Kindle Paperwhite technology explained by Amazon in simple video

Amazon has released a video showing their team of engineers that've worked on the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite explaining the technology that makes it a top of the line device in the e-reader universe today. What you've got here is sharpness and brightness enough to view in many conditions – but it's more than that. Because it's not optimal to look at a book with the area around the letters shining brightly directly into your eyes, the Kindle crew here has turned the whole show on its head, shining light from the side of the screen across it, down toward the display through a reflecting film layer just 0.5mm thin.

The light you've got here around the rim of the display is captured and reflected across the face of the area you're looking at. This area is called the Light Guide – it's nanoimprinted and acts like a fiber-optic cable, blasting light through itself and down towards the capacitive touch screen instead of up at your eye. The best LEDs the group could find for the job were chosen, the construction of the Light Guide was adjusted from tight to loose so that one light source could be used in an even manner, and the whole device was tweaked to perfection over the course of 8 years.

The 8 years timeframe has been mentioned several times, including by CEO Jeff Bezos, this being the amount of time that the company has researched and developed the Paperwhite technology. This reader is getting ready to hit the market early next month, our Kindle Paperwhite hands-on prepping you for the big drop coming up quick. This device takes what you know about e-ink and the ease in reading you've experienced in Kindle devices in the past and bumps the quality to a new generation.

This new technology works to keep your battery life long, the entire product is extremely light, and the whole product is taking on the e-reading universe in a completely different way than the Kindle Fire HD. Stay tuned for the final device review we'll have right here on SlashGear before you know it! Have a peek at the timeline below for more information on the Kindle Paperwhite and get pumped for the final release in just weeks!