I've got one. It's pretty fantastic.
If you've got a Japanese account with a Japanese address, you can also buy directly from Amazon.co.jp.

Here's a screenshot and a picture(doesn't do justice)
http://i.imgur.com/di61U.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/UuD4n.png

You can also convert .txt files in 青空文庫形式 into .epub, then into .mobi.
This preserves ruby, and it's a smaller file size than a PDF (and prettier).

Instructions in Japanese here.
http://ebookyaro.blogspot.com/2012/10/k … epub3.html

Do the US ones have Japanese dictionary support? If so, I'll be hoping they'll make a Kindle Keyboard Paperwhite eventually, as I prefer buttons to touch screens. ^-^
Also, is it true Paperwhite doesn't have a text-to-speech function or audio features?

ryuudou wrote:

I don't really understand the niche. Smart phones can read PDFs, and if it's for the screen size then why not buy an actual tablet?

As I see it, ereaders are for those who want to read more, and tablets are for those who want to use the internet/apps more. E-ink is easier on the eyes, and the battery life is much better than LED screens. Basically it makes sense to get a ereader for those who are avid readers, and are looking for a more portable way to carry lots of books around at once.

Last edited by Bokusenou (2012 November 08, 8:15 pm)

ryuudou wrote:

I don't really understand the niche. Smart phones can read PDFs, and if it's for the screen size then why not buy an actual tablet?

I'll explain the niche.

iPad battery life: 10-12 hours
Smartphone battery life: 4-5 hours :-(
Kindle battery life: 8 WEEKS

iPad Wifi weight: 652 grams
Kindle Paperwhite weight: 213 grams

iPad: can't read well in the sunlight outside
Kindle Paperwhite: easy to read in sunlight outside

Also, e-ink is MUCH easier on the eyes. Staring at an
LED screen for any extended period of time will tire (and possibly
hurt) your eyes.

Lastly, another reason.

Hurricane Sandy knocked out the power in my apartment for 5 days.
My iPad only lasted 10 hours the first night before it went out (and there was no way to recharge it). But if I had a Kindle Paperwhite, I could've kept myself occupied the entire time (even in the dark since there was no electricity and pitch black at night).

Unfortunately, we are in a multitasking, short attention span world. In many ways, a tablet can be a bit distracting if you like to read books. All of the Facebook updates, pop-up notificatoins, emails, tweets, pinterest posts, etc will slow you down if you're reading a book. Sometimes a simple device that does one thing well is all you need.

Last edited by chamcham (2012 November 09, 12:00 am)

chamcham wrote:

iPad battery life: 10-12 hours
Smartphone battery life: 4-5 hours :-(
Kindle battery life: 8 WEEKS

Notice that this "8 weeks" of battery life that Amazon boasts for the Kindle Paperwhite is based on half an hour of reading a day; the battery life with real use is around 28 hours at most, which is great but not nearly as good as it seems. Or even less, according to this review: "The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite will go for a maximum of 28 hours at a stretch. In real world use, we got 20+ hours between charges." So, comparing both devices with similar usage, reading books or so, it's 11h vs 20h.

chamcham wrote:

iPad Wifi weight: 652 grams
Kindle Paperwhite weight: 213 grams

That's because you're comparing a 9.7 inch iPad with a 6 inch Kindle; the iPad mini for example, with its smaller screen at 7.9 inches, weigths 310 grams. Yes, it's bigger (which can be a good or a bad thing depending on the case) and slightly heavier than the Kindle Paperwhite, but not that much. The screen resolution for both devices are the same, 1024x768, but since the Paperwhite is smaller it has a higher PPI count. Personally, I prefer these smaller devices, including the "bigger" iPad mini, as they fit better in one hand and weight just right.

chamcham wrote:

iPad: can't read well in the sunlight outside
Kindle Paperwhite: easy to read in sunlight outside

This is an interesting feature if you read in sunlight outside (seriously). I've never done that.

chamcham wrote:

Unfortunately, we are in a multitasking, short attention span world. In many ways, a tablet can be a bit distracting if you like to read books. All of the Facebook updates, pop-up notificatoins, emails, tweets, pinterest posts, etc will slow you down if you're reading a book. Sometimes a simple device that does one thing well is all you need.

True, but it's easy to disable the wireless in a tablet so that you don't get distracted with the Internet (the biggest distraction of all.) It just takes a little conditioning so that you don't turn it back on again.

About reading on an LCD vs e-ink, in my opinion both are better than reading in a paper book: it's great to have backlight and multiple dictionaries readily accessible with the touch of a finger, you can hold the device and change pages with a single hand, and an electronic device can weight less than a physical book, depending on how thick the book is (even more if you carry more than one book with you.)

Don't be fooled, I like the idea of e-ink devices as an alternative to LCD/AMOLED ones, it's just that there are more to it than what was said — for example the battery life issue, which is better on a Paperwhite but not weeks-longer better.

Last edited by gdaxeman (2012 November 09, 11:06 pm)

Hey guys have a question. It might be a stupid  question but I'll ask it anyways. I want to purchase the kindle paperwhite (JPN one). Do I have to buy it from amazon.jp directly, because I know the shipping will kill me. My question is, anyway to get around this or do I have to pay the full price> (I would probably buy a case for it from ebay or something, as I can get it cheaper that way)

Last edited by ta12121 (2012 November 09, 11:41 am)

ta12121 wrote:

Hey guys have a question. It might be a stupid  question but I'll ask it anyways. I want to purchase the kindle paperwhite (JPN one). Do I have to buy it from amazon.jp directly, because I know the shipping will kill me. My question is, anyway to get around this or do I have to pay the full price> (I would probably buy a case for it from ebay or something, as I can get it cheaper that way)

http://whiterabbitexpress.com/
I've used this service before. It's very reliable.

TheVinster wrote:

Is that an American Paperwhite?

Yes, American paperwhites can buy from Japanese Amazon.
All is fine as long as you have a Japanese address.

Stian wrote:

Why would they block Westerners from reading Japanese?

Because international distribution is difficult, there are lots of laws involved, and little incentive for Japanese publishers to go through all the trouble involved in releasing titles outside of Japan (there's no money to be made)

Ok I'm going to get it this week but one problem. It seems it hasn't been released in Canada yet, so is smart if I where to import it from the states? (They probably ask me for a U.S. address, so not too sure). Also it seems if you get amazon's visa, they take away the currency exchange (I remember talking to a friend about all these visas that are available but the best ones are the ones that will be of extreme good use to the individual). Like a best-buy one, amazon one,etc,etc.

Is kobo any good? I'm asking evade they have a much bigger selection in Japan for books and manga...

Yes, you can input Japanese on the Kindle. It has multliple international keyboard options available, one of them Japanese. (The Kindle is now on sale in Japan, so it would be pretty silly for amazon.co.jp to sell it with no Japanese input capabilities

Thanks for the link, I will look it up!

totsubo wrote:

Yes, you can input Japanese on the Kindle. It has multliple international keyboard options available, one of them Japanese. (The Kindle is now on sale in Japan, so it would be pretty silly for amazon.co.jp to sell it with no Japanese input capabilities

Thanks for the link, I will look it up!

Ah, yeah, I guess that's true^^;

tashippy wrote:

Is it really impossible to get japanese digital reading materials outside of japan safely regardless of what you read them on? I'll presume there are little to no j. e-book torrents (maybe e-manga) online; my japanese skills aren't such that i could really research this efficiently.

There might or might not be a dropbox link here containing over 5000 txt files that you might possibly be interested in. Oh, and I totally wouldn't suggest Googling  something like （一般小説）___(book title or author name) zip OR rar
You might find something too useful. ^^