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Amazon Kindle |OT| of eInk superiority
- Thread starter HiroProtagonist
- Start date
VistraNorrez
Member
They still need to improve color e-ink to make it worthwhile. I don't see it coming around for years if ever. E-reader purchases aren't lighting up the charts so the incentive to innovate is there as much. Most people just want text on a page. Comic book readers are sticking to tablets.
Also, I saw the Voyage in person at Best Buy the other day. It looked great. It was right next to the Paperwhite and so it was great to compare them. I never thought the PW screen looked bad, I own the 2012 model and love it, but the Voyage is at least as big of jump from the PW as the PW was from the Touch. It was very impressive. The PagePress feature was interesting. The settings were inaccessible so I can't say how every setting felt for the feedback, but it was subtle enough. It almost felt like the device wasn't totally together and I was squeezing it back into place.
Also, I saw the Voyage in person at Best Buy the other day. It looked great. It was right next to the Paperwhite and so it was great to compare them. I never thought the PW screen looked bad, I own the 2012 model and love it, but the Voyage is at least as big of jump from the PW as the PW was from the Touch. It was very impressive. The PagePress feature was interesting. The settings were inaccessible so I can't say how every setting felt for the feedback, but it was subtle enough. It almost felt like the device wasn't totally together and I was squeezing it back into place.
Not sure how much more innovation we'll see for e-paper. We know there are prototypes that can do video... so those would have color and pretty good refresh rates to make that possible. Now that we know amazon is willing to do a $200 'premium' kindle maybe it's a sign they are willing to do more experimenting in price ranges and that could open the doors up to more display options as they become available. I think they could convince people to buy a $250 kindle if it had something like that.
I also don't think we should discount other display technologies improving to where they are much easier on the eyes not so different from e-paper and those could be suitable drop-in replacements for it in devices down the road. e-paper is not the end of the line... reading isn't going anywhere and displays are always going to have to keep it in mind as an important factor in their design choices.
I also don't think we should discount other display technologies improving to where they are much easier on the eyes not so different from e-paper and those could be suitable drop-in replacements for it in devices down the road. e-paper is not the end of the line... reading isn't going anywhere and displays are always going to have to keep it in mind as an important factor in their design choices.
Lisa from MobileTechReview has her Voyage review up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwO9-7COsq0
For USA buyers, they are currently on back order until December 1st. May want to get on that if you truly want one before Christmas.
Yes, I can't order Voyage from amazon.com yet for international deliveries
Have to find a ebay-seller I can trust. Prices seem to be around $250 + $25 shipping.
edit:whoaa... and about $60 in customs and taxes...
that's about $330... damn
hardcastlemccormick
Banned
Unless you can't afford it or really like lighter weight electronics, get the Paperwhite.
DaBargainHunta
Member
Get the one with ads. They aren't bad at all, and you can pay to remove them later. May as well save money upfront in case you decide you don't mind the ads.
If you have the money, consider the Voyage (I don't have it, and haven't seen it, but it looks like an upgrade). Otherwise, I love Paperwhite 2 (I do have that, and it's great).
Weapxn
Mikkelsexual
I was leaning toward the Paperwhite as it is. What's the difference between that and the Voyager? I haven't done much research yet. I just know that I want one, I have for a while, and I'm finally going to have the spare cash to make a purchase. I want to do this sort of impulsively now before I spend it on something else.
hardcastlemccormick
Banned
The Voyage has a higher resolution screen, button-ish things on the side, a flush screen, an adaptive light setting, and it's a little thinner/lighter.
Every bloody time I type that dumb name I call it the Voyager and have to correct myself. Personally I don't think it'd be worth an extra $80, I'd rather spend the money on dismissing the ads or buying books, but it's an upgrade nonetheless.
If you want somebody to tell you what to do, buy the Paperwhite. I love mine; haven't put it down since June.
Weapxn
Mikkelsexual
Yeah. Paperwhite does sound like the way I'm gonna go. Thanks!
a secret-boss
Banned
Went out and bought a Paperwhite on my dinner break.Downloaded Stephen King's 11/22/63 to start me off.
good book makes me want to travel that time period
Went out and bought a Paperwhite on my dinner break.
I need to start reading some of King's works. I have never touched a book by him.
Weapxn
Mikkelsexual
This is my first in at least 12 years. That Rolling Stone interview made me want to look into his work.
People love to rag on him but he remains an author of some very entertaining books. More people should read his Dark Tower series, you'll be glad you did if it ever becomes a tv or movie series which is something they've been trying to do for a while now.
Are any NeoGAF members interested in buying a used Kindle? I've a 1st generation Kindle Paperwhite (special offers) for sale, and I'll include an Amazon case (black) with it. Send me a personal message if you're interested, and we can discuss the price and shipping arrangements.
This post will be updated when the device is no longer available for sale.
Edit: It's gone.
I did the exact same upgrade, first gen PaperWhite to Voyage. The backlight is so much better on the new Voyage then my day one PaperWhite 1st gen. The contrast is better and the improved text (300 dpi) is noticeable to me since I mostly read in bed with it held up over my face. The device with no case is very light and the new "Buttons" on the side are amazing, easier to use than I thought and a joy to use. I'm very happy with the Voyage, if you read a lot and are looking for a great e-reader it is an amazing device.
VistraNorrez
Member
JoeyJungle
Banned
Anyone know if they ever plan on allowing both rotations for landscape mode for the touch kindles? The old ones had it, the touch kindles don't. It's really annoying because the top/bottom of the bezel (in portrait) are uneven, and the weight is uneven, so being able to change which direction landscape mode rotates to makes sense.
Is the OP still up-to-date? Anyways, I'm thinking of buying a Kindle. I know nothing about them except that you can read books on them at night without hurting your eyes. So which model should I buy? I want to read books on them (I assume there's a digital store on it that I can buy the books from?) and comics/manga (if possible). If I can read comics, are there any colour kindle? Weight doesn't really matter as long as it isn't a brick, and neither does battery as long as it can last a few hours. I don't want to pay more than $200.
But that's not sub $200 is it? I agree though the Nexus 9 is sharp and it won't feel dated for a while if you bought one now.
For $200 you are looking at under 8 inches and probably not much storage or power. Or you'll have to buy one of the lesser known brand tablets and you'll have to cross your fingers with those.
For $200 if you want a larger screen you might look for a second-hand tablet on craigslist instead, could get better bang for your buck that way.
JoeyJungle
Banned
I use my Nexus 7 for comics all the time and love it. Almost always use it in landscape mode for that though, and it fits about 1/3 of the page on the screen (usally the panels are 1/3 of the page in height, which is perfect) at a very readable size. I usually use comicrack for comics, which also lets you eliminate the page borders so you get a bit more of the pabels on the screen (though occasionally this will cut out text that expands past what comicrack thunks the panel borders are, but this happens pretty rarely and takes a second to turn borders back on).
I use my kindle to read all books, though. I tried reading a comic on it once, it was too small to read the text comfortably and refrashing zooming in or scrolling was a nightmare. Definitely just use it for books, which it does better than any otger device.
Really excited for early dec when my Voyage ships. I usually read at a larger-than-normal font size so aliasing is pretty apparent and occassionally annoying, I really hope the Voyage can mostly eliminate it. I also hope the page refreshes get sped up, occassionally my PW1 just chugs, especially if I'm going into the settings menu or searching for something in the book.
This makes me excited for my Voyage to arrive. I still have a fair wait ahead of me.
Thank you. Much appreciated.
Thanks for the help guys, but it's about 50/50 between books and comics right now as for what I want to use an e-reader for. And the main point that interests me about the Kindle is that it has this backlight or whatever that doesn't hurt your eyes when you use it. I don't suppose the the Nexus 7/9 is similar in that regard?
The big difference is in the display: The Kindle has an e-ink display and a tablet has an LCD display. E-Ink is amazing for books and really nothing else. The tablet can be used for just about everything including reading but the screen's display will bother your eyes from prolonged use the same way any computer screen would. For comics I'd go with a tablet and for books I'd go with a Kindle every time (And do in fact). I love my iPad but reading on it is not comfortable the way an e-reader is.
A Nexus tablet is going to have that LCD screen (Of course you can control the backlight levels but it will bother you a lot more than a Kindle). I honestly feel a Kindle is a bit small for comics so I read them on my iPad. I'd buy whichever you think you'd get the most use out of and if you aren't satisfied you can always grab the other later on.
JoeyJungle
Banned
Protip that made my Nexus 7 way more comfortable at night: Root it and download rootdim, it lets you lower the brightness more than the android device normally allows. Way better than fried retinas.
Thanks! Sounds like I should go with the Kindle? Looking at Amazon, I see 3 models. Is Paperlight the best one in terms of value, or should I go with Voyage?
Also, can I read text files on the Kindle? Like, add my own files from Notepad or something? I like to read some fan faction (don't judge me) and this will also help with studying some notes.
VistraNorrez
Member
Yes you can read text files on the Kindle, you get a special email address that you can basically email files to (No USB sync allowed) and I think maybe if it is in your "Cloud" account you can just pull it down from there. The Paperwhite is for sure the best balance of features vs price. The Voyage is AMAZING if you love reading books but the price is a bit steep. If this is your first e-reader I think you would be very happy with the Paperwhite, I know I loved mine (Actually still have it around as a backup/keeping one in the bedroom and the other downstairs so I can read no matter where I am in the house). It has a WhisperSync feature that (As long as you are on wi-fi it will save your reading location for all your books and sync with any other Kindle reading device or app).
Thanks a lot for your help! I really appreciate it. I think I will go with the Paperwhite, but our of curiosity, what are some of the main upgrades that the Voyage has over the Paperwhite?
hardcastlemccormick
Banned
At the top of the page (on 50-post-per-page-GAF) I gave a brief list:
VistraNorrez
Member
If you live near a Best Buy or Staples they should have them on display. I checked one out the other week and the screen on the Voyage is beautiful. The Paperwhite's is great too, but next to the Voyage, it's a clear step down.
Any thoughts on the Kobo Aura HD? Supposedly same screen tech as the Voyage. If Canada availability of Voyage takes much longer I might consider the Kobo
VistraNorrez
Member
I've never seen one in real life. It's a 6.8" screen with the same resolution as the Voyage (1440 x 1080 resolution), but that means it has a lower DPI of 265. By all accounts still a gorgeous screen. That also means it's a bigger device as a whole.
VistraNorrez
Member
The H20 uses an e-ink Carta screen (instead of Pearl like the HD) but is still 6.8" and 265 DPI.
The 20% over 5 months deal popped up for me again... even though I already used it (and it claims it is one per eligable customer)
So if you haven't received the offer yet but would like to, I'd keep checking amazon. It could show for you. Try clearing your cookies and logging back in too
So if you haven't received the offer yet but would like to, I'd keep checking amazon. It could show for you. Try clearing your cookies and logging back in too