Amazon debuts next-gen Kindle Paperwhite with 300ppi display for $119

Posted:
in General Discussion edited June 2015
Amazon on Wednesday launched preorders for a new edition of the Kindle Paperwhite, upgraded with a sharper e-ink display rated at 300 pixels per inch, matching the display resolution of its high-end Kindle Voyage.




The new resolution is effectively equivalent to print, and in that regard puts the Paperwhite on par with the top-of-the-line $199 Voyage e-reader. The $80 premium cost for the latter now only adds page-turning controls on the bezel and an ambient light sensor that adjusts page lighting automatically.

Other Paperwhite hardware specifications are unchanged, and include a touchscreen interface, adjustable lighting, and estimated battery life up to six weeks. In software, however, users now gain access to Bookerly, an Amazon-designed font previously available on Kindle Fire tablets and the Kindle mobile apps.

Later on the company will implement its new typesetting engine, which adds things like kerning, hyphenation, and better character spacing.

Amazon will ship the updated on Paperwhite on June 30. Prices range from $119 for a Wi-Fi model with ads to $209 for an ad-free, 3G-capable reader. 3G models are ready to go out of the box, and let users download books and sync page position in 100 countries. 3G service is typically free, although charges do apply for U.S. owners downloading periodicals internationally.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 23
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member
    " estimated battery life up to six weeks."

    You do realize that's complete nonsense right? The fine print states that's when it's used a rather limited amount of time each day.
    "A single charge lasts up to six weeks, [B][U]based on a half hour of reading per day[/U][/B] with wireless off and the light setting at 10. Battery life will vary based on light and wireless usage"

    So then it will last THIRTYSIX WEEKS when used for 5 minutes per day!!!!! How innovative!

    OR: that's 21 hours of reading, they should just say that straight up: and media shouldn't simply echo the silliness either. That's a nice use life in and of itself.
  • Reply 2 of 23
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member
    double post
  • Reply 3 of 23
    I own a 2nd gen Paperwhite and it's a ok reader: long battery, good contrast, but slow screen. Typing is abysmal, and it has one of the worst keyboards imaginable. I noticed the iOS 8 keyboard does a pretty good job of predicting the next word as you type. The Kindle's keyboard is comparatively brain-dead. On top of that, the input is not multitouch so if you don't slow down your typing, the keyboard registers phantom key presses between the two keys you pressed, causing spurious errors. It's a usability fail in my book. For that reason, I prefer using the iPad Air for reading & annotating Kindle books.
  • Reply 4 of 23
    smack416smack416 Posts: 63member
    None of these Kindle hardware updates matter a whit until Amazon supports proper page layouts (justification with hyphenation) for the actual content you're supposed to read with their atrocious typesetting.

    It's getting to the point where suggesting this device is for reading books is a joke, given that all their other competitors (Kobo and iBooks) have been shipping a far more legible reading experience for years.
  • Reply 5 of 23
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post



    I own a 2nd gen Paperwhite and it's a ok reader: long battery, good contrast, but slow screen. Typing is abysmal, and it has one of the worst keyboards imaginable. I noticed the iOS 8 keyboard does a pretty good job of predicting the next word as you type. The Kindle's keyboard is comparatively brain-dead. On top of that, the input is not multitouch so if you don't slow down your typing, the keyboard registers phantom key presses between the two keys you pressed, causing spurious errors. It's a usability fail in my book. For that reason, I prefer using the iPad Air for reading & annotating Kindle books.



    This is what irks me about the so-called "competition".  They proudly claim how their devices are superior in areas - when they compare against an iPad - yet the reality is that they cannot code themselves out of a Hello program.  Amazon seems to have a semi-lucid sense to build devices, yet the software (and upkeep) to keep them running is atrocious at best.  Making hardware I think is easy.  Getting it to run good takes great software, which so far, no one can compete with Apple on.  Just shameful.

  • Reply 6 of 23

    Think you lot are missing the point.

    IF YOU READ BOOKS then the kindle is by FAR the best device to READ on period.

    If you also wanna surf the web and do other crap them get an IPad or whatever.

    Kindles are of book replacement reading so don't compare them to an iPad.

  • Reply 7 of 23
    crimguycrimguy Posts: 124member
    It's good for reading novels, that's about it. Display is easy on the eyes and good battery life. My dog chewed on mine for about 20 minutes (accident, honest!) and it still works.
  • Reply 8 of 23
    cash907cash907 Posts: 893member
    smack416 wrote: »
    None of these Kindle hardware updates matter a whit until Amazon supports proper page layouts (justification with hyphenation) for the actual content you're supposed to read with their atrocious typesetting.

    It's getting to the point where suggesting this device is for reading books is a joke, given that all their other competitors (Kobo and iBooks) have been shipping a far more legible reading experience for years.

    The issue you mentioned is being addressed in the next software update which will roll out to all devices when the new Paperwhite ships at the end of the month, and is already available on the iOS and Android Kindle apps as well as the Kindle Fire line.

    As for the kindle being a "joke," I'm on my third one since launch (Original Paperwhite) and I read more now thanks to it than I ever did prior. I travel a lot for work and being able to carry my library with me in a tiny package with a battery that lasts well beyond my average trip, has been a gift.
    Perhaps the fact that I'm an easy going individual that just enjoys good literature, and not a bibliophilic snob, ruins the joke.
  • Reply 9 of 23
    cash907cash907 Posts: 893member
    crimguy wrote: »
    It's good for reading novels, that's about it. Display is easy on the eyes and good battery life. My dog chewed on mine for about 20 minutes (accident, honest!) and it still works.

    It's an ebook. What else is it supposed to be good for?
    And my dog chewed up my Kindle Graphite, but that gave me an excuse to upgrade :-)
  • Reply 10 of 23
    charlesncharlesn Posts: 820member
    You are incorrect in stating that the top-of-the-line Voyage adds only bezel page turn controls and adaptive lighting to features of this new Paperwhite. First, the Voyage has a magnesium frame that is both thinner and lighter than the Paperwhite, which I have found makes a notable difference when hand-holding the device for extended reading periods. Second, the Voyage remains the first and only Kindle with a true capacitve touch screen, which allows for a glass surface flush with the bezel. The Paperwhite continues to use an inferior technology: IR sensors positioned at the screen edge to determine where your finger is placed on the screen. For this reason, the glass screen is indented from the bezel, to allow for placement of the sensors. While this new Paperwhite will match the resolution of the Voyage, it's unknown if they've bumped up the contrast specs to match as well. Currently, the Voyage has better contrast.
  • Reply 11 of 23
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    I don't get the animosity shown towards the Kindle. It's a fantastic product line that's priced competitively.

    My original Kindle from 2007 died in 2013 and my current Kindle (Kindle Touch) is still running along perfectly.

    If all you want to do is read books then I fail to see how anyone can complain about it in the slightest.
  • Reply 12 of 23
    crimguycrimguy Posts: 124member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Cash907 View Post





    It's an ebook. What else is it supposed to be good for?

    And my dog chewed up my Kindle Graphite, but that gave me an excuse to upgrade :-)



    I agree - it wasn't meant to be a negative post.  It does what it's designed to do and does it well, at a decent price.  I have not experienced many issues with formatting that another poster mentions.

     

    Jobs made great theater about the formatting, font, and experience of ebooks, but only on rare occasions have I encountered titles on kindle that fell below iBooks.  

  • Reply 13 of 23
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,239member

    Is Amazon actually making a profit from their Kindle adventure?

  • Reply 14 of 23
    hexclockhexclock Posts: 1,243member
    coolfactor wrote: »
    Is Amazon actually making a profit from their Kindle adventure?
    They have a negative net profit margin, so not really!
  • Reply 15 of 23
    nikon133nikon133 Posts: 2,600member
    jfc1138 wrote: »
    " estimated battery life up to six weeks."

    You do realize that's complete nonsense right? The fine print states that's when it's used a rather limited amount of time each day.
    "A single charge lasts up to six weeks, based on a half hour of reading per day with wireless off and the light setting at 10. Battery life will vary based on light and wireless usage"

    So then it will last THIRTYSIX WEEKS when used for 5 minutes per day!!!!! How innovative!

    OR: that's 21 hours of reading, they should just say that straight up: and media shouldn't simply echo the silliness either. That's a nice use life in and of itself.

    I was under impression that on these eInk readers, major power consumption comes from changing pages. Showing same page on screen is very easy on power. Most of my readers actually do show static image while sleep - apparently it doesn't make difference if it is blank screen or, say, a book cover. Considering that, their battery life should be described in number of pages one can turn, rather than reading time..?

    Back to the topic - 300dpi, I'd like to see how that looks on eInk screen. My current reader, Kobo Aura HD, gives "only" 265dpi on 7" screen. I must admit I cannot see pixels any more. For some reasons (that I didn't bother researching), eInk has more "analog" presentation than LCD screens, and while I can see pixels on sub-300dpi LCDs, this eInk looks quite paper-printed. I'm wondering if I will notice any difference.
  • Reply 16 of 23
    Agh!! This is such simultaneously awesome and horrible news...just got the Paperwhite to replace my old Kindle 3G from 2010 (which still works perfectly btw). Now I'll be really tempted to trade up.

    I gotta say for just reading novels the Kindle is fantastic. It does what it does really well -- and absolutely nothing else. Which is refreshing. If you insist on E-Ink for reading (which I do), it's the best bet in my opinion. And unfortunately I think the Voyage is the most awkwardly-designed and fugly product Amazon has ever released. Glad its main feature will now be available in the more streamlined Paperwhite.
  • Reply 17 of 23
    gtbuzzgtbuzz Posts: 129member
    Although I am an Apple User , the Kindle Paperwhite w 300 DPI and the other tablet computers and readers do a great job of driving innovation and decreasing prices. It is hard to argue that competition is good for all - even my favorite Stock that I own - Apple.
  • Reply 18 of 23
    I've owned every Kindle e-reader except the very first one. I'm fiercely loyal to it. From a hardware perspective the Voyage is outstanding. But the software? It looks and operates like it was coded in 1998. A serious UI and software feature upgrade could make the Kindle a genuinely amazing device.
  • Reply 19 of 23
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,415member
    I just wish Kindle would be as big as a standard paper size.
  • Reply 20 of 23
    I am still not really bought into the whole eReader thing. Surely it is a good tool for those who are on the road a lot (not behind a driving wheel, that is :) ). But for the regular reader, I still don'T get it.

    An eBook cannot be passed on to another friend or a family member (not my partner, I mean my mum or dad or brother that might not live in the same household or even country - I live in Germany, my parents in Italy).
    And also, you don't really own the eBook file as you would own a book. Like movies or TV series, you buy a license to use it. But it is not an object you really own - it lives only within a device that when it stops working, or Amazon goes bust, is not usable anymore. Or am I wrong?

    Call me old fashion, but I still like the pile of books to read on my bed stand, and my shelves full of books I have read and that "keep me company".

    Moreover, the Apple iBooks solution, though likely presenting better typography etc, it is available on displays not really meant to read text for long period of times (back-lit TFTs) as you would do on a book that doesn't emit light. To this respect, eReaders based on eInk, surely are a better option.
    I looked up the Voyage on Amazon.de, interesting if the business case would suit me. Too bad, though, even if that was the case, that it has a lot of quality issues on the display (coloring)....
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