Amazon's redesigned Kindles arrive at the higher prices it set in August

At Amazon's hands-on session in New York, Engadget editor Cherlynn Low picked up the purple Ube Kindle and paid attention to the paint. "Something about the texture of the paint on the ube Kindle felt noticeably distinct. It's a bit scratchier than it is smooth, like a less gritty sandpaper," Low wrote ^[15]. Amazon told Engadget the soft-touch paint on this generation is similar to its predecessor's ^[16].

Most of this refresh is on the outside: flush screens and new colors on unibody bodies in plastic or aluminum ^[1]. The Paperwhite keeps its 7-inch screen ^[8]. The entry Kindle changed the most underneath, and Engadget reports it opens books 30 percent faster than the previous entry model ^[17].

Prices held. Gizmodo wrote that the new models cost the same as the old ones "because Amazon already raised the prices in August" ^[2]. The reports do not include what the line cost before August, so the size of that increase cannot be measured from this launch. The new Kids versions start at $180, according to Engadget ^[24].

The aluminum entry Kindle shows the tradeoff most clearly. At $189.99 it costs $40 more than the plastic model ^[6][1] and doubles storage to 32GB ^[6]. Engadget reports it is also 20 grams heavier than its plastic sibling ^[7]. Spend $10 more and the plastic Paperwhite adds a warm light, a higher contrast ratio, waterproofing and 12 weeks of battery against six ^[8][3].

I think the Paperwhite is the better use of that money for most people weighing the aluminum Kindle. The tradeoff is size. The Paperwhite is a 7-inch device at 204g ^[8][20], and the aluminum Kindle uses the 6-inch design Amazon calls its "most pocket-sized" Kindle ^[18].

Physical buttons are where the line gets expensive. A Colorsoft Signature Edition with the $79.99 Page-Turn Cover comes to $399.98 ^[6]. Amazon also sells the Kindle Click, a $34.99 Bluetooth remote with two page-turn buttons and two brightness buttons ^[14]. Of pressing the cover's buttons on the Signature units, Low wrote: "The devices refreshed quickly, and I didn't notice any lag" ^[25].

Two conditions sort the line. One is whether the reading happens somewhere the Paperwhite's warm light, bright-sun contrast or waterproofing would get used ^[8][23]. The other is whether the reader wants physical page buttons. A reader who needs neither is served by the $149.99 plastic Kindle ^[3]; light or water without buttons points to the $199.99 plastic Paperwhite ^[8]; buttons mean a Signature Edition plus the cover ^[13]. The aluminum entry Kindle fits none of those cases, and in my view it is for a buyer paying for the object. For any step up, split its features into the ones that change the reading and the ones that change the device, and pay only for the first list.