That old page numbering question again

[KlondikeGeoff]

There are a couple of threads on the Kindle forum about the "location" vs "page numbering" question, which is getting interesting. Various theories as to why the Kindle does not show the Page xxx of xxxx instead of the location numbers.

I posted an inquiry as to why my Sony Reader does this in all four font sizes and in both portrait and landscope mode with no problem, while Amazon does not seem to be able to do it.

So far, no information on that, probably because not that many people have both.

Any ideas why Sony can do this but Amazon can't (or will not)?

[Elsi]

But ... but.

Why do you need "page" numbers in the first place? It's only one way of indicating your location within the book. It is the way that people are most comfortable with as they are transitioning from paper books to electronic books.

But, on the Sony, page numbers aren't absolute. On the Kindle, the locations are absolute. So, it's going to be much easier for me to tell a fellow Kindle user that the text I found of interest is at location 210 than it would be for me to tell a fellow Sony user that the text is on page 13. And, since neither have any relationship to the page numbers in the paper books ...

I find that the location numbers in my Kindle aren't the least bit off-putting. It would be nice if the Kindle's running footer would say "Locations 2041-47 of 4577", but the progress indicator is good to let me know if I'm in the beginnning, middle, or end of the book. And just a couple of button presses will show me the highest location number in the book and then I know more precisely how close I am to the end of the book.

It's just not a problem.

[TheJohnNewton]

I have to agree with Elsi. Page numbers were fine when books were only printed on paper so the page numbers were pretty much consistent. Then page equated to the amount of text printed on a standard size paper page. With ebooks page numbers make no sense. There is no consistent page size to be a standard. We need to change the standard from being based on the display technology to being based on the actual text. As Elsi says locations are absolute in relation to the text. The display is irrelevant. People may not be used to it yet but it makes a lot more sense.

[pbennett]

Owning both the Sony reader (now unused) and Kindle (*heavily* used), I definitely prefer the Kindle method. The Sony page numbers were dependent on the font size and orientation, effectively meaning nothing. The kindle location numbers are always the same.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by KlondikeGeoff

Any ideas why Sony can do this but Amazon can't (or will not)?

Because the Sony pre-paginates the book, and so knows in advance where each page starts. That's why you get the "spinning cursor" when you first open a book, or you select a new font size for the first time. It can be a lengthy process for a long book.

[KlondikeGeoff]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Because the Sony pre-paginates the book, and so knows in advance where each page starts. That's why you get the "spinning cursor" when you first open a book, or you select a new font size for the first time. It can be a lengthy process for a long book.

Thank you, Harry, for a factual reply to my query. Very interesting, and I appreciate learning something new. I especially appreciate an answer to a direct question rather than being lectured to about which method is better.

It is not that I "need" page numbers, but that I happen to prefer them, which is why I was curious as to the difference.