Whenever Amazon releases new products, inevitably the question arises, should I upgrade? The New Kindle Basic only costs a paltry $79 and is the first model of this class to incorporate a touchscreen. How does the Basic compare to the Paperwhite 2? Today, we dive deep into the eBook, PDF and hardware experience.
What was most surprising about our head to head comparison was the new Kindle Basic 2014 edition actually had a better screen than the Paperwhite 2. We saw the Kindle Paperwhite had a beige tinge to the background when reading a book, while the Basic had almost a pure white display. This made text really pop, and serious readers would notice a difference putting them side by side.
The Basic ships with the exact same firmware as the Paperwhite 2, so you get GoodReads right on the navigation bar. This allows you to tap into the extensive eBook discovery and social community aspect and form online bookclubs.
Michael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and Verge.