Kindle 3 (with keyboard) vs. Kindle Paperwhite

The Kindle 3 (the one with a keyboard) was my original kindle device. I had it for several years, but it died an honourable death during the Wilderness festival last year. Initially I thought that only the screen was bust, but the device was not reacting to restarts, resets, and USB connection any more. So I had to get a new reading device in order to be able to get access to the Kindle books I bought on Amazon. The disadvantage of being locked into a single service :-(

My broken Kindle 3: The screen is just a symptom of a completely broken system. Note the physical buttons to the side of the screen used to switch pages.

At least the replacement was much, much cheaper than a Crapple CrapPad. Delivery from Amazon was swift and reliable as usual. Nothing to complain about. Time for a short comparison of the devices.

Size

Both devices have the same screen size, and I cannot feel a huge difference in weight. The Paperweight is a bit thicker around the edges, which actually makes it for me a bit easier to grip, but the difference is not huge.

Light

The backlight of the Paperwhite improves contrast between letters and background. At full brightness the background becomes white, while the Kindle 3 background is always greyish-yellow (like the Paperwhite with the light off). At maximum intensity the backlight is too strong to comfortably read in the dark, I prefer a medium level then (and a reading light somewhere in the background).

Buttons

The physical buttons for page-switching are gone on the Paperwhite. I am missing them because holding the Paperwhite in one hand and turning pages using the touch-screen is more tedious than doing the same with the Kindle 3 using the physical buttons. I just find it easier to move a thumb slightly to press down on one of the rocker switches than tapping the screen.
I do not miss the physical keyboard of the Kindle 3. I was not and am not typing a lot of things on the kindle, only a few short notes here and there. The on-screen touch keyboard of the Paperwhite is working well; there is not much I can say about it.

Marking up words or sentences is more intuitive using the touch-screen of the Paperwhite, but in the end the D-pad of the Kindle 3 worked equally well. If you are just looking up a single word in the dictionary a long-tap with a finger is quicker than doing the navigation and marking with the D-pad,

Cover

The cover for the Kindle 3 had two hooks that clamped into corresponding nooks on the device to hold it in place. Release was simple using a spring mechanism. The cover is held shut by a rubber band, which seems quite flimsy and gets in the way of holding the device comfortably.

The cover for the Kindle 3.

The Kindle 3 cover with the device.

The closed cover of the Kindle 3.

The cover for the Kindle Paperwhite does not require the little plastic hooks to capture the device, but instead uses a tight-fitting mould. It is quite difficult to get the device out of there again. The lid protects the screen and also locks and unlocks it upon closing and opening the cover. The flimsy rubber band to hold it shut is gone.

The cover for the Kindle Paperwhite.

The Cover for Kindle Paperwhite with the device.

The closed cover of the Kindle Paperwhite. Closing the cover also locks the screen of the device.

Other Essentials

Unlike the Kindle 3 the Paperwhite comes without a charger. This was not a problem for me because I still had the old one, and there are several other micro-USB chargers around that I accumulated from several phones and my Raspberry Pi.