Amazon Japan introduces 'Manga Model' Kindle Paperwhite with eight times more storage

Do you know how much storage is in a Kindle Paperwhite? Probably not. Amazon doesn't really advertise it, because books are small enough to make the stock 4GB a non-issue for almost everyone, even in a world where 16GB iPhones were rightfully derided as a disgrace. The company's Japanese arm clearly thinks it's a problem for some users, however, as it's just introduced a region-specific "Manga Model" aimed at voracious readers of Japanese comics.

The Manga Model is more or less identical to the regular Paperwhite, but comes with 32GB of storage that Amazon estimates is good for about 700 volumes — as an example, the company says you could store the entire runs of Naruto, Asari-chan, and Kochikame on the device. Amazon has also boosted performance, claiming a 33 percent increase on page-turning speed.

The Kindle Manga Model is available to pre-order today for 16,280 yen ($157) or 12,280 yen ($118) for Amazon Prime members, 2,000 yen ($19) more than the regular Paperwhite. Amazon still doesn't quite have the selection of manga you'd expect to find in a Japanese bookstore — I was devastated to find no Kindle version of Shirokuma Cafe, for instance — but the new e-reader sees the company aiming to gain ground with an important local demographic.