A Tale of Three Kindles: An Honest Comparison of the Three

Prime Day is tomorrow, and one of the devices that will be seeing a reduction in price is of course the Kindle. Currently, Amazon has three Kindles available — the basic, the Paperwhite/Paperwhite Signature Edition, and the Scribe. There is also the Oasis, but at this time, I am unsure if it is being discontinued or not.

I currently have all three. One of them, the Kindle Basic, was actually my husband’s that has been sitting for about three years in the box before I decided to use it for beach days, and days when I don’t want to take my Paperwhite. I often rotate between the Scribe and the Paperwhite if I am being honest. I used to have the Oasis, which I loved, but after three and a half years of heavy use, I managed to drain the battery to the point where it no longer holds a charge for more than a day.

I’m going to do a brief rundown of the three from the perspective of a reader, not someone who is technically inclined.

The Basic, which is the 2019 model and not the latest one, is just an ereader with a backlight. I like it simply because of its size; however, you don’t get much with this one. It’s not waterproof. There is no adjustment to warm light at night, which is something that I utilize on the daily. I am not sure about the newer 2022 model, but the battery on the 2019 one that I have does seem to drain a little quicker compared to the other two I have.

The Paperwhite, which can come in the signature or the regular is by far my ride or die. It’s waterproof. It’s a little bigger than the Basic but not so much bigger that I have trouble putting it in my purse. It has different settings for the Glowlight. I have the signature, and one of the things that I love about it is the wireless charging. It makes it easier than ever to squeeze in a quick charge whenever. But, I rarely need to charge it — even with the Wi-Fi on. Further, it is so nice to read on.

Finally, let’s talk about the Scribe. I got this mainly for the fact that you can use it for journaling, but then I fell in love with reading on the bigger screen so it became my reader that I use at home. The screen is larger than the others, but not to the point where it’s awful to carry around. Further, it is so nice because you can make notes in books, which is so nice for book clubs. Of course, it has the same backlight features as the Paperwhite, but it’s honestly such a fun device. Like the Paperwhite, the battery for this one lasts for at least for a few weeks at a time, if not more. Unfortunately, this one is not waterproof, so that’s the drawback for me. This one, however, is extremely pricey, and for that reason alone, I’d proceed with caution if this is your first Kindle.

If I had to pick one of these devices, it would honestly be the Paperwhite. It’s portable, waterproof, the battery lasts for days, and has all of the features a heavy reader would need to get through their day. It’s a splurge, but not so much that you’re breaking the bank.

If you do pick one up during Prime Day, be sure to add a case and Popsocket to your cart as well — those two honestly changed the game for me to the point where my reading experience is elevated.

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