What disadvantage does Kindle have

c-otwa · 11-27-2009, 12:42 PM

Well many!

For one I find it hard to read articles under strong sunlight - never mind the beach-reading.

Also, can you actually make origami out of a Kindle?

I have also googled it and a cool article comes up:

http://www.businessbecause.com/forre...-reality-check

JSWolf · 11-27-2009, 01:03 PM

If you are having trouble reading with your Kindle in direct sunlight, then you may have a defective screen. The screen on the Kindle should allow you to read in direct sunlight. I have a 505 with the same 6" Vizplex screen as the K1 & K2 and I have no idssues reading in direct sunlight.

The biggest issue of the Kindle is that it has it's own DRMed format. Meaning if you wanted to say buy a PRS-900 or a nook or some other reader, your DRMed eBooks would not work. You are basically locked into the Kindle unless you can strip the DRM and convert.

rcuadro · 11-27-2009, 04:07 PM

Mine works fine in direct sunlight. If there is any glare I just rotate it a tiny bit and it is good to go

Want to read at the beach? Put the Kindle in a ziplock bag

JoeC · 11-27-2009, 04:23 PM

JSWolf is right. I had a Kindle 2 that faded in direct sunlight. I returned it and the replacement was fine.

John T. · 11-27-2009, 10:59 PM

I love my Kindle DX. However, I must say I hate the metallic sound of the text-to-speech voice. It's improved since the original version, but I still hate it.

Another cool thing would be to have a color e-ink screen, and maybe to be able to work more with the text of small pdf docs, besides the mild zoom function of landscape mode.

kindlekitten · 11-28-2009, 03:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c-otwa

Well many!

For one I find it hard to read articles under strong sunlight - never mind the beach-reading.

Also, can you actually make origami out of a Kindle?

I have also googled it and a cool article comes up:

http://www.businessbecause.com/forre...-reality-check

my kindle has been read at the beach many times as well as on snow fields where there is a hella lot more glare than beaches!!!

what is the article about? I'm not clicking something someone with attitude brings in.

cathyhk · 11-28-2009, 05:06 AM

diadvantage : can't print, can't highlight at Kindle for PC, can't just put pdf directly thur USB but hv to email, unable to convert ppt, colorless, ** why no back light , like those in old palm...

JSWolf · 11-28-2009, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cathyhk

diadvantage : can't print, can't highlight at Kindle for PC, can't just put pdf directly thur USB but hv to email, unable to convert ppt, colorless, ** why no back light , like those in old palm...

With the new K2 2.3 firmware, you can view PDF directly on the K2. It may come out too small, but that's because most PDF are not a good size for a 6" screen.

Also, you cannot have a backlight as the light won't shine through the eink screen. Can you have a backlight on a pBook? Nope. So it's no different.

c-otwa · 11-30-2009, 05:58 AM

rcuadro, have you ever seem someone using laptops on a beach??

c-otwa · 11-30-2009, 06:00 AM

definitely, actually can anyone tell me if you can read a colourful newspaper on Kindle??

c-otwa · 11-30-2009, 06:01 AM

why did you buy??

hanhan · 11-30-2009, 06:08 AM

Quite interested in this because of the business school context. The guys in the article said it was difficult to read - I'm presuming under lecture theatre lighting conditions? Anyone with any experience with this?
With the amount of case studies we read i'm almost decided on getting one, either starting a trend or will have to return it if I can't use it in lectures...

kindlekitten · 11-30-2009, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c-otwa

rcuadro, have you ever seem someone using laptops on a beach??

this is supposed to be about ereaders, not laptops

Quote:

Originally Posted by c-otwa

definitely, actually can anyone tell me if you can read a colourful newspaper on Kindle??

n one ever claimed that ereaders were the bees knees for reading colourful newspapers

Quote:

Originally Posted by c-otwa

why did you buy??

WHO LET THE TROLL IN????!!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by hanhan

Quite interested in this because of the business school context. The guys in the article said it was difficult to read - I'm presuming under lecture theatre lighting conditions? Anyone with any experience with this?
With the amount of case studies we read i'm almost decided on getting one, either starting a trend or will have to return it if I can't use it in lectures...

if you put a spotlight pointed directly at a kindle screen, there would be some glare issues, yes. I don't think the majority of us are having to deal with the possibility of reading under interrogation type circumstances

Alisa · 11-30-2009, 03:39 PM

For me the biggest disadvantage is the somewhat closed system. Sure, I can strip the DRM off my books and I can convert books I got elsewhere to read on the Kindle but I'd rather it all just worked. Most Kindle owners probably don't know they can do this or are intimidated by the process so it is a closed system for them.

I would add one disadvantage for the Kindle for PC that cathyhk didn't mention: you can't search. That is so annoying. As for PowerPoint, you can convert that yourself, no?

pboss · 12-01-2009, 11:53 AM

It would be a pain in the ass to get my books onto a Kindle. Of course, the purpose of this gadget is not to allow me to read my free text, but to force me to pay for whatever metered text Amazon thinks I should be reading.

Sure, it's not impossible for me to transfer some of my text files onto a Kindle, but it gets old after a while. I have hundreds of texts that I've downloaded in the form of PDFs, CHMs, DOCs, and just plain TXT.

11-27-2009, 12:42 PM	#1
c-otwa Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: none	What disadvantage does Kindle have Well many! For one I find it hard to read articles under strong sunlight - never mind the beach-reading. Also, can you actually make origami out of a Kindle? I have also googled it and a cool article comes up: http://www.businessbecause.com/forre...-reality-check

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11-27-2009, 01:03 PM	#2
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,894 Karma: 128597114 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	If you are having trouble reading with your Kindle in direct sunlight, then you may have a defective screen. The screen on the Kindle should allow you to read in direct sunlight. I have a 505 with the same 6" Vizplex screen as the K1 & K2 and I have no idssues reading in direct sunlight. The biggest issue of the Kindle is that it has it's own DRMed format. Meaning if you wanted to say buy a PRS-900 or a nook or some other reader, your DRMed eBooks would not work. You are basically locked into the Kindle unless you can strip the DRM and convert.

11-27-2009, 04:07 PM	#3
rcuadro Wizard Posts: 1,686 Karma: 874275 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Device: Kindle DX	Mine works fine in direct sunlight. If there is any glare I just rotate it a tiny bit and it is good to go Want to read at the beach? Put the Kindle in a ziplock bag

11-27-2009, 04:23 PM	#4
JoeC Addict Posts: 319 Karma: 2257942 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Kindle Oasis 2 and 3, Scribe	JSWolf is right. I had a Kindle 2 that faded in direct sunlight. I returned it and the replacement was fine.

11-27-2009, 10:59 PM	#5
John T. Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: Kindle DX	I love my Kindle DX. However, I must say I hate the metallic sound of the text-to-speech voice. It's improved since the original version, but I still hate it. Another cool thing would be to have a color e-ink screen, and maybe to be able to work more with the text of small pdf docs, besides the mild zoom function of landscape mode.

11-28-2009, 05:06 AM	#7
cathyhk Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: kindle	diadvantage : can't print, can't highlight at Kindle for PC, can't just put pdf directly thur USB but hv to email, unable to convert ppt, colorless, ** why no back light , like those in old palm...

11-30-2009, 05:58 AM	#9
c-otwa Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: none	rcuadro, have you ever seem someone using laptops on a beach??

11-30-2009, 06:00 AM	#10
c-otwa Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: none	definitely, actually can anyone tell me if you can read a colourful newspaper on Kindle??

11-30-2009, 06:01 AM	#11
c-otwa Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: none	why did you buy??

11-30-2009, 06:08 AM	#12
hanhan Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: Kindle	Quite interested in this because of the business school context. The guys in the article said it was difficult to read - I'm presuming under lecture theatre lighting conditions? Anyone with any experience with this? With the amount of case studies we read i'm almost decided on getting one, either starting a trend or will have to return it if I can't use it in lectures...

11-30-2009, 03:39 PM	#14
Alisa Gadget Geek Posts: 2,324 Karma: 22221 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Paperwhite, Kindle 3 (retired), Skindle 1.2 (retired)	For me the biggest disadvantage is the somewhat closed system. Sure, I can strip the DRM off my books and I can convert books I got elsewhere to read on the Kindle but I'd rather it all just worked. Most Kindle owners probably don't know they can do this or are intimidated by the process so it is a closed system for them. I would add one disadvantage for the Kindle for PC that cathyhk didn't mention: you can't search. That is so annoying. As for PowerPoint, you can convert that yourself, no?

12-01-2009, 11:53 AM	#15
pboss Evangelist Posts: 408 Karma: 646 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: none	It would be a pain in the ass to get my books onto a Kindle. Of course, the purpose of this gadget is not to allow me to read my free text, but to force me to pay for whatever metered text Amazon thinks I should be reading. Sure, it's not impossible for me to transfer some of my text files onto a Kindle, but it gets old after a while. I have hundreds of texts that I've downloaded in the form of PDFs, CHMs, DOCs, and just plain TXT.