Amazon is going to be releasing two new Kindle models, the Kindle Paperwhite 5 in late October and the Kindle Paperwhite 5 Signature Edition in early November. The big selling points are the 6.8 inch screens, this is the first time a Paperwhite has gone beyond a 6 inch screen. This will provide more screen real estate to read ebooks, which is a very big deal. There is also the inclusion of USB-C, something that users have been demanding for years. They also have color temperature system, to get warm lighting via amber LED lights, the Signature Edition has an automatic light control sensor. Since these Kindles were first announced a couple of weeks ago, they have been bestsellers, so the question remains, will you buy the new Paperwhites?
The Paperwhite Signature Edition features an E INK Carta HD touchscreen display with a resolution of 1430 x 1080 and 300 PPI. The screen is completely flush with the bezel and protected by a layer of glass. The Kindle Paperwhite 4, had an excellent lighting system, with 5 LED lights, but the Signature takes it to an entirely new level, it has 17 white and amber LED lights, giving users the ability to get a candlelight effect on the screen, simply by blending the two. It is also possible to just use the amber lights, or the white lights and not blend them. If you don’t feel like fiddling around with sliders, there is a new auto-adjusting light sensors.Â
Underneath the hood is a NXP/Freescale 1GHZ processor, 1GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. You will be able to connect it up to your MAC or PC via an all new USB-C cable. This device also has Bluetooth, but Amazon has not disclosed the version number, it is likely 5.1. This will allow you to connect up a pair of wireless headphones or an external speaker and listen to audiobooks from Audible.
You will get around 10 weeks of battery life, based on a half hour of reading per day with wireless off and the light setting at 13. Battery life may vary depending on use. Audible audiobook streaming over Bluetooth will reduce battery life. Fully charges in approximately 5 hours from a computer via USB cable; fully charges in less than 2.5 hours with a 9W USB power adapter; fully charges in less than 3.5 hours with any compatible 10W Qi wireless charging pad. The dimensions are 174 x 125 x 8.1 mm and weighs 208 g.
Where can you use your Kindle? The world is your oyster. Read it in the bathtub, beach or lounging around the pool. If you are like me, you often dump tea or coffee on everything and luckily it is waterproof (IPX8), tested to withstand immersion in 2 meters of fresh water for 60 minutes.
The Kindle Paperwhite 5 Signature Edition will retail for $189.99 in the United States and $208.99 in Canada. Will you pre-order it? This seems like an overall better buy than the Kindle Paperwhite 5, which doesn’t have an auto adjusting lighting system and only a paltry 8GB of storage.
The Paperwhite 5 will feature an E INK Carta HD touchscreen display with a resolution of 1430 x 1080 and 300 PPI. This model also has 17 white and amber LED lights, giving users the ability to get a candlelight effect. The screen is flush with the bezel, protected by a layer of glass.
Underneath the hood is a NXP/Freescale 1GHZ processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. You will be able to connect it up to your MAC or PC via USB-C. It has WIFI only and there is no cellular option. It has Bluetooth, which can be used to plugin a pair of wireless headphones or an external speaker to listen to Audible audiobooks. The dimensions are 124.6 x 174.2 x 8.1 mm and weighs 205g. This model is also waterproof. This 11th generation Kindle is available for pre-order. It retails for $139.99 with Ads and $159 without ads.
Will you buy either of these two Kindle models? The Signature Edition seems to be the most popular, due to wireless charging, more storage and a light sensor.
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.
