As a daily train commuter, I love my Kindle Paperwhite.
Amazon’s kindle is simply an awesome piece of technology and if you’re also a train or bus commuter, there’s no question, you need one too.
The kindle is the perfect gadget for commuters, offering near unlimited reading entertainment, helping to make even the longest work commutes fly by.
If you’re a traditional book reader and hesitant to take the plunge into electronic books (as I once was), read on and let me explain why buying a kindle paperwhite might be just that thing you didn’t know you needed.
Here’s 7 reasons why I love my Kindle Paperwhite for train commuting:
1. The ‘Real Book’ Experience
Question: How do Kindles compare to the real book experience?
Answer: For commuters, they improve it in almost every concievable way.
If you’re a traditional book reader you may scoff at this but I’ll say right now that I was once like you. I love a good paperback as much as the next person and once laughed at the notion of an electronic device comparing to the look and feel of a real book.
There’s also a level of excitement when purchasing a book from a bookstore, something the online buying of an e-book can’t compete with. Then there’s also the countless hours browsing the shelves prior…
I’m not saying that Kindles are better than real books, but when commuting (or even travelling) real books can have some serious drawbacks.
Real books on the train:
- Can be heavy to carry in addition to our other commuter items
- Take up considerable space in our very limited commuter bags
- Can be difficult to read when standing and holding onto support
- Can be also difficult to read when sitting between other passengers with limited arm room
- Limit you to a single book
Kindles on the train:
- Are light-weight and easily operated with one hand
- Take up very little space in the commuter bag
- Can be comfortably read both standing and sitting
- Have ridiculously good battery life
- Allow you to carry an entire library of books around at all times
- Are comfortable to read in any lighting – both day and night
But most important of all, reading a kindle is comparable to reading a normal book in every concievable way.
2. It’s All About The e-Ink
Electronic Ink – or e-ink, is in my opinion, the single most important selling feature that a kindle offers. While there’s many advantages to owning a kindle, it’s the e-ink which makes the kindle as close as possible to reading a normal, paper-based book.
While I won’t go into the technical specifics, I will say that e-ink is an amazing piece of technology, that has been designed to mimic the appearance of ink on regular paper. Unlike various other readers which have conventional illuminated screens, e-ink is not harsh or contrasty like text on a computer monitor, but easy on the eyes like paper.
Because of this, e-ink can also be read in broad daylight where screens such as iPads can be difficult to see, let alone read. The Kindle Paperwhite screen back-lights the e-ink which re-creates the daylight experience but in low (or no) light.
In short – when I first got my hands on a kindle in a store and saw the e-ink in action, that’s when I was sold.
There’s even more benefits to kindle e-ink technology:
- Reading a kindle feels like reading from the paper of a normal book
- E-ink only consumes battery power when turning pages leading to extremely good battery life (seriously – weeks between charges)
- Can be comfortably read in broad daylight or pitch black darkness (light is adjustable for maximum comfort)
- It’s gentle on the eyes and not at all like reading from an illuminated, electronic device
3. Reading, Without The Distractions
It sounds obvious, but the thing I love most about kindles as an e-reading device is that they’ve been designed from the ground up to be an electronic book.
When you buy a kindle, you do so to either read books, or listen to them, not to check email, or browse YouTube or the infinite number of distractions available on other devices.
The kindle does have internet access – either via wifi or in the case of some models, free connectivity via the celluar network (which is pretty awesome if you’re travelling and don’t have reliable internet access) but they’re a speciality product to ultimately buy and read books.
4. Looks Great, Feels Even Better
The kindle is small (just 6.6″ in height on average) and light in the hands. It’s comfortable to read standing, sitting or laying down.
The kindle can be held in one hand, and that same hand can be used to advance through the pages which is absolutely fantastic on crowded trains where arm space is a premium.
The 6″ display is non-glare and with the paperwhite, the background illumination can be adjusted to your current lighting situation.
All text is fully adjustable from font style to font size. You can literally create the perfect reading environment for you.
The one thing I highly, highly reccomend is the official leather cover. The cover looks smart and importantly, protects your screen. This is particularly important as you’re usually keeping your kindle inside your commuter bag full of other scratchy objects. The screen folds back onto the kindle itself making it effectively invisible.
Official leather cover: Buy from Amazon
5. Batteries Last Weeks, Not Days
With the kindle, there’s never going to be a time on your commute to work or long journey where you either run out of books, or run out of battery. Because e-ink doesnt consume power when displayed (only when changing pages), you’ll be charging your kindle on average, once every few weeks after even semi-heavy use.
In addition, because e-books themselves are so small data-wise, your kindle with its 4, 8 or 32gb hard drive can literally store hundreds, if not thousands of titles (obviously less so for the much larger audio books).
I’m the type of person who when devouring a book I cant put down, likes to get straight into the next book in the series the moment I finish. I do this often with my own kindle!
Personally I like to read both on the train and at work. I’ve never once ran out of battery, nor had nothing to read. I honestly love my kindle paperwhite.
6. Cost Effective Purchasing
When you commute to work on a daily basis, it’s not unusual to go through ridiculous amounts of books in order to fill up all that time spent on trains and buses. As much as I want to support my local bookstores (and do) – I can’t afford to be buying physical books to the same degree I can buy e-books. And with a small child in my life, my disposable income is most definitely finite!
E-books regularly go on sale, sometimes as cheap as just a few dollars. Site’s like amazon’s Kindle Book Deals regularly have super cheap e-books meaning your reading list should be easily as long, if not longer than your Netflix to-watch list!
7. An Entire Library On The Go
In addition to the thousands of e-books you can store on the device itself, your Kindle allows you to access Amazon’s amazing Kindle Unlimited (ebooks) and Audible (audio books) online subscription services.
You can switch between reading or listening to an e-book on the fly, how good is that?!
Also check with your local library as many loan out e-books only adding more books to your collection!
Other Cool Kindle Features
If you’re still not sold on the Kindle, here’s a few other awesome features you may not have known about:
- You have complete control over the size of your text, or the font. This allows you to create the most comfortable reading experience possible.
- You can make real-time notes and annotations to your hearts content!
- You can see where other readers have highlighted text! (this is a feature I didn’t know I’d need.
- You can real-time look up words using the inbuilt dictionary and thesaurus – again, I never knew how much I’d use this feature! It’s addictive as hell!
- You can switch between the audiobook and text version of a book mid-way through.
Which Kindle Is Right For Me?
There’s 3 main options when buying a Kindle:
1. Kindle Paperwhite (reccomended)
The Kindle Paperwhite is what I consider the flagship kindle product being neither the cheapest nor the most expensive but offering all the key features.
| Price: | From $139.99* |
| Ratings: | 84% 5 star ratings (over 10,000 ratings total) |
| Screen Size: | 6.8″ glare-free |
| Storage capacity: | 8 GB (32 GB available) |
| Resolution: | 300 ppi |
| Front Lights: | 17 LEDs |
| Color: | Black |
| Connectivity: | Wi-Fi |
The Kindle Paperwhite also:
- Is waterproof (woo – reading in the bath!)
- Supports Audible audiobooks via Bluetooth
- Is touch-sceen operated (including turning pages)
- Has a beautiful, flush-front design
- Has weeks of battery life
Why buy the Kindle Paperwhite: It offers all the main features which are perfect for train commuters and a good price to match.
2. Kindle
The original Kindle is a good starting point if you’re still not sure about e-books or are looking for something a little cheaper. It doesn’t offer the same reader experience as the Paperwhite or Oasis but is still a fantastic addition to your commuter bag.
| Price: | From $59.99* |
| Ratings: | 73% 5 star ratings (over 36,000 ratings total) |
| Screen Size: | 6″ glare-free |
| Storage capacity: | 8 GB |
| Resolution: | 167 ppi |
| Front Lights: | 4 LEDs |
| Range of Colors: | 2 (Black or White) |
| Wi-Fi Connectivity: | Wi-Fi only |
The Kindle also:
- Supports Audible audiobooks via Bluetooth
- Is touch-sceen operated (including turning pages)
- Has weeks of battery life
Why buy the Kindle: While not as feature heavy as the other two Kindle offerings, it’s a much cheaper entry-point for the budget concious (and aren’t we all these days?) or perhaps the perfect starting point for younger readers.
3. Kindle Oasis
For the serious reader, the Kindle Oasis offers a supreme electronic reading experience. With a larger screen which provides automatic lighting adjustment based on conditions, including the ability to set a warmer tone, the Oasis is a superb piece of technology although at a much higher price-point.
| Price: | From $249.99* |
| Ratings: | 74% 5 star ratings (over 5000 ratings total) |
| Screen Size: | 7″ glare-free |
| Storage capacity: | 8 GB or 32 GB |
| Resolution: | 300 ppi |
| Front Lights: | 25 (!) LEDs |
| Range of Colors: | 2 (Graphite or Champagne Gold) |
| Wi-Fi Connectivity: | Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi + Free Cellular Connectivity |
The Kindle Oasis also:
- Is waterproof
- Supports Audible audiobooks via Bluetooth
- Has page turning buttons
- Has ergonmic design
- Has Adjustatble warm light
- Auto-adjusting light sensors
- Has weeks of battery life
Why buy the Kindle Oasis: If you have the money to spare, or are a serious reader, the Kindle Oasis is an excellent piece of equipment! My only reservation is that all items inside the commuter bag can battered when commuting – my preference for this particular Kindle would be for using it at home or while travelling.
Accessories For Your New Kindle
As a train commuter, our devices can be subjected to extra wear and tear (jostling around inside bags, rubbing against potentially sharp items like drink bottles etc). As a minimum I reccomend you buy a protective case. There’s a range of other accessories but these are largely optional.
Kindle Paperwhite Leather Cover
Whether you’re using your Kindle at home, on the train or when travelling, a case will keep it nice and safe from scratching and damage. My preference has always been the leather cases which are also superb in the weather (although ideally dont take your kindle into the rain!)
Fabric covers are also available but the leather is far more durable. If you want to go the whole hog and splash out on something luxurious, check out the premium leather covers also!
Kindle Paperwhite leather cover: Buy from Amazon
You can even buy the Kindle Paperwhite as a bundle which includes a leather cover (fabric cover optional) and power adapter.
Kindle Paperwhite cover + power adapter bundle: Buy from Amazon
NuPro Anti-Glare Screen Protector for Kindle Paperwhite
While the leather cover will mostly keep your Kindle safe and sound, if you want to take it that step further, a screen protector for the glass can also be worth the buy.
NuPro Screen Protector for Kindle Paperwhite: Buy from Amazon
Supercharge your new Kindle with Kindle Unlimited
If you’re commuting to work on a daily basis, chances are you’re going to go through a TON of books. It’s simply not feasible to be buying new books every few days and so I highly reccomend you pick up a subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
Think of it like Netflix for books.
Kindle unlimited grants you access to over 1 million titles and literally thousands of audiobooks.
Kindle unlimited can also be read on other devices such as iPads, iPhones and other electronic devices using the Kindle app.
Best of all? You can try it free for 30 days.
Click here to get 30 days free access to Kindle Unlimited!
Kindles also make a superb gifts idea!
If you know someone whose a train commuter, or a friend or loved one whose an avid reader, the Kindle is also an amazing gift idea. Bonus points if you buy the Kindle Paperwhite bundle which includes a leather cover and power adapter!
Also gift them a Kindle Unlimited subscription and you’ll be harvesting the kudos like there’s no tomorrow!
And that my friends is why I love my Kindle Paperwhite for Train Commuting. If you’re looking for more awesome items to improve your daily commute, check our Train Commuting Essentials or with christmas approaching, our Best Gifts for Train Commuters
Happy commuting!
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