Thoughts on Kindle 2.0?

[elainevdw]

I don't understand what people have against the keyboard. One of the main sellers for me was after watching one of the Amazon interviews -- maybe it was Toni Morisson? -- and seeing that your Kindle will let you have a "dialogue" with the book you're reading via notes, which is like writing in the margins of your books. Without a keyboard, you'd have to have a touchscreen (expensive!) and either an on-screen keyboard (not a fan) or a stylus with text recognition (also not a fan).

I actually really, REALLY like the idea that I can write virtual notes in the virtual margins of my texts instead of ruining a book that's in perfect condition by scribbling all over the actual margins.

[Valloric]

Originally Posted by elainevdw

I actually really, REALLY like the idea that I can write virtual notes in the virtual margins of my texts instead of ruining a book that's in perfect condition by scribbling all over the actual margins.

Don't get me wrong, but why would you want to write on the book's margins at all? If it's a university textbook or something, then sure, but otherwise, I just don't see it.

[elainevdw]

It depends on the kind of books you read and why you read them. If it's for pure entertainment, then you're right that there is no reason. But if you're reading for edification (philosophy or science, for instance) or for inspiration, making notes helps.

[Ervserver]

for the same money you can get a nice 10" Netbook computer, color screen, WI-FI, more versatile, just as light, more memory, etc.

Originally Posted by elainevdw

I don't understand what people have against the keyboard. One of the main sellers for me was after watching one of the Amazon interviews -- maybe it was Toni Morisson? -- and seeing that your Kindle will let you have a "dialogue" with the book you're reading via notes, which is like writing in the margins of your books. Without a keyboard, you'd have to have a touchscreen (expensive!) and either an on-screen keyboard (not a fan) or a stylus with text recognition (also not a fan).

I actually really, REALLY like the idea that I can write virtual notes in the virtual margins of my texts instead of ruining a book that's in perfect condition by scribbling all over the actual margins.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Ervserver

for the same money you can get a nice 10" Netbook computer, color screen, WI-FI, more versatile, just as light, more memory, etc.

Yes, and for what most people spend on a new car you could get a nice small boat with an engine and a chemical toilet.

BOb

[elainevdw]

Originally Posted by Ervserver

for the same money you can get a nice 10" Netbook computer, color screen, WI-FI, more versatile, just as light, more memory, etc.

True. But I have a netbook, and I don't use it for reading. I use it for checking e-mail and looking up recipes to use in the kitchen. I spend all day working on computers and spend a lot of my free time playing games on computers. So sometimes I actually do NOT want to be:

- Staring at an LCD screen
- Plugged into the wall (I can easily read longer than any laptop battery lasts)
- Worrying about placing it on the carpet when I go get a soda and having the darn thing overheat on me
- Stuck sitting in an upright position (kinda hard to lay on your back reading off a laptop)

Not to mention how nice it is giving my wrists and shoulders a rest from using a mouse. Ouch.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by elainevdw

Not to mention how nice it is giving my wrists and shoulders a rest from using a mouse. Ouch.

Learn keyboard shortcuts. It helps with that and probably will improve you productivity.

BOb

[elainevdw]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Learn keyboard shortcuts. It helps with that and probably will improve you productivity.

Truly! It's a shame -- I installed Quicksilver at work and hardly ever use it. Maybe I need to change my shortcut keys so that I don't have to curl my other hand into a pretzel to hit them properly. Not having to use a Mighty Mouse would help a lot, too. Those things are awful.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by elainevdw

Truly! It's a shame -- I installed Quicksilver at work and hardly ever use it. Maybe I need to change my shortcut keys so that I don't have to curl my other hand into a pretzel to hit them properly. Not having to use a Mighty Mouse would help a lot, too. Those things are awful.

If you are using a Mac there is a pretty cool app called Key Cue. If you press and hold the command key it will show you all the keyboard commands that are available. It's pretty cool. But, it crashes firefox if you run that too. I hope the fix that soon.

I've never tried quick silver.. but I do use Spotlight all the time to launch apps, etc.

BOb

[Mr. Goodbar]

I've owned the Sony, the iLiad and the Kindle. While I like the wireless capability of the kindle I actually find it the least enjoyable device to read on. The mobi formatting on the Kindle just doesn't give me the book feel that I get with either the Sony or the iLiad. Line spacing and font selection really detract from the enjoyment of reading for me on the Kindle. I can lose myself in a book on either the iLiad or the Sony, but not on the Kindle. Feels much more computer like. The Kindle 2 seems to offer some ergonomic improvement, but it's still a rather large device compared to the Sony. But, those are just personal opinions.

I'm anxiously awaiting the release of the Wizpac device. It seems to offer the wireless capability of the Kindle plus some other nice features while still taking a design centric approach. The social networking side of their platform looks rather intriguing and useful. I just hope they manage to actually get it to market sooner rather than later or never.

[hidari]

Originally Posted by Red Stapler

Bingo. If Sony would support Mac users and allow us to sync and update firmware, I would have bought the 505 a long time ago. Their response when I emailed their support department as to whether they would release Connect for Mac is that the DRM they use is incompatible with OS X.

Read: Calibre


I know three 505 owners that happily use Calibre for all their 505 needs. And as a 505 owner myself I only use Calibre.

[europas_ice]

Originally Posted by hidari

I know three 505 owners that happily use Calibre for all their 505 needs. And as a 505 owner myself I only use Calibre.

Can Calibre handle the books from the sony ebookstore? And even if it can, you still need a pc to get the books from the store in the first place.

[europas_ice]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Why do we have another Kindle thread in the Sony forum? it doesn't belong here. There are more appropriate places to start a Kindle thread. Like the Kindle forum. I'm not against this thread at all.

I'd just like to say I appreciated this thread in this location. I think because it was on the Sony forum it got a little bit different class of contributors and some new ideas that weren't on the Kindle forum.

[elainevdw]

Pilot Bob, thanks for the ideas -- I do use Firefox, but I'll keep an eye out for that bug getting fixed. Will save my monitor from getting tons of little post-it notes with keyboard shortcuts taped to it.

Mr. Goodbar -- Do the iLiad and Sony have font support? I work at a design firm, so I could go on alllll day about fonts! I'm actually a bit nervous about what the reading experience will be like when my Kindle arrives, because I really do notice and appreciate the neat fonts they're using in books lately. I keep repeating to myself, "It's the words that matter, not the fonts!" Again, I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that the people they interviewed for the videos on the sales page for Kindle are right; Neil Gaiman said that he was able to dive into the Kindle like he would any other book. But then again, maybe he's never used a Sony reader or the iLiad!

[Mr. Goodbar]

Originally Posted by elainevdw

Pilot Bob, thanks for the ideas -- I do use Firefox, but I'll keep an eye out for that bug getting fixed. Will save my monitor from getting tons of little post-it notes with keyboard shortcuts taped to it.

Mr. Goodbar -- Do the iLiad and Sony have font support? I work at a design firm, so I could go on alllll day about fonts! I'm actually a bit nervous about what the reading experience will be like when my Kindle arrives, because I really do notice and appreciate the neat fonts they're using in books lately. I keep repeating to myself, "It's the words that matter, not the fonts!" Again, I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that the people they interviewed for the videos on the sales page for Kindle are right; Neil Gaiman said that he was able to dive into the Kindle like he would any other book. But then again, maybe he's never used a Sony reader or the iLiad!

I think it's one of those personal things that some people think about and others don't. From the Sony's perspective you can embed fonts into the file, but it greatly slows down the page turns. There is a how to in this section that explains how to swap out the fonts on the Sony for whatever font you would like to use while still maintaining the fast page turns.

Mobipocket on the iLiad is stuck with just one terrible font, but I convert everything to a pdf for reading on the iLiad and then I can use whatever fonts I want. I find the iLiad to be the easiest one to read, but it has other drawbacks.

All the current e-ink devices seem to have different tradeoffs. You just need to look at those tradeoffs and see which ones matter to you and which ones don't.

Also, if memory serves me correctly I think you can install whatever fonts you want on the cybook and change them on the fly. It may be the most flexible in that regard, but you may want to check the cybook forum to validate that.