The reading experience: Paperwhite vs. Kindle Fire HDX
I very often see people in the Kindle forums asking what they should get: a
Kindle Paperwhite (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)
or a
Kindle Fire HDX (at AmazonSmile)
I have to admit: I always find that a somewhat odd question.
It suggests that there is either one correct answer, or that complete strangers on an online forum know you well enough to know what’s better in your situation. :)
People are often helpful on the forum. One of the first comments you’ll typically see is, “If you want it mostly for reading, you should get the Paperwhite.”
Is that true, though?
Like a lot of people, I have both an HDX and a Paperwhite. I actively use them both…and yes, I actively read on them both.
My Fire is what goes with me when I leave the house…I need its other capabilities (like viewing and doing light editing of Excel files), and an important one I’ll mention a bit later in the article.
I read my Paperwhite in bed before going to sleep.
I don’t think it’s a matter of a simple black and white answer (and I’m not talking about the grayscale of the Paperwhite). ;) The Paperwhite is better for me for some reading tasks, the Fire is better for others.
In this post, I’m going to compare the two.
Let’s get one thing out of the way first: the screen technology.
The Kindle Fire has a “backlit” screen. You read what is on it by a light coming from behind the image: the text is between you and the light source.
That’s how a lot of technology works: laptops, desktops, TVs, SmartPhones (at least, all the popular ones at this point).
You read what is on a Paperwhite by light bouncing off the screen from the front: the same way you read a p-book (paperbook).
Before the Paperwhite, you needed an external light source to read a non-Fire Kindle.
The Paperwhite has a built-in light…and that light is in front of the screen, not behind it: it’s “frontlit”. It’s on the same side of the screen that you are (like a booklight would be that you clip on to a book).
Some people don’t like reading backlit screens for long periods…they say it tires their eyes (or gives them headaches…I’ve heard both). That’s understandable: if you stared at a flashlight or a lit lamp for a while, that would tire you, too.
I don’t think the Fire is as harsh as a lot of devices: you can change the brightness, and have different text backgrounds…so I don’t find that it bothers me.
Backlighting takes up a lot more battery charge life than the Paperwhite’s frontlighting. A backlit screen requires a constant application of energy to maintain the image. With the technology in the Paperwhite, it “draws the page”…and doesn’t need more energy to maintain the image. The Paperwhite is like an Etch-a-Sketch in that way. It takes energy to draw a house on an Etch-a-Sketch, but if you don’t shake it, the image will stay there with no more effort.
A backlit device is like a garden hose: the Paperwhite is like a puddle.
It’s a huge difference. I charge my Fire every day. I charge my Paperwhite every couple of weeks (reading on it every day…although not for more than a half an hour or so).
The last thing on this screen technology is reading in bright light. A backlit device (the Fire) has to compete with light hitting the screen from the front…and it’s not going to win against the sun. :) More light makes a Paperwhite easier to read, and because it has that frontlit screen, it’s also easy to read in a dark room. The Paperwhite is the most comfortable reading experience I’ve had…including paper.
I’m always able to read on my Fire outside, but it’s not as easy. Crank the brightness up all the way, and keep the device between you and the sun. If it feels like you are shading your eyes with your Fire, you are in a good position. For example, you might be leaning back, holding the Fire above chin level, with the bottom of it farther away from you than the top. Of course, don’t set it up where you might slip and end up looking directly into the sun!
Okay, let’s say you’ve got the lighting where it works for you. What about options when you read?
Fonts
Kindle Fire HDX: 7
Paperwhite (I’m using the latest edition): 6
Font Sizes
Kindle Fire HDX: 11
Paperwhite: 9
Font/Background Combination Options
Kindle Fire HDX: 4 (including white on black)
Paperwhite: 1
Margins
Kindle Fire HDX: 3
Paperwhite: 3
Line Spacing
Kindle Fire HDX: 3
Paperwhite: 3
The Fire wins on three of these, and it’s a tie on the two others.
Text-to-speech
Kindle Fire HDX: yes
Paperwhite: no
The Paperwhite doesn’t have any audio capabilities. My guess is that they did that to make it cost less, and to reduce battery drain. This is the thing I said I was going to mention later. :) I use TTS (software which reads the book aloud to you) pretty much every workday for an hour or more a day in the car. I love this! I like to say that driving is no longer wasted “non-reading time”. ;) The TTS on the KFHDX is much superior to what we had on the Kindle 2 (it sounds more natural, makes fewer errors, and there are more choices), and it’s better than what we had on later non-Fire Kindles with TTS.
The Fire wins this one…hands down.
Oh, and that also means no immersion reading for the Paperwhite (where you can hear a voice and see the words at the same time), which the Fire has.
X-Ray (gives you information about the book)
Kindle Fire HDX: yes
Paperwhite: yes
It’s a tie.
Annotations: Notes, Highlights, Bookmarks
Kindle Fire HDX: yes
Paperwhite: yes
I like the experience of Notes better on the Fire. It’s one tap to get to the Notes icon, and it’s two on the Paperwhite. You have multiple color highlights on the Fire. The interface with the notes and highlights seems easier on the Fire: long press (hold your finger or stylus on it for about a second) and you can view, edit, or delete. On the Fire, Bookmarks are labeled as Bookmarks…not on the Paperwhite.
I’m going to give this to the Fire.
Look-up
Kindle Fire HDX: X-Ray (including a Shelfari link), Dictionary, Wikipedia, Translation, in the book, and on the web
Paperwhite: Dictionary, X-Ray, Wikipedia, This Book, All Text, Kindle Store
The Fire seems to do this faster, and has more information (Shelfari has some great stuff), but I do like being able to search the Kindle Store on the Paperwhite. Still, I’d give this to the Fire.
Color, embedded or linked video or audio
Kindle Fire HDX: yes
Paperwhite: no
You might not use this much. Still, it’s nice if you are reading about Martin Luther King and can actually jump to the dream speech. This one goes to the Fire, although again, you might not care about it.
Sharing
Kindle Fire HDX: Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook
Paperwhite: Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook
It’s a tie.
Report a Content Error
Kindle Fire HDX: no (if you know of a way, please let me know!)
Paperwhite: yes
This one goes to the Paperwhite.
Overall? I’m actually surprised that the Fire wins in so many categories. That doesn’t mean that I don’t recommend the Paperwhite: the more comfortable reading experience and the long battery charge life are strong pluses. Also, a lot of people like the lack of distractions (although the Fire does have a “Quiet Time” setting.
What do you think? I’m sure some of you want to leap to the defense of the Paperwhite, and I understand that. :) Have I missed any advantages? I suppose I should have said that the Paperwhite is smaller, although the weight isn’t all that different…the KFHDX wi-fi only is 10.7 oz (303 grams), and the Paperwhite wi-fi only is 7.3 ounces (206 grams). I’ve heard that ten US pennies weight about an ounce, if that helps. ;) The Paperwhite is cheaper ($119 vs $199 in their cheapest configurations at time of writing), but I don’t know if I’d consider that part of the reading experience. ;) Are there other advantages you see with one or the other? Feel free to let me and my readers know what you think by commenting on this post. You can also let me know if you have other comparison questions about them that way.
Update: thanks to reader burmmom for a comment which improved this post!
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* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get. Shop ’til you help! By the way, it’s been interesting lately to see Amazon remind me to “start at AmazonSmile” if I check a link on the original Amazon site. I do buy from AmazonSmile, but I have a lot of stored links I use to check for things.
This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.