I still jump back and forth between the Paperwhite and my older model with the physical page turn buttons. What I would really like is a non-touch screen Paperwhite. I would also like to be able to totally disable the backlight rather than just put it to the lowest setting (which is still actually on and more than good enough to read in a pitch black room).
The main issue for me is the weight of the device: 206g for the paperwhite and 170 for my older kindle (according to the amazon website).
Is this difference really noticeable? Is it still possible to read with one hand?
I would honestly pay almost double the price for a Paperwhite that had physical buttons.
I love the Paperwhite - I stare at backlit screens all day enough as it is, so the frontlight is a welcome change - but I can't stand the touch screen. I really wish they'd bring the physical buttons back.
EDIT: I have not yet tried the Retina mini as a Paperwhite replacement except for an hour in the Apple Store. It's on the way. The in-store experience satisfied me sufficiently, but there is a chance I will come across a deal breaker.
Thats 100% subjective, and not having used the new Mini perhaps it really is that good.
iBooks will sync bookmarks and notes for 'sideloaded' epubs and will automatically transfer new books onto the air. For PDFs the kindle app is great because it actually shows the table of contents(!).
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZbRd93f7p4&desktop_uri=%2Fwat...
I do not like Amazon's DRM encumbered walled garden though, especially the fact that it doesn't acknowledge anything not bought through Amazon as "books". In general the software and online service, with the exception of Whispernet, is shit.
My next eReader will definitely be something neutral, like a Kobo, and I'll just un-DRM stuff from Amazon via Calibre.
I have a Kindle and this is patently not true. I have multiple DRM-free .mobi "books" that I have sideloaded. You don't even need a cable; just add the book as an attachment and email it direct to your kindle (username@free.kindle.com) and it gets synced over WiFi.
At least the Apple iTunes ecosystem acknowledges my mp3's as music and generally as first class citizens for everything but iCloud.
What Amazon does is childish and annoying.
Calibre can't properly integrate with Amazon's proprietary ecosystem, so you're stuck with 2 separate ways of managing your books, and a are pretty much encouraged to rip out the DRM. (Okay, so I would have done the latter anyway without the encouragement.)
And then you still have a reader that says "na na na na na, those aren't really books!"
Pathetic.
Nice reader though.
wife bought a kindleDX to replace the mountain of books and huge withe papwr pdfs she have to read.
kindle will refuse pretty much all files for one reason or another. and none of the books are available in the amazon walled garden.
unfortunatelly we missed the return date. worst misleading purchase ever.
kindles are only good for people reading novels.
(also an owner of both older and new kindles)
Is the Paperwhite contrast adjustable?
And my answer is exactly the same. It actually quite surprised me how much I've more I've appreciated and used the Paperwhite after upgrading recently from a Kindle Keyboard. You simply never have to worry about the lighting, whether too bright or too dim.
It would be better to start with a document format that was always intended to be flexible, not fossilized.
Spec isn't as good but it does support standard epub books.
...also half price sounds like a really nice deal!
And I don't understand how the old model is only 10 quid cheaper? Surely everyone will go for the newer one at that price?
A++++ for regular books of all types.
Fantastic for most novels.
Also pretty good for chess books. I've got a book of 1001 tactical problems [1] on it. They formatted the e-book version of this so that each problem starts on a new screen, with the solution starting on the next screen so you don't risk a spoiler. This is basically my default book--I usually put the Kindle to sleep with the next problem open, so that any time I have to kill a little time (commercial while watching TV, bathroom break, and so on) I can grab the Kindle, open it, and have a go at the problem.
My only complaint with this would be that the dark squares in diagrams aren't as dark as I would like. It makes the diagram look a bit faded. It wasn't anything I couldn't get used to.
I've also got FCO [2] on my Kindle. The only problem I've had with this is that sometimes I want to compare diagrams a few pages apart, and that is awkward on Kindle. With a paper book, it is faster to flip through to find a page visually, and when you have two or three pages you want to rapidly switch between it is easy to mark them all with your fingers.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/Tactics-Chess-Games-Everyday-Players-e...
[2] http://www.amazon.com/FCO-Fundamental-Paul-Van-Sterren-ebook...
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/12/26/technology/lig...
Once i found out that there's an Android Kindle app * my Kindle use has gotten much less over my cellphone use. I'll still use the Kindle when i don't want to have my phone around, but where my phone is, i have all my Kindle stuff, so i don't need the physical device.
* https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amazon.kin...
(1) The front light is a really weird ghostly blue. Wit the light, the kindle looks blue; without it, gray. There's nothing "white" about it in my opinion.
(2) Because of the presence of the touch screen (and maybe the light?), the text is pretty recessed under the screen, and you can quite easily see glare that highlights the depth the text is recessed. When I use my kid sisters base-level kindle, I'm always struck by how much more "book like" it is, because the text sits closer to the surface.
The touch is a wash-up -- it makes navigating and looking up text much easier, but it can be annoying for turning pages. Also the overall responsiveness of the system is light-years behind something like an iPad (which is to be expected with an e-ink display, but I also feel like I'm waiting a lot for the Kindle itself).
If it weren't for the super-duper convenience of being able to read in the dark, I would prefer the baseline kindle. (If you're thinking about a kindle vs no ereader at all, the answer is GET AN EREADER -- overall they are amazing devices.)
Postscript:
A couple other small gripes that may be deal-breakers for you, depending on how OCD you are:
(1) Sometimes the screen doesn't turn off for a long time, even after you've 'locked' the kindle, emitting an annoying glow.
(2) You can never turn the light completely off, which can be annoying when the faint glow is distracting while reading in a low-light (but not low enough to want kindle-light) environment.
I have the one generation back paperwhite, and it's the best ereader I've ever had. My only critique of the new version (and it's a minor critique) is I've heard it's really hard to hack, which is a pity because I love having the jailbreak on my paperwhite that lets me add my own screensavers.
I love my paperwihte and it is much better than the previous generation. I read about two hours every day on it on my commute in the train. Resolution and display lightning are great for readability and I always find something to read in the shop for fair prices (some of the self-published books on Amazon are amazing and the rating system shows where to look).
i.e. "Is it worth 2.5x the price of the standard Kindle?"
