that was after waiting a few months before purchasing to see if some of the initial manufacturing flaws could be perfected.

The bad news - mine too has one pinhole. In the lower left corner in the margin. It's only obvious when I turn up the light. I'll have to try it at my normal lighting and see if I notice it enough to return it. So that's disappointing.

The good news - the lighting is consistent, the text is sharper (seems less like looking through a top layer), and the shadows are barely there. I really like the new firmware but need to play around some more.

I followed last year's threads and agreed with the issues that people were seeing. So if you suffer from color blob vision, then I think you'll be much happier with the new model.

[7hir7een]

Originally Posted by sparklemotion

I noticed on Kindleboards there's a hand full of people exchanging theirs due to pin holes and one person had a black mark.

I'm exchanging mine. I have a stripe of light leak on the lower right edge from the bottom to about 1/2" up the side.

If it weren't for that, I love the screen. I like the color cast better, I notice a difference in contrast, the lighting is definitely more even (except for the defect on mine I mentioned), and no color blobs! I wish I could be less picky about the unevenness, but as a nighttime reader, it's too distracting for me to have a mini-spotlight effect on the side.

I should have a new unit on Thursday. *crosses fingers* I'm only going to try this replacing thing once this time

[xendula]

Originally Posted by sparklemotion

Xendula, I'm so sorry yours has pin holes. Do you have a Best Buy near you? Maybe worth picking one up there. All my local Best Buys have them in stock today.

On a side note, when you buy it from Best Buy they come in nice second box overlay that goes over the main black box.

I may try that on Thursday if I have some time, or just try at least one amazon return. It gives me hope - and I am happy for you - that you got a great one on second try (ridiculous expectations, I know, but after last year's debacle...)

Originally Posted by sparklemotion

I noticed on Kindleboards there's a hand full of people exchanging theirs due to pin holes and one person had a black mark.

I forgot all about KBoards and its fangirls! I wonder if they are as vicious this year as last year whenever someone dared diss the PW1?

Seriously though, with you, xendula, and now Bookworm_Girl all having pinholes in your PW2s, I'm very worried. Bookworm_Girl suggested turning the light down to see if they go away. Please let me know if that works. Everything else about the PW2 sounds terrific though, especially since I would be upgrading from a Kindle Touch.

I remember when computer LCD monitors first became affordable in the 1990s almost all of them had at least one white pixel. That was annoying, but they only showed up on dark areas of the screen.

[allowingtoo]

Well, I'm sending mine back. I just got off Live Chat after being connected with a Kindle special specialist. (they had to go through 2 tiers) Hopefully the next one will have a whiter screen. They did ask if mine had been dropped or anything and I said no but that I was surprised that it was shipped only in the Kindle box without any protection. She kept checking with someone or something - I guess to see if my return qualified? I have no idea. I was SO excited to get my new Paperwhite and then more disappointed the longer I look at it.

It's like trying to read an old book with the yellowed pages. It almost hurts my eyes.

Originally Posted by allowingtoo

Well, I'm sending mine back. I just got off Live Chat after being connected with a Kindle special specialist. (they had to go through 2 tiers) Hopefully the next one will have a whiter screen. They did ask if mine had been dropped or anything and I said no but that I was surprised that it was shipped only in the Kindle box without any protection. She kept checking with someone or something - I guess to see if my return qualified? I have no idea. I was SO excited to get my new Paperwhite and then more disappointed the longer I look at it.

It's like trying to read an old book with the yellowed pages. It almost hurts my eyes.

That is the way Kindle eInk readers have been shipped since at least 2009. The single box is engineered for shipping and protection, and does a fine job of both. That is not to say the delivery guys didn't play basketball with it, but then no packaging would protect against that!

[xendula]

Originally Posted by Blossom

Oh no! You would think they would have fix this issue. Mine are so tiny on my PW1 unless I go looking for them I can't see them.

A good way to check for pin holes is to try different fonts on the page. They often hide behind the text till you hit to certain pages.

So far with the initial reports I am thinking of holding off for awhile to maybe the third or forth batch. I did that last time and got a really good one.

If only I were that patient!
I actually didn't have to go looking for the pinholes, they visible from the get-go when I set the device up and was being forced through all idiotic get to know Your kindle screens.

Originally Posted by xendula

If only I were that patient!
I actually didn't have to go looking for the pinholes, they visible from the get-go when I set the device up and was being forced through all idiotic get to know Your kindle screens.

Oh gosh, I forgot all about having to go through all those damn setup screens time after time with each replacement PW1! Makes me shudder!

[xendula]

Originally Posted by sparklemotion

I noticed on Kindleboards there's a hand full of people exchanging theirs due to pin holes and one person had a black mark.

Aaaarrrrgh! At least we're not alone.
Calling amazon now.
I also have a line going across the bottom, forgot to mention it initially - as if they put the screen on 2mm too high.
Does anyone else have this?

ETA: calling amazon tomorrow - deciding if it's worth the hassle.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I forgot all about KBoards and its fangirls! I wonder if they are as vicious this year as last year whenever someone dared diss the PW1?
Seriously though, with you, xendula, and now Bookworm_Girl all having pinholes in your PW2s, I'm very worried. Bookworm_Girl suggested turning the light down to see if they go away. Please let me know if that works. Everything else about the PW2 sounds terrific though, especially since I would be upgrading from a Kindle Touch.
I remember when computer LCD monitors first became affordable in the 1990s almost all of them had at least one white pixel. That was annoying, but they only showed up on dark areas of the screen.

Mine shows up mid-range about 10. My new model is 2 clicks higher to be about same brightness as the old model. I'm sure there's some variability to what others may experience.

[stickybuns]

Mine arrived today, and it looks good except for what looks like a dead pixel in the bottom left corner. It doesn't interfere with reading in any way, and I only noticed it because it showed up as bright white on the black Kindle hillside during boot-up. I'm trying to decide whether it is worth the bother of exchanging for a new one.

Beyond that, I think it looks great. I'm upgrading from a K3, so I'm definitely excited to have the latest tech.

[Outrager]

What would the pinholes look like? Just light leaking out of the front layer?