Quote:
Originally Posted by Alisa
I must say I'm also shocked at the slow speeds. My house is a black hole for wireless. I use Sprint for my mobile provider as well. My Kindle consistently has more bars and better performance than my phone. My books download in seconds...{snip}
|
FYI, your Sprint cellular PHONE service is completely separate from EVDO. The voice portion is on 900mhz and the data side is 1900Mhz. Which is why you might see a different signal and get different connection results.
In the case I had the reason of the slow speeds was the Kindle was not connection at EVDO but rather the fallback 1xRTT mode. There is significant bandwidth differences between the two.
I do know it was the Kindle itself because I happen to use EVDO Rev A. as a mobile broadband solution. Which luckily allowed me to see if there was a tower issue (not unknown as I am sure ya know...) and my Franklin CDU680 EVDO modem connected at it's normal fast speeds of 1.2Mbps or higher in a very stable fashion. Of course I tested from the same locations.
My initial suspicion was the battery is bad. Usually it is the Tx portion of the Rx/Tx equation that causes problems. But I had no knowledge how to access the diagnostics modes on the thing and, to be honest, don't feel I should have to try and fix something I buy new. Hacking no longer hold much interest to me anymore...
=========================
To everyone in general...I want to say I LIKE the device but it's the execution and the hype where it falls flat. I really do like it but due to some of the issues I mentioned, I cannot use the Kindle and will be sticking to my Nokia N800. I tend to be sort of blunt in evaluations because that is the only way to help explain why I feel something is good or not so good. (You should read what I think when something is truly dismal just ask Dell about the last Inspiron I bought 4-5 years back...what a POS.) Anyway, my comments often that comes across as negativity about something if people are not used to reading my evaluations.
So, I do want folks to know I think the Kindle is the right direction. Of all the features the built-in EVDO might be the single most significant as it opens the device to so many other features. The book delivery is genius...if your Whispernet works properly.
The Wiki stuff is super fun too, but I can already do the same with my mobile broadband setup plus have full web access, in color. So, it is nothing earth shattering. And that is my point, there is nothing groundbreaking about the Kindle. In a way it is like making your customer buy the shopping cart they use to shop in your store...and making them need a different cart for each store. But that part is due to the pesky DRM issues as well as the copyright/licensing issues which are for the most part out of even Amazon's control. I only see things improving over time, and I think sooner than many people think given that it's now in publishers interest to all but eliminate paper books as energy costs grow exponentially. Electrons are cheap, paper production overhead, as well as inks and the energy needed to run presses probably have increase 3x in the past few years....which is why many CEO types are now suddenly looking as if they love ebooks. OOPS, wrong rant...hehehehe....
As for my preference for a touch screen...I just like them better. Granted the touch enabled displays do have their issues also...everything is a trade off. Perhaps were the navigation buttons arranged differently I might be OK with the lack of a touch screen. I just know that when using the thing I quite frequently would just brush up against a button or even press it for an extended period resulting is having to find where the heck I was last reading. This is where my thoughts of a rear mounted hand strap would help me A LOT. Basically the Kindle would lay flat in my hand with the strap not only securing it, all but eliminating my problem with squeezing to hold the thing (mind I can no long fully close my hand into a fist w/o pain and stiffness) which causes the discomfort. By eliminating the stress associated with holding the device I would not need to change hand position near as often ==> less accidental button pushes.
BTW, know I am far from a neophyte in terms of understanding how a device works and adapting to it's quirks in a short period. For me I know if I like a device in the first 30-45mins or less.
So NOW is you wanna LAUGH...my better half was pouting when I told her I had the Kindle but was sending it back, see she is out of town visiting her dad, has to go to a wedding she is dreading and needed something to perk her up...so, I sent the Kindle up to her figuring, well, KNOWING we would be now be keeping the thing, if for no other reason than I just bought a new Canon 40d with a bunch of lenses and such. So, the thing (Kindle) will be around for the duration...when she gets home I will call Amazon and see if perhaps we got a bad antenna or EVDO card. Given my distance (or lack there of) from the tower there should be zero issues with dropped connections or reverting to 1xRTT.
FYI, to my thinking, keeping the Kindle and using it in the case defeats the entire purpose of a small portable reading device, the Kindle easily fits in my pants pockets which I did like. But as I can no longer hold a paperback open to read, no chance I am going to hold the case flap open. Personally I don't think it needs a case for other that transportation to protect the display. I am not sure how I might modify the thing because I like the fee of the rubber back. Maybe someone can make a replacement rear panel that increases the thickness for people like me, that back plate could also incorporate an adjustable hand strap too.
Here is the back of a hands free case for the TabletKiosk Sahara i440D:
http://www.tabletkiosk.com/tkstore/p...e3_general.jpg
While that specific design does not work for the Kindle as we need access to the buttons, something similar makes holding the thing MUCH easier.
Build wise as I said this thing is a very sold device. Though I would have preferred a Mg-Alloy case over the plastic which was used. Then again, as the drop test video shows it is a pretty darned STRONG plastic.
I do know she is enjoying reading with it because I keep getting emails about new books "I bought" for the thing...hrmmmmphhh...
Still for me it is not the right device. I suspect none of the current devices would work. I already knew for sure the Sony is too thin. Plus it's a Sony and I have promised to never buy a new Sony device again. But no matter what I try next it won't be until after CES this year at the soonest. We just do not know what the life-cycle of the Kindle will be. Most companies run an 18-month cycle, especially small device and laptop mfg's. Some are even shorter. I am hoping to see something new either around CES which is before the holiday season or in Q1 2009 in time to soak up tax refund checks.
No matter that the Kindle does not fit my needs nor do I feel it truly delivers on it's promise. I have to grant for a Gen1 device, it is not bad at all...but we won't be buying another one anytime soon. And if it were up to me I would be returning this one...but anything to keep her out of my hair...hehehehehe...good thing she never reads this place.
