Just before Christmas I got an Amazon Kindle Paperwhite as a gift from a credit card company. I was an early Kindler and I’ve had my eye on the illuminated Paperwhite for some time. I couldn’t justify buying one because, as an iPad owner, it seemed simply superfluous. However, I decided to jump on the gift horse and asked for the Kindle instead of a case of plonk. Now I am left wondering whether a drunken binge would have been a better option. What’s the point, I wonder, in having yet another toy to fit the same bill?
When I unpacked the Kindle I loved its solid (if plasticky) feel and I much preferred the touchscreen paradigm to the old keyboard Kindle which is still gathering dust on a shelf. The screen is very clear in all conditions, the touchability is adequate but not up to the speed we are used to with modern tablets. For £109 it’s a good buy and highly recommended if all you want to do is read books. I like the built-in dictionary, the X-Ray view and the direct access to the Kindle Store (which Apple refuses to allow in the iOS Kindle reader application). Above all, I like the Amazon Kindle store and the eco-system that goes with it.
On the negative side, the Kindle screen sports unfashionably wide borders, something of a shock if you are used to the skinny bezel of an iPad. But at 6in (diagonally) the screen is just about ideal for reading almost anywhere. The iPad mini has a 30% larger screen with a diagonal measurement of 7.9in. However, because of those small borders, the iPad doesn’t feel 30% bigger or heavier.
Do I prefer the Kindle to the iPad mini? Well, no. For the first two or three weeks I carried the Kindle around the house, propped it up in bed and even took it walkabout outside. I enjoyed using it. But then I sort of slipped back into using the iPad Mini and I now realise I haven’t used the Kindle once since the New Year. Perhaps it will turn out to be just another fad but, at least, I didn’t actually pay for it. Nor can I drink it, more’s the pity.
On of the problems is Amazon’s WhisperSync which works so well on iOS devices. Since I often read on the Mac’s Cinema Display or, at the other end of the scale, on my iPhone 5s, I am used to having my books in sync all the time. It’s something I just don’t think about, it just happens. Unfortunately, the Kindle Paperwhite has no cellular ability and on several occasions I found myself away from home with an unsynced reader. After a number of such occasions, when I had to set up my iPhone as a hotspot in order the synchronise, I began to wonder if it wouldn’t be better to stick with the iOS devices.
I will keep the Kindle for use around the house, where it can synchronised over wifi, but it will not be my primary reading device. Furthermore, on balance, I prefer the iPad for reading (with the iPhone coming second best). I cannot overlook the convenience of their multi-tasking, go-anywhere capabilities. The Kindle Paperwhite is an effective, very convenient one-trick pony but isn’t the answer for me.
Read more: Should I get a Kindle or an iPad Mini (Macworld)
Kindle Paperwhite from Amazon
Kindle Paperwhite, 6″ High Resolution Display with Next-Gen Built-in Light, Wi-Fi
One thing that is of importance to me: If I have to read a magazine, a leaflet or a brochure I certainly prefer to use a tablet i.e. iPad or Android equivalent. If I am to read a real book and spend hours doing so, I do not feel as comfortable reading on an ‘iPad’ because the light coming from behind the screen is killing my eyes after a while as with every computer type screen.
For this application I believe the e-Ink system is the best invention since paper itself. It is the closest you can get to a true paper page and you could read for ever without hurting your eyes as much as with a tablet or computer. At least that is my experience.
I believe these two ‘tablets’ have a very different purpose in my opinion. To use a photography analogy, using a tablet is like using a zoom instead of using a fixed lens – sometimes you realise more is less and you stick to the fixed lens despite its lack of versatility because for what you intent to achieve it is more suitable…
I own both technologies and I never use one for the other for that reason.
And I will certainly be prepared to acquire a tablet that is offering the possibility to read e-Ink when I need it and be a tablet the rest of the time…Let’s hope someone somewhere is thinking the same because for people like me it would be a no brainer.