Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Recently retired my well-used Kindle Keyboard for the Paperwhite, as I was looking forward to getting one with a backlit screen. Overall, this is easily the best e-reader I've had the pleasure of using. It's just the right size (and feels less bulky than my Keyboard), the interface is faster, the text more vibrant, and the adjustable backlight is exceptionally convenient for all lighting conditions. Here are a few thoughts for those that prefer lists: LIGHTING: The Good: the adjustable backlight on the Paperwhite is great. Some reviewers have mentioned it being yellowish, but the unit purchased is a nice, blueish-white. While reading in bed, it can be dimmed enough to where it doesn't strain your eyes, though it does wash out the text slightly. I didn't think the backlight would be useful in the daytime, but it actually makes it much easier to read at max setting, which I was pleasantly surprised with. The Bad: There is a little bit of light bleeding from the bottom of my Kindle. It's not terribly noticeable, but if you look closely enough you can see a little blotchy unevenness near the bottom. Not nearly enough of an issue at this price point worth complaining about. THE UNIT: The Good: Love the design - more compact and sleek than the Kindle Keyboard it replaced. It fits easily in either hand without being too big or small. Perfect screen size. The Bad: I am mourning the loss of the page turning buttons from my Keyboard. Anyone who owns a newer Kindle would be lying if they said they've never accidentally turned the page by touching the screen. It can be a maddening experience. Plan on getting a case for your Kindle, as the plastic on the front and rubbery texture on the back are oil magnets and will suck any grease off the cleanest of hands, and it's obnoxiously hard to clean. I never had this issue with my Keyboard. Minor complaint about having the "Kindle" namesake on the front of the unit not embossed in white...looks a bit cheaper than the last gen in that regard. Power on/off button is obscenely tiny and very hard to activate - buy a cover that turns it on/off automatically. BATTERY/CHARGE: The battery doesn't last as long as my Keyboard's did, but it is still exceptionally strong even with heavy backlight usage. I have well over 3/4 of the battery reading for a few hours each day over the course of a week. It seems to charge for about the same duration as my Keyboard and I assume the backlighting eats up the battery a bit, but not enough to where it has been problematic yet. I find it frustrating that they only include a short USB charger. I don't appreciate upselling of charger plug ins. INTERFACE: The Good: Love the bookshelf view showing the covers (if you don't, you can put it back into List view like older models). Touch interface and changes from the Keyboard model took me a little white to get used to, but it is all fairly intuitive and much quicker than the model it is replacing. I absolutely refuse to tie my Twitter/Facebook account to my Kindle, but love the option of doing it for my Good Reads account - good call on that, Amazon. Newer features that let you learn more about people, places, and events in books has been great (I'm looking at you Game of Thrones). LOVE the feature that tells you how much additional time you have in a chapter...makes it easier to know if can squeeze one more in before bed. Same goes for Word Wise, which will put brief descriptions/similes of complex words above the word in question. You can set the threshold - awesome. The Bad: Collections show a generic book image, rather than a collage of the books within like I expected. Minor complaint. I bought a Kindle Touch for my mom awhile back and have had to work with her quite a bit, as its her first e-reader. She struggled with the interface and is still learning how to get the most out of it. I know it's a cost-saving measure, but I really resent a Kindle copy of the user guide instead of the traditional paper insert. Minimalism has its place, but not here. The filter 'buttons' on the screen are annoyingly hard to press (maybe I have fat fingers?), but feedback is exceptional everywhere else. AD VS NO AD: Ultimately, it's going to come down to your preference. Many people have found good discounts on things they'd buy on Amazon or other eBooks (it uses your recommendations). If they were only on the "off" screen when not in use, I wouldn't have ponied up the extra $20 to remove them because my cover hides it when not in use, but the ad banner at the bottom of the home screen put me over the edge. I want to point out - I've read Amazon doesn't allow you to use Gift Cards to pay for the ad removal (it requires '1-touch payment'), so if you don't think you want the ads and you have a gift card - buy the version without ads. I believe it applied $20 of a promotional credit I had on my account, however. PRIME HOUSEHOLD SHARING: The Good: If you're an Amazon Prime member and have added a second adult to your 'household', you can share select (or all) of your Kindle libraries with one another for free. I didn't see this advertised much, but it was an awesome way for my mom and I to share our books with each other. The Bad: It's horrific to set up. Once you've activated your Household, you need to go to Manage Your Content, flip "Books" to on (for both parties, and manually select which titles you want to share. Then you need to go to "Manage Your Device" and ensure the little box for "Share My Content" is selected. I believe both people need to do this, but once you do, you'll be able to access your family member's books in the Cloud after dropping down the filter to "Shared". It will take quite awhile for it to process if you have a large library, but once you get it set up, you can click and download any of your family member's books. I just wish it wasn't such a royal pain to set up. For most people, I'd suggest buying the one with no ads and saving $20 for books (or a library subscription...I borrow 90% of my books, it's awesome). If you hate the ads, pay to remove them - no sense in paying more if you can live with it in the first place. All in all, this is an exceptional machine for the price and any negatives I can find are easily forgivable given how many great things there are. Amazon Prime members can also download one book from a very large selection per month for free, with no return dates, as well as download one free new release with Amazon First - something I found out through a lot of digging on Amazon's website. These features should be a little clearer. My mom loves her Kindle Touch, but after buying myself the Paperwhite, I wish I'd coughed up a little extra and got her the Paperwhite. The backlit screen and increased clarity of the e-ink is exceptional for all reading conditions. Should you upgrade? If you own a Kindle without a backlight or a a Keyboard/older model - 110%. The interface is faster and the screen clarity significantly better. The biggest complaint I have is for Kindle Keyboard users who are used to the manual page turner buttons are out of luck (unless they opt for the Voyage, I believe) - I sincerely wish they'd bring that feature back. TL;DR? If you love reading, treat yourself or a loved one and buy a Kindle Paperwhite. It's worth every penny.