New Kindle announced - Page 6

FourOhFour · 07-29-2010, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jswinden

I doubt WiFi will connect to AT&T. However, I suspect the WiFi will connect similar to the iPod touch running the Amazon app in that if you have a WiFi network to connect to you should be able to buy and download books, and you should be able to sync last page read and bookmarks and stuff with your other Kindle devices.

Both the WiFi and the 3G+WiFi get free wifi at AT&T hotspots. Beyond that, the wifi-only one won't be on AT&T's network.

Buran · 07-29-2010, 11:48 AM

Already ordered the 3G/WiFi version in graphite. My fiance will finally be able to enjoy a Kindle without having to wait til I'm not using mine! That should make him happy - and I have a DecalGirl camo skin on it, and since he's an Army vet, hey, it works.

The fun is going to be going through my entire book list on amazon and setting all of them up to be sent to the new kindle as well and then, when it arrives, copying all of the MobiPocket books I've downloaded (lots of out of copyright older books) to it.

For those who don't know if they need the 3G or not due to traveling abroad, etc. -- best to have it and not need it, I'd think, than the other way around. Just turn the 3G or WiFi off depending on your needs.

I'm already wondering if I'll be able to grab books for free the next time I'm visiting family in Greece -- some places have Wifi, some don't, but Amazon does charge for 3G OTA downloads while you're outside your home country.

(I can and do load the thing up with books before leaving, but having the option will be nice!)

jj2me · 07-29-2010, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChaoZ

Losing number keys does kinda suck. They should've at least included an alt key for the top row of the keyboard or something.

Could someone explain how you would type a number? Does the Sym key bring up a matrix of symbols, including numbers, that one must 5-way through? If so, that's horrible. Perhaps a technique by Amazon of discouraging 3G web browsing.

tomsem · 07-29-2010, 11:49 AM

I pre-ordered the wifi model last night as soon as I learned of it. The improved screen that everyone expected was not decisive, but together with the other hardware enhancements (smaller/lighter, longer battery life, more storage, wifi) made it impossible to resist. The additional fonts, enhanced PDF support, webkit browser will be welcome too, though presumably a software upgrade can add these to K2/DX as well.

I ordered the wifi only model because there's currently no 3G coverage where I live, and I have wifi at home and most of the places I go to when I'm not home. Plus I am planning to get a Droid X, which will share its 3G connection with up to 5 wifi devices, including my laptop, the Kindle, and the iPod Touch I plan to get (as long as they put a camera in the next one). So I'll have wifi wherever there's 3G, and at home. No need to spend $50 for the 3G kindle.

I still hope they add PDF link support (for navigating TOC's etc.) at some point, PDF reflow might be useful as well (at least with properly tagged PDFs). Though it is not mentioned, I hope the new fonts have quietly expanded unicode support (adding Cyrillic, if not C/J/K). I don't suppose they added an accelerometer to change orientation automatically like DX...

The loss of number keys is tragic, but I admit that I hardly ever use them as it is. Does it also mean there's no way to adjust line spacing (something I never do either)? (SHIFT+ALT+number does this on K2) or are there new hotkeys for doing this? Time will tell...

I guess I'm surprised with the continued focus on English-language users, to the exclusion of those who would like to use diacritics in their annotations, or to have the UI in their native language. Almost all of the other readers are able to operate in several language modes. Guess that will have to be the 'K4'...

amjbrown · 07-29-2010, 12:25 PM

If this supported ePub, it would be the perfect complement to my iPad, where my DRM free ePubs on iBooks live side by side with my Kindle collection. I am going to have to resist for now.

Lovely bit of kit though. Can't wait to see the UK bookstore either!

Sridhar · 07-29-2010, 12:28 PM

You can convert your DRM-free epubs easily using Calibre. Once you have added the books to the Calbre library, when you connect your Kindle, Calibre will know that it needs to convert the books to the mobi format and transfer them to the Kindle.

amjbrown · 07-29-2010, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sridhar

You can convert your DRM-free epubs easily using Calibre. Once you have added the books to the Calbre library, when you connect your Kindle, Calibre will know that it needs to convert the books to the mobi format and transfer them to the Kindle.

Tempted...

amjbrown · 07-29-2010, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amjbrown

Tempted...

Ordered

danachee · 07-29-2010, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jj2me

Could someone explain how you would type a number? Does the Sym key bring up a matrix of symbols, including numbers, that one must 5-way through? If so, that's horrible. Perhaps a technique by Amazon of discouraging 3G web browsing.

According to the manual (available on the amazon site), the Alt key and the first row of letters will give you numbers, so for example, Alt-Q is 1, Alt-U is 7, and Alt-P is 0. Yes, the SYM key will also bring up numbers, but I'm thinking the shortcuts with the Alt key will be faster.

Sridhar · 07-29-2010, 12:42 PM

Is the 20% faster page turns a software update or a hardware one? I ask because I just bought a KDX-Graphite, and was wondering if we'll get this improvement with the firmware update or not.

ConstantineXVI · 07-29-2010, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sridhar

Is the 20% faster page turns a software update or a hardware one? I ask because I just bought a KDX-Graphite, and was wondering if we'll get this improvement with the firmware update or not.

I'm guessing the faster page turns will come from a new display controller; else the DXG would have been advertised with the faster speeds as well (as it has the same e-ink part)

jj2me · 07-29-2010, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danachee

According to the manual (available on the amazon site), the Alt key and the first row of letters will give you numbers, so for example, Alt-Q is 1, Alt-U is 7, and Alt-P is 0. Yes, the SYM key will also bring up numbers, but I'm thinking the shortcuts with the Alt key will be faster.

danachee,
Thanks so much. I was going by the post I responded to, which said, "They should've at least included an alt key for the top row of the keyboard or something." Now that I actually looked carefully at the picture (I had looked at the engadget video which only showed a magnified view of the right-side keys), I see the Alt key.

And thanks for clueing me in to the manual on Amazon. I guess I never scrolled down that far. Yes, mine was a head-smacker

of a dumb, useless post, but I'm very grateful for your help. Will now place my order.

jetfin · 07-29-2010, 01:36 PM

I am wondering if it is possible to turn off/on wifi and 3g *separately*....

-Am guessing that if this is a combo wifi/3g card inside then they can both either be only on or off...

Anybody happen to have some insight on this?

I would like to have 3g off most of the time and only use it when there is no wifi due to battery issues....

jswinden · 07-29-2010, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jetfin

I am wondering if it is possible to turn off/on wifi and 3g *separately*....

-Am guessing that if this is a combo wifi/3g card inside then they can both either be only on or off...

Anybody happen to have some insight on this?

I would like to have 3g off most of the time and only use it when there is no wifi due to battery issues....

Manual states on page 39:

Quote:

Your Kindle automatically turns 3G coverage off when you connect using Wi-Fi. If you disconnect from a Wi-Fi network or if you move out of Wi-Fi range, Kindle automatically switches back to 3G coverage. If you want to turn off 3G coverage, you can turn Whispernet off.

Sridhar · 07-29-2010, 02:21 PM

I bought my Kindle DXG less than a month ago. Now that the new Kindle has come out, I am not sure if I should keep it - I have a few more days to decide if I want to return it. I need a larger sized screen (I use it to read pdfs of technical papers/articles, which would be hard to do on the regular Kindle) but am concerned about whether an updated DX is in the works, leaving me with a much lower spec'ed DXG.

So do you guys think a new DX is on its way, with
1. Better battery
2. Wifi
3. Higher capacity drive (say 8GB instead of 4GB)
4. Faster page turns
5. The new 5-way controller

Of these, the one that I care about most are 1-3.

What makes me think a new DX is not in the works, at least within the next few months, is that they released the DXG only a month ago. But then, why would they have a product at more than twice the price, which is better only in one respect (larger screen) but is significantly inferior on multiple counts?

07-29-2010, 11:48 AM	#77
Buran Geek Posts: 190 Karma: 471136 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Brentwood, MO Device: Kindle Oasis Waterproof 32GB 3G (without offers)	Already ordered the 3G/WiFi version in graphite. My fiance will finally be able to enjoy a Kindle without having to wait til I'm not using mine! That should make him happy - and I have a DecalGirl camo skin on it, and since he's an Army vet, hey, it works. The fun is going to be going through my entire book list on amazon and setting all of them up to be sent to the new kindle as well and then, when it arrives, copying all of the MobiPocket books I've downloaded (lots of out of copyright older books) to it. For those who don't know if they need the 3G or not due to traveling abroad, etc. -- best to have it and not need it, I'd think, than the other way around. Just turn the 3G or WiFi off depending on your needs. I'm already wondering if I'll be able to grab books for free the next time I'm visiting family in Greece -- some places have Wifi, some don't, but Amazon does charge for 3G OTA downloads while you're outside your home country. (I can and do load the thing up with books before leaving, but having the option will be nice!) Last edited by Buran; 07-29-2010 at 12:33 PM.

07-29-2010, 01:36 PM	#88
jetfin Enthusiast Posts: 37 Karma: 434 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Zagreb, Croatia Device: Kobo Aura One, KPW, K3, K2i, K2US	Seperate wifi & 3g on/off? I am wondering if it is possible to turn off/on wifi and 3g separately.... -Am guessing that if this is a combo wifi/3g card inside then they can both either be only on or off... Anybody happen to have some insight on this? I would like to have 3g off most of the time and only use it when there is no wifi due to battery issues....

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07-29-2010, 11:49 AM	#79
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,476 Karma: 26425959 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	I pre-ordered the wifi model last night as soon as I learned of it. The improved screen that everyone expected was not decisive, but together with the other hardware enhancements (smaller/lighter, longer battery life, more storage, wifi) made it impossible to resist. The additional fonts, enhanced PDF support, webkit browser will be welcome too, though presumably a software upgrade can add these to K2/DX as well. I ordered the wifi only model because there's currently no 3G coverage where I live, and I have wifi at home and most of the places I go to when I'm not home. Plus I am planning to get a Droid X, which will share its 3G connection with up to 5 wifi devices, including my laptop, the Kindle, and the iPod Touch I plan to get (as long as they put a camera in the next one). So I'll have wifi wherever there's 3G, and at home. No need to spend $50 for the 3G kindle. I still hope they add PDF link support (for navigating TOC's etc.) at some point, PDF reflow might be useful as well (at least with properly tagged PDFs). Though it is not mentioned, I hope the new fonts have quietly expanded unicode support (adding Cyrillic, if not C/J/K). I don't suppose they added an accelerometer to change orientation automatically like DX... The loss of number keys is tragic, but I admit that I hardly ever use them as it is. Does it also mean there's no way to adjust line spacing (something I never do either)? (SHIFT+ALT+number does this on K2) or are there new hotkeys for doing this? Time will tell... I guess I'm surprised with the continued focus on English-language users, to the exclusion of those who would like to use diacritics in their annotations, or to have the UI in their native language. Almost all of the other readers are able to operate in several language modes. Guess that will have to be the 'K4'...

07-29-2010, 12:25 PM	#80
amjbrown Addict Posts: 322 Karma: 1231044 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: London, UK Device: Kindle Oasis 3, Kindle app on the iPhone	If this supported ePub, it would be the perfect complement to my iPad, where my DRM free ePubs on iBooks live side by side with my Kindle collection. I am going to have to resist for now. Lovely bit of kit though. Can't wait to see the UK bookstore either!

07-29-2010, 12:28 PM	#81
Sridhar Member Posts: 23 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: iPad 3	You can convert your DRM-free epubs easily using Calibre. Once you have added the books to the Calbre library, when you connect your Kindle, Calibre will know that it needs to convert the books to the mobi format and transfer them to the Kindle.

07-29-2010, 12:42 PM	#85
Sridhar Member Posts: 23 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: iPad 3	Is the 20% faster page turns a software update or a hardware one? I ask because I just bought a KDX-Graphite, and was wondering if we'll get this improvement with the firmware update or not.

07-29-2010, 02:21 PM	#90
Sridhar Member Posts: 23 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: iPad 3	I bought my Kindle DXG less than a month ago. Now that the new Kindle has come out, I am not sure if I should keep it - I have a few more days to decide if I want to return it. I need a larger sized screen (I use it to read pdfs of technical papers/articles, which would be hard to do on the regular Kindle) but am concerned about whether an updated DX is in the works, leaving me with a much lower spec'ed DXG. So do you guys think a new DX is on its way, with 1. Better battery 2. Wifi 3. Higher capacity drive (say 8GB instead of 4GB) 4. Faster page turns 5. The new 5-way controller Of these, the one that I care about most are 1-3. What makes me think a new DX is not in the works, at least within the next few months, is that they released the DXG only a month ago. But then, why would they have a product at more than twice the price, which is better only in one respect (larger screen) but is significantly inferior on multiple counts?