Amazon Officially Announces The New Kindle Paperwhite

http://www.techcrunch.com/2012/09/06/amazon-officially-announces-the-new-kindle-paperwhite-paperwhite-display-frontlighting-and-212-ppi/

by aaronbrethorst • 14 years ago

231 175 14 years ago

techcrunch.com

vessenes• 14 years ago

The press conference is thin on some details, like refresh rate of the new screen, but I'm really excited about this. Higher contrast, long battery life, backlight..

I will order two. I haven't had a kindle for a year or so, but I'll use this in bed at night when I don't want bright screens / work intruding on my reading.

iandanforth• 14 years ago

I read this as "The New Kindle Paperweight." I sincerely hope that it's a successful product so this pun doesn't show up too often.

powrtoch• 14 years ago

My first thought was that they're planning to release a black one just so they can call it the Paperblack.

dredmorbius2• 14 years ago

No, that's going to be the Kindle Scissor.

Followed shortly by Kindle Rock (the true paperweight).

ComputerGuru3• 14 years ago

Hahaha: quote from http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19509626 under the image (the caption):

"Amazon said the Kindle Paperweight's battery could last for up to eight weeks"

(emphasis added)

(screenshot: http://cl.ly/image/3n0f0p3X173q)

eblade2• 14 years ago

I think the "eight week" translates well if the average daily usage is half an hour?

bgraves• 14 years ago

Amazon launched a new ereader Thursday, the Kindle Paperweight.

http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/tablets/amazo...

Groxx• 14 years ago

Looks like they've corrected it, but the URL still shows the original title

bbq• 14 years ago

And also 3 new tablets. Kindle Fire upgrade, and two Kindle Fire "HD" editions.

jrockway• 14 years ago

I'm excited. I have to admit that I really like the Nexus 7, but I can't really get into fiction books unless I see them on something that looks like paper. I can't really explain it, but I'll probably be purchasing one of these things. If only Google Play Books worked on the Kindle :)

mortenjorck• 14 years ago

I have the same unexplainable perspective on long-form fiction on LCDs, but I think I've actually isolated the hangup: It's the backlight timeout. I don't care whether the light is coming through or bouncing off the screen (your eyes can't actually tell the difference!), but it's the psychological effect of having a clock constantly counting down to when the screen will shut off, requiring that I spend no more than a certain amount of time reading each page.

tesseractive• 14 years ago

I always end up extending the backlight timeout setting until it doesn't bug me anymore. For me, if I haven't read a page in 5 minutes, it's because I'm not reading anymore.

nuclear_eclipse• 14 years ago

Increase the timeout then. You're probably already in the habit of manually turning off the screen when you're done with the device, so why do you need it to turn off automatically after a minute or two of inactivity? Especially when modern tablets have battery life measured in many hours of time with the screen turned on, does it really matter if you do happen to forget and it takes five or ten minutes for it to correct your mistake? And if it really takes you more than 10 minutes to read a page on a tablet screen before you touch it again to flip the page, just turn off the timeout altogether.

qu4z-2• 14 years ago

Your eyes can tell the difference if the backlight is a completely different color/intensity from the surroundings, though. In candlelight, kindle vs monitor/phone is an easy win for the kindle. (Yes, maybe I'm old-fashioned for using candles, but they have a pleasant light which helps me actually get tired enough to sleep). f.lux or redshift helps a bit with monitors, but it's still no competition.

Stratoscope4• 14 years ago

The Kindle app for Android tablets overrides the normal backlight timeout. I didn't measure it, but it must be at least 5 minutes - more than enough to read a page and not think about the display turning off.

antman• 14 years ago

ISeeYou when reading on android or SmartStay in galaxy s3 prevent screen sutting off when they see a face in the front camera. As a side note, I prefer galaxy nexus as a portable reading device.

jonknee2• 14 years ago

I'm going to order the 3G model as soon as it's up on the store. The backlight is what was holding me back before.

Edit: Ordered. Should be here on October 2nd.

BoppreH3• 14 years ago

  “Paperwhite” display, which offers more contrast
  and brightness

Brighter? As far as I know it doesn't have any backlight, so how can it be brighter?

tnuc• 14 years ago

It has front light. Thus it is brighter.

BoppreH3• 14 years ago

If the previous one had no light and this one has, "brighter" is a strange way to describe it, isn't it?

moskie• 14 years ago

@BoppreH what word would you use instead?

angrycoder• 14 years ago

"...it has 25 percent more contrast than the Pearl screens in the current Kindles and, with 212ppi, it has a 62 percent higher resolution. It relies on a fiber optic like system to direct light down onto the display, not unlike the Nook but, from what we can see, the color is much whiter." [1]

[1] http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/06/kindle-paperwhite/

jaggederest• 14 years ago

It can still have a higher contrast ratio. Flat black vs flat white, whereas previous versions were not quite flat black and not quite flat white.

If you look at this page: https://sites.google.com/a/etccreations.com/kdesignworks/

It's clear that the existing Kindle is grey-to-grey with a moderate contrast ratio.

MartinCron• 14 years ago

It can be brighter in the same way that real dead-tree paper can be brighter. If you go into an office supply store, look at the paper selection, you'll notice that some shades of "white" are much, much brighter white than others.

jonknee2• 14 years ago

> Brighter? As far as I know it doesn't have any backlight, so how can it be brighter?

It does have a backlight, but it can be brighter because the pages are more white.

blehn• 14 years ago

Maybe "lightness" or "whiteness" would be more accurate because it's a matter of reflectance and not luminance, but brightness is already commonly misused in that context, so I don't think this is particularly egregious. Paper has a brightness rating, afterall.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleaching_of_wood_pulp#Paper_br...

rorrr• 14 years ago

Just like whiteboard is brighter than blackboard.

sahat• 14 years ago

Probably one of the most interesting features of the new Kindle Paperweight is this: "The display has 62 percent more pixels, and it’s super sharp with excellent contrast". There haven't been any new breakthroughs in the eInk department since B&N Nook Simple Touch and Kindle 4.

TylerE2• 14 years ago

Kindle 4 was 600x800, Kindle Paperwhite is 768x1024.

mtgx• 14 years ago

Glad to see they are finally increasing the resolution, although I think I would prefer a 7"-8" version with higher resolution. 6" is kind of small for reading books, isn't it?

sireat• 14 years ago

That is just going from 800x600 to 1024x768. It does make a difference reading wise, but is long overdue for Amazon.

Funny, spec wise this is identical to my cheapo $49 iRiver HD which I've had for a year. Some other readers have it too.

tzs• 14 years ago

"Paperweight"? Brain glitch, auto-correct, or opinion?

ernesth• 14 years ago

The higher resolution was pioneered by iRiver one year ago, the frontlit screen by Barnes and Noble 4 months ago. And the combination of both by Kobo yesterday.

So not a breakthrough by amazon ;-)

RexRollman2• 14 years ago

You're right, but the way they are lighting it is indeed different.

nostromo2• 14 years ago

This seems like poor timing to announce just prior to the iPhone 5 and later the iPad Mini.

An early launch could have given them a bit of traction going into the holiday season. ("My friend just got one and now I want one.") Announcing after the new Apple products could have made them top-of-mind around the holidays. But this timing puts them uncomfortably close to what will surely be a much larger Apple news event.

meritt• 14 years ago

http://live.theverge.com/amazon-kindle-fire-paperwhite-reade...

Apple has some serious competition.

That's for an 8.9" 1920x1200 tablet, 32GB storage, stereo audio, 4G LTE, mimo dual-antenna wireless, bunch of other features.

cma2• 14 years ago

That is even more locked down than Apple...

Pkeod• 14 years ago

You instantly get their products top of mind if you ever use Amazon.com - I think most people who are both Apple and Amazon customers go to Amazon.com more than Apple.com.

colomon• 14 years ago

Just as support, I'm an Apple customer (typing this on a MBP) and I go to amazon.com at least twenty times as often as I go to apple.com.

Edited add: I just went to amazon.com, and ironically enough, they don't seem to have updated to reflect the new Kindles.

chucknelson• 14 years ago

Well, yeah, I go to amazon.com to buy everything except an iphone, ipad, or macbook. Not a good comparison.

jcampbell1• 14 years ago

I think you are wrong about the timing strategy. The Apple events are going to get a ton more press and readers, and Amazon want's to be mentioned in those articles and compared to whatever Apple launches. That isn't possible if they announce after Apple.

DenisM• 14 years ago

You don't think they would have thought that through, do you?

robertskmiles• 14 years ago

And yet when I go to amazon.co.uk or amazon.com they aren't advertising the new version as available for purchase.

One thing Apple gets right is that you can buy a new product as soon as it's announced.

allwein• 14 years ago

Exactly. I don't even care if they're not selling it yet, at least have an informational screen up. I just went there to look up the specs on the new Kindle Paperwhite (weight, mostly) and the product isn't even mentioned anywhere on their site.

stuff4ben2• 14 years ago

No you can't. There's often delays in highly desired products, not to mention they stop their entire storefront when doing product launches ("We'll be right back!", but I won't since I can't order it right now). At least I can still use Amazon.com to order things.

CamperBob2• 14 years ago

"We'll be right back!", but I won't since I can't order it right now

Yeah, you will.

Dylan16807• 14 years ago

Do you really jump to do a multi-hundred dollar purchase on impulse and then cancel when you have to wait an hour?

MichaelGG• 14 years ago

Yea, that was weird. But if you search for Kindle Paperwhite, it shows up. I just ordered the 3G one.

ableal2• 14 years ago

It's now on the front page, product at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007OZNZG0/

The previous model is now cheaper too (USD 69/89 with/without ads).

PS. Good summary appreciation at http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/06/amazon-kindle-paperwhite-...

brown9-2• 14 years ago

It's on the front page of amazon.com now (8pm US EST)

BryanB55• 14 years ago

I'll probably get one, I just got the most recent kindle touch after selling the 2nd generation kindle for it. Looks like I'll be moving on to my 3rd kindle.

There's something about the price point that really sells me on these...$120 doesn't seem like a big deal, specially if I sell my current generation, it only ends up costing maybe ~$50 to upgrade and reading on an ultra light kindle is a lot more comfortable to me than an iPad or physical book.

It sounds like they wont have a non-touch model this time though. I like all the new features but I would probably go back to a non-touch screen if they offered it. I tend to hit the screen too often by mistake and end up losing my place.

yajoe• 14 years ago

There were both touch and non-touch Kindle e-ink readers announced. The non-touch Kindle does not have the "Paperwhite" screen but it is super fast and light weight, and it's now $69...

I've been waiting to take my Kindle Paperwhite home for some time now; I love the front-lit screen.

homosaur• 14 years ago

212 PPI could be revolutionary in viewing non-text documents on an e-ink screen. The current Kindle is basically unusable for PDFs unless you have a DX. It might still be too low of a DPI, but it has to be a major improvement and right now most PDFs are just BARELY unreadable.

ChuckMcM• 14 years ago

Back in 1990 I saw a prototype IBM display that was 230PPI which really impressed me. The person doing the demo said that eyestrain drops dramatically once you're eye can more easily infer the lines rather than connecting the dots on 'large' pixels. Their claim was that 200 PPI was the reading threshold where eyestrain due to pixelation became 'negligible'.

At one time I had a link to some studies but now I only find later papers, sigh. Searching for 'eye fatigue ppi' gets you some decent hits.

nradov• 14 years ago

Jakob Nielsen mentioned the impact of PPI on reading speed in an old article but unfortunately he didn't cite the original source.

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9511.html

colanderman3• 14 years ago

On the contrary, I find reading PDFs with reasonable margins (e.g. the kind you find in computer science papers) on my 3rd gen Kindle very easy, so long as I flip the Kindle into landscape mode (for one-column documents) or zoom in a little bit (for two-column documents).

ComputerGuru3• 14 years ago

Just keep in mind that most real books you read are printed on recycled paper that's beige, creme, off-white, somewhat yellow, grey, or a little brown anyway. The only "white paper" you actually read would be computer printouts.

I've never had a problem with "real books" and wished they were printed on "white paper" instead, nor have I ever complained about the Kindle display - it was always more than adequate in terms of contrast and colors. It's just the goddamn lag (esp. in the touch screen edition, which makes it so infuriating because of the lack of both tactile and visual feedback). So I'm inclined to just call this a marketing ploy.

sliverstorm2• 14 years ago

I wouldn't call it a ploy. They are trying to improve the readability of the characters on-screen. Books have very dark lettering, so the beige paper doesn't matter. E-ink, on the other hand, is still working on darkness, and so increased whiteness of the background can be used to bolster contrast.

freehunter• 14 years ago

I have a ereader from Asus that has a slightly yellow, slightly grey screen. I don't know exactly how to describe the color, but it looks like a piece of paper.

I completely agree. I only accept reading technical whitepapers because I have to. When I'm reading for comfort, I don't want my eyes subjected to a harsh white (which is what I feel is implied by them focusing on how white it is). I'd have to see it in front of me to be comfortable saying I could replace my non-lit, non-white screen ereader. If it's pure white, it's a no-go for bedtime reading with sleepy eyes.

notatoad2• 14 years ago

looking at non-marketing pictures of the new kindle [1], it looks like the screen is about the same colour as a paperback page. The real advantage of the white seems to be that the front-lighting is a warm white light, not the bluish light that the nook uses.

[1] http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/6/3295939/amazon-kindle-paper...

MBCook2• 14 years ago

The 3rd from last picture compares the old & new Kindles with the backlight off. You can see the new one's color is closer to white, but it's not really that different. They're both still pretty close to a standard paperback.

However, in that picture you can see how much sharper the text on the new Kindle is. That really appeals to me.

I like my 3G, but I think I'd really like the increased resolution. The thing I worry about is turning pages. I like using the buttons on the sides of my Kindle to change pages (even if I think they should be reversed vertically). I'm not sure I like the idea of having to poke the screen all the time and get finger prints on it.

I'll have to see one in person either way. But they've got me interested.

FrojoS• 14 years ago

Yes. And since I am in charge of office supplies in my group, all the printer paper is recycled, too.

khill• 14 years ago

Agreed. You can choose from several different color schemes (foreground/background) for text on the Nook Color. I'm most comfortable with the cream colored scheme which is closest to actual print.

atourgates• 14 years ago

I totally disagree. The biggest (or maybe 2nd biggest if you include battery life) disadvantage of ebook readers has always been contrast.

It was most obvious with the 1st gen, where they were unreadable in anything besides bright, direct sunlight. Even in the current gen, the cheapest paperback is still more readable in lower light than a Kindle or Nook.

Amazon knows its audience with the Kindle ebook readers. It's not gadget nerds, it's readers. Contrast and screen brightness are absolutely key to readers.

scottharveyco• 14 years ago

I think the difference is that the kindle isn't a "real book" if real books were printed on perfectly white paper (that wasn't glossy) they would easily show up any marks or finger prints on the pages making it distracting to read in the future. This isn't an issue with the Kindle.

It's also possible that off white paper is cheaper to produce which made it the choice for mass produced books for many years leading to us being more comfortable with it than alternatives.

All that being said I've never had a problem with the contrast of the Kindle but that doesn't mean I won't be happier with the new high contrast version, once I get in my hands for a few weeks and read in different lighting conditions then I'll know for sure.

My biggest concern is the page turning of this latest version...

evandena• 14 years ago

How far off is the technology to combine this type of screen with your typical LCD tablet screen? I would love to read on a "paperwhite" screen, and watch movies/surf on a standard tablet screen, all on one device.

andyjsong• 14 years ago

It's happening: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/31/lcd-and-e-ink-dual-screen...

Also I was thinking about buying something like this for my netbook: http://pixelqi.com/products

hasker• 14 years ago

It looks like if you preorder by September 14 you can avoid sales tax in CA! I checked on some other preorder items that will not ship before Amazon starts charging CA tax.

ghshephard• 14 years ago

Well, to be clear - you end up having to pay the tax yourself, instead of having amazon collect and pay it for you.

jlgreco• 14 years ago

Technically I believe you wouldn't pay a sales tax, but rather a use tax. But yeah, same thing.

jonny_eh• 14 years ago

That is if they ever get around to accepting preorders.

acabal• 14 years ago

Can it read epubs yet?

I was thinking of buying a Nook Glowlight because I often read in bed while my partner sleeps. But when I went to check it out in the store, the contrast is noticeably worse on the Glowlight, to the point where I decided not to get one. If this new Kindle can read epubs, has a light, and has contrast that's at least as good as a regular Kindle, I'm sold.

Edit: I know I can convert files, but it's a big pain to be constantly converting a big library, especially since I very often correct ebooks in Sigil.

esolyt• 14 years ago

It is trivial to convert epub to mobi. Amazon has released a free tool for all platforms.

TillE• 14 years ago

You can convert epubs easily with Calibre. I think it might even do it automatically when you tell it to put an epub on your Kindle.

However, the formatting doesn't always get converted properly.

baq• 14 years ago

epub->mobi is a more or less lossless conversion using calibre.

mfarazi• 14 years ago

Check out the Kobo Glo. Seems to be what you're looking for.

eclipxe4• 14 years ago

Use Kindlegen (http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000...)

Seriously. Calibre produces a very poor conversion. Kindlegen will retain much of the ePub fidelity.

MikeKusold• 14 years ago

Thank you! I've been using Calibre to convert everything. Is there a way to add WhisperSync too?

ajtaylor• 14 years ago

Thanks for this! I'm downloading it and the Kindle Previewer now. I don't yet have a Kindle, but my birthday and Christmas are coming soon. And of course I have the Kindle app on my Android phone. :)

dredmorbius2• 14 years ago

That's my must-have.

Along with a growing aversion to vendor- (and increasingly: online-marketplace-) devices.

No, conversion isn't a substitute.

sadga2• 14 years ago

Why would you make the bezel case black? That creates an eye-straining contrast between the bezel and the white screen.

relix• 14 years ago

Exactly. It makes the contrast, one of the selling points, more noticeable than if everything around it was white. The black case of the previous kindle was in my opinion a very good design choice.

colanderman3• 14 years ago

No, not a good design choice. A good sales choice.

MBCook2• 14 years ago

I can tell you the main reason I bought the 3G version of my Kindle (since re-named the Kindle Keyboard 3G) was to get the white case instead of black.

pooriaazimi• 14 years ago

Isn't everyone (and by that I mean everyone, including naive customers) already fed up with this HD thing?

I dream of a day when I wake up and don't hear this word (mis/ab)used again.

Roritharr2• 14 years ago

I'm really disappointed.

The hardware buttons for the page turn are the essential feature i love about my Kindle Keyboard (3rd Gen).

The integrated lighting is nice, but not really the kind of innovation that i wish the market leader in e-books would be capable of and nothing i'd buy a new one for.

I'd instantly buy another Kindle if they had a color e-ink version like the Jetbook color, or that prototype that e-ink showed on the 2011 IFA.

colanderman3• 14 years ago

I agree w/r/t hardware buttons. My wife has a Kindle Touch, and I find it nigh unusable from a UI standpoint, since there is so little feedback after touching the screen to turn the page, especially with PDFs. (Did I accidentally flip backward? Did the software crash again?)

jwr2• 14 years ago

I was also surprised that the basic model was not upgraded to the new screen. I think the cheapest kindle is actually the best one to get, because of hardware buttons. I won't be upgrading it anytime soon, it seems.

levesque• 14 years ago

I use a nook touch, and I stopped using the mechanical buttons after I realized how nice it is to just tap the screen instead. A tap on the left side means back, tap on the right side forward. Not that hard, and feels really nice. I found swapping gestures to be too long, and slightly unstable as well. Does the kindle support page turns by tapping?

eupharis2• 14 years ago

"Nothing I'd buy a new one for." Exactly my thought. I'll continue to use (and love) my Kindle Keyboard everyday.

This makes me worry about Amazon's future in the ereader space. The Touch is gone, replaced with this for $139 sans offers. The capable Kobo Touch and Nook Touch are $99.

$40 for a light and whiter background? I'll continue to use my $4.50 clip-on light, thanks.

Kindles aren't at the head of the price versus performance curve anymore.

notatoad2• 14 years ago

They're still at the head of the price curve if you look at the price that matters: $69. you don't really need a touch screen, a glow light, and the ads are not a big deal. Kindle is still the cheapest real player in the e-reader market.

I probably won't be upgrading from my 3rd-gen kindle either, but somehow i doubt amazon cares. I'm sure they make more off of book purchases from 3-year-old kindles than they do from the sale of new hardware. They want to sell kindles to as many people as they can, but once you've got a kindle all they need you to do is keep buying content.

owenfi2• 14 years ago

Maybe the point is Amazon doesn't want people to upgrade?

They make the money on content sales, as long as you keep buying books they are happier you don't purchase a new loss leader device.

slashclee• 14 years ago

$40 for a light, and better contrast, and better resolution. 800×600 was getting pretty long in the tooth; cramming 1024×768 into the same space may not sound like much, but I'm looking forward to the higher pixel density for sure.

eclipxe4• 14 years ago

Question - why do you prefer the hard keys to the touchscreen page turns? BTW the non-touch model is still available, it has the hard keys.

Stratoscope4• 14 years ago

I have a Kindle Keyboard and a Nexus 7 with the Kindle app. Lately I've been reading more on the Nexus 7, but when I use the touchscreen to turn pages it has a very high error rate. I usually turn the page by tapping the screen on one side or the other, but as often as not, my tap has a bit of a slide to it, and if that slide goes the wrong way I get the wrong page. It's really very annoying.

(I don't know if the touchscreen Kindles have the same tap/slide interaction; I'm just reporting my experience with the Kindle hardware and software I have.)

It would be much less annoying if I had the option to disable sliding entirely and just respond to taps without regard to any sliding motion. Then I could tap one side of the screen or the other reliably.

But seriously, one side of the screen or the other? Haven't they heard that people hold the Nexus 7 with one hand while reading - and not always the same hand? If I'm holding it with my left hand, it's not easy to get my thumb all the way to the right side to do a tap page flip.

If this worked like the late great FictionWise eReader software, I'd have the option of ignoring all sliding motion and tapping the bottom of the screen for the next page or the top of the screen for the previous page. Then it would work identically with whichever hand I'm holding the device.

Now consider the Kindle Keyboard: Each side has a big next-page and a smaller previous-page button. It's trivial to hold the device with either hand and rest my thumb on the next-page button. I can click that button when I want, without moving my hand at all! No worries about tapping the wrong side of the screen, accidentally sliding the wrong way, or anything. It just works.

adestefan• 14 years ago

I can use my left hand to turn to the next page on my Kindle 3. I don't know how the touchscreen works on the Kindle hardware, but the tablet versions of Kindle software a tap on the left side moves to the previous page.

AlisdairO• 14 years ago

The way I hold the kindle rests my thumb lightly against the next page button. I only have to do the tiniest movement to change the page. Tapping on a touch screen is unattractive by comparison.

I would prefer a model with touch and hard keys, but it doesn't look like that's forthcoming, so I stick with the basic model.

Tichy• 14 years ago

I think they are less concerned about making people buy another kindle than getting a kindle into the hands of everybody. They make money with selling ebooks.

atestu2• 14 years ago

Yep, like they said in one slide, they don't want to make money when you buy it, they want to make money when you use it.

leoh• 14 years ago

Does every product launch have to be about replacing existing gear? Our expectation that good products need to replace what we have seems pathological. I have friends with first gen iPhones that they love. I've subsisted on a ten year old Nokia before...

wamatt• 14 years ago

The higher contrast is pretty neat, but was hoping Amazon had figured out how to significantly improve on the slow response rate of E-Ink.

Slow UI or animations (ahem, looking at you iOS/OSX), are for me personally, a serious distraction to the reading experience.

joebadmo• 14 years ago

I agree. I wrote the following after having used my Kindle Keyboard for a few weeks:

What’s really remarkable about the device is how relaxing it is to use. ... The e-ink screen, at the cost of some functionality and elegance, is not only relaxing to the eyes, but also completely kills the low-grade but omnipresent anxiety of a touch screen. Which means you don’t have to worry about triggering a destructive action by accidentally brushing the screen somewhere and grip-placement is a lot less restrictive, i.e. if it’s most comfortable to hold by a corner of the actual screen, you can. The physical buttons mean that you know for sure when you’ve made an input. And the incredible battery life means I have literally never had to think about charging the device. I plug it in to sync to Instapaper (more on this later) often enough that I’ve never even come close discharging the whole battery, even on long trips. And while you get used to having to deal with all of these things using a modern smartphone, once you don’t have to anymore the immersiveness of the reading experience is truly unmatched. http://blog.byjoemoon.com/kindle

I really feel like in some contexts (reading device, cars) touch screens are more gimmick than feature.

firefoxman1• 14 years ago

> The hardware buttons for the page turn are the essential feature i love

Interesting, I often find myself swiping across my (3rd Gen Keyboard) screen wishing I didn't have to use those buttons to turn a page.

twinsnes• 14 years ago

I find that it depends on your seating position when reading. If you sit upright, it would be easy to hold the device with one hand and swipe with the other. I however often find myself laying on my side reading, this makes swiping quite a lot harder.

Shivetya• 14 years ago

Agree, being an owner of a Kindle Touch I am occasionally frustrated by its refusal to acknowledge I want to change pages. There are times where I simply turn it off and on just so I can page change.

Still, I think I have some gifts for Christmas. While this might not be enough for me to upgrade it will be a nice gift for a few relatives I know who love to read.

I am however more interested in their other tablets as children's gifts.

On a side note, I will give Amazon credit for making a resilient device. I left mine out overnight and it got caught in a full down pour. Found it on the table outside with water to the brim. Shook it out, put it port side down in the bathroom sink with a hair dryer aimed at it for the morning and the damn think still works as well as day one.

przemoc• 14 years ago

So once they've taken (micro)SD port, they'll never give it back?

pnathan2• 14 years ago

I am interested what their plan for the DX form factor is. I really don't like the small form factor of regular kindles.

jackowayed• 14 years ago

I posted a longer comment about this last night[1], but the short version is: Amazon is clearly much more interested in profiting from content than hardware. That means they want cheap devices that people will take everywhere and read lots of books on. The Kindle DX is less portable (and thus you're less likely to take it on your commute, etc), and its main advantage is for reading PDF's, on which they make money.

So I think it will be an expensive second-class citizen for the forseeable future. It's not in their interest to change that.

1: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4483305

ableal2• 14 years ago

> main advantage is for reading PDF's, on which they make money.

I suppose you mean "make no money", assuming PDFs are off-the-net stuff, which is quite likely.

A couple of years ago I got a Kindle DX for technical PDFs, and haven't used it much past the first year - it's not really pleasant to use. It combines the size/weight disadvantage of an iPad 10" (not the upcoming mini ;-) with the slowness and poor resizing of eInk.

atestu2• 14 years ago

"Amazon: 'We are pretty much done' with the Kindle DX"

http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/6/3298468/amazon-kindle-dx-ki...

jonhendry3• 14 years ago

Sad pie. The DX is better for reading technical books, where things like code listings look better if they're not line-wrapped to hell and back.

laacz• 14 years ago

Why nobody is excited about size of new Fire? To me 7" is cute and all pockety, but it is still too small to feel confortable doing stuff on it. 8.9", on the other hand, is good compromise between small 7" and large 10".

lazugod• 14 years ago

Because we have yet to see if the software has improved.

pragmatic2• 14 years ago

Any opinions on the "Special Offers" version?

Has anyone tried one of these? Just wondering if it's worth saving $20 to have yet another source of ads (very clever getting ads close to...if not yet _in_ a book).

bbgm• 14 years ago

I've used those for two versions now. The ads don't come in the way at all.

pragmatic2• 14 years ago

Thanks.

Looks like you can turn if off, and they'll simply charge you the price difference.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_s...

EternalFury• 14 years ago

My Kindle is the best piece of electronics I have ever bought. Just ordered this new version.

stcredzero• 14 years ago

How fast is the response time on the display? Something with "paper" whiteness, a reflective screen, and an option to backlight is the perfect basis for an e-ink "digital moleskine." However, it would need to add instant response time and a good stylus. A "paper-like" feel of the stylus on the surface and attention to other details would be needed as well.

tynan• 14 years ago

Anyone know for sure whether or not the browser will work international with 3G? That's the one thing that would prevent me from upgrading from my keyboard model.

davidw• 14 years ago

I have a Kindle 3 with 3G, and it works great over here in Italy, and was also the only internet connected device I had when stuck in Amsterdam because of snow a few years back (hotel charged something obscene for wifi, and the phone would have incurred big roaming charges).

Of course, with the touch, they only let you see wikipedia and Amazon.com, I've heard.

dlevine2• 14 years ago

This is actually a pretty good upgrade IMHO.

The backlight is a huge upgrade - I have wanted this for years. And a sharper screen is always great. I bought a $79 Kindle last year (over the Touch) because it was smaller and had physical page turn buttons. I'm probably going to upgrade as soon as this is actually available.

I'm not crazy about the lack of physical buttons, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.

Color e-ink would be great, but from what I hear, the performance just isn't there yet. Hopefully next year.

photorized• 14 years ago

"9.1mm thin"

It's kinda like "40 years young", I guess. 5'9" short.

zmmmmm• 14 years ago

Yeah, I get why the manufacturers spin it that way, but it irritates me no end that tech sites and bloggers repeat it.

RexRollman2• 14 years ago

I think this looks interesting and I will order one. The only thing that annoys me about the Kindle is that you can't set you own lockscreen image, even if you buy the non-ad supported version.

jonhendry3• 14 years ago

There's a minor hack that lets you use your own images. I don't know if it'll work as-is with the new devices, or if it needs to be updated.

jgon2• 14 years ago

Disclosure: I own a kobo ereader.

One thing that is really interesting to me is battle of spec marketing and how Amazon is really managing to outdo its competitors here.

As far as I can tell the Kobo Glo and the Kindle Paperwhite use the same new display and lighting technology. However Amazon has christened theirs as the "Paperwhite" and so several sites I have read have discussed how kobo has released a competitor but it uses the "older e-ink pearl" technology. If anyone has some clarification about the displays I would happy to get more detail, but from the matching resolutions, to the similar device photos on their respective websites, to the description of how the front-lighting is achieved lead me to believe that Amazon is using commodity e-ink technology available to everyone else and christening it as a revolution.

Their other claim is that they get 8 weeks of battery life with the light enabled. Closer reading of the small print reveals that this is going by 30 minutes of reading a day, for a grand total of 870.5 = 28 hours of reading with the light. On their site Kobo claims 55 hours of use with the light on. Amazon does not say in their comparison if the light stays on for the whole 8 weeks, or just while it is being read. But either they have achieve an incredible breakthrough in battery life to allow for 8724 hours of lights or their battery life is 1/2 that of a competitor. Regardless I have seen several sites claiming that Kobo has some serious catching up to with "only" 55 hours of battery.

Anyway, just the usual specs jockeying between tech companies, but in this case as an owner of a kobo I was intrigued by the details as I have experience with one of their competitors. Always interesting to see what gets reported unchecked and what doesn't.

radicaldreamer• 14 years ago

This is called great marketing: "Amazon is using commodity e-ink technology available to everyone else and christening it as a revolution."

Apple does the same thing, again and again.

jgon2• 14 years ago

It's true, and I wasn't expecting them to say anything like that. Of course they would trumpet it as a revolution, it would indeed be terrible marketing if they didn't.

My post was muddled, so I guess what I was really trying to say is this: Most of the tech reporting I have seen around this event has uncritically parroted most of these claims. This bodes poorly for getting accurate information in areas where it isn't as obvious to me. It caught me off guard this time because I saw it being done by several resources which I had previously viewed as being more in-depth and trustworthy. I guess it's like reading an article in the newspaper about a topic you know quite well. It makes you incredibly suspicious of reporting on topics you don't know as much about.

ekianjo• 14 years ago

ANyone know if the technology used in this Kindle the same as before (e-ink again?). Or did they move to a better alternative (since there are several ones) ?

oconnor0• 14 years ago

I find http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/kindle/dp/2012/KC... saddening. Comparing battery life in completely different units? Isn't that something of a sleazy marketing "trick"?

tiatia• 14 years ago

Question: I want to buy either, a kindle for $69 or a Nook for $99

I want to:

* Read books (by the way, recommended: ebooks.adelaide.edu.au)

* Install Android and install a vocabulary training program (e.g. anki: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70FIv5Qfrag )

Question: Can the kindle be rooted?

Casseres• 14 years ago

> Question: Can the kindle be rooted?

Oh yes :-)

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=150

6ren• 14 years ago

Not backlit, it's "front-lit" http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Paperwhite-Resolution-Display-B...

They say it's "25% better contrast", but is this with the display lit or unlit? It's easy to increase contrast by adding more light, but not great on the eyes.

djahng• 14 years ago

I'd upgrade to the Paperwhite just for the built-in light. I backpack a lot, and reading my Kindle with a headlamp is really annoying...

fts89• 14 years ago

Preorder the Fire HD here http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008GFRDL0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?...

And the paperwhite here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008UB7DU6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?...

Amazon Officially Announces The New Kindle Paperwhite

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