Paperwhite Second Gen: First Impressions

[DiannaInVA]

Originally Posted by xendula

... assured me that they read each and every email that comes through the kindle feedback email (mentioned somewhere further up in this thread, I don't recall it now), and encouraged me to send suggestions there, as Amazon is where it is because they listen to customer feedback, good and bad.

I sent an email requesting a setting to be able to turn on/off the clock display in the upper right corner so it displays while reading...and within a few hours I got a response--and it wasn't an automated response. They had actually read the request and said they would take the request into consideration. I was surprised at the quick and personal response.

Originally Posted by xendula

I called for a replacement last night and spoke to a really nice PW2 specialist. He is sending me a replacement and having the pee PW2 picked up.
I told him that a lot of folks are upset about losing the possibility to load their own fonts on the PW2, and that, apart from the utter boredom that the same set of boring fonts create over the course of months, that this is an accessibilty issue, as dyslexic readers and readers with eye problems need to be able to load their own fonts. He was actually surprised to find out that alternative fonts are no longer (inofficially) supported, promised me to pass on my comments, and also assured me that they read each and every email that comes through the kindle feedback email (mentioned somewhere further up in this thread, I don't recall it now), and encouraged me to send suggestions there, as Amazon is where it is because they listen to customer feedback, good and bad. And, BTW, he apologized for my bad experience.

Firstly, this, my friends, is why Amazon is unbeaten, and why they have me as a loyal customer.
Secondly, I will send an email with screenshots, showing the old PW1 and my preferred custom font, and the PW2 next to each other. I encorage you all to do the same. Maybe they WILL listen if enough of us complain.

Good deal! Hey, a new acronym--PPW2 for "pee PW2". I hope you get a non-pee colored one this time.

[sparklemotion]

Originally Posted by xendula

I called for a replacement last night and spoke to a really nice PW2 specialist. He is sending me a replacement and having the pee PW2 picked up.
I told him that a lot of folks are upset about losing the possibility to load their own fonts on the PW2, and that, apart from the utter boredom that the same set of boring fonts create over the course of months, that this is an accessibilty issue, as dyslexic readers and readers with eye problems need to be able to load their own fonts. He was actually surprised to find out that alternative fonts are no longer (inofficially) supported, promised me to pass on my comments, and also assured me that they read each and every email that comes through the kindle feedback email (mentioned somewhere further up in this thread, I don't recall it now), and encouraged me to send suggestions there, as Amazon is where it is because they listen to customer feedback, good and bad. And, BTW, he apologized for my bad experience.

Firstly, this, my friends, is why Amazon is unbeaten, and why they have me as a loyal customer.
Secondly, I will send an email with screenshots, showing the old PW1 and my preferred custom font, and the PW2 next to each other. I encorage you all to do the same. Maybe they WILL listen if enough of us complain.

Best of luck, hon! Crossing my fingers that you get a great one. Good idea about the fonts too. Can't hurt to try, so I'll definitely be passing along my feedback.

[Barty]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Good deal! Hey, a new acronym--PPW2 for "pee PW2". I hope you get a non-pee colored one this time.

PSA: if your pee is yellow, drink more water.

[Blossom]

I'm surprise no one has mention this but the Paperwhite II will have cloud collections sometime in November. This makes me more interested in it!

[gouni]

Originally Posted by Blossom

I'm surprise no one has mention this but the Paperwhite II will have cloud collections sometime in November. This makes me more interested in it!

Can you tell me what it is ?

Originally Posted by Blossom

I'm surprise no one has mention this but the Paperwhite II will have cloud collections sometime in November. This makes me more interested in it!

The Goodreads features are also supposed to be added in the future. For some of us that will be a nice feature too.

Originally Posted by xendula

Secondly, I will send an email with screenshots, showing the old PW1 and my preferred custom font, and the PW2 next to each other. I encorage you all to do the same. Maybe they WILL listen if enough of us complain.

I just sent them an email requesting they allow us to add user fonts:

I just want to request that Amazon allow users to add their own fonts to the Kindle Paperwhite 2nd generation. For those of us with vision problems, the Kindle fonts are way too thin and light. It is difficult for me to read on my new Paperwhite 2nd generation without eyestrain when using the Kindle fonts. As a result I'm having to modify every eBook I read to either embed a fatter/darker font or I have to make all the text bold. The Kindle Paperwhite 2nd generation is a good reader with this one exception. A simple firmware change could make user fonts available on the Kindle Paperwhite 2nd generation the way they are on the 1st generation model. Thank you.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by gouni

Can you tell me what it is ?

I'm not sure but according to Amazon:

Organize Your Books

COMING SOON—As your collection grows, use Cloud Collections to arrange titles in custom categories and see your collections on your other Kindle devices and reading apps.

[Yolina]

The "please let us use our own fonts" request was also part of the feedback I sent them last week (to the co.uk address). I just doubt very much that they'll care one bit (aka the "we dictate what's best for you" Apple-style attitude )

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by Blossom

I'm not sure but according to Amazon:

On any Kindle device or app, go to Cloud \ Menu \ Import Collections. All the Kindle devices and apps will appear there with all their unique Collections.

If you import from one device / app to another, the old Collections will not be destroyed but will be added with their attached eBooks and Docs.

Thus, you can now intermingle Collections from assorted devices / apps.

That is great for me since my Collections have evolved over time and I can place the latest Collections on the older devices / apps.

Even if you unregister a device / app, the Collections remain in the Cloud.

I've already imported my Collections from my PW 2013 back to the PW 2012 and my KFHD 2012. Once I get my KFHDX 2013, I will import my PW 2103 eBooks and the Collections into it.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

On any Kindle device or app, go to Cloud \ Menu \ Import Collections. All the Kindle devices and apps will appear there with all their unique Collections.

If you import from one device / app to another, the old Collections will not be destroyed but will be added with their attached eBooks and Docs.

Thus, you can now intermingle Collections from assorted devices / apps.

That is great for me since my Collections have evolved over time and I can place the latest Collections on the older devices / apps.

Even if you unregister a device / app, the Collections remain in the Cloud.

It looks like to me that it means now the PW2 and new KFs will mirror themselves. That means it will not only sync the collection but add the books to each device as well. Mantano does this. I wonder if that means Personal Documents as well...

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by Blossom

It looks like to me that it means now the PW2 and new KFs will mirror themselves. That means it will not only sync the collection but add the books to each device as well. Mantano does this. I wonder if that means Personal Documents as well...

When you use this Cloud Collection feature, they have a warning to first transfer content and then the Collections. This allows the transferred Collections to attach all content on one's device.

I believe it applies to Documents as well.

This feature works perfectly on Kindle Devices. On Apps the Collections appear in the order they were created originally and cannot be sorted. On Kindle Devices they sort automatically.

I am not sure how this will work on the Kindle Fire HDX and won't know until I receive mine. The Kindle Fire HD does not work with Collections at all.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

When you use this Cloud Collection feature, they have a warning to first transfer content and then the Collections. This allows the transferred Collections to attach all content on one's device.

I believe it applies to Documents as well.

This feature works perfectly on Kindle Devices. On Apps the Collections appear in the order they were created originally and cannot be sorted. On Kindle Devices they sort automatically.

I am not sure how this will work on the Kindle Fire HDX and won't know until I receive mine. The Kindle Fire HD does not work with Collections at all.

I don't think we are talking about the same thing. This is something new. This is not the import collection feature that all Kindles has.

It actually does it all for you now. No need to transfer content to each PW or KF it will download the books and well as the collections. Mantano does this.
It not only sync the collections but uploads the books and downloads them to each device. So you have an exact copy that mirrors each other.

[Stringer]

So I too received finally the PW2 today. My first impression feelings are little bit mixed. I don't see any other change regarding actual novel reading than the display/lights. And that change is a two-folded one. On the other hand light really is more even now, but the other side is that now colour is little bit yellowish. I also noticed that the letters are less fragmented now than they used to be (thus more contrast), but I guess that is the reason why ghost letters show better too. Had to enable the refresh on every page turn option. The increased contrast is very hard to notice unless you really start looking it and maybe even use some tool to zoom in, so maybe not worth it.

Anyway, have to test it in actual reading situation, so cannot doom it completely yet. I have a feeling that yellow colour is going to be a problem on long reading sessions.

I'll add the close-up pictures I took with my Note3 in order to demonstrate the letter ink fragmentation. I had to use flash in order to focus, so colours tell nothing on these. Try to guess which picture is for which device?

Spoiler:

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