Twelve or so questions about the Kindle 2

[susan_cassidy]

In case you haven't noticed, there are more than one location on a screen-full of text. Depending on font size, there could be 3, 4, 5, 6, or 8, or whatever locations on one screen.

[sirbruce]

Originally Posted by enarchay

So, basically, I won't know until I expose it to direct sunlight?

Correct. You must do a page turn in direct sunlight.

Originally Posted by enarchay

How fast do they send the returns?

They generally overnight you a new one so you'll have a replacement Kindle 2 in two days and then you can send your defective one back.

[kelly1010]

Yes you can skip ahead several pages on the Sony (you helped me learn something!!) you just use the numbered buttons on the right to select the page number you want to go to. I will warn you, the pages do change as the font gets bigger, as someone already mentioned.

And yes, The 505 has a landscape mode (I learned how to do that just now too!)

[enarchay]

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

In case you haven't noticed, there are more than one location on a screen-full of text. Depending on font size, there could be 3, 4, 5, 6, or 8, or whatever locations on one screen.

Yeah... I'm not sure I'd like that. My friend said he wouldn't get it because of that. I mean, I would think that would make it much more difficult (than the Sony) to navigate than a paperback. (Like, if I know around what page I'm looking for, I can skim to it with a paperback. Imagine a 6000 page paperback!). Also, imagine quoting a book in an essay: "Bleh bleh bleh" (Bleh, Location 10,000).

[enarchay]

Four more questions (and maybe my last).

(1) If I order the Kindle 2 with the extended warranty, and decide it's not for me before the 30 days expire, will I get my money refunded for the warranty? If not, can you buy the warranty after you already have the device?

(2) If I get a defective Kindle (or two... or three...) and they replace it, but I still decide it's not for me before the 30 days, will they let me send it back and refund my money?

(3) Can you buy and return a book more than once before the 7 days, or can that get you banned?

(4) What do you think about the idea of buying both the Kindle 2 and the Sony 505 so I can compare them? Once I decide which one I like best, I can send the other back. Not sure if it is worth the money (which will be returned), time, and energy, but it'd make a decision easier I think.

[sirbruce]

Originally Posted by kelly1010

Yes you can skip ahead several pages on the Sony (you helped me learn something!!) you just use the numbered buttons on the right to select the page number you want to go to. I will warn you, the pages do change as the font gets bigger, as someone already mentioned.

You can do this on Kindle as well; jump to location. But it's not really the same as "thumbing through" several pages at once. If you're in the middle of a chapter and want to go to the next chapter, it's hard to know how many locations to go forward or what chapter you're in when you land on the page. The TOC is more useful in this regard.

[sirbruce]

Originally Posted by enarchay

Yeah... I'm not sure I'd like that. My friend said he wouldn't get it because of that. I mean, I would think that would make it much more difficult (than the Sony) to navigate than a paperback. (Like, if I know around what page I'm looking for, I can skim to it with a paperback. Imagine a 6000 page paperback!). Also, imagine quoting a book in an essay: "Bleh bleh bleh" (Bleh, Location 10,000).

I agree, but I think you're thinking too much like a traditional book. WHY does one need to skim? To find the last page you were on? Ebooks put you back there automatically, and you can add as many bookmarks as you want. To jump to a particular chapter? Table of Contents does that. Looking for a specific phrase? You do a search for it.

The only time I find a real desire to skim many pages in an ebook is if I go back several pages for some reason to refresh my memory of something, and then quickly want to get back to where I was. Or if I'm searching for a particular chapter break visually. Or if the TOC is broken or missing. But generally speaking, it's a function of a paper book that you rarely need for the same reasons in an ebook.

[sirbruce]

Originally Posted by enarchay

(1) If I order the Kindle 2 with the extended warranty, and decide it's not for me before the 30 days expire, will I get my money refunded for the warranty? If not, can you buy the warranty after you already have the device?

I don't know if you can get a refund on the extended warranty. And I believe you have to buy the extended warranty within 30 days of purchase.

Originally Posted by enarchay

(2) If I get a defective Kindle (or two... or three...) and they replace it, but I still decide it's not for me before the 30 days, will they let me send it back and refund my money?

Yes. But if you sent your third Kindle back on the 30th day and decided on the 31st day you didn't like your fourth Kindle you got on the 31st day, no, you couldn't get your money back.

Originally Posted by enarchay

(3) Can you buy and return a book more than once before the 7 days, or can that get you banned?

I don't any ban is automatic, but I'm sure it would raise some eyebrows if you kept buying and returning the same book.

Originally Posted by enarchay

(4) What do you think about the idea of buying both the Kindle 2 and the Sony 505 so I can compare them? Once I decide which one I like best, I can send the other back. Not sure if it is worth the money (which will be returned), time, and energy, but it'd make a decision easier I think.

I have no idea if you can do that with the Sony but it's definitely an option with the Kindle. Worst case, you can always sell one on ebay and get almost all your money back.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

Actually, locations are more precise: one location is something like 100 bytes, not one screen-full of text. I think the Sony re-numbers the "pages" when you resize the font, too, which the Kindle does not. A location is the same place in the book, regardless of font size.

To be precise, they are units of 128 bytes.

[dwallbaum]

Interestingly, none of the questions here have covered available _content_.

As I understand it, the Sony and Kindle represent two different content camps. The Sony is relying on a more open-source approach to its native format offerings (ePub, et al), while the Kindle is pushing its own format, .azw, a variant of mobi.

At present, Amazon has the larger library, and per item generally costs less than the Sony offerings.

Right now, and especially with the arrival of the DX, Amazon is driving the eReader discussion. Since most eReaders are all using the same eInk technology, there is not a huge tech-difference between the two (aside from SD chip vs. larger internal memory).

And... IMHO, we are all here relatively early adopters, although eBooks in one form or another have been around for... 10 years or so? Just now is there enough critical mass of content to make an eReader a reasonable way to view material.

We pay our money and make our choice. It may work out to our satisfaction, or we may find that our money would have been better spent elsewhere.

I know for me, the K2 was a significant investment made with considerable thought - but with the knowledge that this technology is changing before our eyes.

Will the K2 be relevant five years from now? Probably not. But you know that going in.

DonW

[Danariel]

Fourteen or so questions about the Kindle 2
Question(s) 1. How exactly do you get blogs unto the Kindle 2? Is there only a narrow selection of blogs - and does it cost money to subscribe to them? Can you subscribe to your own favorite blogs on the Kindle 2, and if so, does the Kindle 2 auto-add new blog posts like an internet browser? If the blogs must be converted, how do they look afterward? (I've heard something about calibre helping in this area, but I don't totally understand. Explain if you can.)

The easiest way I've found is to use Google Reader. It allows you to subscribe to all your favorite blogs, and has them on one convenient web page. It gives some of them to you in digest form, and if you decide to read further, you can click on the link to individual articles, but some it lists in whole. As you read each entry, it's taken out of the "new" stuff, and won't show up the next time you go into Reader. The link to Google's Mobile stuff is here.

Question(s) 2. How is the battery life? Some people said it lasts for up to two weeks when the wireless function is off, but I’ve heard other people claim that even with the wireless function off, it lasts about four days. Are there any problems with the battery? I’ve heard some people complain that their batteries stopped working after about a month of use. Do many people have this problem?

Mine has been excellent. I only turn on my wireless when I need to look something up on the 'net or something, and I've been able to read (at least 3-4 hours a day) easily for a week at a time.

Question(s) 3. How do you replace the battery if it stops working?

Send it back to Amazon. If it's within the 1 year warranty period, it's free. They may well just send you a new (or refurb) Kindle 2 like they do for screen issues, and let you send it back after you get the new one. Call CS to make sure.

Question(s) 4. Does the 2gigs of space make up for the lack of expandability?

If I planned on putting MP3s or Audio Books on it, probably not. However, I currently have 192 items on mine, with 1,279 MB free. I can see having ALL my favorite books with me at all times, indexed and easily searchable, with LOADS of room for new stuff. If I EVER run out of space, I have everything backed up on my computer, and I can just delete as I want.

Question(s) 5. What happens when you run out of space on the Kindle 2? Can you delete books or move them off the Kindle to make room for more space?

See above.

Question(s) 6. How much space do Bibles typically take up?

I have one on mine, but can't remember the exact size off hand. However, it's probably around 5 MB, and is probably the largest all text book you'll have on an ereader. Picture heavy books will be larger, I'm sure.

Question(s) 7. How is the keyboard? Is it intuitive? Do you find it easy to take notes? How does it compare with a touch screen?

The keyboard is quite comfortable, and I make MANY fewer mistakes with it than on my iPod Touch. I also don't leave fingerprints on my screen. Taking notes is as easy, if not easier, as texting with a full QWERTY keyboard phone.

Question(s) 8. How does exporting notes work?

You hook the Kendle up via USB, and copy over your My Clippings.txt file.

Question(s) 9. How does the Kindle 2 generally handle books with images? What about PDF books or DOC files with images after conversion?

All the books I have come with covers, and they look great in grayscale. Some of my Honor Harrington books came with maps and ship diagrams, and you can zoom in on them, and use the 5 way controller to move about.

Question(s) 10. How does the Kindle 2 compare with the Sony PRS-505 or Sony PRS-700? Which would you recommend and why?

I don't have the Sonys, but after doing my research, I decided on the Kindle. I haven't bought a GREAT deal of books from Amazon (probably 10, though I have gotten a few more free from the Amazon website) but have gotten quite a few from other sources. Baen Free Library, and the Baen ebook store for those already in the Mobi format, but LOTS of other places for books that I can convert myself using Calibre. Calibre also makes for a GREAT library organizer, and allows me to alter Meta Data to suit my preferences. My series labels look like this:

Valdemar 01 - The Black Gryphon, Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon
Valdemar 02 - The White Gryphon, Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon

with the added ability of Author Sort by last name.


Question(s) 11. If you use your ereader to read a lot of DOC, HTML, and PDF files (short articles, blog posts, books, etc.), do you find this to be a hassle with the Kindle 2?

Nope, I convert them myself in batches. If I have quite a few that are in formats other than Mobi, I just set the meta data as I want it, then select all of them, and convert them in big job lots.

Question(s) 12. If the Kindle 2 goes down in price once the DX comes out, do you think amazon will give recent Kindle buyers a refund? (I ask because if I was going to buy the Kindle 2, I was going to do it soon.)

I doubt it, and I think this may be a mistake on their part.

Question(s) 13. How does the search function work? I've heard that it doesn't actually search for full words or something like that, but I'm not totally sure.

You can search for a word or a phrase. The options for the search are Find (in this book) My Items (search all my books on the Kindle) Store (search the Amazon Store) Google (self explanatory) Wikipedia (also self explanatory) and Dictionary (the on board dictionary.) If you search your own items, it will tel you what books it appears in and how many times it appears in each. When you click on the title of the book it's in, it takes you to a screen with the locations as clickable links to the places in the book.

Question(s) 14. Can you highlight text and take notes with post-converted PDF and DOC files? Or are those features limited to only certain formats?

As I do my own conversion (it's just so much easier to do it myself with Calibre than to send it to Amazon and wait for them to do it for me) there is absolutely no difference between the text of a converted doc vs. an original .azw, .mobi, or .prc.

Question(s) 15 Does viewing the Kindle 2 in sunlight screw up the screen?

Some folks have issues, but Amazon has been very good about replacing the device until you get a good one. It's NOT supposed to do this.

Question(s) 16 Why does it seem like more peoples' Kindles have broken than Sonys? Is it just because more people buy Kindles than Sonys?

Yep, you answered your own question. Although, since it didn't happen, as much if at all, on the Kindle 1s, I think Amazon may have gotten a huge batch of bad screens from the manufacturer.

Question(s) 17. Is the extended warranty truly worth it?

Only if you're going to keep the device. If you're planning on buying both a Sony and a Kindle, decide which you plan to keep. You have 30 days from receipt of the Kindle to buy the warranty. I personally didn't get one, but then I'm usually very careful with my electronics.

Question(s) 18. Is there anything else important (good or bad) I should know before buying the Kindle 2?

You're on the right track, doing your research. This is a wonderful source for information on all the popular ebook readers out there. I assume you've created a similar post in the Sony forums, so you just have to decide which features are most important to you.

The automatic dictionary is, to me, one of the HUGEST wonderful things about my Kindle. I have a large vocabulary, but quite a bit of it originated from reading a word in context as opposed to ever truly reading the dictionary entry. Now, if I run across a word that I'm even the slightest bit unsure of, all I have to do is place the cursor beside it, and the definition shows down at the bottom of the page I'm on. No need to "look it up," or even to navigate off the page I'm on, unless I want to see the whole entry.


I'm considering buying the Kindle 2, but I want to know more about it first. Most of the reviews I've read didn't go into much detail. (If I can think of more relevant questions that I haven't been able to find an answer to, I'll add them in a reply.)

I hope I've answered your questions, without parroting too much of what others have said. I love my Kindle, and I'd just LOVE to get one for my Mom, but I know she wouldn't accept it due to the cost. However, when you factor in the always available cellular connection, which Sprint usually charges $40-60 a MONTH for, a one time charge in the price of the Kindle is minuscule.

[emellaich]

Originally Posted by sirbruce

WHY does one need to skim?

I am fine with my Kindle w method of navigating, but Just an FYI.

I do skim because I reread books many times. Getting past the 'boring parts' sometimes means I'm skipping pages. The interesting thing about skipping forward by quickly changing pages is that on e-ink battery is related to page turns. That means that quickly flipping pages uses as much battery juice as reading them does.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by dwallbaum

And... IMHO, we are all here relatively early adopters, although eBooks in one form or another have been around for... 10 years or so?

A heck of a lot longer than 10 years. I've been an avid eBook reader for at least the last 25 years.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by HarryT

A heck of a lot longer than 10 years. I've been an avid eBook reader for at least the last 25 years.

Thats really interesting. What did you read 'back in the day', Harry?

Were there novels available, or was it mostly tech stuff?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Thats really interesting. What did you read 'back in the day', Harry?

Were there novels available, or was it mostly tech stuff?

PG. It's been around since the '70s. Lots of classics available, even then!