It finally happened. After sixteen years of using ereaders with E Ink screens I finally broke one today. I’ve had batteries die and the power button stopped working on my Kobo Glo, but this is the first time I’ve actually broken one of my ebook readers to the point where it is no longer usable.
Unfortunately it was one of my favorite devices of all time, and it was unquestionably my favorite Kindle. And it was my fault that it broke. But my Kindle Voyage had a good run.
I bought it used off of eBay in 2018. I bought one new when it first came out, but it had a blotchy frontlight that annoyed me so I got rid of it in 2016.
I was fully expecting Amazon to release an improved 2nd gen Voyage at some point. But that never happened. So I decided to get another one because it had the best screen I’d ever seen (frontlight excluded). The one I got on eBay ended up having a really nice and even frontlight, so I ended up liking it better than the first one I had.
Over the years I reviewed dozens of new ereaders, and none of them had a screen as nice as the Kindle Voyage. It just had a clearer quality with darker blacks than other E Ink devices. Current ereaders like the 12th gen Kindle Paperwhite can finally get close to the darkness of the black ink, but still nothing can quite match the clarity of the Kindle Voyage’s micro-etched glass screen.
Be Careful Putting eReaders in Your Pockets
My Kindle Voyage broke because I had it in my back pocket and I sat on it. The screen cracked. E Ink screens are known for being really fragile and easy to break because of the thin glass back panel, so you should never apply pressure to them or twist them.
But it wasn’t the E Ink screen that broke; it was the front glass layer. The screen still works fine, and the device still turns on and off, but the touchscreen no longer works with the cracked front panel.
I’ve sat down on my Kindle Voyage a hundred times before (I usually lean away from it) and it never broke. But this time was different.
Kindles are more durable than most brands, but they can still break. Sitting on them is a bad idea. Putting them in a bag with other heavy objects is also something that should be avoided.
Lack of Alternatives
At this point I don’t want to buy another used Kindle Voyage since it was released over a decade ago, but it’s kind of sad how few alternatives there are in 2025.
Most 6″ ebook readers that are available now are made out of cheap plastic, and very few of them have page-turn buttons. The larger 7″ models have buttons, but they are too wide to fit in most pockets.
I really like the Boox Palma 2, but I just feel like it’s too expensive to use as a basic ereader, and I’m afraid it will eventually break if I carry it around in a pocket.
Pocketbook sells a few 6″ models with page buttons on Amazon, and I currently have one of their basic models, but the low resolution screen is hard to accept after using 300 ppi screens for so long.
I’ll probably just start carrying around a Kobo Clara or basic Kindle for a while and see what sticks, but I wish there were some nicer options more like the Kindle Voyage.
That’s a bummer. I’d offer to sell you my Voyage, but dang it is a really great ereader.
I had a bad experience with my Kindle Voyage due to the huge brightness gradient in its lighting. Personally, I never found it worthwhile to use it with the lighting turned off, so I ended up selling it. I replaced it with the Kobo Aura H20 and the Tolino Vision 4 HD, which also looked great without lighting. But it’s true that the Kindle Voyage has become a legendary e-reader for those who found a unit with good lighting (or for those who don’t care about lighting). I’ve had so many e-readers (over 60) that I’ve never developed a special fondness for any particular model. I’ve always had a variety of alternatives that I’ve found satisfactory.
For my pocket, I finally opted for the portability of truly small, rudimentary and low-cost e-readers that won’t cause me a great deal of financial hardship if they break. The 4.3″ Woxter Scriba 195 S (which cost me €30) fulfils its very limited function and goes with me everywhere. I haven’t found a 6″ e-reader that I find comfortable (and the price of Android e-readers in the form of mobile phones, which would be an alternative to consider, doesn’t quite convince me for such limited use).
Ah this hurts my heart! The Voyage is amazing. I just wish it had a warm light. I still have 2 of them.
To compensate lately I use a 12th gen Paperwhite and I make the margins smaller to read more like the 6 inch devices. If it was possible in some world, I’d just give you one, I have too many eReaders, lol.
When shopping for a new reader, keep in mind that Kobo is providing repair shops with parts for all currently shipping models.
That would be great except Kobo doesn’t sell any models that I want to use anymore. The Clara BW is okay but compared to the Voyage it feels like a downgrade, which is weird considering the Voyage is a decade older.
If you had to buy something for your own use, what would you get?
In the pocketable, portable category it would probably be another Voyage. Nothing else seems to cut it for me. The first day without the Voyage I took the Kobo Clara 2E (I opted to keep it over the BW because it had a better screen), but the cheap plastic scratches too easily (as I’ve ranted about many times before). Then the scratches catch the sunlight and twinkle in my eye and it distracts me. Plus the black plastic always looks dirty and smudged-up with fingerprints.
The second day I took the 2024 matcha Kindle. The lighter bezel is much nicer in bright sunlight as it doesn’t catch the light as much and it doesn’t look dirty all the time, but the text looks grey instead of black. The Voyage’s superior screen strikes again. The Paperwhite has darker blacks than the basic, there’s no question about it, so I’m probably just going to use it now. But it’s so much bigger than the Voyage it barely fits in my pocket and some pockets it doesn’t fit in at all. I don’t know why these companies can’t just make a nice pocketable ereader.
If money was no object I’d probably be happy with the Palma 2, but I get annoyed with having to deal with inferior Android apps, and the built-in NeoReader app doesn’t support DRM so everything has to be processed through a computer first and that gets annoying after a while too. I just want to download an ebook and read; I’ve never been a fan of having to manage ebooks with computer.
Oh no! RIP beautiful Voyage. Thank you for your service.
I had a Voyage when it came out and liked it well enough, but I never used the turn buttons so all that extra plastic grip and mechanics added weight that I didn’t like. The front light wasn’t great so when the next Paperwhite with a better front light came out, I traded it in. I never noticed any degradation of the screen quality when I switched.
As a rule of thumb, placing any device in a pant pocket is generally a bad idea. Even a coat pocket can be risky. With my basic 10th gen I found that comic sans font works really well and I hardly ever notice the low resolution. Might want to try that out or some other font that works well with the lower resolution of the basic models.
I’m very sorry for your loss 🙁
I just bought a used Kindle Voyage for 35$ on Facebook Marketplace. I see it sold still. Though perhaps a Kobo Clara BW is the closest in terms of quality, minus the cheap plastic feel.
My deepest condolences. I have tried so many devices to replace my old Voyage, but none quite satisfy. Even ordered a backup off ebay just the other day. I hope you find a good alternative.
Pouring one out for your loss 🙁
The Voyage was Peak Kindle.
I am so sorry! I will also be very sad when my Voyage is no longer functions. It is still my primary device.
I did buy a refurbed 10th generation Paperwhite since it is the smaller size than the more recent iterations and closest in size to the Voyage, which I find perfect 🙂 It is my back-up Kindle and one that I will share with others when I have a book that they want to read.
I keep hoping that they will come up with a newer Kindle that something close to the Voyage in quality and size but it seems unlikely.