Now Kindle can set current ebook cover as lockscreen

[NullNix]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

And the ads. And making them device specific instead of account specific.. It just seems like the richest man in the world is nickle and dimeing people.

I get the rest (I do wish the Kindles had better typography by default, for instance), but I don't really understand this bit. Of course they're device specific: it's the *device* that is the thing that was bought for a reduced cost in exchange for viewing ads, not the account. Both the ability to have multiple Kindles on one account, some with ads (bought at reduced cost), others not, and the ability to reregister a device to different accounts whenever you like, means the with-ads flag *must* be device specific.

Anything else would either lead to your being hit with ads on Kindles you paid full price for, or (erring in the other direction) would make it ridiculously trivial to pay the ad-supported price and then lose the ads by just reregistering to a different account. Both of these are a bad user experience, and would be even if the ads were a garden of delights that often suggested things you really wanted, which -- hilariously for Amazon, which more than any other company on Earth could easily do just that -- they really aren't.

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

To be fair, the things that give me pause aren't things that are reported as problems. And it isn't the A/B testing Amazon is doing on the new cover lockscreen feature. That's not really an issue to me at all.

Kindle has nice features like X-ray and Goodreads integration and Send to Kindle. But I don't think those are features I would use.

But then I read about things like Kindle automatically updating book covers in your library whether you want it to or not. And if you use .mobi or .azw files you don't get Kindle's nicer formatting, or even hyphenated words.

And the ads. And making them device specific instead of account specific.. It just seems like the richest man in the world is nickle and dimeing people.

In the US, the Nook Glowlight 3, Kobo Clara and Kindle Paperwhite are all comparable devices. 300ppi, e-ink Carta screens. 8GB storage. But the prices aren't. And don't tell me about sales. They all have sales.

Kobo Clara (ad-free): $119
Nook Glowlight 3 (ad-free): $119
Kindle Paperwhite (ad-supported): $129, (ad-free) $149

What are those ads supporting?

Amazon's pocket book. They are king in the US so they charge more and they do.

A new Paperwhite in Canada (no ads btw) is $140 CAD which is roughly $112 USD. A Kobo Clara HD is $150 CAD or approx $120 USD. The Kindle is very unusual in Canadian electronics at being cheaper than the US counterpart when converted, usually it's roughly the same but generally still higher. Amazon doesn't have quite the foothold here as they do in the US as Kobo was introduced around the same time they started selling Kindles to Canadians and the Kobo was cheaper and distributed in the largest chain of book stores in the country. I think it was cheaper by a fair bit too. So Amazon is forced to be competitive on hardware to try and lock people into their ecosystem. US they don't have to be, the majority of eReaders there are Kindles and most people will buy a new Kindle to replace their old Kindle.

[Pajamaman]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Kobo Clara (ad-free): $119
Nook Glowlight 3 (ad-free): $119
Kindle Paperwhite (ad-supported): $129, (ad-free) $149

Yes, it's interesting. Kindle is no longer competitive with other brands. But they remain the market leader.

[Pajamaman]

Originally Posted by NullNix

I get the rest (I do wish the Kindles had better typography by default, for instance), but I don't really understand this bit. Of course they're device specific: it's the *device* that is the thing that was bought for a reduced cost in exchange for viewing ads, not the account. Both the ability to have multiple Kindles on one account, some with ads (bought at reduced cost), others not, and the ability to reregister a device to different accounts whenever you like, means the with-ads flag *must* be device specific.

I'm not sure that I agree with all your reasoning. AFAIK Amazon is able to differentiate between multiple devices under one account, and is therefore able to apply and transfer individual settings to specific devices. As such, if a user pays for ads-free on one device, then buys a new device, Amazon are able to remove the ads-free option from the old device and then apply it to the new device. But that way, Amazon will ultimately make less money. Under the current system, Amazon will make more money as users renew older devices because the ads-free option will "wear out".

[Atunah]

I think most kindle users are more like me. I use the device as is. No "hacking" or whatever that is called. Wouldn't know how, have no need for it. The only thing I had missed in the past was the bold function to make fonts easier to read. That is because screens became "better", but it made my fonts thinner. If that makes sense. Or might be the light layers. My old keyboard and old basic have great contrast still, just no light.
But they gave me the bold function some time ago so its all good now. Can't think of a single thing my kindles don't have that I need for reading.

I can instantly look at reviews on the store and goodreads to find books or look them up, I can look up words, I can translate, I can highlight. I get great recommendations now. I love the collection feature and never had any issues with it. I can make them what I want. My devices remember all my reading points across devices.

To me other devices are not comparable at all to a kindle. I buy my books on amazon and although for a while I backed my books up on calibre, I wouldn't know how to get them on another device and then none of the features I use would work on it. I don't even use calibre anymore. At some point I couldn't figure out anymore how to make that thingie that is needed work anymore. I don't care anymore. Amazon isn't going out of business and if they did, I am pretty sure I'd have bigger problems than not "owning" my books.

I think there are a lot more fiddlers on this board or course. I just want to read my books, organize my books, find books and share books.
Anything else is just extra at this point, like the screen saver. Its cute, I like it, but not a deal breaker and if I didn't have it, I wouldn't care either way.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

For hyphenation, there is a calibre plugin. And azw3 has at least one benefit kfx has not: you can use the font_ramp hack (aka custom font sizes) with it.

One disadvantage to the Kindle is that KF8 does not support kerning and if you are used to kerning, you do notice the lack thereof. I cannot stand KFX as it makes the reading experience not all that nice because it forced the line-height to be a specific size regardless of the font.

Adobe was able to add hyphenation, kerning, and ligatures without the need for a new eBook format. Amazon could have the the same thing for KF8. But Amazon decided to create a new format raise the walled garden even more. When the publisher requests no DRM, Amazon says screw you, here it KFX with DRM.

KFX has adaptive DRM so once the DRM is cracked, it's changed to no longer be cracked.

[Quoth]

And a toy robot, camera, cheap Kindle is all a pirate needs to crack ANY DRM EVER.
DRM has NO measurable affect on commercial pirates. It's delusional.

Amazon could easily add better rendering to KF8 on most or all models of Kindle that support it and are adding DRM contrary to wish of some publishers.

Even the hugely controlling record companies and Apple removed MP3 DRM.
MS Zune, Plays for Sure? The DRM servers are turned off.

Could happen to Adobe DRM or Amazon.

Download to PC.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

And a toy robot, camera, cheap Kindle is all a pirate needs to crack ANY DRM EVER.
DRM has NO measurable affect on commercial pirates. It's delusional.

Amazon could easily add better rendering to KF8 on most or all models of Kindle that support it and are adding DRM contrary to wish of some publishers.

Even the hugely controlling record companies and Apple removed MP3 DRM.
MS Zune, Plays for Sure? The DRM servers are turned off.

Could happen to Adobe DRM or Amazon.

Download to PC.

Microsoft's MSReader is dead because the DRM servers have been turned off. .lit format eBooks (the precursor to ePub) were able to have the DRM removed. Because of this, I bought my first reader and bought LIT eBooks mostly until other formats started being able to have the DRM removed.

[Pajamaman]

@Atunah. Yes, I think you represent the majority of Kindle users on the board and off these boards. I recall seeing a pre-Paperwhite non-lighted Amazon e-reader screen, and I was shocked at how good the contrast was.

[Barty]

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

@Atunah. Yes, I think you represent the majority of Kindle users on the board and off these boards. I recall seeing a pre-Paperwhite non-lighted Amazon e-reader screen, and I was shocked at how good the contrast was.

Seconded, or thirded. The front light lets you read in any condition but the downside is a greyer screen with front light turned off than, say, the Kindle keyboard. If Amazon made an old school Kindle basic with no front light, button navigation, and Carta screen, it would have the best contrast in natural light of any Kindle, which is probably why they don't.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by NullNix

I get the rest (I do wish the Kindles had better typography by default, for instance), but I don't really understand this bit. Of course they're device specific: it's the *device* that is the thing that was bought for a reduced cost in exchange for viewing ads, not the account.

I take issue with the 'reduced cost' statement. As mentioned, the Paperwhite, with ads, costs more than its competitors which have no ads. Where is the reduced cost?

Any claim that the ads allow Amazon to sell their Kindles at reduced cost is happy talk and spin from Amazon. They seem to have no problem selling ad-free Kindles at a cheaper price in Canada where they are not the market leader.

Both the ability to have multiple Kindles on one account, some with ads (bought at reduced cost), others not, and the ability to reregister a device to different accounts whenever you like, means the with-ads flag *must* be device specific.

Nonsense. If reader A and reader B were both reading Moby Dick on the same Kindle using different accounts, I would bet the Kindle would have no trouble storing two different reading positions.

There isn't any good reason that the ads couldn't be tied to an account rather than a device.

And again, aside from 'because they can', there's really no reason for the ads in the first place. The ads having any real effect on the price of the Kindle is so much fertilizer.

[Atunah]

I still grab my basic kindle from time to time to read outside. I make sure to charge it regularly, but I know at some point the battery will be dead. Keyboard from 2010 and basic from 2013. I prefer also the buttons on those devices. The little basic is a joy to read on. But my eyes are getting older and it gets too hot here in summer to read outside much and I need the light inside now. But oh the words look lovely on the page. I know everyone wants all those pixels and I think on a phone screen, I can see that the more the better, but on the kindles the contrast was just so pleasant to read on.

To be fair, now with having the bold option turning it on to #1 is almost as good. But not quite the same pure reading experience, if you guys know what I mean.
And the progress bar. I still miss that thing

On the other hand the K1 looks pretty faded now compared to any of my other kindles. I don't know if its always looked that way or changed, if that is possible. But I read like 200 books on that thing in my first year owning it after not reading for a few years due to paper books being hard on my eyes at the time. I still have it and still charge it. Getting books on it only works now by plugging in via usb. It was life changing for me to get it.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Atunah

I think most kindle users are more like me. I use the device as is. No "hacking" or whatever that is called. Wouldn't know how, have no need for it. The only thing I had missed in the past was the bold function to make fonts easier to read. That is because screens became "better", but it made my fonts thinner. If that makes sense. Or might be the light layers. My old keyboard and old basic have great contrast still, just no light.
But they gave me the bold function some time ago so its all good now. Can't think of a single thing my kindles don't have that I need for reading.

I can instantly look at reviews on the store and goodreads to find books or look them up, I can look up words, I can translate, I can highlight. I get great recommendations now. I love the collection feature and never had any issues with it. I can make them what I want. My devices remember all my reading points across devices.

To me other devices are not comparable at all to a kindle. I buy my books on amazon and although for a while I backed my books up on calibre, I wouldn't know how to get them on another device and then none of the features I use would work on it. I don't even use calibre anymore. At some point I couldn't figure out anymore how to make that thingie that is needed work anymore. I don't care anymore. Amazon isn't going out of business and if they did, I am pretty sure I'd have bigger problems than not "owning" my books.

I think there are a lot more fiddlers on this board or course. I just want to read my books, organize my books, find books and share books.
Anything else is just extra at this point, like the screen saver. Its cute, I like it, but not a deal breaker and if I didn't have it, I wouldn't care either way.

I would say most users of any type of ereader fall into your camp.

But I would say that if you had started on a Kobo rather than a Kindle, your fourth paragraph would say "To me other devices are not comparable at all to a kobo."

All ereaders are pretty decent as is.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

Yes, it's interesting. Kindle is no longer competitive with other brands. But they remain the market leader.

I think in the US at least it's because they saturated the market when Barnes and Noble stumbled and never bothered to recover. I wonder what would have happened if B&N had chosen to stay focused on the Nook.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I think in the US at least it's because they saturated the market when Barnes and Noble stumbled and never bothered to recover. I wonder what would have happened if B&N had chosen to stay focused on the Nook.

The major reason the nook tanked was because of the really poor firmware. B&N put hardly any effort into the firmware.