To
say that Amazon has been the single most powerful catalyst in the
e-book revolution would not be an exaggeration. Before the introduction
of the Kindle,
many who adored the printed page universally scoffed at e-book readers,
claiming that such devices would never replace the traditional reading
experience.
But Amazon's hardware has been a real game changer,
enough to force even the most ardent ebook critic to admit that Amazon's
take was genuinely impressive, perhaps begrudgingly. Yet in the recent years, the competition has become quite stiff. Mostly in the form of Apple's iPad,
which offered the same functionality and form factor, but the ability
to do much more. Even Amazon itself has tried producing a similar "do
everything" machine, the Kindle Fire HD, which relies upon the Android 4.0: Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.
But
what about those who have no need or desire to watch movies, listen to
their MP3 collection, and play games? What about those who just want to
snuggle up with a good book, even if its just ultimately ones and
zeroes?
Leave it to Amazon to change the game again. The latest
device in the traditional Kindle line, the Kindle Paperwhite, is easily
its best effort yet. Five years of refinements and improvements are
clearly evident, resulting in what might be the finest pure ereader in
the market today, even if it's not 100% perfect.
It comes in at
just £109, which is again an impressive price for some top-end kit; yes,
it's pricey compared to some e-readers, but there's no doubt this is
one of the best.
Design
First impressions of the any new
piece of hardware, while not indicative of the overall experience in the
end, will contribute significantly towards toward one's overall
opinion. We're happy to report that it's all smiles when one unboxes and
handles their Paperwhite for the very first time.
The WiFi only
unit, which we're reviewing here, weighs just 213 grams and measures
16.9 cm x 11.7 cm x 0.91 cm, so it's a bit thinner than the previous
Kindle model, the Kindle Touch.
On a purely visual level, the Paperwhite appears to have quietly take
design cues from both its predecessor and its Android driven cousin, the
7-inch Kindle Fire HD, mostly due to its sleeker, simpler profile. Indeed,
it's by far the best looking traditional Kindle we've ever designed.
Even those who have been turned off by previous models should have very
little to complain about here. The slightly garish physical keyboard
from earlier modes has become a thing of the past. It also drops the
rather subpar cursor pad from previous generations as well.
Instead,
the front of the device sports a smooth, black matte plastic bezel,
with just the Kindle name on the bottom, in white. The edges are
comfortably rounded, which is nice since your hands will be rubbing
against them quite a bit. Due to its low profile on all counts, the
Paperwhite is a joy to behold, and seems expertly designed to fit in one
hand. Again,
the device is effortless to hold, thanks to a rubberized plastic
coating. It allows for easy gripping and simply cannot slip out of one's
hand, no matter how sweaty your grip becomes. There's an immediate
impression that the Paperwhite is a device that's suitable, and
comfortable, for all situations.
Amazon has produced protective
cases for the Paperwhite, but it would be purely for decoration with
this latest Kindle. The overall construction is rock solid and withstood
quite the pounding, while showing zero wear and tear in the end.
Display
The
Kindle Paperwhite's main attraction is its display. Like all of
Amazon's ebook readers, it uses E Ink, which provides some real
advantages over devices like Apple's iPad 4. The non-reflective screen can be read in direct sunlight, and it makes extended periods of reading easier on the eye.
Yet
the Paperwhite's screen is unlike those of previous Kindles models.
First there's the increase in resolution. The previous model, the Kindle Touch,
had an impressive 167 ppi (pixels per inch), which the Paperwhite
manages to best with 212 ppi. Text, no matter the font, no matter the
size, simply looked crisp, clear and incredible. As
impressive as high-density screens like Apple's Retina display might
be, the Paperwhite is easier on the eyes. It simply does an excellent
job of mimicking actual paper.
Another distinguishing feature is
the front lighting, which is quite different from the traditionally
backlit solutions. The screen is actually comprised of three separate
layers: the first is the actual E Ink display, and directly on top of
that is the capacitive touchscreen. On top of that is the fiber
optic-like system that illuminates everything below. Simply
put, this is best E Ink display of the market today. There has also
never been an e-book reader display that is so pleasing to the eye.
The
goal was to ensure a reading experience with minimal eyestrain, even in
the dark. Amazon has met this challenge handily. With 24 levels of
brightness to choose from, no matter how sensitive to light your eyes
might be, the Paperwhite can be adjusted for your best possible reading
comfort. Yet
it's not absolutely perfect. Some might see the Paperwhite's 2GB of
storage as a bit of a step back, since past models had 4GB. However,
when you consider that this reduction is probably how the device
achieved its minuscule form factor, and that the Paperwhite can still
hold around 1,100 titles, it's not much of a sacrifice.
More
irritating are some lighting irregularities near the bottom of the
screen, which creates slight dark spots. We personally had no issues
with the matter, but did notice them when using the Paperwhite in low
light situations. They were hardly distracting, and since it was at the
very bottom of the page, it never disrupted the actual text.
Yet
enough people have complained for Amazon to issue a statement, in which
they stated that their hardware is not defective, just not 100% perfect.
A few might take issue, but probably the same amount of people who feel
that 1,100 books makes a low-capacity ereader.
There's no doubt
the non-uniform glow is disappointing, as the thought of a pure white
display would be stunning; in reality it doesn't really matter in day to
day use though, so we would barely even call it a negative.
Charging and Battery Life
Of
all the traditional ebook readers that Amazon has produced, the Kindle
Paperwhite has the least amount of buttons: just one, at the very
bottom. There you'll find the on/off switch, the status light, and
micro-USB port for charging with a PC.
This is where in which the
first serious omission is found: the lack of a headphone port. This
means no text to speech functionality, which might be a flat out deal
killer for some, if not many. The
reasoning for this is to keep the Paperwhite as light and small as
possible; Amazon has already explained that the audio chip required, or
even just a headphone jack, would compromise such goals.
The
Paperwhite ships with a micro-USB cable (which is white, an odd choice
since everything else is all black), so it can be charged by connecting
with a computer. This is a bit inconvenient if you're traveling and
don't have your laptop handy. Though Amazon does sell an AC adaptor for a
reasonable £9, the "sold separately" attitude is a bit annoying. Thankfully,
the Paperwhite's battery performance lives up to the fine tradition
that previous Kindles have established. Amazon claims that a single
charge can last upwards of eight weeks, and with moderate use, the
device can certainly hang in there. Various tests under an assortment of
circumstances proved Amazon's jaw dropping claims to be true.
Though
one does have to be mindful of usage to get peak performance. The new
screen is quite sexy, but does take a toll on battery life, and so does
keeping WiFi on. In the case of the latter, the solution might seem
simple enough: just keep it off at most times, but that's easier said
than done.
For starters, many users might want to have their last
read page synced across all their devices, so having a consistent
connection is nice. If you're upgrading from a previous Kindle, you'll
be amazed how quickly the battery drains with everything turned on...
but in reality, it's still going to be weeks at a time you can use it,
even with the backlight.
Getting to storage size, consumers may
scoff at the Paperwhite's mere 2GB of storage. However, when you
consider that, according to Amazon's estimates, that's enough room for
1,100 titles, we there's more than enough for the most avid of readers.
Still, the last Kindle had 4GB, so this can be seen as something of a step backwards.
Interface part one
The
operating system that drives the Kindle Paperwhite is quite a departure
from previous Kindle devices. Like the overall physical design of the
Paperwhite hardware, it takes various cues from the Kindle Fire HD.
Since
there are no physical buttons, navigation primarily consists of screen
swipes and other gestures. Tapping on the right of the display will turn
the page forward, while tapping the left most portion of the screen
will turn back the page. Topping
the upper portion of the screen is the Kindle toolbar, which on a
purely visual level, is much like the upper portion of a web browser's
window or many desktop application interfaces.
When inside a book,
you have four basic tools. First is Fonts, where you can choose the
size of the type, and as well typeface, from six options in total. Line
spacing and margins can also be adjusted. It's worth noting that the
menu appears like a pop up window that you'd find in Windows or OS X,
right down to the X in upper corner, which can be used to dismiss the
tool and get back to your book.
Next is the Go To menu, which
allows you to navigate various portions of a book and jump between
sections in a quick manner, depending on how the book itself is laid
out.
X-Ray lets you explore the "bones" of a book, as Amazon puts
it. It's essentially a more robust, in-depth version of Go To, it goes
beyond the book itself. Selecting X-Ray provides a list of all the
noteworthy characters, places, phrases, even themes contained on a
single page, in a chapter, or the book as a whole.
Choosing a
particular phrase or word provides additional background information. In
the case of characters or locations in non-fiction, Wikipedia will be
referenced. If not, curated information from that particular book's
Amazon-selected expert handles the embellishment.
This feature
does not use the web for reference; instead it refers to an additional
file that comes with X-Ray-supported titles. As a result, when pulling
up info, it's instantaneous, and no internet connection is required.
That means you don't need a constant WiFi signal to use this feature, it
just needs to be am X-Ray compatible title.
At this point not a
whole lot of books support this new feature, but hopefully the numbers
will grow over time. It's a great tool for keeping track of extended
casts of characters. Finally
there's the Share button, which allows you to share portions of a book
with other users. To select a word, simply hold your finger on it.
Immediately, a pop will appear, asking if you'd like to highlight it.
Here one can also find the definition of the word, provided that a
dictionary is loaded on the device (there are countless free
dictionaries provided by Amazon, but none are pre-installed; they must
be downloaded first).
When it comes to adding a personal message,
the on-screen keyboard will appear. It is here, along with the
navigating the new operating system as a whole, in which Kindle veterans
will note how much snappier everything moves along. While there is
still a delay between action and result, it's nowhere near as slow and
pokey as with the first generation of Kindle devices. Though many who are used to more modern mobile operating systems, like iOS 6 or Android 4.1,
might find it a bit of a culture shock. A few things feel like they
should be faster, more immediate. However, given how little you'll
interact with the operating system, compared to an iPhone or Android
tablet, this is a minor inconvenience.
The only issue is when it
comes to typing; there is a tendency for the Paperwhite to miss a text
input, which will require you to go back and try again. Simply typing a
tiny bit slower will solve the problem. Basically, if you don't type
like you're hurriedly texting a friend, but simply making a notation,
there won't be problem.
Interface part two
The
very top of the Kindle Paperwhite toolbar has options that provide
consistent controls, in or out of a book. First there's the Home button,
which provides an immediate exit from a book to the launch page. Upon
turning the Kindle Paperwhite on, this is also where everyone will
start.
At the upper left of the launch page are two sections,
Cloud and Device. Cloud is your entire Amazon library. As noted, in
addition to whatever books you might already own, you'll find a variety
of dictionaries for download. To
navigate this portion of the Paperwhite, simple taps will not do.
Instead, you'll swipe back and forth, like on an iOS or Android device.
Upon getting all the way to the beginning of a sub-section, the Back
button comes into play. It's a bit jarring, this little navigation
inconsistency (simply tapping the Home button will suffice in most
occasions), but it's nothing earth-shattering, and we got used to it
quickly.
Next to the Back button is a light bulb icon that allows
you to adjust the screen's brightness. As noted previously, there are 24
different levels, which should insure a comfortable degree of
illumination in almost any circumstance.
The only quibble here,
and it's a minor one, is how there's no immediate on/off, or toggle
options. But again, the Paperwhite's OS is so snappy that the omission
is not a true issue. Dragging your finger down your slider works well
enough. Then
we have the Kindle Store button. Here you can browse books, newspapers,
magazines, and more. It's easy to make purchases directly from within
the device. The layout is similar to the experience of shopping with
Amazon on the web. Any purchased material shows up in the Device
immediately.
The Kindle Store is the device's killer app, and is
even more impressive than the Paperwhite's advanced display. There's
simply more reading material here than on any competitor's marketplace. Right
next to the Store button is the universal search function. When inside a
book, it can be used to search for specific words and terms, though
outside, in the main screen, it can search across all the items in your
library, provided that they are installed on your device (meaning items
in the cloud but not synced to the device will not appear). Inside the
store, it can be used to look for all things within Amazon's ecosystem.
Finally
we have more advanced options, including settings and sync related
options. One can find special offers in the Kindle Store, as well as a
means to organize one's library, by placing them in Collections. Though
the most interesting item of them all is the Experimental Browser.
Experimental
is putting it mildly. It's designed to serve up popular portals, often
mobile versions, as well as full pages properly, but it's very tough to
navigate, and is the only time in which the Paperwhite feels as if its
over extending itself.
It's really not worth the bother, although
if you've ditched the smartphone for some reason and simply MUST get
online, enjoy feeling like you're using a dial-up browser while wearing a
blindfold.
Connectivity
There are several different versions of the Kindle Paperwhite. The one tested was the Kindle Paperwhite 3G, which costs £169. In
some countries, such as the US, there are options to buy and
ad-supported version... thankfully we're spared such a travesty in the
UK.
3G is unlimited (within reason, although you'd struggle to
download too much using it) meaning you can get hold of a new book
without Wi-Fi whenever you're on the go. We found the 3G to be excellent
in nearly every scenario, and even when it dipped to EDGE, things still
downloaded without an issue.
It uses Vodafone's network to chuck
books and newspapers down to the Paperwhite, so if you know you're in a
Voda blackspot for the times you'd want to be buying new books, steer
clear of this version. However, the chance to get daily content for free
when on holiday is worth the £60 extra in our opinion. The
WiFi model costs £109, which will probably be OK for most people; after
all, most will download books at home and read on the bus or train -
but with no extra cost for data we like being future-proofed, even for
the higher cost.
Unless you are downloading a new book literally
every five minutes and absolutely cannot stomach ads in any form or
fashion, the most expensive version might seem a bit excessive, but we
love choice.
Hands on photography
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