Wife misses back cover. What do I do?

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by TonyGamble

I'm happy with the PW2 but my wife complained a day ago that she finds it occasionally reluctant to turn to the next page. She is giving a hard test because she had just had an operation on her right hand and can only hold the Kindle in her left hand. I read that the H2O 'might' be easier to operate.

This caught my eye. Bear in mind that the H2O has a bigger screen than the PW2, so will be ever so slightly bigger and heavier (it's only approx 10mm taller and wider, and 30g heavier mind you), and depending on how small your wife's hands are, she might not find it so comfortable to hold one-handed.

She might be one of those people who don't get on that well with capacitive touch screens though, and will like the infra-red touch screen of the H2O (though I personally find you get more issues with double page turns and non-page turns, but then I get on fine with capacitive touch). The H2O screen should certainly look a little nicer than the PW.

[TonyGamble]

Thanks soulfuldog,

Points noted and understood. Still in testing mode.

She has trouble with most screens - more that they 'do things without me touching it'.

I give her my phone or my camera and it instantly 'changes and I did not touch anything'.

She has already noted that it is larger and heavier. My plan is to keep the Kindle in sync with the Kobo (bookwise and cataloguewise) and see if she develops a favourite.

In any one of the reasons we have avoided ereaders so far is because of what one does if a device breaks or gets lost on a three week holiday. Losing one book is no great disaster but losing all one's holiday reading would be. We are going to need to take spares with us so maybe we keep the Kindles anyway even if she prefers the Kobo.

Tony

[TonyGamble]

Follow up.

It is odd how the H2O does feel noticeably larger. I read quite a lot on my Paperwhite yesterday whilst my wife was on the Kobo and it is different. Somehow the PW feels more portable and pocketable and the Kobo feels more obvious and present.

What was my initial attraction for the Kobo was the way it showed the 'descriptions' when you did a long press on a book. Now I am better organised at creating catalogues on the Paperwhite with Calibre I find you can replicate this just as effectively. What was becoming a bore on the Kindle was hand creating Collections. Now I realise that you don't even need any as long as you create an assortment of catalogues with Calibre. Maybe you have the odd collection for things like catalogues and say Instapaper - but the books could simply be in one long list and found with a search.

Tony

[Nabeel]

I've been fascinated by this insight into a couple's inner life and their relationship with technology. I don't have a similar problem: my partner is probably as equally semi-compotent as me. She has a Kindle: I have persuaded her to download Calibre to her PC, but she as yet has not made use of it.

Tony: I'm really impressed by the effort you're making for your better half, and I think you are an example for us all. I hope she reciprocates by helping you in some other area of life.

[Nabeel]

PS. These days, when I hear something a bit vague about a book or an author, and I want to find out more, I try Wikipaedia. This probably wouldn't suit your wife, but it might help. Wiki entries don't have the same aggression of some of those sites.

[TonyGamble]

Nabeel,

Thanks for those kind words. I think we are all warned against teaching one's partner how to drive. I felt the same about the computer. The deal was that I bought her a PC when she found a teacher. The man she found was (genuinely) called Mr Patience. I bought her a pink Sony laptop - with a pink mouse.

In fact we are in an unusual domestic situation at the moment as she has just had an operation on her right hand. That means she cannot hold a printed book and it has been the ideal time to test the viability of ebooks. And to establish that the Kindle is noticeably easier to hold than the Kobo.

But, yes, when she is two handed she looks after me with love, care and attention. However, I long ago admitted defeat on the road to technology. Each to his own...

Tony

[TonyGamble]

Nabeel. No, the Wiki would be several steps too far.

To go back the more serious matter of descriptions and catalogues I was attracted to the fact that the Kobo held a 'description' and the Kindle needed WiFi to produce it (if you did not use the catalogue method).

As I posted much earlier we are regular cruisers and WiFi on cruise boats is prohibitively expensive if you have it running all the time to an ereader.

Now I find the catalogue will show the descriptions on the Kindle without WiFi it has earned an extra star in my rating.

Tony

[JSWolf]

One thing I've found with the H2O is that the battery is very good. It lasts a long time. For me personally, when I read in the dark, I only have the front light up to 4%.