The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is a valuable evolution

PHOTOGRAPH BY AMAZON

Amazon's e-reader Kindle series is a great little device, but personally I've been categorically opposed until recently. "Why can I let go of a real book?" He shouted into the void. Will the new Kindle Paperwhite announced by Amazon become an e-reader that goes beyond "perfect"? However, as soon as I used the "Kindle Oasis", I fell in love with it. With the recently released Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, you can be confident that Amazon's latest update to the beloved e-reader is still the best. Although nothing beats the feel of turning physical pages, I've personally invested a lot of money in paper books. Not all books were good. Some of them were covered with dust on the bookshelf without being read halfway, and had to be carried every time they moved. It's nice to be able to save money on buying ebooks or borrow from the library for free at home in the United States. The Kindle Paperwhite is better than the basic Kindle in the Kindle family (regular price in Japan starts at 8,980 yen), but it's not as feature-rich as the expensive Kindle Oasis. It was a range model. This model change has been branched into three models since 2018. The regular model Kindle Paperwhite is $ 140 (starting at JPY 14,980 in Japan), the "Signature Edition" is $ 190 (starting at JPY 19,980), and the "Kids model" is $ 160 (starting at JPY 16,980). ). This time I tried the Signature Edition, but I also provided information comparing the three models. Prices vary depending on the presence or absence of ads, so please read Amazon's product page carefully before making a purchase.

More readable and faster

The 2021 Kindle Paperwhite has a display size of 6.8 inches, which is larger than the 6-inch model of the 2018 model. The bezel (screen frame) is also narrower, with a width of less than 0.5 inches (about 1.3 cm). The display is wider overall and looks sophisticated. Compared to the Kindle Oasis, Paperwhite is taller and narrower because it doesn't have a page feed button. This makes it easier to hold when reading with one hand. The matte texture on the back also contributes to the slip resistance. Besides, the size of the display is 7 inches for Oasis, which is a little big. The new Kindle Paperwhite has adjustable warm-colored lights on all three models, with the brightest being a strong orange. In addition, the brightness of the entire display has also increased, and according to Amazon, it has improved by 10%. Thankfully, the E Ink display doesn't hurt your eyes like the blue light on your smartphone. Side by side, the Kindle Paperwhite wasn't as bright as Oasis, but I could easily read it outdoors. It also has a dark mode, so you can choose according to your taste. By the way, the signature edition has a function to automatically adjust the screen brightness according to the ambient brightness. This allows you to read a book outdoors without having to mess with the settings each time the sun comes out of the clouds. However, such an automatic adjustment function should be standard equipment at no additional cost. I'm grateful that the new Kindle Paperwhite is pagination fast enough to be noticeable. You can also turn on animations that make you feel like you're really flipping a page. I thought I wouldn't like this feature at all, but it wasn't. However, when scrolling through the menu, it's still annoyingly slow and the display flashes. Also, it takes time to be recognized after pressing the button. I expected that this delay in operation would have been resolved, but it is not a fatal drawback. However, I hope that it will be resolved in a future update.