Why no SD cards?

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by kaufman

Are you really arguing that Amazon should switch to a new OS for their ereader so that they can support bluetooth?

No. And I don't see why anyone would think so.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by ApK

I think he means that all Amazon's devices are based on Linux and/or Android, which already has a Bluetooth stack.

So, when you use "think" as a hedge, which is fair, how much less than 99.9% confident were you that what you think I meant was exactly what I meant?

Rizla wrote "the chip in the kindle". There is no "the kindle" and no kindle has "the chip". (All kindles have multiple chips). I am also completely unfamiliar with any news regarding kindles and bluetooth, so I have absolutely no idea which model(s) have this unenabled BT functionality. I started out assuming he was referring to e-ink kindles, since I have no interest in the fires and often forget they exist.

As I was composing my reply, I remembered the fires and worded it such that it would apply equally to both.

[ApK]

If I had said what you said, it's what I would have meant. Why? Did you mean something else?

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by ApK

If I had said what you said, it's what I would have meant. Why? Did you mean something else?

No, I meant exactly what you thought. I was trying to ask how much vagueness was in my original post, and trying to explain why I didn't explicitly write, for example, linux.

I'm very sorry for any lack of clarity in my question. I really do put effort into being clear.

If you had written "he means..." instead of "I think he means..." then I would have had no doubt.

[QuantumIguana]

Publishers could opt out of Text to Speech, but for all the muss about it, not that many chose to. It wasn't TTS that was a bust, it was audiobooks on e-ink Kindles that was a bust. Not enough people wanted to use their Kindles for audiobooks to justify the expense. The elimination of TTS was a side effect of the elimination of audio hardware. You can still get TTS on the Kindle Fire, except for the first generation.

It doesn't make any sense to eliminate the USB port. Not many people have wireless chargers. Most people charge their Kindle with the USB port. Or if they do have wireless chargers, they don't always have their wireless chargers with them, and the option to charge via USB is very useful. I can charge my Kindle, my phone and my GPS in my car with one micro USB connector.

Having a USB port allows you to get a book on your Kindle when you don't have WiFi access. I can download the book on a computer and copy it to the Kindle without having to e-mail it to my Kindle. The USB port also allows you to copy non-Amazon content without having to e-mail it to myself. Eliminating the USB port would inconvenience many people, provide a benefit to no one, and would be unlikely to lower costs.

[ApK]

I like the Magsafe charging ports on Apple Macs. It can be completely sealed, easy to attach in either direction, and very hard to damage.

It's lovely charging port concept, at least until wireless becomes ubiquitous and universal.

I wonder if there is any technical reason they couldn't add few more wires and use it for data, too. I wonder if interference from the magnets makes high-speed data a problem.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by ApK

I wonder if interference from the magnets makes high-speed data a problem.

Magnets can not interfere with signals in wires unless they are moving with respect to each other.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

Magnets can not interfere with signals in wires unless they are moving with respect to each other.

...which is not an impossible scenario in a small mobile device...bend the charging cord, and you might make it move within the connectors magnetic field.
I was also wondering if AC was involved at that end, and therefore maybe induction to worry about.

Anyway...anyone want to start a Kickstarter campaign for this idea? Cut me in for a percentage....

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by Rizla

I can't think why. If the USB port no longer has a function, why not strip it out. Other than for charging, most users don't use it, like the SD-card.

Amazon, get rid!

Depending on which types of devices are covered by that EU rule, they might be obliged to include the usb port for charging, even before the obvious point that its going to be much cheaper than wireless charging.

[Fiat_Lux]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Reference libraries -- what do you mean by that?

Just that. People carrying 1,000+ books in their field of endeveour, so that they can do a quick check in the field, rather than when they are back in their office.

The earliest account of that phenomena that I've read about, described a Circle that took place in the early 1990s. Several atendees took their laptop, because they had the complete corpus of Gerald Gardner, Aleister Crowley, and other luminaries on the hard drive. The idea was that issues about the rites to be done would be solved on the spot, by consulting the "original" tome.

Several years ago I met a guy who had most of the Army Field Manuals on his computer, and was migrating them to his eBook reader. Study them when not on duty, and take them to his next duty station, without having to worry about weight restrictions.Want to know how to do something? There is an Army Field Manual for it.

More recently, I've seen first responders, who have what seems like thousands of books on their device. (Does anybody really need five books that describe all of the currently available schedule 1, schedule 2, and schedule 3 drugs on the market? That's what I saw on the screen of one first responder.)

I assume likewise that people carrying around encyclopedias and factbooks are yet more exceptions.

Whilst migrating towards being entirely cloud-based, Logos Library Systems has a big following in its specific niche, and whilst their content isn't exactly an encyclopedia, it is not, for the most part, relaxing beach reading. Assuming one has paid for the content, it usually can be downloaded onto your mobile device, assuming you have the space for it.

All my arguments start with the assumption that we are talking about the average use-case of ereaders, which is someone wanting to read their extensive collection of novels.

Novels are the starting point. Textbooks are the indoctrination. Those that are serious about getting ahead in their chosen field of endevour will be reading the appropriate material on their ebook readers. And carrying that material with them.

It might be uncommon today, but within a decade, that 1,000 volume quick reference library in one's ebook reader will be mandatory for the working professionals who want to be promoted.