What do blogs look like on the Kindle?

Nate the great · 07-27-2010, 10:44 AM

Right now I'm thinking about publishing my blog on the Kindle, and I have a few questions.

I've looked at the preview, and it's not very pretty. There's no TOC or basic formatting like page breaks before each blog post. Does the published version have the TOC?

What do think of the quality of a blog on the Kindle vs on the web?

jswinden · 07-27-2010, 11:17 AM

Here's a screenshot from Gizmodo. My AT&T connection is too sucky for a decent web experience, so I don't normally look at blogs on the KDXG.

...

Nate the great · 07-27-2010, 11:27 AM

Thanks.

That looks just like the preview. Ick.

zetareticuli · 07-27-2010, 11:57 AM

How long would you say that page took to load?

jasonfedelem · 07-27-2010, 12:07 PM

I subscribe to about 30 blogs and after trying to make them work the way I want in Calibre, I determined that blogs on an e-reader just plain suck.

It downloaded the header of each blog whether there was a new post for that blog that day or not. It wasn't completely reliable either. It paginated the pictures wierd.

So I went back to reading my blogs on Google reader.

Kumabjorn · 07-27-2010, 01:04 PM

Also, you're charged a delivery fee, right? Does any money go to the blogger?

jswinden · 07-27-2010, 01:07 PM

Quote:

That looks just like the preview. Ick.

Yep, and that's why i don't do blogs on the Kindle. Well one reason anyway.

Quote:

How long would you say that page took to load?

I didn't time it, but it took a while. But I think a lot of the problem lies with the lackluster AT&T coverage at my home. I'm in a huge metro area (Dallas/Fort Worth) but cellular coverage here with AT&T sucks. As far the Kindle, it rarely shows 3G, and it rarely shows as many as 3 bars. (Neither does my BB or Donna's Nokia phone.) When I download books I often get a failed to connect message. Once again, I don't blame the Kindle, I put the blame on a terrible AT&T network that has been crippled by too many lousy iPhones.

Quote:

Also, you're charged a delivery fee, right? Does any money go to the blogger?

I'm not aware of any delivery fees, but there is a subscription fee. Just like books, I'm sure part goes to the blog owner and part to Amazon. I think Gizmodo blog costs $1.99 USD per month. Too much in my opinion when I can see it free on the internet.

Having said all that...

I bought my KDXG for reading and not blogging, browsing, Facebooking, etc. I love it for reading, and I don't care about the other Swiss Army Knife crap they included.

zetareticuli · 07-27-2010, 02:19 PM

Thank you for the information. I think we all need to remind ourselves that these Kindle devices are intended as a single purpose device for reading. It is not a shortcoming. That behavior is by design. Browsing on handheld/mobile devices is still in its infancy. Most websites are still optimized for resolutions that only large LCD displays can deliver.

kindlematic · 07-27-2010, 08:43 PM

For those of you interested in rss and/or blogs, I suggest you have a look at Instapaper.com (compatible with Google Reader) and feedbooks.com - which will allow you to create your selection of news sources and then download it directly from the kindle, wirelessly in .mobi format anytime, with no additional charges.

zetareticuli · 07-27-2010, 08:59 PM

Kindlematic, are you liking the DXG more now? Have you worked around some of the issues you were having with PDF?

banjobama · 07-27-2010, 09:20 PM

I'm happy I read this, because I almost chose a Kindle for its ability to display blogs. Looks like I'm not missing out.

kindlematic · 07-27-2010, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zetareticuli

Kindlematic, are you liking the DXG more now? Have you worked around some of the issues you were having with PDF?

Well - every day I learn a new trick, which is great. I just wish serif fonts looked crisper, as I have loads of document using them. Apparently not that many people either care or notice such defect. Hopefully your software development will help

jswinden · 07-28-2010, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kindlematic

Well - every day I learn a new trick, which is great. I just wish serif fonts looked crisper, as I have loads of document using them. Apparently not that many people either care or notice such defect. Hopefully your software development will help

There is a font hack that is easy to do and you can substitute your favorite fonts. I like sans serif when reading on computers or ebook readers, so I use Arial Rounded MT Bold. It makes the text a lot easier to read. See sample page attached.

...

07-27-2010, 10:44 AM	#1
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	What do blogs look like on the Kindle? Right now I'm thinking about publishing my blog on the Kindle, and I have a few questions. I've looked at the preview, and it's not very pretty. There's no TOC or basic formatting like page breaks before each blog post. Does the published version have the TOC? What do think of the quality of a blog on the Kindle vs on the web?

07-27-2010, 11:17 AM	#2
jswinden Nameless Being	Here's a screenshot from Gizmodo. My AT&T connection is too sucky for a decent web experience, so I don't normally look at blogs on the KDXG. ... Attached Thumbnails

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07-27-2010, 11:27 AM	#3
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	Thanks. That looks just like the preview. Ick.

07-27-2010, 11:57 AM	#4
zetareticuli Addict Posts: 367 Karma: 228 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Aztak Mentor	How long would you say that page took to load?

07-27-2010, 12:07 PM	#5
jasonfedelem Zealot Posts: 118 Karma: 202232 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Texas Device: Kindle Paperwhite Gen2	I subscribe to about 30 blogs and after trying to make them work the way I want in Calibre, I determined that blogs on an e-reader just plain suck. It downloaded the header of each blog whether there was a new post for that blog that day or not. It wasn't completely reliable either. It paginated the pictures wierd. So I went back to reading my blogs on Google reader.

07-27-2010, 01:04 PM	#6
Kumabjorn Basculocolpic Posts: 4,356 Karma: 20181319 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sweden Device: Kindle 3 WiFi, Kindle 4SO, Kindle for Android, Sony PRS-350 and PRS-T1	Also, you're charged a delivery fee, right? Does any money go to the blogger?

07-27-2010, 02:19 PM	#8
zetareticuli Addict Posts: 367 Karma: 228 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Aztak Mentor	Thank you for the information. I think we all need to remind ourselves that these Kindle devices are intended as a single purpose device for reading. It is not a shortcoming. That behavior is by design. Browsing on handheld/mobile devices is still in its infancy. Most websites are still optimized for resolutions that only large LCD displays can deliver.

07-27-2010, 08:43 PM	#9
kindlematic Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: kindle dxg	For those of you interested in rss and/or blogs, I suggest you have a look at Instapaper.com (compatible with Google Reader) and feedbooks.com - which will allow you to create your selection of news sources and then download it directly from the kindle, wirelessly in .mobi format anytime, with no additional charges.

07-27-2010, 08:59 PM	#10
zetareticuli Addict Posts: 367 Karma: 228 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Aztak Mentor	Kindlematic, are you liking the DXG more now? Have you worked around some of the issues you were having with PDF?

07-27-2010, 09:20 PM	#11
banjobama Busy Read'n Posts: 980 Karma: 5039283 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Auburn, WA Device: Pocketbook Touch Lux 5	I'm happy I read this, because I almost chose a Kindle for its ability to display blogs. Looks like I'm not missing out.

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