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Amazon Kindle |OT| of eInk superiority

Got a PW for Xmas. Bought Ender's Game immediately, almost done with it. Have a few books lined up to read right after. I don't have WiFi at work where I read most of the time so I'm not getting the full benefit of X-Ray, dictionary, etc. But oh well. I friggin love this thing.


My current dilemma is: I need something to bring the Kindle to work in. I don't bring anything to work with me now so I would essentially be buying a messenger bag/small bag/small backpack to work just for the Kindle but the thing is so damn small it fits in my jacket pocket. But I don't want people seeing a Kindle on my desk, especially at work when I'm supposed to be um.. working.

So I need a very small messenger bag (that doesn't look like a purse) or small backpack (was looking at Burton 12L ones) that I can throw the Kindle, a magazine or two, and maybe a scarf and gloves in to justify the purpose of me bringing this new bag to work all the sudden.

Suggestions??
 
  • How easy is it to import .ePub files?
  • Will imported files be synced across your Kindle devices?

I think paperwhite supports epub files but i've never tried it, if not you can convert anything to a usable format with calibre

pretty sure you can also use calibre to somehow set up a fake ASIN number or something on your files so that your imported documents sync across your devices, but i've never tried that either
 
  • How easy is it to import .ePub files?
  • Will imported files be synced across your Kindle devices?

Kindles do not support ePub files (despite the format being very close). Use Calibre to convert the files from ePub to Mobi. If there is DRM on the files you're trying to convert, there are tools to remove it that are easily found with Google.

Imported files will not be synced across devices.
 

Salsa

Member
first lesson learned: no matter how much you want to show your appreciation for your grandpa gifting you a cheap led light that is not kindle-specific: dont put it on.

Oc3wD.jpg

not even 1 month old. Ugh.

call me crazy but this is distracting my reading a lot :/ just super bummed. Might grab some money from savings and get the paperwhite and give this one to my dad.


then again with all the complaints and random issues im reading from the paperwhite im debating wether to get that or just another 4 :S

thing is im in south america so if I get a paperwhite with issues customer service is not really an option..

what to do
 
first lesson learned: no matter how much you want to show your appreciation for your grandpa gifting you a cheap led light that is not kindle-specific: dont put it on.



not even 1 month old. Ugh.

call me crazy but this is distracting my reading a lot :/ just super bummed. Might grab some money from savings and get the paperwhite and give this one to my dad.


then again with all the complaints and random issues im reading from the paperwhite im debating wether to get that or just another 4 :S

thing is im in south america so if I get a paperwhite with issues customer service is not really an option..

what to do

They wont replace it in SA?

I just got my third paperwhite replacement in the mail from amazon today and I think this one seems just about perfect and good enough to keep. It still has some slight pink discoloration near the top corners of the screen but nothing too distracting like the other ones, and it's not really visible most of the time anyway
 

Salsa

Member
They wont replace it in SA?

I just got my third paperwhite replacement in the mail from amazon today and I think this one seems just about perfect and good enough to keep. It still has some slight pink discoloration near the top corners of the screen but nothing too distracting like the other ones, and it's not really visible most of the time anyway

not really since id be buying it through a company that allows me to ship it to a US adress and then bring it over. Amazon's shipping to here is crazy expensive.

so yeah :/ I still think im gonna go for the Paperwhite since id feel silly replacing a Kindle 4 with another 4 just because of scratches.. I think. Using it as an opportunity to upgrade makes more sense. Just gotta keep my fingers crossed and wish I dont end up with a unit with issues

for the most part ive read a lot of satisfied customer stories everywhere except GAF. I mean there's like 4 users here that are on the third/fifth replacement? that's fucking bonkers. Gets me really nervous about this but oh well

dust specks/colored hues on the screen sound terrifying. I can deal with uneven light since I doubt its THAT noticeable if you dont go full brightness (not to mention that itd be silly to expect completely even light on a front-lit device), but yeah the other stuff sounds bad..
 

Salsa

Member
another option: wait on the whole thing and just get a case that covers the top of the body (where the scratches are) such as this:


it wont cover all of them but it'll make them less noticeable

im just way too on the fence about the Paperwhite. I bought this Kindle 4 just a month ago and I absolutely love it. Even the fact that the paperwhite doesnt have the page turn buttons makes me doubt getting it, I just love everything about the 4 that much.

still incredibly pissed at myself for causing those scratches with the light clip-on while half asleep. I guess that's how you learn the lesson, but man what an idiot :|

equally pissed at how easily a product becomes "ruined" for me, lol, and how something like scratches on the body (not even on the screen) would make the kindle borderline unusable, but im just an incredibly whiny asshole when it comes to devices. I start reading and glance over the scratches and go all "FUCK GOSH DARNN IT" and get distracted. It is how it is.
 

Nymerio

Member
As someone who was on fence because of the missing buttons, I can say that it doesn't matter at all. It took all of like five minutes to adjust to using the touchscreen and you can even swipe to turn pages. So you can go forward and backward with either hand.
 

Salsa

Member
As someone who was on fence because of the missing buttons, I can say that it doesn't matter at all. It took all of like five minutes to adjust to using the touchscreen and you can even swipe to turn pages. So you can go forward and backward with either hand.

I get that its a minor thing but when you couple it with the fact that I cant send it back if it comes faulty (those color hues/little snippets where light shines through etc) and such... I dont know. Like I said this Kindle 4 is brand new. I was gonna wait a while to get a Paperwhite and the only thing that made me now wanna jump into it are these scratches. Upgrading from Keyboard to Paperwhite (wich is what all my friends did) seems like a no-brainer, but from a 4 not so much.. the light would be nice but I have a totally fine lamp on my bed and wherever else i'd stay. I need to think about it but I dont wanna make a rush decision either. Think i'll get that case and then decide.. just need to hide dem scratches
 

DagsJT

Member
Just about to order a Paperwhite to replace my standard Kindle (not touch), but wondering if anyone can recommend a nice, cheap sleeve in the UK? The official sleeve is nice but it's way too expensive and should be half the price really.
 

Salsa

Member
holy shit what. Just went look at my kindle and I now have a scratch on the middle of the screen. Not any scratch but like a noticeable, texture scratch. I can feel the dent if I pass my fingernail through it. Completely and utterly noticeable while reading.

how the fuck did that happen by leaving it alone on top of a table for an hour

pretty much settles it, guess im getting the paperwhite after all. What the actual fuck, man.
 

Salsa

Member
with that in mind, I have a question for those experiencing the colored tint issues on the paperwhite:

is the color hue issue noticeable at all when the light is set to 0 on a lit environment?
 
with that in mind, I have a question for those experiencing the colored tint issues on the paperwhite:

is the color hue issue noticeable at all when the light is set to 0 on a lit environment?

nope, when the light is at full off (0) it looks basically like a regular kindle screen, though the light is still on so if its dark enough you can see a slight brightness. my old one is slightly brighter than my new one though

on the older one, I can't see any colors at all when the light is set to 0 in a fully lit environment. When it's set to 24, i can see the colors faintly. at a low level in a dark environment I can see the patches though they're just really dark.

some quick pictures from my phone, so the saturation is probably higher than normal but you can see where the patches of colors are.

1 -

2 -

looking at the actual kindle I can't even see those greens on 2, though I can see the pinkish areas a little bit. on the first one I can see all that green that shows up on the photograph, though its fainter. I swear the green area is kind of shrinking or changing shape every day though. On the first one the area above the shadow of the third LED at the bottom looks yellow to me, which was pretty distracting

edit - somewhat more accurate shot of what the first one looks like when i'm actually reading - http://www.abload.de/img/2012-12-3118.32.30c8b6r.jpg
 

Nymerio

Member
I've never even had my kindle at full brightness. The only time I turn it up is to show it to people. I usually read at the lowest setting, seems the most comfortable to me.
 

Salsa

Member
nope, when the light is at full (24) it looks basically like a regular kindle screen, though the light is still on so if its dark enough you can see a slight brightness. my old one is slightly brighter than my new one though

on the older one, I can't see any colors at all when the light is set to 0 in a fully lit environment. When it's set to 24, i can see the colors faintly. at a low level in a dark environment I can see the patches though they're just really dark.

some quick pictures from my phone, so the saturation is probably higher than normal but you can see where the patches of colors are.

1 -

2 -

looking at the actual kindle I can't even see those greens on 2, though I can see the pinkish areas a little bit. on the first one I can see all that green that shows up on the photograph, though its fainter. I swear the green area is kind of shrinking or changing shape every day though. On the first one the area above the shadow of the third LED at the bottom looks yellow to me, which was pretty distracting

edit - somewhat more accurate shot of what the first one looks like when i'm actually reading - http://www.abload.de/img/2012-12-3118.32.30c8b6r.jpg

that all looks really really noticeable and potentially annoying :/

kinda hilarious how I got that scratch on the screen the moment I made my mind up about dealing with the body scratches with a case.. ugh
 

buhdeh

Member
Question:

If I'm primarily using EPUB but want to occasionally buy from Amazon (whenever it's significantly cheaper), would it be better to buy a Kindle and reformat my EPUBs with Calibre or do the opposite and get a Sony PRS-T2 and reformat the Amazon MOBI files? I have no idea what plays nicer with Calibre and which will display conversions "better". I know that I've had the formatting messed up before when converting EPUB to MOBI on my Kindle app for tablets.
 
I have adapted to most of the shortcomings/my complaints with the Paperwhite, but the only thing--albeit minor--that annoys me is using the dictionary. After I highlight a word and look up its definition, exiting that screen causes an improper refresh that leaves some sections of text a fainter gray than the rest of it. All I have to do it go forward a page and then back again to fix it, but it's still annoying.
 
Question:

If I'm primarily using EPUB but want to occasionally buy from Amazon (whenever it's significantly cheaper), would it be better to buy a Kindle and reformat my EPUBs with Calibre or do the opposite and get a Sony PRS-T2 and reformat the Amazon MOBI files? I have no idea what plays nicer with Calibre and which will display conversions "better". I know that I've had the formatting messed up before when converting EPUB to MOBI on my Kindle app for tablets.

The quality of the conversion depends heavily on the quality of the original MOBI or EPUB file. In the ideal setting where all files were made by people who know what they're doing, there shouldn't be anything other than differences between the books before and after conversion; the newest version of MOBI (commonly known as KF8) is very, very close to the most modern versions of EPUB. However, receiving a substandard file for your purchase is an unfortunately common result on pretty much every ebook store.

Because it's not easy to be able to give you a straight answer, I would say go with the format that has more of the books you want to read, unless there's a hardware feature you especially want.
 
that all looks really really noticeable and potentially annoying :/

kinda hilarious how I got that scratch on the screen the moment I made my mind up about dealing with the body scratches with a case.. ugh

It's not potentially annoying, it's incredibly annoying. Especially when you consider their promise of what the device is supposed to be, and what they deliver. The part that bothered me the most on most of the ones I returned wasn't the shadows on the bottom that every unit has, but rather the bright white areas between those shadows that are much brighter than the white on the rest of the screen. Your eyes can't help but always see it. I'm making do with reading on my iPad Mini for now, but I'm also hoping Amazon gets its shit together and addresses all of these problems. Best of luck deciding. The good thing is that Amazon is great about returns/refunds.
 

Salsa

Member
It's not potentially annoying, it's incredibly annoying. Especially when you consider their promise of what the device is supposed to be, and what they deliver. The part that bothered me the most on most of the ones I returned wasn't the shadows on the bottom that every unit has, but rather the bright white areas between those shadows that are much brighter than the white on the rest of the screen. Your eyes can't help but always see it. I'm making do with reading on my iPad Mini for now, but I'm also hoping Amazon gets its shit together and addresses all of these problems. Best of luck deciding. The good thing is that Amazon is great about returns/refunds.

why not get a cheap kindle 4? its the perfect device.


I decided to wait a bit to decide what im gonna do. The scratch on the screen is tolerable. I can ignore it once I get into a proper reading mood/rhythm. Ordered a case to cover the body scratches as well.

Still pissed but no sense crying over spilled milk. If im gonna start getting a new one whenever an old one scratches I feel like im gonna be spending a lot of money. Shit happens I guess.

I'll either get another 4 down the line, get a Paperwhite if they sort out these issues, or deal with the scratched unit till Paperwhite 2/whatever's next.
 
I decided to wait a bit to decide what im gonna do. The scratch on the screen is tolerable. I can ignore it once I get into a proper reading mood/rhythm. Ordered a case to cover the body scratches as well.

Still pissed but no sense crying over spilled milk. If im gonna start getting a new one whenever an old one scratches I feel like im gonna be spending a lot of money. Shit happens I guess.

I'll either get another 4 down the line, get a Paperwhite if they sort out these issues, or deal with the scratched unit till Paperwhite 2/whatever's next.

If you can ignore the scratch on your K4 than you should have no problem ignoring the faults of the Paperwhite. I don't notice the shadowing on the bottom of my Paperwhite anymore.
 

Salsa

Member
If you can ignore the scratch on your K4 than you should have no problem ignoring the faults of the Paperwhite. I don't notice the shadowing on the bottom of my Paperwhite anymore.

I can ignore it and deal with it because it was a misshap and shit like that happens. If it was like this when I first bought it id be exchanging it.

dont get me wrong, im not saying that the Paperwhite "issues" are major, I just know that they'd be something that would definetly bother me just cause I know how I am around these things.

add the fact that I cant get a replacement if faulty, and that I really, really like the page turn buttons and it's not that much of a must-buy for me. It can wait for the time being, same with another new 4 I think.
 

Vyer

Member
Paperwhite lighting doesn't bother me, I guess because I don't think of it like I do a tablet screen. I think of it more as a better reading light, and compared to the 'book light' method that existed previously it does its job very well.
 
Paperwhite lighting doesn't bother me, I guess because I don't think of it like I do a tablet screen. I think of it more as a better reading light, and compared to the 'book light' method that existed previously it does its job very well.

I think it also comes down to the level of the shadowing. My first Paperwhite would have been great in that regard if not for the numerous pinhole light leaks. The shadowing on that one was noticeable but fine.
 
There's definitely not enough consistency in the lighting between different units. One screen can be significantly brighter than another at the same setting
 

icespide

Banned
pretty sweet that time to read is coming to the kindle touch. It's probably my favorite feature of the paperwhite after the light
 

jayb

Member
Will 4 NT get that as well?

I kind of doubt it, but who knows. I suppose it's possible they might eventually add time-to-read, but the K4 doesn't even have x-ray either.

Also, the touch/paperwhite interface doesn't really work well for the K4, so it would take more work on Amazon's end than simply applying the same OS update to the K4.
 

coopolon

Member
Recently when turning on my paperwhite it says "Collecting information, will restart when finished" or something along those lines, every time I turn it on. And it does restart afte a minute or two. Looking around the internet it seems the suggested means to get rid of this is by doing a full reset (holding down the power button until it reboots completely.) I did that and it did go away for a week or so, but now it's doing it again.

Anyone else experiencing this?
 
Ordered a Paperwhite the other day, got it in the mail today. Just unpackaged it and downloaded Oliver Twist. I'm excited about the prospect of catching up on a lot of literary classics for free.
 

CrankyJay

Banned
if it's linked to your account it should work. its the same idea of read on any device. just that this is a 14 day book.

could be wrong. so blame amazon.

It's on my paperwhite but I don't see it on my kindle app on iPad

Edit: prime lending is for kindle only
 
Why did you purchase the Kindle as opposed to merely buying the book/books you wanted? Is reading on a Kindle actually more convenient than reading a paperback?
 

Davidion

Member
So how is the PDF support on this thing? Is it about the same as the kindle? I had the last gen keyboard graphite kindle and may be interested in trading up to the white; not sure if it's worth it yet. I read a lot of presentations, so images might actually be a bit important.
 

lunch

there's ALWAYS ONE
Why did you purchase the Kindle as opposed to merely buying the book/books you wanted? Is reading on a Kindle actually more convenient than reading a paperback?
I think it's more convenient, although my biggest problem with the Kindle is that I never purchased books before, so it's difficult to start buying them, knowing I'll probably never reread them. I consider the price of each book a sort of fee to enjoy the book with all of the conveniences of the Kindle: the frontlight of the Paperwhite makes it easy to read in dark, the size makes it easy to carry around on the train, I don't need to worry about breaking spines or folding back pages (which is admittedly more of a me problem than a book problem) and it's significantly easier to read one-handed (which is, again, useful on trains), I don't have to worry about bookmarks, X-Ray makes it easy to search for characters and motifs (which comes in handy for essays), I can ensure (with some exceptions) that the typeface will be to my liking, and I can check out books from my (formerly) local library despite now living half the country away.

I used my Keyboard sparingly, but I'm loving my Paperwhite, and it's the first time I can say that an e-reader is an enhancement of the reading experience, and not simply a novelty.
 

Ratrat

Member
My kindle keyboard has developed mysterious white lines across the screen. Now I don't remember dropping it since the last time I used it but it's possible someone else in the house did. Is it fucked? I'm kind of pissed off and don't feel like buying a paper white or fire atm.
Edit: it's something I use every day so Im not sure I'll survive without some kind of replacement... Argh! What kind of enhancements are expected for the next gen?
 
Why did you purchase the Kindle as opposed to merely buying the book/books you wanted? Is reading on a Kindle actually more convenient than reading a paperback?

It's a daft question, but I guess I'll answer it anyway

- Light built into the case (I have a Keyboard)
- Built in dictionary for looking up words
- Other people can't tell what you're reading on the train/bus
- Takes up a lot less space than a stack of paperbacks
 
One of the biggest things for me is the ability to curl up in whatever position I want to read, rather than being limited to certain positions due to the form factor/weight of a paper book. Once you realize the beauty of being able to just prop your kindle up on something and lie down on your side in bed and just read mostly hands-free, you'll never want to have to go back to having to be in a position where you're able to hold up a book with both hands, especially the larger oversized paperbacks or hardcovers. I still buy paper books, but for actually reading most stuff I get a kindle version as well

Also being able to read other types of documents on it as well. I've used mine for articles, movie scripts, stories saved in html format from the web and converted to a kindle format (Humper Monkey's ghost story for example) etc.
 

Angst

Member
My kindle keyboard has developed mysterious white lines across the screen. Now I don't remember dropping it since the last time I used it but it's possible someone else in the house did. Is it fucked? I'm kind of pissed off and don't feel like buying a paper white or fire atm.
Edit: it's something I use every day so Im not sure I'll survive without some kind of replacement... Argh! What kind of enhancements are expected for the next gen?

talk to amazon cs and they'll help you out.
 

Fjordson

Member
Why did you purchase the Kindle as opposed to merely buying the book/books you wanted? Is reading on a Kindle actually more convenient than reading a paperback?
Certainly.

I have books in a few seconds when I buy them on Kindle, I almost always save money buying them digitally instead of physically, reading in bed is immensely more comfortable with a Kindle than with physical books, and I love being able to look up anything I come across that I may be unfamiliar with while reading. Be it a word in the built in dictionary, or something a bit more expansive on Wikipedia.

I've also been reading more classics than ever before since many of them are free on Kindle (just read Tale of Two Cities and Grimm's Fairy Tales recently).
 
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