I love books, I love reading books. But there is a problem. The space in my home to store books is finite and the sheer number of books available is infinite. It also pains me to see those old books get dusted and turn brown. Once I put down a book, I never pick it up again. This is the reason why I could not read more than half a dozen books a year. Come 2013, I started using an Android smartphone and gave Amazon’s Kindle application a try. That year, Amazon ran an offer where they gave away one free e-book a day for a week and I got all seven of them. That pulled me into the world of e-books and “paperless experience”. Once I got used to reading on Kindle application, I did not look back. In 2012, I ready 8 books and all of them were paperback print books. I read 11 books in 2013, 20 in 2014 and three dozen in 2015. My goal is to read 50 books in 2015. For last two years, I had this itch to get the Amazon Kindle e-book reader. Reading books on a smartphone or tablet is not a good practice for the eyes and it does cause lot of eye strain. For some unknown reasons, I kept postponing the purchase of Kindle. This week, I finally gave in and got myself a Kindle Paperwhite 2015. Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is available at Amazon India Store for INR 8,999 (can go up to INR 10,999/-)
What is an e-book reader?
e-book readers like Amazon Kindle come with electronic paper display instead of LCDs that we get on smartphones and tablets. Electronic paper gives a reader ‘ink on paper’ feel, reflect light instead of emitting light. Just like a paper, the visibility of text on an electronic paper increases as the external light brightens (the opposite for LCD where the visibility comes down in bright environment). Take an e-book reader out under direct sunlight and you get the exact feel of reading a traditional paper. The massive advantage is that your eyes does not get stressed at all. But this is not the only advantage with an e-book reader. An electronic ink display uses battery only when the text is changed or when the backlight is turned on for night reading (for Kindle Paperwhite). As a result, a single charge can give extremely long battery life. An hour a day reading can keep the Amazon Kindle awake for almost a month.
An e-book reader is designed with one thing and one thing only in mind. Book reading. Here are a few features that made me go for Amazon Kindle:
- High resolution 300ppi display is stunning and gives super crisp text, something matched only by hard cover books
- Bookerly font looks far better on Kindle Reader than on smartphone
- Super lightweight. The weight distribution and wide bezel makes it easier to hold a Kindle while lying on back or while reading for a long time.
- Fits in my back pocket
- No distractions. No Facebook, no Twitter notifications. You can share a line or phrase to these social networks though.
Why Amazon Kindle, that too Paperwhite?
There are many eBook readers like Nook, Kobo, Bookeen, Sony but nothing offers complete experience like Amazon’s ecosystem. Amazon’s Kindle store has over 30k free eBooks, 500k eBooks are priced under 100 rupees and one and a half million eBooks cost under 300 bucks. Also, I took Kindle Unlimited subscription and the free books available on Kindle Unlimited are quite good. Thanks to the subscription, I now read a lot of Indian writing.
The Kindle Paperwhite is without a doubt the best eBook reader available here. The adjustable front light helps a lot. I can read in any lighting conditions. The light source is at the front and guides light towards the surface of the display and this is like keeping a book under a table lamp. It is that clean and without glare and eye strain.
Goodreads is one social network that I use to update my book reading and to be in touch with other bookworms. Amazon has built integration with Goodreads network into the Kindle. The integration is neither heavy nor too light.
- Over 30,000 FREE eBooks and 2 million paid eBooks on Amazon Kindle
- Over 500,000 eBooks at Rs. 99 or less and over 1.5 million eBooks at Rs. 299 or less
- Kindle Unlimited subscription
- Goodreads integration
Few things that are really helpful (that are also available on Android/iOS applications)
- Full fledged dictionary. Long press a word to see the meaning and other details
- Adjust text size : if you feel that the text size if not up to your comfort level, you can increase or decrease text size, line space and border size.
- Translate section of a page into other languages (uses Bing Translator)
- Recommendations based on your readings
- Buy a new book in app or in Kindle device or online and it appears in no time in all your devices
- Automatic sync (internet connection needed). If you leave your kindle at home, you can continue reading the book (from where you left if) on your phone or tablet or PC while you are outside.
- Email a document to your Kindle email id and the document can be read on your Kindle
Technical Specification
| Display | Amazon’s 6″ Paperwhite display with Carta e-paper technology and built-in light, 300 ppi, optimised font technology, 16-level grey scale |
| Size | 169 mm x 117 mm x 9.1 mm |
| Weight | Wi-Fi: 205 grams; Wi-Fi + 3G: 217 grams |
| System Requirements | None; fully wireless and doesn’t require a computer to download content |
| On-Device Storage | 4GB: Holds thousands of books |
| Cloud Storage | Free cloud storage for all Amazon content |
| Battery Life | A single charge lasts up to six weeks, based on half an hour of reading per day with wireless off and the light setting at 10. Battery life will vary based on light and wireless usage |
| Charge Time | Fully charges in approximately 4 hours from a computer via USB cable |
| Wi-Fi Connectivity | Supports public and private Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use the 802.11b, 802.11g or 802.11n standard with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication or Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) |
| Content Formats Supported | Kindle Format 8 (AZW3), Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF (without password and DRM), unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion |
| Documentation | Quick Start Guide (included in box) [PDF]; Kindle Paperwhite User Guide (pre-installed on device) [PDF]. Additional information in multiple languages available online |
| Warranty and Service | Kindle Paperwhite is sold with a limited warranty of one year provided by the manufacturer. Use of Kindle is subject to the terms found here. |
| Included in the Box | Kindle Paperwhite, USB 2.0 charging cable and Quick Start Guide |
The package and the device
The packaging in minimal. You get the Kindle device, few documents and a USB cable to charge the Kindle. There is no wall charger included and you need to pay Rs.1,199/- for the USB wall charger.
The last time I used a Kindle was when I borrowed my sister’s for a few days. There is a saying ‘do not try to fix what is not broken’ and Amazon did stick to this saying. There is no change in build quality, it is perfect. The device grips well, feels well. The matte display has a nice matte feel so you feel like a bit like you are turning a page. There is only one USB port at the bottom, next to the LED indicator and power button. The display is touch sensitive. Touch/click on left 1/3rd is to go to previous page, right 2/3rd is to go ot the next page , and touch at the top to open the horizontal menu bar.
The ease of use is stellar. This device does not have a learning curve. Any book lover can feel right at home in a matter of minutes. On first power on, user is given a detailed guide on how to explore the device and that guide is more than enough. Amazon has also include a mini book that explains how to use a Kindle.
What has improved in the Paperwhite? Well, the resolution is 300dpi and it shows. Text is crisp and clear. The page refresh is super quick and does not show that ugly black flash when you turn a page.
The experience
Mind blowing, out of the world are phrases used for something else. With Kindle, the right phrase is “peaceful reading”. When I first held the device, the expression was ‘hmm’. But once I started reading a book, I felt happy and wonderful. This is how book reading is supposed to be. EFFORTLESS! When a device that weighs lighter than 99% of books available on stores and can hold thousands of books to read and feels like you are reading a real book, you know that every rupee that you spent on it is totally worthy. The icing on the cake is that you need not run around for a dictionary when you find a word that you never heard before.
I have charged the device once about four days ago. I downloaded lot of books using Wi-Fi, did a lot of playing around, used the experimental browser to see how it is. Yes, after four days, the battery level came down by just 10%. Now that I have a huge list of books on the device, it is time to turn off Wi-Fi and this will give much better battery life.
I also took Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscription. The subscription costs 199/- per month. I am reading at least two books a month and able to recover the subscription amount. With Kindle Unlimited, I do not have to worry about a ‘bad buy’. I can download a book and discard it if I do not like it. The only negative though is that the subscription does not give access to many novels from top authors. Some of the best selling books are added after a year or two but most will never come to Unlimited.
The content available as of today is definitely much better than the content that was available few months ago. Lot of quality books from Indian authors were added to Kindle Unlimited and now I have started enjoying the subscription. I do hope that soon more and more classics and hit novels are added to Kindle Unlimited.
Conclusion
I had thought long and hard whether to buy a tablet or an eBook reader. I never felt the need to have a tablet and moreover, with a kid at home, the last thing I need is to get him addicted to tablet PCs. Amazon Kindle is a must have gadget if you are a book lover. You may feel ‘Do I really need to pay 9ooo bucks for this one?’. The answer to that question is a strong YES! Now, when compared to printed books, eBooks costs less. Jeffrey Archer’s ‘Only time will tell’ costs 305/- for paper back variant and just 50/- for kindle eBook. A number of new best sellers and pre-order books costs much much less for Kindle when compared to paperback. Yes, you will miss those occasional trips to the book store, the feel when you turn a paper, the ease with which you can share and borrow books with friends. The same was the case with Music. Gone are our visits to music stores, gone are those cassettes and CDs and DVDs. The time is ripe now to stop stacking those books and start stacking the catalogue of eBooks. By doing this, you are also contributing to the environment. Lower paper usage leads to less trees that are cut down.
As Amazon says, “The only thing more perfect than reading, is more reading”. With a Kindle, reading never stops. If you are really skeptical to make the leap, start with reading eBooks using Kindle application on your phone and then get a Kindle.
