IF you could add one function to your Kindle...

[FranciscoB]

One feature I would like to have in my Kindle is to be able to set the language of a book (either through metadata, or manually -- I don't care), and then have a language specific dictionary used according a book's language.

I alternate between books in English and French, and find it a nuisance to manually set the dictionary every time I need "the other dictionary".

A smarter and more functional TOC navigation would also be welcome.

[Kumabjorn]

Excellent suggestion.
Anyone from Amazon reading this?

[brecklundin]

Originally Posted by carld

Since we're starting to see a small trickle of apps for the Kindle, games right now, what would be the one app or function you would add to your Kindle if you could? Aside from ePub or some other file format support that everyone wants.

I'd like to see an customizable alarm, just something that pops up and says "Hey, stop reading for a minute and go take your pills!" I can be kind of forgetful about that.

Edit: Could a Mod change the title from Kindel to Kindle for me? Can't believe I did that.

true crossword puzzle app...one that lets me do my NYT crossword every day. I still use my old Clie or sometimes my Nokia N800 when I can stand the sight of the POS it became thanks to Nokia...but a real xword puzzle app for sure, in fact there is an open source Linux app called Xword that someone ported to the Nokia OS for their Internet tablets running as I recall at least OS2007 but it works great and hopefully can be ported to the Kindle OS since it at least has a keyboard and a joystick/d-pad to navigate....

I do have some fun with the two recently released word play apps for the Kindle. One is not timed and sort of a variation of Boggle and I enjoy it, the other is timed and I just do not enjoy timed games...I want to relax not become anxious.

[brecklundin]

Originally Posted by 6charlong

Interestingly in this whole long thread I don't see people longing for color screens. You know that is going to be the next big thing. We're going to be told soon that color screens are what everyone needs in an eBook reader.

What do you say, color screens anyone?

absolutely required if I am around long enough to get a large format reader. In fact I will not buy a large format reader until we have decent quality color. My reference texts need color for images and in general. I don't really need photo quaility just good enough to see images faily well. But that is gonna come down to the white level the panel can achieve in the end.

I would buy a PixelQi device if that was a viable option and could run a version of K4PC in a slate type device. Of course I would prefer one of the epaper panels but gotta go with what one can get and use rather than wait and lose the advantage such a device represents to me and my earning a living. And I want at least a 12" panel not a teeny 9.7" panel...I did that on my laptops back in the late 80s early 90s...don't need to go there again. In my case even a 2-3lb device is an improvement compared to lugging around 1000lbs of books and of which I would need at the drop of a hat or have to recall from memory the info in each and every one of them...and I actually did at one time but these days not so much it seems.

But, yes, color is probably my best wish...the xword thing was me just thinking about my basic reader and a feature I would like added so I don't need to carry around and extra device every time I wanna take a walk down to the cafe or Starbucks though I do still love my Sony Clie nx73v, still running strong after all these years, about 6-7 years now. Otherwise I don't find much more I need on my K2i. Even the memory will be enough it seems.

[DRichard]

Originally Posted by mattbiernat

how about a logical argument against such idea rather than an obscure statement.

I'd like my fridge to have full GPS capability...

[Ben Thornton]

Originally Posted by DRichard

I'd like my fridge to have full GPS capability...

That's a good idea - I never know where my fridge has got to. Not necessary on my towels, though. That hoopy frood Ford Prefect, there's someone whose towels don't have GPS!

[brecklundin]

Originally Posted by DRichard

I'd like my fridge to have full GPS capability...

how about duct-tape and a boyscout compass? At least that way your firdge will always know the direction it's heading.

[buckm56]

I'd like to be able to have to cover display as the screen savers (on/off) but also some way to view the metadata I have added with calibre. With all the books on my Kindle sometimes I'd like to browse the summary of information to choose a new book to read.

[catsittingstill]

I'd like to be able to show the intersection of multiple collections.

As in, if I get a new book it goes in "unread" and "$genre." When I finish the book I move it out of "unread" but don't change its genre (unless I was wrong about what genre it was, which is not completely unknown). I'd like to have a way to show, for example, all my books that are in both the "unread" and "fantasy" collections.

And I *still* want cross-document pdf search. (/me sulks.)

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by FranciscoB

One feature I would like to have in my Kindle is to be able to set the language of a book (either through metadata, or manually -- I don't care), and then have a language specific dictionary used according a book's language.

I alternate between books in English and French, and find it a nuisance to manually set the dictionary every time I need "the other dictionary".

A smarter and more functional TOC navigation would also be welcome.

Yes to both suggestions, the TOC especially.

Note that properly formatted Kindle content is supposed to have 2 TOCs:
- the HTML TOC found at the beginning of most books that resembles that found in print books. This is where MENU/Go To../Table of Contents takes you, but it can be a number of pages long and tedious to navigate, and while doing so you are in danger of losing your 'furthest read' position.

- the NCX TOC that defines navigation points with in the book (accessed with right/left joystick). This is a hierarchical structure, and is identical to the one used in ePub format when you click on the reader's TOC button. Many older books in the Kindle store don't have one of these.

I'd like to see a button that pops up a window with the NCX TOC (say 'ALT+T'), listing all section/chapter labels, and with the current section highlighted, and representing hierarchy if one is defined. Simple up/down would allow navigation to another section (scrolling automatically if necessary), and you could also enable type-through to filter the item list down for more efficient selection of the desired section.

It is interesting to note that the Kindle Previewer application (a free app Amazon provides to people preparing Kindle content) does have such a function in it, as seen in the screenshots below (taken after the 'NCX View' button is clicked). (one has hierarchy, one is flat)

[Sydney's Mom]

I'd like to be able to browse books by their covers, like I do in Calibre.

[NormHart]

I'd like the ability to edit the metadata or whatever so that I could alter the displayed Title and/or displayed Author. It would be handy for series and for those ebooks where the metadata is mucked up.

It would be nice to have an app to automatically create Kindle categories based on the author and/or the subject category in the metadata and sort the ebooks into these Kindle categories. Of course this would take some very robust error handling.

[parafluie]

I want to SCROLL not click next page.

And I'd like a library function.

And I want a touch screen.

Oh yeah, you said one. Well, any one or all

[French]

I second buckm56...I would like access to the metadata to read what the book is about, too. In fact, I'm surprised Kindle can't do that.

[NormHart]

Originally Posted by French

I second buckm56...I would like access to the metadata to read what the book is about, too. In fact, I'm surprised Kindle can't do that.

It does seem odd. If you move the joystick to the right from the book title you end up on a page devoted to the ebook with options, title, author, cover and huge amounts of blank page. The perfect place to display metadata.