Paperwhite Second Gen: First Impressions

[xendula]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

That should be more than enough for everyone's taste.

It obviously isn't.

Originally Posted by sirmaru

Remember, the objective is to read more and not play around with the art.

It's not a question of art, but of accessibility and usability in some cases, and ux improvement in others.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

In the UK we don't have a 'media library page' we only have Manage Your Kindle.

You can log in to the US Amazon website with your co.uk details. I've tried using the media library but as it only moves items to the trash (though if you save web pages & other documents I think you can delete them) I gave up.

Media Library - https://www.amazon.com/gp/ays?

[dordale]

Originally Posted by jswinden

There are probably legal reasons Amazon is not currently supporting it. They might want to avoid legal action or threats of action by font owners who don't want their fonts placed on devices without proof they were purchased. That is just a guess though. But even still, Amazon could provide legal mumbo jumbo that states users must use fonts legally. After all, Microsoft and Apple could care less what fonts you put on computers running their operating systems. They make no attempt to police your usage of fonts. Neither should Amazon.

And it is true that some fonts that look good on a computer or tablet look like poop on a Kindle (or any eInk reader). Once again Amazon could use legal mumbo jumbo that states user fonts might not look well or work properly and that they are not responsible if that occurs.

You could be right Jack--but it seems odd to me that they'd worry about legal issues with people using fonts they don't own on their kindles. Amazon obviously allows and supports side loading of books--which carries with it the same type of risk--people loading material to their readers which they may not own.

[OddCosine]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

In addition, see this link for a package of SUPPORTED extra fonts for the Kindle Fire HDX:

http://www.amazon.com/Mobile-Systems...=special+fonts

Those fonts have 186 ONE STAR reviews and 22 five star reviews. The odds are over EIGHT TO ONE you'll receive DUD fonts versus perfect ones.

You're more likely to get kidnapped by squirrels this year than to receive perfect fonts.

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by xendula

It's not a question of art, but of accessibility and usability in some cases, and ux improvement in others.

If folks are really having accessibility problems, the new Kindle Fire HDX 2013 has an entire user guide on how to increase accessibility and dozens of ways to add comfort to readers even supplying text in videos for deaf folks and braille access for the blind.

No eReaders can match those options which are accessed Main Menu / Swipe Down / Settings / Accessibility. Some of the options are: Screen Reader (spoken feedback when accessing items on the screen); Reading Speed; Explore by Touch (full descriptions of items under one's finger); Screen Magnifier (gestures to alter fonts and magnify the screen); Use Large Font Sizes (I use that one); Closed Captioning on all videos; Convert Stereo to Mono.

They have an Accessibility Users' Guide and Explore by Touch Tutorial.

Under Settings / Display & Sounds they offer Display Mirroring which allows the Kindle Screen to be shown on a TV or Media Streaming Device. Those Devices are not available yet but will have dozens of extra fonts, sizes, etc. and allow one person to manage a lecture with audience holding those devices and the leader projecting his screen to them.

Originally Posted by sirmaru

If folks are really having accessibility problems, the new Kindle Fire HDX 2013 has an entire user guide on how to increase accessibility and dozens of ways to add comfort to readers even supplying text in videos for deaf folks and braille access for the blind.

No eReaders can match those options which are accessed Main Menu / Swipe Down / Settings / Accessibility. Some of the options are: Screen Reader (spoken feedback when accessing items on the screen); Reading Speed; Explore by Touch (full descriptions of items under one's finger); Screen Magnifier (gestures to alter fonts and magnify the screen); Use Large Font Sizes (I use that one); Closed Captioning on all videos; Convert Stereo to Mono.

They have an Accessibility Users' Guide and Explore by Touch Tutorial.

Under Settings / Display & Sounds they offer Display Mirroring which allows the Kindle Screen to be shown on a TV or Media Streaming Device. Those Devices are not available yet but will have dozens of extra fonts, sizes, etc. and allow one person to manage a lecture with audience holding those devices and the leader projecting his screen to them.

We are talking about the Paperwhite in this thread, and quite frankly some of us don't care about the Fire HDX. Try to stay on subject for a change.

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by jswinden

We are talking about the Paperwhite in this thread, and quite frankly some of us don't care about the Fire HDX. Try to stay on subject for a change.

Its true the Paperwhite does NOT offer all these options. Also, this thread is about "first impressions" of the PW 2013 - not discussions of fonts.

Anyway, since the thread drifted into accessibility problems, some users may need to know there are solutions albeit not within the Paperwhite universe.

I own both units in order to get the best of both worlds.

There is a separate thread on Paperwhite fonts here:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=224311

[GoSharks]

Originally Posted by OddCosine

You're more likely to get kidnapped by squirrels

Did someone say "" !!!!!

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by xendula

Or they could use the same approach as Kobo. Being able to set the line thickness is something I long for!

To be honest, that stuff is why I keep looking toward Kobo readers with one eye. They have more fonts than the Kindle, and you can adjust how they look. If you're STILL not happy, you can load your own fonts. (However, the adjustments don't work on those, or so I've been told.)

There are a few things that keep me away from Kobo:
1. Kobo wastes a lot of screen space with line height and headers and footers.
2. It's an EPUB reader, but many functions only work with their KEPUB format. It seems that the internals of AZW3 are closer to EPUB than KEPUB, and the AZW3 format seems to be understood better at this point. If I have to convert from EPUB, then I'd rather convert to the better known format.
3. The fracking bugs that always crop up... at least the ones I see when lurking in the Kobo forum. (I rarely post there, because I don't have a Kobo, but I do read it.)

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I'm the same on my preference for serif now that device screens have the higher resolutions needed to view them. I remember reading a scholarly article back in the 1990s where studies were conducted to see what worked best for reading on computer monitors. One thing the study indicated was that lower resolution (common on monitors in that era) made reading serif fonts much more of an issue than reading sans serif fonts. They found that people generally preferred serif fonts with printed material (higher resolution) but preferred sans serif fonts for low resolution monitors because of the decrease in eyestrain. But that is no longer an issue with most new devices as they tend to have a much higher resolution than the old 72 dpi (Apple) and and 96 dpi (PC) computer monitors.

It could be that this is just out of habit, but I don't like using a computer set up to use serif fonts. It looks weird. I don't like material printed in sans serif fonts. It looks bulky, unelegant, and unprofessional, especially if someone uses a big fat font such as Verdana, Arial or Helvetica. That I "can't use" such a computer or "can't read" such material is a bit strong, but it just looks... wrong.

Originally Posted by sirmaru

Right now we get 6 named fonts, 8 point sizes and 3 ways of displaying them (black on white, black on yellow and white on black). That means we have 144 different ways to display eBooks. If one adds to that 24 levels of lighting, that works out to 3,456 combinations of fonts, sizes, colors and lighting.

That should be more than enough for everyone's taste.

If one does not like the font to begin with, all other combinations are moot.

Futura: unreadable for me.
Caecilia and Caecilia Condensed: I think they're blocky and unelegant.
Helvetica: Non-Serif font, and it's ugly too.

The only Kindle fonts I like are Palatino and Baskerville, but they are too thin to read comfortably. If I wouldn't use my own embedded font, I'd use Caecilia Condensed because it's the least crap of the remaining options. At least, the Condensed version does not look as blocky as the normal one.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

To be honest, that stuff is why I keep looking toward Kobo readers with one eye. They have more fonts than the Kindle, and you can adjust how they look. If you're STILL not happy, you can load your own fonts. (However, the adjustments don't work on those, or so I've been told.)

There are a few things that keep me away from Kobo:
1. Kobo wastes a lot of screen space with line height and headers and footers.
2. It's an EPUB reader, but many functions only work with their KEPUB format. It seems that the internals of AZW3 are closer to EPUB than KEPUB, and the AZW3 format seems to be understood better at this point. If I have to convert from EPUB, then I'd rather convert to the better known format.
3. The fracking bugs that always crop up... at least the ones I see when lurking in the Kobo forum. (I rarely post there, because I don't have a Kobo, but I do read it.)

I'm afraid your info is out-of-date. There are friendly Kobo hackers who have provided the ability to:

• adjust font weight on all fonts, including sideloaded.
• make the footer as big/small as you like, including none. Standard epubs do not have a header at all, so no space wasted there.
• full customisation of 24 different font sizes, 9 different left/right page margins (incl none), 9 different line spacing values

It is true that kepubs have a few extra features that standard epubs don't, such as various reading metrics, support for right-to-left languages (and some vertical, I think) and some image zooming. Personally, I prefer to stick to standard epubs.

Of course, as with all hacks, every new firmware version poses the challenge of whether the old hacks can rise like a phoenix from the flames. I'm keeping my fingers crossed

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

I'm afraid your info is out-of-date.

I'm not one bit surprised.

<snip>

Of course, as with all hacks, every new firmware version poses the challenge of whether the old hacks can rise like a phoenix from the flames. I'm keeping my fingers crossed

Looks like a nice set of hacks; there are similar things done for the Kindle, but with each update of the firmware, half of the hacks stop working, and some can never be made to work again. To be honest, I don't want to rely on them, and therefore possibly locking myself out of a future wanted/required firmware update.

[cadele]

Originally Posted by BeeTee-Ess

I already own a Kindle Keyboard, four basic Kindles (distributed amongst various family members and a Kobo Mini.

Yesterday, I took delivery of two new Kindle Paperwhite 2s.

I acknowledge a degree of trepidation as I unpacked them, although the balance in this thread is strongly positive.

And now, I can add my vote in favour too. Both my wife and I are reading comfortably with the lights set at 13, and the screens are perfect. That is not an exaggeration, both of them are faultless.

We are both very pleased with the new PW2.

A comment on the Amazon delivery process...

I am in Australia, and pre-ordered my Kindles from Amazon US, and was advised to expect delivery in late October, early November.

On 16 October, I received an email advising that my Kindles had been shipped. In fact, they left LA at 10.10 via DHL. Yesterday, 18 October, the DHL courier knocked on my door at 15.13. And that is standard shipping. Impressive!

My experience has mirrored yours. Opened my KPW2 on Friday and was thrilled that I have a perfect screen.

So relieved there were no blotches, light leaks, pinholes or dust spots, just a beautifully clean and evenly lit, warm-toned screen. (I was dreading having to possibly send one back for replacement from Australia.)

I find it a nicer colour and much more evenly lit than the PW1, and the increased resolution and speed are noticeable to me. The contrast is very good.

If only one could have more control over fonts and sizes, page numbers for all books and folders (sob), it would be perfect.

However, I am a very happy bunny right now

[slantybard]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

I'm afraid your info is out-of-date. There are friendly Kobo hackers who have provided the ability to:

• adjust font weight on all fonts, including sideloaded.
• make the footer as big/small as you like, including none. Standard epubs do not have a header at all, so no space wasted there.
• full customisation of 24 different font sizes, 9 different left/right page margins (incl none), 9 different line spacing values

It is true that kepubs have a few extra features that standard epubs don't, such as various reading metrics, support for right-to-left languages (and some vertical, I think) and some image zooming. Personally, I prefer to stick to standard epubs.

Of course, as with all hacks, every new firmware version poses the challenge of whether the old hacks can rise like a phoenix from the flames. I'm keeping my fingers crossed

Last I looked a couple of weeks ago, the Aura was not yet hacked to be able to adjust sideloaded fonts or adjust the header/footer. That being said, the work those individuals have done some great work.

[Rizla]

The big producers are locking down their devices without providing sufficient functionality in their stock UIs This is why I use Coolreader on a rooted Nook ST and Sony T1