This morning, Amazon has announced its newest Kindle E-reader, the next generation of its popular Paperwhite handheld. Long known as Amazon’s most popular device in its E-ink lineup, the new Paperwhite arrives on the scene today with a thinner and lighter design along with a waterproof case. Amazon is also sweetening the pot with six free months of Kindle Unlimited with purchase. The new Kindle Paperwhite is set to arrive on November 7th just before the holiday shopping season. Bundling the added subscription service is sure to make it a hit with Black Friday shoppers. More below.
Amazon announces new Kindle Paperwhite
Amazon has unveiled its latest version of the popular Kindle Paperwhite. The next generation arrives with a slimmer design and various upgraded specs. Amazon’s Paperwhite E-reader has long been its most popular handheld device, combining an easy-to-read display with a nearly endless library of content. Combine that with stellar battery life that last weeks on a single charge and its easy to see why the legion of Paperwhite users has remained loyal.
The same six-inch high-resolution 300ppi display returns on the latest version, but a new waterproof casing is what highlights its new feature list. There’s also up to 32GB of storage, although you can still opt for the entry-level 8GB model as well.
Bluetooth connectivity delivers access to Audible book titles, giving readers the option to listen to their favorite titles. This feature was introduced on the previous generation model and has been popular with consumers with Audible subscriptions.
New Kindle Paperwhite pricing, Black Friday deals, more
Amazon’s new Kindle Paperwhite will retail from $129.99 shipped when it is released on November 7th. It is available in three different configurations: the base 8GB model sells for $130, while the larger 32GB configuration has a list price of $160 or $250 with free cellular connectivity.
Given its early November release date, you can be certain that the new Kindle Paperwhite will see its first discount on Black Friday. It will almost certainly fall to $100 over Thanksgiving, and perhaps as low as $80 later in the shopping season. Either way, this is certain to be one of Amazon’s most popular products come November.
Pre-order the new Kindle Paperwhite now
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Meet the All-New Kindle Paperwhite—Thinner, Lighter, 2x the Storage, and Waterproof for Just $129
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–(NASDAQ: AMZN)— Today, Amazon introduced the all-new reimagined Kindle Paperwhite, featuring a thinner and lighter design, sleek flush-front display, and waterproofing so you can read comfortably anywhere. It also comes with Audible so you can switch seamlessly between reading and listening to professionally narrated performances from the world’s largest selection of audiobooks. For a limited time, you get six months of Kindle Unlimited for free, a $60 value, so you can read as much as you want from a selection of millions of titles. And with so much great content, the all-new Kindle Paperwhite comes with twice the storage so you can hold more large files like audiobooks, magazines, newspapers, and comics. The all-new Kindle Paperwhite still includes features customers love about Kindle like a glare-free display and a battery life measured in weeks. The all-new Kindle Paperwhite is available for pre-order today for just $129.99 at www.amazon.com/kindlepaperwhite and will start shipping November 7.
“Customers love the Kindle Paperwhite, and we’re excited to bring premium features—like a thinner and lighter flush-front design, additional storage, waterproofing, and Audible—to our most popular Kindle,” said Kevin Keith, Vice President, Amazon Devices. “We’ve also included six months of Kindle Unlimited for free so you can enjoy even more great content, including books, audiobooks, comics, and magazines. With the all-new Kindle Paperwhite, it’s never been easier to get lost in a story no matter where you go.”
Sleek, modern design
The all-new Kindle Paperwhite features a sleek, flush-front design and a back made of soft, grippable material so it rests easily in your hand. It is the thinnest and lightest Kindle Paperwhite yet, measuring 8.18mm thick and weighing 182g—less than half the weight of many paperback books—so extended reading sessions are even more comfortable.
The six-inch, high resolution 300 ppi display features crisp, laser-quality text that reads like real paper. It also includes five LEDs and an adjustable front light for a uniform, glare-free display in any setting—even direct sunlight.
The first waterproof Kindle Paperwhite
The most popular Kindle is now waterproof so you can read in even more places. The all-new Kindle Paperwhite is designed to withstand accidental drops in the bathtub, hot tub, pool, and ocean. It’s IPX8 rated to protect against immersion in up to two meters of fresh water for up to 60 minutes.
2x the storage
The all-new Kindle Paperwhite comes with twice the storage so you can keep more content on your device. Available in 8 GB, which is twice the storage as the previous generation and can hold thousands of titles, and 32 GB for storing even more content with large file sizes, like audiobooks, comics, newspapers, magazines, and more.
Plus Audible
With Bluetooth built-in, listen to your favorite Audible book and switch seamlessly between reading and listening so you never lose your place. Access the Audible store directly on the all-new Kindle Paperwhite and find your next listen from the world’s largest library of audiobooks—including more than 450,000 professionally performed audio programs, including Audible books, original audio productions, and exclusive content. Just connect your all-new Kindle Paperwhite to a Bluetooth-enabled device, like speakers or headphones, and dive into a story.
More great content—six months of Kindle Unlimited for free
Kindle devices already come with instant access to millions of titles in the Kindle Store. Now, for a limited time, you also get six months of Kindle Unlimited for free so you can read as much as you want at no additional cost across millions of titles, including popular books like Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman and Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan, as well as works from Terry Pratchett and Michael Lewis. It also includes books that make it to the big screen like Molly’s Game by Molly Bloom. After six months, Kindle Unlimited is just $9.99 per month.
Even more personalization
Kindle includes a variety of ways to tailor your experience so you can read your book your way. Today, we’re introducing even more personalization features, including:
- An updated home—The new home experience makes it easier to find your next read based on your reading history, including books that are free for you to read from Kindle Unlimited or Prime Reading. You can also view reading accomplishments, like how many days in the past month you’ve read, as well as fun facts and tips so you can get the most out of your device.
- Easily personalize your reading—Now save multiple reading settings, selecting the font, boldness level, and orientation settings you prefer all from the main menu and quickly switch between those settings.
The updated home experience, as well as the ability to quickly save and access reading settings, will be delivered as a free, over-the-air update to the all-new Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Paperwhite Gen 6 (released in 2013) and newer devices in the coming weeks.
The features readers love about Kindle
By design, Kindle devices are purpose-built for reading so you can lose yourself in a book. Unlike tablets and phones, a Kindle has no glare, even in bright sunlight, and won’t distract you with social media, emails, text messages, or notifications. The all-new Kindle Paperwhite includes features that have made the Kindle family the best devices for reading, enhancing the experience beyond a print book:
- Whispersync and Whispersync for Voice—Saves and synchronizes your last page read, bookmarks, and annotations from your Kindle eBooks and Audible books across all of your Kindle devices and apps, so you can always pick up where you left off on any device, whether you’re reading or listening.
- Goodreads—Kindle is integrated with the world’s largest site for readers and book recommendations, with over 50 million members, 1.3 billion books added, and 47 million book reviews.
- X-Ray—Explore the “Bones of the Book”—see all of the passages across a book that mention relevant ideas, fictional characters, historical figures, places, or topics of interest.
- Word Wise—Available on many popular English language titles, Word Wise makes it easier to enjoy and quickly understand more challenging books. Short and simple definitions automatically appear above difficult words, so you can keep reading with fewer interruptions.
- Family Library—With Kindle and Kindle reading apps, you can access not only your own books, but also books from the Amazon account of a spouse or partner.
- Smart Lookup—Integrates a full dictionary definition with other reference information via X-Ray and Wikipedia.
World’s Best eBook Store
Kindle e-readers come with instant access to the Kindle Store, which, in addition to Kindle Unlimited, includes:
- World’s best selection—Millions of books, newspapers and magazines, including the latest best sellers, and programs like Prime Reading and Kindle Unlimited, both of which continue to grow.
- Kindle exclusives—Over one million books are exclusive to the Kindle Store.
- Amazon First Reads—Early access to an editorially curated list of six new books one month before they officially publish. Every month, customers can choose one Kindle book from our editors’ picks for $1.99—Prime members get it for free—and also purchase hardcovers for $9.99 or less.
Pricing and Availability
The all-new Kindle Paperwhite is $129.99 for the 8 GB model and $159.99 for the 32 GB model. The 32 GB with free cellular connectivity is $249.99. All are available today for pre-order in the United States. Customers can also purchase a cover with a thin design that snaps perfectly onto the all-new Kindle Paperwhite. The cover opens like a book, automatically waking the device when opened and putting it to sleep when closed. Choose from three materials in a variety of colors: a premium leather cover for $59 in rustic; leather covers, all $39, in black, merlot, punch red, and indigo purple; and water-safe fabric covers, all $29, in charcoal black, canary yellow, and marine blue. Customers can learn more at www.amazon.com/kindlepaperwhite.
About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.
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