Amazon.com (AMZN) Hits Homer with Paperwhite: Reviews

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is due to put its new Kindle Paperwhite into the hands of customers any day now, but the new device has been placed in the hands of critics, reviewers and tech bloggers in the last few days, and many have given their perspectives on the new e-reader.

The verdict is generally that Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) has made a winner. Whether this will translate into the bottom-line numbers for investors in Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock, like billionaire fund manager Ken Fisher of Fisher Asset Management, by winning over consumers obviously will be something to watch. However, as a direct competitor to the Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE:BKS) Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight, the consensus is that the Paperwhite wins.

Mashable stated that the Paperwhite has the best e-ink screen for the money, and TechCrunch said Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) made “a beautiful device” that “arguably surpasses the [Barnes & Noble] Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight.” If there was a knock, CNET provided it by saying it was not a fan of the weight of the device and the lack of memory expansion. However, in the end, “the Kindle Paperwhite has jumped to the head of the e-reader pack. It may not be perfect, but it’s definitely the Kindle a lot of people have been waiting for.”

There are definitely differences between the Paperwhite by Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and the Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE:BKS) Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight. The Nook comes with a power cable and ad-free browsing, while the Kindle has a USB cable and charges extra to have ads removed. Both have 2GB of internal memory, but the Nook has an SD expansion slot to increase its memory to 35GB. The Kindle does not have memory expansion, but it does provide free cloud storage for all content bought through the Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) Web site. It seems, though, that the Kindle Paperwhite overcomes the differences and – despite Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE:BKS) lowering the price of its Nook Simple Touch to match the Paperwhite’s $119 price tag – the reviewers seem to agree that the quality, resolution and sensitivity of the Paperwhite makes it the best e-reader on the market.