Bibliophiles will love Amazon’s latest e-book reader. For a long while, LCD-based tablets had the a big advantage over these devices based on their bright, vibrant, screens. But the Kindle Paperwhite no longer requires ambient lighting for you to use it.

Reading e-books on a tablet was never a pleasant experience for me. The very nature of LCD technology leads to eye strain and battery life measured in hours. In comparison E Ink's technology is very efficient, enabling devices that run for weeks between charges instead. Having used the Paperwhite for several months now, I can personally comment that using Amazon's reader is no more taxing on my eyes than an actual book. If you can't put down that page-turner, you don't have to. I've never felt like I needed to take a break. The same is not true of an inexpensive tablet like the Nexus 7.
Ah, the inexpensive tablet dilemma. The Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD both sell for $199. The non-HD version of the Fire is now $159. Meanwhile, Amazon is asking $119 for the Special Offers version of its Paperwhite. It's really hard not to pay a little bit more for a more feature-rich tablet, isn't it?
Not only are tablets commonly used for reading e-books, but you can browse the Web, play games, take notes, listen to music, watch movies, balance your budget...the list goes on and on. You can also browse the Web on the Paperwhite, though it's impossible to get the full online experience without color. And your choice of games is limited to crossword puzzles and solitaire. And so, the decision to buy a tablet or an e-book reader comes down to what you do most. If you plan on reading books more than anything else, a reader gives you a much better experience than a tablet, and Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite approaches the bibliophile’s dream device. It's only lacking the ability to display colors, and Amazon is already working on that.
In the meantime, the Paperwhite is enough of an upgrade over past Kindles that we're awarding it our Tom's Hardware Approved Award. There's a lot to like here, though we'd like to see an even lower price to keep the e-book reader more differentiated from modern $200 tablets. But for what it's designed to do, this is definitely the Cadillac of e-book readers.

Nevertheless, it was an entertaining read! In fact, it's made me register an account here. I can't wait to read more articles like this. Fun stuff!
It's called "Sony Reader T2". It runs Android. And it's rooted.
And you are not bound to Amazon's store with it, even non rooted you can burrow books from electronic libraries and read common formats like EPUB.
worth should be worse
ive read several books on my kindle fire HD, often for hours at a time, and never had an issue with eye strain or battery life. In fact i prefer reading on the kindle HD then a regular book.
The one advantage of e-ink readers like the traditional kindle, is you can read it in daylight. I have an iPad and spend a lot of time chilling on the back deck during the summer, and I have to go through a lot of seating arrangements to minimize the glare so that I can see the iPad. Ordering a new Kindle just for this purpose.
Cloud sync is great too for those times when I don't have my Kindle with me. I can pick up my phone with my Kindle app and start reading right where I left off on my Kindle and vice versa.
Also, the battery lasts significantly longer (we're talking months of daily reading) if you just shut off the wireless connection when you're not downloading any books or sync-ing to the cloud. If you leave the wireless connection on full-time, you need to recharge after about 4 weeks.
Great article! *thumbs up the article*
If you plan to read a lot where there is natural light (in the sun or shadow outside or near windows, etc) I would really recommend the Paperwhite. Just my personal preference. My eyes are really having a hard time reading on a tablet under such conditions. If you mostly read where you can control the lightning condition the Paperwhite would still be easier on the eyes, but there is no longer a real problem reading on the tablet =)
If you are using your tablet to read, not comment, not surfing the web, not playing, reading, all you need is a previous/next page. The touch screen is not flawless, it will not work then you will skip 3 pages. Then you'll put your kindle on the coach and something will touch the screen and...
Bring back the button please!
Yes I am really pretty sick of the lack of buttons in favor of touch screens. Part of the reason I never really used a first gen iPod touch that someone gave me. If I am walking and have my MP3 player in my pocket... I want it to have buttons, for switching songs and volume up and down. Don't even get me started on phones without physical keyboards.
If you are using your tablet to read, not comment, not surfing the web, not playing, reading, all you need is a previous/next page. The touch screen is not flawless, it will not work then you will skip 3 pages. Then you'll put your kindle on the coach and something will touch the screen and...
Bring back the button please!
This is one thing I noticed too going from the keyboard Kindle to the paperwhite. I liked the buttons a lot better on the keyboard Kindle as the touchscreen is a bit laggy. All things considered, though, you can't beat the ability to read in any lighting conditions (no light all the way to direct sun light) with the Paperwhite. The lack of the keyboard is a little annoying, but if you think about how infrequently you use it, it's not so bad.
What I like. E-ink. This was the whole idea behind the Kindle revolution. Paper quality, no eye strain, read in the sun. Granted I use my iPad for surfing the net, reading news and all around keeping up. However I do notice the eye strain after a while and I just can't get a handle around curling up with my iPad to read a book.
Adjustable fonts. Made for older eyes. I used to pass up books because the print was too small or the binding had a chance of doing damage if I dropped it on my head while dozing off.
I do like the touch screen. I guess it is what we get used to. I was forced to use a button Kindle after my Kindle Touch went down. Never really got the hang of it. Almost everything we encounter now is touch so it becomes intuitive.
The back lighting. Finally!!! I really dont miss looking for a decent hotel room light to read by. I also don't miss my little external light batteries running out at inconvenient times. I don't even have a reading light on my side of the bed anymore.
Amazon has copyright agreements in many more countries than other makes. In other words in many countries you cannot download a book. Don't take a minimum wage clerk's word on it. We spend a lot of time out of country and it became very clear to us that Amazon by far gave us the most flexibility. A disclaimer. I do not, have not and never will work for for Amazon.. Oh and the customer service is terrific as well.
I know what you're saying but the thing of it is, there's probably been very little market penetration for Kobo and Nook. It's like including the E-reader I run across at the counter at the drugstore checkout (I don't even know the brand).
Are you kidding? The Nook is a huge seller! Barnes and Noble has 600+ retail locations that are all pushing those devices plus a thriving web site and e-book business. Amazon may sell more, but that doesn't mean there isn't competition worth mentioning.
This is basically like having an iPad comparison and only comparing it to the iPad Mini (and excluding the Surface RT, various Android tablets, etc).
I'm all for the competition, but look it up. Barnes and Noble is basically with us still due to last year's cash investment of $300,000,000 by Microsoft (17% ownership in the Nook unit). As far as retail paper book stores, Barnes and Noble is going by way of those paper book stores we've seen precede it into the great beyond. Now that Microsoft has their own tablets, what value does the Nook provide them?
I wish it were different, but I wouldn't put any money on a company that's still thoroughly invested in old ways of doing things (paper book stores). We saw Borders go away pretty quickly.
Barnes and Noble is far from the thriving company you make it out to be.