New Kindle Voyage

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by blue_skies

I totally agree! I used to often try to read my Amazon purchased ebooks on my computer using the Kindle app, and the images were so ridiculously tiny and low resolution they were worthless. It was especially frustrating for non-fiction books like those with fashion illustrations or interior design photos... with teeny-tiny photos. I could never understand why they didn't just use nice high resolution photos.


I made up a couple of books for my own use and always used the largest photos I could, and they never failed to display on my Kindle Keyboard. I'm not sure what the difference is in the case where a previous poster here said large photos won't display on Kindle devices. Maybe they were way bigger than the large photos I was using. Still, no reason to use poor quality. Fix the eReader software instead!



Publishers and developers really need to fix this.

Were you using black and white photos? Those did okay when I uploaded pictures/illustrations for each story in Tracking Magic. But at the time, there were actual specs for what sizes I could load--right before the first Fire came out. A couple of the images started out full 256 color and those I had to switch to 200 and size accordingly. The specs are different now than then, but for Send to Kindle, they're about the same as back then. Some of it could have to do with whether or not the entire file reaches a certain size--for example, if I sell a book that is very large, Amazon has a section that basically says I can't charge less than x and I'm paying for the transfer to each reader. (I don't know the size off the top of my head, but I do know at least one writer who hit that and part of the reason was images). I'm sure the rules are different for large publishers, but the mechanisms aren't perfect--and they are ever changing as new devices come out.

I recently worked on a book (I edit on the side) and that book would have been extra lovely with a small graphic at the top of each chapter head. Problem: Makes the book larger, have to fuss to make sure it doesn't break anything, have to make sure it doesn't cause any resolution problems anywhere and so on. That means: Extra cost in time and dollars for the author.

Now, if an author chooses to do a map that is important to a particular story, said author is going to have to take that into account when working on the upload or paying someone to do it. A full color hand drawn illustration could cause some issues. I think the problem is that the area of color/illustrations/images is still fluctuating (rules, and so on). There are some specs for authors, but getting an image to FIT the so-called specs requires deciding whether to go black/white, make the image smaller, do grayscale and so on.

[Xanthe]

You have to pay tax on taxable (in your state) items purchased from Amazon if Amazon has a facility in your state and if your state has a sales tax. Amazon now has a "Fulfillment Center" in Robbinsville NJ (opened this year) so NJ customers now have to pay tax on their purchases.

[tomsem]

Amazon started collecting sales tax in CA almost a couple of years ago, and soon after, Amazon started building distribution centers, which I think should make one day shipping the norm for many items when they are up and running (I think one or two of them already are). Even before that, state law required paying sales tax even if the (online) seller didn't collect it, and if your tax return didn't show ANY such sales tax, it could flag you for audit.

[Xanthe]

Yes. I should have phrased my response better: the NJ sales tax will now be automatically charged and collected.

As opposed to the previous reliance on the honesty of the purchasers to report and pay the tax....

[Chi Cygni]

Originally Posted by sparklemotion

Chi! How are you? Your user title made me laugh. I've been in 99% lurker mode too. I only seem to come out from under my little rock when a new kindle comes out.

I considered the Kobo H20 too. I think it looks really nice. What draws me to the Voyage is the page buttons and the higher ppi should be nice too. I hope so at least. And hopefully no color blobs. haha.

I'll be curious what you think of the H20 should you decide to get it. If something happens to your PW, that is. Or should you get a bad flare up of your gadgetitis. Whichever comes first.

Hello hello m'dear I'm ok, hope you are too! I don't comment too much recently either, I don't have much to say but I lurk all the time. First time a new Kindle leaves me cold - I think I need to see a doctor I will probably have a look at it when it shows up at Waterstones Brussels. But what put me off is the same 6 fonts again, none of which I like at all. While I happily use Charis SIL on my PW1.
I always admired Aura HD in the shops, what a lovely screen - so maybe H2O will be even better. Gadgetitis nowadays turned into buying different covers for PW (I have 3 for the moment). H2O is 179,99€ from what I saw, a bit expensive but but... perhaps I should make something happen to my PW and then?

[soondai]

Originally Posted by tomsem

Amazon started collecting sales tax in CA almost a couple of years ago, and soon after, Amazon started building distribution centers, which I think should make one day shipping the norm for many items when they are up and running

I live in Los Angeles and ordered a set of flash cards for my daughter Sunday afternoon. Got them Monday morning, even though I chose "no rush" shipping and got a one dollar book credit.

Back on topic, I'm surprised I have not caved yet. My birthday is in October and I have enough Amazon gift card credit to cover it. Still cannot get past that price (given I have a couple functional readers still in working order). Maybe once the reactions pour in here I will cave.

[RHWright]

Originally Posted by jswinden
Amazon no longer has any real competition, therefore they can now set a price that makes a profit rather than subsidizing them as thy have always done prior to now.

Originally Posted by xendula

That could indeed be part of the price increase. Also, the market for eink screens is smaller, and die-hard fans of eink will invest in a better device, even if they have tablets or phones.

I couldn't resist and ordered one.

I think you've hit it on the head. In the US at least, Amazon is really the last major player standing in e-ink. B&N seems to have abandoned development along that line, and the last two iterations there, the NOOK Simple Touch Glow and GlowLight, didn't exactly shake my boots.

Kobo is a viable alternative, but the US seems an afterthought to them. Sony is also pretty much done here.

Anything else has always been a minor player.

Amazon's Kindle brand basically owns the dedicated e-ink reader market in the US, so it doesn't surprise me that they're introduced a higher end model. Keep in mind, with this intro, the e-ink models cover a range of price points, from the basic $79 Kindle touch to the mid-range Paperwhite to the $199 Voyager. Even at $219 (sans ads), that's still cheaper than what I gladly paid for my Nook N1E when they first came out. Though honestly, if I went Kindle at this point, it would probably be the Paperwhite.

But that's a worry for when the NST gives up the ghost.

[ApK]

On paper, the Voyage looks like my ideal reader, except for the price. I will need to get my hands on it to know for sure, though.
I hope I don't need to replace my KK anytime soon, but if I did, the Voyage would be at the top of my list. And I fully expect the price to go down by then.

I apologize if this was mentioned above, but I find it fascinating that the side page turn buttons (or sensors, apparently in this case) have migrated from only being on the cheapest low-end device, to only being on the most expensive high-end device.
Perhaps Amazon has finally been swayed by those of us who don't like the touch screen for page turns!

ApK

[sparklemotion]

Originally Posted by Chi Cygni

Hello hello m'dear I'm ok, hope you are too! I don't comment too much recently either, I don't have much to say but I lurk all the time. First time a new Kindle leaves me cold - I think I need to see a doctor I will probably have a look at it when it shows up at Waterstones Brussels. But what put me off is the same 6 fonts again, none of which I like at all. While I happily use Charis SIL on my PW1.
I always admired Aura HD in the shops, what a lovely screen - so maybe H2O will be even better. Gadgetitis nowadays turned into buying different covers for PW (I have 3 for the moment). H2O is 179,99€ from what I saw, a bit expensive but but... perhaps I should make something happen to my PW and then?

I'm doing well. Glad you are too! I know what you mean about the lack of fonts on the kindle. It really bothers me as well. I use Caecilia Condensed, but I would love if there was more. It's so hard to understand why they resist.

This is how bad my gadgetitis is. I have also considered buying the H20. It would be nice to have a reader you could read in the tub with or take to the beach. I really can't justify buying two though, so I'll try to refrain. Is the screen on the Aura as good as the PW? I always mean to take a drive up to the bookstore near me that sells them, but I have never actually done so. If you do get the H20, I'll be very curious to hear your thoughts.

[Waylander]

The Voyage looks really good, but the price is really high; £169 for Amazon UK. The new basic Kindle now has touch, which sounds kind of cool. I wonder what firmware the basic kindle now has, as if it is still 4x then it margins etc can still be changed without jailbreaking it. The only thing is that it seems thicker than it was before, unless that's just me. I doubt that Voyage will be at all hackable, as the Paperwhite 2 has been pretty closed up now. In which case, if I can't install JBPatch, and i need a new ereader, then I'll be going Kobo.

[kaufman]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Amazon no longer has any real competition, therefore they can now set a price that makes a profit rather than subsidizing them as thy have always done prior to now.

This might be a reasonable argument if they weren't also selling a $80 model and a $120 model. They haven't raised the price on the same level of book reader. They have added a premium model. Probably because they learned from Kobo that there was a market for them.

All of you people complaining about the $200 price and predicting doom and gloom for Amazon because "no one will spend that much for a book reader", should probably read up a little on the history of the Kindle.

The first model was $400, and Amazon sold so many of them that it was backordered for about 6 months because they couldn't make them fast enough to keep up with demand. The next one was $300, and they sold a ton of those as well. And this was back before everything was available for the device.

They are almost certainly going to sell more paperwhites and basic models than the Voyage, but it looks like they are going to sell a lot of those as well.

[xendula]

Originally Posted by kaufman

The first model was $400, and Amazon sold so many of them that it was backordered for about 6 months because they couldn't make them fast enough to keep up with demand. The next one was $300, and they sold a ton of those as well. And this was back before everything was available for the device.

With so many tablet and smartphone options in consumers' hands, the world has changed. I doubt many people could justify paying 400 for an eink reader in this day and age.

They are almost certainly going to sell more paperwhites and basic models than the Voyage, but it looks like they are going to sell a lot of those as well.

Agreed.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by ApK

I find it fascinating that the side page turn buttons ... have migrated from only being on the cheapest low-end device, to only being on the most expensive high-end device.

Perhaps Amazon has finally been swayed by those of us who don't like the touch screen for page turns!

By "been swayed by" do you mean "decided to milk"?

[kaufman]

Originally Posted by xendula

With so many tablet and smartphone options in consumers' hands, the world has changed. I doubt many people could justify paying 400 for an eink reader in this day and age.

Oh, I agree completely.

My point was that $200 wasn't some crazy out of left field number that had never before been seen in the life of an ebook reader. And its not that much more than the Kobo has been selling for for the last year.

[kaufman]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

By "been swayed by" do you mean "decided to milk"?

By "decided to milk" do you mean "produced a product that people want to buy"?

Because "decided to milk" sounds bad, but "produced a product that people want to buy" is what I am always hoping companies will do.