Kindle DX and manga/comics/pictures

[Over]

Hi everyone.

I would like to know what can I expect from Kindle DX and manga/comic/picture viewing:

- does it display JPG and PNG natively (without conversion)?
- can I organize the pictures in folders (a folder for each album/book)?

For those who read manga/comcis, what do you do? What's the process? Do you compile the images in some format? Which one?

Thank you for your input.

[fiver]

You'll probably want to run your images through the 'mangle' program before copying them to the kindle - it renames the images to ensure that the kindle displays them in the right order, and does some processing on the images to convert them into a more efficient size (since the kindle only displays 16 shades of gray).

I usually zip up my manga images into a single file per volume - the kindle can read the zip files just fine and that keeps me from having a lot of files on my DX. Create a folder called 'pictures' in the root of your DX and copy your zip file there. The manga will then show up on your table of contents screen.

I love reading manga on my DX - so much better than the eye strain I'd get on my computer. You should see a couple screenshots on the mangle site comparing the kindle 2 to the kindle dx.

Michael

[Over]

Thanks, Michael!

Mangle prepares the image files, so that they are optimized for the Kindle DX, right? Great, that's the tool I needed.

I didn't know that Kindle DX could read ZIP files. That's great news to me. Right now I have a Cybook. Among other things, like small screen size, it would mix the piture files with books and everything. I could filter to display images only, but it would take a long time, because it had to render all thumbnails of each page in the library before I could select an image to view. I guess that ZIPed, it will show as a book in the Kindle DX, right?

Thanks for replying. Im closer to buy the Kindle DX.

[launeyg]

I have a Kindle DX. When I purchase a kindle book with pictures and diagrams, how can I view the pictures? On the Kindle DX directly or otherwise? If so, how?
George Launey

[fugazied]

I didn't know the DX could read zips?! That is very cool. I added a few comics to my DX but eventually went back to the laptop because I needed to see color.

If I were you, I would wait until Amazon releases the new Kindle DX. Amazon will no doubt release the new DX with color technology (probably mirasol) and if comics are one of the things you want to read, color makes the experience better imo. Personally I am moving to an iPad in 60 days because one of my primary uses is comics and an LED backlit color touch screen will be great for that, but I have loved using my DX.

The Kindle upgrades wouldn't be more than 3-4 months off - they will be rushing to market to counter the swing to iPad. If you can handle waiting you will get a lot more value for money.

[Over]

Between comic books or manga, I read much more manga and the kindle is just perfect for it.

The iPad, without USB or memory card slot, is a no go for me.

[lilman]

Originally Posted by Over

I would like to know what can I expect from Kindle DX and manga/comic/picture viewing:

- does it display JPG and PNG natively (without conversion)?
- can I organize the pictures in folders (a folder for each album/book)?

Yes, it can display JPG and PNG natively (as well as BMP and GIF). You can also organize pictures in folders or keep them in zip achives. Picture rendering is a little slow though and can take a few seconds for a single page.

Originally Posted by fugazied

If I were you, I would wait until Amazon releases the new Kindle DX. Amazon will no doubt release the new DX with color technology (probably mirasol) and if comics are one of the things you want to read, color makes the experience better imo. Personally I am moving to an iPad in 60 days because one of my primary uses is comics and an LED backlit color touch screen will be great for that, but I have loved using my DX.

I don't know how soon color is coming to the Kindle. I think Amazon's current public stance on this is that they are researching color epaper technologies but are not happy with what is out there right now. For manga it shouldn't make too much of a difference since most pages are in black and white anyways, but a color Kindle DX would be awesome!

Originally Posted by Over

Between comic books or manga, I read much more manga and the kindle is just perfect for it.

The iPad, without USB or memory card slot, is a no go for me.

Kindle doesn't have USB or memory card slot either (well, it has USB, but that is only for charging and connecting to a computer, not for connecting external storage). What makes me like the Kindle over the iPad is the screen... I much rather read manga on an epaper screen than an lcd screen, even if I have to sacrifice color on the few pages (like covers) that have color.

[Over]

What do you mean, it has no USB? I have the Kindle DX and I use USB to transfer files all the time. It appear in your computer just like a USB pen drive would, for example.

Edit: this is my 1000th post, yay

[lilman]

Originally Posted by Over

What do you mean, it has no USB? I have the Kindle DX and I use USB to transfer files all the time. It appear in your computer just like a USB pen drive would, for example.

Edit: this is my 1000th post, yay

Yeah I know it has usb (read my post more closely ^). I was just saying you can't plug an external usb storage device to it.

I didn't know ipad doesn't have a usb port... that blows.

Congrats on the 1000th post.