The hardware's fine, but software-wise Kindle is still a horrible ereader. It still refuses to read epubs, the de-facto ebook format used by the rest of the world. Its native formats are terrible: mobi is an ancient, horrible proprietary binary format. If you get a nicer modern mobi but use "send to Kindle" to transfer it, Amazon inexplicably and silently removes all advanced formatting, effectively downgrading it to a mobi from 2002. azw3, its own proprietary format that competes with its other two proprietary formats (the third being kfx), is kind of a repackaged epub but more annoying to create, not open source, still lacking in many of the formatting features we expect from ebooks in 2021, and incompatible with "send to Kindle"!! The fact that Amazon has three competing proprietary ebook formats, each more terrible than the last and one of which literally can't be sent to its own devices, should be telling.
Kindle software is software made by people who hate reading. If you want an ereader, get literally any other device. Don't support Amazon's disdain for the market it has a stranglehold on.
It really depends on what you're content is. Technical books with equations turn into garbage when I convert, and the formatting is all off. It's just easier to do PDF for me.
Have you tried the KindleUnpack plugin? [0] I originally used Calibre's built-in "convert" option, but I found I've gotten much better results from KindleUnpack. It gives a much "cleaner" EPUB with less of the annoying Calibre watermarking in the CSS and such.
To add, I used to keep my kindle not attached to an amazon account (so no email), but I plugged it into USB like a flash drive and synced books with Calibre.
Worked for me really well, it's great at bulk conversions. and I used to charge it on my desk anyways, so it wasn't much of a hassle to remember to sync.
There's also the excellent ebook-convert command line tool as part of Calibre which can be used to convert between the formats[1], I use it convert HN content to Kindle e-book for my https://hntokindle.com.
It sounds like inkjets printers - subsidized cheap device, but full of DRM to lock you in. BUT! They are great if you are an advanced user and willing to buy 3rd party cartridges, mess with firmware, etc.
I wonder if all the mentioned issues can be fixed by using koreader.
I was hoping that Koreader would be a solution but after hacking my Kindle I found that Koreader would keep randomly locking up and require me to hard reboot the Kindle (wasting several minutes, and it would lose my place in the book). I ended up buying a used Nook for around $15, the online service is discontinued but you can still sideload books (including epubs).
I would love an alternative. I've tried multiple Kobos, but I've had a variety of issues with them.
The Kobo Libra H2O had an extremely inconsistent backlight that was blue on one side, yellow on the other. The Kobo Clara HD had no landscape mode (why?), and some ghosting issues. I've heard reviews say the Kobo Forma has a barely-functional power button. On top of all this, the build quality just feels cheaper and more plasticky than the Kindle.
I really hope someone makes a better e-reader soon so I can stop supporting Amazon and their ecosystem.
Well let me give an opposite view: I've had 3 Kobos (Touch, Glo, Clara) and they're all excellent :) great software, hackable so I can install other apps, nice hardware too.
Kobo software is great, but their newer e-readers are crap hardware. Both the Forma and Libra have a giant dark lighting band and uneven lighting throughout.
I've been using a Boox e-reader for months now, migrated from a Kindle. I've really loved it, particularly the stylus for notetaking. And if you want something cheaper, the smaller versions don't have a stylus or a WACOM layer.
What app do you use for reading ebooks on that one?
And how is boox. I've been looking for an ereader with a very big screen and haven't found a decent one yet, but the boox might be the one.
Is the drawing any good?
I use the built in ereader software, called NeoReader. It's pretty fast, and after a small ramp-up of figuring out how to customize things (for instance, the font size wouldn't go small enough for me, so I had to learn that the "pinch-to-zoom" gesture could make the font size even smaller than the font size slider could go)... I've been really happy with it. I've also played around with KOReader, which works very well, too -- I'm just more used to NeoReader at this point, so I haven't switched over.
Drawing is very good in my experience, though I haven't tried the reMarkable or the Kobo Ellipsa. Maybe I just got used to it really quickly but it doesn't lag enough for me to actually notice when I'm writing on it, and hasn't slowed down at all since I got it.
I have an android ereader without a wacom layer, my favorite app to use is Moon+ Reader. If you have access to an android device, I strongly recommend trying it out. The customizations allowed are staggering and I can't imagine getting a new device that is unable to run it. KoReader is also great and open source. People don't love the way the animations work on an ereader but you could use the Kindle app as well.
Moon+ Reader has a built in cloud sync function and so does KoReader although I can't say more about KoReader as I only keep that installed on my old kobo.
Here's the link I followed to set up cloud sync for reading positions/notes/bookmarks:
Calibre is a very useful piece of software regardless of what ereader you end up with, and there's this feature request about syncing back to calibre too but I haven't personally explored it. https://github.com/koreader/koreader/issues/3814
One annoying thing I sometimes run into is that if you keep wifi off, you'll have to remember to turn it to sync. But that's understandable.
The only reason why I've stuck with a Kindle paperwhite is because there's nothing out there that is as readable under so many conditions in that form factor. OLED/LED displays are garbage at the beach and weigh a ton. Similar displays (Kobo, Onyx) are bulky and heavier. The paperwhite is perfect hardware. It's just the ecosystem that eats ass.
Personally I still use a Kobo Aura One from ~2016. IMHO it's a perfect ereader: Larger form factor, eink, amber frontlight, and the 2nd-best renderer on the market. (iBooks being the best, but obviously not an option for eink.)
When using Kobo's kepub format, you basically get a modern Webkit renderer. (Note that regular epubs trigger the much worse ADE renderer.) It's a pity you have to use their kepub format, but fortunately kepub is just epub with some extra HTML. I've been hoping for years that Kobo will get its act together and enable their good Webkit renderer for plain epubs so we can stop having to make kepubs, but that hasn't happened yet.
Additionally I believe you can install other software like koreader on Kobos, so if you don't like Kobo's own software you have options, unlike Kindle.
I had written a comment that some sites just add KEPUB output into its CI/CD pipelines, but then I re-read your username and remembered who I'm talking to. :)
I imagine there's probably some sort of Sales Executive over at Rakuten that thinks keeping an inferior rendering engine present on the device is just enough incentive for the average user to do as much of their shopping as they can within the Kobo ecosystem.
A bit big for an eReader perhaps (10") but supports Epub and PDF, is a fairly open platform with lots of community activity and they are about to add the ability to sync with cloud services which I think will enhance its usability.
Not to mention the ability to take notes with a pen.
I've replaced my Kindle with a Remarkable 2 and am generally pleased with the overall experience. The larger screen is nice, as is the ability to read/annotate academic papers on the same device.
There are a bunch of little things that would improve the epub experience, like improved navigation and bookmarks (never really made use of these on my Kindle though). The biggest missing feature IMO as a Kindle replacement is the lack of builtin lighting.
The Boox has many different models so specifying a price without a model wouldn't make sense, so I assume you were referring to the RM2.
The RM2 is US$400, which is expensive compared to e-readers, but is not $800. And BTW, yes, it is annoying how USD are just assumed, but that is our reality for better or worse (and I'm not an American).
800$ was at the remarkable 2, but I didn't realize it put the pricing in Canadian Dollars, so the total for a tablet + "pen plus" ended up being 800$ CAD, not 800$ USD.
i almost bought a Kobo earlier this year but talked myself back into the Kindle ecosystem just for whispersync. while i vastly prefer reading on the kindle itself, i do often find myself reading on my phone during unexpected downtime. MOBI sucks but even self-converted epub MOBI seamlessly syncs progress.
The latest software update is a huge step back in terms of UX. There's way more whitespace, it takes more taps to change commonly changed settings (super annoying given eink latencies), and clearly no one who worked on it was left handed.
I didn't find one redeeming quality, and I'm one of ~those~ people who hate using icons, enjoying words better for interfaces that change so frequently.
I'm hoping the pine note will become a viable device after it releases. A fully open, respects the user, 10" e-ink reader that runs GNU/Linux from an organization that has a proven track record of upstreaming all hardware specific patches to the mainline linux kernel. I expect Debian/Mobian will be available for it, and if battery life isn't terrible, it will be my ideal e-reader.
I purchased the original B&N Nook (e-ink) and later one with the front-lit screen. The low price and ability to side-load epubs were the deciding factors, along with there being no freedom respecting alternative. But, later discovered that Nook too phones home with all your reading habits including side loaded content. I rooted both of them (the Nook runs Android), and installed a firewall to block all comm with B&N, and just side-load everything. Acceptable hardware, but the software on the newer models is a dumpster fire (crashes unless you restart device after every few hundred pages read, loses track of what page you were on, have to navigate more screens to do most common tasks, terrible to navigate to book if more than a few loaded onto the device, etc.)-- the original version's software was better in all respects, but still lacking for managing more than a few titles loaded onto the device at once.
>Where is the microSD card slot? The case design of the PineNote is fixed, making physical changes like adding a microSD card slot would raise the cost unreasonably. However, revisions of the PineNote motherboard after 1.1 will feature an internal ribbon cable connector where a microSD card slot may be attached. Attaching such a device will require taking the PineNote apart.
This attitude by the designers shows fundamental cluelessness.
Pine64 is a different model than your typical commercial operation. They are trying to get freedom respecting devices into the hands of hackers at the lowest price point possible. They even subsidized device costs for a run of their laptops after lcd panel prices increased. But, usually, they just suspend production until component prices improve.
They just began offering a more commercial (supported) experience on some devices if you pay a little more. But, historically, if you purchased a Pine64 device there was no expectation of support beyond a 15 day hardware warranty.
They also want to emphasize the difference between the part of the org that sells stuff, and the main org. All commerce takes place on pine64.com. Everything else (forums, wiki, etc.) is on pine64.org.
Basically freedom loving hobbyists building stuff and getting it into the hands of other freedom loving hobbyists. And, if it weren't for that second part, none of their devices would be usable. They rely on the community to develop the software for their devices.
Not for everyone. But, a worthwhile trade off for some of us.
Not having a SD card isn't "they rely on the community to develop the software", it's hardware. Not designing the thing to include a SD card is their own fault. And "well, if you disassemble a later model you can add an SD card by hardware hacking" is absurd.
Commercial products leave out the SD card 1) to encourage you to pay for their own services for purchases, rather than plopping some videos/mp3s/ebooks on a SD card, and 2) so they can price discriminate by offering less storage on some models. Pine64 doesn't have that excuse.
It is more like, yeah we blew it, but the cost of new tooling for injection molding an updated case would increase the cost of the (very low volume) device too much to reach a price point that would be accessible to as many hackers as possible. We'll add the port on newer revisions of the board, so you can either embed a card inside the device, or make/modify your own case.
Lots of hackers all around the world don't make anywhere near the incomes of e.g., SV developers. So, this is more, "Lets keep the price down to make the community as large and inclusive as we can." The projected price point of the e-reader is, unfortunately, already too high for many.
No, since it's proprietary software you don't know what it's being used for. But I'd bet a great deal of money in how they store and analyse all that data for purposes of advertising and worse.
I personally don't want a list of all the "subversive literature" I read nicely compiled for corporations and government to exploit, fuck that 100x.
It feels like the "Just don't do X if you are that paranoid" attitude is singlehandedly responsible for the increasingly egregious privacy invasions from the last decade.
I didn't say that. I'm saying that if you don't like how the device operates you can still use it in other ways. If the Kindles forced WiFi to be active and connected to Amazon servers, I'd see your point.
The library does not sell my data to thousands of corporations as its core business model. At the book store I can pay cash if I so desire. Yes you're right, it's truly no different from a detailed live-log of everything you read, analysed, packaged, and sold to whomever pays for it.
I'm with you. But, as others have noted, there are ways around it, even before there's a jailbreak available:
(1) Never connect the device to the Internet. There's really no reason to.
(2) Use KFX Output in Calibre, blocking access to the Amazon servers. This is a bit of a hassle but it is doable. Especially since books take hours to read, so you're really only doing the work for a few minutes to get hours of spy-free enjoyment.
Why buy a Kindle at that point? I have a Likebook Mars that has an SD card slot that I use to load books on to it, which I have never connected to the internet.
In general, I find that Kindle has the best backlight, is fastest, and has a generally very smooth UI. Now, I haven't used the latest version of the OS, so that might have changed, but in general all the non-Kindle E-Ink devices I've used, I've wished it were a Kindle without the spy stuff.
Out of curiosity, do you have ghosting problems with the Mars? You can also connect a kindle to USB and use the internal flash without ever connecting it to the internet.
An audio player that played proprietary files by exactly one record company would be obvious bullshit.
Somehow publishing has allowed itself to be squeezed into the e-reader equivalent. The result is a predictable lack of quality in both hardware and software - never mind consumer choice and delivery options.
What you all guys mean by Kindle? I have one for like a decade and I don’t get it. It’s not a strong brand of itself like iPhone (which is also smartphone).
All I can tell about it is that it’s a mediocre reader and that’s it. I don't upgrade it to any other reader because it just works, so I’m going to keep it till it won’t.
> Kindle software is software made by people who hate reading.
This sounds just about right. How many people read books these days? And of those that do, how many use a Kindle. And of those, how many are the kind to explore other devices and think about user experience? Of those, how many work at decision making roles at Amazon?
With the bad reputation that Amazon has, none of the good developers that I know who also read, want to work there. And even if they do want to, most devs would prefer the AWS team. In India at least, the Kindle team is supposed to be very toxic. I had a chance to interview with them 6 years ago and while the idea seemed super tempting, I'm glad I passed on the opportunity because I'd just joined another company and didn't want to leave the moment I'd joined.
Sadly, Amazon's latest UI change goes against everything that was great with the earliest Kindle designs as well. I'm never buying a Kindle again. I want to get the Boox Max 3 or the Remarkable 2, if I can somehow get these in India.
They don't want you to use anything but amazon's book store, not to side load your own epubs. Epub support is relatively trivial for them, they do not support it on purpose. They love people reading, but only books purchased from them!
So let me give my review of using kindle for the last three years.
I feel like kindle have two kinds of users:
- Orthodox user: only buy amazon books
- Unorthodox user: sideload books because doesn’t agree with drm or any other valid reason.
Ways in which amazon mess with unorthodox users:
- you can only sync using mobi and now you have a completely crippled book with horrible formatting;
- you have an almost good enough formatting with azw3 + calibre css kung fu but now you don’t have sync;
- want to see the cover on your sideloaded book? You need to either use it offline or use calibre workaround disconnecting the usb and reconnecting after sideloading it.
- Want to jailbreak your device? if you’re on the newest firmware you’re absolutely out of luck
So, if you’re an unorthodox user, do yourself a favor and buy any other brand of ereader. God knows whatelse amazon will do to nudge us into their walled garden on the years to come.
I'm an unorthodox reader by your definition. I've never, ever, connected my Kindle to the Internet and use it as a simple ebook reader. I've uploaded hundreds of books over the years through Calibre and the experience has been stellar. I don't give two fucks about syncing since it's my primary device for reading ebooks. I also have a tablet that I use only for pdfs. As for your last point, why would I want to jailbreak a device that works perfectly for what it is?
I feel like most of those unorthodox users (I am one) also keep their device permanently in flight mode, which also prevents firmware updates so half of that list isn't really a problem in practice.
That's fair. Though, after Amazon reached into people's Kindles and deleted 1984 (of all things), I just started seeing the extra hassle as cost of doing business.
Kindle also has great integration with Overdrive though. I use the Libby app on my phone to send library books to my Kindle. They get delivered directly from Amazon and it’s the same experience as if you had bought it.
- you can only sync using mobi and now you have a completely crippled book with horrible formatting;
Other brands of e-readers don't have sync for any format of side loaded books.
- want to see the cover on your sideloaded book? You need to either use it offline or use calibre workaround disconnecting the usb and reconnecting after sideloading it.
Don't use AZW3, instead make your books KFX with the correct amazon id and you won't have to worry about covers.
So, if you’re an unorthodox user, do yourself a favor and buy any other brand of ereader. God knows whatelse amazon will do to nudge us into their walled garden on the years to come
Amazon does suck, but the Kindle hardware is the best in the business.
Kobo has some nice software features, but their hardware kinda stinks. The Forma and the Libra H20 both have terrible lighting with a giant dark band on one side.
The Nook is a joke that Barnes and Noble stopped caring about years ago.
Boox violates the GPL by refusing to publish their kernel sources. I'm unsure of the hardware quality because I've never know anyone who's had one.
Yeah, but they don't take them for publishing in ku? at least vellum no longer users those for the primary kindle export. so it'd be weird that you're required to use them in other places?
They haven't updated their Send To Kindle tool or Send By Email flow in years so those are still format locked for whatever reason to mostly only supporting mobi, despite that mobi hasn't been the current format published by the store in years and the current format is epub-based and the Kindles support epub just fine now (hence why a bunch of people saying you can just rename an epub file to something like png or txt and the Send tools work just fine with that because they are that dumb).
Very nice to see they finally moved to USB-C. I will buy it (broke my previous paperwhite trying to hack a usb-c component into it) since that's the last piece of hardware I own that still hadn't upgraded to USB-C. It's still bonkers to me that I can charge my macbook, android and kindle with the same cable but if you are "all Apple" you need at least 3 different cables. It seems that even Apple is slowly moving over though, the holdouts used to be "Apple and Kindle" and now it's just "some Apple devices".
I've been using a 2nd gen Paperwhite for a long time. This might be the one I upgrade to (for the waterproofing and the warm light).
I really don't like Amazon though, so it's been a hard justification. Kindle is the only thing left I use that is Amazon.
I've thought about switching to Kobo, but I'm not sure it's worth it with how easy everything is on the Kindle.
I run a docker container with Calibre, and I use it to send all my books to the Kindle over e-mail. I would lose that functionality on the Kobo. I'd have to go back to manually syncing which would be a pain.
The only reason I needed to replace my 2nd gen paperwhite is because it fell out of my dry-sack into a river on a canoeing camping trip this summer. That thing had been backpacking to two dozen countries with me over a decade.
I have it running on my Unraid box with a million other docker containers and all my media. That way I don't need to worry about keeping my ebooks organized on more than one machine.
Amazon has shrunken down the bezels on the new Paperwhite. Given that the bezels are the primary place that you generally hold a Kindle, we’ll have to see the new device in person to gauge how that change works, although generally smaller bezels are a good thing in the tech world.
In my experience thin bezels are a liability in an e-reader. The thin bezel means I often accidentally touch the screen and it advances (or goes back) to another page.
One thing I hate about my Kindle: How it handles photos. Books have photos, even nerdy history books (like I read). Photos on the Kindle are small, difficult to enlarge/zoom and just plain terrible.
E-reader UX degrades fast as you introduce more elements outside the body text. They're great for a huge percentage of what actual gets read (genre fic and "airport book" sorts of nonfiction) but the limitations show up fast when you move outside that set of content.
An apparent major increase in battery life is good to see, because the battery life on Kindles has been going downhill for a while.
It doesn't help that Amazon insists on marketing them "based on a half hour of reading per day with wireless off and the light setting at 13". This doesn't align with my reading habits, so there's always a bit of subliminal disappointment at misleading-promises.
Pumped for this, I had the most basic model for a long while but unfortunately left it on a plane and haven't been back to the US/EU to replace it.
Anyone who used the previous Paperwhite version have thoughts on the tradeoffs of this versus the most basic version or an Ipad? I read a lot and might use something like an Ipad for netflix but I basically perpetually have my laptop with me anyways (just don't enjoy reading on it as I like something I can slip in my back pocket).
I can only speak for myself but given the choice I would never read an ebook on a digital screen over an e-ink screen. The difference to me is night and day. I have an older paperwhite and the backlight is truly wonderful, I imagine a newer model would improve on this (I believe they have a warmth adjustment setting which I would personally adore).
I’ve had the oasis for a couple years so can’t comment on this vs base. I will say I would never go back to reading on an iPad which I did a long long time ago. Waterproof is also key for me. Being able to read sitting by a pool, on a boat, or at the beach and not having to worry makes it infinitely more useful to me.
For reasons enumerated by others I prefer the e-ink screen. I also like that it's lighter weight (I use a paperwhite from ~2018), and that I can mostly use it one handed. It's also significantly less expensive.
It really comes down to your usage habits and preferences. I've found that I simply can't focus on reading on a phone or tablet, since there are too many distractions.
Yeah, I do worry that I'll get distracted by shiny objects if I don't have a dedicated device as well but haven't experimented with it so I'm not sure.
I bought an Oasis for the warm light option and it was well worth it. My use case is reading in bed and the old Paperwhite would hurt my eyes no matter what setting I used. The Oasis, with the the ability to use warm light and invert to light text on a dark background made it possible for me to read comfortably in a dark room.
The problem as always is not being able to quickly navigate around a book. Not a huge problem for linear fiction but for anything else, even more complex fiction (I'm currently reading The Divine Comedy), it's really annoying when you want to jump forward and back through the text. End notes are getting better with links that open up an overlay on the page but if I want to reference a previous section of the book I have to figure out where that section is and how to get there, sometimes using the search function -- all of this means I rarely bother.
I have a book light that was too bright so I wrapped a few layers of masking tape over it to make it much dimmer and warmer. I'm going to start using that with physical books I think.
Amazon recently sent me a (refurb) Paperwhite 4 (2018), and its page turns are much faster than my ancient Kindle Keyboards (one of which had 3g, thus the free Kindle).
The new one felt like instant page turns to me and I like that the screen isn't inset, but there is something weird about the screen that I don't care for, so I went back to the Keyboard.
You might not be used to the much higher screen resolution. I would try it a bit longer, as higher resolution generally means less eye strain in the long term.
Anyways, despite the new model I'm still fairly happy with my purchase. I don't read a lot (in fact I bought the Kindle just to use it while on a vacation), but I have to admit that epaper in general is something I never had the need to use - until I tried the Kindle.
The software still sucks though, but that will probably not change with an upgraded HW release :)
As other people mentioned here, Amazon is really locking in their users on formats that are beneficial to them only - but for its price I guess that these kind of limitations are okay-ish
I am in exactly the same boat. I did order the new one as well though, the version with the light sensors, because I like reading at night and the current light is too blue for my liking. The extra display size is a great bonus, and can I just say Type C charging finally.
I've been ok reading my Mannings books on it, and I love my selection of Prime books. Will give current device to my son.
I got a second one that is arriving today but I paid $40 with student discount. I think at that price is not worth 100 more. The only reason I’d upgrade is that I never use the light because it’s SO DAMN BLUE. From all the colors of LEDs to choose I don’t know why they went with this one. The yellowish color should be the default for everything.
For anyone looking for a more open experience, I have had only positive things to say about the Likebook P6. It's a 6inch android powered eink ereader that is around 120-140. It only has 1gb of ram and aggressive background task sleeping so it's not going to competing with any regular tablet, but it's a lot better than kindle in my opinion. You can run the kindle android app, libby, overdrive, scibd, and my favorite app for reading Moon+ Reader.
It's not going to be as simple as a Kindle but for anyone who understands what sideloading is (books or apps), I strongly recommend it. There's are larger screen p78 (7.8") and p10 (10") as well. And if you care about having stricter quality control and are willing to pay, Boox products also an option. Boox also run android.
After I jailbroke my kindle keyboard and then my kobo glo hd, there's no way I could ever go back to limited reading formats. The most useful app in each situation is KoReader.
KoReader runs on Android and so before you decide on a ereader, try our that software and see if it's something you want to live without. It supports "(PDF, DjVu, CBT, CBZ) and reflowable e-book formats (EPUB, FB2, Mobi, DOC, CHM, TXT)" and runs on Kindle with jailbreak, Kobo without Jailbreak, Remarkable, and android so Likebooks and Boox.
And Calibre is the useful regardless od what ereader you have, it's even great for iOS.
Kobo has dropbox sync and Android has a native app as well as apps like foldersync to do native syncing.
If you're okay spending a little time setting things up how you like them, Kindle is the least competitive device on the market in terms of features.
My theory is that it's easier for a company to lose customers, than it is to gain customers, with product updates.
Its overall dimensions are 0.3" taller and 0.3" wider than the current Paperwhite. At that size it will no longer fit in my pockets (my current one just barely fit), and thus will no longer be convenient to use, meaning it's worthless to me.
I never used my Paperwhite and though, "Gee, I wish the screen was bigger." I guess I'm not their target audience. I like to read wherever I go, and that means being able to take my Kindle wherever I go.
I wish Amazon kept it small, I need a new eReader and was holding out for Amazon's update, but now I am going to have to look elsewhere.
I have high hopes for PineNote by PINE64.
A lot more than a reader. They're promising a lot, hope they deliver. Some might not like the large size, or lack of robustness you find with dedicated ereaders like Kobos.
With all these updates, I really hope Rakuten takes note and releases a true Paperwhite competitor this year. I'm leaning towards Kobo for the more open ecosystem, and the fact that you can sync books via Dropbox officially or via big standard Linux applications sideloaded onto the Kobo. However if Kobo even updates any of their readers this holiday season, I suspect they'd only update the Forma, which has a form factor more similar to the Kindle Oasis than the Paperwhite (and a price to match).
> With the waterproof Kindle Paperwhite, you’re free to read and relax in more places—from the beach to the bath. Kindle Paperwhite is IPX8 rated to protect against accidental immersion in up to two meters of fresh water for up to 60 minutes, and up to 0.25 meters of seawater for up to 3 minutes. Learn more about waterproof features.
I wish companies would start getting challenged on this. It is NOT water PROOF. It's water RESISTANT.
As a daily kindle book reader there are two things I would like to see in a future model. The first is page turn buttons like the ones they had in the oasis. Touch screens are great, but the ones on kindles are not state of the art. And they work terribly if the device gets wet. Page turn buttons just work.
Very old kindles had a headphone jack. This was also always a nice thing to have.
I upgraded from one with buttons to the Oasis and I hate it, you're never sure where to press, or if you accidentally makes a double press or press something by mistake.
The tactile feedback from buttons compared to the terrible touchscreen of the Oasis was such a disappointment that it made me read less books on the Kindle platform.
Is there any reason why Amazon doesn't license out their store (or make it accessible) to non-kindle ereaders like the kobo? I'd love to be able to read a kindle ebook on some of the other readers on the market. For a company that doesn't typically balk at making their products available on other platforms, Amazon is surprisingly locked down here.
Why would it? It wants to push its ever increasing hardware ecosystem onto people and there probably is a tendency for a user who has one device from a company to keep buying more, whether a fire tv or an alexa.
I'm still looking forward to an e-reader that will allow me to comfortably read academic papers. The usual two-column format on pdf is very uncomfortable on small readers. The obvious choice is to use an A4-sized reader. While I haven't tried one myself, I think that to some extent it defeats the whole purpose.
USB C and colour temperature? I gave up waiting for this and ordered the Paperwhite with a leather cover a couple of months ago on special. I had the strongest feeling I'd regret not waiting longer, and it has thus been proven correct.
Have been using Kindles since the DXG, which I still have.
That's one area where I feel like there has been a regression. Back when eInk ebook readers were new several had physical "flappy paddles" to flip pages, it was glorious. Now they all use touch or gesture controls, and holding the thing is not really a consideration.
Unfortunately because Amazon has little to no competition in the space and offers no choice, you cannot vote with your wallet as it were.
Amazon does have the Kindle Oasis[1] which has physical buttons for page turning, and a design with a different take on how you hold it from a regular Kindle. It's the expensive model, though, so very much "vote with your wallet" in a different sense than you meant.
you can get an old ereader at a thrift store for about six dollars. usually they don't have a screen light, but that just means i go to bed on time. they're often rootable but i don't even bother, i just side-load epubs and keep any wireless off. online services are all eol anyway. i keep around a couple at a time and give them out if someone mentions they need a thing to read. the batteries all still last forever.
what's the advantage of a new device? somebody convince me.
I do most of my reading at night, so the backlight is a big feature add for me. If you don't need it then there isn't a lot of convincing anyone can do for you.
In the eReader space. Kobo released their first eReader with USB C a few months ago with the Elipsa which is a 10" reader and in a bit of a different category. These are Amazon's first eReaders to have USB C too. Otherwise to get eInk and USB C you had to go with smaller players like Oynx and Boyue.
> For what it’s worth, the variance in behavior between
> USB-C cables is so large I almost prefer micro at this point.
For high-bandwidth or fast-charge devices, sure. But for an E-Ink reader that you charge overnight once per month? I highly doubt that it would be an issue.
I think the problem is that this device will come with a USB-C cable that won't be good for much beside charging a Kindle, but could be plugged into something that wants higher power.
USB-C's greatest asset, that it is becoming truly a universal cable, is also kind of a problem--but probably less of a problem than the one it solves.
FWIW, my current Kindle is pickier about charging sources than any USB-C device I've ever owned. It absolutely refuses to charge via my alarm clock's USB port, which (with a USB-A to USB-C cable) will happily charge my headphones, portable battery, phones, and even my laptop (albeit very slowly)
Kindle software is software made by people who hate reading. If you want an ereader, get literally any other device. Don't support Amazon's disdain for the market it has a stranglehold on.