Amazon Updates The Kindle Paperwhite
by Brett Howse on June 18, 2015 1:15 AM EST
The venerable Kindle is one of my favorite tech devices. I owned the Kindle 3, but the obvious shortcoming was the lack of lighting, forcing me to use a case with a clumsy light attached. The minute the original Kindle Paperwhite was announced, I quickly ordered a couple of them and they are to this day one of my favorite pieces of technology. The Paperwhite added a “light guide” layer to the display to evenly distribute the light from the LEDs found in the bezel, which gives the e-ink display the bright white image and makes it much easier to use in dim or dark scenarios.
In 2014, Amazon released the Kindle Voyage to the US market, which is their highest end Kindle yet. It features a 300 ppi e-ink display. Today, that same display is making its way to the mid-stream priced Kindle Paperwhite which should give it even better text rendering. The new version of the Carta e-paper display has double the pixels of the outgoing model.
Amazon is also offering the choice of a new font called Bookerly, which was created specifically for reading on digital screens: “Bookerly is inspired by the artistry of the best fonts in modern print books, but is hand-crafted for great readability at any font size.”
Also announced is a new typesetting engine which is listed as “coming soon” which offers improved character placement. They have adjusted the character spacing and the new typesetting engine will do a better job of justification and hyphenation of break words to create more consistent paragraph layouts. Amazon states that this will let you read faster with less eyestrain than the current engine.
The current features like note taking and word lookup are of course staying, but will be joined by new features like Page Flip which lets you skim ahead without losing your place. I prefer to read a book the way it was written, but I know a couple of people who like to look ahead and see what’s going to happen so this will be a nice feature for them.
| Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Specifications | |
| Display | 6" Paperwhite display with Carta e-paper technology and built-in light 300 ppi, optimized font technology, 16-level gray scale |
| Size | 6.7" x 4.6" x 0.36" (169 mm x 117 mm x 9.1 mm) |
| Weight | 7.2 ounces (205 grams) Wi-Fi 7.6 ounces (217 grams) Wi-Fi plus 3G |
| System Requirements | None; fully wireless and no computer required |
| Battery Life | A single charge lasts up to six weeks (30 minutes of reading per day, wireless off and light setting at 10) Battery life will vary based on light and wireless usage |
| Charge Time | Approximately 4 hours from a computer via USB cable |
| Wi-Fi Connectivity | 802.11n (WEP, WPA, WPA2 security) Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) Optional 3G Wireless on Paperwhite 3G |
| Content Formats Supported | Kindle Format 8 (AZW3) Kindle (AZW) TXT Unprotected MOBI PRC natively HTML Word (DOC, DOCX) JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP (through conversion) |
| Included in the Box | Kindle Paperwhite, USB 2.0 charging cable and Quick Start Guide |
| Price | Kindle Paperwhite: $119 With Special Offers, $139 Without Kindle Paperwhite 3G: $189 With Special Offers, $209 Without |
The Kindle is practically the definition of a uni-tasking device, but what it does, it does really well. The battery life is one of the keys to the experience, and Amazon states that the new Paperwhite can last up to six weeks if used for thirty minutes per day with the wireless off and the display at level ten. That works out to twenty one hours of usage between charges, and with my experience that is likely not an exaggeration.
Size and weight play a key part in the Kindle experience as well, and the Paperwhite has a 6-inch display inside of a small and thin body, and it weighs just 7.2 ounces or 205 grams for the Wi-Fi only model. The 3G option adds a tiny bit more to the total.
The new Kindle Paperwhite starts at $119 with Special Offers, jumps to $139 without Special Offers, and the 3G model costs $189 or $209. Shipments start on June 30th.
Source: Amazon
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jabber - Thursday, June 18, 2015 - link
They only rolled out the last version a few months before Xmas IIRC. I have the current version and it is a brilliant bit of kit. Could have got a tablet but...just too much hassle. In this case a specific device wins hands down.DanNeely - Thursday, June 18, 2015 - link
"new features like Page Flip which lets you skim ahead without losing your place. I prefer to read a book the way it was written, but I know a couple of people who like to look ahead and see what’s going to happen so this will be a nice feature for them."Not being able to easily flip back and forth between where I'm reading and a map/graph/table X pages back has kept almost all of my non-fic reading in print despite having had a kindle for years. Fiction books with a map/list of characters/etc at the front/rear are similarly painful.
Landisblue - Thursday, June 18, 2015 - link
I just wish that they would keep making at least one kindle that has the page turn buttons on the side and is not a touch screen. I have a tablet, I have a smartphone, I want my Kindle to be simple. I bought one of the newer versions but I am left handed and I was constantly paging backwards by just by holding onto my Kindle when I'm reading. I ended up returning it and buying two used kindles in case one of them breaks.Sancus - Thursday, June 18, 2015 - link
The Kindle Voyage lets you squeeze either side to page forward. It's actually better than the physical buttons were IMO, and I hated the pure touch screen Kindle as well.invinciblegod - Thursday, June 18, 2015 - link
Well, CGPGrey would disagree with you about the page turn squeeze things because he hates them (and I imagine I would hate it but since my kindle 3 works fine I'm in no hurry to upgrade).DanNeely - Thursday, June 18, 2015 - link
FWIW when I played with one in a store, I found the Voyage's page turn pads to work fine. OTOH I'm still happy enough with my Kindle Keyboard 3 that I don't see a compelling reason to spend $200+ for a replacement.Alexvrb - Thursday, June 18, 2015 - link
The Voyage is GREAT! My dad has one. They're a bit pricey though, but if you keep your Kindle for years before upgrading, and you don't like the touchscreen-only page turning of the other models, it's worth it.The only thing I don't like 100% about it is the first-party leather case. I loved the Amazon cases for the Keyboard and the Paperwhite, I have mixed feelings about the case for the Voyage. I understand the intent, but the way it folds does not appeal to me a lot. You can get third party cases and some of them are decent, but the quality isn't quite as nice as the Amazon genuine leather cases.
AlucardX - Thursday, June 18, 2015 - link
+1Really need this. I lost my Kindle keyboard edition on an airplane and am stuck with an older Kindle touch and it's awful.
Considering buying a used keyboard edition on ebay.
Alexvrb - Thursday, June 18, 2015 - link
I'd try a Voyage out first.Wolfpup - Thursday, June 18, 2015 - link
I dislike that you can't turn off the backlights since it's been demonstrated they're disruptive to sleep. Also want physical buttons...Also sick of Amazon never updating the software on older devices.