Kindle Paperwhite Review

Kindle Paperwhite Review

• Jan 8, 2013

I got my first Kindle as a Christmas present two years, and I was so excited to find the new Kindle Paperwhite under the tree this year. The husband knows me well! After a few conversations on Twitter, I decided to do a little review of the Paperwhite. I'll highlight some of my favorite features, how it's different than the Kindle Keyboard and why I'm so obsessed with it! (Also, I'm definitely not a photographer so I apologize that the picture quality isn't better.)

Size & Weight

As you can tell in the picture, the Paperwhite is smaller than the Keyboard. Both have a 6" screen, but the dimensions of the "body" of the Paperwhite are smaller (6.7" x 4.6" x 0.36"). The Paperwhite weighs a little over an ounce less than the Keyboard (7.5 oz vs. 8.7 oz) and has a higher resolution/pixel density. That means it's lighter in your hands, and the text is sharper and clearer.

Storage

The Keyboard had 4GB of storage on the device, but the Paperwhite only has 2GB of storage on the device. When I finish reading a book, I typically remove it from the device so it's archived in the cloud. Since you have easy access to all of your archived books, I haven't had any issues with having less storage on the new Kindle. The only time it might matter is if you have a lot of personal documents or PDFs on your device since they can only be deleted (not archived).

Connectivity

I have Wi-Fi only on both Kindles. It's cheaper that way - and I can't think of a single time where I've needed to connect to the Internet and wasn't able to just use Wi-Fi. I mostly download books while I'm at home, so there's no connectivity problem. The only other time I've downloaded a book was on vacation, but almost all hotels and rentals have Wi-Fi now so it also wasn't an issue there.

External Buttons

I think the Keyboard and Paperwhite are about the same thickness, as you can see in the top picture. The only buttons on the new Kindle are pictured on the bottom. There is a place for the charger, and the button to turn it on and off. 

Battery Life

Both Kindles have a battery life of 8 weeks with the wireless off. I haven't actually tested this out, but I know that your battery does runs out more quickly if you keep the Wi-Fi on at all times. I just turn the Wi-Fi on when I need to download a book (from the store or archive). 

Audio

The Keyboard had an outlet for headphones because it was audio-enabled, but that's been removed from the Paperwhite. I never listened to audio on my Keyboard, so this isn't a negative for me.

Interface

One of the most notable differences between the two Kindles is the lack of a keyboard on the Paperwhite. The Paperwhite is touchscreen, so it doesn't have any external buttons to turn the page or type. I love the touchscreen! I've highlighted the three areas you can touch while reading to perform different functions - the purple area to see the navigation bar (with all the menu options), the pink area to flip backwards in the book, and the green area to turn the page forward. Because of the size of the Kindle, you can hold it in one hand and just tap the screen with your thumb to go to the next page. I love being able to use it that way!

Case & Sleeve

I didn't own the Amazon leather case for the Keyboard, so I can't compare it to the new Amazon case. I will say, however, that I love the Amazon case for the Paperwhite. The leather is soft and has a sort of grainy texture that feels really nice when you're holding it. The inside part of the cover where the Kindle fits is actually rubber (as you can see in the photo below). 

My favorite thing about the size of the Paperwhite is that it's small enough to fit in the Amazon case and my sleeve that I adore! Check out the etsy shop where I got mine - simbiosisbyjulia - to see her other cute patterns.

Another thing I love about the case is that it puts the Kindle to sleep when you close it, and it wakes the Kindle back up when opened. Seriously, it's so cool! Also, I like to keep the Kindle turned off (not just asleep) at night, and the case automatically turns it on when I open it the next day. It's like magic!

Homepage Ads

Another thing that's different about the Paperwhite is that it comes with ads. As you can see in the picture on the left, the ads are at the very bottom of the home screen (as well as screensaver when it's asleep). So far, the ads haven't bothered me. They don't interfere with reading since it never shows ads while you're in a book, and I'm happy the ads make it cheaper. However, if the ads really bother you, you can pay an additional $20 to have them permanently removed.

Organization & Book Covers

I've sorted my books into collections because that's how I like to organize them. If you open a collection, books are sorted by your preference (recent, title, author). If you don't group your books into collections, you can also sort them by recent, title or author on the homepage. The Keyboard just listed books without images, so I love being able to see the covers as I scroll through on the Paperwhite.

Built-In Light

The other big change with this Kindle is the light. As you can see on the left, just tap the lightbulb icon in the menu to change the screen's brightness. The image on the left is with the light turned off - so it looks exactly like it would on the Keyboard or standard Kindle. The image on the right is with the Kindle's light on full brightness.

Here is another image with the screen on the brightest light setting, and I also turned off the lights in the room. I'm in love with the light feature! It doesn't hurt your eyes like reading on a tablet does, and it's still an e-ink screen. I actually keep the light turned off for the most part because I'm usually reading in well-lit places. However, my husband often goes to sleep before I do, and I love being able to read my Kindle in the dark without a book light or a lamp. It's wonderful!

It's still a normal e-ink screen, and it isn't backlit. The lights are around the edge of the screen, and it's almost like using a book light where the light shines down on the page. When Kindle light is off, it's exactly like any other e-ink screen. There isn't a glare when reading outside if the light is off. I haven't tried to read it outside with the light on because I haven't needed the light outdoors.

Menu Options

There are four menu options available while you're reading a book: "Aa," "Go To," "X-Ray" and "Share." The "Go To" option lets you do just that - go to the a specific chapter, page or location in the book. The "Share" option lets you share a message and link to the book to either Facebook or Twitter if you've connected an account.

Fonts

The "Aa" option allows you to change the size of the font, the font itself, the line spacing and the size of the margins. You had the ability to do some of the same things with the Keyboard, but I don't think you could change the font itself. Pretty cool!

X-Ray

The "X-Ray" feature is brand new, and it's pretty neat. If you click it, it shows the important people and terms for a specific chapter or for the whole book. For example, Lady Katsa is the most important person in this chapter, and you can click on her name to see a brief description of who she is and find every place in the book where she's mentioned. Although it's a feature I haven't really used, I think it's pretty fun. 

Time Left

My favorite new feature (aside from the light) is this one! The Keyboard also showed the percentage I'd read in the book, the page I was on or my location, but now I can see the time left in the book and the chapter. Based on how quickly you're flipping the pages, the Paperwhite will automatically calculate how long it will take you to finish the chapter and read the whole book. I'm in loveeeeee with this feature. You just don't even know.

Ad Screensaver

Finally, here's the Kindle in my hand! It's easy to hold and lightweight. It's asleep in this picture so you could see an example of the ad screensaver. Just swipe at the bottom of the screen to wake it up and you're ready to read! Feel free to let me know in the comments if there's something I didn't cover that you want to know more about.