New User: Paperwhite2 Queries

Agama · 12-25-2013, 02:05 PM

I've just got a KPW2 to supplement my aging Sony PRS-300 and find it most impressive: it's so responsive and the display is amazing. I have hit a few minor quirks with the firmware and wondered if these are features or bugs:

1) On Author Sort sometimes the author is sorted by first name instead of last name.

2) When I select Books and sort by Title, Collections are included as well, (even though there's a separate option for filtering by Collections - which correctly omits Titles), which seems odd.

3) When I browse collections On Device, (not Cloud), it still lists all the books which my wife has on her KPW1, but in greyed text. I can understand this when using Cloud mode, since we share an Amazon account, but is this correct for Device mode? I would expect it to just list those books actually on my specific device.

I've read through the manual on the Kindle and gone through all settings but I can't find anything related to these 'features'.

HarryT · 12-25-2013, 02:07 PM

1. The books that are wrongly sorted have bad metadata.

2, 3. That's just the way it is.

Agama · 12-25-2013, 02:10 PM

Thanks for the info. I can fix (1).

(2) and (3) are just minor glitches in an otherwise very impressive product, although this does render collections just about useless. My old Sony had it's own quirks so I guess all readers do.

eschwartz · 12-25-2013, 03:00 PM

(3) is no minor glitch -- its a very unfortunate side effect of the Cloud Collections feature, and as such worked before the update to firmware v5.4.2, and has garnered much rant and rage, so you're not alone...

Hopefully, Amazon will fix this and (2), considering how many calls they have been getting about it.

Agama · 12-25-2013, 03:06 PM

Well I hope so too because they do seem like bugs as they are not respecting the options which the user has chosen. However, I think that this Kindle offers a fantastic reading experience so I'm still happy.

eschwartz · 12-25-2013, 03:23 PM

If you desire to do so, and have the patience/inclination, then jailbreak your Kindle and follow the directions here: http://ixtab.tk/kindle-touch-images/PW2/README.txt to revert back to the 5.4.0 firmware. Since it does not have Cloud Collections, this should all be fixed.

WARNING: This is going to require technical stuff, there is no packaged update, yet. The Kindle developers corner is working on it, I believe...

Agama · 12-26-2013, 05:13 AM

I'll hang on for a while before jailbreaking. Amazon may fix the problem and I have found a way of mitigating it's effects: within a collection, sorting by recent causes the greyed out cloud books to be listed after the on device books.

dleighb · 12-26-2013, 12:21 PM

In the same boat as you, Agama. The collections feature is useless the way it currently is. I am holding on hoping for a fix. I could revert 5.4.0, but I am not technically savvy enough to be able to do it. As the Collections ability is one of the reasons we originally chose the Kindle 3 over some other models, this device will be useless to me if Amazon doesn't fix this or if I can't find a workaround.

Agama · 12-26-2013, 02:41 PM

It is kind of baffling that Amazon have made such a mess of this feature. It has to be a bug in not respecting Cloud vs. Device so I have high hopes that we'll soon see a fix. We've got 3 Kindle users in the house each with their own collections, which magnifies the scale of the problem.

HarryT · 12-26-2013, 02:44 PM

Have you spoken to Amazon about it? The more people who report it as an issue, the more likely Amazon are to do something.

Agama · 12-26-2013, 02:54 PM

No, I haven't. Is there an 'official' way of reporting bugs and requests to Amazon?

HarryT · 12-26-2013, 02:56 PM

Sure - email or phone Kindle CS via the "Contact Us" link on the "My Account" page of the Amazon site.

Agama · 12-26-2013, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Thanks, I'll send them a polite request

Update: I've sent them a polite request.

barryem · 12-26-2013, 07:09 PM

If you use collections with different names than any other Kindles on your account the problems you describe will magically go away. But you can't just rename the collection. That will rename everyone's collection and not have any other effect. Delete the collection and create a new one.

Barry

dleighb · 12-26-2013, 11:53 PM

I e-mailed Amazon a semi-polite message regarding my frustrations with the collections feature and showing all the cloud items even when "My Device" is selected. I received a relatively quick response telling me that my issues have been forwarded to the development team and that they can all be fixed with a simple software update. They don't know when that next update will be available, but they were working on it. I get the impression that they are receiving quite a few complaints.

I am being patient (not one of my virtues), but mainly, I am waiting to see if ixtab can get the Calibre Collections Manager to work for the PW2 software.

If this doesn't work out, I'll be scouring eBay for a Paperwhite 1st Gen.

12-25-2013, 02:05 PM	#1
Agama Guru Posts: 776 Karma: 2751519 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: UK Device: PW2, Nexus7	New User: Paperwhite2 Queries I've just got a KPW2 to supplement my aging Sony PRS-300 and find it most impressive: it's so responsive and the display is amazing. I have hit a few minor quirks with the firmware and wondered if these are features or bugs: 1) On Author Sort sometimes the author is sorted by first name instead of last name. 2) When I select Books and sort by Title, Collections are included as well, (even though there's a separate option for filtering by Collections - which correctly omits Titles), which seems odd. 3) When I browse collections On Device, (not Cloud), it still lists all the books which my wife has on her KPW1, but in greyed text. I can understand this when using Cloud mode, since we share an Amazon account, but is this correct for Device mode? I would expect it to just list those books actually on my specific device. I've read through the manual on the Kindle and gone through all settings but I can't find anything related to these 'features'.

12-25-2013, 02:10 PM	#3
Agama Guru Posts: 776 Karma: 2751519 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: UK Device: PW2, Nexus7	Thanks for the info. I can fix (1). (2) and (3) are just minor glitches in an otherwise very impressive product, although this does render collections just about useless. My old Sony had it's own quirks so I guess all readers do. Last edited by Agama; 12-25-2013 at 02:12 PM.

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12-25-2013, 02:07 PM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	1. The books that are wrongly sorted have bad metadata. 2, 3. That's just the way it is.

12-25-2013, 03:00 PM	#4
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,422 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	(3) is no minor glitch -- its a very unfortunate side effect of the Cloud Collections feature, and as such worked before the update to firmware v5.4.2, and has garnered much rant and rage, so you're not alone... Hopefully, Amazon will fix this and (2), considering how many calls they have been getting about it.

12-25-2013, 03:06 PM	#5
Agama Guru Posts: 776 Karma: 2751519 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: UK Device: PW2, Nexus7	Well I hope so too because they do seem like bugs as they are not respecting the options which the user has chosen. However, I think that this Kindle offers a fantastic reading experience so I'm still happy.

12-25-2013, 03:23 PM	#6
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,422 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	If you desire to do so, and have the patience/inclination, then jailbreak your Kindle and follow the directions here: http://ixtab.tk/kindle-touch-images/PW2/README.txt to revert back to the 5.4.0 firmware. Since it does not have Cloud Collections, this should all be fixed. WARNING: This is going to require technical stuff, there is no packaged update, yet. The Kindle developers corner is working on it, I believe...

12-26-2013, 05:13 AM	#7
Agama Guru Posts: 776 Karma: 2751519 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: UK Device: PW2, Nexus7	I'll hang on for a while before jailbreaking. Amazon may fix the problem and I have found a way of mitigating it's effects: within a collection, sorting by recent causes the greyed out cloud books to be listed after the on device books.

12-26-2013, 12:21 PM	#8
dleighb Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 20 Join Date: Dec 2013 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2	In the same boat as you, Agama. The collections feature is useless the way it currently is. I am holding on hoping for a fix. I could revert 5.4.0, but I am not technically savvy enough to be able to do it. As the Collections ability is one of the reasons we originally chose the Kindle 3 over some other models, this device will be useless to me if Amazon doesn't fix this or if I can't find a workaround.

12-26-2013, 02:41 PM	#9
Agama Guru Posts: 776 Karma: 2751519 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: UK Device: PW2, Nexus7	It is kind of baffling that Amazon have made such a mess of this feature. It has to be a bug in not respecting Cloud vs. Device so I have high hopes that we'll soon see a fix. We've got 3 Kindle users in the house each with their own collections, which magnifies the scale of the problem.

12-26-2013, 02:44 PM	#10
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Have you spoken to Amazon about it? The more people who report it as an issue, the more likely Amazon are to do something.

12-26-2013, 02:54 PM	#11
Agama Guru Posts: 776 Karma: 2751519 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: UK Device: PW2, Nexus7	No, I haven't. Is there an 'official' way of reporting bugs and requests to Amazon?

12-26-2013, 02:56 PM	#12
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Sure - email or phone Kindle CS via the "Contact Us" link on the "My Account" page of the Amazon site.

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12-26-2013, 07:09 PM	#14
barryem Wizard Posts: 2,459 Karma: 68781975 Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Arkansas Device: Paperwhite 4	If you use collections with different names than any other Kindles on your account the problems you describe will magically go away. But you can't just rename the collection. That will rename everyone's collection and not have any other effect. Delete the collection and create a new one. Barry

12-26-2013, 11:53 PM	#15
dleighb Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 20 Join Date: Dec 2013 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2	I e-mailed Amazon a semi-polite message regarding my frustrations with the collections feature and showing all the cloud items even when "My Device" is selected. I received a relatively quick response telling me that my issues have been forwarded to the development team and that they can all be fixed with a simple software update. They don't know when that next update will be available, but they were working on it. I get the impression that they are receiving quite a few complaints. I am being patient (not one of my virtues), but mainly, I am waiting to see if ixtab can get the Calibre Collections Manager to work for the PW2 software. If this doesn't work out, I'll be scouring eBay for a Paperwhite 1st Gen.