Kindle Paperwhite Review – The ultimate travel e-reader

Continuing with the Travel Gear series, this is my review of the Kindle Paperwhite.

My first e-book device was a Kobo, which turned me into an e-reader convert straight away. While I liked the size and weight of the Kobo, I found that there were books that weren’t in the Kobo store that was on Amazon. A few times I had the proverbial credit card in hand, ready to buy, only to have the book not available in-store. The other downside was the one-week battery life. While that is not bad compared to a smartphone, I often found myself forgetting to charge and being without a book.

Enter Kindle Paperwhite

I was satisfied with my old book reader until I read about the Kindle Paperwhite. Like the original Kindle, the Paperwhite has e-ink display which simulates reading from paper, so you can read outdoors. What sold me though was the unique front-lit feature that points light to the screen, so you can read in the dark. This is in contrast to back-lit tablets which are a strain on the eyes, especially at night. It’s amazing to look at in the dark, sort of like a glow-in-the-dark book that doesn’t hurt your eyeballs.

I tested this out on my first road trip after purchase when I was on a 12-hour overnight bus in Guatemala. There were no personal lights on the bus but I was able to read at ease, without needing an additional lamp. And no eye fatigue.

Another selling point for me is the eight-week battery life. I haven’t tested this out yet, but I have gone a month without recharging and the battery was around the halfway mark, so no complaints there. I regularly connect my e-reader to my laptop to get new content, so it would be a rare occasion if my book ever ran out of battery.

Notes

I like taking notes on books. I have old exercise books with notes from previous reads, so having a function where I can highlight text and make notes is an important feature for me.

3G or WIFI

The Paperwhite comes in 3G or wifi edition. With 3G you can download books anywhere in the world for free over the 3G network, even without wifi. I opted for the wifi-only version as it is rare that I would go days without wifi, and if I was I still wouldn’t get through all the books I currently have loaded on my device.

Speed

Turning pages is a simple process with a tap or swipe motion on the screen. I bought the official Paperwhite book case as well, which fits snugly around the reader and closes with a magnetic strip. The book goes to sleep when the case is closed and starts automatically upon opening so there is no annoying boot-up time.

Weight

The Paperwhite is slightly heavier than the basic Kindle, but still about the same weight as a normal book.

e-reader vs iPad/tablet

As I am travelling full time I need to be selective about what gadgets I carry. If I had a home base I would probably get an iPad as it is a good device to read online magazine content (of which I read a lot). As it stands I am travelling with a Macbook Air, so having another computer in my limited carry-on space would be overkill.

One of the selling points of buying an e-reader over getting an iPad/tablet is the screen. As I am staring at a computer screen all day, the last thing I need is to be staring into another computer screen at night when I am reading books.

With e-readers, the screen appears as if it is paper, so it is not backlit and it can be read outdoors if reading on the beach is your thing.

[Kindle Paperwhite – easy to read outdoors]

Once you go e-reader, you never go back…

…or something like that. That’s what I am saying anyway. Having the convenience of hundreds of books in my bag, and being able to instantly buy a book anywhere in the world has made this my reading device of choice.