Amazon has announced new e-book readers, finally launching the earlier leaked Kindle Paperwhite, which features built-in lighting.
The Paperwhite replaces the Kindle Touch, and shares an almost identical form factor with the now discontinued Touch. It sports a higher-resolution 1,024 x 768-pixel e-ink display, up from the Touch's 800 x 600-pixel screen. This improved 6-inch display, as its name suggests, is also whiter, giving better contrast compared with the earlier generation's more gray-like shade.
Most importantly, the Paperwhite now has built-in illumination for reading in the dark. Similar to what competitors Nook and Kobo have done with the Simple Touch with GlowLight and Glo e-book readers, the Paperwhite uses LEDs to light up the screen. The big difference is that there is a layer which Amazon calls a "light guide", which spreads the light above the screen, making it look evenly illuminated.
For more details about the Kindle Paperwhite, read David Carnoy's hands-on preview on CNET.
As with most Kindle devices to date, the Paperwhite comes in a "With Special Offers" version meant for the US market. This is ad-supported and costs US$119 while an ad-free Paperwhite will go for US$139. These will ship on October 1 in the US. The latter ad-free version will likely be the one that will be available internationally (though not to all countries--more on that later) in the future.
Amazon has also updated its entry-level e-reader, simply called Kindle. Aside from sporting a darker black chassis (the last version was gray), it hasn't changed much physically. What's more important is that fonts on the screen are supposedly darker, making it easier to read. Pages apparently also turn 15 percent faster. Because it doesn't have a touchscreen display, page turns and word selections are done using buttons and a directional pad.
The ad-supported Kindle is now US$10 cheaper at US$69. The international version is the ad-free one, and will go for US$89. It appears to be available now.
Note that Amazon does not ship Kindle devices to every country in the world. This is likely due to book licensing issues. To see if Amazon ships to your country, visit this page selling the Kindle. Select your country in the drop-down list and a pop-up window will tell you if Amazon ships there. Some examples of countries in Asia that Amazon ships Kindles to include Hong Kong and Thailand.
Some countries in Asia where Amazon will not ship Kindles to directly include Malaysia and Singapore. If you live in one of these non-supported countries, it's probably best to use a package forwarding service or get a friend living in the US to buy one for you.
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