Kindle models

[jbcohen]

When amazon comes out with a product such as a Kindle basic, Paperwhite or perhaps a Fire HD are there several models of the same product or are they all one big model? If there are multiple models of the same product that can explain why Paperwhite's used to have a problem but do not any more. Does Amazon put a model number on the kindles?

[susan_cassidy]

They are all one model. By which I mean, there is only one model of Paperwhite, or Basic Kindle, etc. As far as I know, there is no model information on the Kindle itself, although usually you can tell the model from the serial number. Each different model starts with a different first few letters/digits. Usually you can tell models by their appearance, too. I believe there is a page on Amazon somewhere where all the models are shown for comparison. Probably in the Support area.

[pidgeon92]

I usually check the Wikipedia page for the Amazon Kindle when I want to check differences from one model to another. It has a lot of useful information.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

If there are multiple models of the same product that can explain why Paperwhite's used to have a problem but do not any more. Does Amazon put a model number on the kindles?

You do get different batches of the same model though. If you remember when the Paperwhite was first released people were going on about looking at the serial number to ascertain which batch their PW was from as the later releases with a certain batch number were thought to be less likely to have issues with the screen (Serial number is found under Settings > Device Info, and from the number xxxx x503 xxxx xxxx, the 503 or 601 or whatever it is, that's the batch number. It's been a while since we heard anything about this though.

[frahse]

I haven't said it lately, but I still believe it.

My first keyboard Kindle with 3G is the best, and is still going strong! The later ones have a few new attributes, but nothing was added that was "necessary."

[jbcohen]

There is another thread here asking if Paperwhites still have some shadowing problems. If there are no models then that would mean the shadow problem that the first few kindles had would be still in the paperwhites that people are receiving today. Perhaps the batch numbers function as model numbers.

[ixtab]

It's only a matter of how you define "model". For me, the Kindle 3 is one model, the Kindle 4 is another, and the Kindle 4 (black) is arguably another (or arguably not, because the same firmware runs on both).

However, it is entirely normal practice to exchange some hardware components during the lifetime of the production of the same model. It doesn't matter which manufacturer produced the RAM that is in your Kindle. And, while the PW screens have obviously gotten somewhat better over time, it still remains the same model with the same key attributes. And the software runs on all Paperwhites (but only on Paperwhites).

You could take this one step further and differentiate by the first block of characters of the serial number - which is what Amazon does, btw. Kindle 3 updates are specific to that first "SN block", and even K5 updates still include those blocks in their update packages to identify the devices that the update is intended for. Yet, the "model" is still simply "Paperwhite" or "Touch".

Otherwise, you'd have an explosion of model descriptors with no real meaning. You could just as well say that each individual Kindle is a unique model, identified by its serial number.

[elemenoP]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

There is another thread here asking if Paperwhites still have some shadowing problems. If there are no models then that would mean the shadow problem that the first few kindles had would be still in the paperwhites that people are receiving today. Perhaps the batch numbers function as model numbers.

But someone in that thread said they got a Paperwhite last week that had a blotchy screen. It is possible that they have "solved" the problem by tightening quality control standards (rejecting bad screens at the factory or warehouse, before they are sold) and occasionally some still get through. That's just conjecture on my part, though.

eP

[NiLuJe]

As ixtab said, this is confirmed by the fact that the revision number of the board design used is actually somewhat user visible, and so far, we've confirmed two different iterations of the PW board (codename 'celeste').