kindle paperwhite

Episode 41: Underwater iPhones and rugged cameras

Most of you are probably just gearing up for your summer vacations, but we here at Always On have already had ours. It's all for you, dear viewers; it's all for you. On this week's episode, we visited Hawaii's Big Island to road-test gadgets meant for sun and water fun. And not to be all lowest-common-denominator, but that last sentence basically translates to an entire episode filmed in swimsuits. Just saying.

First up, we went snorkeling with three underwater cases for the iPhone: the $20 Proporta BeachBuoy, the $89 Hitcase, and the $329 iGills SE-35, to … Read more

Amazon Kindle debuts in China

The Amazon Kindle has officially landed in China.

On Friday, both the Kindle Fire HD tablet and the Kindle Paperwhite e-reader popped up for sale on Amazon's Chinese Web site. The Fire HD tablet costs 1,499 yuan ($244) for the 16GB version and 1,799 yuan ($293) for the 32GB version, while the Paperwhite e-reader costs 849 yuan ($138).

The Kindle devices will also be sold locally through Suning and Tesco Shi, two retail chains in China, according to Chinese news site Sina Tech. Chinese consumers will be able to find the Kindles at stores in Beijing, Shanghai, … Read more

Episode 40: Road tripping and torture-testing the HTC One

Summer's here, almost officially, which means the road trip season is upon us. We set out to try to find out which gadgets could entertain you on a long drive, or at least keep the kids out of your hair, and whether the phone that's arguably the hottest of the season could handle some road trip mishaps.

But here at Always On, we road trip in style. No cramped back seats for us ... we were rolling in The Woody, a massive high-tech RV that's the custom showcase creation of OCRV Paint and Service. Thanks for the ride, … Read more

Amazon's Kindle and Paperwhite available in Canada

The latest generation of Kindle and the Kindle Paperwhite are now available for sale in Canada, according to Amazon.

The company has started selling its e-readers on Amazon.ca, its Canadian site, today. The Kindle costs 89 Canadian dollars ($88.98). The Paperwhite, which has a lighted touch screen, starts at 139 Canadian dollars ($138.95) for the 3G version. The Paperwhite with both Wi-Fi and 3G costs 199 Canadian dollars ($198.97).

The devices, which started shipping in the U.S. in September and October, will also be available at more than 1,000 retail locations in Canada, including … Read more

Amazon's Kindle Store, Paperwhite head to Japan

Amazon is making its first Kindle push into Japan.

Starting November 19, Japanese consumers will be able to buy Amazon's new Paperwhite e-reader. The device, which has a built-in light to allow for reading at all times throughout the day, comes with up to eight weeks of battery life and allows users Internet access over Wi-Fi and 3G. In the U.S., the Wi-Fi-only model retails for $119. The 3G version is available for $179.

Amazon unveiled the Paperwhite in September. Just a couple of weeks after the Paperwhite was announced, Amazon revealed that orders had been so strong … Read more

Amazon to users: Hey, the Kindle Paperwhite isn't perfect

How's this for honesty? Amazon took it upon itself to post a note today on its site listing the limitations of its newest e-reader, the Kindle Paperwhite.

The Kindle Paperwhite has a light-up screen that lets you read in the dark, which previous Kindle e-readers lacked. That light, however, isn't perfect. So to get in front of the complaints, Amazon opted to disclose some of its drawbacks -- plus other design changes -- ahead of time.

For instance, Amazon acknowledged that the built-in light will provide uneven illumination under certain lighting conditions. The uneven lighting occurs in the … Read more

Episode 17: Kindle-palooza!

Last month Amazon.com's CEO Jeff Besos, unveiled the new Kindle line, complete with new updates to the current Kindles and an 8.9" Fire. Naturally, Molly bought all of the new kindles, including the "revolutionary" Paperwhite!

We unboxed the 7" Kindle Fire a few episodes back, and now it was time to enter it into our torture chamber. That Kindle Fire really took a beating from us, and we were all shocked to see it survive. I personally would be using it right now, but agree with Molly. It's just too WIDE to … Read more

Kindle Paperwhite on backorder until November

Although Amazon started shipping pre-ordered Kindle Paperwhite devices this week, customers who order one today will have to wait a month or more for the e-reader to ship.

The backlog for the Kindle Paperwhite e-reader shipments has grown to 4 to 6 weeks, according to the product's listing on Amazon.

Once again, Amazon says the delay is "due to popular demand."

Amazon unveiled the Kindle Paperwhite device earlier this month as one of its trio of new tablets. The device is Amazon's first self-illuminating e-ink reader.

Just last week, the delay was three weeks for new … Read more

Kindle Paperwhite so popular, new orders will be paper-late

If you waited until now to buy Amazon's new Kindle Paperwhite, you'll have to wait a bit longer to actually get it in hand. Amazon said any new orders placed today won't be shipped until October 22 -- three weeks after the original October 1 shipping date.

"Due to popular demand, orders placed today are expected to ship the week of October 22nd. Limit five per customer," reads a note on the device's order page.

Those who preordered their device need not worry. The company said it is shipping orders on October 1 as … Read more

Why I'm choosing the Kindle with Special Offers

There was quite the hullabaloo last week regarding Amazon's new Kindles.

Turns out that the Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Fire HD tablets were all "Special Offers" models, meaning they'd display ads on their lock screens and main home screens.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos neglected to mention this when announcing the prices for all these Kindles, causing a minor uproar in the hours that followed -- especially when Amazon reps said there would be no way to opt out. Then, barely a day later, Bezos and Co. reversed course and gave Kindle Fire customers the option of … Read more