Quick question over Paperwhite generations

[Fallingwater]

Amazon Italia's Prime Day includes an offer for a Paperwhite at 90 euro, while it normally costs 130. The catch is that it's the 2013 version, whereas the more expensive one is the 2015 with the higher-res screen and various other improvements.

I'm tempted by the offer, but I'm wondering - are the improvements in the 2015 version worth the additional 40 euro?

Also, are they both jailbreakable? One of the reasons why I've been pondering switching to a Kindle from my old Cybook Opus is because of the impressive tinker factor.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by Fallingwater

Amazon Italia's Prime Day includes an offer for a Paperwhite at 90 euro, while it normally costs 130. The catch is that it's the 2013 version, whereas the more expensive one is the 2015 with the higher-res screen and various other improvements.

I'm tempted by the offer, but I'm wondering - are the improvements in the 2015 version worth the additional 40 euro?

Also, are they both jailbreakable? One of the reasons why I've been pondering switching to a Kindle from my old Cybook Opus is because of the impressive tinker factor.

I'm sorry no one replied in time but yes the improvements are worth the extra 40 euro.

The 2013 was a PW1 that had a uneven light and a 16 grey scale Pearl screen
The 2014 was a PW2 that had a creamier and much more even light, the screen name was Carta
The 2015 is a PW3, that has 300 ppi compared to the 212pp1 of the PW1 and PW2.

I think only the PW1 (maybe the PW2) is jailbreakable but i'm not sure as that depends on the software they are shipped with.

[Barty]

No new kindle you buy today from Amazon can be jail broken without hardware access (ie you need to open up the case, solder some wires to the serial port).

[eschwartz]

Only the PW3 shipped from day 1 with jailbreak-proof firmware. Depending on when the PWs were sourced from Amazon, and whether they were ever connected o WiFi, they *might* be able to be jailbroken.

To be safe, if you get one try jailbreaking BEFORE you ever connect to WiFi!!!

[Fallingwater]

I ended up not getting the one on offer. I figured if I was going to invest in a new e-reader I might as well go for the better one, especially since modern e-readers are pretty much exempt from planned obsolescence.

Then I looked at my Opus, and decided I don't really need to spend anything at all - at least until I can get a PW3 that can be jailbroken without sacrificing a goat and investing in black candles.

Thanks for the input!

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by Fallingwater

I ended up not getting the one on offer. I figured if I was going to invest in a new e-reader I might as well go for the better one, especially since modern e-readers are pretty much exempt from planned obsolescence.

Then I looked at my Opus, and decided I don't really need to spend anything at all - at least until I can get a PW3 that can be jailbroken without sacrificing a goat and investing in black candles.

Thanks for the input!

You might find you are in for a long wait. Amazon are locking down their kindles so who knows if a PW3 willl ever be jailbreakable

[HarryT]

I would always buy a device based on what it actually can do, not on what you think you may be able to hack it to make it do.

[cvkemp]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I would always buy a device based on what it actually can do, not on what you think you may be able to hack it to make it do.

I could not agree more.

[Fallingwater]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

You might find you are in for a long wait. Amazon are locking down their kindles so who knows if a PW3 willl ever be jailbreakable

Then new Kindles have no more appeal to me than other readers in the same price range. Worse, actually, since non-jailbroken Kindles can't read epubs, so I'd have the small but consistent annoyance of having to convert all my files.

Originally Posted by HarryT

I would always buy a device based on what it actually can do, not on what you think you may be able to hack it to make it do.

Points of view. I'm a hacker at heart, so given various devices that do the same thing at roughly the same quality, those that can also be modified will always be better to me than those that cannot.

[cvkemp]

Originally Posted by Fallingwater

Then new Kindles have no more appeal to me than other readers in the same price range. Worse, actually, since non-jailbroken Kindles can't read epubs, so I'd have the small but consistent annoyance of having to convert all my files.


Points of view. I'm a hacker at heart, so given various devices that do the same thing at roughly the same quality, those that can also be modified will always be better to me than those that cannot.

There was a time I was the same way. But no more, I am tired of hacking and just want to relax and read

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by Fallingwater

Points of view. I'm a hacker at heart, so given various devices that do the same thing at roughly the same quality, those that can also be modified will always be better to me than those that cannot.

I have an old Opus. It's a nice device, but the newer Pearl screens are a definite upgrade.

Re: hacking, Kobo's are good if you want to either install one of the pre-made packages like Coolreader or Koreader, or spend time playing around with the Linux OS. It's very similar to pre-lockdown Kindles in that respect.

Personally I prefer Android devices. I use a rooted Nook St, though I'll probably install Android on a Kobo at some point. It is possible to install Android on a Glo and Aura HD. Not the newer models. You just can't beat Android for features and software.