Room for improvement

[ucfgrad93]

Originally Posted by booklover6

I have come to believe you are right about the extra layers affecting the text sharpness. I just "upgraded" to a Kindle Touch, the 2011 model. Twice the storage, and audio, and the text is sharper, to me, than the PW Kindles.

For me, a built in light is worth the trade off of slightly less text sharpness. I tried the audio a couple of times on my Kindle 2 and Kindle Keyboard and found it terrible. I don't miss it at all. I also would like to see the storage bumped back up to 4GB.

Originally Posted by meeera

Ah yes, I should definitely have added: the hardware page-turn buttons of the Kindle Keyboard. Those are great for me. And book cover as sleep screen. And an unobtrusive bottom-of-screen whole-of-book progress bar with user-optional chapter pips.

The book cover as sleep screen would be awesome! I would like to have the progress bar back as well. I also really miss the title bar at the top of the screen from my Kindle 2.

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

And an always on battery status indicator.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by VictoriaP

With battery percentage, not just a vague approximation of it in graphical form.

Agreed. The title and battery percentage would be great to have at the top of the page.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by ucfgrad93

Agreed. The title and battery percentage would be great to have at the top of the page.

I hated the mandatory title-on-top when Kobo tried it - it was distracting to me. This should be user-configurable.

[DSpider]

1. Better PDF support. The current PDF implementation on the PW is a joke. This is the reason why I'm not planning on purchasing one any time soon, until they do this properly.

2. CBR/CBZ support, which would be fairly easy since basically these are just RAR/ZIP archives.

3. Much thinner devices, Apple-like.

4. Air tight water-proof devices, with no holes - even for charging (which can be done wirelessly), or even for data transfer (which can easily be done by wifi, email, or Bluetooth). They could even include a small Bluetooth USB device that can communicate with the Kindle, or just make it compatible with Bluetooth devices since most laptops have it built-in and a separate one would be very cheap anyway ($3-5).

5. Around 4-8 GB storage, since manga/comic books can sometimes take up a lot of space.

[johnnyb]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

What I'd like to see them do is offer a more consistent reader software experience across all platforms (eInk, Android, iOS, PC/Mac, etc.).

THAT!
I think Amazon need to realize that, with all the improvements made to Kindle for iOS (which should eventually be coming to Android), people don’t work with ebooks in the same way than with paper books. You can’t just attach bookmarks and pointers to really relevant pages and at the same time, why should you be having your iPad or Kindle next to you when quoting. Kindle for PC/Mac should really become the reliable backend of the Kindle reading platform. Right now, on Mac, it’s clunky, does not support highlight colors, no easy way to sort highlights, no support for Personal Documents and at least on the Mac, you cannot copy highlights from the software.
So yeah, what needs improvement is the overall platform. It’s actually really good already, especially in regard to scope, but others have an edge over in in one or another. With a Mac/iPad/iPhone combo for example, you can sync highlights and notes for your own imported ePubs via iCloud and changes appear instantly. Given, you’d have to have the books themselves synced from the Mac but after that you’re untethered. So, since I work with that combo, I’ve largely switched to iBooks for my own books and my Instapaper digest and it’s been such a pleasant experience.
I guess Kindle for PC/Mac betray to much that they’re actually frontends for a store-concept rather than reading solutions that also sell books... Which is something perfectly legitimate but nevertheless put me off from the Amazon platform a bit, especially when it comes to buying pricier (often non-fiction) books for work.

[elemenoP]

My top 3:

1. More and better fonts

2. More font sizes

3. Current book cover as standby screen

After that, more control over margins and line height. But this is definitely less important to me than the above 3.

eP

[Bittybye]

The only thing that would make me go back to Kindle is a bigger onboard memory. I really don't care about a SD card if the device itself had a 10GB drive (or bigger.)

I know its not a big deal for a lot of people but I like having ALL my books on my device and I have already filled up 4GB on my Sony and I'm adding books all the time.

[Atunah]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

If you read more than 1/2 hour a day, then you are probably getting the advertised time.
1/2 hour a day * 56 days = 28 hours reading.

Yes, I am well aware that what I am getting is what it does.
I phrased it wrong, which happens a lot. I meant that if it had a small solar panel on it, even a heavy user like me wouldn't have to constantly charge the kindles. It would just be nice not to ever have to worry about is what I mean.
As it is now, I always think about if I am going to make it through the day, or do I need to charge now, or can I wait until night, or will I run out reading in bed. That stuff.

[Atunah]

Originally Posted by booklover6

I have come to believe you are right about the extra layers affecting the text sharpness. I just "upgraded" to a Kindle Touch, the 2011 model. Twice the storage, and audio, and the text is sharper, to me, than the PW Kindles.

I never used a touch, but that doesn't have a layer either right? It used that infrared touch thingamaching. I am pretty amazed at how much easier to read my basic is compared to my PW. I wasn't able to read as many books in 2013 as I am used too and I remember getting distracted and just not reading in larger chunks as I normally do. I thought it was just some reading ennui or rut. But I think now it was the paperwhite.
I went to it from a K3 and although the screen looked nice and all, something about the letters not being on the top anymore bothered my eyes. I think my brain finally caught up with what my unconscious mind has been trying to tell me. I haven't read on my PW since I got my basic and I am so happy reading again.

I also never got over not having turn buttons. Don't know what I'd do if they stop making a basic model. Any layer takes away from that magic of e-ink I remember when I got my first, the K1.

[DiannaInVA]

I would like more settings to control what displays on the screen. I want an option to display the clock all of the time. The clock always displays on my tablet and phone so I get used to it being there and really miss it when I read on the PW.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

What wouldsorts of improvements would amazon need to make in their kindle products in order to really improve the kindles?

On the hardware side:

physical page turn buttons
Higher resolution and more robust screens.
Longer battery life
physical page turn buttons. Just one each side of the screen would do, customisable as to which (if any) was the 'back' button).
smaller recess for the screen (to avoid shadows).

On the software side:
Better pagination algorithm. Not necessarily a document-level pagination algorithm, but one that at least looks at windows/orphans for the current page, and that handles justification of paragraphs much better.
User installable fonts (Amazon could sell fonts too!)
Much greater user control over font size, line spacing, margins and clutter on-screen (i.e. a full-screen reading mode)

That'll do.

[cadele]

I would like:

- A more robust screen
- More font sizes (optional slider)
- More font choices and ability to add own fonts
- More line spacing and margin options
- True PDF reflow
- Better collections management including folder options
- Option for book cover on sleep screen
- Increased resolution
- Additional model available with page turn buttons
- A titch lighter

Not holding out much hope.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by Atunah

I never used a touch, but that doesn't have a layer either right? It used that infrared touch thingamaching. I am pretty amazed at how much easier to read my basic is compared to my PW.

Exactly. The screen on my touch is so nice, the text is very black. I haven't tried a basic, as I prefer the touch screen, but the text appearance is probably equivalent. And my Nexus 7 gives me blacker, sharper text than the paperwhite or the Kobo Glo. So if I need a lighted reader, I reach for my tablet.

[Yapyap]

Originally Posted by meeera

Ah yes, I should definitely have added: the hardware page-turn buttons of the Kindle Keyboard. Those are great for me. And book cover as sleep screen. And an unobtrusive bottom-of-screen whole-of-book progress bar with user-optional chapter pips.

Oh yes - I'd love all of those things, too.

Not that bothered by the book cover, as with the magnetic cover, I don't really see the sleep screen all that often, but I did love those chapter pips on my K3. And page turn buttons are the main thing I miss - not enough to go back to K3 from my PW, but any workaround for cold hands just isn't very good for me. :-/

[soulfuldog]

After being so concerned about losing page turn buttons, I'm no longer that bothered about not having them..... the touch of the PW is just so quick and responsive (my old Sony 350 feels so clunky in comparison). I would like the option of the progress bar and chapter marks though. The ability to cycle through percentage, time left in book/chapter, page etc is good, but even better would be the progress bar as an option too.

So sort out the software (we're still waiting on a fix for the cloud collection 'improvements'), and that apart, just keep improving the quality & clarity of the screen and lighting. Comparing my K3 next to the PW2, I don't really feel bothered by the "looking through a window" effect some people complain of. Yes it's very slightly noticeable, and the text is a little blacker on the K3, but the text looks smoother on the PW2 and the background doesn't have the grey tinge of the K3, so it balances out.

[Yapyap]

I don't mind the touch in general, but in cold climate, and having a mild case of Raynaud's, having to always keep one hand outside covers to touch the screen every 30 seconds to turn the page is a real problem.

I've tried gloves with one fingertip cut off, but that just means I have a freezing fingertip, and I've tried a stylus, but the stylus isn't nearly as handy as a finger, it's clumsy to hold and use, and usually takes 3-4 pokes for the touch to register, so I do miss page turn buttons a whole lot.