As many of you might know, I am a big fan of Amazon for shopping gadgets, clothes or even groceries at times. So I had a natural interest in the home-brew eBook reader called Kindle Paperwhite as well. It does not enchant you from images or videos but once you hold it in your hands and have tried it out a bit, you will understand the euphoria around this little device.
Personally I found that this is the only eBook reader that actually manages to simulate the crisp readability of an actual book. And yes I also like physical books a lot, however was always challenged by storing all the books somewhere.
Kindle Paperwhite in the Cloud
Being “in the cloud” with your media also enables you to show a bit of information to someone no matter where you are. Even if you left your Kindle Paperwhite at home you can use the Kindle Apps for iPhone, iPad or Android devices without hassle.
What I also enjoyed as a user of Amazon Prime, was that I was provided with a free eBook library. Basically I can download on eBook from the Kindle store per month at no cost. Confusingly they label this as “lending” but actually you get to keep the book and do not have to give it back.
That being said I am generally very happy with the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite and can suggest everybody, who likes to read or needs to store books or brochures for permanent availability to try it out. Here are my personal pros and cons:
Pros:
- Excellent battery life
- Display actually looks “Paperwhite”
- Extensive eBook selection (surprisingly many for free)
- Standard formats like PDF supported
- User friendly even for non-techies
- Brightness can be adjusted for dark rooms or outdoors
- Feather-weight eBook reader
- Plug-and-play connectivity to computers
- Experimental web browser let’s you download files directly to the device
- X-Ray function is great fun
- Wikipedia look-up and translation of terms on the fly
Cons:
- 3G connection requires more pricey model
- Monochrome display takes time to get used to
- Touch function not up to par with modern Tablets
- Comes with Micro-USB cable for charging only
Technical Specifications:
- Battery life-time up to 8 weeks, complete charge takes about 4 hours
- 6″ display, 212 ppi
- Weight: 7.3 ounces (206 grams)
- WiFi connectivity with optional 3G
- Storage: 2 GB from which approx. 1.2 5GB can be used
- Free cloud storage
- Supported formats: AZW3, AZW, TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion
- Comes with Micro-USB 2.0 charging cable to be connected with computer or AC-Adapter (sold separately)
Do you have an interest in eBook readers, are you a real paper crusader or do you want to save all trees on our planet? Let us know in the comment section below! I’m looking forward to your opinion and experiences.