Kindle Touch software improvement suggestions

markbot · 11-29-2011, 04:15 PM

After using the Kindle Touch for a few days I thought of a few software tweaks that would improve the device.

1. Home screen: ability to browse books by the cover art, not just text.
2. Home screen: ability to change the line spacing on the home screen and in the collections so that you can see more books on a screen. There is too much spacing right now.
3. Dictionary feature: when selecting a word so that you can see the definition, there could be an option for the Kindle to actually pronounce the word in question.
4. Shopping: It seems unusually difficult to find Kindle apps in the market place when browsing the shop on the Kindle device
5. Navigation: there could be a touch gesture that turns the device off to the screen saver. There could also be a touch gesture that takes the device to the home screen from the screen saver.
6. More control over the line spacing, words per line, font types, margins, etc. Including on the home screen.
7. I prefer the old status indicator showing graphically how far along in the book you were. This isn't a major issue for me though. I also liked to know which locations the current page displayed....(e.g. 100-120)
8. Being able to edit the meta data for my personal docs on the device.
9. it would be nice if the device had a little graphic on the left margin that indicated whether the book is from amazon or is a personal doc.

Ginwen · 11-29-2011, 05:21 PM

I'd like to be able to sort collections so that the collection with an item most recently read shows first (and so on).

It worked that way on my Kindle 2, on my Kindle Touch the collections are alpha and I haven't been able to figure out a way to change that.Instead I have to choose (if I choose most recent first, it does show the collections too, but they are all mixed in with the books).

VictoriaP · 11-29-2011, 06:22 PM

I'd love to see suggestions 1, 2, and 6 implemented...but with #1, only if it uses the actual cover art (as it does in the apps), not the cheap out plain text & unrelated graphics version some publishers seem to think is sufficient for Kindle books. Random House seems to be a big culprit on that one.

I'd also like to see a darker/bolder serif font option, personally. Yes, it's an improvement over my K2, but it can still be better.

ethan160222 · 11-29-2011, 06:56 PM

I'd like to have the "page change" functionality limited to once per touch. When I accidentally grab the screen or even when my jacket brushes up against it the page changes repeatedly, making it difficult to return to my actual reading location.

I also very much miss the old "progress bar" primarily to indicate how far the next "chapter" is.

It's also annoying when small debris lands on the screen and resists being blown away. I need to sleep the device, remove the debris and then wake it again. A way to temporarily ignore touches would help, but may be too complicated to help.

Finally, I absolutely adore X-ray. I understand that Amazon is working on releasing the functionality for more titles. It would be nice if a normal sync downloaded freshly-released X-ray files for the titles on my device; the typical "an update is available" e-mail is unnecessary.

RainingLemur · 11-29-2011, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethan160222

Finally, I absolutely adore X-ray. I understand that Amazon is working on releasing the functionality for more titles. It would be nice if a normal sync downloaded freshly-released X-ray files for the titles on my device; the typical "an update is available" e-mail is unnecessary.

This much would be great.

VictoriaP · 11-29-2011, 07:52 PM

Ah...a way to keep the Touch from accidentally turning on while in a pocket or purse would be nice as well. The push button for on/off isn't the best idea. Even in a sleeve, it's turned itself on and advanced pages on me before.

lukeind · 11-30-2011, 03:55 AM

I really hope someone at Amazon is reading this because there are some good suggestions here.

a few from me:

1. The entire home screen needs to be redone with TOUCH in mind. I definitely agree that we should be able to have a thumbnail view of covers instead of a pure list. But even this is still less than ideal. I would really appreciate a "most recently read" row. Currently, if you are reading a book and it's in a collection or far down your list on the home screen, you have to go through extra clicks/swipes just to get to it. 99% of people do not finish a book in one sitting, having the most recent book you read ALWAYS on the home screen would be great. In the form of a thumbnail would be even better.

2. Fix problem where periodicals that are emailed to the Kindle are treated differently than periodical files that are sideloaded. See Kindle touch & Instapaper thread regarding this and deleting an Instapaper file.

3. PERSONAL OPINION: Swiping for lists makes no sense. The UI is horribly inconsistent. eg- While reading, a tap takes you to the next page as does swiping side to side. In the home screen list, only swiping side to side does. In the dictionary/x ray popup, neither swiping side to side nor tapping moves you to more entries- you need to rely on the bottom up/down buttons or swipe up and down. Swiping up and down while reading however, moves you to the next or previous chapter.... .... .... Absolutely horrible.

|||||||My suggestion||||||||
When reading:
Swiping side to side or a tap moves you to the next or prior page using the current "easy reach" zone system. (REMOVE swiping up and down. If people actually do use it to change chapters, have this be an option that is OFF by default that can be enabled in Settings.)

When in ANY LIST:
A tap opens whatever it is you taped on. Have up and down buttons on EVERY LIST, like w/the current x ray popup. Swiping up and down does NOTHING. Swiping side to side does NOTHING.

^ Is a consistent system like that so hard to do?

The original post regarding audio pronunciations for the dictionary is genius!

wallflower75 · 11-30-2011, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lukeind

I really hope someone at Amazon is reading this because there are some good suggestions here.

a few from me:

1. The entire home screen needs to be redone with TOUCH in mind. I definitely agree that we should be able to have a thumbnail view of covers instead of a pure list. But even this is still less than idea. I would really appreciate a "most recently read" row. Currently, if you are reading a book and it's in a collection or far down your list on the home screen, you have to go through extra clicks/swipes just to get to it. 99% of people do not finish a book in one sitting, having the most recent book you read ALWAYS on the home screen would be great. In the form of a thumbnail would be even better.

Actually, you can arrange books in your collection to be listed in the most recent order. When you're in the collection itself, if you tap where it lists the name of your collection, a box will pop up and ask you how you want the books to be listed--by author, title, or most recent book read.

I do wish Amazon would let the collections themselves be listed by most recent first, though. That would be one of my software improvement suggestions.

lukeind · 11-30-2011, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallflower75

Actually, you can arrange books in your collection to be listed in the most recent order. When you're in the collection itself, if you tap where it lists the name of your collection, a box will pop up and ask you how you want the books to be listed--by author, title, or most recent book read.

I do wish Amazon would let the collections themselves be listed by most recent first, though. That would be one of my software improvement suggestions.

I understand that you can list the books by "most recent first" to have the book you are currently reading appear on the top but that option then breaks you out of your collections, which I really do treat like folders. It's like going from organized folders on your computer desktop to having no folder option at all (but with the file you just opened always on top).

Not the best trade off. I sorted my homescreen like this but the unorganized look was too annoying. Worse, if you ever "show full definition" while reading, the dictionary then pops up on your list! ah!

I just wanted to look up a full definition amazon! I would never want to READ the dictionary. Minor? yes. Annoying? YES!

susan_cassidy · 11-30-2011, 12:28 PM

If you have suggestions for Amazon, send them to kindle-feedback@amazon.com.

Barty · 11-30-2011, 01:17 PM

From my time playing with it:

They need to give visual feedback so you know when and where you touched something. And for some reason I have a really hard time pressing the back button on the top left menu. I keep jabbing at it a bunch of times before it clicks. Guess my finger is too big or something.

I also accidentally turn the page too often, and because there is no page turn animation, I end up flipping the page a few more times to see if I went back or forward. I guess the keyboard has the same problem, but I'm more likely to know which button I pressed.

Bring back the old way to change the margin and add custom font. Right now, looks like we have to wait for a jailbreak, which the devs have not managed to do. They locked it up pretty good.

11-30-2011, 03:55 AM	#7
lukeind Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2011 Device: Kindle 3 ("Keyboard"), Kindle Touch	more suggestions I really hope someone at Amazon is reading this because there are some good suggestions here. a few from me: 1. The entire home screen needs to be redone with TOUCH in mind. I definitely agree that we should be able to have a thumbnail view of covers instead of a pure list. But even this is still less than ideal. I would really appreciate a "most recently read" row. Currently, if you are reading a book and it's in a collection or far down your list on the home screen, you have to go through extra clicks/swipes just to get to it. 99% of people do not finish a book in one sitting, having the most recent book you read ALWAYS on the home screen would be great. In the form of a thumbnail would be even better. 2. Fix problem where periodicals that are emailed to the Kindle are treated differently than periodical files that are sideloaded. See Kindle touch & Instapaper thread regarding this and deleting an Instapaper file. 3. PERSONAL OPINION: Swiping for lists makes no sense. The UI is horribly inconsistent. eg- While reading, a tap takes you to the next page as does swiping side to side. In the home screen list, only swiping side to side does. In the dictionary/x ray popup, neither swiping side to side nor tapping moves you to more entries- you need to rely on the bottom up/down buttons or swipe up and down. Swiping up and down while reading however, moves you to the next or previous chapter.... .... .... Absolutely horrible. \|\|\|\|\|\|\|My suggestion\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\| When reading: Swiping side to side or a tap moves you to the next or prior page using the current "easy reach" zone system. (REMOVE swiping up and down. If people actually do use it to change chapters, have this be an option that is OFF by default that can be enabled in Settings.) When in ANY LIST: A tap opens whatever it is you taped on. Have up and down buttons on EVERY LIST, like w/the current x ray popup. Swiping up and down does NOTHING. Swiping side to side does NOTHING. ^ Is a consistent system like that so hard to do? The original post regarding audio pronunciations for the dictionary is genius! Last edited by lukeind; 11-30-2011 at 12:28 PM. Reason: typos

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11-29-2011, 04:15 PM	#1
markbot Guru Posts: 612 Karma: 7511929 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: New York, NY Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 2	Kindle Touch software improvement suggestions After using the Kindle Touch for a few days I thought of a few software tweaks that would improve the device. 1. Home screen: ability to browse books by the cover art, not just text. 2. Home screen: ability to change the line spacing on the home screen and in the collections so that you can see more books on a screen. There is too much spacing right now. 3. Dictionary feature: when selecting a word so that you can see the definition, there could be an option for the Kindle to actually pronounce the word in question. 4. Shopping: It seems unusually difficult to find Kindle apps in the market place when browsing the shop on the Kindle device 5. Navigation: there could be a touch gesture that turns the device off to the screen saver. There could also be a touch gesture that takes the device to the home screen from the screen saver. 6. More control over the line spacing, words per line, font types, margins, etc. Including on the home screen. 7. I prefer the old status indicator showing graphically how far along in the book you were. This isn't a major issue for me though. I also liked to know which locations the current page displayed....(e.g. 100-120) 8. Being able to edit the meta data for my personal docs on the device. 9. it would be nice if the device had a little graphic on the left margin that indicated whether the book is from amazon or is a personal doc. Last edited by markbot; 11-29-2011 at 06:17 PM.

11-29-2011, 05:21 PM	#2
Ginwen Addict Posts: 261 Karma: 777376 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Kent, WA Device: Kindle Touch/IPad	I'd like to be able to sort collections so that the collection with an item most recently read shows first (and so on). It worked that way on my Kindle 2, on my Kindle Touch the collections are alpha and I haven't been able to figure out a way to change that.Instead I have to choose (if I choose most recent first, it does show the collections too, but they are all mixed in with the books).

11-29-2011, 06:22 PM	#3
VictoriaP Addict Posts: 298 Karma: 491576 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle PW2; Kindle Touch; Kindle 2; iPad Mini; iPad1	I'd love to see suggestions 1, 2, and 6 implemented...but with #1, only if it uses the actual cover art (as it does in the apps), not the cheap out plain text & unrelated graphics version some publishers seem to think is sufficient for Kindle books. Random House seems to be a big culprit on that one. I'd also like to see a darker/bolder serif font option, personally. Yes, it's an improvement over my K2, but it can still be better.

11-29-2011, 06:56 PM	#4
ethan160222 Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kindle DXi, Kindle Touch	I'd like to have the "page change" functionality limited to once per touch. When I accidentally grab the screen or even when my jacket brushes up against it the page changes repeatedly, making it difficult to return to my actual reading location. I also very much miss the old "progress bar" primarily to indicate how far the next "chapter" is. It's also annoying when small debris lands on the screen and resists being blown away. I need to sleep the device, remove the debris and then wake it again. A way to temporarily ignore touches would help, but may be too complicated to help. Finally, I absolutely adore X-ray. I understand that Amazon is working on releasing the functionality for more titles. It would be nice if a normal sync downloaded freshly-released X-ray files for the titles on my device; the typical "an update is available" e-mail is unnecessary.

11-29-2011, 07:52 PM	#6
VictoriaP Addict Posts: 298 Karma: 491576 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle PW2; Kindle Touch; Kindle 2; iPad Mini; iPad1	Ah...a way to keep the Touch from accidentally turning on while in a pocket or purse would be nice as well. The push button for on/off isn't the best idea. Even in a sleeve, it's turned itself on and advanced pages on me before.

11-30-2011, 12:28 PM	#10
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	If you have suggestions for Amazon, send them to kindle-feedback@amazon.com.

11-30-2011, 01:17 PM	#11
Barty doofus Posts: 2,515 Karma: 13036221 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Voyage	From my time playing with it: They need to give visual feedback so you know when and where you touched something. And for some reason I have a really hard time pressing the back button on the top left menu. I keep jabbing at it a bunch of times before it clicks. Guess my finger is too big or something. I also accidentally turn the page too often, and because there is no page turn animation, I end up flipping the page a few more times to see if I went back or forward. I guess the keyboard has the same problem, but I'm more likely to know which button I pressed. Bring back the old way to change the margin and add custom font. Right now, looks like we have to wait for a jailbreak, which the devs have not managed to do. They locked it up pretty good.

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