Kindle Paperwhite 2013 review: the second generation is better
Recently, manufacturers of electronic books in some way rested against the wall: significant improvements in e-ink readers cannot be achieved. For more than a year, companies have been competing rather as backlit e-books, and Amazon is the first to release the second generation of such a device. By tradition, in the fall, Amazon introduces a new line of e-books. This year - only the updated Kindle Paperwhite, the “ordinary” Kindle model - has remained unchanged.
I must say that not all manufacturers who have released e-books with backlighting managed to maintain the level of clarity already achieved in the text display: often the “picture” of letters in such models was not so contrasting. Kindle Paperwhite in this moment is also slightly noticeably inferior to its younger “brother”.
In the new model, we were promised faster work, better contrast and new attractive software features. In today's review we will try to answer the question of whether the reader has enough improvements to change the old model to a new one.
So, what do we get by buying a new Kindle Paperwhite? Yes, in general, all too. To distinguish the boxes of two generations, the right, not easy. The difference lies only in a slightly different side of the inscription (now it was decided to put it in one line, and not in two, as before). And inside some innovations it is difficult to notice, the appearance of the complete cable has just changed. The book itself, once in the hands, is also in no hurry to surprise anything special.
')
At first, there is a feeling at all that the manufacturer has cleverly “inflated” everyone, because there are practically no visual differences, and it’s not very good to see on-screen improvements. Only by picking up both "readers" can you find that in the updated model on the back instead of "Kindle", there is a little more spectacular "Amazon", and on the front one - the inscription Kindle is a little more bold.
Especially noticeable that the "book" is now flipping faster. The model of last year in speed was good, but now it is almost a page turning, comparable to devices with color displays.
As for the quality of the “picture”, the difference is not daunting, but there is. At the minimum backlight level, the background has become brighter (closer to white), and the text is more black and clear. If we compare devices with a high and maximum backlight level, then it should be noted that in the new generation the background remains almost white, and the letters are still as saturated, while the old version gives the background a bluish-gray tinge, and the text is less clear.
The highlight in the new generation at the maximum level is brighter. It is still impossible to completely turn it off (at the minimum level in the dark the glow is slightly noticeable, but it is so insignificant that the text cannot be disassembled, as in the first version). Thus, the range of brightness of the backlight is extended not only to the upper values.
In addition to updating the “iron” part of the device, Amazon equipped the new device with a new firmware, in which a number of interesting features appeared.
Page flip. The main improvement of the firmware version 5.4.0 is the ability to open a new window on top of a readable page, in which you can search for items from other parts of the book or view your own bookmarks.
Vocabulary builder . As you know, in Amazon's "reader" you can download dictionaries, and then choose the right word in the text to find out the meaning. Now all the scanned words are transferred to a special document, where there is an opportunity to “walk” through all the words and, if necessary, review the translation.
Browser, .pdf . There was no significant difference in the speed and “convenience” of “crawling” through the pages of .pdf books and the Internet between two generations. In my opinion, an electronic book on ink for this is not quite suitable. But, of course, depends on the book and the site. Say, for reading ordinary articles on the Internet, Kindles have an excellent Article mode.
Parental control . Amazon in the new firmware also added the possibility of limiting the use of the browser, company store and the cloud. Soon they also promise tracking capabilities. But it is in the future.
Nothing more (at least by me) was found.
For more than a year, Amazon has been able to be the world's leader in the number of readers sold. And it seems that the trend does not think to change (especially due to the fact that most likely Barnes & Noble will stop producing its Nooks). Kindle Paperwhite has not made a huge breakthrough, but today it is probably the best backlit reader. The background has become even whiter, and the drawing of the text is clearer, the backlighting is more even and brighter. It is likely that the updated firmware for the first-generation “reader” will soon be released (although the support cannot yet tell anything intelligible on this topic) and new features of the software update will be available not only to owners of new devices. Therefore, I would not recommend changing my reader a year ago.
* There is a good sample of readers on hand, so if anyone has questions about this instance in comparison with others, then I’ll be happy to hear from you in the comments.
I must say that not all manufacturers who have released e-books with backlighting managed to maintain the level of clarity already achieved in the text display: often the “picture” of letters in such models was not so contrasting. Kindle Paperwhite in this moment is also slightly noticeably inferior to its younger “brother”.
In the new model, we were promised faster work, better contrast and new attractive software features. In today's review we will try to answer the question of whether the reader has enough improvements to change the old model to a new one.
So, what do we get by buying a new Kindle Paperwhite? Yes, in general, all too. To distinguish the boxes of two generations, the right, not easy. The difference lies only in a slightly different side of the inscription (now it was decided to put it in one line, and not in two, as before). And inside some innovations it is difficult to notice, the appearance of the complete cable has just changed. The book itself, once in the hands, is also in no hurry to surprise anything special.
')
At first, there is a feeling at all that the manufacturer has cleverly “inflated” everyone, because there are practically no visual differences, and it’s not very good to see on-screen improvements. Only by picking up both "readers" can you find that in the updated model on the back instead of "Kindle", there is a little more spectacular "Amazon", and on the front one - the inscription Kindle is a little more bold.
Especially noticeable that the "book" is now flipping faster. The model of last year in speed was good, but now it is almost a page turning, comparable to devices with color displays.
As for the quality of the “picture”, the difference is not daunting, but there is. At the minimum backlight level, the background has become brighter (closer to white), and the text is more black and clear. If we compare devices with a high and maximum backlight level, then it should be noted that in the new generation the background remains almost white, and the letters are still as saturated, while the old version gives the background a bluish-gray tinge, and the text is less clear.
The highlight in the new generation at the maximum level is brighter. It is still impossible to completely turn it off (at the minimum level in the dark the glow is slightly noticeable, but it is so insignificant that the text cannot be disassembled, as in the first version). Thus, the range of brightness of the backlight is extended not only to the upper values.
In addition to updating the “iron” part of the device, Amazon equipped the new device with a new firmware, in which a number of interesting features appeared.
Page flip. The main improvement of the firmware version 5.4.0 is the ability to open a new window on top of a readable page, in which you can search for items from other parts of the book or view your own bookmarks.
Vocabulary builder . As you know, in Amazon's "reader" you can download dictionaries, and then choose the right word in the text to find out the meaning. Now all the scanned words are transferred to a special document, where there is an opportunity to “walk” through all the words and, if necessary, review the translation.
Browser, .pdf . There was no significant difference in the speed and “convenience” of “crawling” through the pages of .pdf books and the Internet between two generations. In my opinion, an electronic book on ink for this is not quite suitable. But, of course, depends on the book and the site. Say, for reading ordinary articles on the Internet, Kindles have an excellent Article mode.
Parental control . Amazon in the new firmware also added the possibility of limiting the use of the browser, company store and the cloud. Soon they also promise tracking capabilities. But it is in the future.
Nothing more (at least by me) was found.
Total
For more than a year, Amazon has been able to be the world's leader in the number of readers sold. And it seems that the trend does not think to change (especially due to the fact that most likely Barnes & Noble will stop producing its Nooks). Kindle Paperwhite has not made a huge breakthrough, but today it is probably the best backlit reader. The background has become even whiter, and the drawing of the text is clearer, the backlighting is more even and brighter. It is likely that the updated firmware for the first-generation “reader” will soon be released (although the support cannot yet tell anything intelligible on this topic) and new features of the software update will be available not only to owners of new devices. Therefore, I would not recommend changing my reader a year ago.
* There is a good sample of readers on hand, so if anyone has questions about this instance in comparison with others, then I’ll be happy to hear from you in the comments.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/197866/
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