SafariBooksOnline Reading Experience

[BSalita]

The issue with the Kindle 3 not being able to login into SafariBooksOnline has been resolved. Now that I'm able to login, I am not having a happy experience. I attribute issues to not understanding best practices in using the service, issues that Safari can improve upon, and issues that Kindle development can improve upon.

Issues:
1. Insufficient readability. Most Kindle readability settings are unacceptable for reading Safari. For me, the best setting is to use font enlargement of 150%. It's not quite acceptable. Just doesn't seem crisp. Settings of Typeface, Line Spacing, Words per Line are not available. If they were available, it might help.
2. Settings don't persist. If I set the page for 150% and move to another chapter (a new webpage), the font size setting of 150% is lost. You have to set the preferred settings on every webpage.
3. Navigation unacceptable. Upon arriving at the bottom of a chapter, you are presented with a dozen navigation options. You have to use the device's jog wheel to move the pointer to select "Next Chapter". This is a miserable UI experience.

Non-Issues:
1. Speed. Once past the login process, I'm really impressed with how fast the chapters download. I thought this might be an issue but, for me, it's not. Next/Previous page is fast and new chapters take only 3 seconds or so.
2. Compatibility. Notwithstanding the above issues, I find the content (text and images) to be compatible with the Kindle's browser.

Is there anything I can do to resolve these issues? I believe all these issues are totally resolvable by Safari. As a minimum, what would help is if the entire book was presented as a single webpage. Thus issues two and three would be resolved and issue one would be more manageable.

The issues is not hardware as we know every Kindle version offers a pretty good reading experience. While Kindle development could probably provide some relief, I conclude that changes by Safari are the only practical solution.

Update 17-Sept-10: There's a Safari navigation/font size bar which is somewhat helpful for font size although it's settings don't seem to persist either.

[mrzerga]

It's Safari's problems not Kindle, right? Cause this becomes clear only towards the end of the message.

[BSalita]

There can be a difference between who's problem it is and who gets the privilege of correcting it. The quickest and easiest way to resolve these issues is to find a better way to use the device on Safari. For example, discovering the Safari navigation/font bar is somewhat helpful. Kindle development may be able to resolve some of these issues but new firmware features take a long time and may not help. So it's up to Safari to improve the experience. I know there's things they can do to help. Whether it will get done and the timeframe is the question.

[NathanLong]

Hi there

I feel your pain too and decided to do something about it! In a nutshell to avoid repeating myself, I've created a mobilizer site specifically for the Kindle and Safari Books, which is getting to the stages of being useful, and I'm looking for people to help me iron it out.

For full info please see my introduction.

Nathan

Originally Posted by BSalita

The issue with the Kindle 3 not being able to login into SafariBooksOnline has been resolved. Now that I'm able to login, I am not having a happy experience. I attribute issues to not understanding best practices in using the service, issues that Safari can improve upon, and issues that Kindle development can improve upon.

Issues:
1. Insufficient readability. Most Kindle readability settings are unacceptable for reading Safari. For me, the best setting is to use font enlargement of 150%. It's not quite acceptable. Just doesn't seem crisp. Settings of Typeface, Line Spacing, Words per Line are not available. If they were available, it might help.
2. Settings don't persist. If I set the page for 150% and move to another chapter (a new webpage), the font size setting of 150% is lost. You have to set the preferred settings on every webpage.
3. Navigation unacceptable. Upon arriving at the bottom of a chapter, you are presented with a dozen navigation options. You have to use the device's jog wheel to move the pointer to select "Next Chapter". This is a miserable UI experience.

Non-Issues:
1. Speed. Once past the login process, I'm really impressed with how fast the chapters download. I thought this might be an issue but, for me, it's not. Next/Previous page is fast and new chapters take only 3 seconds or so.
2. Compatibility. Notwithstanding the above issues, I find the content (text and images) to be compatible with the Kindle's browser.

Is there anything I can do to resolve these issues? I believe all these issues are totally resolvable by Safari. As a minimum, what would help is if the entire book was presented as a single webpage. Thus issues two and three would be resolved and issue one would be more manageable.

The issues is not hardware as we know every Kindle version offers a pretty good reading experience. While Kindle development could probably provide some relief, I conclude that changes by Safari are the only practical solution.

Update 17-Sept-10: There's a Safari navigation/font size bar which is somewhat helpful for font size although it's settings don't seem to persist either.