Amazon Kindle -- A Year Later?

I expect the "October" timeframe for matchbook (it's a play on Kindle, get it? :P) means mid to late October, otherwise we'd have gotten something more firm than a month. We'll probably get another front-page Amazon notice whenever it happens.

It would be great if lots of books are free on Matchbook, but it'll probably lead to me buying more physical books in the future.

I wish I could get a cheap Kindle copy with a physical copy from my local independent bookstore, though. Amazon would gain some serious goodwill, and advertisement if they did that.

I'm not sure that independent bookstores are prepared to set themselves up as Value Added Resellers for Amazon's products... I suspect most of them are pretty pissed off at Amazon.

Robear wrote:

I'm not sure that independent bookstores are prepared to set themselves up as Value Added Resellers for Amazon's products... I suspect most of them are pretty pissed off at Amazon.

The other direction is that they can just die off. This isn't really a choice for them.

Actually, independent booksellers are making a comeback. Amazon killing off Borders and crippling B&N seems to have been good for them. Kind of cool, no?

I've had several days with the latest gen Paperwhite now, here are some impressions:

-I dig that the integrated light is simply on all the time, and you merely select a brightness. Set it at a comfortable brightness for reading in a dark room, and then you can just leave it alone. You won't even notice it's on until it's dark enough to need it.
-Touch screen for typing works fine. I absolutely hated that the last keyboard gen didn't have number keys on it (which I use constantly to jump around in books during re-reads), so being able to rapidly type numbers in again is very welcome.
-The ability to quickly drag-to-navigate, scrubbing style, like on the PC/iOS versions of the Kindle software is likewise very welcome.
-I really hate that they completely removed the physical page turn button. My preferred method of reading is to hold the device in my left hand, unsupported. Seeing as the left side of the screen is now the "page back" area, this makes turning pages very awkward. Have to reach my thumb across that zone to trigger a next page, which makes my grip of the device less stable.
-Once in a while a page turn will take a very long time (perhaps a full 1s delay before anything happens). Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but due to the fact that the touch screen doesn't always trigger when you tap it with a thumb, the delay leads me to think "oh, it didn't register my tap." So I tap it again, and then when the refresh happens, it goes forward twice, and then I have to navigate back. Really breaks up the reading flow. The normal page turns are very quick, so I'm hoping this is something they can address in a firmware update.
-Battery life seems comparable to the others I've owned.

TL;DR, everything is great except they should add back the physical page turn buttons, and address the periodic slow page turn issue.

Oh, and the lighting is quite even. I never saw the last gen of the Paperwhite, but I remember a lot of folks complaining about that. Seems they resolved that, or people are just far more sensitive than I am.

Mr Crinkle wrote:

I've had several days with the latest gen Paperwhite now, here are some impressions:
...
TL;DR, everything is great except they should add back the physical page turn buttons, and address the periodic slow page turn issue.

The PaperWhite's never had physical page turn buttons.

Never had a 1st gen Paperwhite. My meaning was they should have the same physical turn buttons as in their other models added to the Paperwhite, and you'd have the perfect Kindle.

Mr Crinkle wrote:

Never had a 1st gen Paperwhite. My meaning was they should have the same physical turn buttons as in their other models added to the Paperwhite, and you'd have the perfect Kindle.

From a 1st gen Paperwhite owner: totally, 100% agree. I want to touch my reading surface as little as possible.

My 1st generation Paperwhite occasionally gets stuck in "going forward" or "going backwards" mode, such that if I missed something and swipe to go backwards it goes forwards instead. I usually have to back out of the book and go back in to correct it.

It's about my only complaint with the thing.

Mr Crinkle wrote:

-Once in a while a page turn will take a very long time (perhaps a full 1s delay before anything happens). Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but due to the fact that the touch screen doesn't always trigger when you tap it with a thumb, the delay leads me to think "oh, it didn't register my tap." So I tap it again, and then when the refresh happens, it goes forward twice, and then I have to navigate back. Really breaks up the reading flow. The normal page turns are very quick, so I'm hoping this is something they can address in a firmware update.

My understanding is that once every few page turns, the screen has to completely refresh, which is why it takes longer.

It's a smaller version of the 8.9". I'd go with the last gen update($140ish I think) and he should be pretty thrilled with that. I personally found the screen a touch small for stuff like games and video, but it's by no means a game breaker.

I am thinking of buying a Kindle HD 7 inch becuase I am getting a bit tired of fighting with my son over the iPad. He is hooked on Netflix and I like my paperwhite so I figure a good compromise is to the the 7" kindle so I can still read, but he can watch Netflix, play games, etc when I want to use the iPad.

Should I do that or should I get a used Google Nexus 7? It still has the Kindle software and isn't locked down by Amazon.

I figued it was smaller but the reason I don't like using the iPad for reading is that it is too big to hold comfortablly. Which is why I got the paperwhite but it seems like the 7" fire might be a good compromise for me to be able to read and still have games.

Honestly, I think most of my issue was small screen combined with low res; I had one of the original Kindle Fires. I'd imagine with a higher res screen, it'd be a lot more workable, which is what the new low end Fire is.

farley3k wrote:

I am thinking of buying a Kindle HD 7 inch becuase I am getting a bit tired of fighting with my son over the iPad. He is hooked on Netflix and I like my paperwhite so I figure a good compromise is to the the 7" kindle so I can still read, but he can watch Netflix, play games, etc when I want to use the iPad.

Should I do that or should I get a used Google Nexus 7? It still has the Kindle software and isn't locked down by Amazon.

I've had numerous Kindles since they launched (original, DX, Fire) and I think that for pure reading purposes, nothing beats e-ink. That said, I read almost exclusively on my Nexus 7 simply because it's my go-to device. Prior to getting my Nexus, my devices were either too limited in terms of connectivity/utility or were the wrong size. The 7" form-factor is ideal for daily usage, is entirely adequate for reading (I prefer white text on black background), and the utility of the Nexus 7 is simply awesome. I'd definitely recommend it if you want anything more than just reading.

I did end up going with a Nexus. It will have the kindle app so I can still use it for reading, it will have Netflix for my son, I have already bought into the eco-system because I have an Android phone, etc. Now we will see if I like it for reading.

The 7-inch form factor is definitely the right size for reading - this is coming from someone who has used both a Nexus 7 and an iPad. While the extra real estate is nice, you really just adjust by bringing the device a little closer, and the weight and size factor a great deal in terms of comfort of use. The iPad's too heavy to use one-handed, and still somewhat awkward in various positions even when used two-handed.

I had a Kindle Paperwhite before I gave it away. My friend assures me that it's miles better than any LCD, but I could never really tell the difference. I guess my eyes just tolerate LCDs a lot better for reasons unknown to me.

Yeah. My wife has a full-sized Retina iPad and I feel like she's an alien for actually liking that giant thing. If I had to choose 1 eReader in order of preference it would be Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Fire HD, iPad Mini.

The new iPad Air does sound pretty awesome though. Having said that, so does the Retina iPad Mini!

I've been wanting a new iPad for more memory and the Air does sound awesome, but other than space juggling I'm not feeling limited by my iPad3. That makes those few gigabytes very expensive.

Mr GT Chris wrote:

The new iPad Air does sound pretty awesome though. Having said that, so does the Retina iPad Mini!

Eh. The upgrades are incremental and I think iOS7 still isn't where it needs to be. Some OS functions are missing vis a vis Android and Windows, and a smaller iPad means smaller font - the iPad apps and websites are still not optimized for the Mini. If media consumption is the main function of the device (reading, watching movies, viewing pictures), the 2013 Nexus and the Kindle HDX offer superior functionality (via Jelly Bean 4.3 and third party apps) for a fraction of the price.

My plan at the moment is to purchase the 2nd gen Nexus for cheap and use that to tide me over to a point where maybe the cost/benefit ratio is more favorable to the iPad. This is telling because I'm heavily bought into the Apple ecosystem and they still can't sell me the new iPads. The Kindle HDX is a solid option, though. I might wait for that to come out before deciding.

If the HDX is as significant an upgrade over the current HDs as they are over the original Fire, it will be well worth the price tag IMO.

LarryC wrote:

Eh. The upgrades are incremental and I think iOS7 still isn't where it needs to be. Some OS functions are missing vis a vis Android and Windows, and a smaller iPad means smaller font - the iPad apps and websites are still not optimized for the Mini. If media consumption is the main function of the device (reading, watching movies, viewing pictures), the 2013 Nexus and the Kindle HDX offer superior functionality (via Jelly Bean 4.3 and third party apps) for a fraction of the price.

I'm also into the Apple ecosystem overall (Mac user) so other products, such as the Amazon tablets, have to work really hard to sell me over an iOS device. I'm perfectly happy with my Kindle reader so there is no particular need for ebook functionality on my tablet. I've been using iOS 7 for a few weeks on my iPod Touch and I like it more than iOS 6, for sure. No going back.

I'm a little ambivalent. Random apps have crashed on me for no discernible reason since the upgrade. This list includes Kindle, Kobo, Settings, Chrome, Pages, and so on. There's screen lag, open/close app lag, and most offensive of all, keyboard lag. I'd press a button and it'd take two seconds for it to register. It's regular, too. Happens whenever I log my name for purchase, on a number of word processing apps, and in Hangouts.

This is on an iPad2. Later iPads might have less of an issue, but I've no desire to upgrade.

My phone is Android, so I'm actually in both pools. It's always irritated me no end that I can't share my photos between my devices. Now I can. Bought the Nexus 7 2nd gen. It is a very pretty thing.

The Kindle ebook reader is a major changer in this equation. If I still had one, I'd probably tend to an iDevice as well. The Mac is probably a major factor as well. I don't have a Mac. Could never stand the limitations.

For what it's worth, the new iPad Mini doesn't need apps optimized for it because it has the same pixel resolution as the full size retina iPad. The pixels are just a bit closer together. So I don't foresee anyone optimizing apps for the slightly smaller screen size. For reading, font size in say the Kindle app is easily selectable anyway. It's really a tough call. For a dedicated reader it's hard to beat an eInk Kindle. For a fiction reader hybrid I'd probably get the retina iPad mini. For reading textbooks plus whatever else I'd want a full sized iPad. Or to save a buck for a reader and movie device plus light app use, an LCD Kindle.

complexmath wrote:

For what it's worth, the new iPad Mini doesn't need apps optimized for it because it has the same pixel resolution as the full size retina iPad. The pixels are just a bit closer together. So I don't foresee anyone optimizing apps for the slightly smaller screen size. For reading, font size in say the Kindle app is easily selectable anyway. It's really a tough call. For a dedicated reader it's hard to beat an eInk Kindle. For a fiction reader hybrid I'd probably get the retina iPad mini. For reading textbooks plus whatever else I'd want a full sized iPad. Or to save a buck for a reader and movie device plus light app use, an LCD Kindle.

You could just get them all, like Pokemon!

LarryC wrote:

The Kindle ebook reader is a major changer in this equation. If I still had one, I'd probably tend to an iDevice as well. The Mac is probably a major factor as well. I don't have a Mac. Could never stand the limitations.

Limitations? At this point it's more open than the PC, isn't it? At least you can install Linux without getting permission from Microsoft and Intel.

OS X itself is free at this point. And it runs a Unix-adjacent OS on which almost all Open Source software can be compiled and run. I can do all of my development on my MacBook as well as playing "Papers Please" or "Crusader Kings II".

Is the Amazon book match thing available yet? There's a couple of books I'd like to have in both formats...

edit: Since we're on Mac chat, yeah I don't get the limitations complaint, at worst you can switch to Windows via a reboot, I do it to play games but everything else is just easier and more comfortable on OSX