Kindle Paperwhite

[LinusTech]

NCIX: http://bit.ly/1bRf46L

Amazon: http://georiot.co/2LAE

 

The Kindle Paperwhite and eBook readers in general aren't exactly new but this is my first time really trying to use one, and while there are things I didn't exactly like, the experience won me over.
 

[SAV1OUR]

i always miss read the name for this thing thinking that someones reviewing a literal paper weight 

[Oshino Shinobu]

I've never understood the appeal of eReaders. Much prefer having an actual book. 

[Dmon]

I really should read more..

[Titanicium]

But can it run Crysis?

 

Someone should start a Kickstarter for making Crysis into a book

[linusforsell]

I've never understood the appeal of eReaders. Much prefer having an actual book. 

 

It's quite convenient when you read 10-20 books a month... I, for one, don't want to rent a library.

[qwertywarrior]

I've never understood the appeal of eReaders. Much prefer having an actual book. 

EDIT

[Oshino Shinobu]

It's quite convenient when you read 10-20 books a month... I, for one, don't want to rent a library.

I guess so. I could imagine it being useful if you're going away somewhere and don't want to take a load of books with you. 

[Oshino Shinobu]

much easier on eyes

and super long battery life

But books don't need a battery ): 

 

I should probably have worded it different. I see the appeal of them, only it doesn't appeal to me. 

[Bonsai99]

I don't understand why anyone would buy an eBook reader nowadays when you can get a full featured tablet for not much more e.g. the Nexus 7, sure the battery life isn't anywhere near anything with an E-ink screen, but it is much more multipurpose than an eBook reader could ever be.

[Dmon]

much easier on eyes

and super long battery life

Yeah, hate it when books run out of battery.

[linusforsell]

I guess so. I could imagine it being useful if you're going away somewhere and don't want to take a load of books with you. 

 

Though I kind of agree with you on the point of e-readers... much more convenient just bringing a N7 or something, that can actually do other things. And the flashing of the screen when updating would drive me crazy...

[LinusTech]

I don't understand why anyone would buy an eBook reader nowadays when you can get a full featured tablet for not much more e.g. the Nexus 7, sure the battery life isn't anywhere near anything with an E-ink screen, but it is much more multipurpose than an eBook reader could ever be.

 

It really is a lot easier on the eyes, and for something ilke this the convenience of being able to leave it for a month and pick it up again (like a book) without really having to think about charging it makes a big difference.

 

That and with cell phones being as large/powerful as they are, I could make the argument that you don't really need a tablet in addition to a modern smartphone, but an eReader is a very different sort of device.

 

It's not for everyone, but I'll keep using this one, and I'm happy with my purchase.

[Ertman]

I've never understood the appeal of eReaders. Much prefer having an actual book. 

Most of it has to do with convenience, whether transportation or getting new reading material. Many still prefer the actual book experience but not enough so that prevents them from using a e-reader. I know quite a few avid readers that have switched to an e-reader. If a book works better for you, than stick with it.

[Bonsai99]

It really is a lot easier on the eyes, and for something ilke this the convenience of being able to leave it for a month and pick it up again (like a book) without really having to think about charging it makes a big difference.

Ah I guess so, then again I never read books anymore and I have never tried reading on an E-ink screen compared to a tablet for extended periods of time.

 

That and with cell phones being as large/powerful as they are, I could make the argument that you don't really need a tablet in addition to a modern smartphone

Agreed.

[qwertywarrior]

But books don't need a battery ): 

 

I should probably have worded it different. I see the appeal of them, only it doesn't appeal to me. 

woops i have the browser taking half the screen all i read was

"I've never understood the appeal of eReaders"

 

i thought u meant eBooks vs tablets

 

"

[DJSchmitty]

I have had the 1st gen Paperwhite for about a year now, and I can say it has got me to read more then I use too. The screen-facing back ling lends itself to reading at night without hurting the eyes, and the books on Amazon are reasonably priced.

[DJSchmitty]

Not to mention that getting the book is almost instant. 

[Antistatic12]

Good review Linus.

Space saving, long battery life and very little eye strain. My top reasons reasons for getting a Kindle.

[gligoran]

Great review, but you've missed a couple of things. The best feature I've missed must be the insta-dictionary. I'm not a native english speaker so using that is really handy. You just click on a word and the dictionary pops up. The second thing is highlighting. Everything you highlight is put in a separate file on your kindle and you then have all of those on one spot. No need to use pieces of paper or those page markers to mark your highlights. Also you can translate the text you select in the book. That came really useful when reading Speaker for the Dead (Ender Series) where the author uses a few Portuguese phrases now and again.

 

Anyway buying the kindle made me like reading again. The cost of the device was well worth it to me.

 

BTW, there's a good "social" network for reader at goodreads.com

[Kallb123]

I'd just like to point out that here in the UK the Amazon Kindle books are very reasonably priced, almost always cheaper than a paperback and usually half the price! A Dance with Dragons Part 1 (ASoIaF book 5) is £7 Paperback and £3.67 Kindle. Some of the kindle versions even come with some audio/voice thing and it doesn't seem to bump the price up. Unfortunately the voice playback is for the kindle tablets and iDevices, not even Android!

[DJSchmitty]

Unfortunately the voice playback is for the kindle tablets and iDevices, not even Android!

I thought it just worked through Audible?

[Kallb123]

I thought it just worked through Audible?

 

I'm unsure, I don't any of the supported books I'm just going on what it says on the store page:

 

Kindle Edition with Audio/Video

Audio/Video content is available on Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD, iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch devices.

 

If it was through Audible, would that mean more supported devices? I've not used Audible yet, but I keep meaning to

[Yasri]

My mother reads like 2 to 3 books a week normally and with her kindle she can go a hole month between recharges. With battery life that long it greatly changes how you interact with a device. Not having to remember and plug in a device daily is great. Hey Linus did you make sure to turn off the wireless when not using it and to hold the power button to suspend it, both greatly increase the battery life.

She also uses a service the library provides to get access to books for free. For most books she puts a hold on one, they email her when it is in stock, she checks it out and it is sent directly to her kindle for x amount of days. Saves her time and gas not having to go to the library weekly anymore for 95% of all the books she reads.
http://overdrive.slcl.org/

One thing I do not understand is why schools are giving out tablet or laptop to replace books.Several schools I have read about stopped their program because the kids kept getting virus, maleware and other junk on their devices in a matter of a few days. You would think a e-reader would be better for that use case. Much less chance of stuff like that. Does not have to be a kindle but a ereader in general. Always wondered why there has not been a movement towards a open source collection of text books and a cheap $50 to $100 e reader. Pair it with a crank for charging and it would be great for the third world even. Have a central tower that is connect to the internet or giving the text by hand, then push the data for many miles out to readers. Would be great for news, weather and the like. Materials, Delivery, Disposal are all very expensive in this use cases.

[PortentousLad]

I don't understand why anyone would buy an eBook reader nowadays when you can get a full featured tablet for not much more e.g. the Nexus 7, sure the battery life isn't anywhere near anything with an E-ink screen, but it is much more multipurpose than an eBook reader could ever be.

So the N7 costs 99€ now?

 

Yeah, hate it when books run out of battery.

And I just love reading my books in the dark who needs night lamps

 

 

anyways I've bought my kindle a couple o' weeks ago (sorry Linus I forgot to use the affiliate link :unsure:) and I'm extremely happy with it but thanks for the review even if too late for me. I have to disagree with the balance though I don't even rest my thumb on it just have it rest in my palm that way I can also easily flip pages.

 

All in all I have to say I'm a complete fanboy now even bored my friends to death with it.