Amazon unveiled a new “frontlit” e-ink Kindle, with a sharper display called “Kindle Paperwhite.”
Jeffrey Preston "Jeff" Bezos, Founder and CEO of Amazon, took the stage to detail some of its impressive specs. The Kindle Paperwhite includes 25% more contrast than the Pearl screens featured in existing Kindle models and touts a 62% higher-resolution display. It measures in at 9.1 mm with a thin bezel and weighs in at 7.5 ounces. It is slimmer than a magazine and lighter than a paperback. All of its seven fonts are adjustable in size.
It also includes a “Time to Read” feature, which tracks your reading speed and informs you how much time it will likely take you to finish a chapter. This could help you decide whether or not to go to sleep or stay up late to finish a chapter, based on your own speed. Another feature called X-Ray provides character bios and allows you to jump back into the part of a book where they are first introduced.
The Kindle Paperwhite 3G is $179 and $119 for Wi-Fi only.
The device will likely compete with Barnes & Noble’s Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight device. which is priced at $139 for the Wi-Fi only version.
The Kindle Paperwhite will ship on October 1 and pre-orders start today.
