Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Review

February 01, 2020

After my previous Kindle saga I have finally received my Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. I have been using the device for a week, and love it more than the original. Amazon has refined and improved the Kindle to the point I can strongly recommend it.

What is different from my second generation Kindle? The screen. It is crisper and has a built-in backlight. This completely transforms the quality and usability of the device. Where I previously had a case with a book light for my old Kindle, I carry and use my new one naked. The Kindle Paperwhite is smaller and lighter. Besides being easier to hold I can fit it in a jacket pocket. This means more opportunities to carry it with me and read. Unlike my iPad Pro which I have also used as an eBook reader, my hand does not get fatigued holding the Kindle for a long time. In every way the Kindle is an improvement.

A big difference in the Kindle is the touch screen. While the screen is less responsive than my iPad, once you get used to the delay, it works. The tapping and swiping motions to change pages is the same as the Kindle app on my iPad, so it was easy to get used to. I can use the device one handed by swiping my page changes with my thumb. It’s not perfect, but it is better than the old Kindle and its physical buttons.

There are some other new features worth noting for upgrades as well. Storage is larger for more books. It has Bluetooth for audiobooks. The operating system lets you update the system clock to avoid the issue I had with my old one. Instead of cellular this device runs over WiFi (you can still buy a cellular version). It also integrates with Amazon’s Goodreads app.

Finally if you are lucky enough to live in a community that uses Overdrive for eBook loans, you can use the Libby app with your Kindle. Libby is one of the most well designed apps I have used. It lets you place up to ten books on hold per library card. The only challenge is that each book loan is for fourteen days, which requires you to read your books quickly.

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This work by Matt Zagaja is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.