Kindle 3 comfortable reading - Not!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by JeremyR

I don't mind holding it, but if I read more than a book a day (which I do a lot, actually), I get trigger finger from pressing the page button so much.

Have you tried using the other hand so you don't get reader's cramp?

[Giggleton]

I sometimes wish there was a button on the back of the Kindle for switching pages, maybe something that was activated by a slight sliding motion instead of pressure.

But I suppose whether or not the Kindle3 is comfortable in your hands depends upon the shape of your hands, it seems to be just right for me.

Sometimes on the train I like to balance the Kindle on two or three fingertips, perhaps some day I will be daring enough to try it with one.

[shanghaichica]

Originally Posted by speedlever

A Ziplock is your friend for those minor splashes.

Yes I use a ziplock bag whilst doing the washing up as it fits nicely over the stand. I use an Evolve waterproof case for reading in the bath.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

Sometimes on the train I like to balance the Kindle on two or three fingertips, perhaps some day I will be daring enough to try it with one.

Our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (see Avatar) is my primary "Kindle-rest". He jumps up on my lap, settles down and I lean the Kindle up against him.

[Jeremiah.L.Burns]

It's obviously a personal preference. I find holding the Kindle much easier than holding an actual book.

1) I don't have to prop the book open.
2) Often times the light source is just to the side rather than directly above/behind, etc. With a standard book, I find the angle created by opening the book...somewhere around 70-80 degrees, perhaps as much as 90-100...then blocks this light source, thereby darkening the pages I'm reading. The Kindle, being a 'flat' 'one-page' design cures this issue as there is no 'cover' blocking the light source. Again, this is extremely personal to me based on my reading preferences.
3) The Kindle is much lighter than a book. It's true that I don't typically worry about weight with paper books. In fact, I almost always prefer hard cover over paperback...call me crazy. But the fact that if I'm reading in a position where the weight of the actual book is resting mostly within my hands or arms...especially if I'm lying down...then the benefit of a much lighter tome is undeniable.
4) I occasionally tap the page buttons...but it's such a quick refresh that it's not exactly troublesome to me to tap back to the correct page.

Hope you can settle into the feel of your Kindle soon!

[markdek]

This thread needs to die a hard death..........! Obviously the Kindle is just fine for most people, and it is not for some, few, retentive's.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

I sometimes wish there was a button on the back of the Kindle for switching pages, maybe something that was activated by a slight sliding motion instead of pressure.

Sounds like what you want is a nice IR touch screen. You can turn the page by a slight sliding motion on the screen.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

I sometimes wish there was a button on the back of the Kindle for switching pages, maybe something that was activated by a slight sliding motion instead of pressure.

Do you mean touch screen or do you mean by shaking the Kindle?

[Giggleton]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Do you mean touch screen or do you mean by shaking the Kindle?

I mean lightly brushing the back of the Kindle to activate the page turn function. I don't think shaking the Kindle would be a good way to go, although it's neat for changing songs.

Although as an intermediate, turning the page turn buttons into multitouch gesture recognition interfaces would be fine.

[djgreedo]

I occasionally press one of the page turn buttons by accident. That never happened with the Kindle 2.

I prefer to read without the cover, but using the cover kind of forces you to hold it more like a book, which avoids the buttons.

It's not a big deal, just occasionally annoying. I would have preferred if they had kept the buttons more like on the Kindle 2.

[Prestidigitweeze]

Like the OP, I find the placement of the page turning keys on the Kindle 3 inconvenient. It's completely obvious why they're in that position -- because that's where one turns a physical page -- but the problem is that we turn pages while holding a book open, and the position of the Kindle in the hand is like that of a book which is closed. The conceit's too literal, I think, and the turn keys should be closer to the center -- if indeed we get such keys now that the Tablet has impacted Amazon's sense of industrial design.

I like the touch-screen layer on the Sony because it more closely imitates the page turning of an open book, and because you don't inadvertently turn to page forty while using your other hand to fish for your keys. That's because the turn happens within the borders of the screen, which for the Kindle would translate to inside left and right buttons, which wouldn't get triggered repeatedly when you held the edges of the device.

On the other hand, I've read complaints of fruit flies turning the pages on people's Sonys, so E ink with a touch screen might not be the best solution for some people, either.

I do think having a cover on one's Kindle makes page turning easier.

Personally, I love my M-Edge Antique Jacket. It also prevents me from turning pages on my K3 by accident.

The OP might benefit from owning a platform case -- what do the rest of you think, h-m-m-m-m?

========================

One thing, though: If I criticize the Kindle, it doesn't mean I'm bashing Amazon or Kindle users or the device itself or trying to tell people what to do. It only means that, in my Incredibly Humble opinion, virtually any device can be improved.

After all, we haven't seen the perfect e-Reader yet and might never see it, since E Ink seems to be transitional tech. (I'm hoping for a Mirasol reader in 2012.)

[pocoreader]

Originally Posted by RobbieRobot

...the sharp thin bottom corners are digging into the palms of my hands.
Is there a case or stretchy rubbery thing I could buy which will make my reading experiences less accident prone and painful, and more enjoyable?
:-)

I would recommend a pair of English reading gloves, available online at englishreadinggloves.com, or at a fine book dealer. Since the Kindle can be read in the bright sun, I would recommend getting two pair, one for indoor reading and the other for use in the bright sun. I have several pair, my favourite being Australian Emu skin, padded with gutta percha. My outdoor gloves are made by NASA and only available to astronauts (I have an in -- a friend of a friend of a friend.)

If you can`t find a good reading glove supplier, I would recommend wearing oven mitts while reading your Kindle.

Good luck.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by pocoreader

I would recommend a pair of English reading gloves, available online at englishreadinggloves.com,

that site doesn't seem to exist?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

I mean lightly brushing the back of the Kindle to activate the page turn function. I don't think shaking the Kindle would be a good way to go, although it's neat for changing songs.

Although as an intermediate, turning the page turn buttons into multitouch gesture recognition interfaces would be fine.

Best you'll get is the IR touch on the Sony x50 line. It's a nice simple brush of the screen and you don't get oodles and oodles of fingerprints like you do on the iPad Mark I.

Then if you don't like touching the screen, there is the nook with it's LCD touch panel.

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

that site doesn't seem to exist?

seriously? humour button rusting up again?