Amia DalveyJuly 18, 2022, 16:16:45 IST
We’re less than a week away from the Amazon India Prime Day sale, and there will be plenty of savings on a wide range of products. You already know that, and I’m not here to talk about selling. But there’s one product in particular that I’m watching – the new Kindle Paperwhite – from 11th-generation Kindles to be specific. We often get a lot of inquiries about whether it’s better to buy this over a regular Kindle, or to buy a generation of the old Paperwhite at a lower price, or simply if it’s worth the asking price.
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Today, we intend to summarize all of these queries and more in this brief piece and tell you if and why you should consider buying the new Kindle Paperwhite on your next Prime Day sale. If the reasons appeal to you, go ahead and buy one. There are few better pleasures in life on a rainy day than relaxing with a hot drink and a good book/ebook.
IPX8 waterproof
Speaking of a rainy day, the Kindle Paperwhite has an IPX8 water resistance rating. So you can choose to sit comfortably on your balcony or near the window without worrying about a few drops of rain falling on your precious e-book reader. In fact, it has much better fluid resistance than that, but let’s not get too adventurous.
Bigger Screen, Thinner Bezels
Amazon trimmed the top and side edges dramatically making the new Paperwhite look sleeker, yet equally comfortable to hold. Even better, the screen size has been increased from 6 inches to 6.8 inches which results in better readability and more content per page. And that’s just one of the differences from the last generation Paperwhite. Compared to the base Kindle of the current generation, the screen has a lot more advantages than just the size.
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For starters, the basic Kindle screen has a density of 167 pixels per inch, while the Paperwhite screen has a much higher 300 ppi which translates to sharper text and images on the screen. Another major difference is the front lighting. You get only 4 LEDs to light up the screen of the former, and that number goes up to 17 in the latter along with the adjustable warm light. As a result, page lighting is more consistent and easy on the eyes even when reading in complete darkness.
Faster processor, smoother user interface, dual-band WiFi
The latest version of the Paperwhite uses a faster processor, which makes page transitions and the user interface smoother. The user interface hasn’t changed much, so if you’ve used a Kindle before, there’s no new learning curve to adapt to this new device. But the interface looks smarter, perhaps due to the faster processor.
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I believe dark mode was on the previous Paperwhite as well, but now you can also adjust screen warmth, which comes in handy especially when reading at night before bed. You also get dual-band WiFi here with support for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks, which is great. There is no SIM slot on this device and therefore there is no possibility to use a data network.
Much better battery backup, USB-C charging port
Battery backup jumped to 10 weeks in the new Kindle Paperwhite, which is more than double its predecessor. But hold your horses because this number comes with a rider. You can get 10 weeks of it if you turn off WiFi and only use your Kindle for half an hour a day. Actual battery life depends entirely on the amount of use. But realistically, using it for just over an hour a day makes it work for an entire month.
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Standby time is better with almost no battery draining if you don’t use it for a week. It takes about two and a half hours to fully charge it using a standard USB-C charger. Yes, you read that correctly; No, it’s not charging time but “USB-C”. Amazon has finally honored the Kindle with a USB-C port, which is long overdue. The standard version of the Paperwhite still does not support wireless charging. This feature is reserved for the signature version priced over Rs 4,000.
Finally, a big discount!
One of the main drawbacks to buying this e-book reader was its price. The latest Kindle Paperwhite is priced at 13,999 rupees. For better or worse, the previous generation Paperwhite isn’t available anymore, or rather I haven’t seen it on Amazon India in months. But do not worry! The new Paperwhite is expected to drop by nearly 11,000 rupees on the upcoming Prime Day sale, also before any credit card discounts or cashback.
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If my memory serves me correctly, it will be the biggest discount on this product in India since its launch. With the right credit cards, you can even get them for as little as 10k. Given its features and benefits, it would be hard not to recommend it for this price. If you’ve been looking forward to the new Paperwhite for a while, this Prime Day would be the time to pull the trigger.