Amazon Kindle Paperwhite UK release date confirmed for October 25

The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite e-reader will go on sale in the UK on October 25, the company has confirmed.
The new-and-improved 6-inch device, which boasts a built-in light to evenly illuminate the screen and a whopping 8 weeks of battery life, was announced for the US at the Kindle Fire event over a month ago.
At the time Amazon made no mention of a UK release for the Kindle Paperwhite, but has today opened online pre-orders for its 'most advanced reader ever,' with delivery coming two weeks from today.
The Wi-Fi only version of the device, which also has 62 per cent more pixels and 25 per cent better contrast, costs £109, while the Wi-Fi + lifetime free 3G option is £169.

'Kindle we always wanted to build'

Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO said: "The response to Kindle Paperwhite has been fantastic and we're excited to bring our most advanced e-reader ever to the UK.
"This is the Kindle we have always wanted to build, it has 62% more pixels, 25% higher contrast, built-in front light, perfect for reading in bed and on the beach, even thinner, with 8 weeks of battery life.
"We know that readers in the UK love reading on Kindle and we think they are going to love Kindle Paperwhite."

Library lending hits UK too

Amazon has also announced that it will launch its library lending service in the UK later this month, with the company touting the presence of all seven Harry Potter books within the scheme.
The service comes free with a £49 annual Amazon Prime membership and allows Kindle (reader and tablet) owners to borrow one book per month from over 200,000 available, with no due date.
Bezos added: "Owning a Kindle is getting even better. Today, we're announcing that our newest Prime benefit, built just for Kindle, is coming to UK customers: The Kindle Owners' Lending Library.
"Prime members will have exclusive access to a huge library of books to read on any Kindle device at no additional cost and with no due dates. We're already seeing the programme's success in the US for both readers and authors - customers are reading more and authors are reaching a whole new audience while making money in a new way - and we're excited to bring it to customers in the UK."

Via Amazon

The key features of Kindle Paperwhite

Designed for Reading

Unlike a backlit tablet display, Kindle Paperwhite guides light towards the surface of the e-ink display from above so that the light never shines directly towards your eyes, allowing you to read comfortably without eye strain. The built-in light illuminates the screen more evenly than a book light or lighted cover.

Perfectly Balanced Whiteness

We worked on Kindle Paperwhite for over two years to perfect the uniformity of the built-in light, flattening out a fiber optic cable into a sheet, and nanoimprinting to ensure perfectly even distribution of light. Our design uses nanoscale optical diffractive patterns to enable tight control over the direction of the light. Enjoy reading with exceptional lighting uniformity and evenly balanced whiteness across the entire display. See how the screen looks in different lighting conditions.

Adjustable Brightness

Your eyes adapt to the amount of light around you, so you'll prefer dimmer light when reading in a dark setting and brighter light when reading in well-lit surroundings. You can adjust the brightness of Kindle Paperwhite across a wide spectrum - from low light to full brightness - so you can read comfortably in any setting.

Power Efficient

Because our patented technology enables fine-grain control over where the light is diffused, Kindle Paperwhite uses low-power LEDs, requiring very little power to evenly illuminate the entire screen.

Battery Life Comparison