Paperwhite 3 First Impressions

[barryem]

I've had my Paperwhite 2 for well over a year and about 2 weeks ago I noticed a black line at the bottom of the screen. I've never noticed it before. I can see it while at a normal reading angle but just barely. If I look down on it I see more of it.

At the time I wondered if it had been there all along and I never noticed it before. It's not particularly noticeable. But I've looked the thing over carefully more than once and I'm fairly sure I would have noticed it. It occurred to me that it might be there after the last update.

The line I see looks very much like a black line on the very bottom of the screen and not something below the screen. It's down far enough, nearly out of sight, that I can't be 100% sure of that but that is what it looks like.

I don't think I'm going to worry about it.

Barry

[Lurtz]

Did anybody try to install Firmware 5.6.2.1 on a Paperhwite 3? Does that work and does it remove Bookerly?

[eschwartz]

No one has attempted the manual and finicky work of safely porting one Kindle firmware to another device, since the days of the Frankenstein DX.

Attempting to simply install a firmware update on the wrong model will be met with instant failure, which is good, because the alternative is bricking it.

[Lurtz]

I was just wondering because apparently german customer support states that firmware for the Paperwhite 2 is supposed to work for PW2 and 3, only PW1 has its own version.

Maybe that will be the case when the firmware with the new typesetting engine is released.

[HarryT]

They probably mean that they share the same firmware version, as does the Voyage, but that doesn't mean that you can install a PW2 update file on the Voyage, or vice versa. The actual update files are device-specific.

[Lurtz]

Could be, but as PW2 is on version 5.6.2.1 and PW3 is on version 5.6.1.1 that doesn't make much sense either

[barryem]

Installing firmware is a very risky process, made safer on modern devices by refusing to install incorrect firmware. In earlier days if you installed the wrong firmware or installed a firmware incorrectly the only way to recover was the replace the chip the firmware was installed into, and that usually meant replacing the motherboard.

Back in the days before Compaq was bought by HP they made what they called an Executive Laptop, designed to appeal to executives as a kind of status symbol. It was very expensive, starting at $10,000. Needless to say they didn't sell many of them and they were soon discontinued.

A few years later I found two of them in a pawn shop, complete with docking stations (these were the first laptops with modern docking stations) for sale for $75 each. I bought them.

I logged into Compaq's website and found the latest firmware for them, downloaded it and installed it on one. It failed and my laptop was dead. I called Compaq support and described what had happened and the error number, which convinced him there was a bug in the firmware. He said they no longer had these devices to test with and asked me if I'd install it on the other one. He promised he'd back me up.

I did. It died. He had me ship both units to Compaq. He replaced both motherboards. Their price was listed on the invoice it was returned with at $1800 each, but of course there was no charge. My computers were fixed. Compaq found the bug in their firmware and replaced it on their website and all was well.

In those days you didn't update firmware in iffy situations. It was always done under optimal conditions if you were smart. It was risky. Any failure of any kind would likely ruin the device.

Anyway, even today with much safer firmware installation processes it's not something you want to break the rules with unless you seriously know what you're doing.

Barry

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Lurtz

Could be, but as PW2 is on version 5.6.2.1 and PW3 is on version 5.6.1.1 that doesn't make much sense either

The PW1 is also on fw5.6.1.1 -- and it uses a different SoC than the later devices.

Advertised version numbers don't say much.
The firmwares are model-locked for your safety.

Unless it is advertised that the firmware is model-agnostic (as Kobo does) don't try it. At least, not unless you fancy high-risk experimentation AND building the firmware yourself out of bits and pieces.

It *has* been done, cf. yifanlu's Frankensteined DX firmware.

[kay07]

Searched for the word "pinhole" on the thread, but found just one result from a guy saying he did not have it? So, am I the only one who got a pw3 with one of those light pinholes that were so common in the previous generation? If I'm I'll probably ask for a replacement, if it is as common as it used to be I'll just let it be, this one is not that disturbing (my pw1 had 2 and both are waay brighter) cause I don't feel like going through multiple replacements this time...

Also, the low light setting, I used to be able to read in a dark room with it anywhere from 1 to 5. Is it indeed almost impossible (waaaay darker) in a PW 3 or is it only my device?

Thanks

[RenZ]

Originally Posted by kay07

Searched for the word "pinhole" on the thread, but found just one result from a guy saying he did not have it? So, am I the only one who got a pw3 with one of those light pinholes that were so common in the previous generation? If I'm I'll probably ask for a replacement, if it is as common as it used to be I'll just let it be, this one is not that disturbing (my pw1 had 2 and both are waay brighter) cause I don't feel like going through multiple replacements this time...

Also, the low light setting, I used to be able to read in a dark room with it anywhere from 1 to 5. Is it indeed almost impossible (waaaay darker) in a PW 3 or is it only my device?

Thanks

If this helps, know that every single unit is different from the other. That's a fact.
Tech is evolving, and it's far from being perfect. At this moment each e-reader is comparable to a human fingerprint. You won't find two identical ones.

Most people are not extremely picky, so they claim they have the perfect screen. But such thing does not exist at this moment, but it's still perfect for them, which is great.

Person "A" return and exchange his kindles multiple times, and he finds pinholes on 6 consecutive devices. (on all of them).

Person "B" bought 6 kindles during the last couple of years, and he claims all 6 of them are 100% perfect.

Take this for granted. Person "A" would have found all kind of imperfections on person's "B" kindles. In all of them.

If I were you, I would focus on the experience.
Evaluate if the pinhole is annoyingly distracting you.
If you can spot if without even trying.
If you find a pleasant light configuration...
If front light is reasonably evenly distributed..

And then read like crazy!

BTW, I've never owned a PW2. But with my PW3 I'm using from 10 to 16 to read in the dark.
I wouldn't be able to read at 5. So I guess yours is perfectly fine in that matter.

[kay07]

@RenZ, yes, I do agree. As a matter of fact the pinholes in this one are very discreet, and in the laterals, not much of a bother.

But there is something else that is annoying me about the Paperwhite 3. Since it arrived I was feeling there was something off, it seemed to me that the light was not as strong, I read mostly during the day, in bright lit rooms... Anyway, I asked my cousins to bring their own devices here so I could figure what if there was something really wrong with my device.

Turns out there was, in comparison to both previous devices it looks yellow, and the light seems weaker, somehow it reminds me of a dying car headlight... I'm not sure now if my device is defective or if it is by design, if they just made the light warmer and maybe weaker.

I attached some photos, to me the paperwhite 2 looks best. From left to right, paperwhite 1, paperwhite 3, paperwhite 2.

So, is this much warmer, yellowish rue by design?

Thanks again

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Rizla

Yes, but unlike you, Amazon does not support my preference. I don't think defaulting text to bold is an unusual preference.

Bold is too dark. Semibold would be better with bold also made to match.

Most fonts don't work well on eink because they come out too light. They need more weight. I know it has to be patched, but when it works on a font, Kobo's advanced font control works very well.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Bold is too dark. Semibold would be better with bold also made to match.

Most fonts don't work well on eink because they come out too light. They need more weight. I know it has to be patched, but when it works on a font, Kobo's advanced font control works very well.

I find fonts on front-lighted readers seem less dark than on old pre-lighted pearl screens. I'm thinking of upgrading to a heavy caecilia font, which is even heavier than bold.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Rizla

I find fonts on front-lighted readers seem less dark than on old pre-lighted pearl screens. I'm thinking of upgrading to a heavy caecilia font, which is even heavier than bold.

I find that I can read no problem with the light on or off with the same weighted fonts.

[Scarpad]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

That appears to be more or less the case with all the frontlit devices (it varies a bit). Some people are more sensitive to it than others -- most people don't find it a problem.
(Also, during the first production runs of some models, there were an abnormally large number of complaints, indicating quality control issues.)

Or so I've heard, as I never owned a frontlit ereader.

Why I've gone back to the basic kindle, I find the uneven lighting and the non sharpe test very distracting , my ideal kindle would be a non lit with the higher res screen i hope i get it some day