Just when the trend is going to bigger screens like the kindle scribe, I find myself leaning towards portability. In short, being able to carry my library literally in my pocket.
I’ve had several iterations of the e-ink kindles over the years, my least favorite being the popular paperwhite with which I’ve always encountered quality control issues and have always duly returned.
My favorite e-ink device for years was the kindle touch 4rth generation which looked better than any of the paperwhites I’ve ever come across with a rich text that made it pleasant to read, even though it has only 167 ppi. The Voyage with increased ppi replaced this, and I must confess that this had the best and richest contrast of a screen I’ve experienced ever. The Voyage truly makes look the paperwhites and some of the Oasis’ (not all) look blurry in comparison.
But with kindle basic, the richness of the text pops out from the screen and is a joy to hold, feeling even lighter and more portable than the Voyage. I hope amazon always keeps these nice smaller and lighter units, even if the device has to sacrifice the page turn buttons to do so.
I chose the denim, and truly love it. This reader seems to capture the best features of my previous kindles in terms of screen quality and size and portability.
I suspect that the rich screen contrast of this basic kindle is due in no small part to the lack of the waterproofing which adds another layer between the eye and the text (from what I have gathered in the forums).
Also, there is less lighting on this kindle. Personally, I would not have minded if they had done away built in light altogether and made a lighted case like they did with kindle touch. I did a comparison of the kindle touch with lighted cover alongside this kindle and the oasis with the warm light, and the kindle touch beat them all with maintaining clarity and crispness of of text. I don’t use the light much on the kindle, as I never seem to get the setting where I enjoy the clarity of the text. Using a reading light, like the ones you clip on a book, are much better imo. Thus, I don’t miss the warm light of the Oasis.
Suggestions to improve this kindle: Add the animated page turns, maybe a way to vertically scroll on the pages. I would also love a kindle home button like the kindle touch. But that’s it really.
Sidenote: In regard to waterproofing. Over the years, I’ve taken my non waterproof Voyage everywhere from beaches to swimming pools, and never experienced trouble, so if waterproofing really takes away from the quality of the screen, let the Oasis or paperwhite keep that market.
Additional sidenote: the kindle covers to this unit are reasonably priced and the blue cover matches the denim unit perfectly.
This kindle as a basic has just about everything I could wish for, namely in size and portability and clarity and contrast of text.
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