It’s fairly embarrassing for me to confess that I can’t use chopsticks, regardless of giving it my finest shot. Not that I’m not dextrous sufficient, since I did handle to search out a great method to maintain the brand new Kindle and use it one-handed. Perhaps I’m getting forward of myself right here, so let me begin at the start. Amazon’s Kindle eBook reader, I feel, is just about a de facto selection for many tech-savvy bibliophiles, and the model retains making it higher with every new technology. The newest comes within the type of the Paperwhite Signature Version, and the ‘Signature’ in its moniker signifies we will anticipate it to be loaded when it comes to options. And that suggests a better outlay when it comes to the asking worth. Nicely, each of these items are true, however earlier than forming an opinion on this foundation alone, let’s get into the finer particulars and see what it brings to the desk.
The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Version differs from the common Kindle Paperwhite Eleventh-gen (which can be new by the way in which) in three important methods. One, the Signature Version comes with 32 gigs of inner storage, as in comparison with 8GB within the common mannequin. Second, the Signature Version boasts an auto-adjusting backlight, identical to the flagship Kindle Oasis… a characteristic that the common mannequin doesn’t have. And lastly, the Signature Version is the one mannequin in all the Kindle lineup that options wi-fi charging.
Desk of Contents
Design and options
You will get the brand new Kindle Paperwhite Signature Version in any color you need, so long as it’s black. That’s not to remove something from the machine – the perform issues greater than the shape right here. That stated, ergonomics are fairly necessary for a handheld machine, and the Signature Version scores excessive in that side. Weighing just a bit over 200 grams, the machine is kind of light-weight and simply 8.1mm thick. Original out of 60 p.c recycled plastic and 70 p.c recycled magnesium, it sports activities a 6.8-inch E-ink show up entrance, with slim, however noticeable bezels on three aspect. The underside bezel is wider, and never with out good cause because it does turn out to be useful whereas holding the eReader. The bezels slope gently inwards to merge seamlessly with the display screen, whereas the rear of the machine is barely curved as effectively. These curves and the rounded edges, mixed with its gentle weight, imply that the Kindle is kind of snug to carry within the hand, which is essential for a tool like this.
Whereas the again of the machine is devoid of any design parts apart from the Amazon emblem and regulatory information, the underside edge is house to the facility cum sleep/wake key, a tiny LED that signifies charging standing, and a USB Kind-C port. That’s proper, the brand new Kindle has graduated to a Kind-C port, which is sweet information since which means you don’t actually need to hold an additional cable only for juicing up the Kindle whereas travelling. Since most telephones (on the Android aspect anyway) have moved to Kind-C, you may simply use your telephone charger… although Amazon does embody a USB A to C cable within the field.
The truth that the eReader is IPX8 rated additionally helps. The ranking means it could actually survive immersion in as much as 2m deep contemporary water for as much as an hour, or as much as 0.25m deep seawater for as much as 3 minutes. After all, I don’t suppose anybody’s going to dunk the machine in water deliberately, however this does imply that you should use it whereas enjoyable in a tub, on the poolside or on the seaside with out fear.
Show
One of the essential elements of an eReader is the display screen, and that is the place the Paperwhite Signature Version excels. After all, all these items apply to the common Kindle Paperwhite Eleventh-gen too. Measuring 6.8-inches, the 300dpi E-ink show is sharp, and supreme when it comes to the dimensions for studying, tailor-made to provide the similar expertise as studying an actual e-book. What’s extra, Amazon has made it extraordinarily customisable as effectively. Other than tweaking the essential stuff similar to fonts, font dimension, line spacing and so on, you too can management brightness and heat.
What’s extra, the machine has a lightweight sensor that adjusts display screen brightness routinely based mostly on ambient gentle, and it’s tremendous helpful too… spontaneously tweaking the 17 LEDs behind the show to make it supreme for studying no matter whether or not you’re curled up in mattress at night time or enjoyable on a seaside. The heat will be adjusted manually, set to computerized based mostly on sundown and dawn timings, or tied to a schedule. There’s a darkish mode out there too. Suffice it to say that there are a bazillion choices out there to tweak the display screen as per your studying preferences, and put collectively, all of them contribute in the direction of making the expertise higher.
Software program and UI
Organising the Kindle for the primary time is a breeze, and you should use a brand new simplified setup possibility that’s out there by way of the Kindle app loaded on a smartphone. Even if you happen to don’t take that route, setup is an easy course of, involving connecting the machine to your own home Wi-Fi and getting into your Amazon credentials. As soon as completed, the machine syncs your library in case you’ve already bought eBooks from Amazon earlier than.
The Kindle incorporates a revamped interface that makes utilization less complicated and extra intuitive. A fast settings panel seems if you happen to swipe downwards from the highest of the show, providing you with entry to choices like display screen brightness and heat, amongst different issues. The house web page is a considerably cluttered affair, with a search bar on prime, a shortcut to your library with probably the most recently-accessed e-book up entrance, your studying record, and solutions from the shop. A separate tab on the backside provides you a chicken’s eye view of your whole library, which is additional segregated into all of the eBooks you’ve ever bought and those downloaded on to the machine. A small menu accessible by way of the three dots icon on prime left additionally features a internet browser, helpful for fast searches when you’re studying. The browser is kind of primary although and may’t render advanced internet pages effectively.
Whereas studying a e-book, you may nonetheless get entry to the short settings panel with a downward swipe, whereas an upward swipe from the underside exhibits you your place within the e-book. Tapping on the left aspect of the display screen flips a web page again, whereas tapping on the best flips to the following web page. A faucet close to the highest of the display screen provides entry to a navigation bar, with an possibility to leap to the house display screen, regulate font, view the desk of contents, and search.
There are tons of instruments and utilities out there that you should use to boost your studying and make issues extra handy too. You possibly can create bookmarks, make notes, lookup advanced phrases, and spotlight paragraphs for later reference. The Phrase Smart possibility, hidden contained in the ‘Extra’ tab within the fonts/theme icon on the navigation bar (the one which seems once you faucet on the highest of the display screen when a e-book is open) offers definitions routinely on prime of inauspicious phrases. It’s an effective way to enhance your vocabulary, although I personally discovered it barely distracting whereas studying. Equally, there’s an X-Ray characteristic that allows you to hold monitor of characters and key phrases in a e-book. Options which have simply been added embody the choice of enabling web page flip animation, and the flexibility to set the quilt of the e-book you’re at the moment studying because the wallpaper on the machine lockscreen.
Utilization expertise
I feel it’s necessary to level out that one can’t anticipate the identical stage of snappiness as a smartphone or a pill from an eBook reader, particularly in terms of the pace of scrolling by means of menus and lists. That stated, the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Version within reason snappy, and offers clean navigation. The display screen is a magnificence, and nice for studying no matter lighting situations, and the sunshine sensor does an awesome job of adjusting the display screen brightness with out you needing to do it manually every time to choose up the machine to learn a e-book or browse the Kindle retailer. Talking of, the shop gives ample selection in terms of books, and there are fairly a number of free ones out there as effectively. Prime subscribers get entry to some paid books totally free, however if you happen to’re a voracious reader, you would make use of the Kindle Limitless subscription that lets you “borrow” books for studying for a month-to-month charge of Rs 129, although not all books are eligible for this. The expertise is excellent in fact, thanks to varied options designed particularly to boost, help and enhance studying.
I feel the UI does require a little bit of a studying curve, particularly in terms of the menu choices and figuring out the place every characteristic is situated. That aside, I feel the UI ought to have a way of enabling one-handed utilization, particularly for flipping pages whereas studying. That ought to turn out to be useful in a number of conditions, for instance, while utilizing the Kindle in mattress, when one arm is occupied with propping your self up. Or once you’re mendacity in a lounge chair on the poolside with one arm behind you. That stated, I did handle to find a holding place that enabled me to make use of the Kindle one-handed, balancing it between my palm and little finger and putting my thumb within the center so I may use it to flip pages as and when wanted.
Coming to the battery life, it’s one other feather within the Kindle’s closely adorned cap. A full cost is sufficient to final weeks (as much as a whopping 10 weeks). A charger with a ranking of 9W or increased juices up the machine in about 2.5 hours, and also you even have the choice of charging it up wirelessly. Reality be informed, wi-fi charging is a little bit of an overkill for a tool that must be juiced up so sometimes however is helpful to have nonetheless.
Verdict
A Kindle is known as a no-brainer if you happen to’re a e-book lover. And when the selection boils down to selecting one between the Kindle Paperwhite Eleventh-gen and the Signature Version, I feel the important thing profit the latter gives is the auto-adjusting backlight… and it does assist fairly a bit. The common mannequin is priced at Rs 13,999, whereas the Signature Version will set you again by Rs 17,999. Whereas most needs to be happy with the common mannequin, the upper outlay for the Signature Version is value, it if you happen to ask me.
Editor’s ranking: 4 / 5
Professionals:
- Sharp display screen with auto brightness
- USB C
- Glorious battery life
- Waterproof
Cons:
- Expensive
- Wants a one-handed mode
- Can’t play audiobooks