Amazon dropping support for more Kindles

[Quoth]

Most people bought many ebooks from Amazon with the idea they were buying a personal copy of the content, a digital version of a paper book. Not that they were paying for a lease that Amazon can terminate.

Paper books are also licenced. You can't give away copies.

KU shouldn't exist in it's present form. Real libraries often also loan ebooks and in UK & Ireland a library must pay for a copy of a book upfront and then pay a publisher agreed per loan/borrow royalty even if it's not read. Amazon in KU pays nothing for the content and invasively tracks your reading progress. Amazon unilaterally decides on pot on money to share per page read in KU.

Amazon by disabling Download in a Browser and then ability to copy by USB is cheating customers. If they still had that (only ended last year) then there would be no need to "support" direct connection of older Kindles.

Is it time for a class action? People have been misled.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by maddz

I think it's this that's driving the recent changes - if you borrow via KU or similar, download, strip DRM and transfer to a non-Kindle device, the store can't track your reading in order to pay authors. I said last year when downloads were removed that it should only ever have applied to borrows, not sales.

I 100% agree. Given how KU works (and it should not work as it does) it seems odd that Browser download was allowed at all, ever for borrows/loans.

[DiapDealer]

Attica! Attica!

[John F]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

There is nothing at all wrong with my Kindle Touch. No reason for Amazon to just drop support for it.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I read with my Libra 2. I don't read with the Kindle Touch.

Maybe Amazon would rather support hardware that their customers read on and tend to take advantage of the Amazon Walled Garden, vs supporting hardware that users mainly/only use for stripping DRM?

[maddz]

Originally Posted by John F

Maybe Amazon would rather support hardware that their customers read on and tend to take advantage of the Amazon Walled Garden, vs supporting hardware that users mainly/only use for stripping DRM?

That means not reading on your computer. That's where DRM can be stripped, not on your non-Kindle e-reader.

[John F]

Originally Posted by maddz

That means not reading on your computer. That's where DRM can be stripped, not on your non-Kindle e-reader.

I would think that Amazon doesn't want to give up on the text book market. I recently rented (lierally) a text book and it was only available for KPC.

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by John F

I would think that Amazon doesn't want to give up on the text book market. I recently rented (lierally) a text book and it was only available for KPC.

I'm stunned it was available for Kindle for PC. Many eTextbooks are now only available for Fires, the latest Android or iOS apps, or Kindle for Mac. All apps/devices where the DRM is not able to be removed. Kindle for PC was removed from the list of apps they could be downloaded to shortly after Satsuoni's tools became available. Previous to that, their DRM could not be removed with noDRM's DeDRM.

[John F]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

I'm stunned it was available for Kindle for PC. Many eTextbooks are now only available for Fires, the latest Android or iOS apps, or Kindle for Mac. All apps/devices where the DRM is not able to be removed. Kindle for PC was removed from the list of apps they could be downloaded to shortly after Satsuoni's tools became available. Previous to that, their DRM could not be removed with noDRM's DeDRM.

I probably had it backwards.

Personaly, I would get any sort of technical book in paper if it wasn't available for a PC.

[jake01756]

This whole thing is just stupid. If they were concerned about the security of such an old device then maybe just disable access to the kindle store. Just a simple message that says “The Kindle Store is no longer available on this device. To browse and buy books go to amazon.com on your computer”. They could still allow syncing with whispersync and downloading new books. This would remove a lot of the security problems with such an old device talking to a server that can process credit card payments. Also it’s an ereader, not a phone. These devices have been working just fine.

Also really. A 20% coupon that can’t be stacked with a trade in. Oh and it doesn’t work on the Kindle Scribe. No no no. How about you send people a free kindle basic. Remember Amazon, you said it was only 3% of users. Or even a refurbished basic? You sell them on Woot for dirt cheap. Look, you can even ship them with ads. If Amazon cared about its users they would do that. But no they want you to just buy a new one claiming that these devices are “12-14 years old and they served their time”. No these devices still work, you just want people to buy new ones.

I love my paperwhite 1, yes it’s slow. Yes it has just 4 GB, yes the backlight lights up the screen a little uneven, but it works great. And I love it.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by jake01756

They could still allow syncing with whispersync and downloading new books. This would remove a lot of the security problems with such an old device talking to a server that can process credit card payments.

Security is not simply about identity theft and credit card fraud. If connecting to the store servers is a security risk, connecting to the whispersync servers is as well.

I'm not saying that the security risk is the drastic issue Amazon wants us to believe it is. But if there were ANY risk; removing access to the Store servers while maintaining access to Whispersync servers certainly isn't going to do much to mitigate it.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by jake01756

This whole thing is just stupid. If they were concerned about the security of such an old device then maybe just disable access to the kindle store.

They did this with all Kindles through the KK in 2022.

Also really. A 20% coupon that can’t be stacked with a trade in.

I agree with this. A 20% discount is risible especially when that was available at any time with a trade-in, including during sales. I don't think it's coincidental that this was announced just after their spring sale. However, in fairness, most if not all of these devices got a (much better) upgrade offer in 2022 when store access was cut off; 30% off plus a $40 Kindle book credit, IIRC. They may feel they've been sufficiently generous already.

[lkmiller]

Sure it's about security. Mainly security of their DRM.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

- to edit the formatting
- to make a personal backup and not having to depend on Amazon
- you might want to buy a different ereader in the future

Bingo!
My first reader was an EZReader. Long dead and the brand is gone along with their store. The other stores/publishers I bought books from back then, are also gone.
OTOH the 900+ paperbacks in my storeroom are still there and readable (the pages are getting a bit yellow and some need help from cellotape)

OTOH Amazon wont even sell you a new battery to keep your old Kindle powered. (this is not just an Amazon trick. Things are being made to be unrepairable or the stopped selling that part )

[frostymug]

Why do I get the sick feeling that what is really behind this move is to force all future book releases to use only KFX format which I understand to be unbreakable. No Calibre plugin to strip DRM anymore and no other workarounds involving Kindle for PC. If this is what is coming down the pike I may be leaving the Kindle universe for good. Somebody dissuade me from thinking like this, please. But think about it, it is those old kindles that can't handle the KFX format and need the old (and dearly loved) AZW3 format.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by frostymug

Why do I get the sick feeling that what is really behind this move is to force all future book releases to use only KFX format which I understand to be unbreakable. No Calibre plugin to strip DRM anymore and no other workarounds involving Kindle for PC. If this is what is coming down the pike I may be leaving the Kindle universe for good. Somebody dissuade me from thinking like this, please. But think about it, it is those old kindles that can't handle the KFX format and need the old (and dearly loved) AZW3 format.

KFX isn't unbreakable, it has been broken several times.

But yes, the reason behind this decision is almost certainly DRM.