Kindle Voyage - First Impressions

[krazy4katz]

Originally Posted by tono1020

I'm reading that thread from post #1 and I still don't know if I should cancel my KV order or not

Delivery date is 12. December so I have plenty time to decide

Don't cancel it. Decide when you get it. I thought mine was perfect, but after reading these threads, I start to see differences between the top and the bottom that I didn't see when it first arrived. How weird is that?! If it's the power of suggestion, I need to do a brain reset because I don't need to see them if I didn't before. Maybe it's a reversal — the glue is getting wetter the longer I use it.

I am not saying that the people who are seeing gradients are wrong. I fully believe they are there on a number of the Voyages. I just mean that you should check personally when you get one and see how you feel about it. The simplest answer is that there is variation in the screens, variation in people's ability to detect this and variability in how much people care.

In other words, you won't know until you hold one in your hand.

Good luck!

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Very interesting photos people! When I look at the photo with the top posted on the bottom I can clearly see the difference. But as I look at the entire photo I don't really see any difference at all. I guess the variation is gradual enough that I can't see it.

[PatrickNSF]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

I'd love to see the originals

Here you go! There are two images, as well as the EXIF info for one of them. It says it was taken at 10am, but I'm pretty sure it was closer to 11am, windows open, no lights on. I think my camera settings are wrong.

I just did a quick copy/paste when I did my comparison. I guess it's possible I pasted the wrong copy in the wrong place – I'm curious to see what you come up with.

I'll also reiterate that I found the gradients more subtle in person than in the photos. That's why I've come to believe that there are many people that don't see the issue with their units. If you get one that's pretty subtle, you may not notice it unless you're really looking for it.

Enjoy!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/g7eu2ypynu...10703.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/f4in8zzfag...10704.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/d4ibbbng8rys5y3/EXIF.JPG?dl=0

[judith009]

Originally Posted by krazy4katz

Don't cancel it. Decide when you get it. I thought mine was perfect, but after reading these threads, I start to see differences between the top and the bottom that I didn't see when it first arrived. How weird is that?!

I also didn't notice the gradients at first when I got mine. But I did notice that it was bothering my eyes when I was reading at night. I just couldn't figure out why. I actually have a post earlier in this thread asking if anyone else has experience with the KV bothering their eyes at night.

After a while I realized it was bothering my eyes because of the lighting gradients.

[PatrickNSF]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

I'm not saying anyone is lying, if you might be thinking that

Still, I'd like to take a look at the originals myself, doing the copy/paste myself and actually comparing the original image with the new one. I'd like to find out where the difference comes from.

Looking at the files again at my desk, my best guess at to why you're getting different values with the eyedropper is that you're using it on an image that was compressed and reduced to 600 pixels wide. The original copy/paste was on an image 4608 pixels wide. I would think the has a lot to do with it, in addition to additional JPG compression.

[pghaworth]

Originally Posted by judith009

I also didn't notice the gradients at first when I got mine. But I did notice that it was bothering my eyes when I was reading at night. I just couldn't figure out why. I actually have a post earlier in this thread asking if anyone else has experience with the KV bothering their eyes at night.

After a while I realized it was bothering my eyes because of the lighting gradients.

I understand. I do a lot of night reading and mine was driving me nuts. I knew it was the gradient and didn't tie it back to your question so I never responded.

[judith009]

Originally Posted by pghaworth

I understand. I do a lot of night reading and mine was driving me nuts. I knew it was the gradient and didn't tie it back to your question so I never responded.

That's awesome that you remembered my question! I didn't know what I was trying to say at the time, so obviously I wasn't being articulate enough. I thought maybe that's why nobody answered me.

[pghaworth]

Originally Posted by judith009

That's awesome that you remembered my question! I didn't know what I was trying to say at the time, so obviously I wasn't being articulate enough. I thought maybe that's why nobody answered me.

I really doubt it was you. You were as articulate as you could be, all things given. I actually thought perhaps your eyes were bothering you for a different reason (the screen, but not the gradient) so didn't reply. I also thought I had missed a few posts and that you had resolved it yourself or with the help of someone here. Sorry.

I was dealing with the two Voyages (my original and the replacement), testing various things to resolve the gradient (none of which worked), doubting my sanity because of others not seeing an issue, ordering PW2s to compare, deciding what to do, posting here (which restored my sanity), talking to Amazon, etc. It was a very busy time because of the gradient situation. I couldn't read on my KV because of it, day or night, but have no trouble with my PW2 screen. I read at night all the time without bother.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by PatrickNSF

Here you go! There are two images, as well as the EXIF info for one of them. It says it was taken at 10am, but I'm pretty sure it was closer to 11am, windows open, no lights on. I think my camera settings are wrong.

I just did a quick copy/paste when I did my comparison. I guess it's possible I pasted the wrong copy in the wrong place – I'm curious to see what you come up with.

I'll also reiterate that I found the gradients more subtle in person than in the photos. That's why I've come to believe that there are many people that don't see the issue with their units. If you get one that's pretty subtle, you may not notice it unless you're really looking for it.

Enjoy!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/g7eu2ypynu...10703.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/f4in8zzfag...10704.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/d4ibbbng8rys5y3/EXIF.JPG?dl=0

Thank you for posting those. First time I see high res pictures of Voyage that are big enough to blow up to real size. I matched the brightness of my screen to my PW1 at same setting and compared them side by side. The extra contrast and sharpness is imidiately visible. That is pretty amazing from just a picture that looks like a tiny tiny bit out of focus (or blurr from camera movement).

Things I noticed (on the bright 24 light level picture viewed at approx live size):

The gradient is easier visible the brighter I set my screen. When matched to my PW at 24 the gradient becomes less obvious (down from the auto brightness my phone picked). Looks even better at normal reading levels (for that phone brightness was lowered almost to lowest setting). I could probably live with any of the 3, though preferably not the middle one.

Lesson learned? The extend of the gradient is less noticeable on the exact same screen when lowering the brightness. This is consistent with the often mentioned "the gradient does not look that bad in person than the picture". I will probably consider two Voyages again in february when it is closer to my wifes and my birthday. Right now I will wait first if the next 3 months bring any improvements on average light quality.

[disconnected]

Originally Posted by judith009

I also didn't notice the gradients at first when I got mine. But I did notice that it was bothering my eyes when I was reading at night. I just couldn't figure out why. I actually have a post earlier in this thread asking if anyone else has experience with the KV bothering their eyes at night.

After a while I realized it was bothering my eyes because of the lighting gradients.

That sounds very much like my own experience. I received the Voyage the first day it was available, so I hadn't read anything about color gradients. When I looked at my screen I didn't notice a color difference. It looked perfectly fine.

After I read on it for a while I started noticing that I was unconsciously shifting the position of the Voyage as I read. It seemed as if the text in the top quarter or third of the screen was smaller or further away from me than the text in the rest of the screen.

At first I assumed it was a problem with my eyesight /glasses -- I have progressive lenses so of course it matters which area of the glasses I'm looking through. But no matter how I hold it I see the same thing -- the top text looks smaller, even though I know that's not the case.

I do have a PW1 that has the gray smudgy areas at the bottom of the screen and some pale gray blotchiness throughout and that's never bothered me at all so I'm surprised at how much the Voyage screen bothers me.

I'm going to read a couple more books to see if I can get used to it before deciding what to do. I have an Aura H2O and a 6" Aura (I've passed the PW1 on to my husband) so I don't actually need the Voyage. I'm trying not to be influenced by the fact that I've ordered a few/some/many Voyage cases.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by Skydog

I could not disagree more. Why is it that Kobo has managed to successfully produce at least two generations of evenly-lighted, blotch-free, color hue-free, beautiful displays with the LEDs in the exact same location as the Kindles? They too are positioned at the bottom yet are *not* plagued with the chronic problems found with many of the front-lighted Kindles. For the record, I've owned and used an assortment of PW1s, PW2s, Kobo Aura HDs and now an H20.

I wonder if it's because of the capacitive screen vs infrared screen? From what I've heard, the 6" Aura (which has a capacitive screen) has a lot of issues with how the screen looks compared to the HD and the H2O. For me, I love the way the screen looks on my Aura HD, but the inconsistency of the infrared touch screen makes me want to throw it through the wall. When I'm immersed in a book and have to try 2 or 3 times to turn the page it just ruins the reading experience.

Shari

[pghaworth]

Originally Posted by shalym

I wonder if it's because of the capacitive screen vs infrared screen?

I was just thinking the same thing.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pghaworth

I was just thinking the same thing.

It's unlikely. The capacitive layer is just a chemical coating on the screen, which is very thin, and completely transparent. It really shouldn't have any impact on image quality at all.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It's unlikely. The capacitive layer is just a chemical coating on the screen, which is very thin, and completely transparent. It really shouldn't have any impact on image quality at all.

Unless its refractive index nearly matches that of the layer beneath it, it could well have an impact on image quality. Transparency is not the only factor.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

Unless its refractive index nearly matches that of the layer beneath it, it could well have an impact on image quality. Transparency is not the only factor.

But the main complaint about the KV's screen is a colour gradient across the screen. I honestly can't see how a coating could have that result.