Is new PW imminent?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Rizla

Other than water-proofing, I fail to see what innovation Amazon can add to the PW2 at this time (other than improving font & formatting options to match the Kobo, which Amazon has shown themselves to be uninterested in).

Really what can they add right now? Dunking it in the bath? I guess...

A flex screen would be great

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

A flex screen would be great

Yes. Not that I particularly want to flex the screen. I just don't want it to shatter.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Yes. Not that I particularly want to flex the screen. I just don't want it to shatter.

Same here. Couple that with waterproofing and it'll be a great outdoor ereader.

[Yolina]

Given that in the UK we've had Amazon TV launched last week and the Fire phone this week, maybe a new Kindle will be announced next week and a new Fire tablet the week after

[WaltC]

Originally Posted by Rizla

Other than water-proofing, I fail to see what innovation Amazon can add to the PW2 at this time (other than improving font & formatting options to match the Kobo, which Amazon has shown themselves to be uninterested in).

Really what can they add right now? Dunking it in the bath? I guess...

Water-proofing is not high on my list. I'd like physical page turn buttons, smaller, flatter bezels, bigger screen, lighter weight, continued tweaks to resolution, contrast, fonts and readability. The e-paper readers are still not a good match for magazines-- tablets are better for that-- but continuing to move in the direction of blending the best of e-paper & tablets is a good thing.

[Rizla]

Peeps looking for a new device may be attracted to the new Kobo H20 or the Onyx. The Kobo has the first 6.8" Carta screen and is waterproof. Otherwise there's the Onyx, but I'm not sure if it has page-turn buttons.

Amazon may actually lose sales to Kobo's H20 if they don't release a new model. As far as I can see, the only reason a Kindle user in the market for a new device wouldn't go for the Kobo H20 is because it's too big or they like to stay within the Amazon purchasing system. I suspect the rumors of the Kobo flakiness are much exaggerated.

[Zeebra]

Originally Posted by jswinden

My guess is they are so eager for a new PW3 because, even though they don't want to admit it, the first two PWs were not that good. The screens are lackluster, at best. And as others have mentioned, Kindles have been stuck at 6" only models for quite a while (DX was never updated beyond the G model) and the current very lackluster resolution has been around a few years. And no eInk has ever been faster than a snail crossing a four lane highway. I still say that outside of this forum very few people prefer Kindles to tablets any more.

I'm not so sure of that. I just got back from a cruise a few weeks back with my wife, and I saw so many Kindles on the ship while walking around. Maybe all those people were part of this forum (but I doubt it ) After seeing people trying to read with iPads outside, it just doesn't work, way too much glare. I hope e-ink tech never goes away but just keeps improving.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by Rizla

Other than water-proofing, I fail to see what innovation Amazon can add to the PW2 at this time

there is this newfangled thing called hyphenation. You divide words at the end of the line (and indicate the said division by use of a hyphen - hence the name). It greatly reduces uneven spaces between words in a fully justified text with relatively few words on line - such as on a e-book reader screen.

Then there is this invention called hierarchical directories. Some of the operating systems started to use it recently, so you do not get lost when browsing hundreds of files.

Some readers have also possibility to side-load fonts, or picture that is shown when the reader is switched off, dictionaries, apps, others have native apps such as chess or a calculator, some have physical buttons for turning a page, SD card slot, or support reading *.doc documents (and a dozen of other formats) directly, or perhaps just let you switch off front-light completely.
Some companies simply do not hassle hackers that are trying to improve the system and provide features that the device lacks. (Amazon, on the other side actively plugs any hole that allows people to improve the system.)

So ... I think there might be some room for improvement, without resorting to installing camera on the back of the reader and bundling an OCR app. Yes, there *is* an e-ink reader that features a camera and OCR ... plus all the features I have mentioned, and lots more.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by kacir

there is this newfangled thing called hyphenation. You divide words at the end of the line (and indicate the said division by use of a hyphen - hence the name). It greatly reduces uneven spaces between words in a fully justified text with relatively few words on line - such as on a e-book reader screen.

Then there is this invention called hierarchical directories. Some of the operating systems started to use it recently, so you do not get lost when browsing hundreds of files.

Some readers have also possibility to side-load fonts, or picture that is shown when the reader is switched off, dictionaries, apps, others have native apps such as chess or a calculator, some have physical buttons for turning a page, SD card slot, or support reading *.doc documents (and a dozen of other formats) directly, or perhaps just let you switch off front-light completely.
Some companies simply do not hassle hackers that are trying to improve the system and provide features that the device lacks. (Amazon, on the other side actively plugs any hole that allows people to improve the system.)

So ... I think there might be some room for improvement, without resorting to installing camera on the back of the reader and bundling an OCR app. Yes, there *is* an e-ink reader that features a camera and OCR ... plus all the features I have mentioned, and lots more.

Amazon have shown they aren't interested in including any of the above features. Indeed, many of them existed in previous models and were removed.

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by kacir

there is this newfangled thing called hyphenation. You divide words at the end of the line (and indicate the said division by use of a hyphen - hence the name). It greatly reduces uneven spaces between words in a fully justified text with relatively few words on line - such as on a e-book reader screen.

I detest hyphenation. Hated it in printed books, still hate it in ebooks.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by kacir

Then there is this invention called hierarchical directories. Some of the operating systems started to use it recently, so you do not get lost when browsing hundreds of files.

hierarchical directories are inefficient and clumsy. I much prefer Amazon's (and the majority of competitors') tag-based system.

Of course, it helps if the tags are hierarchical. Which the Kindle Touch/PW1/PW2 does, via the Collections Manager kindlet.

Basically, Amazon Kindles have a more active MR development community, which makes the Kindle a better choice for someone choosing between Kobo and Kindle and Nook, at least.

True enough, though, that Amazon tries hard to close any holes which allow us to improve our Kindles... nested collections were closed by Cloud Collections, on fw>=5.4.2 for KPW1/2.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Rizla

Amazon have shown they aren't interested in including any of the above features. Indeed, many of them existed in previous models and were removed.

sideloaded fonts are still possible -- the feature that was never a feature, just a hack, is still hackable, but slightly differently.

The SD card and physical page turn buttons are a feature to not have on new devices.

Amazon has not gotten rid of the dictionaries, last I heard, and has never supported apps. Screensavers were always a hack AFAIK. Nor do I know of Amazon ever supporting .doc -- it always required conversion.

@kacir,

calculator and chess are supported via hacks, but I highly doubt most ereader owners want or care about them. It makes no logical sense to expect them, except as community mods. I think the less of any device manufacturer who wastes development hours supporting this.

There is no good excuse to support a billion formats, either. Anyone who wants to sideoad weird formats should be using calibre. Why waste development hours providing substandard support for unusual formats, when you can support one format really well... and provide a free and extremely easy-to-use conversion system, i.e. send-to-kindle?

[Glorfindel]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

I detest hyphenation. Hated it in printed books, still hate it in ebooks.

It also makes it difficult to lookup words in the dictionary.

[Glorfindel]

Originally Posted by kacir

there is this newfangled thing called hyphenation. You divide words at the end of the line (and indicate the said division by use of a hyphen - hence the name). It greatly reduces uneven spaces between words in a fully justified text with relatively few words on line - such as on a e-book reader screen.
Then there is this invention called hierarchical directories. Some of the operating systems started to use it recently, so you do not get lost when browsing hundreds of files.
Some readers have also possibility to side-load fonts, or picture that is shown when the reader is switched off, dictionaries, apps, others have native apps such as chess or a calculator, some have physical buttons for turning a page, SD card slot, or support reading *.doc documents (and a dozen of other formats) directly, or perhaps just let you switch off front-light completely.
Some companies simply do not hassle hackers that are trying to improve the system and provide features that the device lacks. (Amazon, on the other side actively plugs any hole that allows people to improve the system.)
So ... I think there might be some room for improvement, without resorting to installing camera on the back of the reader and bundling an OCR app. Yes, there *is* an e-ink reader that features a camera and OCR ... plus all the features I have mentioned, and lots more.

folders work just fine
There is a built in calculator (search for 4^2 for example)
A camera? honestly?
Pictures are always shown on kindles, some people prefer to call them ads, but that is a matter of opinion.

[Glorfindel]

Nice, xcgsgh. Copy & paste work. Congrats