Kindle Paperwhite vs. Kindle 4

Decisions, decisions!

I wanted to get a Kindle for my mom so I bought the new Kindle Paperwhite with a light inside it and thought I'd give her my old one.  The Kindle Paperwhite is not available in Canada, I had to ship it to a friend of mine in the USA, then pay $40 for him to ship it here. The negative is with all this extra shipping time I've only got 4 days now to decide if I want to keep it or send it back for a refund.

I had expected it to be just like the Kindle 4, but it's not, this one has a touch screen.  I specifically didn't want a touch screen previously, and now I know why, I don't like it.  With the other version, my finger rested on the page turn button while holding the book.  With this new one, I have to move my thumb over and touch the page to turn it, sometimes I have to hit it more than once. This seems like a little complaint, but when holding the book with one hand, moving your thumb causes the book to fall out of your hand and on to your face, which is generally not what I'm going for.

I have carpal tunnel in my wrist, and the light Kindle had been great for reading.  This one is heavier than the previous version, and with the thumb movements, reading for an hour has my left wrist strained.  So I guess that's it right there, I have to send it back.

That being said, I was worried about the light, people calling it spotty or whatever online.  But the thing is I love the light, it's the best part.  If I had the light and a button to turn pages, I'd keep it.

The difference in price isn't much.  If I buy another Kindle 4 it would be $110 with all the extra Canadian charges (compare to $69 US, hah!).  I paid $128 for the Paperwhite, so only $18 more than a new version of my old one would cost.

There's also ads all over the Paperwhite, which I don't like.  Recommendations on the home screen, even in the "ad free" version, and an ad at the bottom and an ad as a screensaver.

Now when I go back to my old one, I like the buttons but it seems so dark.  I liked reading in bed with the lights off and the light feature on.  Argh!

I'm sure this will all be resolved in the next generation of Kindles.  Until then, do I keep this one?  Send it back?  Buy 2 of them?  Who knows.  I have this weekend to decide.  Be prepared for lots of reading.

UPDATE: I sent the Paperwhite back.  I had been concerned about the light from the reviews, but it turned out I loved the light, loved it. However the thing I liked BEST about the Kindle was that it disappeared, that it became all about the reading.  With the extra weight and having to move my thumb all the time, my wrist was cramping and it's hard to make the thing disappear when it's hurting you.  So I sent it back.