Design Issues

[Susan G]

Hi-

I received the Kindle as a gift, and before I received it I read some reviews. I have to say I agree with most of both the pros and cons.

- What were they thinking with that book cover design? I had to read the QuickStart Guide and watch a few videos to make sure I wasn't missing something or that mine wasn't defective. It's not as if they had to re-invent the wheel here, just follow or improve upon what worked before. The book cover is really just a carrying case, IMO, and not a very good one at that.

- I thought maybe there was a way to disable the "Next Page" button on the right, since it seems every time I pick it up I press that button. The videos I've seen show people holding the device with their right thumb to the left of the scroll wheel, nowhere near the Next Page button, so I guess I'll get used to doing that?

- No way to to organize content, since it seems you're locked into the 3 folders provided (documents, music, and Audible). I loaded some .pdf and .doc files after converting them to .prc with Mobipocket Reader, but it wouldn't Send them correctly to the Kindle, since it expects them to be in an ebooks folder. Not to mention that my .doc files all took the name of the template instead of the file. <sigh!>

I'm still learning, and I love the device itself when I get to reading, but I'm surprised that some of the physical and software design elements weren't more carefully thought out. It almost feels like a beta to me on both counts.

Thanks-

-Susan

[CopperTrail]

1. I went to a 3rd party M-Edge case which is much better than the cover supplied with the Kindle.

2. Send an email to kindle-feedback at amazon dot com requesting a firmware update that allows one to disable the next page button on the right side.

3. This is an issue facing most eBook readers on the market.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by Susan G

- No way to to organize content, since it seems you're locked into the 3 folders provided (documents, music, and Audible). I loaded some .pdf and .doc files after converting them to .prc with Mobipocket Reader, but it wouldn't Send them correctly to the Kindle, since it expects them to be in an ebooks folder. Not to mention that my .doc files all took the name of the template instead of the file. <sigh!>

You have the wrong version of Mobi Desktop. You need to uninstall the one you have, and install version 6.0. Here it is: xxxxxxxx

[dugbug]

Before you set your kindle down, put it in sleep mode (which is easy and convenient to do), then when you pick it up pressing page buttons will have no effect.

-d

[Elsi]

I like the Kindle's original cover. Here's how I hold the Kindle when reading:



I'm right handed and I want my right hand free for such things as picking up my Diet Coke. To turn the page, I move my thumb over to the Next Page button:



-- and yes, I do press it with my knuckle and not the pad at the tip of my thumb.

When I first got my Kindle, it would occasionally slip out of the cover. I discovered that the little plastic tab wasn't securely glued into the slot in the suede, so I grabbed it with a pair of hemostats (fancy tweezer-like implements) and glued it in the right place with some Super Glue that my hubby keeps around. I pressed the edges of the slit in the suede tightly until the glue was setting up. Voila! No more problem with the Kindle sliding out. I can hold the whole thing up by the folded edge of the cover and the Kindle is held very securely in the cover.

I put the Kindle to sleep every time I'm setting it down and not intending to pick it up again. Since I had gotten into the habit of putting my laptop into stand-by mode every time I walk away from it, it was not difficult to transfer that action to the Kindle. If you leave the Whispernet antenna turned on, it's even more important to put the Kindle to sleep instead of waiting for it to time out and do that itself -- there's 10 minutes of network activity you've avoided and the battery charge will last that much longer.

I don't use MobiPocket Reader to synchronize and transfer books to the Kindle. I just allow Windows to mount the Kindle as an external hard drive and copy the files over that way. I also do my own backup of the books I've downloaded from Amazon by copying them to my laptop or to a USB hard drive.

I'd love for the Kindle to support some kind of foldering system -- and for that to be recognized by the Content Manager built into the device. I want to have the main/home menu display a limited set of the books on the Kindle such as the one I'm currently reading and samples I've downloaded. I'd like to have a folder that I can move a book to when I've finished reading it so I can easily see that it can be removed the next time I connect the Kindle to my laptop. But, I'm managing without such a file system.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Susan G

- I thought maybe there was a way to disable the "Next Page" button on the right, since it seems every time I pick it up I press that button. The videos I've seen show people holding the device with their right thumb to the left of the scroll wheel, nowhere near the Next Page button, so I guess I'll get used to doing that?

Yes, that's what I do when I hold it with my right hand. I will also use my right hand index finger to hit the next page button. So, I can read one handed with either my left or right hand.

However, I usually hold it in my left hand just below the screen and turn the page with my right hand, just like I would with a book. I find that the most natural.

I have yet to take the cover out of the plastic bag. Now, with my Sony it came with the cover attached and folding it back worked perfectly well. The device is so thin that even with the cover it isn't a problem. The Kindel cover plus the kindle just seem to thick for me. But, I will have to try it.

BOb

[Susan G]

Hi-

Thanks to all for such quick and helpful replies!

@Nate: Excellent! The link you posted didn't work for me, but I found another from you in a different thread, so I uninstalled 6.2 and installed 6.0, and that works great. I wonder why Mobi dropped direct Kindle support?

@CopperTrail: I'm looking at the m-edge covers on Amazon, and it looks like the only difference b/w the 54.99 one and the 39.99 one is that one's genuine leather and the other is...n't? I'll follow up on your suggestion re the firmware update. There must be a way to check the version on my Kindle, and I received it literally yesterday, but I know that doesn't always mean you got the very latest!

Thanks again, all! I'm really enjoying my Kindle!

-Susan

[Elsi]

Originally Posted by CopperTrail

2. Send an email to kindle-feedback at amazon dot com requesting a firmware update that allows one to disable the next page button on the right side.

Such a firmware update does not yet exist. But send a note to Amazon and ask them to create one!

[Susan G]

Originally Posted by Elsi

Such a firmware update does not yet exist. But send a note to Amazon and ask them to create one!

Ah, okay -- done.

Thanks, Elsi!

-Susan

[sgspecker]

Originally Posted by Susan G

Hi-

I'm looking at the m-edge covers on Amazon, and it looks like the only difference b/w the 54.99 one and the 39.99 one is that one's genuine leather and the other is...n't?

-Susan

I don't have one of the Medge Covers, but found the discussion over on the Amazon forum interesting. The overwhelming favorite there was to go for the leather cover even though it's $20 more. Here's the link to that discussion:

"Medge covers" <http://www.amazon.com/Medge-covers/f...sin=B000FI73MA>

Scott

[Susan G]

Hi Scott-

Thanks for that link. I went ahead and ordered the Genuine Leather (Red) case based on that conversation, since I knew the original book cover would continue to grate! Not a small amount of money, but since the Kindle was a gift, I was able to rationalize the expense pretty easily!

-Susan

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by Susan G

Hi Scott-

Thanks for that link. I went ahead and ordered the Genuine Leather (Red) case based on that conversation, since I knew the original book cover would continue to grate! Not a small amount of money, but since the Kindle was a gift, I was able to rationalize the expense pretty easily!

-Susan

And that is what it's all about.