While I was moving last week, I had a tiny piece of joy arrive in the mail… a Kindle Paperwhite. Unfortunately it arrived at the location I was moving out of, after I was already gone. My joy was slightly delayed, but I’ve got it now and have had some time to play with it. This is by far an improvement over the Kindle Touch, and certainly an even better reading experience than before.
When I first took the Paperwhite out of the box, I noticed something right off the bat. It felt more… solid. I’m not sure if the Paperwhite is heavier than the old
KTouch, if it is, I doubt it is by much. Regardless, the Paperwhite feels like it has been built more solidly, and less like some chinchy piece of plastic. Additionally, they’ve covered the entire exterior with that grippy psuedo-rubber/plastic stuff that I love so much on gadgets. No more super smooth Kindle slipping out of your hands.
One you turn on the device, basically the first thing you notice is that the display is better in almost every way. The eInk, with its increased pixel density, is certainly sharper. Combine that with a backlightfront light, and you’ve got text that really pops on screen. The contrast is phenomenal. Of course, that light is done by a set of nice white LEDs which gives the background a solid white paper (paper white?) look that I think is just terribly sexy. Oh, and the screen is also faster to refresh and more responsive to touch.
The user interface of the Paperwhite has been overhauled in comparison with the last few versions of the Kindle. It’s not radically different, but it is more of a mix of Classic Kindle meets Kindle Fire (again, UI wise). When it comes to reading, there isn’t much UI, but the options menus have been overhauled (more options). One of the big changes in terms of reading is the addition of multiple fonts. So whether you are offended by Serif, or love yourself some Serif… enjoy your placation.
TL;DR: I love my Kindle Paperwhite. Granted I’ve loved every one of my previous Kindles (in the classic line, wasn’t a huge fan of the Fire). The Paperwhite is a definite upgrade over the Touch and at only $119, it is not a painful upgrade. Heck, it is so cheap that it is practically an impulse buy.