Kindle Paperwhite (2013)

The second iteration of the Kindle Paperwhite offers few changes from its predecessor. With that being said, experts agree that 2013’s Kindle Paperwhite still stands head-and-shoulders above any other e-reader in the market.

Amazon boasts of a “new display technology with higher contrast and better reflectivity” that also offers 19% better responsiveness. In addition, a faster processor (1GHz) should increase overall performance of the device. Laptop Mag notes that book opening time has decreased by about a second though page turn speed is only slightly faster. TechRadar goes on to mention that despite the slightly faster page turn speed, there is still “a bit of delay.”

Aside from the faster processor, this model also sports a new light. The Verge notes that there are fewer dark patches on screen and the light is also a bit whiter than the original Paperwhite. While a slight improvement, they go on to say that it didn’t really change their user experience greatly.

Aside from small hardware upgrades, there are also some new software features. Perhaps one of the most anticipated additions was the integration with social media reading site Goodreads. You can now easily log into your Goodreads account and look for friends, share passages while reading you Kindle book and rate other Kindle books on the site. Aside from this, you can pull your book lists from Goodreads or your own cloud collections and sync it across multiple devices.

Most reviewers agree that the 2013 Kindle Paperwhite is one of the best e-readers on the market. While it does offer slight improvements from its predecessor, Engadget does not believe that it’s worth the price for those of who already own the older generation Paperwhite.