Paperwhite Second Gen: First Impressions

[Gilmartin]

I've just spent 10 mins playing about with a Kobo Aura in WHS. Was very impressed with the screen quality (far superior to my Sony T1); no sign of any blotching or other unwanted artifacts. Cannot, of course, comment on the stability of the software.
My PW2 should arrive at the end of the week so if it has screen problems I could be tempted to opt for a refund and give the Aura a try.

[ixtab]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

You're right. The possibility that everyone who got a bad kindle last year also had the same bad luck this year is a far more likely possibility than those people having unrealistic expectations. I'm not implying that anyone is imagining anything. I'm implying that some people will never be satisfied no matter what they get.

^ that.

*ducksandruns*

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by llcj

That's interesting. I've always gotten the impression that it is the other way around. Kindle owners' seem to go 'oh well, that's just Kindle; gotta love Amazom.' Whereas Kobo owners' are more likely to go '*%#* Kobo won't let me overlap ascenders and descenders; *&$** Kobo.'

Oh there are definitely a number of people who are pretty happy with Amazon and happy to just accept things unless they are very obviously faulty, but like those who think Apple (or indeed Kobo) can do no wrong, I tend to just filter them out....

Also, I don't mean there are no Kobo users that are quite critical. I just get the impression that there are more people who expect a better standard from Amazon than there is from Kobo (but it may just be there are more Kindle owners, and my perception may be tinged by the fact I spend more time reading about Kindles?).

There was a lot more reason to moan about the first Paperwhite than there was to moan about the Kobo Glo when both were first released. But everyone is aware of the complaints about the PW. But by comparison, not an awful lot was said about the Glo and issues with pinholes, the colder, blue tinge to the light and the fact the light was way too bright. I know these things have all been improved, but then so did the PW.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by xendula

My replacement came in today, and the screen is evenly colored, no pink or green. Yay.
Alas, it is evenly YELOW - when I hold it next to the first PW2 I received and the old PW1, it is exteremly apparent. This impacts the contrast.

Yuck, I too definitely prefer the middle one, the new one is far too yellow. Posts like yours, especially following last years PW1 trials & tribulations, really do make me despair, and put me right off upgrading.

Originally Posted by Gilmartin

I've just spent 10 mins playing about with a Kobo Aura in WHS. Was very impressed with the screen quality (far superior to my Sony T1); no sign of any blotching or other unwanted artifacts. Cannot, of course, comment on the stability of the software.
My PW2 should arrive at the end of the week so if it has screen problems I could be tempted to opt for a refund and give the Aura a try.

I liked the look of the Aura in WH Smith too, except for the fact it had a bright band along the top of the screen, which others have complained of in the Kobo forum (some people are seeing it as a darker line above the brighter bit). The thread on the Aura put me off it a little, but equally, this thread is putting me off the PW2 - although the bugs & glitches in Kobo software compared to the stability of the Kindles is another factor. I may end up ordering both online and comparing them. If either (or both) have any issues, I'll just a get refund and either keep the good one or end up sticking with my Kindle 3 for another year.

[JoHunt]

ixtab no reason to duck, I agree. Before the PW2 was shipped, I wondered how those who were not satisfied with their PW1s would receive the PW2s. No surprises at all. Hopefully they will all find ereaders to their satisfaction.

[aceflor]

I have had an Aura HD for some months now and the bugs and glitches in the software are unbearable. They keep updating their software often too, sometimes getting rid of old bugs but most of the time just adding new ones.

I used the Aura HD for a few weeks, then went back to PW1 and it felt like wonderland !

The Kobos are just not stable, and although I managed to get by (thanks to patches and calibre plugins developed by some MR members), I would never give a kobo to my kids, or my parents, or anyone who is not tech-savy enough to tweak Calibre as well as the device itself (sometime at the risk of voiding the warranty). I have had the mini freeze on me at least 12 times since I have it, and I never tweaked it, so it is entirely kobo's software fault. The Aura HD has a nice display, but is displaying epubs horribly - that is, if you don't patch it, and the patch is only valid until the next update, which comes like every 2nd week, with guess what, new bugs .

[allowingtoo]

Would we be happy with our computer screens if all of the sudden they looked like the PW2? I don't think so. We'd be saying they looked kinda yellow too and trying to adjust the color on them. Or sending them back.

[Yolina]

Originally Posted by joehunt

Before the PW2 was shipped, I wondered how those who were not satisfied with their PW1s would receive the PW2s. No surprises at all.

Well I haven't got my PW2 yet since it's not out until Wednesday in the UK and I did get a decent enough PW1 after only(!) one exchange - the first one was truly horrible.

The thing is though, my Kindle screen is something that I look at for a good 5 hours a day so I'd really like it not to have distracting defects - the emphasis here is on distracting - my PW1 screen does have a few things not quite right with it but they don't interfere with reading so I can live with that (it is somewhat disappointing that QC is so lax though), however there's really no point paying for something that is just going to annoy me every time I use it. So I'll just have to wait and see what the PW2 I get is like

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by aceflor

I would never give a kobo to my kids, or my parents, or anyone that is not tech-savy enough to tweak Calibre as well as the device itself (sometime at the risk of voiding the warranty).

Unfortunately, I would have to agree. I don't trust the Glo enough to even take it out of the house. My Mini has never frozen, which is good, as that is the one I prefer to take out of the house. Why won't Amazon make a PW Mini for me! I would not recommend a Kobo to friends or family, despite the many things I love about the Kobo. The Kindle is better for the average person.

[kevinpars]

I have had luck with all my Kindle devices. As I said in an earlier post, I feel like the update this time was incremental but worth the update (for me anyway). My main complaint with the Kindle is that there are too many font choices that are either way to small for me or just too large. I wish there were more choices in the 'sweet spot' for me which is font size 12-17.

My main complaint with the Kindle/Amazon advertising is the whole battery life thing. I basically charge my Kindle like my cell phone - just about every night. Sure, I read a lot more than 30 minutes a day, but the whole "8 weeks" boast makes me roll my eyes. Frankly, for what it does, I am more impressed with the battery life of the iPad. Taking my Kindle and iPad on vacation I find I need to Kindle charger more than the iPad charger.

One thing I find consistent with all of the Kindles is that at the time of release the software always feels like it needs some fine tuning. In this case, the touch functionality feels a little "off." I had to reboot once because the screen froze when it went from non- responsive to selecting multiple spots on the screen at once and then not responding. In fact, the one supposed update I am not seeing is the touch functionality being better than the PW1. I actually think that the K Touch has as good or better response - perhaps not as fast as PW2 but more consistent.

I also wish that the Indexing worked better. Wouldn't it be possible to code the indexing to not stop working if it hits a wonky book or document but skip over it and go ahead and index the rest of the books? I get a lot of ARCs and personal documents and it sucks to have 40 un-indexed titles and have to delete them to find the culprit.

[bwaldron]

I had skipped the PW1 (I was happy with my K4 and reading the comments here didn't inspire confidence in the quality control with regard to the screens). Still, so many of you here that I respect loved theirs...so when the PW2 was announced I decided to see what the fuss was about and bought one.

The screen on my PW2 is evenly lit, No blotches, no pinholes, no dust. The device is fast, I like its interface and the software improvements, and I can live without hardware buttons for page turns.

However, the perceived screen contrast is definitely lower (text is more grey) than my K3/K4. This is a bit disappointing.

As I come to use the device more, I shall see whether the improvements override the lower contrast of the text. At this point, I'd say I'm neither delighted nor unhappy with my PW2 purchase.

[ixtab]

Originally Posted by kevinpars

I also wish that the Indexing worked better. Wouldn't it be possible to code the indexing to not stop working if it hits a wonky book or document but skip over it and go ahead and index the rest of the books? I get a lot of ARCs and personal documents and it sucks to have 40 un-indexed titles and have to delete them to find the culprit.

Concerning the indexing - if you don't need the search functionality, you can try this trick. It will prevent indexing altogether. I don't know if it helps with the "disappearing books" phenomenon, though.

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by booklover6

Unfortunately, I would have to agree. I don't trust the Glo enough to even take it out of the house. My Mini has never frozen, which is good, as that is the one I prefer to take out of the house. Why won't Amazon make a PW Mini for me! I would not recommend a Kobo to friends or family, despite the many things I love about the Kobo. The Kindle is better for the average person.

OMG ! A mini Paperwhite!! I'd love it ! This is so not happening though..

[Ocicat]

Originally Posted by xendula

My replacement came in today, and the screen is evenly colored, no pink or green. Yay.
Alas, it is evenly YELOW - when I hold it next to the first PW2 I received and the old PW1, it is exteremly apparent. This impacts the contrast.

There are also dust particles aplenty beneath the screen, it remains to be seen if they bother me when reading. They are either bright or black dots that are always there, and I wiped the screen well, before you ask. This screen looks like a starry sky at night. The is even a whole galaxy above the lower bezel!

I'll put it through its paces and do some serious reading tomorrow.



Left to right: new PW2, original PW2, PW1


Galaxy is in the second stage light from the right.

Ooops! Amazon sent you a Papersepia (like mine) instead of a Paperwhite!

I am not sure what to do with mine, I was never one to read with a yellow background and grey letters.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by aceflor

OMG ! A mini Paperwhite!! I'd love it ! This is so not happening though..

I prefer to think that it will happen. Does that mean my beer stein is half full, and yours is half empty?