Paperwhite Second Gen: First Impressions

[Ocicat]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

My PW1 is very good and I've been debating over the financial sense to upgrade, especially as I have two more years of a three year warranty for it, but I am tempted.

I read two types of books, one I like to keep on an ereader permanently as its not stored in the cloud, and for that, as I only read that genre at home, I use a KK for (my PW is my main reader), do you think it's indulgent to replace th KK with my old PW and buy the new one as my main reader? That's what my heart wants to do but my head is having a few issues with the extravagance.

It sounds like a great idea! I wish I had kept mine as a secondary reader instead of the K4.

My PW1 was also not too bad as long as the light was between 6-12, but the new screen looks so much better, not cloudy/murky, no dark blobs at the bottom.

[xendula]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

My PW1 is very good and I've been debating over the financial sense to upgrade, especially as I have two more years of a three year warranty for it, but I am tempted.

I read two types of books, one I like to keep on an ereader permanently as its not stored in the cloud, and for that, as I only read that genre at home, I use a KK for (my PW is my main reader), do you think it's indulgent to replace th KK with my old PW and buy the new one as my main reader? That's what my heart wants to do but my head is having a few issues with the extravagance.

Maybe a tiny bit extravagant, but I am thinking of also keeping my PW1 around as a second reader, and for traveling, since it has 3G, even though I also have a KK and a K4B that I never even touch any more.

At the end of the day, I love reading so much that the Pw2's screen and lighting will improve my overall quality of reading, I think - not sure if this helps you.
Of course, my PW1 is not perfect, so for me it would improve my quality of reading tremendously if I get a screen like the ones pictured here.

[sparklemotion]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

My PW1 is very good and I've been debating over the financial sense to upgrade, especially as I have two more years of a three year warranty for it, but I am tempted.

I read two types of books, one I like to keep on an ereader permanently as its not stored in the cloud, and for that, as I only read that genre at home, I use a KK for (my PW is my main reader), do you think it's indulgent to replace th KK with my old PW and buy the new one as my main reader? That's what my heart wants to do but my head is having a few issues with the extravagance.

I don't think it's extravagant if reading is a favorite hobby of yours and your Kindles are something you use a lot. I generally allow myself some extravagance with my favorite hobbies. Life is short, right?

Do you enjoy reading on your PW a lot more than reading on your KK? If so, then I say you should go for it.

[Josieb1]

Thank you, all of you, yes my reading is the most important thing I do with my spare time, I also review books for a blog so I think I'll go with my heart, it's close to Christmas anyway!

[FanciFreez]

Just curious.. why do some people fuss so much over spending a few dollars extra for a hobby they enjoy? especially if it's going to enhance the hobby that they may spend many hours per yr doing? what am I missing? please advise..

[Josieb1]

Also yes sparklemotion, the KK is okay but the lack of light is annoying, even with my side lamp on its still dark. It will take a while to get all my genre books set up in the correct collections on the PW as on my KK I use the collections plug in on Calibre but once its done they don't move about, I just add the odd new one. They will all be side loaded so I'll add them one collection at a time.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by FanciFreez

Just curious.. why do some people fuss so much over spending a few dollars extra for a hobby they enjoy? especially if it's going to enhance the hobby that they may spend many hours per yr doing? what am I missing? please advise..

I think it's just the expense in one go. It's £150 for a new PW plus shipping (I won't wait) plus a three year warranty. If you spread that over just one year it's just over £13 a month, that's not bad, but in one go its a lot.

[tubemonkey]

Does the PW 1 run the same firmware as the new PW 2?

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Does the PW 1 run the same firmware as the new PW 2?

I think so but it has enhancements not yet available for the PW1. the PW1 is on 5.3.8 and the PW2 is on 5.4 as quoted on another thread.

[ixtab]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Does the PW 1 run the same firmware as the new PW 2?

No, at least not out of the box.

Whether the older firmwares can be installed on new devices, or vice-versa, will have to be figured out by testing.

• anyone who owns a PW2 can more or less immediately determine if older softwares are accepted by the device, by trying to install them.
• the other way around is not so easy, because there are no public sources for the 5.4.x software yet (it's only there on the PW2 devices for now). That will probably change in the months to come, when there will be firmware updates.

If you own a PW2 and would like to help, you're more than welcome to join the Kindle Developer's Forum.

[BenG]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

My PW1 is very good and I've been debating over the financial sense to upgrade, especially as I have two more years of a three year warranty for it, but I am tempted.

Just remind yourself of how great the PW4 will be in two years.

[aceflor]

Wow, the PW2 looks fantastic !!! my PW1 is not bad, no blotches in color but the lighting is not as even as what I see here. I can't wait to get it next week !

[Julius Caesar]

Originally Posted by elemenoP

I wonder if they will have demo models set up. Because I am NOT getting one! I just got my PW in the summer! I will have to bring a black cape to check the light if they have demo models.
eP

Don't count on the demo model too much. Kindle demo model is so crippled that it is pretty much useless for an evaluation. You can't read any book, not even the user guide. All you can do is browsing 5 to 10 pages of pretty brief demonstration of the device basic capabilities.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by BenG

Just remind yourself of how great the PW4 will be in two years.

Tbh, I'd happily buy one every year if I knew that would convince them to keep making ereaders, my biggest fear is they stop and think we should all read on tablets

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

I think so but it has enhancements not yet available for the PW1. the PW1 is on 5.3.8 and the PW2 is on 5.4 as quoted on another thread.

Originally Posted by ixtab

No, at least not out of the box.

Whether the older firmwares can be installed on new devices, or vice-versa, will have to be figured out by testing.

Lately, I was contemplating the PW2 to replace my 1st gen K4; but I'm beginning to have reservations about the lack of next gen software upgrades being ported over to previous gen devices. I can understand when it doesn't happen because the hardware is incapable of supporting the latest OS; but when it is capable and not supported, then I have to wonder why.

For example; I have a Fire HD 7 (2012) and my son has a Fire HD 8.9 (2012) and so far, neither will get the next gen OS. Yet, the Fire HD 7 (2013) will get it; even though it has the same CPU/GPU as the Fire HD 8.9 (2012). What gives?

With Apple, you get several major OS upgrades before they pull the plug. My iPt4 came with iOS 4 and received upgrades to iOS 5 and iOS 6; and that's where it'll end - no upgrade to iOS 7. The hardware is too old and that makes sense.

What doesn't make sense is Amazon's failure to upgrade 1st gen Fire HD's to Fire OS 3. Thankfully, my HD 7 is my secondary tablet and the new enhancements aren't a big deal. But if it was my primary tablet, then it would be a really big deal.

So now I'm waiting to see if the PW1 will get the same software features as the new PW2 before I seriously consider upgrading from my K4. If not, then I'll put my decision on hold and reconsider when it goes on clearance.