Paperwhite Second Gen: First Impressions

[sirmaru]

I've abandoned all my pBooks purchased prior to the advent of eBooks (hundreds to the garbage).

I used to read MS eBooks, Adobe eBooks and Sony eBooks all now gone forever. When I read an eBook, I rarely go back to it. I move on. The only Books I have kept for generations are my Bibles. I own hundreds of them in English, Japanese and German. Plus, I own lots and lots of eBibles and references and electronic Bible devices.

If one does not have to strip DRM to read Amazon eBooks, then the stripping function is irrelevant. Plus, I have no reason to change fonts, metadata or anything else in my Amazon eBooks.

If Amazon goes out of business, I will deal with whatever corporation fills that vacuum and just forget all my Amazon eBooks.

Thus, Calibre will do nothing for me but expend labor which many may enjoy a lot. I spend lots of labor with all my mp3 songs and I enjoy that labor. Others may not. I have some songs recorded on the old wire recorders from the 1930's.

I use MediaMonkey to control all the data in my MP3 songs and that may be the way Calibre functions for eBooks. As some say, different strokes for different folks.

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

I've abandoned all my pBooks purchased prior to the advent of eBooks (hundreds to the garbage).

I used to read MS eBooks, Adobe eBooks and Sony eBooks all now gone forever. When I read an eBook, I rarely go back to it. I move on. The only Books I have kept for generations are my Bibles. I own hundreds of them in English, Japanese and German. Plus, I own lots and lots of eBibles and references and electronic Bible devices.

If one does not have to strip DRM to read Amazon eBooks, then the stripping function is irrelevant. Plus, I have no reason to change fonts, metadata or anything else in my Amazon eBooks.

If Amazon goes out of business, I will deal with whatever corporation fills that vacuum and just forget all my Amazon eBooks.

Thus, Calibre will do nothing for me but expend labor which many may enjoy a lot. I spend lots of labor with all my mp3 songs and I enjoy that labor. Others may not. I have some songs recorded on the old wire recorders from the 1930's.

I use MediaMonkey to control all the data in my MP3 songs and that may be the way Calibre functions for eBooks. As some say, different strokes for different folks.

This is true for you, but not for everyone. Please just accept that.

Back on topic: I love my PW2. It's not only the display, but it's also the added functions. I really hope that the flash cards and the quick navigation will be part of the update for the PW1 (I see it's out, but have not tried it yet). If not, I may sell the PW1 and get myself a second PW2.

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by aceflor

This is true for you, but not for everyone. Please just accept that.

That is true and I accept that just as most others do not have a song collection dating back to 1930.

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

That is true and I accept that just as most others do not have a song collection dating back to 1930.

I see you have posted the link to the PW2012 update. Have you tried it on your PW ? If so, what are the improvements?

[gouni]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

What advantages do you get with Amazon eBooks by processing them through Calibre that are not available without using Calibre?

I only buy my eBooks from Amazon and cannot understand why they may need Calibre processing.

I use the vanilla Helvetica font and couldn't imagine using anything better.

The same thing when I buy food. I add salt, spices...

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by aceflor

I see you have posted the link to the PW2012 update. Have you tried it on your PW ? If so, what are the improvements?

Here are the improvements:

The software update includes general improvements and the following feature enhancements:

•Search terms highlighted in search results
When you search for a word or phrase within a book, the search terms will appear highlighted within the search results. When you tap a result to go to that location in the book, the search terms will appear highlighted on the page.

•Select other dictionaries when looking up a word
When you look up a word in the dictionary, you can choose to look up the word in other dictionaries on your device from within the dictionary definition window.

•View other definitions of a word
When you look up a word that has multiple meanings for the same spelling (homonym), you can navigate through each of the available definitions from within the dictionary definition window.

I just updated my PW 2012 but only my wife uses it. I only use my PW 2013 and HDX 2013 now.

Folks should check their version on each device before upgrading. Its easy to get mixed up and upload the wrong version to the wrong device.

[Lyn2012]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

As JosieB said earlier in the thread: "I wouldn't be reading on an e-reader if it wasn't for Calibre." For me, that would be true for bought books. I would never ever ever buy a DRM-ed book from Amazon or anyone else, if I didn't have a way to remove DRM.

I'm totally with both JosieB and Katsunami here, without Calibre I wouldn't even bother with an ereader. I also wouldn't buy a book I couldn't liberate - hence I buy from anywhere except Apple.

The main reason I've just given up on my PW and bought a Kobo Aura is to have the wonderful collections I create in Calibre just transfer to the reader without me having to do anything but connect and load whichever books I want. Freedom to organise things how I wish on my device - without spending hours fiddling around to do it manually on the reader itself. Of course side loaded fonts and more font adjustment options are great as well. The one thing I do miss is seeing the time left in chapter info, but I can easily live without that in exchange for the other advantages.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by Lyn2012

The main reason I've just given up on my PW and bought a Kobo Aura is to have the wonderful collections I create in Calibre just transfer to the reader without me having to do anything but connect and load whichever books I want. Freedom to organise things how I wish on my device - without spending hours fiddling around to do it manually on the reader itself. Of course side loaded fonts and more font adjustment options are great as well. The one thing I do miss is seeing the time left in chapter info, but I can easily live without that in exchange for the other advantages.

That is a huge, huge advantage of the Kobo readers over the Kindle.

Of course you could what I do, and have one of each!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Lyn2012

The main reason I've just given up on my PW and bought a Kobo Aura is to have the wonderful collections I create in Calibre just transfer to the reader without me having to do anything but connect and load whichever books I want. Freedom to organise things how I wish on my device - without spending hours fiddling around to do it manually on the reader itself.

I use Calibre plugboards to do essentially the same thing on the Kindle.

[Lima Bean]

I didn't want a Kindle Fire, but I do regret purchasing a Kindle without the backlighting. This looks like a good option.

[Stringer]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

As I remember on the PW 2013, when an eBook is finished, a screen appears with a rating choice and recommendations for similar eBooks by the same author and same genre if WiFi is on.

Huh? I get only "Before you go.. The rating.. Customers who bought this book also bought..". I see no option to show the author's book and definently no option for next book in the series.

Also, how exactly does that given rating help me separate already read books from others? I dont see the stars in the device's cloud side and not even with books in the memory. Only place where I can see it is in the end of the book, if I bother to open it and go to the end.

With on device books I can see the progress bar, but I don't want to keep all my books in the device's memory. Also, I see no such option as collections in the cloud side. Or is it a requirement to keep them in device in order to track things? No wonder people talk about memory size if it really is like that.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

As I remember on the PW 2013, when an eBook is finished, a screen appears with a rating choice and recommendations for similar eBooks by the same author and same genre if WiFi is on.

Those actually come from a file in the .sdr sidecar folders, called EndActions.data.$ASIN.asc and do not depend on wifi.

Assuming this is the same suggestions that are on the Touch (I don't have the Paperwhite, so I could be wrong).

Although you can hardly click the book links without wifi, still, it is can tell you that the book $NAME exists.

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

Here are the improvements:

The software update includes general improvements and the following feature enhancements:

•Search terms highlighted in search results
When you search for a word or phrase within a book, the search terms will appear highlighted within the search results. When you tap a result to go to that location in the book, the search terms will appear highlighted on the page.

•Select other dictionaries when looking up a word
When you look up a word in the dictionary, you can choose to look up the word in other dictionaries on your device from within the dictionary definition window.

•View other definitions of a word
When you look up a word that has multiple meanings for the same spelling (homonym), you can navigate through each of the available definitions from within the dictionary definition window.

I just updated my PW 2012 but only my wife uses it. I only use my PW 2013 and HDX 2013 now.

Folks should check their version on each device before upgrading. Its easy to get mixed up and upload the wrong version to the wrong device.

Thanks simaru.

But ... those functions were already available on 5.3.8 so I am wondering what is the difference now with 5.3.8.1.....

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by aceflor

But ... those functions were already available on 5.3.8 so I am wondering what is the difference now with 5.3.8.1.....

A change in the 4th decimal of the version number generally indicates a bug fix. I doubt there are any new features.

[Synamon]

Originally Posted by Synamon

My Paperwhite arrived today. Looks great to me. There is a small bright patch (light leak) in the bottom right corner that is only noticeable at medium light settings and I'll probably stop noticing it after a few days.

The only issue I'm having is that the font setting I used on my Kindle Keyboard falls between two fonts on the Paperwhite, so I'll have to adapt and either use a smaller or larger font. With the increased contrast I can probably get away with the smaller font.

After using the Paperwhite for a few days I've passed it on to my husband (he needs a new reader too). I couldn't get used to the change in font size, apparently I'm a creature of habit. My Kindle Keyboard font is also a bit heavier and blacker than the Paperwhite, so for the moment I'll keep using the KK and I might give the Kobo Aura HD a try, since they have more font options.