Kindle Paperwhite
- Rizbi
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Re: Kindle Paperwhite
Feature for adjusting brightness, highlighting and taking notes do not hurt either
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- BarryEM
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As to being comfortable to your eyes, the Paperwhite is exactly as comfortable to read with as a paper book. No better and no worse. The exception to that is you can read in poor light easily, which is uncomfortable or impossible with paper. However I'm more comfortable reading in good light even though the Paperwhite doesn't need it so for me, at least, that isn't a big advantage. Well, some summer nights I like to sit on the porch and read with the porch light off so the mosquitoes can't see me and that's nice, but it's a small thing.
The thing about the Kindle is that it has a built-in dictionary. When I don't know a word I press my fingertip on it and in about a second it's definition pops up on the screen. And it's really an excellent dictionary. It comes with both the Oxford English dictionary and the Oxford American English dictionary. And it's a snap to use them.
Also if I encounter a foreign phrase I touch it to highlight it and tap the translate button that pops up and bang, there's the English translation, right on my screen. This is slower than the dictionary since it usually takes 2 or 3 seconds. And it requires internet access.
If I encounter a topic I want to know more about I highlight it and press the wiki button that pops up and it gives me the Wikipedia entry for that topic. This also requires internet access.
Because those two features, important ones to me, require internet access I have the 3G version of the Kindle, which costs about $70 more. I rarely use that for downloading books but it lets me get translations and Wikipedia information about what I'm reading even if I'm not near my Wifi.
As for quality, both the Paperwhite and the Voyage give a very strong feeling of quality and craftsmanship. They're well built and sturdy. The screen with it's light is probably the most fragile part but using it in a cover when I'm away from the house protects it. I've been using them for several years with never a problem.
The light isn't like the light on a tablet. Tablets have backlights that shine up through the screen and into your eyes. Gazing at them for long periods is essentially staring into a light. A lot of people aren't bothered by this but many are. I can read on a tablet or on my phone just fine for about 15 minutes but after that I begin to get eyestrain.
The Paperwhite's light is a front light. The screen is opaque. If it had a backlight (it doesn't) you couldn't tell it since no light can get through. The front light shines down on the screen in exactly the same way that your lamp shines down on the page of your book. It's exactly the same as reading a paper book while sitting under a lamp.
I'm not selling Kindles. The dictionary and translation feature and Wikipedia are nice but I don't think they're at all essential. I read happily for years without them. But they are nice to have. It's as simple as that.
Another thing I like about the Kindle is that it weighs a lot less than a typical paperback and it's more comfortable to hold in my hand for long periods. That's true of both the Voyage and the Paperwhite but the Voyage is even lighter and smaller and easier to hold.
I was never unhappy with paperbacks. I never liked reading hardbacks but paperbacks were comfortable and fit nicely in my hip pocket so I could take them with me. I can't put my Kindle in my hip pocket or I'd sit on it and that would be bad. So I lose that, and yet it's small and sturdy and light so it's not hard to carry with me.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that if I read too long and my eyes get a little tired, which sometimes happens at the end of a long day of reading, I can simply make the font larger and keep right on going. That takes about 2 seconds. It's that easy.
My suggestion, if you want to find out more about them, is to find someone who has one and will show you how to use it. It takes about 3 to 5 minutes to learn to use it well. Then spend a few minutes reading with it and see what you think. If you like it, fine. If you don't, you gave it a shot.
By the way, I'm an old guy living in a retirement home in rural Arkansas and most of my neighbors never even saw a Kindle till they saw mine. A number of them were curious and I let them try it out. Now most of them have their own.
Books for a Kindle are cheaper at first. Since you can't resell them they're about the same in the long run.
Anyway, that's about all I know about it. I like reading on my Kindle and I think most people who try it will too.
Barry
- stephsavva
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- jachym
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I'm not a native English speaker so the built-in dictionary has been of great help to me. It even has a vocabulary builder for my language learning.
- ZeroChill
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- Camille Turner
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- Libs_Books
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- BarryEM
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I'm not sure I believe in the blue light problem. Most of the studies about that were inconclusive and involved a lot more light than we get from our devices. I'll sometimes watch a video on my Fire tablet in bed and then turn over and sleep just fine.
My theory about the blue light problem is that there was publicity and device makers latched on to that to give themselves a new selling point. Most tablets now have a blue light filter and it's heavily advertised. It's what sells that matters, not what works. A great example of that is the shiny screen on computers even though nearly all agree that matte screens are better for most things. But shiny screens sell in the stores so most of our screens are shiny.
Anyway, whether I'm right or wrong for reading you'll find the Paperwhite gives you a far better reading experience. You get to read by reflected light, kind of like lamplight, instead of reading by a light shining through the screen into your eyes. It makes for much better contrast, less eyestrain and the text is far sharper due to the higher resolution screen.
Barry
- Libs_Books
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This. I much prefer my Fire to the Paperwhite, but I get frustrated with how fast the Fire's battery runs out. The Paperwhite lasts much longer.anomalocaris wrote: ↑26 Apr 2014, 21:05 Someone loaned me one to try. I gave it back because I never used it. I'm a natural speed reader, and the paperwhite takes SOOOO long to turn a page. I hated it. I have a Kindle Fire, which is not good in bright sunlight, but at least I don't have to twiddle my thumbs and wait for the page to turn.
- [Valerie Allen]
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No. But it sounds something I should have.
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- Books Galore
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I prefer reading on the Paperwhite. There is no glare on the screen and it has more of the look of an actual page from a book. I find the Paperwhite to be much easier on the eyes for long hours of reading. Plus, I only charge it once every couple weeks.
The Fire HD is great if you are into playing games or for use in searching the internet. You can read on it too of course, but you can forget about trying to read outside....horrible glare! I actually rarely use my Fire HD anymore since I purchased the Paperwhite.
Happy Reading!
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