Amazon debuts next-gen Kindle Paperwhite with 300ppi display for $119
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.
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.
Comments
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 :-)
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.
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.
Is Amazon actually making a profit from their Kindle adventure?
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.
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.
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)....