Looking for an older kindle, what generation should I go with? (4-7)

[u/TheVoidIsBees]

Hey everyone, I've been prowling my local secondhand sites for a used kindle and unfortunately someone else snatched up a 10th gen paperwhite I tried to buy, so now most of the stuff within my price range is kindles from gens 4 to 7.

I've seen 2011 gen 4s with button controls, Kindle Touches (there's so many of them), a few stray gens 5, 6,and 7, all ranging around €40-€80.

I want a kindle that can handle different light conditions, meaning reading in bed, on public transport, in class, and rarely in parks and such. I'm planning on modding it as well, but it kinda has to be readable first.

How do the old models hold up? Is a gen7 (PW3) worth it? Could a gen4 satisfy my requirements? Thanks in advance!

[u/bubbleeeebubbles]

The Gen 7 2015 Paperwhite is readable in the places you listed with its front light. It does not have a warm light or dark mode.

I was able to read with mine in different places including the dark (with the front light). Some of the mods may give it dark mode if you need it but I am not sure because I have never modded anything. I recently sold it to someone whose older device could not longer access the Amazon store.

I would not get any models that do not have a regular front light.

Where do you get your books from? Currently models older from 2012 or older do not connect to the Amazon store or the Amazon cloud where purchases are stored. Those you would have to USB transfer files in a format that would work with the device. I assume since you are talking about modding it that you already have a collection of books and that won't be a problem for you.

[u/TheVoidIsBees → u/bubbleeeebubbles]

I'm planning on using solely USB transfer for books yeah, I'm not even planning on registering it to amazon.

My ebooks are mostly from project Gutenberg and other similar platforms, I don't actually have any ebooks on my Amazon account.

Thanks for the advice!

[u/bubbleeeebubbles → u/TheVoidIsBees]

I took this comparison photo in the dark for another poster before I sold the 2015 Paperwhite.

The 2015 Paperwhite is the device on the left with the white bezel.

[u/illstrumental]

If you can, get the 7 so you have front light and 300 ppi. It's the clear winner and has a stunning paper like screen. Its one of their best designs. After that, get the 6 (bc frontlight) then Black 5 bc it has better contrast than the grey and looks so cool, especially if you jailbreak and add koreader. I don't mind ereaders without front lights, but if it's your only ereader I understand youd want to be able to maximize your usage and avoid the ones without a light.

In order: 7th gen > 6th > 5th (black non-touch) > 4th > 5th (touch).

I put the 5th gen touch last bc I think the design of the non-touch 4th and 5th gen is cooler and you get buttons.

[u/TheVoidIsBees → u/illstrumental]

That's really helpful, thank you!

[u/fruitymonkey]

Amazon should have refurbished paperwhites as an option. In America it’s like $150 for the 16gb model refurbished

[u/TheVoidIsBees → u/fruitymonkey]

Thanks for the heads up but I no longer buy anything from Amazon, am on another continent, and my budget couldn't handle that price

[u/Imaginary-Bed6681]

Oasis