Kindle Paperwhite (2016) White E-Reader

I thought it'd be great to have a Kindle for many years, but just never justified one. I've even read a few kindle books on the iPhone 3g and the iPhone 5s Kindle apps , so I really looked forward to the Kindle experience that everyone raves about. After years of iPhone 5s I was heartbroken not to be able to afford the latest iPhone 7plus. I really wanted the bigger screen and all the great specs, but at $900+ I just can't do it! I use my phone so much; while traveling on the road last year and living in a van for 5 months I was going through 20GB in data per month. But $900! It's not just the cost, but I bike with the phone on the bars too and the liability is just too much. So I made the decision to try a much cheaper Android; a Motorola G4, which I picked up for $150. Frankly I've been blown away! It's not a retina display but it is a 1080p 5.5" screen, the same physical screen size as the iPhone 7plus. In the month I've had it I haven't touch my little iphone 5s. I've already read another 2 kindle books. So as I saved so much money going with Android over iPhone I decided to treat myself to a Kindle Paperwhite. So it's neat; much smaller than I thought. Bigger than the 5.5" screen of the G4, but not as big as I imagined. I opened it at night as I often sit in my chair with a couple of lamps on in the living room. And what can I say? I was less than impressed. Even on max brightness the screen just wasn't nearly as crisp and vibrant as the phone. I do like a bright screen in general, but I of course turn it way down inside to read. However, the max bright Kindle light was still less than 1/3 the brightness of the Android. In my living room setting it seems I really want to get a reading light directly on it. The phone has no real issues with being too bright or too dark as you can set it how you want. And the phone has more options depending on what indoor light you're dealing with. You can even adjust the screen color to green, sepia, white, or black background which is something the Kindle obviously can't do. Also, though the Kindle light is uniform, at the very bottom it seems to have a couple of minor uneven patches. As subtle as they are I notice them! I realize the Kindle is meant to be easier on the eyes, but with the phone color options and the fact that I have a matt finish screen saver, well I really can't see any advantage of the eInk screen when you are inside and using the backlight. And most of my reading will be inside. Plus, the Kindle screen, though 300dpi, I can see it's not as crisp as the 400dpi of the G4 phone. On smaller fonts, especially when I take my glasses off at bedtime and read it very close, well the Kindle's lack of crispness is noticeable to me compared to the Phone. It's fine though if I go with the top two largest settings, and I'm OK with others, but I can see the difference. Then there's the page flip. I imagined the Kindle's page flip would be something special, but you either refresh the whole page which goes black for a second then refreshes, or the other options is to just sort of roughly fade from one page into the next. If you look up or blink though you'll sometimes have no idea if the page turned or or not! I've occasionally found myself re-reading the same page! The iPhone and Android apps though have a beautiful, effective and simple page flip that really emulates a real page flip! I know this sounds like the last thing you'd be worried about, but the Kindle experience leaves something to be desired. So today I got outside into the park, and yes the the Kindle was really nice. I able to walk and read, which was really cool (though I imagine not so great for my neck!) In the shade it was great, and in the sunlight it shined! But though the G4 phone is indeed not as easy to read in direct sun, I can still read it! It's not like it's totally washed out. Realistically though if I stop to read in the park I'll probably be in the shade anyway, and then really the Phone wins because it's perfectly readable in the bright ambient light, and it still has all the color options. It seems to me the only real reading advantage the Kindle has is if I'm actually sunbathing at the pool or beach! . The Kindle does have a few extra font choices than the Phone apps. But this is also a major gripe; why aren't there more font options on the Kindle anyway? One thing that would help me is just the option to bold the fonts; but Kindle and Phone apps there is no options for that. The other issues is the first two books I read both have color diagrams. The Kindle, obviously, is just plain useless for a lot of imagery! My plan is to also get a color Android tablet, because with the G4 Phone, the Kindle, and a decent tablet I'm still under half the cost of the iPhone 7+! But I'm really wondering if I then need the Kindle at all? And I'm wondering if I might instead get like an 7" Tablet along with the 10" tablet. The advantages are they will all seamlessly sync with either other, and I can literally put down one device and carry on with the next one. I'd essentially use the G4 for everything as I do now. Then the 7" tablet mainly for reading, and the 10" tablet for media or couch surfing the web. Now all that said, the reason I'm torn is because I don't hate the Kindle! It's pretty slick too. I like it's simplicity and I like that it's used only one thing. The Kindle would really put me in reading and study mode, and I'd be less likely distracted by the trillion other things the tablets and phone can do. I also got the Kindle pretty darn cheap with that $90 Prime special. But that $90 would also get me a really nice featured Tablet with an HD screen! I've only had the Kindle 2 days! so really I should give it more time. But If I'm returning it it'll be quickly. I'm not sure the few advantages are worth it over a color tablet. All in all it does exactly what it's meant to do. But I've been spoilt by the features of the large HD phones and it's hard not to be disappointed.