New Kindle Paperwhite

With its new ebook reader, Amazon retains its lead in the e-reader market

This new Kindle Paperwhite features a brand new display technology that allows for a much higher contrast and brilliant reflectivity, making reading very easy on the eyes. It uses a next generation built- in light that gives it a much smoother glow on the surface of the display that serves to reduce eye strain. I liked using this light even in the day time to get a better contrast and a much better reading experience, never mind the advantage of having a consistent light for all those late-night and aircraft cabin readings when all lights are switched off.

A new processor now opens the ebook faster, and page turns are quicker than previous avatars of Kindle. In all, it means a nearly 25 per cent boost in speed.

The new Kindle also incorporates some great features: the first is its integration with Goodreads that lets you discover book recommendations from a global community. There is even a new vocabulary builder that compiles the words you look up in the dictionary into an easy-to-access list, making learning new words more intuitive. A new Smart Lookup integrates full dictionary definitions, and in-line footnotes can now be added via a single tap.

Despite all its upgraded software, the Amazon Kindle still manages to offer an 8-week long battery life on a single charge, and weighs only 206 gm. There is even a 3G version available at Rs 13,999 that allows you to access your books anywhere in the world. The 3G version also allows you to share your markups with friends and family via Twitter and Facebook.

But not all is well in this edition of Kindle Paperwhite. I understand that we all like to ‘touch’ and we flip pages in real life, but I did miss the earlier avatars’ hardware buttons for page flips. Perhaps, this is just a matter of getting used to.

About The Author

Gagandeep Singh Sapra