There's a new Basic Kindle (2019)

[Barty]

This device is aimed at the casual shopper who looks at the list and picks the cheapest offering. People in the know will get a used or on sale Paperwhite. I personally would try to find a used voyage on eBay.

[barryem]

I suspect that the basic Kindle with the light will soon be the new best seller. Foolish people will buy it, not caring how we techy snobs feel about it. And even worse, many of them will have the temerity to enjoy it.

Barry

[teija]

So I guess the question for us "techies" is: Is an additional $10 for the built-in light but the lower resolution a fair trade?

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by barryem

I suspect that the basic Kindle with the light will soon be the new best seller. Foolish people will buy it, not caring how we techy snobs feel about it. And even worse, many of them will have the temerity to enjoy it.

Quite probably. I believe the biggest con for the basic Kindle thus far was lack of frontlight.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by teija

So I guess the question for us "techies" is: Is an additional $10 for the built-in light but the lower resolution a fair trade?

In all likelihood, when the PW4 goes on sale for $100, the basic Kindle would probably be $60-70 or so.

I read manga on my PW so for me 300ppi (or 264ppi paired with ~7+" screen) is non-negotiable.

[DrNefario]

I don't particularly care about the resolution, myself. As long as I can read the text. And I'd prefer not to have the frontlight at all. I think the light will be the death of eInk. It looks no different to LCD, with a light.

I'm contemplating buying an older basic kindle while I still can. Then again, I could just get a new battery for my really old kindle keyboard. Or, more sensibly, just forget about it until my paperwhite starts to fail.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

I don't particularly care about the resolution, myself. As long as I can read the text. And I'd prefer not to have the frontlight at all. I think the light will be the death of eInk. It looks no different to LCD, with a light.

I'm contemplating buying an older basic kindle while I still can. Then again, I could just get a new battery for my really old kindle keyboard. Or, more sensibly, just forget about it until my paperwhite starts to fail.

I think 167 ppi is entirely inadequate, especially when there are cheapish 300 ppi options. I still haul out my 167 ppi Kobo Mini as my beach reader, but that's mostly because the OEM cover provides a lot of protection as it gets tossed around in my beach bag and because I wouldn't be heartbroken if something happened to it. But it really does need broad daylight to be legible and I can't even imagine how murky 167 ppi becomes with a light layer. The Kobo Glo with 212 ppi was my first lit reader and I thought that was irritatingly fuzzy.

[barryem]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

I don't particularly care about the resolution, myself. As long as I can read the text. And I'd prefer not to have the frontlight at all. I think the light will be the death of eInk. It looks no different to LCD, with a light.

It's pretty hard to confuse e-ink with a front light with LCD with a backlight. Might as well say cars shouldn't have headlights because you'll confuse them with the sun.

LCD is transparent with a light behind the screen shining through it into your eyes. E-ink screens are opaque and you see reflected light, much the same as you do reading paper with a lamp over your shoulder. It's entirely possible to read on either but they're far from the same experience.

Barry