Kindle Voyage - First Impressions

[pghaworth]

Originally Posted by jocampo

Very "anal" people (I am one of those) can notice it more.

I'm one of those. LOL I'm noticing it less now and I prefer blueish to creamy, that said, I prefer even toned.

I have restarted multiple times, taken off the night setting, and done auto bright all the way up and down at least 20 times and things seem to be improving. I hope. I have found workarounds to the PT button issue, though my back responds much more slowly than the forward.

Any one else have slower response to back and forward using the PP/PT buttons?

[speedlever]

I have to wonder if all the returned Voyages due to screen issues will re-enter the marketplace as refurbs. I know the PW1 I bought as a refurb replacement for a broken K3 had serious issues such that Amazon replaced it with a new PW1 (or so it appeared to me).

I've been salivating over the internally lit screen (vs my K3) for a long time now but am still on the fence about the Voyage vs the PW2. Since the PW1 is my daughter's, I've never read on it nor looked at the screen for obvious defects. The PW1 is such a nice upgrade over the K3 that it will take some serious flaws to detract from the difference. But now I need to take a hard look at her PW1.

[judith009]

I'm hoping iFixit can do a Voyage breakdown sometime soon. Maybe then we'll see how the lighting works, and what might potentially be causing the color issues. Also maybe we'll be able to see if the lighting issue is fixable.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by speedlever

I have to wonder if all the returned Voyages due to screen issues will re-enter the marketplace as refurbs. I know the PW1 I bought as a refurb replacement for a broken K3 had serious issues such that Amazon replaced it with a new PW1 (or so it appeared to me).

I've been salivating over the internally lit screen (vs my K3) for a long time now but am still on the fence about the Voyage vs the PW2. Since the PW1 is my daughter's, I've never read on it nor looked at the screen for obvious defects. The PW1 is such a nice upgrade over the K3 that it will take some serious flaws to detract from the difference. But now I need to take a hard look at her PW1.

I have a PW1 3G. PW2 wifi and Voyage wifi. Let me tell you this. If I own or only have access to the PW1, I would get a Voyage instead, not the PW2. The Voyage screen and contrast is way, way better!

Only reason why I'm keeping the PW1 is because its 3G capabilities, very handy when I'm not in USA.

[sparklemotion]

deleted

[sparklemotion]

Originally Posted by slantybard

The e-book Reader Blog has a Voyage review out that discussed their findings about the frontlight shading problem.

http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/201...ssions-review/

Glad to see a reviewer addressed it! The relevant passage for those interested.

The Frontlight

The screen on the Kindle Voyage looks fantastic when there’s good ambient lighting. But the frontlight isn’t as uniform across the screen as it is on the Paperwhite 2. There’s sort of an orange gradient at the top of the screen. With auto-brightness enabled it keeps the light low enough the discoloration is almost unnoticeable; it’s more apparent with brightness turned up high in a dark room. The thing with frontlights, though, is they are inconsistent. They vary a lot from one device to the next, so it’s always hard to know what you’re going to get.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by speedlever

I have to wonder if all the returned Voyages due to screen issues will re-enter the marketplace as refurbs.

I wonder if that explains why people got so many bad PW1 and PW2 in a row.

The PW QC inspectors didn't notice the screen problems, The customer returns the PW. The same QC inspectors see nothing wrong, so it goes to the refurb pool and is reboxed. The refurbs go to people who returned a PW. Lather, rinse repeat. That way, even a low percentage of defects can cause someone to get multiple bad replacements in a row.

Originally Posted by jocampo

I know what you mean. It is due the extra distraction of that "discolored" eink screen. Very "anal" people (I am one of those) can notice it more.

Yep, I guess some might consider it "anal" but I'm not sure I would use that term. I take no offense to the term though when used in this context. As a photographer enthusiast I notice things like hues and tints that are out of whack. I go to the trouble of setting a good white balance for photos to avoid tints as much as possible. So perhaps my eyes are trained to look for such things. But considering all the people who are seeing various tinting I'm guessing "non-anal" types can see it too if it exists on their device. The big question is how much tinting an individual will tolerate before it becomes too distracting to them. I'm still trying to determine that for my Voyage. I'm leaning toward keeping it. However I'm also a bit miffed that it is not really worth the $200 they cost due to the uneven screen tinting and shadows and the poor design of the PT buttons.

[RDaneel54]

Originally Posted by pghaworth

I'm one of those. LOL I'm noticing it less now and I prefer blueish or creamy, that said, I prefer even toned.

I have restarted multiple times, taken off the night setting, and done auto bright all the way up and down at least 20 times and things seem to be improving. I hope. I have found workarounds to the PT button issue, though my back responds much more slowly than the forward.

Any one else have slower response to back and forward using the PP/PT buttons?

I've checked just now several times and compared to the screen touch response. Back and forward seem to be the same response time.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by jocampo

I do agree.

Is nice that is lightweight, but to me is harder to hold. Is so small that the bezels are too narrow so makes it harder to find a proper grip. And I have small hands by the way.

I think I can tolerate that but I would have preferred bezels like the ones on the PW2, for example.

Originally Posted by pghaworth

I have both arthritis and carpal tunnel combined with Fibromyalgia. I don't like covers (too heavy to hold and causes pain) and only use one - the right one - to prop in restaurants, etc.

One thing that might work is getting one of the origami cases and use it like a stand and forget the buttons and use the touch screen to change pages.

Originally Posted by j.p.s

I wonder if that explains why people got so many bad PW1 and PW2 in a row.

The PW QC inspectors didn't notice the screen problems, The customer returns the PW. The same QC inspectors see nothing wrong, so it goes to the refurb pool and is reboxed. The refurbs go to people who returned a PW. Lather, rinse repeat. That way, even a low percentage of defects can cause someone to get multiple bad replacements in a row.

If memory serves me correctly, refurbs have an "R" on the box. I know that the first two PW1s I received did not have the "R" on the box, but the third one did. I suspect most replacements at this early date will be fresh from the factory, but you can expect returned units to get recycled in the future. I seriously doubt Amazon will ever ship returned Voyages out for "new" purchases, but they will ship them out as replacements and as refurbished units. I specifically called and asked CS during the PW1 swap outs if I was getting a new or a refurb unit, and was told they were mostly refurb units. But that was over a month after the initial release.

[David58117]

Originally Posted by sparklemotion

I was called by an Amazon rep (as was another user on here) in my dealings with the PW1. I can't even remember how many he sent me, 6 or 7, I'd say. After trying maybe 3 or 4 he told me they were talking to their techs and working with the lab and they had resolved it and that I would be happy with the next one they sent. I give them credit for trying, but it never happened and I never received a good one. Every one suffered the same issues. I'm not trying to be a downer, I'm just saying if anyone else receives this type of call don't get your hopes up.

I do really hope this time is different and people taking up their offer for replacements get good ones.

I was contacted by a rep too with the PW 1 after my honest review on Amazon.

Except, rather than get sent numerous units (I already went through about five at best buy..) I had them make a note to send a corrected one once the problem was fixed months later.

I really think the voyage is a different issue than the PWs. The paper whites had bruising - it looked like someone spilled grape juice over the screen. It wasn't uniform, but uneven and jagged.

The voyage is uniform and gradual.

I've had the nook glow light, kobo glo in addition to the Amazon lighted readers. Those all had issues, i still say the voyage is one of the best screens I've seen.

I'm glad the really annoying stuff like spotlighting LEDs and bruising is not on my voyage.

[pghaworth]

Originally Posted by speedlever

I have to wonder if all the returned Voyages due to screen issues will re-enter the marketplace as refurbs. I know the PW1 I bought as a refurb replacement for a broken K3 had serious issues such that Amazon replaced it with a new PW1 (or so it appeared to me).

I've been salivating over the internally lit screen (vs my K3) for a long time now but am still on the fence about the Voyage vs the PW2. Since the PW1 is my daughter's, I've never read on it nor looked at the screen for obvious defects. The PW1 is such a nice upgrade over the K3 that it will take some serious flaws to detract from the difference. But now I need to take a hard look at her PW1.

The KV is a beautiful device. If you get a good one, and don't have pain issues or can find a way to hold it without activating the PP/PT buttons, it's an amazing device. I have my PW2 on the way, because my PW1 has terrible issues with screen and bezels, and I can report back later about that. As it stands, I may keep my Voyage...

[pghaworth]

Originally Posted by David58117

I was contacted by a rep too with the PW 1 after my honest review on Amazon.

Except, rather than get sent numerous units (I already went through about five at best buy..) I had them make a note to send a corrected one once the problem was fixed months later.

I really think the voyage is a different issue than the PWs. The paper whites had bruising - it looked like someone spilled grape juice over the screen. It wasn't uniform, but uneven and jagged.

The voyage is uniform and gradual.

I've had the nook glow light, kobo glo in addition to the Amazon lighted readers. Those all had issues, i still say the voyage is one of the best screens I've seen.

I'm glad the really annoying stuff like spotlighting LEDs and bruising is not on my voyage.

I pretty much agree on all counts.

[pghaworth]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

One thing that might work is getting one of the origami cases and use it like a stand and forget the buttons and use the touch screen to change pages.

Thank you. I will have one for restaurants, and outside the house where I prop, but for the home or even outside where propping isn't necessary, I read without a cover for the reasons previously mentioned and I already have a prop at home, don't need another. I only use it when my hand is tired, or I'm ill and in pain, or I'm extremely tired. In all other situations I use my Kindles case-less and cover-less and want to keep doing that. I have found two addition positions that don't hurt, allow me to use the PP/PT buttons, and will allow me the same enjoyment of a nekkid Kindle that I've always had.

Originally Posted by RDaneel54

I've checked just now several times and compared to the screen touch response. Back and forward seem to be the same response time.

Thank you. Hmmm... Not good. I have a definite lag on the upper buttons.