Paperwhite Second Gen: First Impressions

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by booklover6

Yes, the world should know how right you are!

Reminds me of one reason (besides the PRICE) why my kids aren't getting the Xbox One for Christmas. It's like inviting Big Brother into your house.

Ohh, that's mean, lol ...

I got my PS4 already and I don't have kids, ha!

[Rizla]

I wonder if amazon plans to increasingly centralize functionality to their servers (the cloud) while reducing functionality of kindle units. I can see them eventually selling a dirt-cheap device that doesn't even have a battery. Not long ago they patented wireless transmission of power (a la Tesla).

The fact that collections has only ever been a functionality available to registered devices is evidence this has always been the long-term vision. We can expect to see dumber, cheaper kindles that depend increasingly on being connected. Perhaps the ultimate goal is to stream books to a kindle that will be just be a screen and a wifi unit.

[GoSharks]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I've just tried downgrading from 5.4.2 to 5.4.1 and absolutely nothing happens. Can you tell me what I need to do to make it work?

For the life of me I can't find a 5.4.1 bin file...where did you find it?

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Rizla

I wonder if amazon plans to increasingly centralize functionality to their servers (the cloud) while reducing functionality of kindle units. I can see them eventually selling a dirt-cheap device that doesn't even have a battery. Not long ago they patented wireless transmission of power (a la Tesla).

The fact that collections has only ever been a functionality available to registered devices is evidence this has always been the long-term vision. We can expect to see dumber, cheaper kindles that depend increasingly on being connected. Perhaps the ultimate goal is to stream books to a kindle that will be just be a screen and a wifi unit.

And how well will that go for all the people who don't have WiFi everywhere they go? Even walking across the street will make you lose your connection to any WiFi network I've even HEARD of. Let alone people going on a road trip. Or the airplane. On both, I read most of the time. Road trips might be solvable if they intend to give me a 3G unit for the cost of the WiFi unit -- doubtful. Besides, large parts of the world don't have 3G coverage. Most of Asia, Africa, Australia and South America for a start.

Airplanes would definitely be a no-read zone. And Amazon was a big pusher for these fancy new kindles-in-the-air laws...

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by nynaevelan

I agree, I too do not want to be online continuously, I only want to be online when I need or want something online. I also do not want auto updates on anything, I want to know when my devices are updating and what to expect when it does. I am the same with everything, all updates are set up to download and install at my discretion.

I'm the same.

However, the example of the Xbox One isn't a good one. Its a media device, Microsoft are specifically trying to market it that way and step away from it being purely a gaming device. Just like the Kindle Fire and any other tablet, the content is primarily driven by streaming and downloaded content. So to get the best use of it, you need it connected to the internet. If that puts you off, buy the PS4 instead.

A Kindle e-reader is different, it certainly doesn't need an always on connection. In saying that, the fact is Amazon want to serve the majority of their customers the best way they can, and despite what many of us do with our ereaders, we are most certainly in the minority. Amazon probably think they are increasing the ease of use with the updates and changes they've made to cloud collections. They long ago made the decision to use cloud storage instead of an SD card, so pushing cloud collections and the like isn't really surprising.

And they probably figure users like many on here are savvy enough to figure out ways round it or to fix it, so they won't worry too much about their complaints. We'll see, maybe they will do something to change it with a future firmware update - I wouldn't be that surprised if they didn't, but I'd be hugely surprised if they reduced the functionality of their ereaders. That'd be a huge change considering the PW is one of the top specced available.....

[dordale]

Originally Posted by l_macd

And they probably figure users like many on here are savvy enough to figure out ways round it or to fix it, so they won't worry too much about their complaints. We'll see, maybe they will do something to change it with a future firmware update - I wouldn't be that surprised if they didn't, but I'd be hugely surprised if they reduced the functionality of their ereaders. That'd be a huge change considering the PW is one of the top specced available.....

I agree with most of your post--except the part about figuring that savvy users will figure ways around irritations/limitations so they don't worry too much about their complaints.

I agree they don't worry too much about their complaints--but it seems to me Amazon is actively trying to discourage folks from figuring out how to get around using Kindles the way Amazon wants you to. They continue to make their readers harder for advanced users/programmers to modify and remove "hidden features" like the relatively easy ability to install your own fonts...which to me is "reduced functionality".

[Katsunami]

The strange thing is that running a big company is kind of a paradox.

"We want to create devices that our users will like."

vs.

"We want to create devices that create the least problems."

Those two things are often mutually exclusive, as the first statement means that a device has to be open, free, has lots of options, huge configurability and so on, while the second statement means that a device should never need support, and therefore must be as closed as possible, have not too many options, can't be modified, and can't be used in a different way than the manufacturer intended.

Compare:

Kobo - Kindle

The Kobo is quite open, has a lot of options and customizations, but it has many problems. The Kindle is quite closed, has a lot fewer options and customizations, but doesn't have any problems... as long as you use it as Amazon intended it to be used (and that is, with Wifi on, if you want to use collections).

Linux - Windows - Mac

Linux is most open of all. You can change and customize EVERYTHING. The flipside of the coin is that you can break EVERYTHING just as easily. You'll need support / start searching for solutions as soon as you even touch Linux on a desktop. Windows is in the middle: many people can install it, install drivers and software, and customize it (as far as it can be customized). Hardware almost always works, if it and the Windows version you're using are not like 10 years apart. Mac OSX is closed. You can't use it on any other computer outside of a Mac, but as long as you buy stuff from Apple, and use it the way Apple intended it to, it always works. Customization is something OSX never seems to have heard about. If you want something that is not available on OSX, you're SOL.

Android - iOS

Android is open; it can be rooted easily, you can install applications by sideloading them, but this openness means that you can break your phone if you don't know what you're doing. Because there are so many versions, not all phones from all manufacturers get updates. If you have a Nexus device, it's a bit like like Windows: one manufacturer provides the hardware, Google supports the software with direct updates. iOS is like a Mac. It runs on one phone type of phone only, you can't customize it (officially), you can't sideload stuff, but normally, it works. If you use it as Apple intended it to be used.

===

I have a feeling that Amazon is moving more and more towards Apple: closed Kindle, their own format, their own store, and so on. Maybe the Kindle won't start streaming books, but I wouldn't be surprised if some day, it will come with 256MB of flash memory (enough to load even the biggest omnibus I know, 145 MB as of today), and no USB port. Maybe there will be a "USB Port", that only has the power lines for charging, but no data lines. Kindle for PC/Mac might be thrown out the window.

The intention would be that you either buy books directly from the Kindle, or from the Amazon store using a computer, and the only way to get them onto the device would be to download them from the cloud through Wifi or 3G. Obviously, Amazon will give every Kindle a secret key, only known to them, so it's not possible for a PC or smartphone application to "impersonate" a Kindle in order to download books. (This is how Kindle for PC works atm: it's registered as if it's a Kindle downloading from the cloud. Maybe there will be a "hardware jailbreak", Frankensteining a USB port onto the device so the key can be retreived, but that's not sure to happen and not easy to implement for most.)

The day something like this happens will be the day that I'll not even look at a Kindle anymore, and obviously won't buy any books at Amazon anymore.

[Josieb1]

The future you describe Katsunami is frightening and I also would be running as far away from that as possible.

[soulfuldog]

Fair point dordale, they do actively try to close loopholes, I simply forgot about that fact. It's the one thing that I don't see any real sense in, up to a point yes, but continually trying to lock it down, closing simple 'hacks' like adding your own custom fonts, seems a little much.

I still don't see a dramatic move towards the slightly scary future that has been suggested...... but can appreciate why some people might think it possible.

I'd be another that would simply run in the opposite direction if it were to happen though!

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by l_macd

Fair point dordale, they do actively try to close loopholes, I simply forgot about that fact. It's the one thing that I don't see any real sense in, up to a point yes, but continually trying to lock it down, closing simple 'hacks' like adding your own custom fonts, seems a little much.

There have been reports that it is possible to send the KPW1 into a boot loop with some fonts, making it reboot over and over again until the battery is empty. It's almost impossible to get the font off of the Kindle again, basically bricking the device for anyone except the most tech-savvy hackers.

I still don't see a dramatic move towards the slightly scary future that has been suggested...... but can appreciate why some people might think it possible.

Changes like that are never dramatic as it would cause an uproar. A bit here... a bit there... a bit less local functionality in 2013, a new function that's cloud-only in 2014... and in 2017, the Kindle 9 will be completely online-only.

I'd be another that would simply run in the opposite direction if it were to happen though!

I think there would be many on Mobileread. Many of us buy huge amounts of books (and not only at Amazon); so many that they have to be stashed away to be read later. If an e-reader does have any side-loading features, it basically obsoletes older books you've bought outside of the eco-system of the reader's manufacturer.

Amazon wouldn't care too much, as they have their own huge ebook store and their own format. Kobo would not be able to follow a non-sideloading path, as their reader is compatible with all EPUB-sellers. They could of course push their KEPUB format as the only format for their readers (and consequently, stop selling EPUB) and just declare that they don't do EPUB-readers nor EPUB-books anymore.

IMHO, if Amazon and/or Kobo would follow paths like this, we'd return to the dark ages of e-reading (again).

[soulfuldog]

Cheers, protecting users from bricking their Kindles is probably a good thing from Amazon's point of view

Amazon don't usually make decisions that turn a lot of people off though, and usually learn from their mistakes when they do, so I'm still sceptical. Encouraging people to use their Kindles in the way Amazon would like is one thing, forcing them to do so is another. Time will tell I guess.

[jgsmith]

Even if Amazon were to completely lock down future devices, something I'm confident they would not do, is the current PW so bad? I've had it pretty much since it came out, and I'm hard pressed to find anything wrong with it, or suggestions for improvements. Well, I guess it could be lighter, but that's about it.

[dordale]

Originally Posted by jgsmith

Even if Amazon were to completely lock down future devices, something I'm confident they would not do, is the current PW so bad? I've had it pretty much since it came out, and I'm hard pressed to find anything wrong with it, or suggestions for improvements. Well, I guess it could be lighter, but that's about it.

I have a PW2 as well--and while I like it and feel it's a great reader, I can easily think of a few improvements that I would like. To name a few--(1) ability to add my own fonts easily; (2) ability to make the margins smaller; and (3) collections that are functional without wi-fi acccess and that are editable with Calibre.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by dordale

(3) collections that are functional without wi-fi acccess and that are editable with Calibre.

"Collections that are editable with Calibre" is a perfect example of a conflict between the requirements of the advanced user, and protecting the typical user. The collections database used to be in the user partition, where it could easily be accidentally deleted by the user. Amazon moved it into the internal partition, almost without doubt because they found that people were accidentally deleting it and losing their collections, but the side effect of this was that Calibre can no longer access the collections.

Moving collections to the Cloud is another step in the same direction, allowing people to easily share their collections between devices. Sure, the current implementation of it has issues, but long-term it's a sensible move.

[Dr. Drib]

I just got my Paperwhite2 and I like it.

I'm going to load some books on it now and see how it looks.




Don