Why did the Kindle lose its memory card slot? - Page 2

Teyrnon · 11-29-2009, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

ALL have lost their cables and transfer books only by loading up their SD cards. Some less-techie users find it easier to deal with swapping out SD cards than hunting up an anonymous looking cable...

You realize that the USB cable that comes with the Kindle is the same cable used to charge the thing?

daffy4u · 11-29-2009, 07:19 PM

What Teyron said. Plus both parts of the cable have "Amazon" written on them, so it's definitely not anonymous.

FizzyWater · 11-29-2009, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teyrnon

You realize that the USB cable that comes with the Kindle is the same cable used to charge the thing?

1) my friends don't have Kindles
2) the Kindle charges with an AC adapter as well

Teyrnon · 11-29-2009, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

1) my friends don't have Kindles
2) the Kindle charges with an AC adapter as well

Yes, but the AC adapter is a plug that fits on the end of the USB cable. The same cable is used for charging either by wall or a computer's USB port.

As for your first point, this thread is in the Kindle forum and pretty specifically about the kindle.

daffy4u · 11-29-2009, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

1) my friends don't have Kindles
2) the Kindle charges with an AC adapter as well

The AC adapter and the USB cable are actually one in the same. You just remove the AC plug to charge via computer.

FizzyWater · 11-30-2009, 12:23 AM

Interesting...that's not always true...y'all must be talking about K2. I didn't realize they'd changed the adapter.

daffy4u · 11-30-2009, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

Interesting...that's not always true...y'all must be talking about K2. I didn't realize they'd changed the adapter.

Yes, we are talking about K2 because this whole thread is about K2 losing it's memory card slot.

dwallbaum · 11-30-2009, 02:11 PM

If a card reader were added to the K2 via the USB cable, could that content be read by the K2?

I don't know how you could assign a drive letter, and it would be a kludge, but as an academic exercise could this work?

Don

Elfwreck · 11-30-2009, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wayner

Why did Amazon remove the memory card slot on the Kindle 2? These cards are so cheap you could easily add 16GB to your Kindle and store tons of books and music.

This got asked when the K2 came out: Amazon comments on lack of SD card slot and user-removable battery

"Compared to the original Kindle, the Kindle 2 makes it convenient to keep content in one place," Tritschler said today. And the built-in 2GB of storage in the Kindle 2 means 1.4GB is available to the user -- almost eight times the 180MB of storage offered in the original Kindle, he said.

"That's room for 1,500 books," Tritschler said, noting that any book a Kindle user buys is backed up on Amazon's servers -- and is available to the reader at any time. "There's no need for additional storage."

The official Amazon answer: there's no SD card because you don't need that much storage capacity.

Daithi · 11-30-2009, 03:10 PM

I agree with desertgrandma -- they're stupidheads.

I heard somewhere that they removed the replaceable battery and the SD card because those items would make the K2 thicker and they wanted it as thin as possible. The only problem with this arguement is that my cellphone is a Nokia XpressMusic and it is just as thin as the K2, a lot smaller, and it contains a replaceable battery and SD card.

I can also answer why you would want that much storage. I have a lot of PDFs that eat up a lot of storage, so unless you want to spend the time converting all your PDFs into .prc files then you really need the extra space.

Rootman · 11-30-2009, 03:21 PM

There is 2 major goofs that I think Amazon is perpetuating.

No SD slot - this was almost a deal breaker for me. there is a lot more than books I'd like to keep on my Kindle DX.
No way to permanently DELETE a book out of Amazons backed up to server. I've downloaded a few crappy free books and wanted them gone, I'm afraid they are forever destined to stay in my "Archive".

And, oh yeah Amazon DOES NOT backup any book you didn't buy from them. With no clear cut way to organize the archive and the aforementioned inability to delete them - the archive is going to become a mess soon for many people.

slm · 11-30-2009, 03:25 PM

While I also dislike the absence of an SD slot, it may be worth noting that my K1 had intermittant freeze and reindexing problems with the SD cards --removing the SD card always cured the problem. It may have been easier for Amazon not to solve the underlying bugs.

daffy4u · 11-30-2009, 03:27 PM

I would rather have an SD Card slot than not but in all honesty I haven't needed it or missed it. I don't read PDF books but I do now have a few PDF manuals on my K2 and they don't seem to take up much space.

Alisa · 11-30-2009, 03:29 PM

My guess is it came down to two things: form factor and support.

They wanted a thinner, sleeker device so they switched to an internal battery and dropped the card slot, just like Apple does. Sure, microSD slots aren't that big but you can get more integrity on a thinner case if it doesn't have a hole.

Support is expensive and the external card leads to more support contacts. You have people with faulty cards that will likely contact Amazon support over missing data or malfunctioning files before they suspect their cards. You have people who can't be bothered to read the specs and see what kind of card to use and will contact support to find out which one they need. Also, K1 only delivered to the main memory which could fill up fast since there really wasn't much of it. People had to transfer stuff to a memory card or remove it from the Kindle to free up space. This is not difficult but I'm sure many people contacted support when they stopped getting their stuff because they didn't realize that was the issue.

edge777 · 11-30-2009, 05:16 PM

Personally, no SD card makes no difference to me. It can hold 1500 books (why do I need to have more with me???). I can load my own docs via the USB cable. It's one less thing to lose or have pop out. Plus, if it made the Kindle $15 cheaper, great!

11-30-2009, 03:21 PM	#26
Rootman Groupie Posts: 181 Karma: 478 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Android & FBReader	There is 2 major goofs that I think Amazon is perpetuating. No SD slot - this was almost a deal breaker for me. there is a lot more than books I'd like to keep on my Kindle DX. No way to permanently DELETE a book out of Amazons backed up to server. I've downloaded a few crappy free books and wanted them gone, I'm afraid they are forever destined to stay in my "Archive". And, oh yeah Amazon DOES NOT backup any book you didn't buy from them. With no clear cut way to organize the archive and the aforementioned inability to delete them - the archive is going to become a mess soon for many people.

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11-29-2009, 07:19 PM	#17
daffy4u I'm Super Kindle-icious Posts: 6,734 Karma: 2434103 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Long Drive, Calinadia Candafornia Device: KDXG, KT, Oasis	What Teyron said. Plus both parts of the cable have "Amazon" written on them, so it's definitely not anonymous.

11-30-2009, 12:23 AM	#21
FizzyWater You kids get off my lawn! Posts: 4,220 Karma: 73492664 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Columbus, Ohio Device: Oasis 2 and Libra H2O and half a dozen older models I can't let go of	Interesting...that's not always true...y'all must be talking about K2. I didn't realize they'd changed the adapter.

11-30-2009, 02:11 PM	#23
dwallbaum Zealot Posts: 100 Karma: 77 Join Date: May 2009 Device: Kindle2	If a card reader were added to the K2 via the USB cable, could that content be read by the K2? I don't know how you could assign a drive letter, and it would be a kludge, but as an academic exercise could this work? Don

11-30-2009, 03:10 PM	#25
Daithi Publishers are evil! Posts: 2,418 Karma: 36205264 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Rhode Island Device: Various Kindles	I agree with desertgrandma -- they're stupidheads. I heard somewhere that they removed the replaceable battery and the SD card because those items would make the K2 thicker and they wanted it as thin as possible. The only problem with this arguement is that my cellphone is a Nokia XpressMusic and it is just as thin as the K2, a lot smaller, and it contains a replaceable battery and SD card. I can also answer why you would want that much storage. I have a lot of PDFs that eat up a lot of storage, so unless you want to spend the time converting all your PDFs into .prc files then you really need the extra space.

11-30-2009, 03:25 PM	#27
slm Fool Posts: 377 Karma: 3557934 Join Date: Feb 2003 Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle PW1, Kobo Glo HD, Nook Glowlight Plus ...	While I also dislike the absence of an SD slot, it may be worth noting that my K1 had intermittant freeze and reindexing problems with the SD cards --removing the SD card always cured the problem. It may have been easier for Amazon not to solve the underlying bugs.

11-30-2009, 03:27 PM	#28
daffy4u I'm Super Kindle-icious Posts: 6,734 Karma: 2434103 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Long Drive, Calinadia Candafornia Device: KDXG, KT, Oasis	I would rather have an SD Card slot than not but in all honesty I haven't needed it or missed it. I don't read PDF books but I do now have a few PDF manuals on my K2 and they don't seem to take up much space.

11-30-2009, 03:29 PM	#29
Alisa Gadget Geek Posts: 2,324 Karma: 22221 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Paperwhite, Kindle 3 (retired), Skindle 1.2 (retired)	My guess is it came down to two things: form factor and support. They wanted a thinner, sleeker device so they switched to an internal battery and dropped the card slot, just like Apple does. Sure, microSD slots aren't that big but you can get more integrity on a thinner case if it doesn't have a hole. Support is expensive and the external card leads to more support contacts. You have people with faulty cards that will likely contact Amazon support over missing data or malfunctioning files before they suspect their cards. You have people who can't be bothered to read the specs and see what kind of card to use and will contact support to find out which one they need. Also, K1 only delivered to the main memory which could fill up fast since there really wasn't much of it. People had to transfer stuff to a memory card or remove it from the Kindle to free up space. This is not difficult but I'm sure many people contacted support when they stopped getting their stuff because they didn't realize that was the issue.

11-30-2009, 05:16 PM	#30
edge777 Kindle Enthusiastic Posts: 67 Karma: 582 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: Kindle 2 International	Personally, no SD card makes no difference to me. It can hold 1500 books (why do I need to have more with me???). I can load my own docs via the USB cable. It's one less thing to lose or have pop out. Plus, if it made the Kindle $15 cheaper, great!

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