Kindle Paperwhite FAQs
To avoid too much repetition, most of the more general questions about the Kindle, e-ink and book purchasing are covered in the Kindle General FAQ so please refer to that post for non Kindle Paperwhite questions.
Section 1 - Kindle Paperwhite Hardware
Q. Does the Kindle Paperwhite have a back-lit screen?
Whilst the Kindle Paperwhite appears to have a back-lit screen, it's actually front-lit using some clever technology from Amazon to give a generally very even spread of light.
Q. I have some dark patches / cloudy looking bits at the bottom of the screen - is my Kindle faulty?
This is actually fairly normal and is caused by the lighting. Because lighting on an e-ink screen has to be from the front (rather than the back like an LCD screen) there is a slight unevenness to the way the light is distributed. Amazon have gone to great lengths to ensure light is distributed as evenly as is technically possible but even so, there may be some variation, usually towards the bottom of the screen.
Q. Is there a way to completely turn off the front-lighting
Oddly enough, as things stand, no. If you turn the brightness down as far as it will go, you will still see a faint amount of light on the screen. That said, if you are using the Kindle in anything other than total darkness you will not notice it. Some people have mentioned that this may be a drain on the battery however, so perhaps in a future software update we may see an option for shutting the light off completely.
Q. Does the Kindle Paperwhite have a deep screen recess like the Kindle Touch?
No, the Kindle Paperwhite only has a very shallow screen recess and appears exactly the same as the Kindle Wi-Fi or Kindle Keyboard screens. The Kindle Touch had a much deeper recess as it used infra-red sensors for the Touch screen and the Paperwhite uses a much better technology called capacitive touch screen technology. This is also means that the Paperwhite can detect exactly where on the screen you pressed more accurately than the older Kindle Touch.
Section 2 - Using the Kindle Paperwhite
Q. How can I change my home screen to use a list like the old Kindles did, instead of the covers view?
To change this, simply select the Menu (top right of the screen) and choose List View. To switch back, do the same again but select Cover View.
Q. If I buy a Kindle Paperwhite in the US, will it work correctly when I bring it home to the UK?
Yes, as long as you register the device to your UK account, everything will work exactly the same as a UK bought Kindle Paperwhite.
That covers questions which are specific to the Kindle Paperwhite to date. If you have questions about screensavers, buying and reading eBooks and PDFs or maintenance of your Kindle, please refer to the Kindle General FAQ
