Kindle Paper White review : Mobileread users

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Okay so much for spending a few hours reading on my PW. I cannot. I'm already getting a headache most likely from all the eyestrain. I have tried every combination of room lighting and PW lighting, but it just sucks. My screen is just too splotchy and only part of that is due to the LED lighting. I've got really bad font rendering on my screen. Some words have a few letters that are nearly washed out. Other words have a few letters that almost look bold. This totally screwed up font rendering is popping up on every page and in random locations. It occurs with all the fonts and is worse with some. Combined with the splotches from the LED lighting, I simply cannot read on the damn thing.

I picked up my Touch after struggling with the PW and it was way better to read on. PW is going back. No replacement as too many others here have already pointed out similar faults in theirs. I'll wait for Gen 2 or 3.

What is your firmware version number? I want to see if mine due on Oct 11 has the same version or was upgraded.

Originally Posted by sirmaru

What is your firmware version number? I want to see if mine due on Oct 11 has the same version or was upgraded.

5.2.0

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by jswinden

5.2.0

Thanks. It would be helpful if others with and without problems posted their firmware version numbers.

Its possible the splotch problems have already been corrected with a higher firmware version.

[Mickey330]

I have the PW Kindle with no offers (I originally ordered it with offers, but bought out of it yesterday). I have the cover that comes with it (black). Currently, I have the lighting set at 18 (on a 0 to 24 scale) and I am using the Caecilia font on the fourth smallest size. I've never had a Kindle with the touch function; the only other Kindle I have is the fourth generation one (the Kindle NT). I've owned other readers, so I am very familiar with e-ink and screens.

I love my new Kindle Paperwhite!

Yes, there is a bit of the shadow effect from the LEDs, but it is mostly dissipated before the shadows reach the bottom line of text. I've been reading my book for about an hour and I do not notice the shadowing affect. The page turns are fast and the "black flash" at the fifth (sixth?) page turn is nothing unexpected. It's normal behavior for me.

I got it for the light as I was tired of trying to use book lights or find adequate lighting to read. TBH, I had kind of given up reading with an e-reader because the screens were so dark. I was doing most all my reading with the Kindle app on my iPhone or my iPad. Now - I believe i will go back to using the e-reader at home while using the phone solely while out and about.

The cover is a marvelous thing, also. It easily folds back behind the reader and stays there. The coolest part is how it's like my iPad: when I open the cover, I go immediately to where I last left the reader. So, if I am in a book, I'm right back in it. Very convenient (and I don't have to push any buttons).

My biggest hardship is getting accustomed to the touch interface. As I said, I've not had a touch Kindle before; my only experience is with the iOS devices. And, the touch is just different enough that it throws me off. For example, on an iDevice, touching the middle of the screen usually brings up the menu. On the PW, it turns the page. But, I know that it's just a simple matter of learning how to use the device.

The only thing that is not working as expected is the sync function, as others have said. I rely on sync to transfer between my iPhone and the PW. I hope it gets sorted out soon - or that I can get it sorted out. But, for now, no matter what I do (to include de-registering both the iPhone and the PW), it won't sync. It's rather annoying, but until it's fixed, I'll just learn to remember locations.

Other than that - I am quite pleased with my new reader and am VERY glad I got one.

Marilyn

P.S. Forgot to say that the firmware is version 5.2.0 (1729740065). And, it's a WiFi-only Kindle.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by Poodlemom1

I have the cover, and I have to swipe every time I open it. I don't think you have to swipe if you have the non-ad version.

How does it behave without the cover? With a cover (Amazon's) you don't need to worry so much if the power button gets toggled since nothing will touch the screen.

[Alecto58]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

Thanks. It would be helpful if others with and without problems posted their firmware version numbers.

Its possible the splotch problems have already been corrected with a higher firmware version.

This is not a problem a firmware update can fix. Would take a new hardware revision, which would certainly not happen by October 11th.

I browsed the Kindle Boards forum and several people there have also gotten bad PWs with darker what they call pink lighting. Mine is more tan, but perhaps there were some batches made with inferior LEDs? One lady got two PWs, one is good the other is bad. She showed them side by side. She had to argue with Amazon CS to replace the bad one, and it will be a few weeks before she gets the replacement. Apparently Amazon failed to hold back PWs for replacement purposes. It does seem like most people are getting good ones, but some of us just learned how bad QC is with Chinese made products!

[wynand32]

Originally Posted by jswinden

No it probably doesn't. These photos are washing out the bad effects. If you turned up the contrast on the photos you would probably see a better likeness. I'm having a really tough time photographing this screen. I'm thinking it is the built in light and the lack of a professional studio and lack of photo knowledge. I'm really good at astrophotography but not daylight photography!

I can tell that (adjusting for the photos) yours looks EXACTLY like mine. I mean, down to where the shadow/light patches show up and how they look. If I'm not mistaken, yours has the brightest patch at the bottom toward the right side of the screen, correct? Then the effect is less visible as you move to the left side of the screen.

If I'm right, then this is definitely how the devices are designed, and ours aren't merely defective.

And I do want to stress: other than at the bottom, the screen is excellent in my view. I find it easy to read, particularly if you turn on page refreshes (to avoid the ghosting taht does get pretty bad until the next refresh). It really is "white" to my eyes, more so than any other e-ink reader I've used, and the issue at the bottom is something I can probably live with.

Originally Posted by wynand32

I can tell that (adjusting for the photos) yours looks EXACTLY like mine. I mean, down to where the shadow/light patches show up and how they look. If I'm not mistaken, yours has the brightest patch at the bottom toward the right side of the screen, correct? Then the effect is less visible as you move to the left side of the screen.

If I'm right, then this is definitely how the devices are designed, and ours aren't merely defective.

And I do want to stress: other than at the bottom, the screen is excellent in my view. I find it easy to read, particularly if you turn on page refreshes (to avoid the ghosting taht does get pretty bad until the next refresh). It really is "white" to my eyes, more so than any other e-ink reader I've used, and the issue at the bottom is something I can probably live with.

You got a good WHITE one and I got a bad PINK/TAN one.

[AnemicOak]

Just got through doing a little messing around now that I'm home. I've now tested my PW in several lighting conditions including complete dark (under a blanket) and can definately say I have none of the splotchiness mentioned and shown in pics by others. It does show the shadowing at the bottom of the screen, I think that's just the current level of the tech. I'm still wondering if the splotches aren't caused by a bad lamination between the screen and the light layer (or maybe the chemical sprayed on for the touch layer was bad?) especially since it seems uneven and random between screens???

I was interested to find in my complete dark test that the light is never truly 100% off as I had assumed it was when turning it down all the way. The screen is still lit at a low level.

[linnx88]

I have splotches. My fw version is also, 5.2.0.

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by jswinden

You got a good WHITE one and I got a bad PINK/TAN one.

Why not call Amazon CS and request a replacement? I also noticed some folks on the Amazon forums had a similar problem and have called in for replacements.

@AnemicOak - doing a long press on the minus icon is supposed to turn the light off completely per the manual. If you want to turn it back on, do a long press on the plus icon.

Here is a photo I showed earlier of my PW set to a screen brightness of 14/24. However, I adjusted the exposure and contrast levels to exaggerate the shadows. With the shadows exaggerated you can clearly see the tan/pink shadows and the areas of the screen where blotchiness occurs. This is clearly not a good screen nor is it anywhere near a uniform lighting.

Oh, and I thought there were 5 LEDs but this clearly indicates there are only 3 LEDs.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

Why not call Amazon CS and request a replacement? I also noticed some folks on the Amazon forums had a similar problem and have called in for replacements.

Depending on how wide spread the issue is you could go through a lot of replacements though. Not worth the hassle for many.

[wynand32]

Originally Posted by jswinden

You got a good WHITE one and I got a bad PINK/TAN one.

Okay, I just went into a dark room and took a good long look at the thing with the screen at about brightness 15. I now CAN see some variation in color, with a sort of pinkish tint at the top and bottom and a non-pinkish tint (I wouldn't call it blue) in the middle. I didn't notice it before because my time spent looking at the screen in darkness has been limited.

I will say that in a room with any lighting at all, I don't notice it. And I'm not sure I would have noticed it had I not visited this forum and started looking for it. But, I can see how it would bother some people, and now that I see it, I can't un-see it.

I think I really will end up keeping it, because where I read most often, which is in fairly well-lit areas (up to and including on the beach in SoCal), the screen really does look good. If I tended to read in the dark, though, I'd probably not be as excited--ironically, since that's the entire point of a frontlit screen.