The long-awaited Kindle Paperwhite went on sale in the US on October 1. Unfortunately, as far as I know, in other countries it is
not yet
available . Surely many wonder if he met the expectations ...
(There are many photos under the cut)Foreword
(I apologize in advance for the quality of the photo, but they are all clickable)Up to this point, constantly I did not use e-books - so, I spit a couple of times in my hands. But gradually I got the idea that it would be nice to have such a device. There is a reading, but there is no craving for collecting a personal collection of paper books. Since the tradition has already started that Amazon launches new generations of devices every year at the end of summer - early autumn, I decided to wait and wait for new readers who promised to evolve visibly compared to previous ones.
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Order
On the Amazon
homepage, the entire The All-New Kindle Family is on display. I was interested in the reader with e-ink. Those are available for order as many as 4 models: Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Paperwhite 3G, just a Kindle with an updated black case and a Kindle Keyboard 3G. The choice fell on Kindle Paperwhite without 3G. The “with special offers” version costs only $ 119 + shipping. IMHO, with advertising on Kindlah even more fun, but if you want, "special offers" are easy to cut out.
I was lucky at this time to be in California, so I can not give accurate instructions for delivery. However, somewhere on the Habré in
reviews of previous models, the authors share their experience. I made the order in early September and on the second day after the start of sales I became the happy owner of a new reader.
Unpacking
The box looks like 5 plus: everything is simple and tasteful, there is a continuity of design with the past generation.

Kopus is now black, without buttons (except for the power button at the end). Very similar to the usual Kindle of the previous generation. Build quality at altitude. All control through the touchscreen.

No headphone jack.

The back panel, a sort of "velvet plastic", is pretty brand. Yes, and the screen, though not glossy, but it will dirty itself, so we stock up on Teflon rags, which, by the way, are not included.
Firmware, it seems, if it has changed compared to the Kindle Touch, it is very slight.

So, what they promised us:
• There was a long-awaited backlight
• The number of pixels increased by 62%.
• 25% increased contrast
• Work up to 8 weeks on a single charge, even with the backlight on.
• Faster work.
And what do we have
Of course, it would be logical to compare the new Kindle Paperwhite with the Kindle Touch. But, unfortunately, I didn’t have a touch at hand, but a friend had a Kindle Keyboard 3G.
Backlight

Yes, it is convenient. If you set the backlight brightness to 50 percent, the contrast increases significantly. However, the miracle did not happen, the backlight is not a panacea. Reading in a completely dark room with a highlighted reader is the same as reading from a laptop. Perhaps in the dark, reading from an iPad with the clarity of a retina will be even better. In addition, the backlight is a little uneven, on the screen in the vicinity of the LEDs there is a little bit of light and shade. When reading in yellow room lighting and with the backlight on at a medium level, the spots of blue-white light are even a little annoying.

But reading in the dark is evil, but with average coverage Paperwhite manifests itself in all its glory. The backlight clearly increases the contrast and the screen appears snow white. But still, the backlight is a nice bonus, not more. My choice is reading with good ambient light.
In the sunlight, by the way, the difference with the backlight and without it is almost imperceptible.

62 percent increase in pixel count
The manufacturer’s stated resolution is 1024x768. Indeed, having seen the screens of both readers from a distance of 10 centimeters, I noticed a clearer text on Paperwhite. Pixels actually became smaller, quite nice smooth serif fonts appeared. There is nothing like this on the Kindle Keyboard 3G.

Best of all, the increased resolution is noticeable in a pdf file open in portrait orientation. Everything is small, but completely readable and without artifacts.

I didn’t manage to achieve a better quality photo, but the PDF really looks quite readable.
25% increased contrast
And here the situation is more interesting. Maybe I find fault, but if I turn off the backlight and compare the new Paperwhite with the old Keyboard 3G, then in the new reader, the background white is a little bit darker! I cannot say anything about the degree of blackness of black.

Work up to 8 weeks on a single charge, even with the backlight on
I used the device for a couple of evenings and I can estimate from the speed of the charge charge that with the backlight on and the wi-fi charge will be enough for 15-20 hours. Maybe I'm wrong. But, in principle, even this time reserve suits me.
Faster work
Here, yes, the text page redraws clearly faster than on Keyboard 3G. Quite smartly works with PDF. Somewhere in reviews of previous models I read that it was impossible to follow links in PDF. Now you can.
Moreover, the experimental browser is a pretty usable thing, unlike the browser on the Kindle Keyboard 3G. Paperwhite manages to redraw the site satisfactorily when scrolling.

I want to pay special attention to the functions of the Article Mode browser. This feature was also found in early devices. It consists in the following: when browsing the site, the browser tears out the main text with the headings and shows it just as text. Since more or less surfing has now become possible, this feature can be quite popular.
Finally, I want to express my opinion on the touchscreen in the reader. In this reader, the touchscreen is what you need. Pages switch with one click or swipe, so reading with one hand is simple. It works multitouch, though only a “tweak” to change the font size or scale in PDF. In the browser, the touch is simply necessary.
And finally, the most pleasant thing for me is a sort of killer feature of this device in relation to paper books. The ability to easily translate using the dictionary. Another argument in favor of the touchscreen. It is enough to download the dictionary, upload it to the device and set it to be used by default. By a long press on a word in the text, we get a rather detailed article from the dictionary.

Then we can go to the full article, we can search for a translation on the Internet or read the information in Wikipedia. Brilliant.
findings
So, the advantages:
- clearer text;
- work speed;
- lights;
- build quality;
- the quality of the firmware.
Disadvantages:
- Perhaps too aggressive advertising campaign.
I want to quote the words of the author of the
review of the previous model, which are very suitable here: “I like it! For me, this is one of those devices that I want to pick up again and again, to try to touch. I want to read from it, with every page enjoying the speed of its work. The new Kindle is beautiful, thoughtful, neat and quality. I am completely satisfied with my choice. ”
TTX taken from amazon.com
Display | Amazon's 6 "paperwhite display, built-in light, 212 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 | 7.5 ounces (213 grams) |
System Requirements | None; fully wireless |
On-Device Storage | 2 GB internal (approximately 1.25 GB available for user content). Holds up to 1,100 books |
Cloud storage | Amazon content |
Battery life | Based on one week of reading per day Battery life will vary based on light and wireless usage |
Charge Time | Fully charges in approximately 4 hours from a computer via USB cable |
Content Formats Supported | Kindle Format 8 (AZW3), Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion |
Included in the Box | Kindle Paperwhite, USB 2.0 charging cable and Quick Start Guide |
PS A few words about the cover
The quality of Amazon's native covers, as always, is at its best, but I liked the covers of the previous generation more. But the feature of turning on / off the reader appeared by simply opening / closing the cover. True, the metal from which the magnetic chip is made is kind of strange: pleasant to the touch, but I managed to cut its corner against the plastic case of the laptop.

In general, the device gave me a 97% percent. Of course I would like to fully read PDF on the big screen, but mobility is more important. I was expecting a really white background, but you can use the backlight to increase the contrast. The browser unexpectedly pleased. In general, we can say Amazon "solid offset".