Why my Kindle DXG is going back - stupid stoneage joystick

[snipenekkid]

While it was nice to have a big screen on which to read certain books, I simply could not live with the crappy recessed joystick solution for navigation. I was happy with the wheel thingy on the K1. I accepted the joystick on the K2 and K2i but spending near to $400 on the DXG I just am not going to use something I find totally awkward and really about 20-yrs out of date.

Would that someone have made any sort of adapter to extend the thing. Nobody has, have they? I might have kept this for now and sold when I decide on a real PC slate device later this year. But to be honest I found it easier to read and navigate Kindle books formatted for large displays on the teeny 4th Gen iPod Touch I had for a couple weeks than using this beastly joystick.

So, off it goes as, for me, the joystick was actually one of the few things on the Kindle which did not become transparent while using the device. I found it a great distraction often causing me to accidentally choose the wrong menu item, wrong link in a web page or ....several other things I don't want to remember because of the night-sweats which will be sure to result.

But to be honest, I just am not enamored with the DXG in general. It's not the size, the display or anything like that. It is just the one-dimensional nature of this device at this point in time. So, there will soon be a referb in the Amazon Warehouse. My first return of a more expensive item with Amazon. Hope they forgive me. But his thing sucks due to the joystick...hehehehe...just a bit of hyperbole because, well, it's after midnight and I am half a sleep while typing.

[montalex]

Curious. I never heard of anyone being annoyed by the 5-way controller. I'm mostly just turning pages when I read, but I do use it a lot when reading the New York Times on my Kindle. I have always thought that it is a fairly elegant solution to putting 5 buttons in a limited space. While it may be an old concept, what kind of switching has come along that is better? Personally, I don't like touch screens, because it makes every operation a two-hander, whereas, with the buttons on my Kindle 2, I can be standing on the metro, and at least turn pages with the hand that is holding my reader.

It is interesting how personal one's choice of an ereader is.

[DiapDealer]

Curious. I never heard of anyone being annoyed by the 5-way controller. I'm mostly just turning pages when I read,

Same here. The joystick just doesn't get used enough for me to hate on it. It's all about the page turns -- of course that may be because I only use my device to read books (starting on the first page and continuing forward to the last page). Usage, of course, will vary.

[mikeschr]

I've had both the DXG and the K3, and I can't stand the joystick on the DXG. The controller on the K3 works a lot better for me, because it's harder to accidentally move it up or down while trying to click. With the DXG, I have to concentrate on pushing straight down without moving the joystick, or else I end up choosing the wrong item.

[max99]

what a bizarre reason to return a kindle...are sure you really needed/wanted one in the first place?

i find the control stick really easy to use, and like others said you don;t need to touch it while reading a book.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by montalex

Curious. I never heard of anyone being annoyed by the 5-way controller.

There have been many, many comments that the 5-way controller on the K3 is too small and fiddly for those with large fingers. I'd certainly like it to be 50% larger.

[Tuba]

Originally Posted by snipenekkid

But to be honest, I just am not enamored with the DXG in general. It's not the size, the display or anything like that. It is just the one-dimensional nature of this device at this point in time.

It is meant to be one-dimensional. It is an eReader.
I can understand someone having issues with the joystick but me thinks the OP would prefer an iPAD.

[snipenekkid]

Originally Posted by montalex

Curious. I never heard of anyone being annoyed by the 5-way controller. I'm mostly just turning pages when I read, but I do use it a lot when reading the New York Times on my Kindle. I have always thought that it is a fairly elegant solution to putting 5 buttons in a limited space. While it may be an old concept, what kind of switching has come along that is better? Personally, I don't like touch screens, because it makes every operation a two-hander, whereas, with the buttons on my Kindle 2, I can be standing on the metro, and at least turn pages with the hand that is holding my reader.

It is interesting how personal one's choice of an ereader is.

Yeah, I agee we all have such individual needs or as I prefer to say it preferences. But like Harry mentions, it's about the size of the joystick itself. Were is just about 1mm maybe 1.5mm taller, and perhaps a but larger in the other two dimensions as well, I could manage it. But as it is right now, since it's introduction in the K2US model I have struggled with it because I have hands which just don't work for the way the control is designed.

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Same here. The joystick just doesn't get used enough for me to hate on it. It's all about the page turns -- of course that may be because I only use my device to read books (starting on the first page and continuing forward to the last page). Usage, of course, will vary.

Right, I have always used every one of the 6" Kindles I have owned for pleasure reading so I have "...learned to love the bomb" so to speak. Because as ya mention it just doesn't get used enough for that sort of reading to matter enough to warrant not keeping the device. I like my 6" Kindles a lot and have used them daily since the K1's release. And I still have to say I liked the original scroll wheel better. I think I would appreciate the joystick control better were it simply that tiny but more generous in size.

Originally Posted by mikeschr

I've had both the DXG and the K3, and I can't stand the joystick on the DXG. The controller on the K3 works a lot better for me, because it's harder to accidentally move it up or down while trying to click. With the DXG, I have to concentrate on pushing straight down without moving the joystick, or else I end up choosing the wrong item.

I think I would probably manage much better with a control like on the K3 for sure. I am betting we'll see something similar if the next large format Kindle reader does not introduce the touch technology from the touch screen as well as flexible screen maker, Touchco, about this time last year:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...E5rfTksyryHsUA

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/02/...maker-touchco/

Originally Posted by max99

what a bizarre reason to return a kindle...are sure you really needed/wanted one in the first place?

i find the control stick really easy to use, and like others said you don;t need to touch it while reading a book.

Actually not bizarre at all, it is simply a reason you likely never considered since the current design works OK for ya. We make such assumptions all the time, heck i know I overlook things that might not work for others myself. So if you really think about it, you'll come to appreciate that there is no reason to hold onto a reader which I struggle to use. In the case of the DXG I bought it for reading research material which means a lot of notations, in-page highlighting as well as word or phrase searching. As such I use the controller constantly. So, you actually do need to use it while reading, in fact that is one of the primary uses of the control. I bet your reading uses don't call for it and/or your hands are better suited to the ergs of the joystick design.

Just another thing to remember when evaluating a reader because as Harry and others have indicated, everyone of us is different. So I am glad I shared my experiences as it might help someone else so they might be aware it is not only a potential point of compromise but also that it's significantly different in it's physical design than the control on the K3.

And thanks for pointing that out Harry.

But for me, my quest for a larger format reader is on hold again as I am also pulling back from moving in the direction of the iPod Touch and iPad combo as cool as that Touch was to use. I really did like the power that device brought in my pocket problem is until the whole content vs. purchase issue is settled I just don't want to move in the Apple direction. I am also hopeful Amazon might bring out something interesting this year as well. I think the KDX is due for a facelift. Amazon has learned a lot from the various Kindles so far and really has been willing to try different layouts for the readers. Time will tell.

One thing I can say is I LOVE the large Eink screen. Still, it genuinely was easier to read my color large format books on the tiny iPod Touch with it's "Retina" display and the easy navigation using gestures. Perhaps that ease was why I decided it was not worth compromise on the joystick when other options will certainly be out there over the next few months. gives me something to look forward to this year I suppose, is that sorta sad? haha,