Which HDTV is the best buy? Which smartphone is superior? Which ultrabook laptop PC is the champ? Which media streamer leads the rest?
Legitimate pro and con arguments could be made for individual devices within each of these and myriad other gadget categories.
But in the realm of best e-book readers – the monochrome models with non-LCD 6-inch screens – one deserves my rare, (nearly) unqualified opprobrium: the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite.
(Forgive my stilted language; it is designed mostly to frustrate marketing types from appropriating my laudatory wording for nefarious advertising purposes.)
The Paperwhite Kindle is the e-ink e-reader champion of a small pool, however. Only two other e-ink e-readers include the type of glowing screen, the Barnes & Noble Nook Glow (the first of its type, and which I applauded at the time) and the KoboGlo with "comfort light."
The glowing screens on these three e-ink e-readers address a glaring drawback for all non-LCD e-ink e-reader devices – the ability to read in dim light or the dark.
Kindle Paperwhite's, Nook Glow's and KoboGlo's illuminated screens let you read in bed next to a sleeping spouse, outdoors in the evening, on a plane or train on a night trip, in poor direct lighting, or in any ambient light-challenged condition.
Front-lit screens also aid reading in otherwise normal light as well, vastly improving the naturally low contrast between the e-ink text and the greenish-gray background screen.
Before we proceed, my admiration for the Paperwhite does not reflect a judgment about Kindle's store or features vs. Barnes & Noble or Kobo stores. This review reflects only my opinion about the glowing e-reader devices themselves.
For my views on the varying e-book stores and features, see my comparative series on e-book readers (although all three e-book sellers have updated and improved their services in the succeeding 18 months).
Why is it the best e-reader? Paperwhite's glowing advantage
Amazon has imbued Paperwhite with one feature lacking in the Nook Glow and the KoboGlo – its default reading condition is with its light on.
In other words, turn on Paperwhite, and the light automatically comes on. On both Nook Glow and KoboGlo, you have to first wake up the device, then activate the light – although, if the light was on the KoboGlo when you put it to sleep, it will come on when you wake it up. If it goes to sleep by itself, you'll have to turn the light back on.
I believe Amazon's assumption to be correct – we are more likely to want the light on than not.
KoboGlo's light is actually brighter than Paperwhite at their respective top settings, creating a higher-contrast text-to-screen experience. But I found you had to also upwardly adjust KoboGlo's type weight to be dark enough to show up against its brighter background.
Both Paperwhite provide a touch sliding bar to adjust the light intensity.
Nook Glow's light isn't in the same league as its two competitors. Glow's glow is far dimmer than Paperwhite and KoboGlo at its top setting, and far splotchier, especially along the top of the display, than the smoother light on Amazon's and Kobo's newer devices.
Paperwhite's physical advantage
Physically, I found Paperwhite slightly superior to KoboGlo.
Technically, Paperwhite measures 6.7 inches tall by 4.6 inches wide by 0.36 inches thick and weighs in at 7.5 ounces.
KoboGlo measures a shorter 6.2 inches tall by a similar 4.5 inches wide by a thicker 0.39 inches thick and weighs in at a lighter 6.5 ounces.
As you can see, Paperwhite is slight taller, slightly thinner and slightly heavier than KoboGlo.
Again Nook Glow is a non-factor. At 6.5 tall by 5.0 inches ¨wide by 0.47 inches thick, weighing in at 6.95 ounces, Glow is wider and thicker and is clunkier than Paperwhite or KoboGlo.
None of these dimensional differences create overwhelming pros or cons for either Paperwhite or KoboGlo, however. If anything, Kindle's tallness actually makes it slightly easier to fish out of a pocket, and I couldn't tell there was a one ounce weight variation between the two by just hefting them.
KoboGlo's advantage
KoboGlo is a far worthier competitor to Paperwhite than Nook Glow, at least as far as the device goes (again, not considering the individual e-book stores or services).
As previously noted, KoboGlo's illuminated screen is brighter than Paperwhite.
KoboGlo also offers more text alternatives to better customize your reading experience. For instance:
- Type faces: KoboGlo 10, Paperwhite 6
- Font size: Margins: KoboGlo – variable; Paperwhite – 8 choices
- Text Justification/Ragged Right: KoboGlo – yes; Paperwhite - no
- Line Spacing: KoboGlo – variable; Paperwhite – 3 choices
- Margins: KoboGlo – variable; Paperwhite – 3 choices
- Type Sharpness: Kobo – yes; Paperwhite – no
Kobo also offers greater aesthetic variety; KoboGlo is white, not Paperwhite's boring basic black, and available with four different pastel color back panels.
Paperwhite's favorability
So why do I slightly favor the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite over the KoboGlo?
Default Light: As aforementioned, Paperwhite's light is its default condition – turn it on or wake up your Kindle, and its light is on. KoboGlo and Nook require first a turn on, then a light activation. Plus, KoboGlo also requires two separate buttons – a slide on/off and a light button.
More On-Screen Text: Kobo has left an ever-present half-inch menu strip at the bottom of each screen. As a result, you don't get as much text on the screen compared to Paperwhite, which means more frequent page turns, further disrupting your reading flow.
Battery Life: Paperwhite has twice KoboGlo's battery life – that's twice as much – two months vs. one month, both assuming 30 minutes of reading a day with the light on 10-15 percent brightness. Paperwhite also goes to sleep sooner than KoboGlo (10 minutes vs. 15 minutes), further extending its battery life advantage.
One-Handed Reading: Paperwhite can be read with one hand – when you hold it in your left hand. To go back a page, you have to employ a second hand with KoboGlo. Paperwhite (and all touch Kindles) has a slim area on the screen's edge to touch to go back a page, which means you can reach over the "back" touch area with your thumb to touch turn the page forward. (Click here to get an approximation of Kindle's touchscreen segmentation.)
Fewer Tap Mistakes: Amazon also has moved the menu access area of the screen to a slim slice of the top area of the screen. You access the menu of all other e-readers by taping the center of the screen. Amazon's re-mapping of the screen means you won't accidentally activate the menu when you simply meant to turn the page.
Price: Finally, at $119, Paperwhite is $10 cheaper than KoboGlo ($129); Barnes & Noble has dropped the price on the Nook Glow to $119 but, as noted, Glow ranks way behind Paperwhite and KoboGlo.
Yes, the $119 Paperwhite comes with "special offers" – ads. But these ads only appear on Paperwhite's splash screen and on a thin strip across the bottom of some menu screens. They never interfere with actual reading.
Paperwhite sans ads is priced $10 more than KoboGlo, which makes the choice between the two a bit more difficult.
But given Paperwhite's enumerated functional advantages, and folding in Amazon's vast Kindle library selection, exclusives and other advanced features, I anoint the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, for the moment, the best e-ink e-reader extant.
