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Amazon Launches the White Kindle Paperwhite in China, Japan

white amazon kindle paperwhiteEarly last year Amazon quietly launched a white basic Kindle in China and Japan (and later, Europe) and now they’re following suit with the Kindle Paperwhite.

On Tuesday Amazon launched a new Kindle Paperwhite model in China and Japan. The new white Kindle Paperwhite sports the same 300 PPI screen, 4GB of storage, and battery life of the black model launched last year, only now with a new shell color.

The white Kindle Paperwhite is available today in Japan with a retail price of 14,280 yen, and it will be shipping next week in China and cost 958 yuan.

There’s no news yet on when it will be released in other markets, but if it follows the release pattern of the basic Kindle the new Paperwhite will likely be available in the UK and Europe later this year.

I wouldn’t expect to see it in the US or other western markets, however; Amazon is apparently adverse to the idea.

So what do you think of the new Kindle? I think it’s going to make the screen look gray, so I wouldn’t buy one, but a reader has pointed out that a white bezel can change the reading experience to the better:

My new reader has a white shell; my previous reader had a black one. To my surprise, reading with very narrow margins is now more comfortable than before: it’s as if the white shell is the margin of the page, and so a white shell makes the usable area of an E Ink screen larger.

What do you think?

 

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Comments


Name (Required) April 26, 2016 um 10:25 am

Long time ago I purchased white PocketBook 360°. I wanted black one, because I thought that the black bezel would make background whiter.
The seller told me:
– the white bezel makes text look blacker
– white units were sold out 😉

So I bought white one and was *very* happy with the purchase. I had reader with black bezel before and after PB360 and I do not think that the color of the bezel makes that much of a difference.


DavidW April 26, 2016 um 11:19 am

A white kindle would be awesome. I would buy it.

In terms of contrast I think the graphite kindle was the best– being a lighter shade than the text made the text look black, but being a darker shade than the background made the background look white. In other words the graphite color made the screen pretty good. Better than either pure white or pure black can.


Anne April 26, 2016 um 11:42 am

I would buy a white paperwhite. It’s disappointing to hear they won’t be sold in the US.


BDR April 26, 2016 um 12:44 pm

I’ve a white Nook and to me it has no effect on the text or anything else. Without the frontlight, it is a *minor* distraction because it draws the eye away from the screen but not annoyingly so. With the frontlight, it disappears.


poiboy April 26, 2016 um 11:46 pm

my word!! why, oh why can’t they sell that lovely white reader here in north america??

(pouts like a child)


poiboy April 26, 2016 um 11:50 pm

well, some smart person in japan has figured out demand:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Amazon-Kindle-Wi-Fi-White-Campaign-model-e-book-reader-Japan-imports-New-F-S-/222073550306?hash=item33b49d75e2:g:SMAAAOSwJblXAKP1


Rasputin April 27, 2016 um 8:49 am

Amazon demonstrates continuing lack of innovation.


The New Basic Kindle Has Twice the RAM, Bluetooth, Still Costs $79 | The Digital Reader June 22, 2016 um 6:58 pm

[…] also available in white as well in the US and around the world. It had previously been limited to just China and Japan. There's no word on whether it has Bluetooth, […]


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