Amazon Kindle Paperwhite: Best for eBooks

Amazon has given India a miss for quite a few years but with other key players like Apple and Google launching their products aggressively, the US-based retailer has finally made a start. It has recently launched its Kindle Fire HD tablets and the Kindle Paperwhite e-reader as well. The e-reader is a conventional reader that offers connectivity access via Wi-Fi and 3G. Priced at Rs 8,999 for Wi-Fi and Rs 13,999 for 3G, we check out how useful it's going to be.

Features

Just enough unlike smartphone and tablets, the Paperwhite is not flush with features but a 6-inch display, microUSB port and power button sum up the hardware features of the e-reader. For connectivity, the Paperwhite offers Wi-Fi and 3G that support buying e-books via Amazon Store. 

The device offers capacitive touch and the display has a paper-like feel to it, hence the name Paperwhite. Compared to previous models, the Paperwhite does not have a physical keyboard and is a lot lighter and slimmer than its predecessors. The lack of more physical buttons needs some getting used to, especially the back button, for which one needs to tap on the screen. The device has a sturdy and classy look with matte finish but the rear side of the e-reader can easily fall prey to finger smudges and that is not cool at all. The Paperwhite also has a big Kindle logo embedded on the matte body at the back. The curvy edges and slim frame make the e-reader an easy to hold device.

High on performance
With Paperwhite merely being an e-reader, it was imperative that we analyse the reading capabilities, features and some add-ons that help us gauge the impact of the device. A book title appears on the display of Paperwhite like it feels on the hard copy. The device offers varied level of brightness options that can be adjusted according to the need of the reader. The font size of the page can be increased by pinching on the display which then offers a table with up to 7 size options.

When reading a book, the screen is uncluttered and one needs to tap to get more options like home, back, light control, shop, search and settings. The other interesting aspect about the Paperwhite is the time left indicator at the bottom of the page that tells you the time left for the book to finish. E-books can be downloaded via Wi-Fi and with a 2 GB internal storage (1.3 GB usable), one can store a reasonable number of titles. However, reading and flipping pages on the device can be quite bothersome initially and needs some getting used to. Also, the ink imprint is clearly visible when going over to the next page.

Lastly, Amazon claims that Paperwhite comes with eight weeks of back-up. During our week-long test, we charged the device fully once and going on to day 8, the device still had plenty of juice in it.