Is Voyage screen really that superior to PW4?

[Ico]

TLDR: at the bottom, rest of the post only describes my current experience and what's bugging me

So a while back I was torn between getting a Voyage, PW3 and PW4. I heard rumors about superior screen of PW3(glass) to PW4(plastic) so I watched and read many reviews and saw the difference for myself. I decided to get Pw3 but on black friday Pw4 dropped to 77,99 so I had to get that since i never tried E-Ink before and wanted to see if it is for me.

Ideally the best device for me would be to have PW3 screen and PW4 inverted mode and flush bezel, so even if i had Pw3 I would be kicking myself for not being able to read with inverted mode at night, and gunk under bezels.

When I first got PW4 I had mixed feelings it was not what I expected, especially the blue-ish screen. Over time I grew to the device which has a nice inverted mode for night reading and looks beautiful almost milky paper in direct sunlight. But at home unless properly lit or near the window the original non inverted mode is off-putting.
As big of as a sale it was it it still bothers me for not being able to read at home with black text on white bg.
I first wanted to try Voyage before it was discontinued but opted for cheaper version to try the technology first.
Haptic buttons sound nice but i am mostly drawn to micro-etched glass which seems to really shine in a few device vs another device reviews for the Voyage.

Device is great but i really have to get involved into a book to not notice those flaws, i would prefer black text on white, and also the inverted mode burns through the battery charge especially for pdfs.

I am really contemplating getting Kindle Voyage from Ebay, but I am worried the screen without inverted option will be a hassle at night.
Bottom line i am happy with Pw4 except I would like to be able to read at home the non-inverted way.

TLDR
Is Voyage really that much nicer screen than PW3 or Oasis.
Paperwhite owners who also own the Voyage, do you notice a difference in the dark with PW compared to the Voyage.
Is Voyage milky yellow pleasant on the eyes vs Paperwhite bluish hue. I know it depends on LED used and taking pics on my phone it shows the color to be neutral, yet it still fatigues my eyes.

[Wearever]

Yes the Voyage is better in contrast to PW4. Letters look sharper. The PW3 has a little better contrast than the PW4.Also features like more storage and water proof are available on the PW4. Not on the Voyage or PW3. So there is that to consider as well. I have the Oasis 2 and it has a white blue screen similar to my Voyages. I prefer the whiter screen to a tannish one. Some Oasis and Voyages have the white screen and some have a bit of a tan tone. Not by much, but you won't know which one you will get until you open the box and turn it on. Personally they are both nice to read on for me, I just prefer the whiter screen.

[Ico]

Originally Posted by Wearever

Yes the Voyage is better in contrast to PW4. Letters look sharper. The PW3 has a Personally they are both nice to read on for me, I just prefer the whiter screen.

Thank You for Your reply.
Would you say you notice a meaningful difference when reading during dark with pw3 and pw4 compared to the voyage.
In addition would you say you prefer voyage or oasis at night.
I know most features and frills of the devices the quality of the screen is only thing that I am interested in.

I am kind of on the fence since woot does not ship to me so I have to play the eBay no returns lottery
Thanks!

[patrickt]

I have read with the Oasis 2, the Voyage, the Paperwhite 4, 3, 2, 1, a Kindle Keyboard, a Kindle Basic, and a Kindle DX. I enjoyed reading with all of them. Now, I have two Paperwhite 4s.

The others have all gone to other readers but I didn't get rid of a single one because of the fonts or the sharpness or the contrast. I could enjoy reading with all of them. If I were imprisoned and only allowed a Kindle Basic, I'd read.

Right now, for me, all things considered, the Paperwhite is my choice. I use Amazon Kindle covers for my Kindles. The Paperwhite covers are the best in my opinion. I currently have two of the cloth covers. The "Origami" cover for the Voyage with it's flop and fold seems to indicate Amazon has spent way too much time in California. I hated it and none of the other six third-party covers worked properly or were usable. The Oasis 2 cover that Kindle said wasn't intended to protect the expensive device but to "personalize" the Oasis. What nonsense. And, I want mechanical buttons to break about as much as I want a hand crank to start my car. I don't want colored lights on my Kindle, either. I just want to be able to read in restaurants and cafes where they light each table with a small candle.

Some countries where you can't ordered a Kindle are also countries where you can't download Kindle books but I don't know where you are.

I suppose if you're rich you could order one of each and give the ones you don't want to use to relatives. If money is an issue then the Paperwhite is clearly, in my opinion, the best choice. Now, if you want to look really cool and don't read anyway, pay a top-of-the-line iPad and show it to everyone.

If you enjoy reading, I think you'll enjoy whichever Kindle you get.

[Wearever]

Originally Posted by Ico

Thank You for Your reply.
Would you say you notice a meaningful difference when reading during dark with pw3 and pw4 compared to the voyage.
In addition would you say you prefer voyage or oasis at night.
I know most features and frills of the devices the quality of the screen is only thing that I am interested in.

I am kind of on the fence since woot does not ship to me so I have to play the eBay no returns lottery
Thanks!

The most meaningful difference between the PW4, PW3 and the Voyage to me is that the Voyage screen is similar to a tablet. I hope that helps. I really like the Voyage screens for clarity.

I read on both the Oasis and Voyage at night, depending on which book I'm reading at the time. Both are just as nice to read in the dark, I just dim the brightness level. The Voyage is a little brighter screen so I dim it a bit more.

[heyman]

it's a lie

none of them has good contrast

[shalym]

Originally Posted by heyman

it's a lie

none of them has good contrast

That's your opinion. You are almost right, though...the Voyage doesn't have good contrast, it has great contrast.

Shari

[Kolja]

I'm a big fan of the Voyage and have always thought it had the best contrast of all the Kindles. I received the Oasis 3 this week and think the contrast is equal to that of the Voyage. In addition the Oasis 3 has 2 features that make it my new favorite Kindle - the 7 in screen which is great for reading and a screen that is near perfect in evenness.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by heyman

it's a lie

none of them has good contrast

Why would so many people 'lie', as you state? You're entitled to your opinion, of course, but your language seems rather coarse and final.

[tomsem]

I prefer my Voyage’s screen to PW4’s, but if and when Amazon adds some form of Immersion Reading to the audiobook-capable Kindles, or Plain Old text-to-speech (in addition to VoiceView), I will use PW4 more.

Voyage:
- better contrast
- page turn buttons
- auto brightness

PW4:
- more storage
- waterproof
- invert black & white
- audiobook support
- wireless VoiceView

I don’t use covers with either model.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Ico

TLDR
Is Voyage really that much nicer screen than PW3 or Oasis.
Paperwhite owners who also own the Voyage, do you notice a difference in the dark with PW compared to the Voyage.
Is Voyage milky yellow pleasant on the eyes vs Paperwhite bluish hue. I know it depends on LED used and taking pics on my phone it shows the color to be neutral, yet it still fatigues my eyes.

Since I don't own a Voyage, or a Paperwhite 3 or 4 (I have a Paperwhite 2), I can only guess. But I have noticed (when I've looked at Kindles in stores) that they tend towards the "cold" blue range, whereas my Tolinos are "warmer" or whiter. I'm guessing which you prefer depends on taste but I, personally, like the warmer tones of the Tolinos. I recently found a Tolino Vision 4 on eBay and I'm extremely happy with it. It's almost exactly the same size and weight as the Paperwhite 4 (I was able to get a Fintie Paperwhite 4 case on eBay which fits it well), it has a flush mount screen, is waterproof, has 8 GBs of RAM and has "warm" LEDs (13 LEDs, 7 white and 6 yellow/orange). So it would be classified as high-end reader, like the Voyage. What it lacks is a decent dictionary, all the extras Amazon gives you (like X-Ray, etc.), inverse screen setting, etc. It also doesn't have the ability to "bold" fonts (but you can add your own fonts). The Tolino is not "feature-rich," it has a pretty simple and "sparse" interface, which doesn't me since I use readers for reading. I would like to compare it to a Voyage screen for clarity (I think the Vision 4 would do well, it has a clear screen) but the ability to adjust for light warmth would probably give the Vision 4 the win for me. The Tolino Visions don't have page-turning keys, but they have "tap2flip" which allows you to tap the bottom of the reader to turn a page.

(Sorry, I went on a little long here.)

EDIT: I should add that the warmest screen setting is not a deep orange like the Kobos or Nooks, it looks more like the Oasis 3 — a lighter almost "vellum" color. I've been trying to take pictures of the screen but my camera keeps "helpfully" adjusting out the yellow/orange tint.

EDIT2: I should add that there is no light sensor. The Smart Light (automatic light setting) feature is based entirely on the time of day, which (for me) makes it about worthless. I think the Voyage actually senses light changes.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by patrickt

I have read with the Oasis 2, the Voyage, the Paperwhite 4, 3, 2, 1, a Kindle Keyboard, a Kindle Basic, and a Kindle DX. I enjoyed reading with all of them. Now, I have two Paperwhite 4s.

Don't forget to keep the unused Kindles charged as leaving the batteries flat is a good way to damage the batteries.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by heyman

it's a lie

none of them has good contrast

Better contrast then your old Sony Reader.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Don't forget to keep the unused Kindles charged as leaving the batteries flat is a good way to damage the batteries.

I don't keep unused Kindles. An unused Kindle is like an unloved puppy. I give them to others. Some have gone to students and some have gone to old guys on a low fixed income.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by tomsem

I prefer my Voyage’s screen to PW4’s, but if and when Amazon adds some form of Immersion Reading to the audiobook-capable Kindles, or Plain Old text-to-speech (in addition to VoiceView), I will use PW4 more.

Voyage:
- better contrast
- page turn buttons
- auto brightness

PW4:
- more storage
- waterproof
- invert black & white
- audiobook support
- wireless VoiceView

I don’t use covers with either model.

It's amazing how what's important or a positive to one person is totally unimportant to another.

Recently, someone said their new car was faster than my 98 Nissan. I was stunned, wondering what the point was. My car is fast enough. The defining factor for me with contrast isn't Voyage versus Paperwhite 4 but rather 32 versus 78. And, immersion reading is a catchy phrase for what seems to me to be a pointless activity. If you want to be read to, go for it. I enjoy reading.

So, Voiceview, audiobook support, and inverting text are not something that I've ever used. If I want to be read to, I use my phone but that's once a year when I drive to the coast.

I always use covers/cases for my Kindle/cell phones just like I always have car insurance and an umbrella in the rainy season.

I'm amazed at the people who want some peculiar change to the Kindles and honestly think "everyone" wants it just because they do.