Kindle Paperwhite - Thoughts?

[adityadubey]

Hello folks,

So I've had the PRS 650 for a few years now and love reading on it . However, I saw videos of the Kindle Paperwhite, was blown away by it and am considering buying one. The illuminated display especially looks brilliant. Since I'm in India, I can't actually go and check one out in person, so had a few questions which I'm hoping people out here can help with.

1. Is there any eye-straining glare from the screen when reading in the dark?
2. Does the screen seem to have a bluish tinge which might be disturbing?

Of course, I would also appreciate any other advice/comments on the device as well.

[HarryT]

Excellent reader - the best I've ever owned. No, the screen doesn't have a blue tinge, and personally I don't experience any eye-strain from it.

[EowynCarter]

As you own a sony, you probably have a few books in ePub. Keep in mind you will have to un-drm / convert these if you want to read them on your kindle.

[omega34]

I just got mine a couple days ago and after hours of reading, my eyes weren't strained at all. There is also no bluish tinge as far as I can see.

[booklover6]

The paperwhite is the best ereader I have ever used. I experience no eyestrain reading on it, in any lighting condition. The resolution is great.

[adityadubey]

Thanks everyone! It's virtually decided now. Will ask a friend of mine to pick one up when he comes down later this month.

[Rizla]

The advertizing was disingenuous. They don't look as good as they do in the pics. Saying that, the convenience of an in-built light is attractive. I also have a 650 but cannot personally justify getting a lighted-screen device as I have a book-light so I see it as unnecessary.

[adityadubey]

Originally Posted by Rizla

The advertizing was disingenuous. They don't look as good as they do in the pics. Saying that, the convenience of an in-built light is attractive. I also have a 650 but cannot personally justify getting a lighted-screen device as I have a book-light so I see it as unnecessary.

I appreciate your point about the advertizing. I love my 650 as well, and having seen the thread about the screen blotches and discoloration am re-evaluating whether I want to buy a PW. I'll summarize what the pros and cons I've figured out so far are:

Pros:
1. Higher resolution screen and reading comfortably in the dark
2. More font options with the Kindle (I know you can embed fonts and load them onto a Sony with Calibre, but I don't see myself doing that for every book)
3. Much longer battery life
4. Illuminated 'paperwhite' screen (I put this at the end, because not having seen one in real life, can't really comment on it's relative quality to the Sony)

Cons:
1. Advertising
2. .mobi (again, something Calibre can help with)
3. Amazon covers and screensavers (from what I read, you don't have control over a Kindle's screensaver. I love the way how you can go totally custom with a 650)

What it all boils down to is whether or not the screen is actually clear and sharp enough to be a significant upgrade on the reading experience. Otherwise I'd be willing to bide some more time with my faithful 650 I guess.

[Avwriter]

I love my Paperwhite, but keep in mind that the battery life is not all that it is cracked up to be. I owned a PRS-T1 before this, and I find that I need to recharge the PW slightly more often than I needed to charge the T-1 when reader the same amount per day. I average about 3-4 hours of reading a day (Wifi mostly off), and need to recharge the PW about once a week. The T1 would usually go about 9-10 days under similar usage patterns. This is not a big deal to me, but do not expect your battery life to be better with the PW than with your 650. It will be about the same or slightly worse.

[HarryT]

4h a day for a week is equivalent to 30m a day for 8 weeks, which is precisely what Amazon claim. I'm not sure, therefore, what the reason is for the comment that it's "not all it's cracked up to be"?

[adityadubey]

Originally Posted by HarryT

4h a day for a week is equivalent to 30m a day for 8 weeks, which is precisely what Amazon claim. I'm not sure, therefore, what the reason is for the comment that it's "not all it's cracked up to be"?

I think it's consumers like me to blame for that . I thought the 8-week battery life was actually a major improvement which they'd made on older models. Didn't realize there was a half an hour a day footnote. 8 weeks did sound awesome though

[Avwriter]

Originally Posted by HarryT

4h a day for a week is equivalent to 30m a day for 8 weeks, which is precisely what Amazon claim. I'm not sure, therefore, what the reason is for the comment that it's "not all it's cracked up to be"?

My main point was that my PW does not last as long as my previous devices under similar usage. The "not all its cracked up to be" remark was oriented toward the fact that the Amazon's marketing is somewhat deceptive. Yes, if you read the fine print disclaimer, they are technically stating the truth, but most consumers come away from the ad with an impression that the battery life is substantially improved, which is not the case. They are only measuring it differently.

I am not bashing the device, and am in fact very pleased with it overall. I was just trying to temper the OP's impression that the battery life is dramatically greater than other/earlier similar devices. In reality it is approximately the same.

[davidfor]

Coming from a Sony, you might want to look at the Kobo Glo. And your pros and cons for the PW, suggest the Glo might be better for you:

- Fonts: 11 built-in and you can sideload others
- Formats: ePub is its native format but it can read just about everything.
- Light:
- People with both say it is more even than the PW.
- Bluer than than the PW but not noticeable unless they are next to each other.
- Advertising on the device: The home screen has a link to the shop and a wishlist at the bottom.

[xendula]

I love my paperwhite, though I also had a chance to play with the Kobo Glo and it's a sexy device as well.

Advertising: you can have it removed.
Screensavers: I'd recommend you get a sleep cover case for it anyway. It's awesome because you open the case, and the device is on the last page you read, similar to a paper book. I never even see the screensavers.

Ultimately, if you are going to purchase content for it, check out the various stores and see which one offers the better prices for your genre. For what I read, Amazon has the absolutely best prices, and some ebooks that I read and loved don't even exist in other stores or in paper form.

To get a feel for the price difference in books, check a site like Luzme.com and enter some of the book titles you are interested in. It will show you a price comparison.

[stewacide]

Re: the Paperwhite vs. the Glo, the main differences seem to be:

- Glo has much more flexible firmware - much more text adjustment options, more file types supported, updated more often - but also buggier on occasion
- Paperwhite screen can dial the brightness down lower, which is very nice for reading in the dark, but the Glo's screen is more evenly lit and consistent from one example to another

IMO I'd like the Kobo's firmware with the Kindle's frontlight, but no such option exists unfortunately.

Edit -- Re: 'blueness', in real life both the Paperwhite and the Glo have a faint blueness to the light. It's only in press shots of each, or with an 'unreal' whitepoint, that they look truely white. E.g. in the attached Google image search, it's plainly obvious that in the photoshopped press shots it's pure white, but in actual photographs it's a bit blue, as is the Glo.