Kindle Keyboard or Paperwhite 1?

rebeltaz · 02-27-2019, 09:57 PM

OK, I suck at making decisions. I have had (and still have) several old-school ebook readers - the Sony DD1-EX, the Franklin eBookman, the Sharper Image Literati, the Entourage Pocket Edge - but for the most part, I've always preferred the true old-school - paper books. I came across a Kindle Keyboard at a local community sale for $3 with a dead battery. After replacing that for $13, I've been really happy using it. I came across a deal a few days ago where I got a Kindle Paperwhite 1 for $26 after discounts and refunds. Now, I'm not sure which one I want to keep - I don't need to keep both. They both have advantages and they both have disadvantages.

The Keyboard has Text-to-Speech, which helps me focus sometimes. It has twice the amount of RAM as the Paperwhite, 4gb versus 2gb. It has buttons instead of a touchscreen - as a mechanic who can't get his hands clean no matter what I do, that helps sometimes!

The Paperwhite has advantages, too. It has a backlight, which does make the text look better both day and night. It has a touchscreen, so less mechanical failures in that arena, plus no imprints to wear off.

The Paperwhite is the "Special Offers" version, though. I didn't know what that was when I got it, but now I know that it means that this thing has advertisements. Not a real big deal, though, because I usually leave WiFI off and I can tune out ads what with my decades of internet usage.

Is there any advantages to jailbreaking one over the other?

I don't know... is there anyone who is still using a Keyboard and would choose that over a Paperwhite 1? or maybe vice versa? I read a couple of other similar threads here, but I think the question there was whether to upgrade the PW1 to a newer version, so.... Any advice will be helpful.

binaryhermit · 02-28-2019, 04:21 PM

I assume neither of them has 3g? If it does, I'd go with the one with 3g.

barryem · 02-28-2019, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rebeltaz

The Paperwhite has advantages, too. It has a backlight, which does make the text look better both day and night. It has a touchscreen, so less mechanical failures in that arena, plus no imprints to wear off.

The Paperwhite has a front light which is totally different than a backlight. A front light gives reflected light just like you get from a lamp over your shoulder. A backlight has a light behind the screen shining into your eyes.

Quote:

The Paperwhite is the "Special Offers" version, though. I didn't know what that was when I got it, but now I know that it means that this thing has advertisements. Not a real big deal, though, because I usually leave WiFI off and I can tune out ads what with my decades of internet usage.

You can turn off the ads for $20 after you register it to your Amazon account. You'll find that option on Amazon's My Content and Devices page.

Barry

montalex · 02-28-2019, 08:15 PM

I like my Kindle Keyboard for its open browser, and I like the physical keyboard for notes or for writing emails via free 3G internet. As others have mentioned, it is also very good for reading in the sun -- the extra layer for lighting on many newer models makes them harder to read in daylight. Of course, you can turn up the light to get around that.

krazy4katz · 03-03-2019, 08:57 PM

I own a Kindle Keyboard, although I don't use it anymore. I like the buttons a lot! Also the larger RAM. My only question would be the quality of the screen. Can you see a difference? When I finally upgraded, it was because the Voyage had a better screen, front lighting and more RAM than the paperwhites.

rebeltaz · 03-05-2019, 08:03 PM

i'm sorry for the delay in responding. I forgot I had posted this here

Quote:

Originally Posted by binaryhermit

I assume neither of them has 3g? If it does, I'd go with the one with 3g.

No. Neither have 3g, nor do I. Believe it or not, I don't even own a cellphone

Quote:

Originally Posted by montalex

I like my Kindle Keyboard for its open browser, and I like the physical keyboard for notes or for writing emails via free 3G internet. As others have mentioned, it is also very good for reading in the sun -- the extra layer for lighting on many newer models makes them harder to read in daylight. Of course, you can turn up the light to get around that.

It has been dreary here ever since I got this, so I haven't been able to test it in the sun, but that will be a deciding factor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by krazy4katz

I own a Kindle Keyboard, although I don't use it anymore. I like the buttons a lot! Also the larger RAM. My only question would be the quality of the screen. Can you see a difference? When I finally upgraded, it was because the Voyage had a better screen, front lighting and more RAM than the paperwhites.

I do like the bigger RAM. I can't really see a difference in the graphics quality, and I've been trying. I only read books with text anyway, so graphics isn't an issue with me, really.

ntamas · 06-03-2019, 01:50 AM

is there anyone who is still using a Keyboard and would choose that over a Paperwhite 1? or maybe vice versa?

Yes, but I use it mainly for reading interactive books (active content), for playing games and mostly for running active content programs. Almost the whole set of active content programs (on Kindle Store) is compatible with Keyboard. But I like the presence of the physical keyboard, because it is more precise than any other touchscreens would be.

Sometimes the keyboard also fails to do what you expect from it, you have to press the actual button twice or something else happens for example: when you press a letter, the menu appears, but these anomalies are negligible compared to the ones arising from the use of touchscreens.

You can't be so precise when it's about touchscreens. Touchscreens are very annoying especially when you wanna go back to a previous "page", I have PW3 too and even if I tap on the left of the screen it simply jumps to the next "page" many times.
The only advantage of touchscreens over physical keyboard comes up when you wanna look up words in dictionaries, though there have been tremendous amount of cases when I was angry because of the lack of precision and the device is always sensing highlights instead of one word, though I didn't draw my finger along a sentence or parts of a sentence. And even though you can "Undo" the highlighting, it creates a text file and I have to delete it each time I accidentally highlight text parts instead of words.

Zooming is also a pain in the ass while you are browsing or reading pdfs. Keyboard gives you the ability to zoom the web sites with exact percents.

For reading classic ebooks I usually use the PW3.
I can hardly imagine how you could play many active content games with touchscreen.
Examples: UNO (the cards are placed so close to each other I can't imagine how you can select them)
Fighting Fantasy or Lone Wolf gamebooks (the options on the bottom are also too close to each other and the touchscreen won't (I guess) always select the option on which you have tapped.

So if I could choose, I would use a Kindle with keyboard AND touchscreen with lit screen.

binaryhermit · 06-03-2019, 03:31 AM

I came back to this thread after the latest post to say go with the paperwhite, having the frontlight is great. Also, it's more pocketable.

And my ideal device would probably be the lighted basic kindle that came out, price-wise, but with page turn buttons.

I understand why Amazon withholds buttons from everything but the oasis, though.

roger64 · 06-03-2019, 03:53 AM

Screensaver folder

I have a Paperwhite3 and I have used the pencils screensaver image which is OK for me.

I unwittingly changed this screensaver image using koreader. I'd like to point back to this pencils image but I do not know its path on the Kindle's system. Could someone give it to me?

Quoth · 06-03-2019, 09:36 AM

Keep both and then you can loan one to someone that has no ereader. Also screens break easily and cost far more than LCDs.

I have a keyboard Kindle and a PW3, though I gave away a DXG to someone with bad eyesight.
I do use my Kobo H2O to read anything I'm proofing and a Sony PRS350 for pocket as alternative to reading on the phone.
I don't think half a dozen is too many. Unlike old computers and TVs they don't take up much space.

Tarana · 06-03-2019, 09:37 AM

I would always choose a Kindle Keyboard over a Paperwhite1. The light on the paperwhite 1 is rather blue and bugs me (My Mom loves hers, but she does not have vision problems). How books are sorted is different as well. I have never liked Collections -always preferring the organization system of the K3. FWIW, I have 4 Kindle Keyboards, a PPW2, PPW3 and Voyages and some other ereaders.

All are used regularly. I use the paperwhites at the YMCA and elsewhere if I think the lighting is going to be poor.

BookCat · 06-03-2019, 01:24 PM

I'd keep them both. They were fairly inexpensive and you won't get them at that price again. It's always useful to have a spare ereader.

tomsem · 06-03-2019, 06:11 PM

That’s a tough call. I still have both of these Kindles (my PW1 is 3G), just pull them out to charge them once in awhile but no longer use them.

I think the display is slightly clearer on KK, and I used to like being able to use TTS sometimes, but I prefer navigation with touch to walking through menus. Also I think PW1 supports Cloud collections, which can be important if you have more than one device going (which I do). Also has the front light, but it was version 1 of that and it is a bit uneven compared to later iterations.

Battery is easier to replace on KK, if I remember correctly. The PW1 was the only Kindle where I had any serious issues with lack of storage (it has only about 1/3 of KK’s). And KK has an accessibility feature, Voice Menus, so you can read without being able to see the screen (with TTS). We had to wait for PW3 for Accessibility features to return to Kindle in the form of Voice View.

crossi · 06-04-2019, 01:22 PM

I would keep the keyboard. I have never been able to manage touch screens. I select something when I mean to highlight, I keep selecting the wrong links either above or below what I was aiming at and have to go back. I can't even use tablets. My Fire was such an exercise in frustration its been sitting unused on my shelf for years. Just browsing the web I kept ending up on pages I never meant to go to. Why can't they come up with a control device for tablets as functional as a mouse. R Click, L Click with pop up menu, scroll, single and double clicks and hover over a link. Poking at a screen with your finger just doesn't come close. Anyway, go with the KK. It has forward, back, home and menu buttons. Very easy to use.

ntamas · 06-04-2019, 02:41 PM

Very easy to use.

The only drawbacks of keyboards come up when you have too many items on the screen and you have to navigate the cursor among them. It's a PITA, but otherwise it's much more precise than any other touchscreens.

Another disadvantage of the touchscreens is their contextual functionality. You can only tap on such functions or options that appear or can appear on the screen. This is rather a limitation compared to the keyboards.

On a keyboard you can always press a button so you might activate or use hidden functions in certain cases or use the same function with different buttons.

02-27-2019, 09:57 PM	#1
rebeltaz Connoisseur Posts: 92 Karma: 536 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: Entourage Pocket eDge	Kindle Keyboard or Paperwhite 1? OK, I suck at making decisions. I have had (and still have) several old-school ebook readers - the Sony DD1-EX, the Franklin eBookman, the Sharper Image Literati, the Entourage Pocket Edge - but for the most part, I've always preferred the true old-school - paper books. I came across a Kindle Keyboard at a local community sale for $3 with a dead battery. After replacing that for $13, I've been really happy using it. I came across a deal a few days ago where I got a Kindle Paperwhite 1 for $26 after discounts and refunds. Now, I'm not sure which one I want to keep - I don't need to keep both. They both have advantages and they both have disadvantages. The Keyboard has Text-to-Speech, which helps me focus sometimes. It has twice the amount of RAM as the Paperwhite, 4gb versus 2gb. It has buttons instead of a touchscreen - as a mechanic who can't get his hands clean no matter what I do, that helps sometimes! The Paperwhite has advantages, too. It has a backlight, which does make the text look better both day and night. It has a touchscreen, so less mechanical failures in that arena, plus no imprints to wear off. The Paperwhite is the "Special Offers" version, though. I didn't know what that was when I got it, but now I know that it means that this thing has advertisements. Not a real big deal, though, because I usually leave WiFI off and I can tune out ads what with my decades of internet usage. Is there any advantages to jailbreaking one over the other? I don't know... is there anyone who is still using a Keyboard and would choose that over a Paperwhite 1? or maybe vice versa? I read a couple of other similar threads here, but I think the question there was whether to upgrade the PW1 to a newer version, so.... Any advice will be helpful.

06-03-2019, 01:50 AM	#7
ntamas Zealot Posts: 106 Karma: 875040 Join Date: May 2016 Location: Hungary Device: Kindle paperwhite 3 + Kindle keyboard	touchscreen vs. keyboard is there anyone who is still using a Keyboard and would choose that over a Paperwhite 1? or maybe vice versa? Yes, but I use it mainly for reading interactive books (active content), for playing games and mostly for running active content programs. Almost the whole set of active content programs (on Kindle Store) is compatible with Keyboard. But I like the presence of the physical keyboard, because it is more precise than any other touchscreens would be. Sometimes the keyboard also fails to do what you expect from it, you have to press the actual button twice or something else happens for example: when you press a letter, the menu appears, but these anomalies are negligible compared to the ones arising from the use of touchscreens. You can't be so precise when it's about touchscreens. Touchscreens are very annoying especially when you wanna go back to a previous "page", I have PW3 too and even if I tap on the left of the screen it simply jumps to the next "page" many times. The only advantage of touchscreens over physical keyboard comes up when you wanna look up words in dictionaries, though there have been tremendous amount of cases when I was angry because of the lack of precision and the device is always sensing highlights instead of one word, though I didn't draw my finger along a sentence or parts of a sentence. And even though you can "Undo" the highlighting, it creates a text file and I have to delete it each time I accidentally highlight text parts instead of words. Zooming is also a pain in the ass while you are browsing or reading pdfs. Keyboard gives you the ability to zoom the web sites with exact percents. For reading classic ebooks I usually use the PW3. I can hardly imagine how you could play many active content games with touchscreen. Examples: UNO (the cards are placed so close to each other I can't imagine how you can select them) Fighting Fantasy or Lone Wolf gamebooks (the options on the bottom are also too close to each other and the touchscreen won't (I guess) always select the option on which you have tapped. So if I could choose, I would use a Kindle with keyboard AND touchscreen with lit screen.

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02-28-2019, 04:21 PM	#2
binaryhermit Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,732 Karma: 20469902 Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Lockport, IL Device: Kindle PW4, Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition	I assume neither of them has 3g? If it does, I'd go with the one with 3g.

02-28-2019, 08:15 PM	#4
montalex Fanatic Posts: 556 Karma: 1283268 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: KindleDX,Kindle 4, Kindle Keyboard 3G	I like my Kindle Keyboard for its open browser, and I like the physical keyboard for notes or for writing emails via free 3G internet. As others have mentioned, it is also very good for reading in the sun -- the extra layer for lighting on many newer models makes them harder to read in daylight. Of course, you can turn up the light to get around that.

03-03-2019, 08:57 PM	#5
krazy4katz Addict Posts: 367 Karma: 1552656 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: [Kindle 1, Kindle 3 (KK)], Kindle Voyage, iPad Pro	I own a Kindle Keyboard, although I don't use it anymore. I like the buttons a lot! Also the larger RAM. My only question would be the quality of the screen. Can you see a difference? When I finally upgraded, it was because the Voyage had a better screen, front lighting and more RAM than the paperwhites.

06-03-2019, 03:31 AM	#8
binaryhermit Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,732 Karma: 20469902 Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Lockport, IL Device: Kindle PW4, Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition	I came back to this thread after the latest post to say go with the paperwhite, having the frontlight is great. Also, it's more pocketable. And my ideal device would probably be the lighted basic kindle that came out, price-wise, but with page turn buttons. I understand why Amazon withholds buttons from everything but the oasis, though.

06-03-2019, 03:53 AM	#9
roger64 Wizard Posts: 2,624 Karma: 3120635 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Kindle PW3 (wifi)	Screensaver folder I have a Paperwhite3 and I have used the pencils screensaver image which is OK for me. I unwittingly changed this screensaver image using koreader. I'd like to point back to this pencils image but I do not know its path on the Kindle's system. Could someone give it to me?

06-03-2019, 09:36 AM	#10
Quoth Still reading Posts: 13,816 Karma: 103895653 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	Keep both and then you can loan one to someone that has no ereader. Also screens break easily and cost far more than LCDs. I have a keyboard Kindle and a PW3, though I gave away a DXG to someone with bad eyesight. I do use my Kobo H2O to read anything I'm proofing and a Sony PRS350 for pocket as alternative to reading on the phone. I don't think half a dozen is too many. Unlike old computers and TVs they don't take up much space.

06-03-2019, 09:37 AM	#11
Tarana Wizard Posts: 4,032 Karma: 38840460 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Minneapolis Device: PWSE, Voyage, K3, HDX, KBasic 7 & 8, Nook Glo3, Echos, Nanos	I would always choose a Kindle Keyboard over a Paperwhite1. The light on the paperwhite 1 is rather blue and bugs me (My Mom loves hers, but she does not have vision problems). How books are sorted is different as well. I have never liked Collections -always preferring the organization system of the K3. FWIW, I have 4 Kindle Keyboards, a PPW2, PPW3 and Voyages and some other ereaders. All are used regularly. I use the paperwhites at the YMCA and elsewhere if I think the lighting is going to be poor.

06-03-2019, 01:24 PM	#12
BookCat C L J Posts: 2,911 Karma: 21115458 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Birmingham UK Device: Sony e-reader 505, Kindle PW2, Kindle PW3, Kobo Libra2	I'd keep them both. They were fairly inexpensive and you won't get them at that price again. It's always useful to have a spare ereader.

06-03-2019, 06:11 PM	#13
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,908 Karma: 27013865 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	That’s a tough call. I still have both of these Kindles (my PW1 is 3G), just pull them out to charge them once in awhile but no longer use them. I think the display is slightly clearer on KK, and I used to like being able to use TTS sometimes, but I prefer navigation with touch to walking through menus. Also I think PW1 supports Cloud collections, which can be important if you have more than one device going (which I do). Also has the front light, but it was version 1 of that and it is a bit uneven compared to later iterations. Battery is easier to replace on KK, if I remember correctly. The PW1 was the only Kindle where I had any serious issues with lack of storage (it has only about 1/3 of KK’s). And KK has an accessibility feature, Voice Menus, so you can read without being able to see the screen (with TTS). We had to wait for PW3 for Accessibility features to return to Kindle in the form of Voice View.

06-04-2019, 01:22 PM	#14
crossi Guru Posts: 997 Karma: 12000001 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Seattle Wahington U.S. Device: kindle	I would keep the keyboard. I have never been able to manage touch screens. I select something when I mean to highlight, I keep selecting the wrong links either above or below what I was aiming at and have to go back. I can't even use tablets. My Fire was such an exercise in frustration its been sitting unused on my shelf for years. Just browsing the web I kept ending up on pages I never meant to go to. Why can't they come up with a control device for tablets as functional as a mouse. R Click, L Click with pop up menu, scroll, single and double clicks and hover over a link. Poking at a screen with your finger just doesn't come close. Anyway, go with the KK. It has forward, back, home and menu buttons. Very easy to use.

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06-04-2019, 02:41 PM	#15
ntamas Zealot Posts: 106 Karma: 875040 Join Date: May 2016 Location: Hungary Device: Kindle paperwhite 3 + Kindle keyboard	Very easy to use. The only drawbacks of keyboards come up when you have too many items on the screen and you have to navigate the cursor among them. It's a PITA, but otherwise it's much more precise than any other touchscreens. Another disadvantage of the touchscreens is their contextual functionality. You can only tap on such functions or options that appear or can appear on the screen. This is rather a limitation compared to the keyboards. On a keyboard you can always press a button so you might activate or use hidden functions in certain cases or use the same function with different buttons.