Totally Amazon revised When the all-new Kindle family debuts in October Colorsoft ereader along with updated generations of three other existing models: the standard Kindle, Paperwhite and Scribe E Ink tablet. The new Paperwhite has a slightly larger screen, a bigger battery, and a more powerful processor that Amazon combines with E Ink technology to turn the page faster. This Paperwhite again comes in a Signature Releasefor $200, which adds wireless charging, an auto-adjusting front light, and extra storage, which is $10 more than the previous price. previous Signature Edition.
The standard Kindle also received a $10 price increase, leaving the same $90 difference between Amazon’s cheapest model and the Signature Edition. I tested both to see if the price difference between the two was worth it. The higher-end model is certainly great, but the base model rules the essentials of the reader good. Is luxury treatment better?
Amazon/Engadget
The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is one of the most luxurious e-readers you can buy, but some may not need to pay extra for all the nice features.
- The screen displays crisp text with a lovely warm glow
- The flush-front screen and soft-touch back feel premium
- Page turning and scrolling are noticeably faster
- The automatic adjustment of the warm front light is useful
- The power button on the bottom edge is easy to accidentally activate
- Touch screen controls cannot be adjusted
- Fewer page and font adjustments than the competition
- Signature-specific features are not important
Amazon/Engadget
The $110 Kindle is a no-nonsense, highly portable reader that covers all the bases well. The lack of a warm front light is its only major drawback.
- The most affordable reader
- The compact and durable structure is highly portable
- Provides access to Kindle’s extensive e-book catalog and library books
- No warm light
- Not waterproof
- I can’t read third party e-books
Processor, capacity and other hardware features
The company calls the Paperwhite (Signature and standard) the “fastest Kindle ever” thanks to a new dual-core processor and an oxide thin-film transistor layer that enables faster transitions of text and graphics on the page. This layer is also more transparent than the previous technology, so the clarity on the page has also increased.
When it comes to storage, the Paperwhite Signature gets 32GB, double that of the regular Paperwhite, which is the same as previous generations for both. They have a few extra backlights this time: ten standard LEDs and a total of 19 nine hot ones.
The screen is slightly larger than 6.8 by seven inches and has the same 300 ppi resolution. Despite the larger battery capacity (with about 12 weeks of operation, not ten weeks), the device is a millimeter thinner than last time and weighs only two tenths of a gram more. It has the same IPX8 rating, meaning it’s fully submersible, and it’s made from a metal plastic back with a rubberized texture that’s easy to grip (so you’re less likely to accidentally submerge it). The frames also help to keep it as it is just It’s wide enough to accommodate a thumb without causing the page to turn.
The hardware improvements are subtle, but they add a distinctly elegant way to read books. Opening menus, opening new titles and turning pages is faster than any other reader I’ve tried. And disappointment is mostly non-existent. The wide screen displays text sharper than a January morning, and the auto-adjusting headlights are like a warm torch lighting your way.
If I take any issue with the design of the signature, it’s the placement of the power button on the bottom edge. One of the simple joys in this life (for me anyway) is eating while reading. That means I’m holding a book or reader on the table in front of my plate while shoveling a roast into my mouth. Often, the Signature stops at the bottom edge, accidentally pressing the power button and turning off my reading with a fork. Note that this doesn’t happen with the standard Kindle, even though the button is in the same place, simply because the little reader isn’t heavy enough to push the button. Signature also has a rubber flap around the edge of the front screen, which I don’t hate, but I find myself distracted by it when reading.
Touch controls and customization
I placed the Paperwhite Signature next to other readers in my test collection and compared page turn speeds, menu load times, and scroll refresh rates. Although the differences were not significant, the Signature was definitely faster. (But the Kobo Libra Color is still the fastest at waking up after more than a few minutes of sleep.)
Signature’s touch response is flawless. I’ve come to accept that most reader screens sometimes need an extra touch before they do what I want them to do. Whether it’s turning a page or pulling up a menu, my first gesture sometimes goes unnoticed. Not here; the screen responds instantly to every swipe and touch I make. Unfortunately, sometimes this touch is accidental, and other times the screen doesn’t respond the way I want it to, but it always does.
This leads me to a few frustrations with the Paperwhite’s interface. These misinterpreted taps were almost always page turns. The receding area in your reading is a narrow strip on the left. Some people can move forward in a book without looking back, but I often find myself at the beginning of a new page and for most of the last page I don’t know whether I’m thinking about toast or Cristin Milioti and what it is. continues. Then when I tap to go back, I’m often taken forward, which confuses me even more. To be fair, the swipes are generally accurate – but I’m not a sweeper.
This wouldn’t be a problem if the area for the rear tap was wider – but you can’t adjust that. In fact, you can’t adjust the taps and sliders at all. The middle of the top of the page accesses the header menu, and swiping down from the top brings up the quick settings panel. There is no changing these gestures or zones according to your preference.
That’s unfortunate, because it’s something that both Kobo and Boox devices can do. Those readers also adjust margins, line spacing, font weight, and more. makes finer adjustments for Kindle options does Ensure the appearance of your text is correct though. Kindle scores points for letting you create and save themes with different font and layout combinations. Kobo doesn’t allow it, and Boox can’t do it in its native reader app.
Buying, borrowing and listening to books
Getting the books you want to read is perhaps one of the most important qualities of reading, and Kindles have their strengths and weaknesses. These features aren’t unique to the Paperwhite, but it’s worth noting how Amazon’s book access compares to its competitors. The first thing to acknowledge is that the Amazon Kindle library is the largest, thanks to Amazon Exclusive books and self-published Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) books. That said, if you’re mostly reading titles from established publishers, you can find them in any reader.
Amazon’s devices are better for people who like to fly between reading and listening to a particular book. If you buy the e-book version, not only do you get a discount on the audiobook, but Whispersync tracks where you are so you can switch between formats and pick up the story at the right place. If you’re active on Goodreads, Kindle will serve you better, as integration with the (Amazon-owned) site is ready.
What Kindles do not support are ePubs with any digital rights management (DRM) other than their own. If you buy a book from a third-party ebook store that uses Adobe DRM, you can’t read it on Kindle, but you can read it on Kobo and Boox devices (with a few extra steps). Finally, you may want to consider how to obtain books borrowed from your local library. Using the Libby app on your phone or your local library’s website, you simply select “Send to Kindle” to make it appear on your reader. It’s worth noting that Kobo allows you to search for and retrieve library books from the device itself, while Boox devices allow you to do so directly from the Libby app.
How the Signature compares to the regular Paperwhite and basic Kindle
The regular Paperwhite is $160 and the Signature Edition is $200. That’s a $40 increase that might make sense to some, but probably not to most. The three extras (extra memory, wireless charging, and automatic dimming light) are convenient, but won’t dramatically improve your reading experience. If you like to have offline access to a lot of audiobooks, the larger 32GB capacity may be worth it. But if you mostly read e-books (and/or use your phone for audiobooks, which makes more sense to me), 16GB should be enough to expand your library for years.
The auto-adjusting front light on the Signature Edition is responsive and adapts the light to the environment quite well. I still have to manually lower it in a completely dark room, so it’s not quite accessible, plus it’s fairly easy to adjust. The separate warm light (which you get with the regular Paperwhite) is a more important feature anyway, as it makes reading in the wee hours of the night much more enjoyable. The last Signature-only feature, wireless charging, is probably the least important — you charge this thing once a month at most. How you do it seems irrelevant.
So if you save $40 by not going with the Signature model, does it make sense to save even more by going with the $110 standard Kindle? This is more difficult to answer. The base Kindle has the same 300 ppi resolution, the same storage capacity, the same font and layout options, and the same audio and e-book access as the standard Paperwhite. But the Kindle’s screen is smaller, the device isn’t waterproof, the battery life is half the time, and there’s no warm light. Not a touch reaction pretty much like good and page turns a little slower (although the difference on both counts is small).
To be honest, the lack of a warm light on the Kindle base is the only major drawback. The Paperwhite’s softer yellowish screens are more pleasant to read than the harsher blue of the base model. But I found I got used to it quickly and probably noticed the difference the most when switching back and forth between the two – which most people won’t.
Collection
In short, the Kindle Paperwhite and the new Paperwhite Signature offer a higher-quality reading experience. The soft front screen and soft touch back feel more premium. The larger screen feels like the difference between reading a mass-market paperback and a trade paperback, not to say the standard Kindle feels cramped, it’s just smaller. I see the Paperwhite (especially the Signature model) as appealing to people who want the ultimate reading experience – the brightest text, the least lag, the most enjoyable feel. And the regular Kindle is perfect for those who want a direct line to read almost any book they want.
It depends on whether you think higher experience will make you want to read more. If so, then it’s worth the price hike in the long run. But if you’re looking for a simple way to read books, go for the Kindle base. While less premium, it feels more durable and more portable. The smaller size can fit in a back pocket and you may be more inclined to throw it in a messy bag – all of which can mean you read more, and really that’s the ultimate goal of every reader.
