# Kindle Fire HD 7" vs. Paperwhite as an eBook reader?



## MrBill (Nov 25, 2012)

How does the Kindle Fire HD 7" compare to the Paperwhite as an eBook reader?  Are there any problems reading books in bright daylight, in the dark, or from a slight angle?


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## SheilaJ (Apr 10, 2011)

Definitely get the paperwhite if you want to read books primarily.  You will definitely get a glare with the fires.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

It's a completely different screen. The PW is eInk, subtly lighted, but not shining _into_ your eyes. The Fire is a regular backlit screen which does, more or less, shine into your eyes.

For extended reading sessions, I prefer the eInk. But the Fire is not bad. You can adjust brightness on both. And on the Fire change to a white on black print or a sepia toned scheme.

Fire will not do nearly so well in bright light than the eInk, though with the brightness all the way up it is readable.

The only issue with angles is that with the Fire that may mean glare. But both are pretty readable even if you don't have it directly in front of you.


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## MrBill (Nov 25, 2012)

I have a Paperwhite which I like very much, but was thinking about giving the PW to my wife and getting a Fire to have Internet capabilities for those rare times I travel.  With the 10% discount offered for AARP members, the Fire looks like a great deal right now.  But at home the Fire would be used only as an eBook reader for the 2-4 hours I read each day.  Based on the above posts, maybe getting the fire isn't such a great idea?


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## MrBill (Nov 25, 2012)

I just got back from Staples where I did a side-by-side comparison of the 7" Fire HD and my personal Paperwhite.  Note that I only did book reader comparisons of the two units - I'm aware that the Fire has a zillion capabilities not offered by the PW.  Here's what I found:

1.  The Fire offered crisper (is that a word?) text and a brighter background, definitely better than the PW even with the PW set at +24 brightness.
2.  The Fire exhibited glare from the store's overhead lights, although tilting the unit this way and that enabled me to read text with no real problem.
3.  The Fire was MUCH, MUCH faster changing pages and accessing menus.
4.  The text on the PW appeared muddy compared to the Fire.
5.  The Fire would not allow me to decrease the spacing between lines - is this possible?
6.  I was unable to figure out how to darken/brighten the screen, is this a problem?  (Note that the store was packed so I didn't feel right calling a salesman over since I knew I wouldn't buy the item there.)
7.  The PW can show minutes left in a book and percentage read when in reader mode.  The Fire only showed location when in reader mode and location/percentage read when in menu mode.  Is is possible to have the Fire show minutes left in a book and percentage read when in reader mode?
8.  I'd like to get a separate charger for the Fire, is there one that would work with both the Fire HD and my PW?

I also looked at an 8.9" Fire HD and didn't see a lot of difference to the 7", except for the size of course.  Since I'll use the Fire mostly for reading eBooks, is it worth the extra $100?

Thanks in advance for any help!

- Bill


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

MrBill said:


> I just got back from Staples where I did a side-by-side comparison of the 7" Fire HD and my personal Paperwhite. Note that I only did book reader comparisons of the two units - I'm aware that the Fire has a zillion capabilities not offered by the PW. Here's what I found:
> 
> 1. The Fire offered crisper (is that a word?) text and a brighter background, definitely better than the PW even with the PW set at +24 brightness.
> 2. The Fire exhibited glare from the store's overhead lights, although tilting the unit this way and that enabled me to read text with no real problem.
> ...


I think those are all personal preference or subjective observations. . .I've not noticed the Fire as 'crisper', but it's a completely different screen type so maybe I don't really compare it that way. Never noticed the PW as muddy in comparison either.


> 5. The Fire would not allow me to decrease the spacing between lines - is this possible?


No, just margines and the color mode and font style.



> 6. I was unable to figure out how to darken/brighten the screen, is this a problem? (Note that the store was packed so I didn't feel right calling a salesman over since I knew I wouldn't buy the item there.)


That's an option in the pull down menu at the top. . . it says 'brightness'



> 7. The PW can show minutes left in a book and percentage read when in reader mode. The Fire only showed location when in reader mode and location/percentage read when in menu mode. Is is possible to have the Fire show minutes left in a book and percentage read when in reader mode?


No, not an option on the fire. . .locations only with the progress bar that shows it graphically.



> 8. I'd like to get a separate charger for the Fire, is there one that would work with both the Fire HD and my PW?


Any charger that works with the PW will work with the Fire, though the PowerFast charger will charge it more efficiently. It can also be used on the PW.



> I also looked at an 8.9" Fire HD and didn't see a lot of difference to the 7", except for the size of course. Since I'll use the Fire mostly for reading eBooks, is it worth the extra $100?
> 
> Thanks in advance for any help!
> 
> - Bill


The 8.9" Fire has a slightly different keyboard configuration. . . . and you can get it with more memory: 7: comes with 16GB or 32GB of storage, 8.9 comes with 32GB or 64GB of storage. And there is a model of the 8.9 with a 4G cell radio; there's a modest fee for connectivity via ATT.


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## MrBill (Nov 25, 2012)

Good information . . . thanks Ann!

- Bill


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