Kindle Paperwhite Review 2015: Small changes in specifications that mean a lot to me for my reading comfort!

Getting a Kindle to read with changed my life. For 50 + years I read a book every 2 days or less. As my eyes got worse, for many reasons, I just had to quit. Reading a paperback was hard and after 10 minutes of reading I simply gave up. With a Kindle I can adjust the font style and size and read for hours a day. The best straight forward reading tablet I previously owned is the Kindle Paperwhite 2013 version. This new release improves in an area that I want and one that I paid to upgrade my tablet for. The new 2015 screen has 300 PPI versus 212 PPI for the 2013 version and the screen resolution is almost twice as good as the older Kindle. The change is from 768x1024 to 1072x1448 pixels and that is a tremendous improvement and luxury for those with older eyes.

One downside is that the new Kindle Paperwhite does have a lower battery life when compared to the previous generation. The battery life has dropped from 8 weeks at ½ hour of reading per day to 6 weeks at ½ hour of reading per day. That is due to the additional energy required for the higher resolution screen and the power to render the higher resolution of text. I don't like the reduced reading time but for me this was not a big deal as it is still 21 hours of reading time (It was 28 hours on the 2013 version) and it charges quickly in 4 hours. Heck, my expensive iPad battery only lasts about 8 hours and the eyestrain is pretty tough to handle using the iPad for more than 30 minutes to read. Some people may not like this but I just recharge my Kindles every three or four days. Since the unit has a lower battery life I do believe that Amazon should have included a USB charger as someone that travels may not be carrying a laptop computer with them to charge the Kindle Paperwhite. This omission of a USB charger is still a sore point with many people. I wish Amazon would just raise the price $10 and include the charger as a standard feature!

I have added a video of the Kindle Paperwhite 2013 compared to a Kindle Paperwhite 2015 and a Kindle Keyboard. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me and I will try to answer them.

Things to do with your new Kindle Paperwhite:

* Get a simple light weight case that will turn off the screen when you close the cover. It will help save on your battery life and protect your tablet.
* Enter in a device pass code to protect your tablet in case you lose your tablet. This prevents someone from using your tablet and even from buying books using your account.
* Yes you can use just about any USB charger for this Kindle Paperwhite. I use the one that came with my Kindle Keyboard unit and it works fine.

I own multiple Kindle Fires, HP tablets and Apple iPads and Android tablets but the best reading device is a Kindle Paperwhite. Why? It is simply because I can read it outside in the sunlight, inside and at night with reduced eyestrain when compared to any other tablet I own. It is the read anyplace best tablet for reading hands down champion!

I just love this new tablet. It offers the perfect balance of a lit screen with reduced eyestrain and high clarity and contrast of the text and a good price. It is truly a step up to a better reading device. The new reading font called Bookerly is very good for my eyes. It is crisper and bolder on the screen and I can read for longer times than before. Toss in the higher screen resolution and you have a new reading experience.

I am always looking for improvements in the text and screen quality as for me that is a major issue. The print on the screen is blacker and crisper and it is easier on my eyes. Side by side with my Kindle Paperwhite 2013 the older Paperwhite text looks grey and the screen slightly yellow in comparison to this newer version. There definitely is a good improvement and that relates to more reading comfort for my eyes!

This newer 2015 Paperwhite has a few new features that I like:

* 300 PPI versus older 2013 Paperwhite at 212 PPI
* New reading font Bookerly that is bolder and designed for use on a digital screen
* 4 GB of memory versus my 2013 version that was launched with 2 GIG (Not enough for me)

Reading was my number one hobby my entire life and I just loved it. The Kindle has brought back that reading experience and now with the crisper text, better font and no glare lit screen I can enjoy my reading in every type of environment. In my video I compare the Kindle Keyboard, Kindle Paperwhite 2013 and the Kindle Paperwhite 2015 side by side. The improvements are amazing.

The new screen clarity is where this Paperwhite design really is outstanding. With better contrast, lighting and custom designed fonts, the text just pops out of the screen like you have not seen in an e-Reader before. With 300 PPI (Pixels Per Inch) this screen provides a 1072 by 1448 pixel screen that just makes the old Kindle screens look old fashioned.

My favorite time to read is the last two hours of the evening before bedtime. I also read during the day during breaks and even at my grandson's outdoor swim meets. It is impossible to read in the sunlight with a Kindle Fire or an iPad. There is simply too much glare. At night time the Kindle Paperwhite soft lit screen is unobtrusive and for me my eyes do not get tired of reading like they do on the Kindle Fire and on the iPad. I can actually read for hours without the same eyestrain I get with other tablets. You also have adjustable brightness to suit your own comfort levels and ambient conditions.

There are multiple font sizes and you can pinch and zoom on the Kindle Paperwhite screen to expand the font size or decrease it like you do on a powerful tablet, this is a great feature. There are 7 different font styles and they are Baskerville, Bookerly, Futura, Caecilia, Helvetica, Caecilia Condensed and Palatino. I think my favorite is Bookerly. I love the new dictionary feature that creates a Vocabulary Builder which is a list of the words that you looked up and you can review the list and use flashcards to enhance your vocabulary and reading skills.

There is a minor learning curve of learning where to touch the screen if you are transitioning from a much older Kindle tablet but the changeover was fast and easy. The capacitive touch response of the screen is very nice. It makes the New Paperwhite respond quickly to finger touches, menu changes and page turns. What I like about the Kindle Paperwhite is that it is a dedicated e-Reader and it combines the best features of the Kindle e-ink and the iPad/Kindle Fire.

* Ultra lightweight at 7.2 ounces and easily held for hours with one hand. I love the size and weight as it is comfortable to hold for long periods of time and you don't find yourself laying down the Paperwhite like I would be doing with my iPads. What I love is that it still weighs 7.2 ounces with 1000 books loaded into it!
* Lit screen for reading in poorly lighted areas like the iPad and Kindle Fire but without the eyestrain. The lighting level is adjustable.
* High clarity of the text and contrast for easy reading. The screen has 16 levels of gray scale available.
* Fast charging time in 4 hours
* Ability to be easily read in the sunlight with no screen glare.
* WIFI connectability
* Battery life of 21 hours (of reading time) depending on the WIFI usage and screen brightness used. You can turn off your WIFI to prolong the battery life. This specification dropped from 28 hours on the Kindle Paperwhite 2013 version.
* Touch screen control
* Easy page turning and access to the onboard dictionary, access to Wikipedia and X-Ray.
* Easy to access menu and setup was a breeze
* Fast response for loading books and page turning thanks to a faster microprocessor.
* Small, thin and highly portable
* Able to carry 3,400 books
* My favorite feature is the adjustable text size and font style!
* Custom tuned fonts add clarity and crispness to the quality of the displayed text
* Since I review a lot of books I love to highlight sections and text as well as take notes on the screen.
* Translation of foreign language that is used in the book
* Web surfing is possible but still slower than a good tablet. Who cares, this is my portable eBook reader with 3,400 books in it (depending on the book file size). I have other devices to browse the web and read my email.
* I like the rubberized feel of the back and it is similar to my Kindle Fire. It makes the Kindle Paperwhite easy to grip and hold with one hand and just have it lay in the palm of my hand without a case.

This tablet gives me the best reading conditions in the daytime and also in the night. It has a lot of great features but I wanted to post a review that provides a strong comparison between the new Kindle Paperwhite and the last Kindle Paperwhite 2013 version.

--------------------------Kindle Paperwhite 2013---------Kindle Paperwhite 2015
Screen size: -------------------- 6 inch------------------------6 inch
Screen PPI----------------------212--------------------------300
Resolution: ---------------------768x1024-------------------1072x1448
Weight: --------------------------7.3 ounces------------------7.2 ounces per the manual
Overall Size: --------------------6.7"x4.6"x0.36"-----------6.7"x4.6"x0.36
Battery life in hours of reading: 28 hours----------------21 hours
Charging Time: -----------------4 hours----------------------4 hours
Eyestrain: ------none under all reading conditions----------none
Memory: -------------------------2 GIG --------------------4 GIG with 3 GIG available for the user
Number of books: -------------1,100--------------------------3,400 approximately
Included charger: --------------No---------------------------No
WIFI Connectability: ----------Fast and easy--------------Fast and easy
Speakers: ------------------------No----------------------------No

Other considerations:
* No distraction from email
* No distractions from text messages
* No distractions from phone calls.

Pros:
* You can use a capacitive stylus on the screen to help keep the screen clean.
* Great battery life and fast charging.
* Perfect form factor for size and weight for a hand held portable e-reader.
* I don't need to use the stupid book light that never worked well anyway!
* Faster page tuning which for me really makes a difference.
* Connection to the WIFI was fast and easy.
* Downloading my book library was fast and easy.
* Even though the screen has slight texture to it is does not show fingerprints as bad as a glossy screen like a Kindle Fire or an iPad
* Increase of the standard memory size to 4 GIG from the older versions 2 GIG

Cons:

* The battery life has dropped from 8 weeks at ½ hour of reading per day to 6 weeks at ½ hour of reading per day (Roughly 28 hours to 21 hours). That is due to the additional energy required for the higher resolution screen and the power to render the higher resolution of text. For me this was not a big deal as it is still 21 hours of reading time and it charges quickly in 4 hours.
* It still costs extra money for an AC wall adapter. It comes with a USB to Micro USB cable that you can use for charging and connecting to any AC USB wall adapter or computer USB port. I don't need another USB power adapter but not getting one just makes Amazon look cheap in not supplying one with the product.
* They charge extra money to remove push ads to your Kindle Paperwhite
* No speakers and no ability to have the book read aloud to you using text to speech.

Summary:
Overall considering all the issues this is a great e-Reader. It is the best available at this time when you consider the price and the features. So far I have not been able to justify the price jump to $199 for the Kindle Voyage for the small differences with the new Kindle Paperwhite. I do feel that Amazon always gives some things and takes away others. Things like text to speech, speakers and AC wall chargers disappear from new products and sometimes return in others. I also don't care for the ads still being pushed in our faces. This is still a solid 5 star product and you can't go wrong with buying one. It is just that sometimes the things you lose seem to mean more to users than to Amazon. I don't mind them saving some money but raise the price $10 and put in all the features that users will need like a charger.
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Without a doubt, a Kindle Paperwhite Case is a good investment. There are many different Tablet Cases available in the TAGreat.com, so be sure to test out a few before purchasing one.