Paperwhite Second Gen: First Impressions

[komugi]

Does the backlight turn completely off?

[Gazella]

Originally Posted by komugi

Does the backlight turn completely off?

No, it's always there.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Gazella

No, it's always there.

The illumination on level 1 is so faint, though, that it's barely detectable in complete darkness. It really is VERY faint indeed.

[Gazella]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The illumination on level 1 is so faint, though, that it's barely detectable in complete darkness. It really is VERY faint indeed.

Yes, but it doesn't completely turn off. It's noticeable in a dark room.

[ametzler]

Originally Posted by Gazella

Yes, but it doesn't completely turn off. It's noticeable in a dark room.

It is bright enough to turn on the illumination. (Which would be impossible in a dark room otherwise, since different from a physical button a touchscreen cannot be used without visual feedback.)

[Canuck_in_Japan]

2000th reply-and I don't even own a Kindle!

[fearindex]

I'd say in PW2 the light never turning off is a moot point (PW1 was a little brighter at minimum), although of course it would be nice to have the option. You can't read in complete darkness anyway, and pretty much the only place where you notice the minimum light setting is in complete darkness.

Much bigger issues are the additional layers on top of the e-ink screen, the light guide and the touch layer, that push back the e-ink screen beneath the surface so to speak. Have a speck of dust on the screen for example and it seems to float "far" above the text on PWs, whereas on basic Kindles the text is right on the top just like on a page of a book, so dust doesn't seem like it is on a screen, but it is on the text.

The additional layers in PW are problematic also because ambient lighting, the screenlight and just the presence of the layers even when the light is at minimum does affect text blackness in various degrees. The layers are there, between you and the text, and they will affect how you see the text. If some external light shines on those layers, or if you use the screenlight, it can affect the blackness of the text - more so than with regular e-ink.

PWs are much more like a screen, where as regular e-ink readers look more like a page from a book.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by fearindex

Much bigger issues are the additional layers on top of the e-ink screen, the light guide and the touch layer, that push back the e-ink screen beneath the surface so to speak. Have a speck of dust on the screen for example and it seems to float "far" above the text on PWs, whereas on basic Kindles the text is right on the top just like on a page of a book, so dust doesn't seem like it is on a screen, but it is on the text.

Maybe this is also the reason why the KPW1 display looks so weird when there is not enough ambient light. As I have described it several times already it looks "floaty", as if there are two sheets of glass with milk in between, in which the letters float around. The lower the ambient light is, the more apparent this becomes.

A tablet does not display (*) this same behavior.

(*Man, I'm on a roll with regard to cheesy puns the last couple of days.)

PWs are much more like a screen, where as regular e-ink readers look more like a page from a book.

Maybe, but I still prefer the KPW, because it's possible to make the screen brighter, and still set it so it doesn't look like it's lit up. A normal Kindle such as the Touch is quite a lot darker than even the oldest and greyest paperback I've held it beside to compare.

If compared to a high quality hardcover, it's no contest. The hardcover needs *MUCH* less light than a normal Kindle to be readable.

Even if one doesn't use the KPW to read in circumstances where a book would be unreadable with additional lighting, the extra screen brightness created by the front light can even the odds between the Kindle and a paper book.

[VictoriaP]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

(snipped)
Maybe, but I still prefer the KPW, because it's possible to make the screen brighter, and still set it so it doesn't look like it's lit up. A normal Kindle such as the Touch is quite a lot darker than even the oldest and greyest paperback I've held it beside to compare.

If compared to a high quality hardcover, it's no contest. The hardcover needs *MUCH* less light than a normal Kindle to be readable.

Even if one doesn't use the KPW to read in circumstances where a book would be unreadable with additional lighting, the extra screen brightness created by the front light can even the odds between the Kindle and a paper book.

This.

I went from the K2 (with font hack) to the Touch, and remember being completely underwhelmed. Even with the Pearl screen, it was still far more grey, with grey text, than I wanted. Short of reading in bright sunlight (a rarity in my part of the world), it was a fairly mediocre experience, with little improvement over my hacked K2.

In fact, shortly after switching to the Touch, I started reading on tablets, because it was better than the Touch. And with that transition came all the disadvantages of using a tablet as a reader--first and foremost, the distraction factor. It didn't take long before I noticed I was reading a whole lot less than I had with the K2.

I bought a PW2 a week or so after release, and I've been reading nonstop since then. The light makes ALL the difference. Yes, with the light at the lowest setting and side by side with the Touch, the PW2's background is slightly lighter and the words might seem a little darker...not by much in either case, in spite of the newest screen and improved resolution. The screen improvement alone is not enough to make the PW2 worth buying over the Touch, or even the K4NT.

But put that light on, balanced against the ambient light, and immediately you have a significant improvement in contrast. Yes, the ink washes out just a little with the extra glass and the light, but the "whiteness" of the page more than makes up for it. I think better fonts would improve the washed out effect at least somewhat, but it's still very minimal. It's extremely easy to lose yourself in the PW and just read. One could almost say it's much like reading a "real" book!

Does it look like a "screen" in dark conditions? Yes. But to me, that's far less distracting than the uneven light falloff of a book light. I do quite a bit of reading in full darkness with the light set somewhere between 8 and 10, and I find it very comfortable.

No regrets on buying a PW2. Well, except that I'm buying books at a ridiculous rate again.

[booklover6]

I'm not really happy with my PW2. My son is the main one who uses it, and like me, not happy with the font size choices. There needs to be something between what is offered. The one size is a little too small, the next one up is way too big. If you have a PW2 then you know what I am talking about.

I am hoping for a hack to fix it. If not, I may see if DS will be willing to use my Kobo Glo instead, and sell the PW2. (He only reads on it once a day, over the phone with grandma, who is reading on her Kindle Touch).

All combined, the font sizing, the narrow margins and the horrible collections upgrade, the PW2 has become my least favorite device. Kindle developers could really learn a lot from Kobo.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by booklover6

I'm not really happy with my PW2. My son is the main one who uses it, and like me, not happy with the font size choices. There needs to be something between what is offered. The one size is a little too small, the next one up is way too big. If you have a PW2 then you know what I am talking about.

Yes. Often, I'd like a "4.5" size. The jump between 4 and 5 is HUGE.

The difference between 3 and 4 is almost negligible.

All combined, the font sizing, the narrow margins and the horrible collections upgrade, the PW2 has become my least favorite device. Kindle developers could really learn a lot from Kobo.

With regard to customization, that is certainly true, but Kobo has its own problems....

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by booklover6

I'm not really happy with my PW2. My son is the main one who uses it, and like me, not happy with the font size choices. There needs to be something between what is offered. The one size is a little too small, the next one up is way too big. If you have a PW2 then you know what I am talking about.

The font sizes depend entirely on the size of the "base font" of the particular book you're reading - they are all multiples (or divisors) of that base font size. If you're not happy with the font size of a particular book, it's trivial to change it in Calibre.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The font sizes depend entirely on the size of the "base font" of the particular book you're reading - they are all multiples (or divisors) of that base font size. If you're not happy with the font size of a particular book, it's trivial to change it in Calibre.

The problem with that though is it only works for non DRM ebooks, The average user shouldn't have to strip the DRM and manually manipulate the file in order to read the book in a decent font size.

I don't have the PW2, just a PW1 and I doubt I'll upgrade unless they do something about the font sizes, among other things, as I use my own font on my PW1. I find the built in fonts inadequate in size and contrast.

[Stingo]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

With regard to customization, that is certainly true, but Kobo has its own problems....

I am becoming very concerned with Amazon's direction. I am particularly concerned with what I've read about the latest firmware for PW2. Apart from the collections bug the fact that it begins to nag message that side loaded books are not backed up suggests an early move to discourage side loading. As a result I have become very interested in Kobo since it offers large on-board capacity, expandable storage and more granular font control. I'm curious what you and the other posters consider Kobo shortfalls or problems. I know that the KPW2 screen is slightly better so I'm looking at other issues.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

The problem with that though is it only works for non DRM ebooks, The average user shouldn't have to strip the DRM and manually manipulate the file in order to read the book in a decent font size.

The average user probably isn't particularly bothered about it, given the high level of apparent satisfaction among PW2 owners. My vision is far from great, and it's very, very rarely that I feel the need to change the default font size of a book. When I do need to, the fault lies with the book, not with the Kindle.