I have been very happy with my Kindle 3G and I read much quicker when using it. Since I've had it for awhile, it is the older version with the keyboard instead of the touch screen, but I was OK with that too. That said, I still had an issue with lighting. Since RP makes my eyes appear to have a white film over them all the time, (which I call The Fog), I have to use a reading lamp and position it above my shoulder so the light shines directly on my Kindle in order for me to read. If I am in a brightly lit room or outside, I don't have as big a problem because of the glare-free screen. But when you're trying to relax sometimes you don't want to have to have all the lights on full blast to read. Kind of takes away from the experience, ya know? So I always have a small-ish movable lamp over my shoulder. It's becoming like a growth on my back and I'm tired of it! So you can imagine how thrilled I was when Amazon introduced the Kindle Paperwhilte with the built-in light! Why didn't they think of this sooner??
So I ordered one as an early Christmas present for myself and I couldn't be happier! And even though I have WiFi at my house, I opted for the 3G as well. I realize that for almost the same money I could've gotten the Kindle Fire and that's what people say to me. They wonder why I didn't get it instead. And honestly, that is partly the reason I'm writing this post. The answer is simple. The screen on the Kindle Fire is not conducive for my eyes. It is more like a computer screen and it would just be too hard on my already maxed out eyes. It would be really cool to have the Fire and be able to do all the great things it offers, but frankly, I have a PC for that. I use my device strictly for reading (and playing word games) so the Paperwhite was made especially for my needs.
One of the other things I love about it is the Touch Screen. If I'm honest, I was a little concerned about it before, because I thought I'd be hitting it all the time but it was very easy to get used to. Another obvious change in the Paperwhite is how clear, crisp and bold the fonts are! It is so much brighter and the light is MAGNIFICENT!! You probably won't find anybody else as excited about that light than me! OK, I'll say it - I'm in love with it! I can absolutely read ANYwhere now and because the device pulls the light back down to itself, there is NO GLARE AT ALL!
The speed of the Paperwhite is amazing as well. There is no delay whatsoever when turning pages. It's just instant. And if you want to look up a word in the built-in dictionary, just touch the word to highlight it and a few seconds later, the definition is staring you in the face!
Surprisingly, the Paperwhite is even smaller than my older Kindle because there is no keyboard. It's about the size of a trade size paperback, maybe even smaller. I tuck it in my purse and take it everywhere with me. You never know when you might get a few minutes of reading in, especially when you rely on others to take you places and you find yourself sitting and waiting for someone to pick you up. It makes time pass very quickly.
There are many other great features about this device that I didn't address but I wanted to hit on the ones that were most important in my decision making. Please leave me a comment if you have something you'd like to add, even if you feel differently about this device. I'd like to hear your comments. I hope this post is helpful to anyone thinking about buying a reading device or upgrading to a new one and trying to decide which one is for you. There are a lot of choices out there but for people with eye issues, in my opinion, the Kindle Paperwhite is the way to go. I couldn't be happier with my choice and also to be rid of that annoying reading lamp that has been following me around for years!
