Wouldn't This Be Great For Kindle 2?

sirbruce · 03-24-2009, 10:12 AM

http://www.getusb.info/usb-cable-get...sd-technology/

But isn't the Kindle 2 just a USB device? Not so; the ISP1105 USB chip inside can act in device *or* host mode! There's no reason why the Kindle 2 couldn't be software upgraded to initiate data transfers over USB to an SD card.

This seems like a no-brainer for Amazon.

Daithi · 03-24-2009, 11:07 AM

I'm disappointed that they didn't retain support for an SD card -- it's the primary reason I didn't upgrade (or downgrade as I see it).

I don't think the USB connector with SD card solves that problem. I don't want to read my Kindle with a big old cord hanging off of it.

catsittingstill · 03-24-2009, 09:47 PM

But it would let you swap in books to read off the SD card without needing a computer... Not as good as an SD card slot, admittedly, but better than nothing.

But is the cord going to be set up to move data from the SD card to the micro plug end? 'Cause moving it to the standard USB end does you no good, with Kindle.

S.Canton · 03-24-2009, 10:02 PM

That's a neat little peripheral, but I have a feeling storage space is going to continue increasing on devices like the Kindle, and needing an SD card will be a non-issue. If there are gigs upon gigs of storage, an SD card would be fairly redundant.

sirbruce · 03-24-2009, 10:40 PM

Well the real point is, based on my reading of the chip specs, is that the Kindle 2 can act as a host device with the appropriate software. So there's no reason why someone can't use make an SD card to micro-USB adapter and have Kindle 2 drags files off of it.

kevindorsey · 03-25-2009, 02:04 AM

I'm not really sure why the didn't carry over the SD card to the K2. It makes the Kindle a lot more flexible too, and count me also as one of the people who didn't switch to the K2.

GJN · 03-25-2009, 06:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevindorsey

I'm not really sure why the didn't carry over the SD card to the K2. It makes the Kindle a lot more flexible too, and count me also as one of the people who didn't switch to the K2.

I suspect it's because that would have (a) made the K2 thicker and (b) increased the cost; neither of which would have increased K2 sales.

I have just over a thousand books for my K2 and have still nearly a gigabyte of memory left. Has anyone come close to filling up their K2?

unrequited · 03-25-2009, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GJN

I have just over a thousand books for my K2 and have still nearly a gigabyte of memory left. Has anyone come close to filling up their K2?

...I have 11mB left. Now granted 1gB of that is ~36 or so manga collections from Mangle, and out of the 370mB of books 270mB of that are three 600 page converted .pdf's from PDFRead which are 90mB each. Toss in about ~100mB of music, and I'm right there at the limit. Most of those manga of course will cycle-through as I read them, but I have another 3gb (estimated) of manga to read... I'd really love K2's features w/SD, I was about to jump on the K1, but the new form factor and the text-to-speech (for long car drives) are what turned me. As for this thread's possibile little gadget... as long as the K2 can be turned into a host and OS support is added (either hacked through Linux or done officially through Amazon), this could be awesome to carry around an 8gB or 16gB sdcard with even more books. > )

rcuadro · 03-25-2009, 07:28 AM

I dont really see why people are so hung up on AD car slot on the K2. If I want music I have my iPhone... I also dont feel the need to walk around with 8.98 x 10^8 book on my Kindle. I put book on, read them, and then delete... and keep the book in my computer for future reading or simply as backup.

AnemicOak · 03-25-2009, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcuadro

I dont really see why people are so hung up on AD car slot on the K2. If I want music I have my iPhone... I also dont feel the need to walk around with 8.98 x 10^8 book on my Kindle. I put book on, read them, and then delete... and keep the book in my computer for future reading or simply as backup.

Everyone has different needs/preferences. What works for some doesn't work as well for others.

rcuadro · 03-25-2009, 10:21 AM

True true..

pshrynk · 03-25-2009, 10:47 AM

Has anyone actually tried that thingy with a K2? I'd love to see a review...

sirbruce · 03-25-2009, 01:02 PM

I'm sure it wouldn't work currently because the Kindle has no interface on it to retrieve books via USB. And the software may not support USB host mode. But the *chip* seems to be capable of it, so I don't see why Amazon isn't working on this right now.

unrequited · 03-25-2009, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirbruce

I'm sure it wouldn't work currently because the Kindle has no interface on it to retrieve books via USB. And the software may not support USB host mode. But the *chip* seems to be capable of it, so I don't see why Amazon isn't working on this right now.

tin foil hat answer?

...because they want you to buy books only from Amazon.com using the archive function and the Whispernet service. I'll be honest, if it were only Amazon.com books that I had on my K2 I wouldn't be anywhere near the limit of storage... but then again, I probably wouldn't have bought a K2 in the first place.

Daithi · 03-25-2009, 04:21 PM

Marketing a product like this would just highlight the fact that Amazon doesn't support an SD card that just plugs into the Kindle. They may not want to highlight a deficiency in their product.

Someone had also mentioned that supporting the SD card would add to the Kindle 2's thickness. I just wanted to mention that I have a Nokia 5310 phone that is nearly the exact same thickness as the K2. So I believe dropping the SD card was simply a cost factor. And if cost is such a big factor then I doubt Amazon would spend the money to have an engineer get something like this working, and if they are going to hire someone then I'd prefer to have her work on getting us folder support.

I just don't see how this product buys you much convenience. The idea of the SD card is so that you don't have to plug the USB cord in to access files. If I'm going to plug the USB cable into my Kindle then I might as well coneect it to my netbook that has all my ebook files.

03-24-2009, 10:12 AM	#1
sirbruce Provocateur Posts: 1,859 Karma: 505847 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Columbus, OH Device: Kindle Touch, Kindle 2, Kindle DX, iPhone 3GS	Wouldn't This Be Great For Kindle 2? http://www.getusb.info/usb-cable-get...sd-technology/ But isn't the Kindle 2 just a USB device? Not so; the ISP1105 USB chip inside can act in device or host mode! There's no reason why the Kindle 2 couldn't be software upgraded to initiate data transfers over USB to an SD card. This seems like a no-brainer for Amazon.

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03-24-2009, 11:07 AM	#2
Daithi Publishers are evil! Posts: 2,418 Karma: 36205264 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Rhode Island Device: Various Kindles	I'm disappointed that they didn't retain support for an SD card -- it's the primary reason I didn't upgrade (or downgrade as I see it). I don't think the USB connector with SD card solves that problem. I don't want to read my Kindle with a big old cord hanging off of it.

03-24-2009, 09:47 PM	#3
catsittingstill Guru Posts: 643 Karma: 551634 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle 1.0.8, iPod Touch, Kindle Keyboard	But it would let you swap in books to read off the SD card without needing a computer... Not as good as an SD card slot, admittedly, but better than nothing. But is the cord going to be set up to move data from the SD card to the micro plug end? 'Cause moving it to the standard USB end does you no good, with Kindle.

03-24-2009, 10:02 PM	#4
S.Canton Groupie Posts: 174 Karma: 12 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Kindle 2	That's a neat little peripheral, but I have a feeling storage space is going to continue increasing on devices like the Kindle, and needing an SD card will be a non-issue. If there are gigs upon gigs of storage, an SD card would be fairly redundant.

03-24-2009, 10:40 PM	#5
sirbruce Provocateur Posts: 1,859 Karma: 505847 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Columbus, OH Device: Kindle Touch, Kindle 2, Kindle DX, iPhone 3GS	Well the real point is, based on my reading of the chip specs, is that the Kindle 2 can act as a host device with the appropriate software. So there's no reason why someone can't use make an SD card to micro-USB adapter and have Kindle 2 drags files off of it.

03-25-2009, 02:04 AM	#6
kevindorsey Evangelist Posts: 488 Karma: 258 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: kindle	I'm not really sure why the didn't carry over the SD card to the K2. It makes the Kindle a lot more flexible too, and count me also as one of the people who didn't switch to the K2.

03-25-2009, 07:28 AM	#9
rcuadro Wizard Posts: 1,686 Karma: 874275 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Device: Kindle DX	I dont really see why people are so hung up on AD car slot on the K2. If I want music I have my iPhone... I also dont feel the need to walk around with 8.98 x 10^8 book on my Kindle. I put book on, read them, and then delete... and keep the book in my computer for future reading or simply as backup.

03-25-2009, 10:21 AM	#11
rcuadro Wizard Posts: 1,686 Karma: 874275 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Device: Kindle DX	True true..

03-25-2009, 10:47 AM	#12
pshrynk Beepbeep n beebeep, yeah! Posts: 11,726 Karma: 8255450 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: La Crosse, Wisconsin, aka America's IceBox Device: iThingie, KmkII, I miss Zelda!	Has anyone actually tried that thingy with a K2? I'd love to see a review...

03-25-2009, 01:02 PM	#13
sirbruce Provocateur Posts: 1,859 Karma: 505847 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Columbus, OH Device: Kindle Touch, Kindle 2, Kindle DX, iPhone 3GS	I'm sure it wouldn't work currently because the Kindle has no interface on it to retrieve books via USB. And the software may not support USB host mode. But the chip seems to be capable of it, so I don't see why Amazon isn't working on this right now.

03-25-2009, 04:21 PM	#15
Daithi Publishers are evil! Posts: 2,418 Karma: 36205264 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Rhode Island Device: Various Kindles	Marketing a product like this would just highlight the fact that Amazon doesn't support an SD card that just plugs into the Kindle. They may not want to highlight a deficiency in their product. Someone had also mentioned that supporting the SD card would add to the Kindle 2's thickness. I just wanted to mention that I have a Nokia 5310 phone that is nearly the exact same thickness as the K2. So I believe dropping the SD card was simply a cost factor. And if cost is such a big factor then I doubt Amazon would spend the money to have an engineer get something like this working, and if they are going to hire someone then I'd prefer to have her work on getting us folder support. I just don't see how this product buys you much convenience. The idea of the SD card is so that you don't have to plug the USB cord in to access files. If I'm going to plug the USB cable into my Kindle then I might as well coneect it to my netbook that has all my ebook files.