Room for improvement

jbcohen · 01-09-2014, 07:06 AM

What wouldsorts of improvements would amazon need to make in their kindle products in order to really improve the kindles?

Personally, faster processor and faster boot time. Boot time - the amount of time it takes from the moment you hit the on/off switch to the moment that your book is shown on the screen.

Yapyap · 01-09-2014, 07:18 AM

I don't turn my Kindle off and I have the Amazon sleep cover for my Paperwhite, so the book is there waiting for me (with the light on) the moment I open the cover.

I think for me the only real improvements I want are some of the things that already exist in Paperwhite 2 software, so I'm hoping for an update for PW1 as well - pop-up footnotes being the big main thing. Otherwise, it's near-perfect for my purposes!

A little bit faster in the menus, I suppose, especially when paging through my library or adding books into collections... I have a few hundreds books on the PW, but I don't think I have that many that it should be causing problems yet.

HarryT · 01-09-2014, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbcohen

Personally, faster processor and faster boot time. Boot time - the amount of time it takes from the moment you hit the on/off switch to the moment that your book is shown on the screen.

Faster processors use more power, hence shorten the battery life.

Timing my PW2 from pressing the power switch to the book appearing on the screen, it's so fast that I can't measure it - certainly under half a second. Given that you can't shut down a Kindle, the time taken for a genuine "boot" strikes me as totally irrelevant.

meeera · 01-09-2014, 07:38 AM

Much more customisable font/line spacing/margin management, as a key part of the firmware and not a hack; and font sideloading.

Continuing effort to reduce weight.

Ability to manage shelves/collections from Calibre.

nynaevelan · 01-09-2014, 09:00 AM

About the only thing I can see that I would want as improvements are:

1. Less delay time of page turning when the device is updating collections/indexing. Sometimes the device will freeze and not turn the pages after I have swiped. This is quite annoying because I sometimes hit it a couple of times, and then end up having to back track.
2. Collections - better management needs to be implemented, especially the habit of showing books on the device screen that are not on the device and the same for the cloud.
3. Goodreads Integration - Amazon needs to add the ability for custom shelves, changing what shelves appear on. etc...

Other than these three, I am happy with my device. I too have the official cover so the response time of when I open it and start reading is minimal. The weight is minimal for me as well, and I do not care about fonts and such, so that too does not bother me one way or the other. For me the major factor is organization, which is where collections come in.

Lady Stardust · 01-09-2014, 09:56 AM

For me, I would only like fonts customisation.
PW 2013 processor must already be the fastest among einks. I made a mistake of buying Kobo Aura HD - try that and you'll be impressed by PW 2012, while 2013 is light speed.
Micro SD - if it's going to be as "practical" as in Aura HD, then you don't need it.
Kindle dictionary - keep it as is, no changes please

I actually think that all dissatisfied with Kindle should be given a Kobo for a week

AnemicOak · 01-09-2014, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbcohen

What wouldsorts of improvements would amazon need to make in their kindle products in order to really improve the kindles?

IMO all the hardware is pretty good already (card slots wouldn't hurt). What I'd like to see them do is offer a more consistent reader software experience across all platforms (eInk, Android, iOS, PC/Mac, etc.). Obviously some features (colored highlights) don't translate to eInk, but most features could be similar on all platforms. More adjustment features, custom fonts, etc. would be great additions to what they already have.

AcidWeb · 01-09-2014, 10:10 AM

I would love more storage space. Making global the Japan PW2 would be enough.

A new "Paperwhite DX" would be nice too.

mike_bike_kite · 01-09-2014, 10:29 AM

Just a few random things:

I wouldn't mind a quick way of getting into the dictionary to look up a random word ie find "abstruse" in the dictionary.
I'd like larger storage and then a way of storing wikipedia (possibly without images or very low res images) and an easy way of browsing through it.
I'd like to be able to put books in categories on my PC - it takes too long moving a collection of books on my PW.
Screen savers without jail breaking.
The voice reading I had on my K2i but with better pronunciation.
Xray facility for non amazon books using public data.
Underground maps for all major cities.
a world map.
I'd like to be able to play scrabble in the UK on my Kindle
I wouldn't mind being able to log into game servers (chess, backgammon, go etc) and play games against other people around the world. It doesn't need to be real time, I'm quite happy making just a few moves a day.
I'd like to be able the Unix terminal without having to root the device but I'd be happy with a restricted account so I can't do damage (I understand that this would have no wide appeal but I'd like to play around with it or simply show it off).

PS Oddly I think the weight is perfect, if it was any lighter then it would just feel flimsy.

HarryT · 01-09-2014, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike_bike_kite

I wouldn't mind a quick way of getting into the dictionary to look up a random word ie find "abstruse" in the dictionary.

Tap the search button. Enter the word you want to look up, and set the search scope to "Dictionary". Do you really need more?

jswinden · 01-09-2014, 11:08 AM

As far as speed, it is an eInk device and is pretty much running as fast as an eInk screen can--which admittedly is at a snail's pace compared to tablets with LCD screens. The eInk technology has advanced some over the years, but not much, and don't expect it to advance much more anytime soon, if ever. It is what it is, an outdated technology that needs to be replaced with something new.

As far as features on a Kindle, Amazon needs to spend more time thinking about useful categorizations for book libraries. The Collections feature is pathetic, and even worse than before in its current state. Also Amazon needs to add a much more feature rich set of text formatting options.

Mike L · 01-09-2014, 11:27 AM

I'm pretty happy with it the way it is. Faster boot time is not important, for the reasons already given. Faster page turns might be nice, but not essential.

It might be nice to have a way to jump, say, ten pages at a time. (Maybe that's already possible with the latest software. I haven't upgraded mine for a long time.)

It would also be nice to be able to easily customise the screen savers (without jail breaking). Then again, now that I use a cover with an auto on/off switch, I rarely see the screen savers.

Mike

mike_bike_kite · 01-09-2014, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Tap the search button. Enter the word you want to look up, and set the search scope to "Dictionary". Do you really need more?

Thanks for the explanation Harry. This method certainly sounds better than my old method where I'd go to the home screen, open the dictionary as a book and then do the search at that point. I seemed to remember asking on here how to search the dictionary on this forum and that was what was suggested at the time.

I honestly don't find either method intuitive though. I passed my Kindle to my 16 year old (a self deemed expert on everything) and asked him to find a word. It took him two minutes. Shouldn't in take 10 seconds. As it stands, I find it quicker to put down my Kindle, go the the bookshelves and grab a dictionary. I think it should stay on the needed improvements page.

Also to add:

gorilla glass (may not be possible with touch screen).
water proof (I like to read in the bath)

ucfgrad93 · 01-09-2014, 12:49 PM

I'm pretty happy with my PW2. The only improvements I'd like to see are better collections, more font/margin/spacing choice, and more storage.

Josieb1 · 01-09-2014, 03:15 PM

Better sharper fonts and an massive improvement to Cloud Collections, allowing books and collections not downloaded to be not shown on the device.

01-09-2014, 07:06 AM	#1
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,030 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Where am I? Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature edition and a Samsung S24 Ultra	Room for improvement What wouldsorts of improvements would amazon need to make in their kindle products in order to really improve the kindles? Personally, faster processor and faster boot time. Boot time - the amount of time it takes from the moment you hit the on/off switch to the moment that your book is shown on the screen.

01-09-2014, 10:10 AM	#8
AcidWeb KCC Co-Author Posts: 845 Karma: 765434 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Poland Device: Kindle Oasis 2	I would love more storage space. Making global the Japan PW2 would be enough. A new "Paperwhite DX" would be nice too. Last edited by AcidWeb; 01-09-2014 at 10:20 AM.

01-09-2014, 10:29 AM	#9
mike_bike_kite Digitally confused Posts: 500 Karma: 1500000 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: London, UK Device: KPW, K2i, Nexus 7 32gb, Kobo Mini	Just a few random things: I wouldn't mind a quick way of getting into the dictionary to look up a random word ie find "abstruse" in the dictionary. I'd like larger storage and then a way of storing wikipedia (possibly without images or very low res images) and an easy way of browsing through it. I'd like to be able to put books in categories on my PC - it takes too long moving a collection of books on my PW. Screen savers without jail breaking. The voice reading I had on my K2i but with better pronunciation. Xray facility for non amazon books using public data. Underground maps for all major cities. a world map. I'd like to be able to play scrabble in the UK on my Kindle I wouldn't mind being able to log into game servers (chess, backgammon, go etc) and play games against other people around the world. It doesn't need to be real time, I'm quite happy making just a few moves a day. I'd like to be able the Unix terminal without having to root the device but I'd be happy with a restricted account so I can't do damage (I understand that this would have no wide appeal but I'd like to play around with it or simply show it off). PS Oddly I think the weight is perfect, if it was any lighter then it would just feel flimsy.

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01-09-2014, 07:18 AM	#2
Yapyap Guru Posts: 861 Karma: 3543721 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Estonia Device: Kindle Paperwhite, iPad 3, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	I don't turn my Kindle off and I have the Amazon sleep cover for my Paperwhite, so the book is there waiting for me (with the light on) the moment I open the cover. I think for me the only real improvements I want are some of the things that already exist in Paperwhite 2 software, so I'm hoping for an update for PW1 as well - pop-up footnotes being the big main thing. Otherwise, it's near-perfect for my purposes! A little bit faster in the menus, I suppose, especially when paging through my library or adding books into collections... I have a few hundreds books on the PW, but I don't think I have that many that it should be causing problems yet.

01-09-2014, 07:38 AM	#4
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,799 Karma: 68407974 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	Much more customisable font/line spacing/margin management, as a key part of the firmware and not a hack; and font sideloading. Continuing effort to reduce weight. Ability to manage shelves/collections from Calibre.

01-09-2014, 09:00 AM	#5
nynaevelan eBook Junkie Posts: 1,526 Karma: 1464018 Join Date: May 2010 Location: USA Device: Kindle Fire 2020, Kindle PW2	About the only thing I can see that I would want as improvements are: 1. Less delay time of page turning when the device is updating collections/indexing. Sometimes the device will freeze and not turn the pages after I have swiped. This is quite annoying because I sometimes hit it a couple of times, and then end up having to back track. 2. Collections - better management needs to be implemented, especially the habit of showing books on the device screen that are not on the device and the same for the cloud. 3. Goodreads Integration - Amazon needs to add the ability for custom shelves, changing what shelves appear on. etc... Other than these three, I am happy with my device. I too have the official cover so the response time of when I open it and start reading is minimal. The weight is minimal for me as well, and I do not care about fonts and such, so that too does not bother me one way or the other. For me the major factor is organization, which is where collections come in.

01-09-2014, 09:56 AM	#6
Lady Stardust User Posts: 234 Karma: 3246802 Join Date: Jul 2013 Device: Iphone, Kindle 3, PW1/2/3, KOA1/2/3, Aura HD/One/, Kobo Forma	For me, I would only like fonts customisation. PW 2013 processor must already be the fastest among einks. I made a mistake of buying Kobo Aura HD - try that and you'll be impressed by PW 2012, while 2013 is light speed. Micro SD - if it's going to be as "practical" as in Aura HD, then you don't need it. Kindle dictionary - keep it as is, no changes please I actually think that all dissatisfied with Kindle should be given a Kobo for a week

01-09-2014, 11:08 AM	#11
jswinden Nameless Being	As far as speed, it is an eInk device and is pretty much running as fast as an eInk screen can--which admittedly is at a snail's pace compared to tablets with LCD screens. The eInk technology has advanced some over the years, but not much, and don't expect it to advance much more anytime soon, if ever. It is what it is, an outdated technology that needs to be replaced with something new. As far as features on a Kindle, Amazon needs to spend more time thinking about useful categorizations for book libraries. The Collections feature is pathetic, and even worse than before in its current state. Also Amazon needs to add a much more feature rich set of text formatting options.

01-09-2014, 11:27 AM	#12
Mike L Wizard Posts: 1,479 Karma: 3846231 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Device: Kindle 3, Samsung Galaxy	I'm pretty happy with it the way it is. Faster boot time is not important, for the reasons already given. Faster page turns might be nice, but not essential. It might be nice to have a way to jump, say, ten pages at a time. (Maybe that's already possible with the latest software. I haven't upgraded mine for a long time.) It would also be nice to be able to easily customise the screen savers (without jail breaking). Then again, now that I use a cover with an auto on/off switch, I rarely see the screen savers. Mike

01-09-2014, 12:49 PM	#14
ucfgrad93 Wizard Posts: 2,370 Karma: 9026681 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Colorado Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2nd Gen	I'm pretty happy with my PW2. The only improvements I'd like to see are better collections, more font/margin/spacing choice, and more storage.

01-09-2014, 03:15 PM	#15
Josieb1 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,082 Karma: 18051062 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: UK Device: Kindle Scribe, Coloursoft, PW SE, Kindle 6, Kobo Libra Colour, Libra 2	Better sharper fonts and an massive improvement to Cloud Collections, allowing books and collections not downloaded to be not shown on the device.