Kindle PaperwhiteFeatures

If you've seen more recent models in the Kindle family, the new Paperwhite version won't come as a total shock from a design standpoint. I am happy to report that Amazon has skewed this version's styling towards the newer, simpler profile of the Kindle Fire HD — meaning what you essentially get is a black rectangle with rounded corners, wrapped in soft-touch paint.

Touchscreen:

The Paperwhite is thinner than its touchscreen predecessor (the Kindle Touch), and the display is less sunken into the plastic surrounding. The backplate of the e-reader eschews the two-tone, beige and silver profile from that model for a much more sophisticated solid black. From the back you could easily mistake it for a small Fire. The device comes in a $119 version with Wi-Fi only, or a 3G-equipped model for $179 (I tested the latter).

The device is incredibly comfortable in hand. The size and shape feels close enough to an average book that it's not jarring, and for the amount of technology packed in, it's relatively light and thin. The weight doesn't differ from the previous model (0.47 pounds, or 0.49 pounds for the 3G model) and it's actually a little heavier than the GlowLight, but if you can detect the 0.06 pound difference.

Drawbacks:

There are a couple of drawbacks here when it comes to hardware, however. For starters, the Paperwhite doesn't provide any audio out and has no headphone jack — so gone are the text-to-speech and audio playback options you had on the last version. That's also a little disappointing given the new listening options.Amazon has added for the Fire HD, which gives you the ability to switch to text-to-speech on a book that you're in the midst of reading when you can't focus on the screen. The device also has less storage than the Touch, reduced from 4GB to 2GB. Finally, the device doesn't ship with an adapter for charging — you either have to use your computer, an adapter you already own, or shell out $10 for one from Amazon (though you can also charge it by plugging into your computer).

E Ink Screen:

As with previous models, the Paperwhite utilizes an E Ink screen, but the difference here is that the entire display is front lit with a soft, blue light that can be dimmed using onscreen controls. This screen is also higher resolution than previous models, making images and text crisper and clearer.
The higher resolution of the display is also a noticeable improvement. Text and line art look extremely crisp on the screen, and even detailed images like panels in a comic book popped. I will say, though, that my eyes seem to be getting used to LCD screens for reading — like the new iPad display or the Nexus 7 — and I found myself longing for the brightness and crispness of those devices. That's not a knock on the Paperwhite screen.

Final Review:

The Paperwhite is an excellent reader, probably the best I've used. Between the new display, the improved software and performance, great battery life, and Amazon's massive book selection, there's not much here to complain about. Some may nitpick the lack of a charger or the fact that you need to pay to opt out of advertising on the device — and those are negatives to be sure — but the overall picture is very clear. Amazon wants to make great reading devices for the masses, and with the Paperwhite, they just took the game to a whole new level.