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Hi, we’re on Netbooknews.it and this is the Kindle Paperwhite video-review.
It’s the latest Amazon E-Reader
and it’ll be available in Italy from mid-November at 129 Euros.
It is technically advanced, compared to previous models and competitor products
because it’s the first of this brand to use a lit-up screen,
a front-lit display which makes easier the reading in dark rooms or indoor,
and it’s the first with E-Ink Pearl HD screen,
with an above-average resolution which gives
crisper and clearer images and text.
From the quality point of view it’s a great product
and I think it’s the strongest Kindle ever, it weighs 213 grams.
Inside, around the E-Ink screen, we find a metal frame
and that makes it solid, strong and well-balanced.
Most of all, it’s pleasant to the touch and comfortable,
due to a matte rubberized back plate,
but this time it doesn’t cover only the rear, like in the previous models,
but also the front-frame.
You can manage all this Kindle Paperwhite's features using the Touch interface,
the only physical button on the frame is the on-button down here.
The touch-screen is of the capacitive type
and uses a different technology, unlike the previous model based on infrared.
Plus, we have the new exclusive version of the Kindle software
– only in this model -
which is snappy in the everyday use,
in the page turning and in more complex operations
for example pinch-to-zoom in pdf files
and Web navigation with the “experimental” web browser.
A step forward has been made in the response time of the system
and now you can use the Kindle as if it were an Android Tablet,
with performances that were unthinkable
on devices like this until a few years ago.
The graphics interface has been updated:
now the Library shows the book covers if you want
and makes a sharp distinction between
the contents locally saved and those saved on the Amazon Cloud Storage.
In this model you also have the chance to create contents’ collections
and buy books directly on the Amazon KindleStore, by using the built-in WI-FI.
The graphics interface is easy and clear,
for example to change the font size or type
you just need to open the popup menu,
select one of the six types or nine sizes, modify the spacing and margins…
the whole in real-time, without waiting too much.
The same is for the on-screen pinch-to-zoom,
it’s easy to look up the built-in Zingarelli dictionary,
or highlight some parts and share them on social networks.
One of the most important news is the estimate of how much time
it’ll take you to finish the current chapter or book,
and this is a feature we find only in this Amazon E-Reader.
Kindle Paperwhite, without using the free conversion offered by Amazon,
supports all the main E-Book formats, except .epub
and the formats used for comics .cbz and .cbr.
For pdf files, there are new controls to manage the zoom.
In fact now we have to use the pinch-to-zoom directly on the screen
and then just drag the image to move it as we wish.
I find this “mechanism” more intuitive than older models
and well-supported by the graphics interface, really responsive.
On the other hand, this pursuit of minimalism
reduced the chances to customize pdf files,
actually you can only increase or decrease the contrast.
Well, this was a general smattering,
please take a look at the complete review at the link on the screen,
where you’ll find details on the graphics interface, supported formats and so on.
And now we can talk about the real star of this Kindle Paperwhite: the lighting.
As we said, this is not a backlit screen, like those of Tablets.
This front-lit display is one of the main reasons why it doesn’t strain the eyes.
In fact there’s no difference between this lighting and a lamp on the display.
The good thing is the homogeneity due to a particular film on the E-Ink screen
which reflects and diffuses the light from the four LEDs down here.
Now, that’s how to use the light:
Amazon suggests to set it on maximum or high level in bright sunlight
and to keep it low when you’re in dark rooms.
These settings make the E-Ink panel one of the whitest…
… indeed the whitest of any Kindle screen yet.
But you have to take into account these settings in the everyday use,
because if you set the light to maximum while reading in dark rooms
the origin of the light, the position of the LEDs,
becomes too visible, and that could cover
some lines or words of your book while you’re reading.
To avoid that, you have to decrease the lighting,
I suggest you to set it between 7 and 12 points
of the Kindle scale when you’re in dark places.
But in brightly lit places you can use high setting to make whiter the screen.
Those who read a lot during the night or travel by tram or train,
where the light changes during the day… they can’t do without this Paperwhite.
But I can tell you that the advantages of this lighting are evident indoor too,
also considering that the battery life
is more than thirty days even with the screen lit up.
But still, Paperwhite is not the ultimate E-Reader,
personally I found uncomfortable the lack of physical page-turning buttons,
which could make better the reading experience.
And I didn’t appreciate Amazon’s choice
to totally remove the audio functionalities from this device…
as you can see, no loudspeakers or headphone jacks here,
you can’t playback mp3 or audio-books,
which are things actually related to the reader's experience.
Beyond these things, I find it a great device:
just take a look at the construction quality and the beautiful design…
you wouldn’t expect all that from a 120 Euros device.
Also the illumination system, with its small imperfections too,
is a real proud and something that everyone should try some time.
For more info on Kindle Paperwhite
please read the complete review at the link
and subscribe on this YouTube channel
because more videos on the Amazon E- Reader are coming in the next days!