Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2013) review - T3

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2013) review

Love

• More responsive touchscreen
• Faster page turns
• Unrivalled library and ease of

Hate

• backlight can drain battery

The build up to Christmas has begun. That Means it’s time for Amazon’s yearly or tweak its Kindle ereaders. With the finest ebook delivery service going it would be easy for Amazon to rest on its laurels and rake in the royalties, but instead made its Several improvements on the original Amazon Kindle Paperwhite.

These include a crisper screen that’s more responsive touch, with an even brighter light for night reading and added a faster processor for weaning animal turns page

Launched Shortly before the Kindle Fire HDX 7 -. and 8.9- inch tablets, and going up against the Kobo’s latest models, the new Kindle Paperwhite (2013) certainly sounds good, but is it worth upgrading? All will be revealed in the next few chapters!

Kindle Paperwhite (2013): Build

One of the Kindle’s plus points is its robust build. There’s enough grip around the edge of the screen for it to be carried without brushing the screen and accidentally flicking through pages.

The back has a plush, almost tacky feel that again helps you maintain your hold when jostled on public transport. This is not the smallest or the lightest ereader available – the addition of the light Means it’s weightier than a regular Kindle – but it’s perfectly pocketable

.

Kindle Paperwhite (2013): Screen

A whole lot of the improvements have been made since the original White Paper. They’re subtle. Do not expect to be blown away by the boost in screen clarity, but if you’re reading for long periods the higher contrast, Which makes the text more Clearly standout against the white page, will save your eyes somewhat.

Amazon claims the new White Paper’s touch screen has a 19% tighter touch grid Compared to the previous model, again the improvement is slight, but useful.

We noticed the improvement most acutely when typing in a Wi- Fi password and attempting to use some of the new Kindle’s reading features, Page Flip and Smart Lookup – more on tat in a moment. . It’s still a little too easy to flick through pages by mistake when trying to access the drop down menu at the top of the page

The Paperwhite’s built-in light is bright without leaking too much light – your partner will thank you for that when you’re reading in bed.

Do remember to turn the brightness down when you pick up your ebook the next morning. It’s easy to forget, as adjusting it can be quite fiddly – tap the bulb from the drop down menu and swipe to turn off -. And if left on it will drain your battery quickly

Kindle Paperwhite (2013): Usability

Amazon’s ebook selection is still the best around and with apps for most smartphones and tablets it’s easy to switch between your reading devices -. hook them all up to Wi-Fi and you’ll never lose your page

There are a few new features included with this generation or Paperwhite and they’re Mainly Aimed at students and academics. Kindle Page Flip Allows you to skim through an ebook without losing your place -. It opens in a window on top of the page you’re on and is ideal for ebooks with multiple references and footnotes

Then there’s Smart Lookup , Which gives dictionary definitions of words as well as Wikipedia explanations.

For deeper reading there’s usefull Kindle X-Ray. It’s supposed to Recognise characters, themes and historically important events Throughout the book – press and hold on the text in question to bring up biographies and other data. A nice idea, but in practice it’s a bit juddery,. York Notes this is no quite yet

You can share usefull quotes or passages, or tell people how much you’ve enjoyed your latest read via Facebook and Twitter. Thankfully, unlike Kobo’s ereaders, this feature is rarely unobtrusive prompting you to share.

Kindle Paperwhite (2013): Battery

eBook readers

• Amazon Kindle 4 review
• Kobo Touch Edition review
• Amazon Kindle 3 Review
• Kobo Vox eReader review
• BeBook Neo eReader review

A single batch might not bother you quoted the eight weeks – that’s based on just half an hour’s reading a day – but it will keep going for more than twenty hours. The more you use That light, the more quickly you’ll need to plug into.

Kindle Paperwhite (2013): Verdict

If you’re yet to buy an ereader there’s a lot to like here. The improvements are small, but significant enough to make this the best Kindle yet and the best ereader around. If you already have a Kindle 4 or below, it’s probably worth upgrading for the bonus or that night light. If you have last year’s Kindle Paperwhite, However, we suggest you save your pennies

Kindle Paperwhite (2013) release date:. Out now

Kindle Paperwhite (2013) price: £ 109

Review by Clare Sartin