Buying a new Kindle - PW vs. Voyage questions

manawydan · 04-07-2017, 02:43 PM

I am thinking about getting a new Kindle because it still has a very good display. At least the old PW had.

Oasis is way too expensive for my liking so it is either Paperwhite or Voyage.

I'd like to test the page-press fuction (I am still wondering whether and when Amazon might integrate an automated page turn as is available for Android reading apps).

While searching the offers I found it quite confusing to distinguish between all the offered seemingly equal devices.

So my questions are:

1. Where can I find out which generation a PW or Voyager is?

2. Is there somewhere a website/list etc. which compares all these generations?

3. I assume a new Kindle will always be delivered with the new(est) firmware installed?

4. Bigger font size is great for people with visual impairment but it is not possible to change the size of the user interface (e.g. book lists etc.). If I remember correctly the old Kindle Keyboard offered this but it was also the last.

Is there now a Kindle (Voyage maybe?) with better accessibility?

5. And has the display problem of the Voyage (yellow-tinted screen, not always but often) reliably been solved by now?

DrD123 · 04-07-2017, 06:28 PM

For the Voyage, there is only one version so far. For the others, the S/N helps - here's a page with more info
https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kindle_Serial_Numbers

I have a Voyage and the screen is perfect - definitely no yellow tint to it under any light conditions

barryem · 04-07-2017, 09:17 PM

I have a Voyage and all thee Paperwhite models. The first generation Paperwhite has an excellent screen. The later Paperwhites and the Voyage have an even better screen.

The Voyage Page Press works very well but I never think to use it. I'm too used to swiping. I probably turned it off but I'm not really sure. The Voyage also has a self-adjusting light that responds to room lighting conditions. I've never liked that feature on tablets and I don't care for it on the Voyage. I leave my screen about half way bright and I'm fine with that. I rarely feel any need to change it.

For me the big advantage of the Voyage is it's smaller size and lighter weight. I like that a lot. I also like the flush bezel. These are all pretty unimportant features but they're features I like and I'm glad I have the Voyage.

If I had to get a new one I'm not sure which I'd get. I really do like the Voyage more but not a lot more and it costs a lot more. I just don't know which I'd get. I'm not sure it really matters much. I read with all of them and when I pick up the Voyage I'm glad I'm using it till I start reading and then I forget all about which one I'm using.

My suggestion is to get a Voyage if it's price doesn't matter to you. And get a Paperwhite if the extra cost of the Voyage does matter. They're both nearly perfect. Which ever you get will be the right one.

Barry

patrickt · 04-08-2017, 07:40 AM

For generations: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custo...deId=201263790

I've had a Voyage and all the Paperwhites. Recently, I gave my Voyage to a college student because I prefer the Paperwhite.

For BarryEM: "For me the big advantage of the Voyage is it's smaller size and lighter weight. I like that a lot. I also like the flush bezel."

For me: "One advantage of the Paperwhite is size and weight. It's slightly larger size and weight makes it easier for me to hold and handle.

In my opinion, a lot of the differences between the Voyage and the Paperwhite are either pro or con depending on your personal preferences.

I hated the Kindle Voyage case. It was cute but the opening like a tablet, the floppy front cover didn't appeal to me. I did like the magnetic attachment. I much prefer the more traditional Kindle Paperwhite case. It's pricey but it's the best case I've found. One the Voyage, I had horrible experience with thirty-party cases. The first one I got the plastic fram covered the charging light. On a couple the wake/sleep magnetic feature simply didn't work consistently.

If you're in the U.S. you can try a Kindle for thirty days and return it without any explanation necessary. You could get both and see which you prefer. I'm not in the U.S. but I understand some stores have both and you can demo them in the store.

HarryT · 04-08-2017, 11:19 AM

The Voyage is my favourite Kindle by far: I've had mine for well over 2 years now, which is the longest I've ever used any reader without replacing it. I love the flush screen, the haptic sensors, and the automatic brightness adjustment.

issybird · 04-08-2017, 11:54 AM

If you're in the US, I think the refurbished Voyage, currently on sale for $152, is a compelling value.

mystika1 · 04-08-2017, 02:21 PM

My voyage has a very nice screen and the contrast is really nice. I use the page press feature while reading and find it to be a nice feature. I do find the screen to be a bit glossy, but it does not interfere with my reading. I pretty much do all of my reading on the voyage. It is very thin. I purchased a leather cover from a seller on art fire and it adds just the right amount of thickness to make the voyage easier to hold one handed. I do not own a paperwhite 3,(I have the 2nd generation)but I got a chance to use one last night at best buy. The screen is very good. Not as glossy as my voyage. I do like the ergonomics of the paperwhite. It feels comfortable holding without a cover with one hand with my thumb resting on the bezel. If something happened to my voyage, I would replace it with the pw3. My voyage was a gift. I do love my voyage, but I'm just too cheaP....

tomsem · 04-08-2017, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

The Voyage is my favourite Kindle by far: I've had mine for well over 2 years now, which is the longest I've ever used any reader without replacing it. I love the flush screen, the haptic sensors, and the automatic brightness adjustment.

+1

I never have to fiddle with brightness, flush screen is easy to wipe off, to me the text is sharper than PW3.

copyrite · 04-08-2017, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

The Voyage is my favourite Kindle by far: I've had mine for well over 2 years now, which is the longest I've ever used any reader without replacing it. I love the flush screen, the haptic sensors, and the automatic brightness adjustment.

It's my favOrite, too.

Never saw a reason to purchase an Oasis. Amazon would really have to wow me with new features to convince me to upgrade to a new device.

HarryT · 04-08-2017, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomsem

to me the text is sharper than PW3.

Yes, it is. The glass outer screen of the Voyage is more transparent than the plastic screen of the PW.

soulfuldog · 04-09-2017, 09:19 AM

I understand there is an element of personal preference in what everyone likes and dislikes but, in terms of the sharpness of the text and the automatic brightness on the Voyage, I agree with the love for the Voyage.

Breathinlady · 04-10-2017, 12:41 PM

Last November Amazon offered refurb Voyage for the same price of a PW3! Really, so I purchased the Voyage. I received a Voyage that looked brand new and has worked perfectly. There is a bit of color change from top to bottom IF you look for the change, reading a bit you do not notice the changes. I absolutely LOVE the voyage. I do not use the light sensor or the page turn buttons, a quick swipe of the thumb changes the page for me. Go for the Voyage if you can, let me say refurbs are a great deal and you can return if you are unhappy.

LadyKate · 04-16-2017, 05:58 AM

I was just looking at kindles thinking they had superior battery life. Now I find the low end kindle that lasts 4 weeks is a 4 weeks based on .5 hour of reading a day. That is a total of 14 hours! Not my idea of something that lasts a long time lol.

So my question is, as users of the various kindle models what are realistic battery times? Reading time type timing. It is not unusual for me to sit down and read an entire book in one day or to read for 12 plus hours on a given day so perhaps an estimate of how long the battery lasts in hours of reading?

HarryT · 04-16-2017, 06:02 AM

I'd say I probably get something like 25-30h reading time from my Voyage. That's with WiFi switched off (WiFi is the biggest battery drain after the screen). I typically read for 1-2h a day, and recharge my Voyage once every couple of weeks. The battery time is certainly such that it's something I never even think about.

The basic Kindle has much shorter battery life than any of the other models in the Kindle range. They seem to have gone for minimising the weight at the expense of battery life.

Braid · 04-16-2017, 06:22 AM

The total amount of battery time is important, of course. But I've been thinking just now, that what really matters just as much, is the issue of how accurately the battery life is displayed by the reader's firmware.

If the remaining battery amount is displayed accurately and reliably, then I don't need to worry about it. Nobody reads for 14 hours without taking a break, and during a break you can easily plug in the reader to charge.

It is inaccurate, inconsistent readings of remaining battery that are what causes real problems, in my view. I've used devices (not my Kindle Voyage), whose battery readings decrease slowly and steadily from 100% down to 60%, then they decrease quicker from 60% down to 30%. I'm thinking, "well, I got several hours from 100% down to 70%, so I should have at least a couple of hours left in this 30%". But then the battery cuts out soon after, interrupting my using the device. So essentially, I can only confidently use the device when it is charged above 70% - anything below that and I can't feel confident about how long it will last.

All of the Kindle and Kobo devices I've used (except the Aura One) have consistently displayed the gradual decrease in battery life in a way that makes me feel confident about when I can keep reading, and when I'll need to top up in between reading sessions.

04-07-2017, 02:43 PM	#1
manawydan Connoisseur Posts: 95 Karma: 5854 Join Date: Aug 2011 Device: none	Buying a new Kindle - PW vs. Voyage questions I am thinking about getting a new Kindle because it still has a very good display. At least the old PW had. Oasis is way too expensive for my liking so it is either Paperwhite or Voyage. I'd like to test the page-press fuction (I am still wondering whether and when Amazon might integrate an automated page turn as is available for Android reading apps). While searching the offers I found it quite confusing to distinguish between all the offered seemingly equal devices. So my questions are: 1. Where can I find out which generation a PW or Voyager is? 2. Is there somewhere a website/list etc. which compares all these generations? 3. I assume a new Kindle will always be delivered with the new(est) firmware installed? 4. Bigger font size is great for people with visual impairment but it is not possible to change the size of the user interface (e.g. book lists etc.). If I remember correctly the old Kindle Keyboard offered this but it was also the last. Is there now a Kindle (Voyage maybe?) with better accessibility? 5. And has the display problem of the Voyage (yellow-tinted screen, not always but often) reliably been solved by now?

04-08-2017, 02:21 PM	#7
mystika1 Addict Posts: 353 Karma: 1360168 Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Louisiana Device: IPad Air 2, , Kindle Voyage, Kobo Aura HD, Kobo Aura H2Ov1, Kobo Mini	My voyage has a very nice screen and the contrast is really nice. I use the page press feature while reading and find it to be a nice feature. I do find the screen to be a bit glossy, but it does not interfere with my reading. I pretty much do all of my reading on the voyage. It is very thin. I purchased a leather cover from a seller on art fire and it adds just the right amount of thickness to make the voyage easier to hold one handed. I do not own a paperwhite 3,(I have the 2nd generation)but I got a chance to use one last night at best buy. The screen is very good. Not as glossy as my voyage. I do like the ergonomics of the paperwhite. It feels comfortable holding without a cover with one hand with my thumb resting on the bezel. If something happened to my voyage, I would replace it with the pw3. My voyage was a gift. I do love my voyage, but I'm just too cheaP.... Last edited by mystika1; 04-09-2017 at 09:44 AM.

04-16-2017, 06:02 AM	#14
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I'd say I probably get something like 25-30h reading time from my Voyage. That's with WiFi switched off (WiFi is the biggest battery drain after the screen). I typically read for 1-2h a day, and recharge my Voyage once every couple of weeks. The battery time is certainly such that it's something I never even think about. The basic Kindle has much shorter battery life than any of the other models in the Kindle range. They seem to have gone for minimising the weight at the expense of battery life. Last edited by HarryT; 04-16-2017 at 06:14 AM.

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04-07-2017, 06:28 PM	#2
DrD123 Connoisseur Posts: 58 Karma: 233080 Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: New Mexico Device: Kindle Voyage	For the Voyage, there is only one version so far. For the others, the S/N helps - here's a page with more info https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kindle_Serial_Numbers I have a Voyage and the screen is perfect - definitely no yellow tint to it under any light conditions

04-07-2017, 09:17 PM	#3
barryem Wizard Posts: 2,459 Karma: 68781975 Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Arkansas Device: Paperwhite 4	I have a Voyage and all thee Paperwhite models. The first generation Paperwhite has an excellent screen. The later Paperwhites and the Voyage have an even better screen. The Voyage Page Press works very well but I never think to use it. I'm too used to swiping. I probably turned it off but I'm not really sure. The Voyage also has a self-adjusting light that responds to room lighting conditions. I've never liked that feature on tablets and I don't care for it on the Voyage. I leave my screen about half way bright and I'm fine with that. I rarely feel any need to change it. For me the big advantage of the Voyage is it's smaller size and lighter weight. I like that a lot. I also like the flush bezel. These are all pretty unimportant features but they're features I like and I'm glad I have the Voyage. If I had to get a new one I'm not sure which I'd get. I really do like the Voyage more but not a lot more and it costs a lot more. I just don't know which I'd get. I'm not sure it really matters much. I read with all of them and when I pick up the Voyage I'm glad I'm using it till I start reading and then I forget all about which one I'm using. My suggestion is to get a Voyage if it's price doesn't matter to you. And get a Paperwhite if the extra cost of the Voyage does matter. They're both nearly perfect. Which ever you get will be the right one. Barry

04-08-2017, 07:40 AM	#4
patrickt Wizard Posts: 1,221 Karma: 8381518 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Oaxaca, Mexico Device: Paperwhite 4 X 2	For generations: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custo...deId=201263790 I've had a Voyage and all the Paperwhites. Recently, I gave my Voyage to a college student because I prefer the Paperwhite. For BarryEM: "For me the big advantage of the Voyage is it's smaller size and lighter weight. I like that a lot. I also like the flush bezel." For me: "One advantage of the Paperwhite is size and weight. It's slightly larger size and weight makes it easier for me to hold and handle. In my opinion, a lot of the differences between the Voyage and the Paperwhite are either pro or con depending on your personal preferences. I hated the Kindle Voyage case. It was cute but the opening like a tablet, the floppy front cover didn't appeal to me. I did like the magnetic attachment. I much prefer the more traditional Kindle Paperwhite case. It's pricey but it's the best case I've found. One the Voyage, I had horrible experience with thirty-party cases. The first one I got the plastic fram covered the charging light. On a couple the wake/sleep magnetic feature simply didn't work consistently. If you're in the U.S. you can try a Kindle for thirty days and return it without any explanation necessary. You could get both and see which you prefer. I'm not in the U.S. but I understand some stores have both and you can demo them in the store.

04-08-2017, 11:19 AM	#5
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	The Voyage is my favourite Kindle by far: I've had mine for well over 2 years now, which is the longest I've ever used any reader without replacing it. I love the flush screen, the haptic sensors, and the automatic brightness adjustment.

04-08-2017, 11:54 AM	#6
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 20,451 Karma: 224000000 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	If you're in the US, I think the refurbished Voyage, currently on sale for $152, is a compelling value.

04-09-2017, 09:19 AM	#11
soulfuldog I ♥ Calibre Posts: 2,073 Karma: 5678911 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis, Voyage, Sony PRS-350, Hudl2	I understand there is an element of personal preference in what everyone likes and dislikes but, in terms of the sharpness of the text and the automatic brightness on the Voyage, I agree with the love for the Voyage.

04-10-2017, 12:41 PM	#12
Breathinlady Zealot Posts: 144 Karma: 2968914 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Indiana Device: K3, Kindle Fire HD,HD6,10HD,2 Fire Phones iPod touch, iPad3, Nexus 10	Last November Amazon offered refurb Voyage for the same price of a PW3! Really, so I purchased the Voyage. I received a Voyage that looked brand new and has worked perfectly. There is a bit of color change from top to bottom IF you look for the change, reading a bit you do not notice the changes. I absolutely LOVE the voyage. I do not use the light sensor or the page turn buttons, a quick swipe of the thumb changes the page for me. Go for the Voyage if you can, let me say refurbs are a great deal and you can return if you are unhappy.

04-16-2017, 05:58 AM	#13
LadyKate Fanatic Posts: 515 Karma: 1470724 Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Quebec CA Device: android 4 (samsung tablet and asus tablet)	I was just looking at kindles thinking they had superior battery life. Now I find the low end kindle that lasts 4 weeks is a 4 weeks based on .5 hour of reading a day. That is a total of 14 hours! Not my idea of something that lasts a long time lol. So my question is, as users of the various kindle models what are realistic battery times? Reading time type timing. It is not unusual for me to sit down and read an entire book in one day or to read for 12 plus hours on a given day so perhaps an estimate of how long the battery lasts in hours of reading?

04-16-2017, 06:22 AM	#15
Braid Groupie Posts: 184 Karma: 700000 Join Date: Dec 2016 Device: Kindle Oasis (2nd), Kobo Aura One, Kindle Voyage, Kobo H2O (1st)	The total amount of battery time is important, of course. But I've been thinking just now, that what really matters just as much, is the issue of how accurately the battery life is displayed by the reader's firmware. If the remaining battery amount is displayed accurately and reliably, then I don't need to worry about it. Nobody reads for 14 hours without taking a break, and during a break you can easily plug in the reader to charge. It is inaccurate, inconsistent readings of remaining battery that are what causes real problems, in my view. I've used devices (not my Kindle Voyage), whose battery readings decrease slowly and steadily from 100% down to 60%, then they decrease quicker from 60% down to 30%. I'm thinking, "well, I got several hours from 100% down to 70%, so I should have at least a couple of hours left in this 30%". But then the battery cuts out soon after, interrupting my using the device. So essentially, I can only confidently use the device when it is charged above 70% - anything below that and I can't feel confident about how long it will last. All of the Kindle and Kobo devices I've used (except the Aura One) have consistently displayed the gradual decrease in battery life in a way that makes me feel confident about when I can keep reading, and when I'll need to top up in between reading sessions.

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