It’s AWESOME! Screen works better in the bath than my iPhone X when I have moyst wrinkly fingers. I didn’t do a dunk test. Steamy conditions don’t seem to have been a problem at all.
Damn thing went down thirty freaking bucks, to $99, like a day after I ordered. And Amazon does NOT do any sort of price protection, even on their own items! TOTAL pain in the arse, and I spent literally a couple hours on the phone w/ their offshore support on at least 3 occasions to TRY to sort this out. Ugh. Some reps said they WOULD give me the discount, next one they’d hand me off to would say nope, and on and on. I am keeping it, but dealing with customer service has been a real pain. I definitely feel I “got to know Amazon a bit better” through this process. Worst customer support escalation process I think I’ve ever experienced, NO obvious path to onshore support btw – I couldn’t find 'em.
But, at the end of the day, now it’s an even better deal for $99. I like this device a lot. Wish I hadn’t bought so many iBooks with DRM, but fuck it, “life in the 21st” har har. I’ve already spent maybe $200 on Kindle titles since it arrived, including getting copies of a good number of books I have on hard copy, and even some iBooks). This thing will come with me everywhere, unlike my previous-gen iPad Pro, that’s for sure. The thing is the perfect size and really lightweight.
This is the first e-ink ebook reader I’ve ever owned, which feels weird, because I was fascinated by eink tech from the moment it got any publicity whatsoever, I guess back in the early 90s was it? For text and line graphics, have to say, I like it. And if you have the backlight turned off (which means, for me, being able to read it in roughly the same conditions as a paper book) the battery life seems really good. Totally reasonable with it on at a reasonable level, for the size and weight of the thing.
So, unless the thing explodes or whatever, I am saying a win – and ESPECIALLY for bathtub readers who either want to stop damaging their paper books in the tub, and/or don’t want to hold a $500+ smartphone or tablet over water, no matter the water resistance rating. And again, the Paperwhite works better in the tub for book reading IMHO than my iPhone X anyway.
Rating: BUY! But beware of the Jeff Bezos Creature from the Amazon, because it most certainly DOES NOT have your back as a customer, even a VERY good one!
Also: I got one of the cloth covers, it arrived today. Like it! Magnetic cover wakes it up when opened, puts it to sleep when closed, and magnetizes to the rear side when folded back. Pricey at $30 but hey, I guess this is how Amazon makes any money on the thing. Upsell, baby!
