I love books almost as much as I love life. I love the smell of the print on paper, I love the tactile feel of the paper grain, I love that in the last decade, cover art has gone wild – but more than all that, I love the adventure that lies within the pages of a book. I love the escapism, the beautiful way that whole worlds evolve through words as you turn the pages. And that’s why I love the Kindle Paperwhite, because those alternate realities are the realities in which I reside.
Many choose the Kindle as an ebook reader – and the Kindle Paperwhite is the most popular. I’m going to tell you why – and I’m also tell you what’s wrong with it.
The Disconnekt Downlow
Pros
+ Battery life
+ Great display
+ Access to so many books
Cons
– No page turn buttons
– Kindle Store UX could be better
The Kindle Paperwhite remains the Kindle of choice for many, combining that large display, great battery performance and waterproofing to make for a great reading device. The illumination and size makes it better than the cheaper entry-level Kindle, but it does lack the page turn buttons of the more expensive Kindle Oasis. Ultimately, it’s about reading and through many years the Kindle has been the ultimate reading device for me.
The reasons you should choose the Kindle Paperwhite
There’s a common argument for using an ebook reader over buying paper books. You can instantly buy and download to get reading, and you can carry more books in one device than you’d ever be able to fit in your holiday luggage.
The E Ink display is very economical with battery power, meaning that this device will last about 10 weeks – although it depends how much reading you do, as it’s based on page turns. There’s a USB-C socket for charging, so it’s probably the same charger as your phone or laptop. The 6.8-inch display is a great size and it’s well illuminated, making for pleasant reading in all conditions.
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The display is better than the smaller (but cheaper) Kindle and is only bettered by the now aging Kindle Oasis. That’s what really draws me to the Paperwhite, it’s just a lovely display to read on and I’d definitely say it’s worth the additional cost over Amazon’s entry-level model.
The Kindle Paperwhite is also waterproof, which means that a leaky bag in the rain or mishap at the pool won’t be a disaster, while it’s light enough to hold one-handed when you’re reading late at night. I prefer to set it to dark mode to reduce eye strain in low light conditions and that makes the page refreshes smoother too.
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It’s also waterproof, which means that a leaky bag in the rain or mishap at the pool won’t be a disaster.
There’s plenty of customisation: you can change the font size with a pinch on the display, you can change the font style, as well as adjust the illumination level and the colour temperature. That latter option is really important if you’re an insomniac like me, because reducing that blue light is really important when reading with tired eyes.
What the Kindle Paperwhite could do better
But the Kindle Paperwhite is a couple of years old now and it is easy to see where improvements could be made. There are no page turn buttons for starters. This has recently been the preserve of the Kindle Oasis (and before that the Kindle Voyage), but buttons have been absent for some time. Buttons are the reason that I’d recommend the Kindle Oasis if you can afford it – because reading it one-handed is so much easier when there’s a button to press.
Then there’s a universal problem that all Kindles suffer from: the Kindle Store is in serious need of revision. It can be slow to navigate, it’s often illogical in the suggestions it makes and it does a poor job of keeping track of what you’ve read. Recommendations will suggest that you continue a series you started, but when it’s as expansive as something like Simon Scarrow’s Rome series, or Lee Child’s Reacher (where the blurb makes different books indistinguishable), it’s easy to get lost.
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There’s an opportunity here for Amazon to really serve the reader community, managing what you’ve read from Kindle Store and what you’ve physically bought – so when you search for Jack Reacher or a Bosch novel, you get the book you actually want. For some, it might just be that the Kindle Store is too frustrating. Sure, it’s never going to be like walking through a book store or library and marvelling at the beautiful books.
Kindle supports other file types aside from books that you’d get from the Kindle Store, so you can manually add other documents. You can get access to book services through public libraries on your Kindle, but not all libraries support this feature.
A boost for Prime members
One of the features of the Kindle that boosts the experience is something called Prime Reading. This is essentially free books for Prime members, a little perk so you’re not constantly buying new books. The selection isn’t made up of blockbusters or big name authors, but there is a lot of great entertainment in there.
If you’re looking to take it a step further then Kindle Unlimited gives you access to more titles from big authors, but it can be expensive. I often subscribe when there’s an offer, read some blockbusters and then cancel my subscription. Equally, you can subscribe during your holiday and then just cancel – all you have to do is head to your Amazon account to hit “cancel” in the subscriptions.
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One of the other selling points that works in Kindle’s favour is integration into the rest of the Amazon ecosystem. That allows syncing across devices and thanks to a great Kindle app for tablets or phones, you can resume reading at any point on your iPhone or Samsung phone, for example. Find yourself stuck in a hospital waiting room unexpectedly? Open the Kindle app and keep reading your book on your phone.
There’s also some integration with Alexa – try asking your Echo to read your Kindle book and Alexa will get going with it, which is a nice surprise. Sure, it’s not as smooth as an Audible book (also supported via Bluetooth headphones on the Kindle Paperwhite), but it shows the diversity of access options that Kindle offers thanks to Amazon’s broad reach.
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Should you buy the Kindle Paperwhite?
I’ve been a fan of the Kindle since its inception. I’d pick an E Ink device for reading over a phone or tablet any day of the week and I’d happily stand up and defend the Kindle’s dogged single-function utilisation. I think it’s the ultimate device for reading and I’d recommend it to anyone who loves books.
Sure, it could be better and it won’t replace that tactile book reading experience, but of all the devices I have, it’s the Kindle Paperwhite that gets the most hours of my attention – and that says a lot.
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FAQs
What are Prime Reading and Kindle Unlimited?
Amazon offers two routes to accessing books through the Kindle Store on top of simply buying them. The first, Prime Reading is part of an Amazon Prime subscription and gives you access to free Kindle books as part of the package. The second, Kindle Unlimited, is a separate subscription package costing £9.99 a month that gives you access to many premium titles. It’s a great option for regular readers – but watch out for discounts around sales events to get the best deal.
Yes, Kindle books often cost less than buying the print edition. The price of the Kindle version will often depend on the age of the book – but usually it’s lower than the prices you’ll find in a book store.
Yes, if you setup an Amazon Household, you’ll be able to share books between members of that Household. This also applies to Kindle Unlimited books, but be aware that there’s a limit on how many books you can “borrow” at the same time and that applies across the whole household.
Modern Kindles have newer E Ink panels so the page refreshes are faster than they used to be. But there’s also an option to reduce the Page Refresh in the settings menu. Alternatively, try using Dark Mode on your Kindle to reduce the impression of page flashing.
