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Amazon Kindle |OT| of eInk superiority

Nothing terrible. Just the mildly inconvenient form factor, not enough bezel for gripping.

Generally though I prefer to avoid touch interfaces where I can. Since I'm made of wood touch screens do not cooperate when I touch them a lot of the time. D:

Price point (sans special offers) and lack of page turn buttons will turn me to the dark side I'm afraid. Ah well I still have kindle app on my smartphone (and volume buttons to change pages). :3

The next big leap, most likely a pipe dream, for me will be color eInk displays. Though if it's not back lit, then I'll need to wait for the model that comes after that.

I thought I would miss the physical button but the touch screen on Paperwhite is great and the touch area is large and very responsive. I play with the Nook while the bezel is bigger, and comfortable with holding it with two hand, Paperwhite is much easier to just grip with single hand and just. It also easy to fit into pocket of jacket or even the back of my jean.

However the thing that it have over the Nook is the screen, if you guys get annoyed by the uneven light and shadow on the bottom of Paperwhite you would go nut with the way the Nook light up the screen.
 

Rootbeer

Banned
Been using my Paperwhite for a few days, replacing my kindle keyboard. mostly really happy with it but i do think the uneven lighting near the bottom is distracting. I thought the entire screen would be perfectly illuminated and even, but it's not. I've been reading reports on ebook sites of people sending theirs back by the droves to get replacements... while some may get better units, for the most part I believe this is just a flaw in the design.

It's a good product but doesn't quite live up to the name "paperwhite" if you ask me. Maybe "Paperwhite... except the bottom, which looks kinda warped and weird" o_O

The screen *feels* like paper which I'm sure is intentional. Not smooth like glass on a tablet or phone. The touch is very responsive though, just as much as my iphone (though when typing you can definitely notice the refresh delay, but that is still expected)

I also have the official amazon leather case (pics on previous page of this thread) and I love it. You can fold the cover behind it just like a paperback book. It's great. I also have the official leather case for my kindle keyboard (the one with the built-in lamp arm that hides in the top). This one is much thinner and lighter when the device is inside. Also a bit smaller.

Hopes for next kindle upgrade: more storage (they dropped it down to 2GB this time, wasn't it 4 at one time?), more improvements to the light tech, and hopefully in the not-to-distant-future.. color and faster refresh for things like video. it may sound nuts now, but i think things are heading that way for these devices.
 

icespide

Banned
sending my leather cover back for a refund and I'll just stick with the sleeve I used for my kindle touch. I just really like the way it feels without a case on it while reading
 

Gattsu25

Banned
For some reason I thought this was coming out in 2 weeks.

Damn...amazon is saying 4-6 weeks for shipping.


What's the best way to get one of these before the 19th (have an international trip, then)?
 

Foob

Member
any of you homies know if i can jailbreak/install that custom screensaver thing on my touch running 5.1.2? i read on a wiki that you can't, but some people say you can... so confused
 
For some reason I thought this was coming out in 2 weeks.

Damn...amazon is saying 4-6 weeks for shipping.


What's the best way to get one of these before the 19th (have an international trip, then)?

Playing a premium on eBay. They don't sell them in brick and mortar stores yet, so right now, Amazon is the only source.
 
i2Ht7FT7QUst6.png

http://www.humblebundle.com/ said:
The Humble eBook
Bundle

Eight works of literary genius. Humble eBook Bundle features eight masterful works from a prodigious league of award-winning authors. Name your price and receive Pirate Cinema, Pump Six and Other Stories, Zoo City, Invasion: The Secret World Chronicle, Stranger Things Happen, and Magic for Beginners. Customers who beat the average will also receive Old Man's War and the graphic novel Signal to Noise!

Pay what you want. This collection of fantastic stories would typically cost around $52, but we’re letting you set the price!

http://www.humblebundle.com/
 

Nymerio

Member
So the paperwhite is coming out on november 22nd here in austria. Just ordered one with the black cover.

edit: €129 for the standard version, €189 for the 3G version, covers are €34,99
 

CrunchinJelly

formerly cjelly
So the paperwhite is coming out on november 22nd here in austria. Just ordered one with the black cover.

edit: €129 for the standard version, €189 for the 3G version, covers are €34,99

Thanks for the heads up, it's up for pre-order in the UK, too. £109 over here which is +£20 on the US price after tax. Bloody hell.

Also looks like we finally get the Lending Library, although I didn't realise it's only one book a month which is a bit shit.
 

Chili

Member
It's actually a very good deal. The US version without Special Offers is closer to £135. Scratch that. I was looking at my order total, forgetting I got the case as well.

That said, WHYYY couldn't Amazon have just announced it was coming to the UK. I've already ordered mine from Amazon.com, picking it up next week when I'm over there.
 

Chili

Member
We're also excited to announce a new addition to the Kindle Store, the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, which will be available later this month. With an Amazon Prime membership, Kindle owners can choose from more than 200,000 books to borrow for free as frequently as once a month, with no due dates and no waiting in line.

YES!! UK finally catching up.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
yes, preordered a wifi with a black case. Surprised it just popped up with no warning. Happy to be getting it before christmas.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Thanks for the heads up, it's up for pre-order in the UK, too. £109 over here which is +£20 on the US price after tax. Bloody hell.

Also looks like we finally get the Lending Library, although I didn't realise it's only one book a month which is a bit shit.

no ads though, I think the US version is $29 more for no ads?

And the lending library is a bit limited. UK already has good ebooks, and the sony reader is almost worth me buying just for integrated UK overdrive library access. I'm also not buying a prime membership just for that. Needs lovefilm access added to it.
 

Ironmask

Member
So the paperwhite is coming out on november 22nd here in austria. Just ordered one with the black cover.

edit: €129 for the standard version, €189 for the 3G version, covers are €34,99

Finally here in Italy too we can pre-order it, same price:

€129 for the standard version, €189 for the 3G version, covers are €34,99

i've preordered a standard version, the covers are too pricey and i'll wait for the third-party support
 

kharma45

Member
Glad to see the UK finally getting the Paperwhite, wasn't delayed over here as long as I feared it would be. As soon as Tesco have it on their site I'll be placing an order, saved up a lot of Clubcard vouchers for one, should take a fair bit off the price tag.
 
So my dad called me because his Kindle Keyboard was doing "weird things".

After talking with him for a while and browsing the interwebs I get to the problem, the thing was updating to the new 3.4 firmware and a) it failed because it is jailbroken (I did it to put the menus on Spanish) or b) The wi-fi failed mid-update.

The problem is that the device is constantly trying to finish the update. Fixing these things by phone is a pain in the ass, and I dunno what to tell him besides rebooting the device, what does not work.

Anyone halp?
 
Is anyone else having a problem with their Paperwhite of tapping the screen to turn the page and it jumps ahead a bunch of pages? Its happening to me so often that now I watch my location when I turn to page to make sure I don't miss anything.
 

Polari

Member
So I bought the new entry-level Kindle after losing my keyboard model in transit at some point. I think I dun goofed. The build quality feels really cheap compared to the keyboard, cheap plastic and the buttons don't have the same tactility. Also, now I see Amazon have announced the Paperwhite for the UK today... I have reservations about using a touch screen rather than those convenient buttons on the side for page-turning, but it's probably still way better than this. FML.

/rant
 

SteveWD40

Member
So got my first Kindle, quick question: when you tap the power button once it goes to the screensaver mode, is it ok to leave it that way? does it power off at some point or is it best to hold down and power off manually?
 

Polari

Member
So got my first Kindle, quick question: when you tap the power button once it goes to the screensaver mode, is it ok to leave it that way? does it power off at some point or is it best to hold down and power off manually?

It's fine - it's using a negligible amount of power when in screensaver mode. I don't think I have ever powered either of the ones I have had off.
 

sangreal

Member
So got my first Kindle, quick question: when you tap the power button once it goes to the screensaver mode, is it ok to leave it that way? does it power off at some point or is it best to hold down and power off manually?

it doesn't power off. my understanding is that the screen only uses power when it refreshes
 

Ledsen

Member
Why can Euro countries with their own Amazon store order it, but there is no "International Version" on the Amazon US page for the rest of us Euros yet?
 

CrunchinJelly

formerly cjelly
Weird, amazon actually did post about all the 'faults' of the pw

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.ht...d_t=201&pf_rd_p=1404554782&pf_rd_i=B007OZNZG0

I mean... good on them?

They shouldn't have advertised it as perfect in the first place.

Removing the headphone jack and halving the memory were cost-cutting moves. I think the Paperwhite should still have audiobooks options. Saying 'get a Kindle Fire' isn't a solution as reading on an LCD is less than ideal.

I feel like every year Amazon remove more and more features and don't put some of that money back in to the product. The menus etc are still horrifically slow on the Paperwhite, for example.
 

Verdre

Unconfirmed Member
I just got an email from amazon this morning

Dear Kindle Customer,

We have good news. You are entitled to a credit for some of your past e-book purchases as a result of legal settlements between several major e-book publishers and the Attorneys General of most U.S. states and territories, including yours. You do not need to do anything to receive this credit. We will contact you when the credit is applied to your Amazon.com account if the Court approves the settlements in February 2013.

Hachette, Harper Collins, and Simon & Schuster have settled an antitrust lawsuit about e-book prices. Under the proposed settlements, the publishers will provide funds for a credit that will be applied directly to your Amazon.com account. If the Court approves the settlements, the account credit will appear automatically and can be used to purchase Kindle books or print books. While we will not know the amount of your credit until the Court approves the settlements, the Attorneys General estimate that it will range from $0.30 to $1.32 for every eligible Kindle book that you purchased between April 2010 and May 2012. Alternatively, you may request a check in the amount of your credit by following the instructions included in the formal notice of the settlements, set forth below. You can learn more about the settlements here:
www.amazon.com/help/agencyebooksettlements

In addition to the account credit, the settlements impose limitations on the publishers’ ability to set e-book prices. We think these settlements are a big win for customers and look forward to lowering prices on more Kindle books in the future.

Thank you for being a Kindle customer.

The Amazon Kindle Team

So looks like something good will come from the antitrust lawsuit
 

stn

Member
I've been thinking to buy one for law school, there are too many cases to read. Is it as easy as copy-pasting the .PDF files into some folder on the Kindle? Thanks!
 

Coop

Member
Is anyone else having a problem with their Paperwhite of tapping the screen to turn the page and it jumps ahead a bunch of pages? Its happening to me so often that now I watch my location when I turn to page to make sure I don't miss anything.

I've had this happen to me a couple of times.
 
They shouldn't have advertised it as perfect in the first place.

Removing the headphone jack and halving the memory were cost-cutting moves. I think the Paperwhite should still have audiobooks options. Saying 'get a Kindle Fire' isn't a solution as reading on an LCD is less than ideal.

I feel like every year Amazon remove more and more features and don't put some of that money back in to the product. The menus etc are still horrifically slow on the Paperwhite, for example.

I'm very happy with menu responsiveness, especially coming from a Kindle 2. No way is it horrific. It does exactly what it needs to do when I need it done.

The new screen was the new investment in the product, it's absurd to say they don't put money back into the product.

And saying they should have audio capabilities in the breath as extolling the screen is silly. Are you looking or listening? I would like to have audio, more features are nice, but I can't say I miss it. I rarely used it and I don't do audiobooks much. I could see Amazon crunching the numbers and realizing the feature isn't worth the cost.
 

Somnid

Member
They shouldn't have advertised it as perfect in the first place.

Removing the headphone jack and halving the memory were cost-cutting moves. I think the Paperwhite should still have audiobooks options. Saying 'get a Kindle Fire' isn't a solution as reading on an LCD is less than ideal.

I feel like every year Amazon remove more and more features and don't put some of that money back in to the product. The menus etc are still horrifically slow on the Paperwhite, for example.

It was cost-cutting as the screen manufacturing is probably very low yield since nobody has done anything like this previously. This is the type of stuff that will likely return in future models as costs come down but wasn't adding enough to the core experience.

I'm not sure what you want with the menus though, this is still eInk. It's not like people aren't working on it both at Amazon and the e-Ink corporation who provides the display tech.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
I've been thinking to buy one for law school, there are too many cases to read. Is it as easy as copy-pasting the .PDF files into some folder on the Kindle? Thanks!

No. It won't be what you think.
 
I've been thinking to buy one for law school, there are too many cases to read. Is it as easy as copy-pasting the .PDF files into some folder on the Kindle? Thanks!

To elaborate: you can read the PDF's on the Kindle in the method you describe, but the screen is too small to display the entire thing and there aren't any good zoom options (unless they added that in the PW). So you'll be looking at cutoffs and imperfect resolutions, because PDF's don't support text reflow.
 

AndyD

aka andydumi
No. It won't be what you think.

To elaborate: you can read the PDF's on the Kindle in the method you describe, but the screen is too small to display the entire thing and there aren't any good zoom options (unless they added that in the PW). So you'll be looking at cutoffs and imperfect resolutions, because PDF's don't support text reflow.

Indeed. Now if you are willing to copy/paste cases from Westlaw/Lexis into say text or word files which can reflow, it could be an excellent reader.
 

bangai-o

Banned
I've been thinking to buy one for law school, there are too many cases to read. Is it as easy as copy-pasting the .PDF files into some folder on the Kindle? Thanks!
upload the pdf to google docs and it can convert it to html format. it works well unless the pdf is handwritten. anything that it cannot convert it just becomes a jpeg. from google docs email as attachment to you kindle. kindle converts that to mobi format and you can adjust fonts and everything just like a regular ebook.
 

stn

Member
Great, thanks for all the help! So, in everyone's opinion should I buy the Kindle for the purposes of reading law cases? I have read reasons why not to buy it but at the same time also see reasons to buy it (post above mine). What would you guys do?

Thank you!
 
Great, thanks for all the help! So, in everyone's opinion should I buy the Kindle for the purposes of reading law cases? I have read reasons why not to buy it but at the same time also see reasons to buy it (post above mine). What would you guys do?

Thank you!

It depends on how image-based the PDF's are. If they're mostly text, they'll convert or be easier to read.

I'd say find a friend who already has one, or buy it and return it if it's not working for you. It's hard to explain how it works, and it might work really well for your usecase.
 
Any of y'all find a good one hand position?

Been holding it normally with my right hand and rolling my thumb over the bezel to turn tr page.

It's a bit weird because I usually hold past kindles with my right hand.

I do wish you could customize the touch zones.
 
This is a stupid question, but how do you guys stop from losing your Kindles? I have now lost 3 Kindles and need a surefire tactic from losing it again. If I protect it with a password and write my contact info on the back, is there a very high chance someone will return it?
 
This is a stupid question, but how do you guys stop from losing your Kindles? I have now lost 3 Kindles and need a surefire tactic from losing it again. If I protect it with a password and write my contact info on the back, is there a very high chance someone will return it?
Get a Wrist strap
 
This is a stupid question, but how do you guys stop from losing your Kindles? I have now lost 3 Kindles and need a surefire tactic from losing it again. If I protect it with a password and write my contact info on the back, is there a very high chance someone will return it?

How do you stop yourself from losing any of your other possessions?
 
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