# Voyage or Paperwhite 3



## Istvan Szabo Ifj. (Dec 13, 2013)

I'd like to buy a new ereader and my final candidates are these two, Voyage and Paperwhite 3. As I see basically both has the very same specs, so the question is, which is the more recommended one? Should I buy one of these or should I wait for a possible Voyage 2?


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

The Voyage is about an ounce lighter and has page turn buttons. To my knowledge, unless those are worth $80 to you, the PW3 is the way to go. Full disclosure, I haven't owned a PW3 myself. But I owned a PW2 and own and use a Voyage.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Almost forgot. I would not worry about waiting for a Voyage 2 unless Amazon announces one tomorrow morning. If you want a new ereader, get one now, and don't  pass up  better reading to wait for a unicorn that may never arrive. My opinion only of course.


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## Tuttle (Jun 10, 2010)

One of the things I really like about the voyage is the way it physically feels in my hands - not the being lighter, but the materials used, and the shape of the back, and all of that. I've not held a PW for long periods of time, but the short periods of time, I can say the voyage is a more quality device to hold. My mom has a current generation basic kindle, I have a voyage, and the difference in the case is dramatic. 

The other thing I think of is the auto-adjust on the light for the voyage. 



Overall, I think the voyage is still a clearly higher quality device. However, it is also $80 more. The question is really whether it is worth the $80 for you. Do you want the fanciest device? Do you want the one that feels best in your hand without a cover? Do you care about page buttons? 

For many people the improvements aren't worth the difference in cost. For some of us, its absolutely worth it. I wouldn't wait for a voyage 2 though. I'd decide whether the difference in cost is worth it to you now.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Oops, I forgot the PW3 doesn't have auto adjust on the lighting. I use it and think it is okay, though it isn't a huge benefit to me.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Istvan Szabo said:


> I'd like to buy a new ereader and my final candidates are these two, Voyage and Paperwhite 3. As I see basically both has the very same specs, so the question is, which is the more recommended one? Should I buy one of these or should I wait for a possible Voyage 2?


Of the two, the biggest consideration for most people is probably the difference in price. In my opinion, if you can afford it, the Voyage is the premier device -- it's smaller and lighter and, to me, looks and feels, higher quality over all. Of course it has a couple of features the PW doesn't but they're probably minor for most people.

If you _need_ 'buttons' to turn pages, go with the voyage.

If you _need_ the light to adjust automatically, go with the voyage.

If you _need_ the on/off button on the back vs the bottom, go with the voyage.

But except for those few things, the PW is the better deal, objectively. Same screen (though recessed vs smooth with bezel), same processor, better default font and type-rendering (PW3 is newer and the expectation is the Voyage will soon get it as an update). It's a bit heavier, but not a lot. And a bit bigger, but not a lot. Some actually prefer the larger size and find it more comfortable.

There's been no word on when/if the Voyage will get a make-over into Voyage II -- but, then, the PW3 wasn't announced either, really: overnight the PW2 page had been replaced by the PW3 page with the notation that it'd be in stock in a couple of weeks.

_If_ there is a Voyage II, I'm sure it'll have the same text rendering as the PW3. I won't be surprised, though, if they keep it pretty much unchanged, reduce the price a bit -- say to around $150 -- but then add some features to a new model still priced at around $200. Features they could add that I think people would pay for are a dedicated home page button and sound so it can handle audiobooks.

But I don't KNOW anything . . . none of us do, at this point. . . it's 100% speculation and not worth a plugged nickel.


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## kschles (Feb 10, 2011)

I really like my Voyage, including the top notch screen, the page turn buttons, and the auto brightness. However, when I read about the Paperwhite 3, I felt a tinge of sadness. My biggest problem with the Voyage is the lack of quality cases...both from Amazon and 3rd parties. I don't like Amazon's origami design. Many 3rd party case makers have skipped making anything for the Voyage because of the Voyage's design. Since the Paperwhite 3 has the same screen as the voyage, I'd probably pick it because of my case issue. That's just me.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

kschles said:


> I really like my Voyage, including the top notch screen, the page turn buttons, and the auto brightness. However, when I read about the Paperwhite 3, I felt a tinge of sadness. My biggest problem with the Voyage is the lack of quality cases...both from Amazon and 3rd parties. I don't like Amazon's origami design. Many 3rd party case makers have skipped making anything for the Voyage because of the Voyage's design. Since the Paperwhite 3 has the same screen as the voyage, I'd probably pick it because of my case issue. That's just me.


I've found quite a few good cases for Voyage. Mine's by Fintie but there are others as well. Also much less expensive than the Amazon brand case. But generally good quality. Not real leather, but I think it feels very nice and I'm happy with it. Doesn't add a lot of weight, just makes it look like a nice book. 

A case is, of course, a very personal thing.


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

I went from a K2 -> PW1 -> Voyage. Today, I would buy the PW3.

The higher resolution screen was the really big advance between the PW2 and the V and for me was a huge upgrade, but without that difference I just don't see it worth the extra $80.

My big gripe with the PW was no buttons, but on the Voyage I don't find myself using the page "buttons" as much as I thought I would. They aren't _really_ buttons and in particular, while there's tactile response to a push, there's no tactile hint that you are on or off the button space and often I press and nothing happens because my fingers have moved down--or worse up and I go backwards. My unconscious mind has solved that problem by swiping instead of using the buttons.

I turned off the adaptive lighting. It ranged from too bright to too dark and I could never get it to a range I liked.

And specific to the PW3, I think Bookerly is a great font. It's almost made reading on a Fire tolerable and I would love to have it on an e-ink device. I assume this will get patched to the Voyage eventually, but I don't know that it will and the longer we go on without a patch, the more I wonder.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

I had complained bitterly when physical page turn buttons were eliminated, and was looking forward to them on the Voyage. I've been disappointed however, the touch and feel of them is just wrong to me, and I despise haptic feedback on anything, so had to turn that off. Of course my favorite Kindle buttons were those on the old K2, which most people hated!  Like covers, buttons are a very personal thing.


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## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

I'm one of the ones that need buttons.  I have very small hands, like to hold my Kindle and turn pages with one hand,  and my right thumb will only open up about 30 degrees , so I had problems reaching the screen for Touch without a lot of fatigue after awhile.  Having said that,  I'm not that crazy about the "buttons" on the Voyage.  I have a tendency to hit the Back "button" by mistake and go backwards.. and sometimes the right "button" doesn't work at all.  So - the Voyage helped but I'm hoping that Amazon improves the buttons in the future. 

I also turned off the adaptive light.  It was never bright enough for me.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

Speaker-To-Animals said:



> I went from a K2 -> PW1 -> Voyage. Today, I would buy the PW3.
> 
> The higher resolution screen was the really big advance between the PW2 and the V and for me was a huge upgrade, but without that difference I just don't see it worth the extra $80.
> 
> ...


I agree with every word of this. I was willing to pay extra for the buttons alone. I do use them, but not exclusively, and I'm not in love with them. Also, the buttons only turn pages inside a book. Go to the Kindle Store or an individual book's page, or to the TOC of a book and you have to swipe.

If I were purchasing today, I'd save the money and get a PW3.


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## drafter69 (Mar 21, 2009)

I just ordered the Paperwhite 3...... I have the paperwhite 2 and love it.  The reason I ordered the ver 3 model is that my reader is almost 2 years old and I use it a lot ....  (several hours a day) so I know it will not last forever.  The idea of the higher resolution as well as the new book font appeal to me.  For $100 I think this is a great upgrade.


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## silenceiseverything (Oct 8, 2010)

I just ordered a Paperwhite 3 since the payment plan popped up on the list of payment options.  I already have a first generation Paperwhite that still works pretty well, even though it lags a bit when I turn it on.  But I figured, I'll check out the Paperwhite 3 and if I see a significant improvement from the 1st gen Paperwhite then I'll keep it.  If not, I'll return it.  Kind of excited!


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## spotsmom (Jan 20, 2011)

I just got my new 300 ppi PW this week and I love it!  I had one of the first Paperwhites and sold it after a year or so and went back to the Keyboard (weird, huh).  But since my KK has been acting up, I thought I'd try the new Paperwhite and am super pleased! The look of the text on the page is beautiful (and I'm not using the new recommended Bookerly font).  Because of the $10 AARP discount, I got the 300 ppi instead of the 212 ppi and paid the same.

Hope you like it! I'd be interested to know what you think seeing as how you've been using the PW1 for so long.


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## Istvan Szabo Ifj. (Dec 13, 2013)

Thanks for all the helpful feedbacks. In the end I went with the Voyage as in one of the shops there was only $30 difference between the Voyage and the PW3. I like the overall design of the Voyage a bit better, plus I prefer the page buttons, so I believe these little extras worth the $30+. It will arrive tomorrow. I just hope that I'll like it.


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## Andra (Nov 19, 2008)

If you feel that the "buttons" aren't responding well, remember that you can change the PagePress settings.
Settings - Reading Options - PagePress
You can turn the "buttons" on or off, set the feedback level, and set the pressure settings.
I changed mine to high feedback and low pressure.


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## Istvan Szabo Ifj. (Dec 13, 2013)

Thanks. I'll keep this info in mind.


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## barryem (Oct 19, 2010)

I agree with everybody! 

I haven't used the PW3 but I have both the PW1 and PW2 and I have a Voyage.  The Voyage has extra features but I've turned them all off.  I don't feel a need for them.  My old eyes can't really tell the difference in the screens.  They look the same to me.

So my Voyage is simply an overpriced Paperwhite that feels about 100 times better when holding it for long periods.  That's it!  And that's worth the price difference to me.

I was perfectly happy with the Paperwhite and I only bought the Voyage on a whim.  If I'd stopped to think about it more I probably wouldn't have.  I'm glad I did but the truth is if I just had the Paperwhite that would be fine too.

The Paperwhite is excellent.  The Voyage is superb.  If you're content with merely excellent get the Paperwhite. 

Barry


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

You know those little tiny pips keyboards have on either fj or dk so you know where your fingers are on the keys without having to look? That's what the Voyage needs to make the buttons work better.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

Speaker-To-Animals said:


> You know those little tiny pips keyboards have on either fj or dk so you know where your fingers are on the keys without having to look? That's what the Voyage needs to make the buttons work better.


One of my problems with the Voyage buttons is that the Forward button is way too low. I can't imagine how engineers and testers hold their Kindles that they want buttons so low, but it's very different from my way. Location was also a problem with the KK. The K1 was the last Kindle with page turn "buttons" in a good position for me. I do agree that some different texture on the Voyage's buttons would make them easier to locate by feel.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

ellenoc said:


> One of my problems with the Voyage buttons is that the Forward button is way too low. I can't imagine how engineers and testers hold their Kindles that they want buttons so low, but it's very different from my way. Location was also a problem with the KK. The K1 was the last Kindle with page turn "buttons" in a good position for me. I do agree that some different texture on the Voyage's buttons would make them easier to locate by feel.


Ah yes, the K1 button were just about perfect. I take it on a test run once in a while just to get that feeling back of ergonomically perfection. . Of course its usually dead when I want to do that. But oh was that a delight to use for my hands. Not so much my eyes anymore now when I look at that screen.

I have the Voyage and although I haven't seen the PW3 yet, I would still by the Voyage over the PW. I have the PW1 which I gave to my husband.

The screen on my PW1 was never to satisfaction. It was like looking through a window filled with milk and the letters were not sitting on the top like they do on the lovely basic with buttons. The Voyage brought that feeling back for me of having the letters sit right on the surface again. I can't speak to how the PW3 looks on that front. Maybe because its not recessed? No clue. Its just so readable for me. As to the "buttons". They are not as nice as the K1, and not quite as good as the basic buttons, but its better than nothing and overall I like them. I just need something to change pages while reading than a touch screen. That is just my preference and at this point a must. Voyage with basic kindle buttons would be nice, but we aren't going to get such clickety buttons back again. So I take what they gave me. The level screen is also nice. No more cat hair and dander getting into that crack and corners.

It also feels really nice in the hand, I read it with and without cover. With at night and without during the day. I have a fintie, although I would prefer a flip cover with a back strap as I used to have. Wide back strap.

For me the Voyage differences are worth the money extra.

Here is a video from the good e reader site that compares the PW3 and the Voyage side by side in case this helps someone.

http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/amazon-kindle-voyage-vs-kindle-paperwhite-3

The guys on the video can be a wee bit annoying, so I sometimes just mute them.


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## Tuttle (Jun 10, 2010)

ellenoc said:


> One of my problems with the Voyage buttons is that the Forward button is way too low. I can't imagine how engineers and testers hold their Kindles that they want buttons so low, but it's very different from my way. Location was also a problem with the KK. The K1 was the last Kindle with page turn "buttons" in a good position for me. I do agree that some different texture on the Voyage's buttons would make them easier to locate by feel.


I really like where the forward buttons are. If I hold it, with my thumb resting on the forward button, it is balancing in my hand without me feeling like I'd drop it. If I move up at all, then I feel like I will drop it.

My voyage is the only kindle I've held that I was comfortable reading with one hand. The buttons combined with the smaller size of the K2 and K3/KK allows me to do that.

Also, yes, the level screen and not getting fur in the corners of the screen, so nice.


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## Istvan Szabo Ifj. (Dec 13, 2013)

I've just received my Voyage and its an awesome reader. For me that page buttons worth it as I rather use them instead of tapping the display itself. Its very comfortable and beautiful little device.


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## silenceiseverything (Oct 8, 2010)

spotsmom said:


> Hope you like it! I'd be interested to know what you think seeing as how you've been using the PW1 for so long.


I received my Paperwhite 3 this morning and have spent pretty much all day using it. I was honestly prepared to come in here and state that I didn't see any significant changes between my 1st generation PW and this one, but surprisingly enough, I did. While the 300 ppi isn't extremely noticeable when compared to the 212 ppi, the text on the PW3 did appear sharper and just all-around more clean. However, the biggest difference for me was how evenly the PW3 was lit compared to the PW1. I didn't realize how splotchy and uneven my PW1 was until I compared it to a PW that did have lighting that was uniform all throughout and didn't have any blue or pink splotches. So, all in all, I'm glad that I decided to get the PW3 and my mom is excited that she has inherited by PW1. Happy campers all around.


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## jlee745 (Jul 27, 2010)

I have to either purchase myself the kindle voyage or pw3 so my daughter can take my pw2 to college in a couple of weeks. IF I order the voyage and I don't like it or if a new voyage is announced can I return the voyage with no questions?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

jlee745 said:


> I have to either purchase myself the kindle voyage or pw3 so my daughter can take my pw2 to college in a couple of weeks. IF I order the voyage and I don't like it or if a new voyage is announced can I return the voyage with no questions?


Amazon's policy is that you have 30 days to return an item. If it isn't working, they'll pay for the return postage, but if it's just because you don't care for it, they will charge you return shipping, usually around $10. If it's more than 30 days they will replace it if there's a problem with it, but won't refund your money.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

ellenoc said:


> Also, the buttons only turn pages inside a book. Go to the Kindle Store or an individual book's page, or to the TOC of a book and you have to swipe.


To clarify, the page buttons will also work on your home screen or within a collection if those have multiple pages. But yes, on pages that scroll, such as web pages or any of the pop-up windows like the ToC window, you have to swipe to scroll.

I use the page forward buttons all the time. Because of the way I hold the Voyage, it's easier for me to tap in the "page back" zone then reach up to the page back button when I'm holding the V with my left hand, which I do more often than the right hand. I do wish there was a bit of a raise to the button so one could feel it.

I think you'll be very happy with the Voyage, Istvan!

Betsy


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## waitforit (Nov 24, 2014)

I love the buttons and the middle setting works best for me.  The adaptive lighting works well once it has fully adapted to your preferences.  I never have to fiddle with it any more.  I got mine $40 off and a payment plan so it was a no brainer for me.


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## booklover888 (May 20, 2012)

waitforit said:


> I love the buttons and the middle setting works best for me. The adaptive lighting works well once it has fully adapted to your preferences. I never have to fiddle with it any more. I got mine $40 off and a payment plan so it was a no brainer for me.


How'd you get $40 off?

I did mine on the payment plan, too.


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## maddie80 (Apr 14, 2010)

I am struggling with this exact same question.


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## waitforit (Nov 24, 2014)

booklover888 said:


> How'd you get $40 off?
> 
> I did mine on the payment plan, too.


The offer was just there when I was buying it. $40 off and the payment plan if I signed up for the Amazon store card.


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## booklover888 (May 20, 2012)

waitforit said:


> The offer was just there when I was buying it. $40 off and the payment plan if I signed up for the Amazon store card.


Well, good deal for you! I really like my Voyage, I'd like it even better if I'd paid less


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## Shei Darksbane (Jan 31, 2015)

Do the page turn sensors work well or do they accidental press a lot?

I have a first gen paperwhite and I want to upgrade, but I'm debating PW3 vs Voyage (or wait for Voyage 2)


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## Tuttle (Jun 10, 2010)

My page turn sensors are on highest sensitivity and I cannot think of a time that they've been accidental pressed. I've accidental pressed the screen very rarely. I personally really like my page turn sensors (and everything else about my voyage).


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Shei Darksbane said:


> Do the page turn sensors work well or do they accidental press a lot?
> 
> I have a first gen paperwhite and I want to upgrade, but I'm debating PW3 vs Voyage (or wait for Voyage 2)


In my experience even on the 'lightest touch' setting, it still requires a definite press, more than just grasping it to pick it up. But if that's not the case for you, then turn up the setting and make it so that you need to press harder.


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## barryem (Oct 19, 2010)

I don't care for the page press so early on I turned it off.  I'm used to swiping and I didn't see the point in it.  Then, after reading a number of posts about it about 3 weeks ago I decided to turn them back on and try them out.  I did and I promptly forgot about them.

I just realized about 2 days ago that they were still on but in the past 3 weeks I haven't accidentally turned a page.  I went ahead and turned them back off since that's bound to happen eventually.  But that would seem to indicate that they're pretty safe. 

Barry


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> In my experience even on the 'lightest touch' setting, it still requires a definite press, more than just grasping it to pick it up. But if that's not the case for you, then turn up the setting and make it so that you need to press harder.


Agreed, and the press really needs to be in the right spot where the little dot is on the bezel. I added a little round sticker on top of the dot that is there to give me a more tactile feeling of where the spot is.


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