As much as I travel with a laptop, including some ultra-compact 14-inch models with gorgeous OLED displays, I'll never feel comfortable reading whole books on their screens. Instead, throwing our Kindle Paperwhite into my suitcase gives me a hilarious amount of reading material thanks to its month-long battery (with change) that hasn't ever come close to dying on me at an inconvenient time.
Amazon, not content to rest on what is already a world-class eReader, has upped the 7-inch Paperwhite's battery to around 12 weeks (seriously) while the 6-inch 'New Kindle' still hits up to 6 weeks.
The latest Kindle Paperwhite is down to $129.99 at Amazon itself, a little more expensive than the 'New Kindle' at $84.99, but it's still my favorite, and Amazon has upgraded the screen to speed up page turns by 25% to solve the real slow-moving gripe from its predecessor. If you've never tried an eReader, Amazon is offering a 3-month free trial of its Kindle Unlimited subscription for instant access to more than 4 million books alongside magazines, comics, and audiobooks.
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Microsoft could learn a thing or two from Amazon
Its book-centric siblings mostly overshadow it, but Amazon's Kindle Scribe changed how our Editor-in-Chief works with its Paperwhite-style E-ink touchscreen, as Daniel Rubino praised it: "Besides being the best Kindle reader I’ve had simply due to the display size, the ‘Scribe’ part has been a game changer for my job. It’s the tech I would have killed to have in graduate school, and any student or office worker would adore its capabilities."
If you're on the fence about buying a Kindle during Black Friday, you can always install the Amazon Kindle desktop app on any Windows device to try it out.
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The app is free, and there are plenty of free books on the Kindle store to try, so your experience wouldn't differ too much from reading on Amazon's eReaders.
Your most noticeable benefit from buying a Kindle, especially the Paperwhite, will be the unparalleled battery life on offer compared to practically any Windows laptop.
Even Windows on Arm devices like the Surface Pro 11 wouldn't outlive a Kindle, but a Surface offers so much more functionality than Amazon's eReaders.
Still, you have nothing to lose by trying the Kindle app before buying anything at all. Ultimately, I'd recommend the Kindle Paperwhite at $129.99 simply because my fiancée and I use ours when we travel for vacation and never worry about its absurdly long battery life.
Holding out for Cyber Monday doesn't feel worth it, at least for a Kindle, since Amazon is unlikely to be out-priced on its own products. You can even trade in similar devices for an extra 20% off the discounted price, so go ahead and buy now without regret if you're tempted and have an older eReader laying around.
🍁More great Black Friday deals🦃
- Best Buy: Big savings on video games, accessories, and more
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- Razer: Take advantage of free shipping for a limited time
- Samsung: Holiday deals on laptops, TVs, phones, and more are live
- Amazon: Constantly rotating sales on everything you can imagine
