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Kindle loyalists scramble as Amazon turns page on old e-readers

reuters.com

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Re: Kindle loyalists scramble as Amazon turns page on old e-readers

#111

Post by strooper »

mrec wrote: post #83
__rito__ wrote: post #77

I will just stick with Kindles. Indian heat and humidity make a Kindle unusable in 7-8 years, unless you have a 100% AC life. Kindles last a month on a charge or two. It's very light. It's affordable. It doesn’t show colors, but I have an android tab to read papers and technical content, anyway. I tried looking at alternatives, but low price + extreme power efficiency + being able to sideload books is just great.

I was about to complain that my Paperwhite only lasts a couple of days between charges (it shuts down when battery drops to ~50%) but then realized that I've had it 7-8 years. No Indian heat here though, I'm in the UK.

I replaced the battery after using the kindle Paperwhite for 7+ years. And now its battery life is as good as the new one's.

Re: Kindle loyalists scramble as Amazon turns page on old e-readers

#112

Post by MegaDeKay »

pyreko wrote: post #72
crtasm wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kobo's devices let you bypass the account signup via a single option in a config file. Whether you do so or not it's easy to install koreader and start writing plugins for it. You can also hack on the linux OS they use

Yep, there's a plethora of tweaks and stuff out there to mess with Kobos to make them your own, and it's not hard to do. Been super happy with my Kobo Clara.

I have a Kobo Clara HD and one day it wouldn't connect to USB anymore. Changed cables, took it apart to examine the connector (it was fine), tried it on both my Desktop and my laptop, etc. I was about to give up on it when I found out that it just doesn't work with USB 3. Verified that by successfully connecting to an old PC downstairs on USB 2. Turns out I hadn't used the Kobo in a while and I had replaced my Desktop and ancient laptop since. Both those older machines were connecting on USB 2 ports.

Got a USB expander dongle on AliExpress for something like six bucks that breaks out a few USB 2 ports and the Kobo is happy as a clam. So am I now, because the Kobo is great.

Re: Kindle loyalists scramble as Amazon turns page on old e-readers

#113

Post by teruakohatu »

qingcharles wrote: post #104
neves wrote: post #89

Does anyone has experience with Android e-ink ebook readers? Are they worth it? Brazilian Government just released a great public library of e-books: https://meclivros.mec.gov.br/ An Android e-ink reader would be perfect for it. And I'd use kindle app to read my kindle ebooks. But I don't really see people using them.

This seems to be a hot e-reader right now: https://www.reddit.com/r/xteinkereader/

I really don’t understand the hype of that product.

It’s like an entrepreneur with social media marketing skills came across a container full of really cheap small eink displays, then designed a product and marketing around it.

Re: Kindle loyalists scramble as Amazon turns page on old e-readers

#114

Post by e28eta »

Aloha wrote: post #107
A_D_E_P_T wrote: post #34

Amazon's attitude towards its Kindle device customers is one of lofty disregard. Every time they announce new Kindle products, half of the comments are like "I hope they have buttons," "I hope they bring back the Oasis," etc. But they appear to exult in dashing the hopes of their customers, or at the very least they don't care about them at all. They've doubled down on no-key devices with stupid pens, pointless and p…

14 years of support for a device is pretty incredible.

I don’t know how I feel about it. I’ve been on one side, looking at usage numbers of older iOS versions, and arguing that low single digit percentages were fine to stop supporting with the new version.

On the other hand, I view my kindle as an appliance, and I don’t need it to have updated functionality. I think this is true of many electronics: digital cameras, printers, misc USB peripherals, etc. I believe Amazon could easily support the APIs it uses, and keep delivering me books that I’ve paid for or borrowed.

Financially, I suspect the kindle devices have a much longer lifetime than iPhones do, and Amazon is still making $$ off of old kindles.

If there were TLS concerns, a partial disablement (ex: can’t buy books from the device) would be way more acceptable than a complete cutoff. I’ve seen suggestions that it’s a DRM issue, and if that’s the primary motivation, it’s pretty disappointing.

Re: Kindle loyalists scramble as Amazon turns page on old e-readers

#115

Post by tren »

neves wrote: post #89

Does anyone has experience with Android e-ink ebook readers? Are they worth it? Brazilian Government just released a great public library of e-books: https://meclivros.mec.gov.br/ An Android e-ink reader would be perfect for it. And I'd use kindle app to read my kindle ebooks. But I don't really see people using them.

I use a Boox and really like it, but it's definitely not the same price point as a kindle. It has a stylus but I basically use it exclusively for reading.

Re: Kindle loyalists scramble as Amazon turns page on old e-readers

#116

Post by PunchyHamster »

paulcole wrote: post #93
A_D_E_P_T wrote: post #34

Amazon's attitude towards its Kindle device customers is one of lofty disregard. Every time they announce new Kindle products, half of the comments are like "I hope they have buttons," "I hope they bring back the Oasis," etc. But they appear to exult in dashing the hopes of their customers, or at the very least they don't care about them at all. They've doubled down on no-key devices with stupid pens, pointless and p…

> Every time they announce new Kindle products, half of the comments are like "I hope they have buttons," "I hope they bring back the Oasis," etc. WWII fighter plane with red spots on it dot gif. The vast majority of people who buy Kindles simply read books on them and don’t repeatedly cry online about features that are never coming back. I’ve bought about 10 of the things dating back to 2012 either because I wanted…

Different way to think about it: Whatever failings device might have, people still buy it for Amazon service integration.

Also "but people buy it anyway" is terrible way to disregard legitimate criticizm without thinking

Re: Kindle loyalists scramble as Amazon turns page on old e-readers

#117

Post by solenoid0937 »

Aloha wrote: post #107
A_D_E_P_T wrote: post #34

Amazon's attitude towards its Kindle device customers is one of lofty disregard. Every time they announce new Kindle products, half of the comments are like "I hope they have buttons," "I hope they bring back the Oasis," etc. But they appear to exult in dashing the hopes of their customers, or at the very least they don't care about them at all. They've doubled down on no-key devices with stupid pens, pointless and p…

14 years of support for a device is pretty incredible.

Yeah, I do not really see the problem here. These devices are ancient and the panic is unwarranted. The older Kindles can be jailbroken if anyone cares that much.

I think there is a smaller argument that the newer Kindles don't feel as nice. The Oasis was the pinnacle of e-reader hardware design, and it'll be sad when they stop supporting it, but it certainly won't be worthy of a news article or this kind of reaction.

Re: Kindle loyalists scramble as Amazon turns page on old e-readers

#118

Post by kstrauser »

jay_kyburz wrote: post #81
__rito__ wrote: post #77

I will just stick with Kindles. Indian heat and humidity make a Kindle unusable in 7-8 years, unless you have a 100% AC life. Kindles last a month on a charge or two. It's very light. It's affordable. It doesn’t show colors, but I have an android tab to read papers and technical content, anyway. I tried looking at alternatives, but low price + extreme power efficiency + being able to sideload books is just great.

Kobo is all that but without Amazon.

Seconded. I bought a Libra 2 a few years ago and loved it so much that I’ve gifted a couple more. There’s nothing about it I’d want to change.

Re: Kindle loyalists scramble as Amazon turns page on old e-readers

#119

Post by Crespyl »

bobmarleybiceps wrote: post #37
wedg_ wrote: post #35

I have a Kindle which I think is surviving this purge. But after looking at alternatives like the Kobo, I wondered where people got their books? Ofc there's the high seas, but I'd quite like to support the authors and I can afford ~£10 for a book now and then. But are there any stores as good/convenient as the Amazon one?

is the kobo store not good/convenient compared to kindle? I thought the kobo store was pretty good, but it is my first and only e-reader.

Kobo store is convenient but feels pricey sometimes (I don't have experience with the Kindle store). I don't mind paying them though, because it's still easy enough to strip the DRM and make backup copies of my books. If that changes, I'll take my business elsewhere.

I make a lot of use of my local library through the native Overdrive integration.

Re: Kindle loyalists scramble as Amazon turns page on old e-readers

#120

Post by exmadscientist »

bobmarleybiceps wrote: post #37
wedg_ wrote: post #35

I have a Kindle which I think is surviving this purge. But after looking at alternatives like the Kobo, I wondered where people got their books? Ofc there's the high seas, but I'd quite like to support the authors and I can afford ~£10 for a book now and then. But are there any stores as good/convenient as the Amazon one?

is the kobo store not good/convenient compared to kindle? I thought the kobo store was pretty good, but it is my first and only e-reader.

There's nothing wrong with the Kobo store itself, but some titles are only published via Amazon. Especially from self-published authors or participants in Kindle Unlimited. Whereas the major releases from the bigger publishers are usually widely available.

This is somewhat annoying. Please don't offer only one storefront as a place to buy your work.

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