Kindle Paperwhite | Waterproof, 6" High-Resolution Display, 8 GB—with Ads—Plum (Previous generation)

Before deciding to buy this Kindle, I had been using the 2010 Kindle - the one with no keyboard and no touch screen, just the side buttons. I'd had no inclination to buy another Kindle, because the touch screen wasn't enough of a pull to spend more money on it. I had filled my 2010 Kindle with 18 pages of books and felt sad that I couldn't read it in the bath (my second favourite place) or at night in bed with the light off (my favourite place) I looked on the Amazon store to see how much the Kindle Paperwhite was, and saw this beauty!Wow is all I can say! Amazon seemed to have packed everything you could possibly want into this Kindle Paperwhite! It's small and compact (see pictures), it has light control, it's waterproof, AND you can listen to Audible - all for £129.99! I was definitely sold from the word go!I received it today and I have had a little play around with it and here's what I really like!ProsThe new Kindle has no buttons around the edge and it's easy to grasp and keep ahold of.It has Audible and is waterproof like the Kindle Oasis but at a fraction of the priceThere are no fiddly buttons to change the page but instead a touch screen (very different to my Kindle 2010)There isn't a frame that sits above the screen on this Kindle which makes it look lovely and fancyThere is a major amount of space compared to the Kindle I had (I have the 8gb which fits in all of my books and there is still more space)You can set font profiles so if others are using it, it will alter to their preference with easeConsThe only possible con I can think of is I am going to have no time to sleep or socialise because I am going to be stuck reading on this.Overall Amazon have done an amazing job with this new Kindle Paperwhite and at a fraction of the cost of the other high-end Kindles it sells.

Upgraded to this paper white as the previous one died on me. Unlike the last one the sleep screen on this is used by amazon to bombard me with advertisements for crap.Probably more a software thing than a device one, and the device itself works ok. But having spent £130 basically to replace a device I’ve gained nothing of use to me and a bunch of invasive advertising with no option to shut it off. My new kindle is basically inferior to the old one due to Amazons marketing. It’s making me less inclined to spend money with Amazon.UPDATE:Turns out I had bought an ‘advertisement enabled’ Kindle which gives you a ten pound discount in exchange for all the adverts. That wasn’t at all clear, - it’s in the small print of the description - and I would have gone with the more expensive option had it been obvious there were two options.Amazon had kindly responded to my initial one star review and removed the ads from the Kindle. Credit where credit is due, great customer service.

The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 4 (2018 – Tenth Generation) is a welcome update to the Paperwhite. Whilst externally, the new Paperwhite 4 has a similar look to the previous Paperwhite 3, there are some subtle and not so subtle differences that mark this Paperwhite as a device to be reckoned with. Most of the changes are under the hood, and include a new 1500 mAh battery, upgraded LPDDR rom and a more powerful 1gb Cortex Processor. This brings the Paperwhite 4 in line with last year’s (2017) Oasis 2.And this is not the only thing in common the two devices have;The new Paperwhite 4 has the same IPX8 water resistance rating as the Oasis 2. For those not savvy on what the different IP water resistant ratings mean: this Kindle can survive an accidental dunking in water, or having a drink spilled on it. You can sit in the bath and use it. You can sit in a swimming pool and read from it. It can stand getting a little wet – BUT, it is not designed to be used underwater. So those hoping for a Paperwhite they can use whilst diving, or in the shower will be disappointed. But then, why would you want to read a book whilst you were diving or in the shower? The IPX8 rating is welcome, and frankly should be a standard on all future Kindles. I have suffered the annoyance of a Kindle being killed by a glass of water, thanks to the family cat. Whilst I keep all three separate these days, it’s nice to know that a little water isn’t going to kill the device.Audible integration has become a standard for Kindle eReaders since the launch of the Oasis 2 in 2017, and for those Kindles that have a Bluetooth chip installed. There hasn’t been an audio jack on a Kindle since the Third Generation Kindle Keyboard. The new Paperwhite 4 is no exception, this means you have to pair Bluetooth headphones with it to listen to your Audible books. The device is fully Bluetooth compliant, and I had no problems connecting any of the Bluetooth headsets I own.Audible integration works well on those eBooks where you opted to purchase the Audible narration, allowing you to switch between reading or listening to your book. Immersion reading is not supported however, but that makes perfect sense given the display is eInk. Switching from Audible to eBook will take you to the page you are on, rather than highlight the word. It’s not too big a problem. For those Audible books you own without the accompanying eBook, you can listen to them as normal.The Audible controls are basic, Amazon need to introduce a few more control options – such as the ability to stop at the end of a chapter, or a timer to stop playing after a set time. These are minor things that would improve the Audible experience on all the Kindle eReaders that support it. However, it is nice to have all your books – eBooks or Audible, on one dedicated device.Like the Oasis 2, the Paperwhite 4 has two storage options; 8gb and 32gb. This is a major improvement over previous generations which have 4gb. Kindle OS does use some of that storage, normally about 1gb to 1.25gb – but that’s still allowed the user to have around 1-2,000 eBooks on their Kindle. Storage has never been a big deal as Kindles have always had enough storage space for the most avid of readers. 8gb (minus the amount used by the OS) allows for storage of around 6-7,000 eBooks, depending on size per book. It allows for 30 or so Audible books – or a mix of the two. If you have a lot of eComics, then I would suggest opting for the 32gb version as they tend to be larger than eBooks or Audible files. Storage management is dealt with very nicely and has been since the 5.10 OS update that more modern Kindles received.So how does it feel and how does it perform? The Paperwhite 4 is lighter and thinner than the previous Paperwhite 3, at 181g it’s comfortable to hold. The rubbery non-slip back feels nice and has a natural warmth to it, it’s not as cold or as hard as a full metal or hard plastic back. Some people have said it feels “cheap” – but I counter that by pointing out how practical it is to have a non-slip back, that it sits well and holds well against your fingers. It adds to the comfort when holding the device. It adds some protection to the device against drops and will prevent corners being chipped or damaged by accident.The screen is flush this time, there is no raised bezel. Gorilla-glass covers the entire front of the device, and thanks to coatings is antiglare so reading in direct sunlight is not a problem. The display is still as crisp as the Paperwhite 3 – it is in fact the same 6 inch 300ppi E Ink Carta screen as used on the Paperwhite 3; this is one area that Amazon has not touched (and didn’t need to). Reading is a joy, and thanks to recent OS updates now offers numerous settings to customise the display to suit how you want to read. There is a built-in option to invert the screen, white text on a black background. This is particularly nice when reading before bed, as it puts less strain on the eyes.The flush bezel around the screen looks chunky but is designed well. It allows the device to be held without accidently touching the capacitive touch screen. It’s nice to see thought like this being put into the design. The touch screen is very responsive and allows for two-point touching, handy for the pinch and zoom options for text – and for PDFs and eComics.The screen is lit evenly by 5 LEDs, an increase from the 4 used on the Paperwhite 3. Lighting is evenly distributed across the entire screen. This is one area where there are very few issues these days as uniform lighting is something that has been mastered since its introduction in 2012. The LEDs are a different hue from previous Kindles. They are not as overtly blue as previous versions, but more a warmer colour. This is a nice change and gives the screen a more “paper like” look.There is no comfort light option, in fact there is no automatic light adjustment sensor at all. Like previous Paperwhites, the screen light has to be adjusted manually. This is – again – no change from the Paperwhite 3. Automatic light adjustment sensors and the like are a staple of the Flagship Kindle, the Oasis 2. It’s no surprise this option wasn’t included on what is now Amazon’s mid-level eReader.Out of the box, the device comes installed with Kindle OS 5.10.1.1 – which is the version used on more recent Kindle eReaders (Oasis, Oasis 2, Paperwhite 3). As soon as you connect to Wi-Fi you will be updated to 5.10.1.2 – an update that applies only to the Paperwhite 4, which adds to the overall performance of the device. This includes a new low power mode for when the kindle is switched off for more than an hour. It’s toggled on by default and will mean that if you leave your Kindle off for more than an hour is will take a little longer to wake up, as the device enters a hibernate mode when not used for more than an hour.Speaking of battery life; I got this on the day of release. I have charged it once. I don’t leave Wi-Fi on, or Bluetooth for that matter (I only toggle Bluetooth on when I want to use Audible). I have the screen light set to 10, the font size set to 5. I read a couple of hours a day, I have listened to an Audible book, which does hit the battery. But I have 63% left on the battery as of typing this. Given this includes setting the device up and leaving it to index the 500+ eBooks I downloaded onto it, I’m impressed. This bodes well for future battery life.Something a lot of people forget – or don’t know - when you load an eBook onto your Kindle, the device “indexes” it. This is all part of how any Kindle handles any eBook and allows you to search through it. All Kindle eReaders do this. So, if you dump 500+ eBooks on it, it’s going to take a few hours to index all those books and will cause a slow down on the device until it’s done. Even with a new processor and more ROM, the Paperwhite 4 is not a super-computer or high-end tablet. It’s a dedicated eReader. Give it time to do its job (2-4 hours if you dump 500+ ebooks on it) and then use it. You’ll get the best out of the device then and see just how well it does perform.Like previous Kindles, no wall socket adapter is included in the box, just the device and a Micro USB data/charging cable. It’s disappointing that Amazon haven’t taken the opportunity to make this the first Kindle eReader to have a USB-C port, rather than the old Micro USB. Of course, there would be no performance advantage in doing this, but rather make it more convenient in terms of making it easier to plug the cable in, and mean you only have to carry one cable with you when you go on holiday, as most modern phones use a USB-C type charging cable. But until it has an impact upon performance, I can’t see Amazon making this leap to changing the cable type needed.If you’re looking to upgrade your Kindle – or looking to get your first Kindle, but don’t have the budget for the Oasis 2, then this is a good device to go for. Remember, that if you opt to purchase a device “with special offers” you are going to have ads. They do not impact on either the device performance, or overall reading enjoyment.Overall, I’m going to give this 5-out-of-5. This is an amazing upgrade to the mid-range Kindle. It’s not a massive upgrade, but a welcome and recomended one.