Review: Kindle Paperwhite

This is my first pure ebook reader, but my purchase of it does not signify my total shift to ereaders. My first use of this Kindle doesn't symbolize my loss in faith on the printed book. I still love to touch and smell 'em paperbacks and hardbounds. My main motivation in buying is--I want to take advantage of the occasional good deals on Kindle books that Amazon gives out (see #5 and #6 in Pros below) and, well, the supposed-best ereader fully.


Pros:

1) The handiness is undeniable.

--Really great on flights. Have read 50% of Judd Apatow's book of interviews in one 3-hr flight, without carrying its 400-page heft in physical form.

--Also ok on long boat rides.

Or on the beach.

--also ok on the beach, but i don't like people who spend half the day time reading under the tree than enjoying.

--it is definitely lighter, unobtrusive, and generally handy-er than an iPad Mini.


2) Adjustable font is great. Even if I can afford the books printed in large print version, Im not buying those books because I have mercy for the trees. Here, reading in big letters doesnt cause that anxiety.

3) Carrying many books while travelling indeed offers an advantage.

If you get bored with a novel, you can easily switch to an anthology of shorts. This is fantastic when travelling. Even if youre travelling in a 16-hour flight, it;s really not optimat to squeeze and lug 3 books in your handcarry.

4) The reading is pleasant and not tiring to the eyes especially if there's sufficient ambient light and there's no need to depend on the backlight (see cons below).

5) Amazon indeed gives out good deals. 1.99USD for a James Salter 0.99USD for a Michael Chabon, 3.99 for a latest Judd Apatow book of interviews, etc. You just need to subscribe to the daily deals email and also check this forum from time to time. The Best American series also goes on sale once a year. And Amazon always have this Kindle book bonanza during Black Friday/ Cyber Monday.



(Kindle sitting on a shelf. If the price is equal between a softcopy and a hardcopy, I'll of course choose the physical book any day).


6) Related to #5, owning this Kindle becomes an inexpensive avenue to try an unknown book or author. I was very thankful to have discovered Stoner by John Williams when I saw it was offered at 1.99 in a daily deal.





CONS

But there are still critical rooms for improvement to this supposed best in the market. The following are my concerns.

1) The lighting is still not even (wrongly advertised). You have to increase the backlight to max to get the semblance of even lighting, but this strong illumination will tire eyes regardless if paperwhite has that nano-thing lighting. I suppose better to read still with min brightness plus a reading light.



In this same picture, you can see the uneven lighting at the bottom. It's more obvious when youre actually holding and reading on the device. Whether it's distracting will be up to the level of OC-ness of the reader.


2) The contrast of Paperwhite is not yet perfect--fonts not yet that solid and the black can still be blacker. The letters' print is probably just 60% on the white to black scale, relative to a printed page.

3) Shadowing of previous page occurs frequently. There is an option to automatically refresh the screen to remove this, but doing that on every page turn is distracting to the eyes, because the screen will flicker to completely black before the next set of text appears.

4) Would have also preferred a bigger screen. (Real booklovers do not put a book in their back pockets any way).

#1 - #4 considered, I wouldnt declare that Kindle Paperwhite better for books when compared to Fire or iPad mini.


5) The screen is soft (like on the nintendo game and watch of the 80's). Not for kids.

Reason why if youre on the fence in getting Amazon's expensive leather case, get it. It's durable enough and adds elegance to the 'experience.'


6) Finally, my unit also has a white stain on the bottom, probably equivalent to a dead pixel on full LED displays. This stain is annoying/distracting every time I get to the bottom of the page. I noticed the stain after a week of use, I dont know if it was there from the very start or popped up after the first recharge.


VERDICT:

Is it worth to getting an ereader?

--If you have an iPad mini and are just a casual reader, just get the Kindle app. Youll still be able to partake in Amazon's Kindle deals.

--If you dont have a tablet yet, get the Kindle Paperwhite for the cheap Kindle deals.

--If you travel a lot and read books a lot white travelling, 99USD (paperwhite is one sale through these Holidays) or 119 is well worth it. Just inspect the full week it is with you, to make sure you still have time to return and ask for replacement in case you notice any blemishes.

The Franchise Awakens

PROS

1) Abrams brought back the "plane-ness" of the vista. Lucas knows that he was being illogical when he made the prequel more advanced ("hay-tek," ika nga nila) than the sequels. Too much eye candy in Revenge of the Sith, et al. Abrams straightened out this wrong.
2) The Star Wars that is not afraid to pull-in strong emotions is back.
3) The evil-ness of the villains was portrayed well. It was not too mild or too forced.
4) Harrison Ford is Han Solo. Bringing him, Leia, and Luke back is already a great achievement. Them delivering on their performance furthers the achievement.
5) I like the inter-racial angle brought up. This is one facet that upgrades the franchise (it's not pure homage, ladies and gentlemen). If a gay alien comes up, it would also be welcome.


CONS

1) I thought the the female and black leads were overacting in many scenes. I dont know if Abrams deliberately sought this to reflect the late-70's and early 80's level of acting, but still it disturbs me.
2) They should have given more time for Chewy after that cataclystic event. It was an emotional grenade for our favorite Wookie. It should have been shown on screen and let the audience cry more.

I was born after the first Star Wars, but I caught up with Betamax. Seeing this movie at the same texture and feel as the first three is refreshing. Thank you and congrats to Abrams, Kasdan, Arndt, Disney, and the whole cast. We clapped in the theaters.

Im sure Rian Johnson will further up the ante. He directed the best of the best Breaking Bad episode, after all.

Profiteering over the Force!

Nice work, SM! Capitalist to the core, you, maderpakers, you.

Paying 277% premium for the honor to tell your officemates that youve watched it 24 hours ahead of them?  Or the pleasure to spoil watercooler conversation by revealing key plot points?

If this is your disposition, there's something wrong with you, maderpaker, you.

Review: Kebos Powergarde 1000VA UPS

I've been an APC guy for many decades, since the time of Intel486 and Pentium133. But now when it's time to add-in a speaker hungry for higher wattage on a UPS, I knew it was time to check out and gamble on other brands. Im also counting on the high chance that, for a relatively simpler circuitry of a UPS, APC's competitors should have caught up somehow with APC's vaunted reliability. It shouldn't be that hard to reengineer a power device (as opposed to a driver-controlled circuitry of a say, a processor) after all. And it has been so many years since various companies from Asia launched their own companies to produce UPS's.

And so there are firms like Secure, Intex, Kebos, Ablerex, Izuki, FSP, et al to choose from. But I can't find a full review of any one except a quick one liners on forums. Intex did not last one year, Secure is unproven, etc.

Kebos and FSP, to their credit, have one liners in US forums. They must have been good enough to be picked up by US distributors.

Also, there might be a multitude of choices when you check glancingly, but as regular buyers at Gilmore knows, availability is also very important. You may be tempted by PC Option's or PC Express's long item list, but youll know eventually that not all of them are in stock. And so I saw Kebos as one readily available, at a better price, at the VA rating that I need, thats the one candidate possible to gamble on. Here's my review of it after one week's use:


Positives: 

The box is pink. It's not everyday when you see electronics boxed in pink. This in fact bore 50% on my decision to choose and gamble on Kebos. I loved their audacity to use pink. Does Kebos's market research discovered that somehow there's already so many female gaming enthusiasts who would be attracted to pink? And it was time to attract them with a UPS in a pink box? They should have made the UPS pink also, but alas audaciousness is always limited.

I dont know what the Plus means, but whether it's more reliable battery or just a higher beeping sound, it should still mean one level higher than plane Powergarde, and therefore... a cause of gladness.

The box is also fairly articulate on its labels outside, unlike the others which are screaming-made-in-china (although this Kebos is still made in China) via it's awkwardly phrased one slogan, a generic brand name, and then a slew of mis-spellings somewhere.

The build of the Kebos also seem solid enough. The metal is not of the thinny type, the painting finish okay, the spray painted labels good enough, and the plastic of the button signifying robustness enough.

One also does not need to press 5 or 8 seconds to turn off or on thing. Just one touch is ok. While accidental switching off or on is prevented by the recessed location of the switch. 

I also like the punch-moulded Kebos logo on the top, unlike the other brand that I asked to be opened--Secure--which is purely a black shoebox, not even having the sticker satying Secure anywhere on the UPS itself. That Secure UPS will become brandless once you take it out of the box. 

I peeked at the AC terminals, and the copper plates appear thick and robust enough against constant plug in and outs.  3 outlets are also enough for my need. Enough for the speaker, iMac, and router that I need to plug in. And not too many to encourage adding printers, TV, and others that may overload the thing if all these electronics are  running at the same time at peak power.  

The plug is just enough for this setup of mine. 

I tried to peak at the circuitry inside, but wasnt able to perceive anything. Apologies. 

Kebos also bothered to write and print a fairly complete and understandable manual. This useable manual is also complete with a graph. It's also not in hurry to explain. There's some sincerity to teach, thus.

Negatives

I dont like the sharp screws protruding on the bottom. Although it wont scratch your floor (since there are bumps that serves as stands, and are higher than the screws),

The UPS is continually charging even at off state. The blinking green light at off state is supposed to indicate charging state. But I left it overnight and it is still blinking the following (late) morning. Does this mean the UPS doesnt know when it is fully charged? This is bothersome. Need to buy one of those kill-a-watt watt loggers to check on actual power consumption. This thing might be making Meralco richer needlessly. 

Verdict

Got the Kebos to 2700 PhP. APC's model at the same power rating already is around 10 K PhP. 2700 PhP is a bet on Kebos Im willing to lose 

If this Powergarde Plus guards me indeed from power surges and dips, no fried electronics in its service, and battery lasted me 2 years, I'll be happy. 

Go Kebos!