Just in time for the darker half of the year - for those of us on the Northern Hemisphere - Amazon and its competition takes the opportunity of launching several new tablets and e-Book readers to consumers looking to pass away dark winter months, while at the same time sucking up some quality literature whether on the road or in the comfort of their favorite reading chairs.

The Kindle Paperwhite offers to do just that, as Amazon launches the most affordable device in the new Kindle family line-up, alongside the Kindle Fire HD 7-inch and Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch models.

However, it is immediately clear that the Paperwhite is drastically different from the Kindle HDs in several ways.

One thing being the new display that functions differently from screens seen in tablets and smartphones. 

Instead of a backlight shining straight into your eyes, as conventional tablet and smartphone screens do, the Paperwhite's screen guides its light downwards, towards the surface of the display so that it does not shine straight into your eyes, making it more comfortable to read in the dark, for one.

Another big selling point of the Paperwhite is the battery life attained by its quite simplistic design and limited features, which is pretty much books and magazines. Under casual reading, Amazon advertises the battery to hold out for about 8 weeks on one charge, which we find very impressive.

The device is partly ad-subsidized and available with or without advertisement on the device. You pay $119 for the WiFi-only version, if you can endure advertisement on the product, and $139 if you want to have a completely ad-free experience.

The Kindle Paperwhite is also available with WiFi + 3G functionality which enables you to download books anytime and anywhere you happen to be. This version will set you back $179 for the ad-supported version, and $199 for the ad-free.

The U.S. release date for the Kindle Paperwhite was October 1, 2012, and most customers who pre-ordered from Amazon seem to have received their devices as of October 3. Customers outside of the U.S. might find themselve in for a long wait, as news of an international release of the Paperwhite has yet to surface.

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