# New Kindle Paperwhite



## derek alvah (Jul 2, 2010)

So there is a new Kindle Paperwhite due for release on June 30. Will have same 300 ppi as Voyage and come with the new Kindle font. Anyone gonna get it?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Interesting! Here's the link to the comparison page . . . basically they've increased the resolution to be equal to the Voyage. . . lighting is still not adaptive as on the Voyage, nor are there page turn buttons . . . and still slightly bigger and heavier. So basically the same case with some improved hardware.

http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00OQVZDJM/ref=fs_kp_m#compare

It does say, rather prominently at the top of the page, that it will include the 'Bookerly' font. . . . which is a very nice font currently available on the Fires.










Perhaps it'll come to the Voyage as well as an update. Maybe, to render well, the resolution HAS to be 300 which is why they're putting out a PW with the better screen. 'Cause there's not much change besides that.

There's also this: 


> Coming soon-All-new typesetting engine lays out words just as the author intended for beautiful rendering of pages. With improved character spacing and the addition of hyphenation, justification, kerning, ligatures, and drop cap support, our best-in-class typography helps you read faster with less eyestrain.


There's a 'show me' link at the end which pops up this:










I'm hoping/expecting _that_ will come to the Voyage by way of an update as well . . . . but, no, not planning on purchasing this model of PW (PW3, or PW2015).


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## northofdivision (Sep 7, 2010)

Interesting indeed. I wonder about the lighting, using bezel and the new carta ink. The form factor of the Voyage still is the hardware to beat. I like the idea of carta ink on a Paperwhite though. Curious if any Paperwhite users are going to upgrade. Currently my Kobo Glo HD is my primary reader and my Paperwhite 2nd gen has been pushed down to reading in pitch dark in bed. Probably can't justify picking another reader up unless it was a Voyage update.

http://gizmodo.com/amazons-super-great-kindle-paperwhite-now-has-a-super-g-1711935895


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

I have a Voyage, and my mother is totally happy with my PW2 that she has inherited. So i shall sit this one out.

Glad to see they still care about keeping eInk readers refreshed!


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## barryem (Oct 19, 2010)

I have a Voyage and a PW2 and a PW1.  I've been wondering if I wanted a second Voyage as a backup.  I really like it's smaller size and lighter weight and the way it feels holding it.  But I can't really afford it.  So this tempts me.

The problem is that the Voyage screen doesn't really seem any better to me than the PW2 screen.  I'm old and my eyes can't really see the improved resolution.  It's the reduced size of the Voyage that attracts me.  I've even turned off the Page Press and the self adjusting light.  I tried them for a while and didn't see a need for them.

I guess I'll have to try reading on my Paperwhite a bit and see if I change my mind.  But my guess is that I'll save for a second Voyage.

Barry


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## D/W (Dec 29, 2010)

Here's a link to Amazon's official press release: "Amazon Introduces New Kindle Paperwhite: The Most Popular Kindle, Now Even Better-Still Only $119".


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I've sent an email to ask if there will be an update to the Voyage software . . . .  will report back what I hear.


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## CAR (Aug 1, 2010)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I've sent an email to ask if there will be an update to the Voyage software . . . . will report back what I hear.


I did state before that I thought the Voyage would get the new font on the next major software update. Now I think that update is almost certainly going to come out about the same time as the new Paperwhite.


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## CAR (Aug 1, 2010)

barryem said:


> I've even turned off the Page Press and the self adjusting light. I tried them for a while and didn't see a need for them.


The self adjusting light is one of my favorite features on the Voyage. That difference of opinion really shows how personal e-readers are to the reader.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

CAR said:


> I did state before that I thought the Voyage would get the new font on the next major software update. Now I think that update is almost certainly going to come out about the same time as the new Paperwhite.


That's my guess, too.


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## larryb52 (Nov 18, 2009)

well I like some of the new features and I pre-ordered it , said new rendering engine for character spacing and making it easier to read and hey its new...I'm all for new


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

I want to preorder but I need to check if it's the exact same size as the PW2 I have now to see if I can just pop it into my current cover.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

If you follow the link in your order of the PW you have and look at the specs shown there, you can compare it to the current offering. It seems to me that, yes, it's exactly the same size and weight.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

Ok I just double checked and it's the same exact size so I'm good to go on using my existing cover. I went ahead and preordered and told hubby it's my birthday present, which is in a couple days. I'm excited because the only thing I really wanted that the Voyage had was the PPI. Other than that I like my PW2. I ordered the wifi version again, as I can just use my iphone 6+ hot spot capability if I need to download a book. I'm excited since I do read on my kindle every day and the price point is great.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Got a reply on my email. They didn't explicitly say that Bookerly and the improved text rendering would be included on the Voyage eventually, but they basically said there WOULD BE an update to the Voyage.  From the way things were worded, I got the impression that Bookerly would, in fact, be part of it, but that the person was not allowed to say.  Didn't really address the improved text rendering stuff, but, even for the new PW, it says that's 'coming soon' via an update after release. And, since the Voyage and PWs run the same exact number software versions at this point, I think it's safe to say it'll be included.

But . . . technically, they neither confirmed it nor denied it.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

I like Bookerly it's been out on the IOS app for awhile now.


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## Toby (Nov 25, 2008)

Amazon still hasn't increased the font sizes from the same 8. In some books, it's either too small or too large. Also, the new PW page doesn't mention the GB's of the new kindle. It just says it holds thousands of books. That's what it use to say for my older PW 1 & 2. Does that mean that the new PW only holds 2GB's instead of last generation PW, which holds 4 GB's. Otherwise, I'm happy that the PW is being improved. I'm hoping that those of us will get the Bookerly on our Voyage. It sounds like we will. Those who buy this new PW can't go wrong for the price. I'm not getting this new PW because I love my Voyage.


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## John F (May 19, 2014)

"All-new typesetting engine lays out words just as the author intended"

Um - the author has nothing to do with page and therefore word layout, which is governed by the publisher's choice of page trim size and type design. Also, the page layout in Kindle is determined by the user's choice of font size. So what can amazon.com actually mean by that claim?

I also wonder if this new typesetting engine will correct the brute force scanning which the publisher hasn't bothered to proofread, typical of Kindle editions of older books, where I often find words hyphenated because they were broken by the lineation of the original print edition.


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## gdae23 (Apr 30, 2009)

Toby said:


> Also, the new PW page doesn't mention the GB's of the new kindle. It just says it holds thousands of books. That's what it use to say for my older PW 1 & 2. Does that mean that the new PW only holds 2GB's instead of last generation PW, which holds 4 GB's.


I linked from the new KPW page to the user manual and the specs show 4 GBs of memory. CNET is also reporting this. I wonder if they showed "holds thousands of books" because to people unfamiliar with the Kindle, 4 GB would not seem like a lot of memory.

This thread is actually the first mention I saw of the new KPW, so thanks for starting this. Last year was the first year I didn't get a new Kindle. I tried the Voyage in Best Buy, and liked the new screen resolution, but wasn't interested in the other new features. Now I probably will update to this new KPW, although I need to finish looking over the details.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

John F said:


> "All-new typesetting engine lays out words just as the author intended"
> 
> Um - the author has nothing to do with page and therefore word layout, which is governed by the publisher's choice of page trim size and type design. Also, the page layout in Kindle is determined by the user's choice of font size. So what can amazon.com actually mean by that claim?
> 
> I also wonder if this new typesetting engine will correct the brute force scanning which the publisher hasn't bothered to proofread, typical of Kindle editions of older books, where I often find words hyphenated because they were broken by the lineation of the original print edition.


If you look at the illustration, it looks like they've developed some sort of software which will make the letters less monotype-ish. And will make it smarter about where hyphens should go . . . right now, I'm not sure kindle hyphenates _anything_ so a really long word can leave a funny line end. And on larger print sizes things can look pretty weird. So if the rendering engine can adjust spacing of letters and/or words to avoid weird stuff like that, that will definitely be an improvement!

That said, I don't see where it can do anything about a poorly edited file from OCR. If the publisher/author has left OCR errata in the uploaded file, they'll still be there, same as if the uploaded file has spelling errors. Or if they've used a non standard 'letter', (as can happen if designed for 'real' typesetting; I've seen the 'ffi' in 'officer' render as an infinity symbol when converted to kindle format! ) it'll still be odd looking in the kindle file.

So it seems to me the 'rendering engine' is meant to fix some spacing issues that often crop up in generic word processing. As I say, some of this is more obvious in one font style vs another and on larger sizes. Also, of course, it's more obvious if you set wider margins on your kindle. I don't expect, personally, to notice much difference -- assuming Voyage gets an update that does this as well -- as I use the 4th smallest size with the widest margins, but I can appreciate it for people who need larger print!  Heck, that might even be ME one day.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

gdae23 said:


> I linked from the new KPW page to the user manual and the specs show 4 GBs of memory. CNET is also reporting this. I wonder if they showed "holds thousands of books" because to people unfamiliar with the Kindle, 4 GB would not seem like a lot of memory.
> 
> This thread is actually the first mention I saw of the new KPW, so thanks for starting this. Last year was the first year I didn't get a new Kindle. I tried the Voyage in Best Buy, and liked the new screen resolution, but wasn't interested in the other new features. Now I probably will update to this new KPW, although I need to finish looking over the details.


It seems to me that they've just said 'thousands of books' for quite some time . . . . ever since they quietly increased memory in the PW from 2GB to 4GB. That was the summer before the Voyage was released, if I recall correctly. There was no announcement that the memory had increased, but people who'd bought new ones, reported that their brand new devices were showing much more space available (menu/settings/menu/device info) than they thought it had at all. That's when we noticed it no longer said '2GB' on the product specifications page at Amazon . . . . and, in fact, it was clear there was actually 4GB available on the devices then being shipped.

You do have a point, though, that people used to looking at tablets would not think 4GB is much . . . of course, when all it's holding is books, it's plenty!  What I wonder is if they switched to 4GB because it was not really any more expensive than a 2GB chip, or whatever. I can actually conceive that it might cost nearly as much to manufacture 2G as 4G, but you'd have to sell them for much less. If I was a chip maker, I might just say, "we're not going to do that, 4GB is as small as we make." Hence: double the memory with no fanfare or announcement, purely because it's what was available.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

Last night I realized that my iphone 6+ has 401 ppi so I finally did a side by side with my PW2 but using Bookerly on my iphone. The text difference was extremely minor and that was comparing 212 ppi to 401 not the 300 of the new PW3. So I decided to cancel my preorder of PW3.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Rasputina said:


> Last night I realized that my iphone 6+ has 401 ppi so I finally did a side by side with my PW2 but using Bookerly on my iphone. The text difference was extremely minor and that was comparing 212 ppi to 401 not the 300 of the new PW3. So I decided to cancel my preorder of PW3.


Hmmm. . . . I'm not sure this isn't comparing apples to oranges . . . . since the way eInk renders text is very different to a phone/tablet screen. I kind of feel like the resolution can be compared amongst similar devices, but I'd regard the eInk as _not_ 'similar' to a phone or tablet.

A better comparison would be your old PW with a Voyage, or other 300ppi eInk device. At least, it would be fore me. 

I have both a PW (2013) and a Voyage . . . . on the same page of the same book the Voyage is marginally crisper. The difference is mostly that the light is 'whiter', it seems to me; with the font very large (larger than is realistically usable in my opinion) you can see some difference in the edges of the letters, the Voyage being smoother. On the smaller size I prefer, it's less discernible, except that it just is more comfortable to read for a longer period of time.

I think, if I didn't already have a Voyage . . .which is the Rolls Royce of kindles . . . I'd probably jump on this new PW . . . be like moving up from a Toyota to a Lexus. 

eta: I should mention the Voyage responds faster than my PW -- not sure if the newer PW has a faster processor or not . . . . still, it's not like the PW is _slow_.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

I'm not at all interested in Voyage. As I already posted when it first came out. I don't consider it the rolls royce of kindles because I don't want the features it has. The only thing I cared about the ppi. I knew someone would post saying it's not a fair comparison with iphone 6+ but whatever. I already own it. I'll just keep reading on my PW2.


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## ElaineOK (Jun 5, 2009)

What I am wondering is whether active content will work on the new PW.  It does on my current PW, but I have heard from Voyage users here that it does not not on the Voyage.  I'm kind of addicted to the two word games I keep downloaded.  Yes, I have a smart phone, multiple computers.  I do not need to be playing Scrabble on my Kindle -- but I do.

Elaine
Norman, OK


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Rasputina said:


> I'm not at all interested in Voyage. As I already posted when it first came out. I don't consider it the rolls royce of kindles because I don't want the features it has. The only thing I cared about the ppi. I knew someone would post saying it's not a fair comparison with iphone 6+ but whatever. I already own it. I'll just keep reading on my PW2.


Well, the Rolls Royce is the Rolls Royce of cars, but not everyone wants a Rolls Royce.  We've had lots here who have said they prefer the PW for various reasons. Some even prefer their older readers. 'sokay. 

Please understand: I was not criticizing you in any way . . . just concerned that you might not be basing your decision on valid data _vis a vis_ the ppi on eInk vs phone/tablet screens. For example, my phone has 256ppi -- so actually less than the Voyage or new PW; a little better than my PW. Because it's a different type and size of screen, it seems much sharper than either Kindle. Still, I'd not prefer it as a 'mostly reading' device. 

And, after all, even if one keeps the pre-order and then decides, on delivery -- now able to compare side by side -- that it's not actually that much better, Amazon makes it pretty easy to return.  OTOH, LOTS of folks wait until the early adopters here get theirs and report in! So that's o.k. too! 

As another consideration, it does seem like the software updates (the bookerly font and the improved rendering engine) may not come to older PWs . . . might have something to do with the screen resolution and that's WHY they're putting the better screen on the PW. But, again, untill we can see new and old side by side it's hard to know how much those things are worth. And of course it'll be different for everyone.


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## Speaker-To-Animals (Feb 21, 2012)

I've been very happy with my Voyage, but I find the adaptive lighting is pretty mediocre. It eventually 'adapts' to keeping the same light on at all times. The buttons are ok, but not as good as physical ones, and definitely not worth $80.

The 300ppi screen though? That's really a game changer. I notice right away on the paperwhite that it's not as sharp.

I assume that the Voyage will get all the typography updates because having a lower end device with higher end options would not look good. If they limited it to only the next gen Voyage, you'd have a lot of people downgrading to the better PW3. I don't think they want that.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Speaker-To-Animals said:


> I assume that the Voyage will get all the typography updates because having a lower end device with higher end options would not look good. If they limited it to only the next gen Voyage, you'd have a lot of people downgrading to the better PW3. I don't think they want that.


I am thinking so as well . . . . and you make a very good point: they bill the Voyage as the premier product, they've got to keep it up to justify the higher price.

Here's where I stand: LOVE my Voyage.  But I wouldn't buy a '2nd generation' of it just to get the typography updates. AND, if the updates did NOT come to the Voyage, I don't think they'd be enough for me to buy even the new PW, though I'd definitely like to have 'em.

My current PW is my back up . . . and even a new one would probably stay that way . . it's enough bigger and heavier that I would likely not switch to it for my primary reader. Plus, for me, the automatic lighting adjustment works very well, and I've gotten used to the buttons.  I notice it when I do use my PW and they're not there.


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## Tuttle (Jun 10, 2010)

My view:

I love my voyage. I'd not buy a new kindle for typography updates if it didn't come to my voyage. I would be quite annoyed if I didn't get them.

I think that these updates are things that should be suggested to people who don't want the voyage; who the differences between the PW and the voyage haven't been worth it for them. Both the typography updates and the improved PPI are things I would absolutely notice and things that seem like it would be worth pushing people over the edge to being worth upgrading when it wasn't before, or getting a kindle when it wasn't worth it before. 

For me? I'm watching out for the updates for my voyage.

For others? I think this as a higher quality midline device is worth talking about. And really, the midline device is the one which I'd expect many people to want. 

(Now back to my book)


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## mikeschr (Dec 7, 2010)

ElaineOK said:


> What I am wondering is whether active content will work on the new PW. It does on my current PW, but I have heard from Voyage users here that it does not not on the Voyage. I'm kind of addicted to the two word games I keep downloaded. Yes, I have a smart phone, multiple computers. I do not need to be playing Scrabble on my Kindle -- but I do.


Active content is what's keeping me on my older Kindles. They seem to have dropped all support for it on the Voyage, and probably will on the new PW. There are a lot of apps that don't work on the current PW (which I own but hardly use), and there haven't been updates for quite a while.

Someday I'll give up on the apps, but I'm still enjoying the odd game between reading sessions, and some of the games don't have equivalents on phones/tablets, so there you are. It helps that I still prefer an external light to the lighting on the PW or Voyage.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

FWIW, the 1st gen PW is at software 5.4.4.2

Both the 2nd gen PW and the Voyage are at 5.6.2.1

If the new PW (3rd gen, I guess) also has 5.6.x.x, then that will be a good sign that any software improvements it has will come to the Voyage.  But they might NOT come to the 2nd Gen PW because of the difference in screen resolution.

I did have a fair amount of 'active content' at one point, but realized I wasn't really using it. I was using the the eInk kindles purely as reading devices. . . . if I'm in the mood for games I move to the Fire.  

I would not expect support for such content to come back, frankly. I think maybe it wasn't as popular as  was possibly expected, popularity here notwithstanding.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Decided to order one today, as my original PW (Sept. 2012) is having performance issues that a reboot will only temporarily fix.


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## jlee745 (Jul 27, 2010)

So does this mean no update to the voyage this year. 
I never buy Any electronics the first year it comes out. 
I've been looking forward to this fall all year 
to get gen 2 of the voyage


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## Toby (Nov 25, 2008)

I have my active content on my Basic Kindle, the K5, so your not alone in playing word games on a kindle.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I still play Monopoly and Scrabble on my K3.


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## gdae23 (Apr 30, 2009)

I just went to read the Amazon page for the new Kindle again, and the specs have been updated to show:

"On-Device Storage	4 GB; holds thousands of books"

I don't know if this was done in reaction to questions / comments, or was just an accidental oversight that has now been corrected.



jlee745 said:


> So does this mean no update to the voyage this year.
> I never buy Any electronics the first year it comes out.
> I've been looking forward to this fall all year
> to get gen 2 of the voyage


Interesting - I had the opposite reaction to the announcement of the KPW3, since I wasn't anticipating hearing about any new Kindle until the fall. My thought on hearing about this one was that they're announcing it now to keep it separate from the Voyage, and I'm thinking there will be a new enhanced Voyage announced c. early fall. (This is strictly speculation on my part, not based on any facts whatsoever.)

I still keep a basic Kindle to play Triple Town. I tried the iPad version of this game and hated it. It was quite a bit different from the Kindle eReader version, and appeared to require frequent in-app purchases to keep playing.

I'll probably get the new KPW, but I'm too tired now to make a decision, so it will have to wait for tomorrow.


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## CAR (Aug 1, 2010)

jlee745 said:


> So does this mean no update to the voyage this year.
> I never buy Any electronics the first year it comes out.
> I've been looking forward to this fall all year
> to get gen 2 of the voyage


This is just a guess... my feeling on this is the PW3 will be the Kindle hardware refresh for this year. The Voyage on the other hand will get a Big software update. Maybe even bigger then the PW3 software. This way they will make eveyone feel that the Voyage was a truly premium product, and was worth the investment.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

jlee745 said:


> So does this mean no update to the voyage this year.
> I never buy Any electronics the first year it comes out.
> I've been looking forward to this fall all year
> to get gen 2 of the voyage


If by update you mean a 2nd gen Voyage . . . I tend to think not. But what do I know?  It may be there's also working on improvements for the Voyage and they've just not announced them yet. For me, as I _did_ buy a Voyage last year, I'm hard pressed to say what a new model might have that would justify the price.


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## larryb52 (Nov 18, 2009)

there will be an update to the software for the voyage but I do believe before x-mas there will be a new voyage announced...I have a pw1 which I sold back to amazon and a pw2 but I like the build of the pw2 to the voyage. Its a bit too small , feels almost foreign. I like what features are in the new pw3 so I will try it. I always have 30 days to return it. No harm in trying and hey I don't do a who lot but play on devices and read so we'll see...


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## Speaker-To-Animals (Feb 21, 2012)

I'm not sure what they'd actually do to change the voyage hardware. 

On whether it's getting Bookerly, one of the updates to the new PW is an upgrade of 256 to 512 of RAM, which the Voyage already has. So there's no reason it can't get any of the software updates, but possibly it means Bookerly and the other features won't come to the older PWs.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Good Catch! I hadn't noticed the increase in RAM . . . . I agree that supports the idea that Voyage will get the font/text improvements but probably older PWs won't.


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## Lee (Nov 7, 2008)

As a PW1 owner, I'm fascinated by this development, as it had seemed that they were phasing out the Paperwhite in favor of the Voyage.

I definitely don't feel that the automatic light adjustment and the page-turn thingies are worth $80, so that rules out the Voyage for me.  So a PW3 with increased ppi and RAM is certainly interesting.

I love new gadgets, and have bought several Kindles over the years -- the original, the Keyboard, the baby, the PW1.  My problem is that I'm really not convinced that upgrading from PW1 to PW3 would provide enough benefit to justify the cost.  I'd probably notice the jump in ppi, but the PW1 ppi is perfectly satisfactory for me.  The new font and spacing software sound nice, but again, probably not worth the cost of upgrading.

I'll probably just keep using my PW1 unless and until I start having problems with it like NogDog's.


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## Andra (Nov 19, 2008)

I actually have a PW2 in my shopping cart at Amazon to replace my mom's aging Touch.  I had given her my PW1 after I got my Voyage, but she wasn't using it so I took it back to have a lighted spare.  She needs the 3G since she is in the middle of nowhere without internet and I am not going to try to explain getting on wifi at miscellaneous places to her.  Now to decide which way to go...
For me, the Voyage answered two years of griping about the lack of page turn buttons on my 1st gen Paperwhite.  I like to hold the device left-handed and the touch zones to turn the pages are not customizable, so I had to stretch across the screen to advance the pages.  I read fiction fast enough to make the constant reaching motion annoying.  I think Amazon did a good job with the page press and that was the feature that made me upgrade.  And really, it was still less expensive than my very first Kindle...  I do think they could go back and tweak a little bit to make the bezel just a little bit wider so it's easier to hold when it's not in a case.  And even though I like the weird-shaped back and having the power button on the back, those two features have made finding the right case a little challenging.  I think I've bought more cases for the Voyage than any other kindle since my K2.
Having said all that, I really do think it's awesome that Amazon continues to refine and improve the e-ink kindles.  I do read on my tablets since I have a Scribe subscription, but I much prefer the e-ink for long bouts of reading.  I am curious about the new font, but not terribly excited.  I tend to dislike serif fonts in general.  More choices are always a good thing though.


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## Meka (Sep 8, 2011)

Len has a very good video comparing the PW3 and Voyage

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b01XPj1zHVI&feature=em-uploademail

Sent from my Galaxy Mega using Tapatalk


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Thanks for linking to the video . . . his comments pretty much echo my feelings. It's interesting he didn't mention the lighting . . . I guess it's not much different between the PW2 and PW3 . . . . I was intrigued to hear that he felt the screen was whiter. . . . .


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## Speaker-To-Animals (Feb 21, 2012)

The video reminded me of some of the things I don't like about the Voyage. I like the page buttons a lot and loved the screen, but I prefer the PW size and the raised bezel. I always thought the bezel thing should be reversed. The rim should be there for the device with the buttons and not be there for the one you need to touch the screen to change pages for.

I don't know what the sales figures are like, but I've evangelized for the kindle a lot and haven't been able to sell a single person on the Voyage. They usually see the advantage of coughing $40 more for the lighting, but balk at the other features for $70. With the screen improvement on the PW, that is an even harder upsell.


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## mikeschr (Dec 7, 2010)

Andra said:


> I actually have a PW2 in my shopping cart at Amazon to replace my mom's aging Touch. I had given her my PW1 after I got my Voyage, but she wasn't using it so I took it back to have a lighted spare. She needs the 3G since she is in the middle of nowhere without internet and I am not going to try to explain getting on wifi at miscellaneous places to her. Now to decide which way to go...
> For me, the Voyage answered two years of griping about the lack of page turn buttons on my 1st gen Paperwhite. I like to hold the device left-handed and the touch zones to turn the pages are not customizable, so I had to stretch across the screen to advance the pages. I read fiction fast enough to make the constant reaching motion annoying. I think Amazon did a good job with the page press and that was the feature that made me upgrade. And really, it was still less expensive than my very first Kindle... I do think they could go back and tweak a little bit to make the bezel just a little bit wider so it's easier to hold when it's not in a case. And even though I like the weird-shaped back and having the power button on the back, those two features have made finding the right case a little challenging. I think I've bought more cases for the Voyage than any other kindle since my K2.
> Having said all that, I really do think it's awesome that Amazon continues to refine and improve the e-ink kindles. I do read on my tablets since I have a Scribe subscription, but I much prefer the e-ink for long bouts of reading. I am curious about the new font, but not terribly excited. I tend to dislike serif fonts in general. More choices are always a good thing though.


What you say about reaching all the way across the screen is only true if one insists on tapping to turn pages. You've always been able to swipe anywhere on the screen to turn pages.


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## CAR (Aug 1, 2010)

Speaker-To-Animals said:


> The video reminded me of some of the things I don't like about the Voyage. I like the page buttons a lot and loved the screen, but I prefer the PW size and the raised bezel. I always thought the bezel thing should be reversed. The rim should be there for the device with the buttons and not be there for the one you need to touch the screen to change pages for.
> 
> I don't know what the sales figures are like, but I've evangelized for the kindle a lot and haven't been able to sell a single person on the Voyage. They usually see the advantage of coughing $40 more for the lighting, but balk at the other features for $70. With the screen improvement on the PW, that is an even harder upsell.


A few notes:
1: I felt the same about the Voyage Rim + Bezel being too small. But the Limited Edition Leather cover solved those issues for me. I love my Voyage + cover combo!! 
2: The Voyage was on back order for a very long time. If that's any indicator... Voyage sales might have been pretty good.
3: I think the PW3 will be a great upgrade for anyone with a older Kindle. My guess is that the PW2 will not get the new font... If that's the case then the PW3 will also be a very nice upgrade for PW2 owners.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

Lee said:


> As a PW1 owner, I'm fascinated by this development, as it had seemed that they were phasing out the Paperwhite in favor of the Voyage.
> 
> I definitely don't feel that the automatic light adjustment and the page-turn thingies are worth $80, so that rules out the Voyage for me. So a PW3 with increased ppi and RAM is certainly interesting.
> 
> ...


That's my issue. I am an early adopter, I had the original kindle when it first came out. I always feel the draw to get the latest version. But I never liked the page turn buttons and I'm so picky about my lighting and contrast that I know I'll turn off auto light adjustment. The only thing that made me want to get voyage when it came out was the ppi. So when I hear that the new PW was getting 300 ppi I figured I'd upgrade from my PW2. But now I'm not convinced it's enough of an improvement to be worth it for me. My PW2 works great.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

Meka said:


> Len has a very good video comparing the PW3 and Voyage
> 
> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b01XPj1zHVI&feature=em-uploademail
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Mega using Tapatalk


Thanks for the link. It's interesting because I don't agree with his findings at all. To me the PW2 looks clearer than the PW3 and the I find the bluer screen much easier to read. Probably because of my vision issues making contrast really important for me. Although it didn't look like he had all three devices set up the same because I could tell the word spacing was different on the PW2 and voyage than the setting on the PW3. So I focused more on the clarity of the individual words vs the page as a whole. The video just solidified my decision to keep using my PW2 for now.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Rasputina said:


> Thanks for the link. It's interesting because I don't agree with his findings at all. To me the PW2 looks clearer than the PW3 and the I find the bluer screen much easier to read. Probably because of my vision issues making contrast really important for me. Although it didn't look like he had all three devices set up the same because I could tell the word spacing was different on the PW2 and voyage than the setting on the PW3. So I focused more on the clarity of the individual words vs the page as a whole. The video just solidified my decision to keep using my PW2 for now.


Yes . . . he had the PW3 using the Bookerly font, I think, which, of course is not available on either of the others. It would have been better if he'd used the same font on all three . . . . and then shown the Bookerly separately.

Also, he talked about the typesetting improvements, but the page at Amazon says those things won't be implemented until an update later on.


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## CAR (Aug 1, 2010)

Rasputina said:


> Thanks for the link. It's interesting because I don't agree with his findings at all. To me the PW2 looks clearer than the PW3 and the I find the bluer screen much easier to read. Probably because of my vision issues making contrast really important for me. Although it didn't look like he had all three devices set up the same because I could tell the word spacing was different on the PW2 and voyage than the setting on the PW3. So I focused more on the clarity of the individual words vs the page as a whole. The video just solidified my decision to keep using my PW2 for now.


My wife is happy with her PW2 also. She does not want to update. I am just glad Amazon is so dedicated to E-readers and keeps improving them.


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## kai_andersen (Jun 20, 2015)

derek alvah said:


> So there is a new Kindle Paperwhite due for release on June 30. Will have same 300 ppi as Voyage and come with the new Kindle font. Anyone gonna get it?


yup, getting it! I came this close to getting the old one before this new model was released. Perhaps i should be grateful to my brother (who's getting it for me) that he somehow kept delaying and delaying...


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

While I like the look of the new Bookerly font, I'm really quite fond of Caecilia - it's the one I've used since I had my very first Kindle. So those of you who have the new font on your Fires (mine's the old model and doesn't have it) can you tell me - does it _replace_ Caecilia or are both available? Either way, I'm assuming it will be the same on the PW3 and the Voyage when it updates.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Yes . . . he had the PW3 using the Bookerly font, I think, which, of course is not available on either of the others. It would have been better if he'd used the same font on all three . . . . and then shown the Bookerly separately.
> 
> Also, he talked about the typesetting improvements, but the page at Amazon says those things won't be implemented until an update later on.


I wasn't referring to the font, I was referring to the line spacing, which you can customize even on the PW2.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

Linjeakel said:


> While I like the look of the new Bookerly font, I'm really quite fond of Caecilia - it's the one I've used since I had my very first Kindle. So those of you who have the new font on your Fires (mine's the old model and doesn't have it) can you tell me - does it _replace_ Caecilia or are both available? Either way, I'm assuming it will be the same on the PW3 and the Voyage when it updates.


I don't have a Fire tablet but in the IOS app it doesn't replace Caecilia, but there is no Caecilia Condensed which is what I use on my PW2.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Linjeakel said:


> While I like the look of the new Bookerly font, I'm really quite fond of Caecilia - it's the one I've used since I had my very first Kindle. So those of you who have the new font on your Fires (mine's the old model and doesn't have it) can you tell me - does it _replace_ Caecilia or are both available? Either way, I'm assuming it will be the same on the PW3 and the Voyage when it updates.


On the Fires it's just another option, one of maybe 8, I think? It would definitely be a step backward for there not still to be options.

That said, if they add in Bookerly on eInk devices, they may remove one of the other options: there are currently 6, which fit nicely on the screen, and swapping one out is probably more likely than adding Bookerly as a 7th and having it look unbalanced. My guess is they'd remove one of the other serif type fonts . . . what's available now is Baskerville, Caecilia (also one of my favorites), Casecilia Condensed, and Palatino (which I've been using lately); There are also two sans serif fonts, Futura and Helvetica.

Even if they do decide to replace Caecilia with Bookerly, I think most folks will like it . . . I expect it will become the 'default' font on the device, much as Caecilia has been. They say it's derivative of Caecilia but meant to be even more comfortable to read.

Have they said the device will be available in the UK, Linda?

(Next time I have my Fires in hand, I'll look to see specifically what is available . . . I don't use 'em to read much so can't recall off hand. Or someone else may beat me to it.  )



Rasputina said:


> I wasn't referring to the font, I was referring to the line spacing, which you can customize even on the PW2.


I know you can change line spacing, but as far as I know, there's no way to change word spacing . . .except by using different or different size font settings. . . . . which is what I was noticing in his video. In it, he definitely talked about typesetting improvements. And it was clear from what he showed that the word spacing was not the same even between the PW and the Voyage. Between either one and the PW3, I could put it down to Bookerly, but between the PW2 and the Voyage, there shouldn't have been the difference I saw if it was the same size and type face.

BUT . . . I, too, have both a PW2 and a Voyage and there are definitely differences when I open them both to the same page of the same book with the same size and style of font. I'm guessing there were incremental improvements in the rendering engines of the Voyage vs the PW, but what's shown as 'coming soon' on the new PW3 page is meant to be a bigger step. Len was talking like it was already there, and I don't think it was.


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Have they said the device will be available in the UK, Linda?


Yes, the new PW will be available on June 30th, the same as in the US. I don't intend to buy it but I'm assuming the Voyage will get an update at about the same time to include the new stuff - I can't see them having a PW with better specs than the Voyage.


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## CAR (Aug 1, 2010)

Linjeakel said:


> Yes, the new PW will be available on June 30th, the same as in the US. I don't intend to buy it but I'm assuming the Voyage will get an update at about the same time to include the new stuff - I can't see them having a PW with better specs than the Voyage.


I think for this reason they very well may update the Voyage a few days before.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

CAR said:


> I think for this reason they very well may update the Voyage a few days before.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk


Or concurrently . . . . in any event . . . it's, arguably, just a few days now. . . well, 10 . . . to release so . . . . . anytime, Amazon, anytime!


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## northofdivision (Sep 7, 2010)

I applaud Amazon for giving the consumer a cheaper option for 300ppi. Up until now, its just the Voyage and the Kobo HD Glo (and as the consensus seems to be clear, most will never be leaving the Amazon eco-system) I think of a couple interested in getting into e-readers now able to essentially get 2 Paperwhites for the price of one Voyage. Add the font and the newly calibrated spacing, wins all around for consumers.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I was thinking very seriously about a new PW until I read that the new typographic controls will only work on books designed for them, not on ones I already have. Pass.

Mike


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## Speaker-To-Animals (Feb 21, 2012)

I'm a little mystified about this entire "books designed for them thing" because there's not a whole lot you can do with a mobi file to change how the typography engine works with it and if there are some new guidelines about it, they certainly haven't released them to authors.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

My guess is the current file type .azw3 will work fine. I base that on the 'over a half million books'. Maybe NOT the earlier .azw file type.  AND maybe also .mobi, .prc, .txt., and .pdf files -- none of which need to be converted and can be side loaded  -- won't work. Which isn't completely surprising.

Also . . . you can convert some file types -- .doc, .dox, .html. My guess is if you do so through Amazon they go to azw3 so the typography stuff ought to work, but if you don't, it might not.

Do need some clarification though, I think.  

Still: looking forward to it as a Voyage update . . . . most especially Bookerly.  And THAT should be independent of the book format.


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## Speaker-To-Animals (Feb 21, 2012)

There's no typography hints in azw3 that I'm aware of. It has a larger set of formatting options with things like dropcaps (which have worked kind of wonky but they're there) and embedding fonts, but there's nothing in the format I'm aware of that would give specific instructions on how to break words.

I have one freebie they said was updated, I'll rip apart the azw3 and take a peek later.


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## JuliMonroe (Apr 25, 2011)

Amazon was kind enough to send me a PW3 to review, and it arrived today. Feel free to pepper me with questions. I need fodder for my review on TeleRead.

Initial impressions

1. Display quality: I see it more on menus than in text when comparing the PW2 and PW3. The Kobo Glo HD looks a tiny bit sharper to me, but that could be because of font choice. I use Georgia on the Glo and Bookerly on the PW3. Bookerly is a thicker font.
2. Typography: There's a subtle difference even on "non-enhanced" books. With the same font size, typeface and line spacing it seems like I'm getting more text per page on the PW2, and I think it was supposed to be the other way around, based on Len Edgerly's video. On the other hand, I like the look the kerning gives on the PW3 a bit better. It's all subtle, though, and I'm only noticing because I'm specifically looking for it.
3. I didn't much like Bookerly on my iPad or Fire HD 6, but I think I really like it on the PW3. It might replace Palatino for me.

That's all from reading one short story. I'm sure I'll have more opinions after reading an entire book.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

The heck with peppering with questions . . . . we need an in person meet . . . right Betsy?


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## barryem (Oct 19, 2010)

jmiked said:


> I was thinking very seriously about a new PW until I read that the new typographic controls will only work on books designed for them, not on ones I already have. Pass.


That seems to be true but Amazon has promised to do conversions at the rate of several thousand books a day. At least that's what I read in another blog.

I have the new features on my Fire HD6 and I downloaded a couple of books I already own to try them out on and sure enough, both books worked and had the new features. I didn't try any others. I was mostly interested in getting a look at them.

I like the Bookerly font and I guess I like the hyphenation. I usually read with a Voyage which doesn't have hyphenation but my Kobo does have hyphenation and I frankly never noticed that til this was discussed in relation to the new Paperwhite.

I'm accustomed to the Caecilia font and I went back and forth between them a bit. I like the new font a little more but not enough to really make me care a lot. I think it's about the same with the hyphenation.

Anyway, I personally wouldn't buy a new device for those features. I have the same screen, or about the same screen, on my Voyage and I'm not sure I'd have paid extra for that either. I like the Voyage because it's small but I've been using my Paperwhites the last few days because of this new one and I'm finding I like them about as much.

This is a kind of creeping improvement. It keeps getting better but the problem Amazon has is that it's already so good they can't really make them dramatically better. Nice to have a problem like that, huh. 

What I keep hoping for is a new model with a button you push to make an inflatable recliner pops out so I always have a comfortable place to read wherever I am. And, of course, I'll expect that one to be smaller and lighter.

Barry


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## JuliMonroe (Apr 25, 2011)

Ann in Arlington said:


> The heck with peppering with questions . . . . we need an in person meet . . . right Betsy?


But, of course!!


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## CAR (Aug 1, 2010)

I have seen a couple interesting things today.  1: Maybe a larger Voyage for the end of the year Kindle refresh.  2: It looks like the PW2 will get the update, my wife will be happy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

CAR said:


> I have seen a couple interesting things today. 1: Maybe a larger Voyage for the end of the year Kindle refresh. 2: It looks like the PW2 will get the update, my wife will be happy


Where did you hear about a larger screen Voyage? That would truly surprise me!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Where did you hear about a larger screen Voyage? That would truly surprise me!


Yeah, I'm curious about anything like this! I also think it sounds unlikely, but I'd be happy to be wrong....


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## CAR (Aug 1, 2010)

The Hooded Claw said:


> Yeah, I'm curious about anything like this! I also think it sounds unlikely, but I'd be happy to be wrong....


I saw it mentioned on another forum. Amazon will have to do something with the Voyage. The price difference now of $80 between the Voyage and the PW3 does not make sense any longer, with the PW3 basically having the same screen as the current Voyage. I think a 6+ inch Voyage with the same price point as the current model, would make sense and could be very popular.


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## northofdivision (Sep 7, 2010)

The Hooded Claw said:


> Yeah, I'm curious about anything like this! I also think it sounds unlikely, but I'd be happy to be wrong....


Agreed, sounds very interesting. I do think there is a market for a 7" reader but would be very surprised. Guessing the Voyage 2 update would/will be software/non cosmetic hardware based changes like the PW 1st and 2nd where they improved on the lighting on the 2nd gen. But I like all the gossip. Leaves me hopeful for something new on an already great catalog of Kindle hardware. Do any of you remember that when they added black to the baby kindle line in addition to the silver if those two models were only changes externally? The product was the same from what I can recall. Anyhow, a Voyage 7" redesign so it ends up having the same or a little smaller footprint than the current PW while being lighter and thinner. I could definitely see that happening and selling a lot of units, CAR.


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## barryem (Oct 19, 2010)

I really can't agree.  I have both generations of the Paperwhite (1 and 2, not 3) and I have a Voyage.  I'd been using the Voyage almost exclusively since I got it and when they announced the new Paperwhite I decided to go back to those, which I did.  I read on the PW2 for a few days and then on the PW1.

I was just about to conclude that there are really no differences in any of them that I care about, and then last night I went back to the Voyage.  There's not a lot I can really put my finger on.  I do like the flush screen.  I very much like the lighter weight and smaller size.  But really it's better than that.  The Voyage is the one I like reading with.  As good as the Paperwhites are, and they're excellent, the Voyage is distinctly better.

I had been considering getting a backup Voyage and selling at least the Paperwhite 1 and possibly the Paperwhite 2.  Then when I was reading on those I decided there no point.  But now that I'm back to my Voyage I'm starting to think again in terms of a backup Voyage.  It's really that much better and specs don't really tell the story.

That might not be good from a marketing point of view.  Marketers need to be able to tell why something is better.  But the fact is the thing is selling so I think the problem is more in the eyes of the pundits than in real life.

Barry


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## northofdivision (Sep 7, 2010)

Agree with Barryem on the hardware end that the Voyage is just a superior product. To me, it feels horribly well made and engineered beautifully (Kobo Glo HD, not nearly as much though it's my primary reader because the lighting is phenomenal) In hand, the Voyage is the best ereader to hold onto hands down (other than the old Sony Prs350 5" but that screen was too small). If it weren't, I think Amazon would be having some serious problems. I'm guessing there are a lot of people who would rather spend 100 than 200 on reading hardware and willing to have less features. And for a small minority (myself) the lighting on the Voyage still is in beta and shows darker/splotchy on the top 1/3 than the bottom 2/3 (returned two, kept the 3rd and use it when outside during the day). Despite my take on it's lighting, I can't argue that it just is a really great crafted piece of hardware. Once again, this is a small majority. PW1 lightning didn't work for me and all I saw were different shades of color splotches. On the 2nd generation PW, however, they seemed to improve upon the lighting in a drastic way and I found the lighting to be completely even and fantastic. I'm guessing when removing the bezel on the Voyage they had to start all over with getting the light guides right on the engineering end (just a theory) and by  the next generation it will be even more improved. And agree completely, specs don't tell the story. I know the moderators are always advocating for all of us to find the right device for us not for everyone else and I think that's a great message. I use the Paperwhite 2nd gen as my primary night reading device and the Voyage as a last choice option in the dark. 

But for marketing, the fact that they're updating old hardware along with possibly adding to the Voyage, that's definitely good for all of us wanting a great e-reader(s). And If they ever get that new entry level chunky monkey basic Kindle with the beautiful infrared touch (one less layer from you and the e-ink) back down to the thinness of the baby kindle, i'm hopping on that train immediately.


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## CAR (Aug 1, 2010)

barryem said:


> I really can't agree. I have both generations of the Paperwhite (1 and 2, not 3) and I have a Voyage. I'd been using the Voyage almost exclusively since I got it and when they announced the new Paperwhite I decided to go back to those, which I did. I read on the PW2 for a few days and then on the PW1.
> 
> I was just about to conclude that there are really no differences in any of them that I care about, and then last night I went back to the Voyage. There's not a lot I can really put my finger on. I do like the flush screen. I very much like the lighter weight and smaller size. But really it's better than that. The Voyage is the one I like reading with. As good as the Paperwhites are, and they're excellent, the Voyage is distinctly better.
> 
> ...


Yes I agree Barry, I like the Voyage better myself. I really like the flush screen. But my wife likes her PW2 better... and as for the Voyage selling well, I also agree. But that said, I really think the PW3 has the potential to cut into the Voyage sales, if the Voyage remains the same.


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## barryem (Oct 19, 2010)

The screen on my Voyage is perfect.  I don't see any variation in color.  The light seems completely perfect to me.

i find myself wondering if there wasn't a bad batch of Voyages somehow and those who went through 2 or 3 of them got them from the same batch.  Of course I'm just speculating.  I don't know what happened.

I do remember with the original Paperwhite there was some lighting issue.  I don't recall what it was.  Most people didn't have it but a few did and people in these forums kept being afraid to buy one for the entire life of that device.  I bought an early Paperwhite and so did a few of my neighbors and they were all perfect.

Barry


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

John F said:


> "All-new typesetting engine lays out words just as the author intended"
> 
> *Um - the author has nothing to do with page and therefore word layout, which is governed by the publisher's choice of page trim size and type design. Also, the page layout in Kindle is determined by the user's choice of font size. So what can amazon.com actually mean by that claim?*
> 
> I also wonder if this new typesetting engine will correct the brute force scanning which the publisher hasn't bothered to proofread, typical of Kindle editions of older books, where I often find words hyphenated because they were broken by the lineation of the original print edition.


I think I can answer this section for you.
On the first part, there are many authors that are publishing themselves on Amazon. There is no middle man (publisher) in those cases.
Now as to the second part of your question, on any e-ink kindle, the reader has a choice of 8 font sizes and 3 line spacings, 3 typefaces and 3 choices of words per line. So we could be reading the same book at the same location in the book and the layout could look different.

As to Ann's question, it is someone's law that you can get twice the ram every two years for about the same cost.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

cinisajoy said:


> on any e-ink kindle, the reader has a choice of 8 font sizes and 3 line spacings, 3 typefaces and 3 choices of words per line.


I would rephrase that to: the reader is _limited_ to 8 font sizes and 3 line spacings, 3 typefaces and 3 choices of words per line.

One of the reasons I've held off on buying a newer Kindle than my KK is the lack of customization of the reading experience. The Kindle is pretty much at the bottom of the list in this regard.

Mike


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## Speaker-To-Animals (Feb 21, 2012)

Just a note. The Voyage has six typefaces (Bookerly may perhaps make seven?), nine type sizes, and three each options for margins and line spacing.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Speaker-To-Animals said:


> Just a note. The Voyage has six typefaces (Bookerly may perhaps make seven?), nine type sizes, and three each options for margins and line spacing.


Just verified . . . Voyage only has 8 size choices. Which is plenty for me, but, still. 

On some books, if specified, there is a 7th typeface choice "publisher font". It can be almost anything. . . sometimes it's a nice alternative -- and choosing it doesn't mess up your default for other things you might be reading -- and sometimes it's blah. I try to remember to check if there is one and may try it, depending.

And, for the record, I don't feel limited in my choices at all.  After all, if I bought the book in paper, I'd be limited to 1 size, 1 typeface, 1 line spacing, and 1 margin width. I appreciate other readers may have _more_ choices, but, for me, the kindle offers plenty and I've had no problem reading comfortably. Heck, I've seen studies that show that, in general, when offered MORE choices, people feel more stressed. Who needs stress?


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## Speaker-To-Animals (Feb 21, 2012)

I almost never change anything other than the line spacing. I did choose the widest setting for margins. I read quickly and the more text between clicks the better.


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## barryem (Oct 19, 2010)

I have a Kobo Glo and a Kobo Aura as well as a couple of Paperwhites and a Voyage.  While it is true that the fonts are far more adjustable on the Kobo's than on the Kindles, nothing I do to them can make them look as good as they look on the Kindles.  Text is handled a lot better on Kindle.  The contrast is greater and the light more even.

I'm not against the Kobo at all.  If I didn't have a Kindle I'd be perfectly happy with it.  it's a nice device.  But the Kindle is better for reading.

Barry


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## Tuttle (Jun 10, 2010)

What I wish I could adjust is vertical margins. They let us adjust horizontal, why not vertical? Sometimes I feel like the page is too tall, and want a shorter page by just a little bit.


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## northofdivision (Sep 7, 2010)

barryem said:


> I have a Kobo Glo and a Kobo Aura as well as a couple of Paperwhites and a Voyage. While it is true that the fonts are far more adjustable on the Kobo's than on the Kindles, nothing I do to them can make them look as good as they look on the Kindles. Text is handled a lot better on Kindle. The contrast is greater and the light more even.
> 
> I'm not against the Kobo at all. If I didn't have a Kindle I'd be perfectly happy with it. it's a nice device. But the Kindle is better for reading.


I've always agreed with your Kindle vs Kobo assessment up until the latest Kobo Glow HD that just came out (Kobo Aura had so much promise but the text darkness just wasn't doing it like the Kindle) I feel the Kobo Glo HD stands toe to toe in regard to text pop now next to the PW and Voyage. So much so that I use it as my primary reader (which is saying a lot because of my deep love for Kindles). Too bad the ecosystem of Kobo stinks comparatively to the megabeast that is Amazon (fortunately I'm pretty savvy with Calibre and use Pocket a lot on my mobile phone which is nice to have it auto download articles to the Kobo). Not to convince someone to move ecosystems but stating that it's great news when competition comes to meet the bar set so Amazon is forced to bring more product innovation (not unlke Iphone having to sweat a little bit because of the great Android developers making small waves)...Agree with Jmiked, Kindle's text options are not all that varied, considering four or five years ago, you were already able to slot load dozens of great fonts on old Sony readers. An old argument is best though: wasting too much time fiddling with settings gets in the way of reading (I need to remind myself of this sometimes)...But i'd still like to have a few more font options (serif and sans serif) and the capacity to control font weight (one of those things you dont miss till you experience. Not unlike something like auto brightness or haptic touch or folders with book covers and now you think "how did i ever live without this?")... Anyone get their eyes on the new Paperwhite live? Would love to hear more users thoughts. And Tuttle, Amen to the vertical control.


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## barryem (Oct 19, 2010)

I haven't seen the Kobo Glo HD yet so that isn't part of my comparison.  I do have an older Kobo Glo and it's a fine device.  I'd be happy enough with it if I didn't have the Kindles.  But the Kindle makes everything so easy.  It's just for reading.  The Kobo's seem more for fiddling and tinkering. 

When I first heard about the new Paperwhite I decided to re-assess and see what I really want to do.  I'd been reading almost exclusively with the Voyage recently so I rotated through a number of devices.  I spent yesterday and the day before reading on a tablet with Moon+ Reader.  I've decided that what I really want is a Kindle that lets me scroll the text like Moon+ does.

Of course I can't have one and I think the reason is the system.  As long as the booksellers make the devices they have no real incentive to give us the kind of variety of devices a diverse reading public needs.  What we really need is for booksellers to sell books and hardware companies to innovate and sell us devices.  Then maybe I can have a good e-ink Kindle that I can scroll.

There are such devices in Europe and I can buy one but they're very expensive, which would be okay except that the reviews say they're also pretty poor devices.  I'm a poor man but books are important and I'd be willing to pay a good price for the device I want.

Barry


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## Toby (Nov 25, 2008)

I have to disagree on the Basic 4 & 5 model. The letters are definitely darker on the Basic 5 than the 4. I gave my Basic 4 away because of that. As to the Voyage, the letters are darker on it than my Paperwhite 1 & 2. That's the way my eyes see it, but you may see the kindle letters differently. I applaud amazon for making a better Paperwhite even if it's a small change. I hope the screen has darker letters like the Voyage.


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## northofdivision (Sep 7, 2010)

Toby said:


> I have to disagree on the Basic 4 & 5 model. The letters are definitely darker on the Basic 5 than the 4. I gave my Basic 4 away because of that. As to the Voyage, the letters are darker on it than my Paperwhite 1 & 2. That's the way my eyes see it, but you may see the kindle letters differently. I applaud amazon for making a better Paperwhite even if it's a small change. I hope the screen has darker letters like the Voyage.


Too true. I may not buy a P3 but it sure is phenomenal to see them update an already great product which is surely going to be even better. Sidenote: outstanding Basic 5 darkness and the screen without the light layers. That Kindle year was exceptional!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I see some books are already being flagged as having "Enhanced Typesetting". One was published on 7 May 2015.

Mike


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

I got my PW3 today - I upgraded from an "old" PW1 so I skipped the PW2. Although the frontlighting is much more even and smooth than the PW1, when I held them side by side, the PW3 has a distinctly more yellowy color than the PW1. Was this the case with the PW2 as well? To be honest, I never really noticed it until I held them side by side, but now that I have noticed it, I can't stop. Why make it yellowy? *Sigh" will I ever be completely happy with their frontlighting?


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## CAR (Aug 1, 2010)

history_lover said:


> I got my PW3 today - I upgraded from an "old" PW1 so I skipped the PW2. Although the frontlighting is much more even and smooth than the PW1, when I held them side by side, the PW3 has a distinctly more yellowy color than the PW1. Was this the case with the PW2 as well? To be honest, I never really noticed it until I held them side by side, but now that I have noticed it, I can't stop. Why make it yellowy? *Sigh" will I ever be completely happy with their frontlighting?


It does get very confusing doing side by side comparisons with the frontlight screens. In more then one case the screen I thought would be the best after the intial side by side, changed after a week or two of use. And that includes more yellow or more blue


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## northofdivision (Sep 7, 2010)

history_lover said:


> I got my PW3 today - I upgraded from an "old" PW1 so I skipped the PW2. Although the frontlighting is much more even and smooth than the PW1, when I held them side by side, the PW3 has a distinctly more yellowy color than the PW1. Was this the case with the PW2 as well? To be honest, I never really noticed it until I held them side by side, but now that I have noticed it, I can't stop. Why make it yellowy? *Sigh" will I ever be completely happy with their frontlighting?


I really like that 'sepia' look. As long as it's even, i think the yellow hue is really nice. Had the evenness in the PW1 bothered you? I felt they solved it in many ways with the PW2. Frontlighting is a really really tough engineering task. Voyage, to me, is almost there. Is the reading experience much better on the the new PW3 you have? With the PW hardware, they've now had three iterations of the same hardware mold. I'm guessing they're pretty close to perfect now. What kind of lighting are you testing in (ex: lamps, light off to the side, lights from outside). It often affects is greatly so I always like testing lighting in the pitch dark.


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## CAR (Aug 1, 2010)

I am getting a replacement for the PW3 that I got.  It would not register and would get internal errors.  Kindle support tried to help with multiple resets etc, etc, but no luck.  I was not too thrilled with the screen either.  Other then the higher resolution, it almost had a PW1 look to it.
Hopefully the replacement that I will get tomorrow will be better


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

In general, less blue light is better for reading at night before bed -- less likely to conflict with the bodies natural response to blue light which is, "time to wake up!"


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

northofdivision said:


> I really like that 'sepia' look. As long as it's even, i think the yellow hue is really nice. Had the evenness in the PW1 bothered you?


A little bit - I had some of the pink blotches on my PW1 but it wasn't too severe so I kept it, feeling it was worth it for having frontlighting at all (for me, it replaced the need for the official cover with the built in light, a huge improvement). I almost upgraded to the PW2 but I thought I'd wait for even bigger upgrades with the next generation. I'm not a fan of the yellowy color - it's too tungsten-like so that especially when you turn on a lamp, the added tungsten lighting makes it look even more yellowy. I'm wondering if they were trying to make it look more like real paper since most books don't have pure white pages - but it's not real paper and with the light on, it never will look like real paper.



> I felt they solved it in many ways with the PW2. Frontlighting is a really really tough engineering task. Voyage, to me, is almost there. Is the reading experience much better on the the new PW3 you have? With the PW hardware, they've now had three iterations of the same hardware mold. I'm guessing they're pretty close to perfect now. What kind of lighting are you testing in (ex: lamps, light off to the side, lights from outside). It often affects is greatly so I always like testing lighting in the pitch dark.


I was first using it and comparing it with the PW1 during the afternoon - inside but with no lamps on, sitting next to a big balcony door/window. I was in the shade, but there was plenty of sufficient light from the balcony door/window. That's when I noticed the difference. Later, as I was reading, the sun started to go down and my husband turned on a lamp inside and I immediately felt the yellow look got even worse.

I'm not sending it back just because of that though - it may not be perfect but the evenness of it still trumps the color, so I guess it's still better than the PW1. Plus, I gave my PW1 to my husband who can't even see the pink/green blotches and he probably won't give it back lol. I guess I'm just disappointed because I thought the frontlighting would be perfect now and it's not.

Here's a comparison (in daylight/shade, no lamps or inside lighting) - I know the lighting settings are different but I was trying to get them the same brightness:










You probably can't even see the pink spots on the PW1 in this pic because it's only really noticeable in lower lighting conditions - which kind of makes me want it back because even though the evenness is much better on the PW3, the yellowy color is noticeable all the time.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Ann in Arlington said:


> In general, less blue light is better for reading at night before bed -- less likely to conflict with the bodies natural response to blue light which is, "time to wake up!"


Well, I feel like the PW1 is not "blue light" but "white light" whereas the PW3 is "yellow light".


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Here's some interesting screenshots of what I mean... the first two are from the PW1 - the eyedropper shows the uneven colors of the PW1 even if you can't see them very well in the pic. But notice how the circle is showing you what part of that color gradient you picked - and on the PW1, it's all the way to the far left where the colors are more grey/white? Then note how on the PW3 (the last screenshot), the circle is further to the right, far more into the "color" portion of the gradient? This supports the idea that although the colors are uneven on the PW1, they are closer to "white light" than the PW3.


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## northofdivision (Sep 7, 2010)

history_lover said:


> Here's some interesting screenshots of what I mean... the first two are from the PW1 - the eyedropper shows the uneven colors of the PW1 even if you can't see them very well in the pic. But notice how the circle is showing you what part of that color gradient you picked - and on the PW1, it's all the way to the far left where the colors are more grey/white? Then note how on the PW3 (the last screenshot), the circle is further to the right, far more into the "color" portion of the gradient? This supports the idea that although the colors are uneven on the PW1, they are closer to "white light" than the PW3.


History_Lover. Fantastic. Really great breakdown. Thanks for the pic postings. Very helpful and reinforces some of my thoughts. Why I thought the PW1 was unusable for that splotch factor. TammyC in the other thread has a great pic as well. Agree with your white vs yellow light assessment on the gradient. White light but uneven or yellow and more even. Goes back to reader preference and many who don't see/care. I wonder where the PW2 falls in line with those pics. I feel pretty confident with the PW2 lighting. Perhaps the sweet spot between the two. PW3 lighting looks great to me.


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## Marie Long (Jan 11, 2014)

How does the new Paperwhite 3 compare to the Voyage? Do you find the PW3 better than the Voyage? Or is the Voyage better? (I only ask this because I'm wondering if I should trade in my Voyage for a PW3, or do I already have the better product?)


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## CAR (Aug 1, 2010)

Marie Long said:


> How does the new Paperwhite 3 compare to the Voyage? Do you find the PW3 better than the Voyage? Or is the Voyage better? (I only ask this because I'm wondering if I should trade in my Voyage for a PW3, or do I already have the better product?)


I would not consider a PW3 a upgrade to a Voyage. Just a less expensive way to get the 300dpi screen. IMO


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Marie Long said:


> How does the new Paperwhite 3 compare to the Voyage? Do you find the PW3 better than the Voyage? Or is the Voyage better? (I only ask this because I'm wondering if I should trade in my Voyage for a PW3, or do I already have the better product?)


The Voyage is suppose to be the higher end product. It has features the PW3 does not (like the page turn "buttons" and auto adjusting light). The PW3 is an upgrade from the PW2, not the Voyage.


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## TammyC (Nov 17, 2009)

Marie Long said:


> How does the new Paperwhite 3 compare to the Voyage? Do you find the PW3 better than the Voyage? Or is the Voyage better? (I only ask this because I'm wondering if I should trade in my Voyage for a PW3, or do I already have the better product?)


I currently have the PW1 and ordered the Voyage and the PW3 to compare and decide which I wanted to upgrade to. Personally I find the Voyage's screen to be far superior to both of the PW models. Here is a photo I took, I know there are a lot of variables that can go into the photo but it gives you an idea. Far left is PW3 then Voyage in the middle then PW1


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## CAR (Aug 1, 2010)

Well I got the replacement PW3 and it registered with no problems.  The screen is also very nice and my wife is very happy!  I still think the Voyage still has a nicer screen and darker text, but my wife likes her Paperwhites


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## northofdivision (Sep 7, 2010)

TammyC said:


> I currently have the PW1 and ordered the Voyage and the PW3 to compare and decide which I wanted to upgrade to. Personally I find the Voyage's screen to be far superior to both of the PW models. Here is a photo I took, I know there are a lot of variables that can go into the photo but it gives you an idea. Far left is PW3 then Voyage in the middle then PW1


I like your thinking, TammyC. Good to have all three products and then decide which is best for you. The P3 looks like the most even lightning to me, albeit not the whitest. I flipped your picture over (useful tip I got from someone on here) and I see the same problem with color gradient I have with my Voyage on the top 25% of the Voyage screen, a darker gradient similar to the P3 in your pic. I like the shade but hate that my eyes see the unevenness from the bottom 75% of the screen (that part of the Voyage that looks completely perfect to me in the dark). Unfortunately, my eyes are very sensitive. History Lover, does your color palette tool see a difference in the top 4th of the Voyage screen with the rest of it? The Voyage is very white comparatively to the others minus the top 25% of it.

To the question about the p1 to the p2, I felt the p2 was more 'sepia' than the p1 and much more even (minimal splotching) but the p1 i thought more white.


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## lynfordd (Jul 2, 2015)

I have the Voiger G3  got the new 300 dpi paper white today. I prefer the paper white over the voiger.
I like the feel better.


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## Marie Long (Jan 11, 2014)

Thanks, you guys for the insights! Looks like I'll be keeping my Voyage for now!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

history_lover said:


> The Voyage is suppose to be the higher end product. It has features the PW3 does not (like the page turn "buttons" and auto adjusting light). The PW3 is an upgrade from the PW2, not the Voyage.


Agreed . . . the Voyage is also lighter than the PW . . . I quite like that, but some prefer a little more heft. It's not a gigantic difference, but is definitely noticeable.

At this point . . .the advantages of the PW are the price and the new Bookerly typeface. But I anticipate that the Voyage will get Bookerly in an update, probably about the time they do an update to the PW3 for the 'improved' text rendering -- how the words lay in a line. I gather the PW3 is already a bit better than the Voyage, but there's an update due, per the product page . . . . I'd expect it to roll out when a significant number of the most popular of the current books in their catalog have been converted to take advantage of the new typeset rendering engine.


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## parakeetgirl (Feb 27, 2009)

Love my Voyage but am picking up the new PW for a backup and to carry in my purse/backpack. The Voyage will be my at home reader.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

http://www.engadget.com/2015/07/03/kindle-paperwhite-review-2015/

Engadget.com published their review of the PW3. There are no real surprises, though I found it a little bit interesting that the reviewer thought the PW3 screen was dimmer than Voyage, and this was a good thing.

Here is the summary paragraph:
_
This is the third Kindle Paperwhite in as many years, and it's the first to bring a dramatic upgrade -- that mostly lovely screen -- into the fold. While the total package isn't as whiz-bang impressive as its cousin the Voyage, it's still easily the best bang for your Kindle-buying buck. If you're cool with surrendering yourself to Amazon's e-commerce empire and you're not a raging e-book nerd like me, this decision is a no-brainer: Skip the basic Kindle and the Voyage. The Paperwhite works well, looks great and will make for a lovely summer reading buddy._


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