same screen quality….why upgrade?

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by Alissa

I don't think many people noticed it but I was impressed by a photo on a new Kindle product page:
This picture makes me think that typing of accented letters is enabled at last. I'm not sure the feature is provided on Kindle 3 through firmware upgrade, but, if not, I think it can be a sole reason for me to buy the new Kindle.

For the moment, I don't pre-order it because it may be enabled on Kindle 3 soon, and Amazon doesn't take pre-orders from Japan...

i wouldn't exactly call it typing whan you must highlight each letter with the 5way, then select it.

here's the keyboard on the touch:

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by max99

putting aside the copy-cat tablet which i have no interest in, this is my analysis of the new kindle lineup:

1. exactly the same pearl eink screens
2. exactly the same core software engine
3. more distracting services - X ray

i see no valid reason to upgrade from a K3, the main selling point for the K3 over K2s was the vastly clearer eink technology…what do others think?

[Lazybones]

For me it's probably better that the e-Ink model doesn't have significant improvements; I tend to be drawn to the "latest/greatest" on tech gadgets, to the displeasure of my wallet.

[tlc]

At those price points a lot of people will upgrade from the K3 just because they can. (Then pass their old ones to other people who will buy books from Amazon.)

I still have a K2 and will probably upgrade to something. But with the same e-ink, I consider the K3 in the same class as the new ones. My ideal config would have been a touchscreen with a few hard buttons. The fact that the Touch has NO hard buttons and the 79 has a 5-way for a keyboard...

I'm going to have to look at the ergonomics of how I read. Will it be hard to read a Touch one-handed?

[SCION]

Originally Posted by tlc

... Will it be hard to read a Touch one-handed?

Apparently not! They call it EasyReach.

http://www.gottabemobile.com/2011/09...from-the-nook/

There's a big tapping zone on the screen to turn to the next page. It was not as easy to use my Kobo Touch in my left hand and turn pages forward without using my right hand.

[blue_skies]

Yeah, I like to hold my K3 one-handed with my thumb right by the button. I am very disappointed that the touch model does not have the page-turn buttons. That's a deal breaker for me.

I may possibly get the $79 one in the future since I rarely type on my K3 anyway, but I would really prefer longer battery life. Perhaps they will release a Kindle with page turn buttons next year that also has a high-definition eInk screen. That I would buy for sure.

The Iriver Story has a high-def eInk screen, so I don't think it's accurate to say they could not have improved the Kindle screens.

[DiapDealer]

I completely fall though the cracks with the new devices. I need a Non-Touch with a physical keyboard, or a Touch with physical page turn buttons. But in reality... the Kindle 3 was already slightly too small for me to comfortably hold, so I know the new ones will be too tiny for me.

Hopefully when my Kindle 2 wears out, someone somewhere will be still be making a simple, trade paperback sized device.

[bhartman36]

Is the screen the same size? The touch models look tiny by comparison ot the current Kindle.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by bhartman36

Is the screen the same size? The touch models look tiny by comparison ot the current Kindle.

Yeah, the screens are exactly the same. The problem is that the device isn't much bigger than the screen anymore. I really don't see the sense in going smaller than the W x H of a normal paperback book, myself. But what do I know?

[Zeebra]

Originally Posted by avatar78

I did notice on this demo he refreshed the page while reading about a half dozen times before the screen flashed. I also like the pinch to zoom, especially if it works on pdf.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlO3r2IndlQ

Yup, Amazon is now giving the best of both worlds. There's already a firmware update that says:

Kindle features fast, smooth page turns that do not refresh the E Ink display on every page turn. If you prefer to have your display refresh with every page turn, install the update below. After your Kindle is updated, it will have a new "Page Refresh" option within Kindle Settings for turning on/off page refresh on every page turn.

so you can either have the "no flash black" for a few pages, or have it flash black to do a full refresh each page turn like it currently does.

[WS64]

Originally Posted by Alissa

I don't think many people noticed it but I was impressed by a photo on a new Kindle product page:
This picture makes me think that typing of accented letters is enabled at last. I'm not sure the feature is provided on Kindle 3 through firmware upgrade, but, if not, I think it can be a sole reason for me to buy the new Kindle.

I wouldn't count on it.
In Germany the new Kindle is marked with "German menus" (other languages also), nothing like that for Kindle 3/Keýboard. (Probably Touch too, but Touch and Fire won't be available here).
And there is already a 4.0.1 update available, and this is NOT for K3/Keyboard. K3/Keyboard will have to stick with English.

[OtterBooks]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

You forgot touch screen. A major upgrade, whether you use it or not.

imo it's a downgrade if I don't use it, because the side pageturn buttons are absent. Having those perfectly placed right on the edge where my thumb rests is a good thing. Not to mention the fingerprint issue, however slight that may be.

X-Ray looks very cool, though, and the faster processor is nice. Nicer than I think people realize. There is a noticeable lag when looking up words and navigating the menu on the K3.

But no, the new models aren't an enormous upgrade for people happy with their K3. But at the price, some may consider the improvements worth it.

[Harry_Y]

I tend to buy what works for me.

I like the real keyboard (as does my wife) so for us there id no desire to upgrade

The Kindle fire is interesting as a Media player, but I would not want one as a reader.

[Zeebra]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

imo it's a downgrade if I don't use it, because the side pageturn buttons are absent. Having those perfectly placed right on the edge where my thumb rests is a good thing. Not to mention the fingerprint issue, however slight that may be.

X-Ray looks very cool, though.

The beauty of it is though, Amazon has gotten all their bases covered. For those who want an actual keyboard, there's a model for that, if you want all touchscreen, there's a model for that. If you want bare bones, just an e-reader with buttons and no keyboard, there's now a model for that. I think it was brilliant of them to announce more than 1 yesterday.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Zeebra

The beauty of it is though, Amazon has gotten all their bases covered. For those who want an actual keyboard, there's a model for that, if you want all touchscreen, there's a model for that. If you want bare bones, just an e-reader with buttons and no keyboard, there's now a model for that. I think it was brilliant of them to announce more than 1 yesterday.

Not quite all. They haven't covered the "I want a touch screen, but with physical page turn buttons, too" requirement, and that's something that a lot of people want.