Kindle Paperwhite 3G, 6" High Resolution Display with Built-in Light, Free 3G + Wi-Fi - Includes Special Offers [Previous Generation - 5th]

I have been using the Paperwhite exclusively for reading for two weeks now vs. my other Kindles, and I am writing this review from the perspective of being a long-time Kindle user vs. someone brand new to the Kindle experience as well as in direct comparison to the Kindle Touch, which the Paperwhite replaced.From an overall standpoint, and considering everything you get (compact e-Reader,touch screen, lighting system), the Paperwhite is a very good e-Reader. I am amazed at how much smaller these e-Readers can become with each new generation yet still not feel like you're losing anything from a "feels like a book" experience.To address the reading experience, I wasn't sure what to expect with the display. Needless to say, the text on the screen is much more crisp than any of the other version of an e-Ink Kindle I have used, and just to ensure I wasn't being biased I put the Paperwhite next to a Kindle 3 / Keyboard, a Touch, a "regular" Kindle, and a Kindle DX - all on the same page of a book with the covers removed (didn't want the cover to give an optical illusion or anything) - and you can clearly see a better quality in terms of the fonts.Reading at night is a good experience with the lighting display in comparison to the other versions of Kindle because you don't need an additional light that can get in the way: it didn't disturb, for example, my wife who likes to watch TV in a dark room. It was also very convenient on a plane ride at night as I was able to see the full page of the text vs. a light attachment only reaching most of the screen: there are no impediments to the reading screen.Turning the page backwards and forwards is as simple as a simple tap of the thumb as you hold the device or, if you prefer, a swipe with your finger in either direction. It did take a little getting used to turning with my thumb as I have been trained after years on a Kindle Keyboard and DX to press a button - it didn't take that long and after about 5% or so into a science fiction novel I didn't even notice the new turning action. This page turning experience is a significant improvement over the previous Kindle Touch and much appreciated!Accessing the menu structure of the Paperwhite is as simple as touching the top 20-30% of the screen where you can quickly access a keyboard, hit the menu, table of contents, etc. Navigation is a piece of cake.Web surfing speed with the WiFi feature on the Paperwhite is about the same as the other type of e-Ink Kindles. Doing a side-by-side test I tried the mobile websites of Fox News and CNN and they popped right up; the usual slow sites were still slower than Christmas. Checking email with an e-Ink Kindle via gmail is a chore with this as well as other versions of e-Ink Kindle, but none of that is really important to me as I have too many device that do that anyway: when I have my Kindle, I usually want to read a book vs. surf the web or check email.Despite what people may say, size matters! In this case, the Paperwhite is not too small and not too large and Amazon appears to have hit the sweet spot. I would highly recommend the Amazon-branded case for it, as it fits snug and firm and automatically puts the unit into sleep mode when you close the cover, and wakes it back up when you open the cover. To see the cover I purchased, click this link:  Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Leather Cover, Onyx Black (does not fit Kindle or Kindle Touch) About the only negative I have for this unit, if you could even call it a negative, is I wish I had bought the 3G version vs. the Wi-Fi only - for someone who travels a lot with my job, what was I thinking?!? Accordingly, I ordered one of those. Despite that statement, for just $119 I think this is a great unit and I enjoyed reading with it: the Paperwhite may soon be replacing my beloved Kindle Keyboard permanently!

First and before starting my review let me tell you that I'm a gadget person. I love to get, try different kind of gadgets if I feel I will be using them for something or another. I have iPad2, iPad3, Kindle Fire, Google Nexus, Samsung Galaxy S2 and Samsung Galaxy S3. I love reading a lot, but I never got any E-Ink reader. I've always been reading on my PC, iPad or kindle. The main reason for not getting one is because I love reading during bed time and that was not possible with the lack of light. And here where the Kindle Paperwhite gained me as a customer. It is my first E-Ink reader.1-Physical form: The kindle comes with a rubbery feel from the back side and feels really comfortable to handle. You can hold it with one hand and easily use it. Looks very sleek in black and very light weight. It is so comfortable to hold it for reading than all my other gadgets. Now when I hold the iPad I feel the big difference.2-Setup: Once you press the power button which is the only physical button the setup starts. It is very easy to get it ready. After that you will go through a tutorial which I found to be very beneficial.3-Screen: Amazon has used a matte screen which is really good to avoid any glare in different lighting conditions. It serves the product very well. The kindle paperwhite with its light at the lowest level looks so good, very sharp and texts are crispy, thanks the to the screen resolution. Once you increase the light to its highest level you know why Amazon has chosen the name paperwhite. Yes the screen lights up so beautifully without hurting my eyes. It is perfect. I read people's reviews here giving the product one star because of the shadowing and this is really ridiculous. DON'T listen to them. They are using the light the wrong way that's why they see these shadows. I will not deny they can be seen if you concentrate on them but they are not that noticeable. The same thing goes to the screen coloring that some have seen. Actually the lighting option clearly suggests you to use a setting from level 20-24 in a brightly lit room and from 1-5 in dark rooms. Follow this and you will have no problem with coloring or shadows. I cannot see anything like that. Actually I was worried before ordering the kindle how I will adopt to it after using tablets with retina display and high resolution but now after I have this Kindle, do I miss my iPad and other tabs for reading? No, not even a bit. The lighting in Kindle is much better than all the other E-Inks available in the market (Nook and Kobo) and is better than all the other tablets as it is very comfortable to the eyes.4-Storage: Kindle comes with 2 Gb storage and I find this to be more than enough. It is just a matter of how you organize your e-books. I personally load it with my own personal documents and download the rest from Amazon's cloud. Since you have cloud available you do not need to download everything at once.5-Features: like X- Ray, editing fonts and margins are so good. You can customize your kindle the way you want. You also have the option to create a collection, change the view type between thumbnails and list. The store is very user friendly and easy to navigate.6-Special Offers: I have ordered the one with special offers. And actually I find the ads to be interesting more than bothersome. These ads look even nicer on the lock screen, but that is just me.Some people also complained about the lack of speakers so you do not have text to speech. I'm using that sometimes in my other gadgets but frankly Amazon got rid of this for the right reason and that is to reduce the weight of the device and I totally support them in this.I have to say that I was disappointed with the wait for Kindle Paperwhite until it got shipped to me but was happy for Amazon as this indicated a huge demand for them. Amazon got a big big winner with the Paperwhite. I don't understand how can some people dislike it and give it a one star rating. Criticism should be reasonable and without any exaggeration. In my opinion the best rating the paperwhite can get is 5 stars and the worst it should get not less than 4 stars. This is a great product and I would advise you NOT to be influenced by those negative reviews and look at the positive ones. I know how you might feel because I felt the same way and was about to cancel my order but then I backed off. You will not be sorry for it and you will thank me too. ORDER IT NOW!I would like to thank Amazon for this wonderful device and I really cannot wait to see how the next generation of Kindles will get even better.As my title says it :) I got married to my kindle Paperwhite and I think we are going to have a very long honeymoon.UPDATE: I have uploaded three pictures showing the Paperwhite with different settings in differently lit rooms. It wins in all conditions.UPDATE: 23 June 2013: just thought to update and say this product is as perfect as I got it first time. It is so good and comfortable that I see myself reading more and more with it. Thank you Amazon