Kindle Voyage - First Impressions

[krazy4katz]

Originally Posted by sian

From an disability piont of view im not sure

athritus means putting thmb and index finger is sometimes too painful

but also swiping a page is also not always poss as fingers seem to not have enough presure to do it

pressing a button i can/ cant do either. £169 for a voyage ( no audio) seems a lot
whe fire hd can audio and back lit for £79

still not sure one friend say voyager and one says fire hd hd 6
this driving me nuts

Can some one tell me how easy the power button is to press as this my help solve my problem to decide covers

I would buy one of the covers that turns on the KV so that you don't have to push the button. I am waiting for the OMOTON case to be delivered, so I can't tell you if it's good. The people who purchased the Paperwhite version gave it really good reviews on Amazon. Having said that, pushing the button on the back of the Voyage is not hard, but it is awkward and I don't know how bad your arthritis is.

I have the page turn buttons at the most sensitive and it still takes some conscious effort to push them. I like that personally but with arthritis, maybe tapping the screen might work better. The screen is very sensitive.

Good luck.

[mewmartigan]

Having used my Voyage for a while now, I have to say that I loooooove the screen being flush with the rest of the unit. I didn't really think the lack of "bezel" down to the screen was a big deal when it was advertised but I sure like it. Makes the whole thing easier to wipe down and the Voyage feels more like one cohesive unit instead of a "screen + electronics" glued together feeling (that probably doesn't make sense )

[judith009]

The guy with the most popular critical review of the KV just wrote a comment saying that he just got a replacement unit, and the replacement's screen was even worse than the original.

[GoSharks]

Originally Posted by HarryT

We can get a pretty reasonable idea from the reviews. 67 reviews of the Voyage currently at amazon.co.uk, 62 of which are positive. Of the 5 negative ones, only 1 is negative due to a poor screen (the others are things like a broken power button). So, with 1 of of 67 people reporting a bad screen, and the overwhelming of the reviews praising the screen, we can reasonably conclude that this is not a widely perceived issue.

@HarryT
You keep stating this review count (in multiple threads), but your numbers don't hold for the U.S. There are currently 346 reviews on the U.S. Amazon site scored 1-5 stars. Of these reviews, 118 are 3 stars or less. I picked 3 stars to be the cut-off as from 3 stars on down almost all refer to the color gradient as a problem. This works out to a full third of reviews noting the color gradient as a significant detractor. To use your phrasing... so, with approximately 118 out of 346 people reporting a bad screen, we can reasonably conclude that this is a widely perceived issue.

[disconnected]

There are a lot of bad reviews on the US site. I’m surprised by the numbers, even though I know that only a small percentage of buyers post reviews.

173 are 5-star, 55 are 4-star, 35 are 3-star, 39 are 2-star, and 44 are 1-star.

To be fair, a few of the 1-star people apparently didn’t know what they were ordering – leading to complaints about no sound and no color.

Since Amazon seems to have no control over screen quality I wish they would just sort the Voyages into different lots and price them accordingly. I’d be willing to pay more to get a better screen.

[Josieb1]

It does seem that the U.S. got an awful lot of bad screens. I wonder if that's because they got the first batches.

I always remember reading that Jeff Bezos said the PW1 was one of his biggest nightmares so god knows what he's thinking now!

I know we have bads ones in the UK but it doesn't seem to be so widespread and I still can't believe I've actually managed to get an acceptable Voyage on my first attempt. It's not perfect by any means as the screen is uneven but it just doesn't bother me at all and I had awful trouble with both the PW1 and PW2s getting an acceptable screen.

[javadoo]

Here is a really bad picture of my Voyage screen. I took the picture on my old school flip phone (no smart phone here!)

[Canuck_in_Japan]

You're right, that is a bad picture! Screen looks good to me.

[javadoo]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

You're right, that is a bad picture! Screen looks good to me.

I know, I know...but I took it last night with my old flip phone.
I'll try to get a better picture...but honestly, the screen is gorgeous, clear, bright and uniform!!

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by judith009

The guy with the most popular critical review of the KV just wrote a comment saying that he just got a replacement unit, and the replacement's screen was even worse than the original.

I guess he's on a roll then, isn't he?

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by HarryT

If you mean that I had a PW1 that seemed absolutely fine, then yes, you're right. The majority of other users were also happy with it. Don't let the fact that a small minority of users were sensitive to colour discolourations fool you into thinking that it was a "universally acknowledged defect".

Look at the reviews of the Voyage at "amazon.co.uk". Do you see even one review there that mentions any lighting or colour variations? I don't. This is not an issue that the majority (or even a significant minority) of users in the "real world" appear to care about, or even be aware of.

With respect, you're reinventing history.

The PW1 was initially a disaster. It was a total crap-shoot as to what quality of screen one received. The blooms of pink and green were extremely conspicuous on many screens and were in extreme contrast to the perfectly even light that appeared in Amazon's disingenuous advertisements. Amazon was forced to alter their product description to match reality.

The PW2 was better. I did think that many of the owners who were unhappy with the light were being too picky. However, many Voyages appear to have a conspicuous color gradient that interferes with reading, and is much worse than on the H2O readers. I can understand that users who pay $200+ for the Voyage expect more for their money.

Kobo are better at making an even front light than Amazon. The Glo / Aura HD / H2O have few or no problems. What is Kobo doing differently to Amazon, and why can't Amazon match it?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Rizla

However, many Voyages appear to have a conspicuous color gradient that interferes with reading, and is much worse than on the H2O readers. I can understand that users who pay $200+ for the Voyage expect more for their money.

Rizla, don't get me wrong: I'm not defending poor QC. The only reason I hesitate to agree with you is that the reviews on amazon.co.uk don't support the idea that this is a problem that many Voyages suffer from. There are now 71 reviews, and only 1 mention, out of that 71, of a bad screen. Does 1 out of 71 count as "many"?

I don't know why it is that a greater proportion of people in the US would seem to have screen issues. Do you have any idea why that might be so?

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Rizla, don't get me wrong: I'm not defending poor QC. The only reason I hesitate to agree with you is that the reviews on amazon.co.uk don't support the idea that this is a problem that many Voyages suffer from. There are now 71 reviews, and only 1 mention, out of that 71, of a bad screen. Does 1 out of 71 count as "many"?

I don't know why it is that a greater proportion of people in the US would seem to have screen issues. Do you have any idea why that might be so?

I think it was the great Amazon apologist Samarkind who used Amazon PW1 reviews to dismiss users experiencing colored blotching, despite the numerous images they posted on these forums, so I'm not sure how valid a measure the reviews are.

In any case, I wasn't discussing the QC of individual Kindles. I was discussing the general Kindle front-light technology, that is prone to producing discoloration, whether it be a gradient or blotching. The fact is the Kobo light has consistently displayed less extremes of discoloration. It's not QC of individual units that is making a difference. It's the base technology. What are they doing differently to Amazon?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Rizla

In any case, I wasn't discussing the QC of individual Kindles. I was discussing the general Kindle front-light technology, that is prone to producing discoloration, whether it be a gradient or blotching.

That is QC, isn't it? How consistent the product is?

[sparklemotion]

Originally Posted by Rizla

I think it was the great Amazon apologist Samarkind who used Amazon PW1 reviews to dismiss users experiencing colored blotching, despite the numerous images they posted on these forums, so I'm not sure how valid a measure the reviews are.

In any case, I wasn't discussing the QC of individual Kindles. I was discussing the general Kindle front-light technology, that is prone to producing discoloration, whether it be a gradient or blotching. The fact is the Kobo light has consistently displayed less extremes of discoloration. It's not QC of individual units that is making a difference. It's the base technology. What are they doing differently to Amazon?

As someone who suffered with color hue issues on all of my lit kindles, (I did eventually get a decent PW2) I'm curious to know as well. It's a marvel not to see color blobs on my H20.