New Kindle Voyage

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by texasnightowl

That is pretty much what I'm thinking. I know I missed at least one flash sale where it was $99 even...wondering if that might happen again Cyber Monday.

Definitely wait for Black Friday weekend and then keep glued to the Lightning Deals.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Wish they'd build in OverDrive so you could checkout library books directly from the device.

That would be as awesome as it is unrealistic. The only device that currently does that is the smartphone/tablet with the OverDrive app, which then embeds a browser.

Getting that to work on a low-RAM low-end-processor device like an ereader could be a challenge.

Perhaps OverDrive could develop an API for doing this stuff natively, but you'd think they would do that for their own app first.

[sirmaru]

I just saw the new Kindles 2014 displayed on the Amazon site. There is no Kindle Fire HDX 7 2014. Thus, no HDX 7 upgrade for me at all.

I looked at the Voyage 2014 and nothing there really impresses me enough to replace my Paperwhite 2013.

I also missed out on the Fire Phone 2014 in July since I had already purchased a Samsung Galaxy s5 in April with a much larger screen.

[HYPE]

Higher resolution, higher contrast, lighter and smaller? I'm in. I live in Quebec though, so I'll have to wait a while. Also I might wait for a discount.

[badbob001]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

Is e-ink more expensive than LCD? Also, I see from the webpage that there's been absolutely no change to the reading settings. Same 6 fonts and margin settings. For an extra $80 can't we get a few more fonts?

It has nothing to do with cost and everything to do with demand. Apple (and others) can charge $100 for an additional 8GB of storage that would normally cost $5. The Amazon Fire Phone debuted on-contract at $199 but now it's down to $0.99.

The TI-94 Plus was introduced in 2004 and maintained its $150 MSRP for 10 years. Look at these specs: 480KB storage, 24KB ram, 15MHz cpu, 96x64 display. You can get it now for around $100 but compare that to the new Amazon Fire HD6 tablet for the same price. Crazy. TI recently came out with the TI-84 C, which adds a color screen, but the insides are mostly the same so it's actually slower than the non-color version.


Interesting article on why this is:
The unstoppable TI-84 Plus: How an outdated calculator still holds a monopoly on classrooms

Also consider that the recent Kobo Aura H2O is $180 ($40 cheaper to the Voyage non-ad version), has the same resolution but on a 6.8" display, has the same 4GB storage but is sdcard expandable to at least 32GB more, AND waterproof.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by missimpossible

Not sure if this is the best place to ask, but does anyone know if the Family Library feature is going to be rolled out across all the readers or just this one?

Originally Posted by nynaevelan

I'm guessing it will be on their 2014 and maybe their 2013 devices. Though just guessing on the 2013 part.

Originally Posted by HarryT

Nobody knows of course, but what tends to happen with features like this is that they appear in one device, and then get added to other devices in firmware updates. My guess would be that this is what will happen with this.

I was hoping this would be part of your account settings, and thus apply equally even to the Kindle 1, all without requiring firmware updates for logging in to two accounts at a time.

[cct1]

Been watching for this since the Aura H20 came out. I really think the Voyage is a swing and a miss. It'll sell to the hardcore, but it's a premium reader in the smallest size. IMHO, a premium reader is more about the reading experience, not portability. The small size factor is nice, but to be honest, I'd rather keep my old Kindle Basic, with page turn buttons, and great screen--yes, the resolution is lower, but with no touch technology of any kind, I still prefer it to the Paperwhite 2 screen, and it's simply not worth the money to get the nicer screen of the Voyage (I would like a lighted e-ink reader, but the Voyage is overrpriced for what it is, and the PW2 frontlight is less than impressive).

My perfect Ereader (I read on tablets, but much prefer e-ink, especially for longer reading sessions) would have an at least 6.8 inch screen (7.0 would be even better), high resolution, solid lighting (the paperwhite light was never all that good IMHO, the Voyage I'm sure will be better), buttons for page turning, and great battery life. The waterproof thing isn't that big of a deal. If I'm going somewhere where my reader may get beat up, I'm taking my cheapest one anyway (my Kindle basic), and that wouldn't be the H20, if I owned it.

The Aura H20 gets 4/5, and the new Kindle gets 4/5. It'll be a tough decision, but the screen size of the H20 will probably be the clincher. Had the Kindle come out with the 6.8 inch screen, I would have pre-ordered it yesterday, even at that price point. I prefer the Amazon ecosystem, but the perfect size of the Kobo will probably be the deciding factor. If side by side reviews put the Kindle way ahead of the Kobo, I'd rethink that. Time will tell.

Instead of pre-ordering I'll be waiting for side-by-side comparisons, and then make a final decision, but if I had to decide today I'd get the H20.

[pilotbob]

Two words...

Me WANT!

--- but, I think I won't get it, and I'll spend the $199 to get an iPhone 6 Plus instead of the iPhone 6. See, I just saved two hundred dollars.



...wait.

[avinatbezeq]

I WANT A LARGE SCREEN HI-RES READER.

Here, I've shouted it out. Feeling better. But sad.

[kaufman]

Originally Posted by cct1

The Aura H20 gets 4/5, and the new Kindle gets 4/5. It'll be a tough decision, but the screen size of the H20 will probably be the clincher. Had the Kindle come out with the 6.8 inch screen, I would have pre-ordered it yesterday, even at that price point.

I have an Aura HD and am selling it for the Voyage because - to me - the Voyage is the first eReader that has gotten ergonomics right.

To my mind, the three things a dedicated eReader should be built around are:

1) Users will sometimes hold the reader with the left hand and sometimes with the right. Its important to be able to do the same thing with either hand to turn pages so the reader doesn't have to stop and think about which hand is performing the action..
2) Page forward it more important that page back, so make page forward as easy as possible, even if that makes page back harder.
3) The less you have to move in order to turn pages the better.

The Aura HD (and the Aura H20) and every Kindle until now all have UIs that are different depending on which hand is holding the device. Both require you to do something different depending on how you are using the device. Standing in line and holding it with one hand is different than sitting in a chair with two hands. Roll over in bed and its different again. All require you to concentrate less on the book, and more on the device. If you are deep in a book, you can guarantee that sometimes you are going to get it wrong once in a while. I've probably spent close to a thousand hours reading on my Kobo, and I still get it wrong at least once a day.

The fact that Amazon has made both large buttons do a page forward is why I am spending $200 on this device. Would I prefer to stay with a slightly larger screen? Sure. Do I think that the software is better on the Kobos? Definitely. Am I looking forward to never going the wrong way again. You betcha.

Add to that the ability to read without ever moving any part of my body and turning pages with a just little press. Add to that the fact that going backwards is moved well out of the way so I won't do it by accident.

I'm sold.

[cct1]

I agree the ergonomics of the Voyage are spot on--me, I have my readers in a light cover, doubled back, and always have the reader in my right hand or both hands; having buttons on both sides doesn't affect me (unless they were only on the left, I only use buttons on the right side) but it makes perfect sense to build the Voyage that way. We both want the same thing--a larger reader with physical buttons. I'll probably choose the larger screen over the buttons, but it's just personal preference. I will miss having buttons; I really don't like using the touch screen, I'm OCD about the screen being perfectly clean.

It's frustrating--I was really hoping for a high-res 6.8 inch screen from Amazon. Maybe after the reviews are in I'll go for the Voyage, I still haven't ruled it out.

[kristalana]

Originally Posted by kaufman

The Aura HD (and the Aura H20) and every Kindle until now all have UIs that are different depending on which hand is holding the device. Both require you to do something different depending on how you are using the device. Standing in line and holding it with one hand is different than sitting in a chair with two hands. Roll over in bed and its different again. All require you to concentrate less on the book, and more on the device. If you are deep in a book, you can guarantee that sometimes you are going to get it wrong once in a while. I've probably spent close to a thousand hours reading on my Kobo, and I still get it wrong at least once a day.

The fact that Amazon has made both large buttons do a page forward is why I am spending $200 on this device. Would I prefer to stay with a slightly larger screen? Sure. Do I think that the software is better on the Kobos? Definitely. Am I looking forward to never going the wrong way again. You betcha.

I got really confused reading this post because I've never had this problem reading on my PW2, but I suppose it's different if you tap to turn the page. If you swipe to turn the page it doesn't matter where you put your hand, a simple right-to-left swipe does it. If I'm holding the Kindle with my left hand, my left thumb does it, if I'm holding it in my right hand the right thumb does it. Not to discount your experience but I've simply never had trouble being distracted by how I'm holding the Kindle. And I'd think swiping the screen would be more intuitive since that's how you turn pages in a physical book.

[induna]

There do appear to be a couple of additional features of the Voyager that no one seems to have mentioned and that may (I said may) justify the increased price. First, the back is now magnesium instead of plastic, and the light-guide on the front is now etched glass instead of plastic. It sounds like they are trying to increase the build-quality and feel to help justify the "high-end" placement. The night adaptive light might also be pretty useful for those who read in the dark.

[kaufman]

Originally Posted by kristalana

I got really confused reading this post because I've never had this problem reading on my PW2, but I suppose it's different if you tap to turn the page. If you swipe to turn the page it doesn't matter where you put your hand, a simple right-to-left swipe does it. If I'm holding the Kindle with my left hand, my left thumb does it, if I'm holding it in my right hand the right thumb does it. Not to discount your experience but I've simply never had trouble being distracted by how I'm holding the Kindle. And I'd think swiping the screen would be more intuitive since that's how you turn pages in a physical book.

I'm not 100% sure why I prefer tapping. Smaller motion? Used to it because I did it for years on devices with a button but no touch screen? I don't know. All I know is that when I am reading, I never remember to swipe. I always tap.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by cct1

Been watching for this since the Aura H20 came out. I really think the Voyage is a swing and a miss. It'll sell to the hardcore, but it's a premium reader in the smallest size. IMHO, a premium reader is more about the reading experience, not portability. The small size factor is nice, but to be honest, I'd rather keep my old Kindle Basic, with page turn buttons, and great screen--yes, the resolution is lower, but with no touch technology of any kind, I still prefer it to the Paperwhite 2 screen, and it's simply not worth the money to get the nicer screen of the Voyage (I would like a lighted e-ink reader, but the Voyage is overrpriced for what it is, and the PW2 frontlight is less than impressive).

My perfect Ereader (I read on tablets, but much prefer e-ink, especially for longer reading sessions) would have an at least 6.8 inch screen (7.0 would be even better), high resolution, solid lighting (the paperwhite light was never all that good IMHO, the Voyage I'm sure will be better), buttons for page turning, and great battery life. The waterproof thing isn't that big of a deal. If I'm going somewhere where my reader may get beat up, I'm taking my cheapest one anyway (my Kindle basic), and that wouldn't be the H20, if I owned it.

The Aura H20 gets 4/5, and the new Kindle gets 4/5. It'll be a tough decision, but the screen size of the H20 will probably be the clincher. Had the Kindle come out with the 6.8 inch screen, I would have pre-ordered it yesterday, even at that price point. I prefer the Amazon ecosystem, but the perfect size of the Kobo will probably be the deciding factor. If side by side reviews put the Kindle way ahead of the Kobo, I'd rethink that. Time will tell.

Instead of pre-ordering I'll be waiting for side-by-side comparisons, and then make a final decision, but if I had to decide today I'd get the H20.

This is about where I stand--I was intrigued by the Voyage, but I'm also intrigued by the h2o. I'm glad to see Amazon bothered with a higher end reader because the paperwhites don't interest me except as a backup reader. The Fire's don't interest me because if I want a tablet, it won't be that one...

Interesting. Frankly there's more interest in it than I expected. I would like to see an h2o next to the voyage. If only I could get Amazon and Kobo to just send me units to compare on my blog.