Can Paperwhite Kindle also read to you?

[alanHd]

As far as I am aware it has a sensor under the bezel that maps the position of any object touching the screen.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by automa

You mean it doesn't depend on heat of the finger to change pages?

I can confirm that you don't need your finger (or heat) on a Kindle Touch. I used a tip of a straw (drinking straw) to move around successfully. Unfortunately I don't have a pair of gloves (I live in Texas) so I can't specifically test gloves, but I don't think there would be a problem. (I did wrap my finger in a lens cleaning cloth and was able to tap and swipe and highlight just about as easily as if I didn't have the cloth on my finger.) I think the only issue you might have, if the gloves are thick enough, is that you may have trouble hitting the right spots. Page forward would be fine (they give you most of the screen) but the Menu and going back has a little more limited space. You also might have issues with highlighting, but I really think that you could use the tip of the glove to accomplish everything the Touch can do.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by automa

You mean it doesn't depend on heat of the finger to change pages?

No, there's an infrared grid just above the screens surface. Anything that breaks the grid will trigger it.

[HarryT]

No, it works by your finger (or any solid object) breaking a grid of invisible infrared light beams.

Originally Posted by automa

You mean it doesn't depend on heat of the finger to change pages?

The newer Paperwhite 1 and 2 and many tablets like the iPad use capacitive touch screens. Capacitive touch screens work via capacitive coupling wherein your finger's electrical properties allow it to interact with the screen. They don't use heat sensing, they use electrons. The Kindle Touch however uses an infrared sensor to detect any object which breaks its plane.

[automa]

In what ways is the Paperwhite better than Touch?

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by automa

In what ways is the Paperwhite better than Touch?

It's considered better by many due to the frontlight and the higher resolution screen. The carta screen on the Paperwhite 2 is also supposed to have better contrast, although it's been debated how much of a real world difference one sees. Also some find the capacitive touch better than infrared.


I wish they'd made a "new touch" without the frontlight, but with the higher ppi screen.

[automa]

Does frontlight mean that it give off light like LED screen so that you can read in the darkness?

I need a reading device that you can flip the pages with gloves on, you can read well in the bright sun, and has long lasting battery.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by automa

Does frontlight mean that it give off light like LED screen so that you can read in the darkness?

With the current crop of frontlit readers there are LED's (usually at the bottom of the screen) that shine light into a diffusion layer that's above the actual screen and deflects the light downward to light the screen so you can read in dark/low light situations. Some use the light during the day at a higher setting to make the screen background appear more white too.

I need a reading device that you can flip the pages with gloves on, you can read well in the bright sun, and has long lasting battery.

Well unless you want to wear capacitive touch friendly gloves you'll probably want to look for infrared touch. This would include the Kindle Touch, Kobo Touch, Glo & Aura HD, Sony 350, 650, T1, T2 & T3, Nook Simple Touch, Simple Touch with Glow & Nook Glowlight as well as some devices from third parties like Onyx, Bookeen & Pocketbook (note some of those aren't current models, but can still be found). All eInk models are generally good in the sun and have fairly long battery life.

[automa]

One more thing, I want to read them when it's dark too. It can be dark while waiting for the bus.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by automa

One more thing, I want to read them when it's dark too. It can be dark while waiting for the bus.

Well you'd want either a frontlit reader or a booklight for a regular one (example). The frontlit Kindle's (Paperwhite 1 & 2) are capacitive touch, but the Kobo Glo and Aura HD are IR touch and so is the Nook Glowlight (& older Simple Touch Glow). So either go with a Kobo or Nook or get some capacitive gloves and get a Paperwhite. I suppose instead of special gloves you might be able to use a stylus that works on capacitive screens.

[automa]

Is Kindle paperwhite always frontlit? does the frontlit function make the battery drain faster?

[AnemicOak]

Yes, the light is always on (unless they've recently changed it) while the reader is in use, but you can turn it all the way down. When on standby the light is off. The light does have an effect on battery life, how much depends at least somewhat on how high you're setting the light. It doesn't need to be turned up all that high most of the time. Another way to save on battery is to put the device in "airplane mode" when you don't need wireless. The product page for the Paperwhite explains quite a bit about the device http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AWH595M

[automa]

How long does the battery last with the light all the way up continuously?
As long as it can last about 24 hours I think I'm okay with that because I can just charge over night.

Is it easier to look up definitions of words on the paperwhite?

How fast is the 3G on paperwhite? Can you check your email ok? What about Google Map.

[automa]

I also noticed Kindle touch has these features:

Text-to-speech, audiobooks and mp3 support

Does paperwhite have audiobook or mp3?