Amazon releases new Kindle products
amazon.com
amazon.com
The Kindle Voyager fixes the biggest complaint I have with the Paperwhite: page turning via touching the screen is worse than the physical buttons on older-gen Kindles. And the auto-brightness sensor means there is one less thing for me to fiddle with. Higher DPI and thinner (flush bezel looks sexy!) are just icing on the cake.
It's kind of hard to explain why I love the Kindle so much - and why I've owned every model - but something just feels right to me about reading with it. It's modern but familiar and so much more convenient for me (click Buy Now on amazon.com and the book is loaded by the time I walk over to pick it up from the shelf).
FYI: I always buy the models "With special offers" (ads shown on the lock screen - but usually Amazon does a free giftcard offer during the first few weeks so free $$) and "WiFi" (I've rarely used the 3G - and you can always just tether to most phones nowadays anyway).
i feel the same way. I've never really loved any piece of tech the way i love my kindle(s). An iPad or a Phone is just a tool, but i've got a totally irrational emotional attachment to my kindle. It's kind of like the irrational emotional attachment proponents of paper books talk about when explaining why they could never buy an e-reader.
I have probably read more books in the few years I have owned a Kindle than in the forty preceding it.
Now I have found difficulty getting my niece and nephew to read on it, they seem very much at that stage of "its not color its old". So when they get e ink to color maybe that will help.
I am a little disappointed in the price jumps for the e ink models, it seems like there is a model missing.
The only thing that pisses me off is that I could not find a decent reading light to accompany it until today.
I ended up using my IPhone a reading light which is not ideal.
[It was a slight annoyance of the PW that you could never entirely turn off the light, just turn the brightness way down.]
Or, even better, is there a physical button to turn off the light (as on [some models of] the Kobo)...?
I can't see the PW light at minimum in a room with any lighting, though, and can't read the PW without lighting.
Aside from the probably-negligible battery use, what use case is it breaking aside from pet-peeve?
I just hate the look of the PW's backlight. The color is a sort of sickly blue, and I actually hate the evenness of it, it loses any sense of being a reflective matte surface which is one of eink's great strengths.
At absolute minimum setting, the PW's light is basically dim enough to be acceptable, but the Voyager's press descriptions, which are emphasizing the brighter light intensity etc, are making me nervous that Amazon is doubling-down on backlighting (er, "frontlighting") and giving up on the idea of a good-contrast reflective display...
[I certainly recognize that in many cases, a light is very useful, but I really want it to be an option that I can turn on when it's handy, and turn off when it's not. I don't want eink to become just yet another light-emitting display tech...]
I agree. This makes the upgrade to the voyager an immediate purchase for me. As soon as they decide to make it available in Canada :(
Funny, I would buy something like the DX ("like", as in price and battery life) for reading PDFs of the textbooks, magazines, journal articles, and so on, that are my ordinary reading material, if the screen weren't so comically small.
(I also have a Kindle Paperwhite 2 that I use for books. I've tried PDF's on on the paperwhite, and it doesn't work nearly as well as on the DX.)
So for me it's not that the one I had at each time was too old, or for fun, but because the new version adds something that genuinely improve my reading comfort, while being cheap enough that I don't need to think much about that expense.
For me, the reasons went: "new," "screen contrast + first-party lighted case," "built-in light + size" in that order.
I've pre-ordered a Voyage. That's in part because of increased clarity and even thinner form factor, and in part because it frees up my PW for my gf, who honestly uses e-paper Kindles more than I do.
I like having at least one "backup" to lend to family members on vacation. I also bought a cheap waterproof-case (it's essentially a double-sealed Ziploc bag) so I just toss an older model in that and float around the pool and read worry free.
I also like supporting the product line with my wallet - and it's fun to get new toys every year or two :)
I completely agree that the removal of the hard-buttons for page turning was the biggest deficiency with the touch-screen models. I'm so happy to see hard-buttons return. The Voyage looks a bit pricey compared to the last few I've bought, but I'm willing to pick one up.
Here's something I've wanted for a while, though: a small bluetooth page-advance button for bedroom reading. Maybe some day.
I often wish Amazon would focus on the Kindle e-readers since their tablets and phones seem a distraction.
For me it's a great example of a device that does one thing and does it well. Yes there are compromises (buying from Amazon is frictionless, from anyone else requires side loading for instance) but it what you want to do is read books, it does that really, really well - way better than any other device I've owned.
if i leave radio off it last weeks.
as soon as i turn it on to get my newspaper it last a couple days.
and there is no "turn on to update now and then back to off" option. when you manually update it turns on and you have to remember to go to options and turn off. which i never remember.
we call it the kindle paper weight.
it would be perfect if radio off, i press update, it turns radio, update, turns radio off again.
i would get my journals and week long battery.
as it is, if i wont watch it update to the end (which is slow as hell, couple minutes often) and do the boring procedure to turn radio off manually again (menu > options > etc) i will have a few days instead of a couple weeks.
Here's an example: http://youtu.be/5-vZqmdwWSo?t=1m16s
I have been Kindle user since they had Kindle 3. I love K3 but I wish it had backlight. I bought Kindle Touch but gave it away, cuz touch screen was clumsy to use for page turning. There were so many times where I tapped a link accidentally while turning a page. However, I liked touch for quickly tapping word to look it up in dictionary.
This Kindle Voyage with dedicate page turn buttons, backlight, and touch screen might just be perfect..
If only it had "Text to Speech." I guess not many people like to hear books in monotone. But I use it to listen to old classics, blogs, or other fiction while walking on treadmill, driving, or when I just too tired.
I'm glad to see the return of page turn buttons.
The thing is, the first 10 - 20 minutes were a bit annoying, but after that you get used to it and hardly notice.
You can drag the e-ink display Kindle from my cold dead hands. Nothing is better for serious book reading. It's the only screen my wife and I allow in our bedroom, it's the only electronic device I'm bringing to the beach. I'm very happy to see Amazon continuing to refine them.
The main pain point for me was the lack of Epub support in it. I wanted to buy the paperwhite but in an effort to not support DRM based solutions I started buying my technical books directly on the publishers website with non-DRM formats.
Then Kobo released the Kobo mini and that was the perfect pocketable size for me. I jumped in. All my Kindle notions and impressions were out of the door. The Kobo was a much better device in my opinion. The "Reading Life" feature was awesome and the UX and font selection great. Stopped using the Kindle.
Then I missed a light. I tend to read on the dark hours and something like the paperwhite became a need. eReaders are not cheap here in Brazil. A Kindle Paperwhite with cost you USD 200+. Since I was a fan of Kobo, I decided to check out the Kobo Aura HD. Heck the thing was the price of a laptop.
In the end a major book retailer here in Brazil decided to ship their own eReader called Lev. It had a version with light, it could read Epubs and other formats and it fit my budget. Also it had a killer feature the both Kindle and Kobo lacked: PDF Reflow. This small simple eReader can reflow text on a PDF to fit the screen and it works pretty well. I was sold. I am pretty happy with my Lev eReader now, I have all the features I could want from the competitors plus the ability to read old LISP book PDFs as if they were meant for that screen.
Moral of the story: Instead of jumping in and buying the new thing from gigantic retailer, shop around and see what the small guys are doing in your region. There might be an eReader there that fits your needs much better than the Kindle. (Still miss page sync though)
That, and battery capacity suffers noticeably (at least on a smartphone).
PS: I don't know how far the differences go. The Lev might just be the exact same thing but translated or there might be some software differences. Looking at the screenshots I can see that the menu has different borders which in itself doesn't mean anything
The problem is that US letter paper or A4 are both roughly 14" diagonal, and textbooks and magazines are often a bit larger, so you need something like a borderless 15" diagonal display with at least 300px/in resolution. I'm hoping that within a few years we'll see reasonably-priced tablets with displays like this and with serious battery life (say, 24 hours or so, because thinner isn't everyone's first priority).
The ebook format, because it doesn't make archaic assumptions about "paper size", and I can therefore read it on anything from a phone to a wall-sized projector screen.
Someone should make an online converter: you email your paper to the converter address, it optimizes it and sends it to your Kindle.
The paperwhite, however, is terrible for papers, and I don't think the higher resolution screen would be helpful. At least for my eyes, cramming a full letter sized page into the small screen wouldn't work... so I'd still be left with a view of a subset of the page.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IOY8XWQ/ref=fs_kv
[2] http://www.amazon.com/Probabilistic-Graphical-Models-Princip...
What I am wondering though is, why they post a picture instead of text on the website - not only for SEO. It results in everyday problems: eg I can't copy and paste the text and post it into skype to inform my dad about that. Yeah, sure, I could post the link, but this is what I consider as a really bad practice. Compare the beautifully crafted privacy statement of apple, even the text in the charts is "text". Just my 2 cents...
No idea how accurate that is...
To this end press releases are specifically written and structured like news articles. They are (supposed to be) published in a format that’s easy to copy.
It’s a favorite PR tactic because it works, even without any bribes or coercion. Newsrooms have been shrinking, money has been tight, reporters have less and less time, so if they get something they could as well publish it’s very easy to sway them, especially if it’s just boring news.
However, this is also a weird way to treat respectable journalists who would take the time to write about this. One common sense PR approach is to treat the press nicely, so annoying them by not allowing them to copy something (which might be perfectly legitimate, even when writing your own in-depth article about something) is just weird.
Also, look at this press release: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-ne...
All perfectly copyable. So I’m really not sure whether what you heard is actually true.
[1] yes, it's for section 508 compliance, I know
What puzzles me is that in bright rooms (e.g., all my daytime reading if the window blinds are open) I turn the light all the way off [1]. One of the points of eInk is that you don't need any extra light when you are in a bright room.
Why does Amazon want me to turn the light up, which eats up the battery? I realize it does make the screen look whiter to have the light on in a bright room, but as far as I can see it does not make a noticeable difference in readability.
The new high end eInk Kindle features automatic light adjustment based on a light sensor. If that means that in bright rooms it is going to crank up the light, I would not be happy. Does it do that? If so, can it be overridden?
[1] well, not quite...the light cannot be turned all the way off on the Paperwhite while reading. It only goes all the way off when you put it to sleep.
It's actually easier on your eyes.
> If that means that in bright rooms it is going to crank up the light, I would not be happy. Does it do that?
Probably.
> If so, can it be overridden?
Probably.
http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/17/6353785/amazon-kindle-voya...
Amazon also says that you can fine tune the behavior if you don't like the default.
[0] http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/17/6353785/amazon-kindle-voya...
If I were betting, I'd bet that the high res screen component isn't yet available in large enough quantities and/or cheaply enough to make it feasible to use in the low-end model. That will no doubt change.
The just called it something else and raised the price excessively.
This seems like a really nice feature that was somewhat buried in the Kindle Voyage description.
Kindle had always been a no-brainer purchase at a "don't think too hard about it" price point that made upgrading to each new model actually feasible. But two hundred for a higher resolution screen and a $2 dollar photo sensor module? Color me confused.
I clicked the link with every intention of buying after reading the comments here, but I can't believe no one mentioned the (hefty) price tag!
Seeing how attached many people seem to be to their Kindle reinforces that position. I might just have to buy one to see what that's all about.
The people who buy this will be existing Kindle owners who can't do without their Kindle but want the existing problems addressed.
I'd bet a huge majority of purchasers of the Voyager are mostly-happy current Kindle users.
I'm not upgrading my Paperwhite V2 at the new price, I likely would have at the same price.
I have both a kindle paperwhite and the previous base, touchless model, and the text is noticeably more recessed underneath the physical display on the paperwhite -- presumably to accomadate the touch sensor and the light.
So even though it's higher DPI, the actual reading experience feels more analog/physical-paper-like on the classic, touchless kindle.
I am an iOS engineer by trade.
If I had to give up my paperwhite or my iphone, I'd give up the iphone in a heartbeat.
If you read, you need a paperwhite.
From a elderly reader's standpoint, the iPad is like a Kindle DX but a) heavier, b) with color, and c) with tons of other apps. For whatever reason, eyestrain of an LCD doesn't bother them in the least.
While the books themselves have adjustable font size, menus are way too small for him, and he'd like a much larger screen.
I wouldn't be surprised if he used a 10 inch iPad instead :)
Still, the Paperwhite is good enough that it has been a good upgrade. Touching to define a word or to find out who this character in GoT really is, is very useful.
Alas, the new Kindle does not ship internationally just yet (or at all, until October 21st).
The only options you have is using Calibre (which I don't because I don't like toxic developers and ugly UI/code) or using a Jailbreak.
I'm doing the latter and am quite happy with my kerned and hyphenated epubs.
I suppose the idea would have to be that there are significant non-commercial sources of pdf and text documents that someone might want to read on a kindle (think documentation, academic papers, a collection of notes, the kind of things that aren't available through amazon).
However, those same kinds of documents are increasingly distributed as epubs, because PDFs are horrible unless you target one specific output size and resolution (like physical paper), and text simply doesn't offer enough layout flexibility. Epub is the open standard, and anyone who wants layout flexibility uses it. Anything else, including a lot of kindle ebooks, are typically converted from an epub original.
It's not a technical challenge. KF8 is nearly isomorphic to epub.
You won't find any epubs in the Amazon Store. That Amazon still allows to side-load other ebooks onto the Kindle is nice but you never known when that hole gets closed up.
It might not be a technical challenge for you but there many people out there for whom it is and those will go to the Amazon Store to get their ebooks there because it's easier to do. And voila, their in the walled garden of Amazon.
PDFs are targetting a different kind of ebooks, those that need to have an exact layout. Amazon is also not really supporting them well, the reading experience of a PDF on a Kindle is awful even though the Kindle DX would have a big enough display for displaying whole pages.
I think you misread/misinterpreted. I didn't say there were epubs in the kindle store, but that many of their ebooks were converted from epub format [to get them into the kindle store as kf8 or mobi]. To elaborate: You can't natively edit kf8 or mobi files (at least not with mainstream editors). kf8 and mobi ebooks therefore originate as html or epub (which are pretty much the same thing, ignoring that epubs are zipped, and ignoring simple extras like toc and cover page semantics). Kindle-supported kf8 format is generated using kindlegen operating on either a epub or html source (or some other formats, which aren't recommended because they lack formatting parity with epub/kf8). The point being, ebooks are basically in some quasi-html open format to begin with, Amazon requires converting them to a proprietary format (and kf8 is a very thin proprietary veneer over epub) to get them onto kindles... a conversion that serves no practical, functional purpose.
Which "business model" is that? Being monopolistic through their own proprietary format? Yeah, monopolies don't want to give up their monopoly power. Go figure. That doesn't mean we shouldn't be demanding that their power is reduced.
But they are using their proprietary format to promote their platform and as soon as you are in their walled garden, it's much more convenient to buy it from Amazon.
They are a content provider and they do anything that's legally possible to keep their customer and that includes a proprietary format.
Given that the Kindle is currently the best e-ink hardware that is out there and even by a big margin, they don't need to enforce anything (the Calibre plugin that removes the DRM from Kindle ebooks for ebooks) but I wonder what happens if a viable competitor turns up?
The developer has been helpful enough on the couple of times I have filed a bug.
I'm not sure why people hate the UI. The configuration UI is pretty bad, but I rarely go need to go there and the main screen works perfectly for me.
I didn't mention that I also don't need to use Calibre as I can load my epubs onto the device via wireless connection.
I also don't use Amazon's ereader software so that I'm able to read epubs without converting them and also having an UI interface on the Kindle that suits my habits better than the official one.
For these reasons I don't have a need for Calibre in the first place.
Also, $79 regular Kindle doesn't have any kind of backlight (or whatever that's called in Kindles), which could be a deal breaker with some people. Not to mention its DPI is much lower than Paperwhite 2, probably even 1.
Apparently they still sell the Paperwhite 2 (same price), so people in those countries would probably buy that. I think making Paperwhite 2 100 bucks without changing its specifications would have been a better choice than to create a new Kindle version all together. Light is, as you said, essential and not only in Finland. Most people read books in bed, and light is essential there too. I can't imagine using Kindle without the front light.
It might be useful if I'm out camping or if I share a hotel room with someone who wants to sleep while I read, but most of the time I have a light source available.
Even when it's a sunny day the Paperwhite stays at full brightness because it makes it more natural to look at.
This doesn't seem to bother most people, though.
I ended up getting a tablet, but I can't say it's an improvement in every regard. Tablets cost more (actually with the voyage at $200, not that much more), they weigh more, the batteries don't last nearly as long (although I get a good 1-2 days out of use), and good luck reading in the sun. But they also do more.
The Kindle app on Android is in some ways more feature-ful and easier to use than the Paperwhite's software. Taking notes (I read a lot of non-fiction) for example, is a cinch when I can use SwiftKey, where as the Kindle's native keyboard was a pain in terms of responsiveness, predicting words, and making corrections.
To each his or her own, though. But I'm definitely not in the "I don't need a tablet" crowd.
That said, I had no idea that I could jailbreak the Paperwhite, or that there was such a huge scene around it. Gonna check that out.
Also, my opinion on the kids version of the Kindle Fire is don't get it. Get an iPad. The iPad ecosystem is so much better for kids. There are so many great learning apps, there is no question unless the price is really a deal killer that you should get an iPad for a child. Very few of these children apps are available on Android tablets, much less the Amazon app store. I say this as someone who owns a Galaxy S5 and loves Android. These products are great, but sometimes even frustrating for adults so for kids they are not so usable and have a poor choice of apps.
Of course, our non eink kindles spend the majority of their time in freetime for the kids. With "unlimited," I have a hard time warming up to any other offering.
And I've never actually browsed the Amazon App store. I have flipped through all of the apps available in Freetime Unlimited. To say there are a lot of apps there would be understating it. Sure, many are probably not that good. On the flip side, none of them have in app purchases.
I am curious if there are any that truly aren't in both ecosystems.
It is. You just have to go to the Amazon Appstore and install the "phone" version of the Amazon app (the app is available in Google Play, but blocked for tablets there). Then that Amazon app can do the extra download of the Instant Video app/plugin and so on. It's working fine on my Nexus 7.
I've seen people claim that there are SD/HD issues, but I haven't noticed (though, to be fair, a lot of my usage has been watching an SD TV show, so...).
How useful would the Kindle be for reading technical books?
I don't know if is the fault of the format(mobi) or they are really bad at formatting technical books.
I'm note sure it's the format over the technology to start with as it's quite complicated to lay out technical material effectively so it requires some human intervention to a standard which doesn't make you want to poke your eyes out. PDF is just paper on a screen which takes the layout engine and automation out the back and shoots it.
However, it's still convenient to not have to lug around a giant text book to read somewhere - any of them. Having a Kindle is like having your entire library with you at all times.
I have wanted a laptop or tablet without backlight for years. The backlight not only makes it harder to get to sleep at night, but it also makes it harder to concentrate. A laptop where you didn't have to stare at a backlight would make it easier to get shit done. I can't just dim the screen on my MBP. It is even some research that suggests there is a hypnotic effect of staring into a bright lit TV or computer screen.
I'd be upgrading from paper books, so I'm not entirely sold on the idea that I particularly need a front light. Is the readability significantly better even in a well-lit room?
For me any buttons at all are priority 1, light - priority 2. I have Kindle 3 and occasionally use paperwhite. About 90% of all time you will read not in the dark, so light is not an issue. Other 10% may be a deal breaker, but personally I just use a phone with Kindle app.
Also you may be surprised at how much you use the backlight. Especially when reading in bed, on airplanes, etc. - it's pretty useful.
You get the most important feature of the Vogage (the light - I leave it on all the time as reading on white is so much nicer than gray of the low end Kindle.) At the mid price point on your budget.
1) no physical page turn buttons, 2) weight, 3) worse typography.
They seem to have fixed (1) in the latest model, but I still need to check if it's as heavy as the paperwhite and whether they improved they way text is displayed.
The Kindles are using internally the freetype library but it is a crippled version. Some fonts make it crash and kerning is apparently compiled out.
That's why the Jailbreak community is distributing their own version of it because otherwise the various jailbreak ereader wouldn't work properly.
Kindle 4: 169.5g, 165 x 114 x 8.6 mm
Kindle Voyage: 180g, 162 x 115 x 7.6 mm, so 6.2% heavier than the Kindle 4, but 12.6% lighter than the Kindle Paperwhite.
See here for a side-by-side screenshot of the same text on Kindle 4 and the Paperwhite: http://screech.rychter.com/files/kindle-4-vs-paperwhite-2014...
Notice how the left screen reads uniformly, like a book, while on the right screen spacings are slightly off, enough to give it a "computery" look.
I'm surprised more people haven't noticed this.
It appears the main improvement is the resolution but it's difficult for me to get a sense of how important this is without having used a Paperwhite.
The biggest factor, I think, is whether you want buttons for page turning or not. If you get a Paperwhite, the only way to turn the page is to tap (or swipe) the screen. If you get the Voyage that'll still work, but there are now sensors on the edge as well with some sort of haptic feedback.
If neither of these things sound important to you, get the Paperwhite and save $100. It's a great e-reader.
Apart from the resolution upgrade, the changes on the the Voyage seem a bit of disappointment to me to be honest.
The higher DPI should be an upgrade to the Paperwhite and the page turn buttons are unnecessary. I thought I missed them when I upgraded from a Kindle 3 to the Paperwhite but touching the screen became natural after using it for a short time. The flush bezel is nice but no big deal and I leave the light on my Paperwhite at 100% all the time, so I don't want it to 'Adapt'.
just try to navigate their site.
also 100 for a kindle is idiotic since its useless for anything but buying amazon books.
pdf are a pain. you still get to scroll sideways for each portion of each line you are reading. its obviously done so you dont read pdfs or images there.
any other ebook or doc format that they promise worry free conversion. just send them via email. yeah right. i managed to convert exactly zero out of 100s i tried.
they should be giving those out almost for free as it is. microsoft did it with xbox and then penny and dimed their customers with great success.
you have to give that this is not a very usual demographic. for example, try to find one academic paper/journal that you can read comfortably.
The Pragmatic Programmer's ebooks, from their site, are all non-DRM, on the technical side (I think a number of other big technical publishers do non-DRM on direct-from-publisher ebooks).
(On the fiction side, I know Baen has included CDs of DRM-free ebooks -- mostly the all-but-most-recent books in major series -- with hardbacks, and also allowed them to distributed on the web.)
Regardless, I can't understand the criticism. Their site works remarkably well for what it is. A shopping site.
The $100 Kindle is the multimedia one. So... with Prime it actually has replaced Netflix for us. And Spotify, oddly enough.
I do agree the $200 one seems excessive in price. Though, I still wouldn't mind upgrading my paperwhite. Which I absolutely love.
I like Amazon when I don't know quite what I want. That's where the reviews come in.
If I recall, I wound up buying straight from crucial. They were the first site where I could type in what laptop I had and it would give me options for ram to buy.
Go tontheir site and search for "microwave oven", the. Sort by price. You'll have hu dreds of items that are not microwave ovens but accessories for ovens. You'll also get items that are not mocrowVes or useful for microwaves.
Go to their site and search for, eg, sansa fuze+, the. Sort by price. You'll have several thousand cases and screen protectors.
In both cases I would have made a purchase if Amazon had returned a product.
You're not supposed to use search. You're supposed to ise the menu system to drill down through the site to find the product.
If you insist in sorting by price, you do get garbage results (or rather, you get exactly what you insisted on asking for: literally everything in the category containing the words sorted by price). But it's easy to limit the results to just actual ovens by filtering to something oven specific, like the power output. Which ends up giving you essentially the same results as you get when you initially search for microwave oven in the first place.
Search for sansa fuze+ and you get a similarly helpful list. I don't know why you'd ever want to sort by price here: you're searching for a specific family of products and you get there, immediately. In the unlikely case that you want a screen protector instead of the player, there's ways to get there.
Based on those two examples they're doing a pretty good job. And using -- what, exclusively? -- the category menu to find a product sounds excruciating. Starting with a search query is much faster, the category system is available as a filter in step two, at least for popular categories such as microwave ovens.
Accidental page turns will be as big a disaster as ever.
Big fail at Lab126
The kids edition is also a cute idea
Seriously though, does anyone know whats stopping Amazon from making their offerings available in more countries?
Fire HD 6"
£79/89 - 8GB
£99/109 - 16GB
Fire FDX 8.9
£329/339 - 16GB
£369/379 - 32GB
£409/419 - 64GB
Kindle
£59/69
Kindle Voyage
£169 WiFi Only
£229 Wifi + Free 3G
They could have sold millions at £200.