Thoughts on new Kindle Paperwhite?

[Paperbackstash]

For those who received the new device, how is your experience so far?

I loaded up one book, and I have to say I prefer the contrast and light on the PW3 more than the PW4. I changed to the same light settings, book page, font, and settings on both devices, but the light on the PW4 seems a bit dimmer and the text a little less sharp with contrast. The PW3 seems to have slightly darker text. I suppose this is a result of the glass type cover instead of the recessed material. Guess I'll have to get used to it. I don't have a voyage so can't compare having the glass type screen. I would think it would be just as light considering it has an added LED.

[Paperbackstash]

And so far the homepages are identical once I did the firmware update, which the Paperwhite did not come with automatically. Was kind of hoping this was here that was announced with the new update, but is not:

An updated home—The new home experience makes it easier to find your next read based on your reading history, including books that are free for you to read from Kindle Unlimited or Prime Reading. You can also view reading accomplishments, like how many days in the past month you’ve read, as well as fun facts and tips so you can get the most out of your device.

Perhaps this is something they're planning with another update, I have no idea.

[Paperbackstash]

I'm surprised my phone picked it up like it did, but this is pretty accurate on the lighting difference. It doesn't show the text crispness/contrast difference though. The PW4 text seems slightly softer. This was both on 17 Light Brightness. The PW4 has a warmer color.



I can match the brightness of the PW3 by turning it up quite a bit more, but it slightly washes out the text.

[Paperbackstash]

There is one difference in the Device Options/Advanced Options Menu. The PW4 has a Power Saving Feature to Enable or Disable. It says "disabling power saver makes the device turn on faster but will significantly reduce the amount of time between battery charges." Significantly? This is an odd addition/difference. I'm going to disable it now to see if that changes the screen any.

Edit: No difference. Was worth a try.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Paperbackstash

There is one difference in the Device Options/Advanced Options Menu. The PW4 has a Power Saving Feature to Enable or Disable. It says "disabling power saver makes the device turn on faster but will significantly reduce the amount of time between battery charges." Significantly? This is an odd addition/difference. I'm going to disable it now to see if that changes the screen any.

Edit: No difference. Was worth a try.

Probably has to do with CPU clock speed. Would probably slow down indexing, too.

[Paperbackstash]

If someone figures out how to inverse the text/color, let me know. I've looked everywhere multiple times and am not seeing this option as advertised. It's not in the manual I browsed.

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Probably has to do with CPU clock speed. Would probably slow down indexing, too.

When downloading my library, I'll disable it just in case.

[Strether]

Originally Posted by Paperbackstash

If someone figures out how to inverse the text/color, let me know. I've looked everywhere multiple times and am not seeing this option as advertised. It's not in the manual I browsed.

It’s under “Accessibility “ in Settings

Jim

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by Strether

It’s under “Accessibility “ in Settings

Jim

Thank you. I kept looking up reading and device options since that made a little more sense to me.

Tried it and not a huge fan of it, was curious.

[HLS]

I am having same issues with indexing and thumbnails not showing the covers. A glitch in the contrast. It will get fuzzy or real light and then return normal

[HLS]

Originally Posted by Paperbackstash

There is one difference in the Device Options/Advanced Options Menu. The PW4 has a Power Saving Feature to Enable or Disable. It says "disabling power saver makes the device turn on faster but will significantly reduce the amount of time between battery charges." Significantly? This is an odd addition/difference. I'm going to disable it now to see if that changes the screen any.

Edit: No difference. Was worth a try.

I do not have that option? I went to advanced options menu

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by kcladyz

I am having same issues with indexing and thumbnails not showing the covers. A glitch in the contrast. It will get fuzzy or real light and then return normal

Yes, or the middle of one word seems almost hazy compared to others. Very odd.

I haven't downloaded books yet from my Amazon cloud but am sideloading in from Calibre first. The first batch had the covers at first, then the covers disappeared and have never returned. The second batch seems okay. It really bugs me to have missing covers.

Edited to add: All the rest are working fine for me with covers.

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by kcladyz

I do not have that option? I went to advanced options menu

Was it the "Device Options" Advanced Menu? I see it there.

[haertig]

Originally Posted by Paperbackstash

I can match the brightness of the PW3 by turning it up quite a bit more, but it slightly washes out the text.

In your pictures, it looks like maybe there's a difference in the color temperature of the LED's between the PW3 and PW4. Or, it could be that Amazon does not have tight tolerances and the color temp could just vary from PW to PW. You'd never notice unless you compared two side-by-side.

On the plus side, the PW4 lighting in your picture looks smoother to me than the lighting on the PW3. You can see the shadows at the bottom of the PW3 screen (yeah, my PW3 has those same shadows). Didn't they increase the LED count from three to four on the new PW4? I seem to remember someone mentioning something like that. That might account for the smoother look.

Color temperature can fool your eyes. We interpret the light that tends more towards blue ("cooler" temperature) as being brighter and more contrasty. But it's also harsher. Think about the headlights on newer cars. Boy they sure look brighter and whiter coming at you. They are. But we also hate to look into them while they're frying our eyeballs. Most people prefer the older, warmer headlights when facing an oncoming car. Not so harsh.

[coplate]

Originally Posted by haertig

Or, it could be that Amazon does not have tight tolerances and the color temp could just vary from PW to PW. You'd never notice unless you compared two side-by-side.

on the PW3 this was absolutely true.

I have two PW3 where one is almost 'yellow', and the other is definitely 'blue'. It is very noticible even if they are not side-by-side.

From what people would say, they make sure that all the leds in the same device have matching color, but that across devices, its whatever they happen to get.