In the past year Amazon has released two new e-readers, the all-new Kindle Basic and the Kindle Paperwhite. Many people who like to read digital books tend to gravitate towards the Kindle brand, since its the most well-known and the e-readers are really good, in terms of software and hardware. The new Kindle has a 300 PPI screen, USB-C and 16GB of internal storage. It has a cool lighting system to read in the dark.
The Kindle Paperwhite has similar specs to the Kindle, however they have a 8GB model and a 16GB variant, depending on your storage needs. It is using an E INK Carta 1200 display panel, which increases performance and page turn speed. The screen size is also a big bigger, coming in at 6.8-inches, whereas the Kindle has a 6-inch screen. The extra screen real estate is important, since you can fit more text on the screen. The Paperwhite also has a front-lit display, but also warm lighting too.
The software experience is the same on both devices. You get access to the Amazon bookstore and also the Audible audiobook store. Both models have Bluetooth, so supported countries can buy and listen to audio content via wireless headphones or earbuds. System wide dark mode is also important, since you can invert the colors, so the background is black and text is white. Other competing brands have a dark mode, but it only applies to the reading experience and is not system wide like the Kindle.
The reading experience is the same, however the Paperwhite provides a slightly better one. They have an animated page turn animation, which in conjunction with Carta 1200, makes the pages turn quicker, than the base Kindle. You only really notice the extra speed if you put them side by side. It is around 25% faster, so it is not night and day. You also get the exact same access to X-Ray, user profiles, fonts, font types, line spacing and margins. Amazon tends to have the exact same reading experience, in terms of features on all modern Kindles.
So what one should you buy? The All-new Kindle is around $99 and the Paperwhite is $139 for the 8GB and $149 for the 16GB model. If you are a casual reader, the base model Kindle should suit your fine. In the past, I would never recommend this model, however this one is really good with 300 PPI screen, which makes a world of difference. The screen is also sunken into the bezel, and does not have a layer of glass, so you will not receive any overhead glare from lights or the sun. However, the Paperwhite 5 is really good for those of you that read multiple books a week or are considered serious readers. It does have a flush screen and bezel design, which is protected by a layer of glass, this helps with making it waterproof.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
