MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Cloud Collections: Compared, Contrasted, and Critiqued

tomsem · 12-19-2013, 01:58 AM

Kindle Fire (HD2, HDX)
The new Fires got Cloud Collections a few hours after the Paperwhite 2 update. The implementation is similar to that on Kindle for iOS, but with some significant differences:

of the content ‘types’, only Apps, Books, Audiobooks and Docs can be put into Collections. Books/Docs/Audiobooks share the same set of Collections.
you can add items to collections by viewing the main list (either Cloud, which shows everything in your Library of that type, or On Device, which only shows on-device items) and long-tapping to bring up a menu [aside: I was surprised to see a ‘Delete from Cloud’ option for Apps] and selecting Add to Collection. You can also add/remove from Carousel. You can select an existing Collection or create a new one.
to view Collections select the menu icon (‘three bars’) and then Collections. These can be displayed in Grid or List view (the latter is useful if you want to use long Collection names)
open by tapping the collection thumbnail. As on iOS, there’s no List mode that would display title and author, you better hope the thumbnail is legible enough.
the order is ‘manual’ i.e. in the order you added them initially, but you can long-tap and drag them into another order (I believe that order will sync to other Fires or the iOS app)
you can Add (or remove) one or more items by tapping the Add+ icon. This presents a list of everything in your library of that ‘type’, without regard to whether it is on device or not. It is in Title order. You can only see Books when in Book view, and only Docs when in Docs view. There is no Filter option as on iOS.
long-tap lets you remove that single item (no multiple select). there is no option to Add to another collection or remove from device, as on iOS. When finished with reading a book opened from a Collection, Back to Books Library takes you back to Collections list, as on iOS. If you want to read another book, you have to know which collection it is in, open that one, and tap on it.
unlike the Paperwhite 2 (and traditional implementation of Collections) Collection view has only a list of Collections, and not also items that are not in collections.

Critique:

this is not as good as the iOS implementation, and improves on it in only one, relatively useless way: ability to show Collections in list or grid. okay, it is slightly easier to re-order the items as it is not a separate ‘mode’ as with iOS.
you have no Collections sort options (only By Name, no Recent)
as mentioned above, no Filter option makes adding items to an existing Collection a bit of a chore, as you need to navigate the full list of your Docs, Books, or Apps
you cannot add Books when you are in Docs view and vice versa. You have to add from one, go to the other view and add from the other.
it’s a pain to move an item from one Collection to another when in Collections view
it is impossible to remove an item from the device when in Collections view

Next up: Kindle for Android

12-19-2013, 01:58 AM	#2
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,955 Karma: 27060153 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	Cloud Collections: Compared, Contrasted, and Critiqued Part 2 Kindle Fire (HD2, HDX) The new Fires got Cloud Collections a few hours after the Paperwhite 2 update. The implementation is similar to that on Kindle for iOS, but with some significant differences: of the content ‘types’, only Apps, Books, Audiobooks and Docs can be put into Collections. Books/Docs/Audiobooks share the same set of Collections. you can add items to collections by viewing the main list (either Cloud, which shows everything in your Library of that type, or On Device, which only shows on-device items) and long-tapping to bring up a menu [aside: I was surprised to see a ‘Delete from Cloud’ option for Apps] and selecting Add to Collection. You can also add/remove from Carousel. You can select an existing Collection or create a new one. to view Collections select the menu icon (‘three bars’) and then Collections. These can be displayed in Grid or List view (the latter is useful if you want to use long Collection names) open by tapping the collection thumbnail. As on iOS, there’s no List mode that would display title and author, you better hope the thumbnail is legible enough. the order is ‘manual’ i.e. in the order you added them initially, but you can long-tap and drag them into another order (I believe that order will sync to other Fires or the iOS app) you can Add (or remove) one or more items by tapping the Add+ icon. This presents a list of everything in your library of that ‘type’, without regard to whether it is on device or not. It is in Title order. You can only see Books when in Book view, and only Docs when in Docs view. There is no Filter option as on iOS. long-tap lets you remove that single item (no multiple select). there is no option to Add to another collection or remove from device, as on iOS. When finished with reading a book opened from a Collection, Back to Books Library takes you back to Collections list, as on iOS. If you want to read another book, you have to know which collection it is in, open that one, and tap on it. unlike the Paperwhite 2 (and traditional implementation of Collections) Collection view has only a list of Collections, and not also items that are not in collections. Critique: this is not as good as the iOS implementation, and improves on it in only one, relatively useless way: ability to show Collections in list or grid. okay, it is slightly easier to re-order the items as it is not a separate ‘mode’ as with iOS. you have no Collections sort options (only By Name, no Recent) as mentioned above, no Filter option makes adding items to an existing Collection a bit of a chore, as you need to navigate the full list of your Docs, Books, or Apps you cannot add Books when you are in Docs view and vice versa. You have to add from one, go to the other view and add from the other. it’s a pain to move an item from one Collection to another when in Collections view it is impossible to remove an item from the device when in Collections view Next up: Kindle for Android Last edited by tomsem; 12-20-2013 at 01:49 AM.