I find it interesting that Joshua Topolsky (the Verge) also reviewed this device[1], but was much more impressed than John Gruber. I don't think this results from a preference difference, but rather a perspective difference:
Where Topolsky reviewed the Kindle Paperwhite as an electronic device, comparing it to other tablet and e-reader devices, Gruber weighed the Kindle as a book, comparing its characteristics to the print medium.
Considered together, I find the two reviews complementary. The Kindle Paperwhite beats other electronic reading media, but is still lacks some of the characteristics of print. It's certainly a step in that direction, though.
>Amazon’s goal should be for Kindle typography to equal print typography. They’re not even close. They get a pass on this only because all their competitors are just as bad or worse. Amazon should hire a world-class book designer to serve as product manager for the Kindle.
I thought that was really insightful. It'd be really interesting to make the kindle the best reading experience period - not just the best e-reading experience.
That review was pure cotton candy -- published the day before the device was released, with a few other similar embargoed pieces [1]. I was convinced that he just wanted to keep getting scoops.
I pre-ordered it and got it ASAP, and like it except for the extreme sparsity of settings. The wifi is on either for browsing or page syncing; it should be smart enough to turn off if you're not interested in either. The light can't be turned completely off [although, I admit I can't think of a use case for this]. I was excited at how quickly it transfers files -- the specs say USB 2.0, but it's pretty much instantaneous, even for 100 MB bootlegs. The uneven lighting makes me feel resentful, but of course they're just saving that for v2.0
The Kindle Store is useless at selling me new content -- I have a wishlist of books I'd like to read/buy someday. You'd think offering me a Kindle Version of one of them would be a first choice.
And of course, the paperwhite is rooted, so if Gruber wants he can just add new fonts soon [2].
Complimentary ("Expressing a compliment; praising or approving.") does makes sense, but I believe you mean complementary ("Combining in such a way as to enhance or emphasize each other's qualities.")
Joshua left Engadget?! I just learned this. Wow. I guess I should pay more attention. I look at Engadget almost daily. Their article quality doesn't seem to have suffered.
"Amazon should hire a world-class book designer to serve as product manager for the Kindle."
I think this comment is just about right. The Kindle team really needs to focus on making the Kindle as good as traditional books, when applicable, but better than books whenever possible. Currently the Kindle fails to be as good as books where it counts most (e.g., clarity/sharpness of text, page layout decisions [e.g., hyphens], font choices, display contrast, index functionality, TOC functionality), and it only does a decent job of employing some of the technological advantages it has over books (e.g., the Kindle has a great weight-to-content-offered ratio, it backs up your collection remotely). It kind of surprises me that the Kindle hasn't already surpassed traditional books in every way. Maybe my expectations are too high, or maybe Amazon is more concerned with the bottom line than responding to readers like me. I don't know.
As a (very) avid Kindle user - I'd add the following to your list of features to make the Kindle "as good as a physical book":
o ability to loan to others
o physically robust (I've cracked three (3) screens)
o extended reading time (on at least two 10 day vacations
I ran my hyperjuice extended battery down
recharging my K3 every couple days)
o random-access speeds/location
o support for color.
Without my Kindle, my fortune of being born in the digital age may have prevented me from recognizing the value in buying a printed book. Furthermore, I was able to ebay it for cost (plus shipping!) thereby transforming the invaluable lesson into a gift.
1. This is a funny one, and is the main reason why I'm getting my wife the new one.
My wife loves her Kindle but when we're reading in bed together the sound of her clicking the button drives me up the wall. She likes that she can use a larger font so she doesn't need glasses, but that just means way more clicks-per-minute. I think she's pressed the button so many times it's worn out a bit because it makes a very distinct 'click'. After a while each one is like a gun shot in my ear.
My Big 2:
1) Why page turn?, why not page down? English reads top to bottom. Seems like a big improvement would be a page down instead of a page across.
2) If I zoom into text I don't want to have to horizontally scroll, that's even more annoying that small text.
My main problem is the color temperature of the light. It should shift from blue to orange as you make it dimmer. Reading with a blue cast light late at night, with the lights turned down sucks.
One of my main use cases is reading a book before bed. Without f.lux-like functionality that use case is significantly worse.
On the other hand, I can turn a bedlamp on and turn the backlight off, which is OK.
I agree on most points, and made the same upgrade (Keyboard to Paperwhite).
I love it, but I have three gripes. Two of them the author mentioned: uneven lighting at the bottom and the lack of physical pageturning buttons. The latter of which is not nitpicky as luigi has stated, it does fundamentally change your most common interaction with the device.
The third problem is that I have to go in to settings to turn off wireless. Their 8-week claim only works if there is no wireless on; otherwise it lasts a paltry couple of days. The old Keyboard model allowed you to turn on/off networking while reading a book. This version forces you to go to the home screen, then to settings, turn off networking, back to home, and finally back to your book. That's obnoxious.
They moved the wireless control to Settings a while ago, with the most recent system software update. I've got a 4th gen Kindle, so maybe that update wasn't supported on the Keyboard version. It pisses me off too.
I've owned a Kindle 2 (returned it within 30 days), Nook Touch (sold it), Kindle Touch (soon to sell it), and now the Kindle Paperwhite.
The Paperwhite is clearly superior to all of them. Gruber's points are all extremely nitpicky.
(1) It's not a big deal to move your thumb an inch to tap the screen. The device is so light that I suspect it would be hard to make a button with just the right resistance so that it could be easily pressed while holding it in one hand. But seriously, moving your thumb isn't hard. Gruber also harps on not being able to operate large screen Android phones with one hand. Just use both hands for crying out loud.
(2) The default Caecilia font is great. I think it's beautiful. Gruber loved picking on Droid Sans, but I think that's a great font too.
It's a worthy upgrade to any of the previous e-ink Kindles.
Page turning buttons are the killer feature for me. I've tried reading for 4-5 hours with the touch, and having to the screen all the time made it as bad as reading on an iPad for me. The font is also kind of crappy, but I can live with it - not really a make-it/break-it deal.
After reading on the Gen1, and Gen2, I've stuck with a Gen 3 Kindle, and I'm hoping Amazon comes out with an eReader with a combination of backlighting (I have the Leather case with Light) and great buttons. (The Gen3 are a little stiff - much, much better than the "You touch it, you turn the pages Gen1" - but still not what I'm really looking for - I guess button are really hard to do properly.)
I'm also hoping for better battery life - I usually blow through my battery in a couple days of heavy reading, so I always end up having to carry a hyperjuice when camping to get through a full week of reading - it would be great to have a kindle that gives you a full week of nonstop reading.
Concerning #2: I would love to hear a discussion on why Caecilia is great, or not in this instance. Or why font __ is great, or not in this instance. Gruber goes into that a little (which is insightful), however as most typography related discussions I see, it often comes down to "I prefer this or that and so don't like how they used this other one instead." But why? Do cases exist where it is strictly personal preference? In that case why bother pointing it out? Or is the actual reason not known? Or is it laziness?
Typography-tuned-people often claim there's a right way and wrong way, which is probably true. However it's fascinating to think that a vast majority of people aren't tuned into the existence of the subtleties, affected (true?), or care about most of the subtleties -- possibly because the actual impact it has is very very minimal. (Again, is it?)
I love the way he approaches the device. His argument that Amazon should work their asses off making this as perfect as possible for reading books is very compelling. Great buttons - yes. Beautiful, deliberately selected typography - yes. I hope someone at Amazon is thinking the same way - I think I'll wait to buy a Kindle when Gruber says "this is what it should be."
I would pay a significant premium for that sort of deluxe luxury device. I doubt Amazon will ever do it because they're all about scale. I wonder if they'd ever work with a third-party for doing that sort of work.
Don't hope too much. The Kindle app on the Mac is horrendously bad. I mailed Bezos personally about it. The mail was acknowledged, but now, 1 year later, the app still stinks as much as before.
Even though it's not as pleasant as print typography, it's still worth it. I totally agree that it can be better, but for me it's already outclassing the physical book experience.
I wish Amazon would hire some competent UX people. I love the screens and hate hate hate hate hate hate hate using their devices. I'll put up with the iPad screen to read at night because the Kindle software works better on it. W. T. F.? I'm waiting for an e-ink screen with physical page turn buttons, with no other UI than the absolutely bare minimum to read books. I don't want a keyboard, or a web browser, or even a store. Please, just a THING that lets me read. Does such a device exist? Of course, content is king and therefore no single device will ever suffice, which is maddening in its own special way.
"the Kindle still lacks hyphenation but yet insists upon full-justified text. Full justification without hyphenation inevitably results in unsightly gaps between words on a few lines each page."
On my Kindle, at least, words seem to be separated at most 1 em, and any more and they go 'ragged right' instead of hyphenating — which I actually found far more pleasant than even Liang's LaTeX hyphenation algorithm in terms of readability.
Looking at my Kindle Keyboard, I have one book (Moonwalking with Einstein) that is ragged-right and another (On Intelligence) that is full justified. Perhaps it's the formatting of the e-book and not the device?
Does the touch screen require flesh or equivalent, or will it work through cloth and fabric?
One of the nicest things about my first generation Kindle, and it's nice big page turning buttons on the sides, is that I can read in bed on a cold night, snug under my blanket, grasping the Kindle through the blanket.
To turn the page, I simply have to bump the side with the hand that is not holding it. This can be done without taking either hand out from under the blanket. In fact, I can usually just bump it on my stomach or chest.
If I have to actually extrude some fleshy appendage out from under my blanket to turn pages, I will consider that a step backwards.
The paperwhite uses a capacitive touch screen which does only respond to flesh.
THe previous model, Kindle Touch used an infrared touch sensor that could be triggered by anything touching the screen, but in my experience it was too easy to trigger by accident.
I want to buy the Kobo instead of the paperwhite because I hear the screens are almost comparable and I don't want to be tied to the amazon ecosystem exclusively and the microSD support is a big plus. I need ePub support and I do not want ads. I hear the Kobo Glo screen is just as good.
The primary reason I upgraded from a 3rd gen Kindle to the Kindle 4 rather than the Touch was the latter's lack of page-turn buttons. But I've been using the Paperwhite for a week now and it's not been a problem at all.
I just rest my thumb on the bottom right corner and move it about as much as I did with the actual button on prior models.
I was excited about the new fonts when I saw them announced, but will agree with Gruber that none of them are great. I still prefer Caecilia Condensed.
My Paperwhite also suffers from some unevenness in the lighting on the bottom, but I quickly forgot about it. Amazon's product description promises an evenly illuminated display, so it would be better if they actually delivered, of course.
I don't understand the dislike of Caecilia. Sure, it's not quite a book font, but the kindle isn't quite a book either. For the context, Caecilia looks great.
- Turn Off everything you can: the store, wifi, 3g, recommendations, awards, share, ads.etc ANything with an off button.
- Once a month or three load it up with some books that you would like to read. Just books. Not too many. Choose, then load.
Basically, de-gadgetize it. Make it into a book. A nice, light book.
Our computer world is a hell of distractions. To me, any reminder that I'm reading on a "device" that can do other things is unwelcome. Even recharging the device breaks the illusions for me.
I was initially frustrated that I didn't have a convenient way o get short PDFs, blog posts and such onto the device. Now I'm glad. Short-form articles would just put me into browsing mode.
The upshot of all this is that unless the manufacturers can get better at things they are already very good at (eg weight, battery life), I want the old cheap one. I don't want any new features.
My default position is suspicion of every "feature." I hear "paperwhite screen" My immediate reaction is I don't want it to feel more like a screen & I don't want it to feel more like a screen and I don't want a brightness button.
OP>> It definitely feels different on my eyes than LED/LCD backlighting. ... This new display, even with the lighting turned on, still feels like e-ink.
Does someone know what is going on? As such, the light is light whether from LEDs/LCD or from Kindle Paperwhite.
Kindle may be using less default brightness levels but that could be adjusted for LCDs too. Is lower contrast ratio of Kindle helping since black is not too black [1][2]
Maybe it's actually white rather than r/g/b close together? I can see that being the sort of thing that would make things look different in a way you couldn't consciously explain.
I may not be representative, but I actually prefer the lack of backlighting in my keyboard-kindle. The fonts don't bother me either, but Gruber may have a point here.
I would like a good touchscreen, however I like my page-turning buttons and do not want to give up those. I'm also concerned that battery life will be worse on these newer version, and that is something I care about.
Gruber has a point in that the Kindle should be extremely optimized for reading. I already own an iPad, I don't want an eBook Reader that tries to be a cheap tablet.
So I guess not really worth upgrading from the Kindle Keyboard with a lit cover. Too bad, the cover makes it quite heavy, but I also really like page turning buttons for lazy reading.
I agree about the page-turning buttons. That is why I didn't get the touch and won't get the paperwhite. I don't mind not having backlighting, so I'll stick with the cheapest Kindle.
The usual tap, swipe to turn page was instead activating the font size select. I'm not sure if my sweaty finger (sorry for the image) was the cause, or some other bug in the Kindle.
Amazon really needs to make these devices solid. I like the e-ink for the relaxing time experience AND the fact that I don't have to worry about battery (mostly), I just shove it in my gym bag, something I can't do with my nexus 7, b/c the battery might be almost dead.
Kindle Paperwhite newly implements two-finger pinch (smaller font size) and expand (bigger font size). On the way to carrying out the font size change, it pops up the font-size select window, then closes it. It's possible that you accidentally invoked this functionality.
[+] [-] spartango|13 years ago|reply
Where Topolsky reviewed the Kindle Paperwhite as an electronic device, comparing it to other tablet and e-reader devices, Gruber weighed the Kindle as a book, comparing its characteristics to the print medium.
Considered together, I find the two reviews complementary. The Kindle Paperwhite beats other electronic reading media, but is still lacks some of the characteristics of print. It's certainly a step in that direction, though.
[1] http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/30/3433110/amazon-kindle-pape...
[+] [-] joelrunyon|13 years ago|reply
I thought that was really insightful. It'd be really interesting to make the kindle the best reading experience period - not just the best e-reading experience.
[+] [-] greenmountin|13 years ago|reply
I pre-ordered it and got it ASAP, and like it except for the extreme sparsity of settings. The wifi is on either for browsing or page syncing; it should be smart enough to turn off if you're not interested in either. The light can't be turned completely off [although, I admit I can't think of a use case for this]. I was excited at how quickly it transfers files -- the specs say USB 2.0, but it's pretty much instantaneous, even for 100 MB bootlegs. The uneven lighting makes me feel resentful, but of course they're just saving that for v2.0
The Kindle Store is useless at selling me new content -- I have a wishlist of books I'd like to read/buy someday. You'd think offering me a Kindle Version of one of them would be a first choice.
And of course, the paperwhite is rooted, so if Gruber wants he can just add new fonts soon [2].
[1] http://gizmodo.com/5947435/kindle-paperwhite-review-forget-e...
[2] http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=192858
[+] [-] maegget|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] GimbalLock|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] merryandrew|13 years ago|reply
I think this comment is just about right. The Kindle team really needs to focus on making the Kindle as good as traditional books, when applicable, but better than books whenever possible. Currently the Kindle fails to be as good as books where it counts most (e.g., clarity/sharpness of text, page layout decisions [e.g., hyphens], font choices, display contrast, index functionality, TOC functionality), and it only does a decent job of employing some of the technological advantages it has over books (e.g., the Kindle has a great weight-to-content-offered ratio, it backs up your collection remotely). It kind of surprises me that the Kindle hasn't already surpassed traditional books in every way. Maybe my expectations are too high, or maybe Amazon is more concerned with the bottom line than responding to readers like me. I don't know.
[+] [-] ghshephard|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tammer|13 years ago|reply
Without my Kindle, my fortune of being born in the digital age may have prevented me from recognizing the value in buying a printed book. Furthermore, I was able to ebay it for cost (plus shipping!) thereby transforming the invaluable lesson into a gift.
[+] [-] Eliezer|13 years ago|reply
1) Give me back my physical pageturn buttons that I can tap without moving my fingers! Why, Amazon, why?
2) Make the LED whiter, maybe even yellower, instead of bluish. I'm not a color expert, I just know that this color looks wrong.
3) I'm not sure what's up with the font, but pick a font that doesn't look fragile, like some parts of thinner connectors are half-not-there.
[+] [-] xefer|13 years ago|reply
My wife loves her Kindle but when we're reading in bed together the sound of her clicking the button drives me up the wall. She likes that she can use a larger font so she doesn't need glasses, but that just means way more clicks-per-minute. I think she's pressed the button so many times it's worn out a bit because it makes a very distinct 'click'. After a while each one is like a gun shot in my ear.
[+] [-] gwern|13 years ago|reply
But if it wasn't blue, it wouldn't suppress your melatonin secretion and make you stay up all night reading and buy more books!
[+] [-] iterationx|13 years ago|reply
2) If I zoom into text I don't want to have to horizontally scroll, that's even more annoying that small text.
[+] [-] andrewvc|13 years ago|reply
One of my main use cases is reading a book before bed. Without f.lux-like functionality that use case is significantly worse.
On the other hand, I can turn a bedlamp on and turn the backlight off, which is OK.
[+] [-] geekfactor|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mmanfrin|13 years ago|reply
I love it, but I have three gripes. Two of them the author mentioned: uneven lighting at the bottom and the lack of physical pageturning buttons. The latter of which is not nitpicky as luigi has stated, it does fundamentally change your most common interaction with the device.
The third problem is that I have to go in to settings to turn off wireless. Their 8-week claim only works if there is no wireless on; otherwise it lasts a paltry couple of days. The old Keyboard model allowed you to turn on/off networking while reading a book. This version forces you to go to the home screen, then to settings, turn off networking, back to home, and finally back to your book. That's obnoxious.
[+] [-] geekfactor|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] luigi|13 years ago|reply
The Paperwhite is clearly superior to all of them. Gruber's points are all extremely nitpicky.
(1) It's not a big deal to move your thumb an inch to tap the screen. The device is so light that I suspect it would be hard to make a button with just the right resistance so that it could be easily pressed while holding it in one hand. But seriously, moving your thumb isn't hard. Gruber also harps on not being able to operate large screen Android phones with one hand. Just use both hands for crying out loud.
(2) The default Caecilia font is great. I think it's beautiful. Gruber loved picking on Droid Sans, but I think that's a great font too.
It's a worthy upgrade to any of the previous e-ink Kindles.
[+] [-] ghshephard|13 years ago|reply
After reading on the Gen1, and Gen2, I've stuck with a Gen 3 Kindle, and I'm hoping Amazon comes out with an eReader with a combination of backlighting (I have the Leather case with Light) and great buttons. (The Gen3 are a little stiff - much, much better than the "You touch it, you turn the pages Gen1" - but still not what I'm really looking for - I guess button are really hard to do properly.)
I'm also hoping for better battery life - I usually blow through my battery in a couple days of heavy reading, so I always end up having to carry a hyperjuice when camping to get through a full week of reading - it would be great to have a kindle that gives you a full week of nonstop reading.
[+] [-] aik|13 years ago|reply
Typography-tuned-people often claim there's a right way and wrong way, which is probably true. However it's fascinating to think that a vast majority of people aren't tuned into the existence of the subtleties, affected (true?), or care about most of the subtleties -- possibly because the actual impact it has is very very minimal. (Again, is it?)
[+] [-] sneak|13 years ago|reply
That's what we pay him for, isn't it?
[+] [-] dmorgan|13 years ago|reply
No, but it IS annoying.
"It's not big deal" is defensive. It conveys the opposite message, that it _is_ kind of a deal.
[+] [-] corporalagumbo|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] allwein|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Gring|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] omellet|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jfb|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lubutu|13 years ago|reply
On my Kindle, at least, words seem to be separated at most 1 em, and any more and they go 'ragged right' instead of hyphenating — which I actually found far more pleasant than even Liang's LaTeX hyphenation algorithm in terms of readability.
[+] [-] tghw|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tzs|13 years ago|reply
One of the nicest things about my first generation Kindle, and it's nice big page turning buttons on the sides, is that I can read in bed on a cold night, snug under my blanket, grasping the Kindle through the blanket.
To turn the page, I simply have to bump the side with the hand that is not holding it. This can be done without taking either hand out from under the blanket. In fact, I can usually just bump it on my stomach or chest.
If I have to actually extrude some fleshy appendage out from under my blanket to turn pages, I will consider that a step backwards.
[+] [-] quux|13 years ago|reply
THe previous model, Kindle Touch used an infrared touch sensor that could be triggered by anything touching the screen, but in my experience it was too easy to trigger by accident.
[+] [-] mrtron|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] amalag|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bryanlarsen|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] reaganing|13 years ago|reply
I just rest my thumb on the bottom right corner and move it about as much as I did with the actual button on prior models.
I was excited about the new fonts when I saw them announced, but will agree with Gruber that none of them are great. I still prefer Caecilia Condensed.
My Paperwhite also suffers from some unevenness in the lighting on the bottom, but I quickly forgot about it. Amazon's product description promises an evenly illuminated display, so it would be better if they actually delivered, of course.
[+] [-] notatoad|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] netcan|13 years ago|reply
- buy a simple ereader.
- Turn Off everything you can: the store, wifi, 3g, recommendations, awards, share, ads.etc ANything with an off button.
- Once a month or three load it up with some books that you would like to read. Just books. Not too many. Choose, then load.
Basically, de-gadgetize it. Make it into a book. A nice, light book.
Our computer world is a hell of distractions. To me, any reminder that I'm reading on a "device" that can do other things is unwelcome. Even recharging the device breaks the illusions for me.
I was initially frustrated that I didn't have a convenient way o get short PDFs, blog posts and such onto the device. Now I'm glad. Short-form articles would just put me into browsing mode.
The upshot of all this is that unless the manufacturers can get better at things they are already very good at (eg weight, battery life), I want the old cheap one. I don't want any new features.
My default position is suspicion of every "feature." I hear "paperwhite screen" My immediate reaction is I don't want it to feel more like a screen & I don't want it to feel more like a screen and I don't want a brightness button.
[+] [-] CrazedGeek|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mtgx|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] alok-g|13 years ago|reply
Does someone know what is going on? As such, the light is light whether from LEDs/LCD or from Kindle Paperwhite.
Kindle may be using less default brightness levels but that could be adjusted for LCDs too. Is lower contrast ratio of Kindle helping since black is not too black [1][2]
[1] Kindle has contrast ratio of ~10:1. See here http://www.best-ereaders.com/2010/09/02/eink-pearl-vs-eink-v...
[2] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4357002
[+] [-] lmm|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bad_user|13 years ago|reply
I would like a good touchscreen, however I like my page-turning buttons and do not want to give up those. I'm also concerned that battery life will be worse on these newer version, and that is something I care about.
Gruber has a point in that the Kindle should be extremely optimized for reading. I already own an iPad, I don't want an eBook Reader that tries to be a cheap tablet.
[+] [-] aristidb|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] joelhooks|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hakaaak|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pragmatic|13 years ago|reply
I rant into a bug at the gym.
The usual tap, swipe to turn page was instead activating the font size select. I'm not sure if my sweaty finger (sorry for the image) was the cause, or some other bug in the Kindle.
Amazon really needs to make these devices solid. I like the e-ink for the relaxing time experience AND the fact that I don't have to worry about battery (mostly), I just shove it in my gym bag, something I can't do with my nexus 7, b/c the battery might be almost dead.
[+] [-] rg|13 years ago|reply