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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

#121

Post by kstrauser »

rahimnathwani wrote: post #94
WithinReason wrote: post #22

Just got an xteink x4 and flashed crosspoint on it, I've been tuning fonts by modifying the font generator and now it renders great. https://www.xteink.com/products/xteink-x4

Maybe I'm getting old, but I don't see the appeal of reading on an eink device that's smaller than my phone, which I'm always carrying. Maybe if I'm reading outside in sunlight rather than in bed? Or if I'm worried about getting distracted by a FB/X notification?

Different person, but I bought a set for me and my wife on a whim because they’re so cheap, and found I adore the little thing. I have a public transit commute to and from work. Since getting it, I’ve spent my commutes reading books I’ve meant to get around to.

I have a Kobo I keep at home. I love it, but don’t want to risk breaking it while carrying it around in my backpack, and it’s too big to comfortably hold on a crowded BART (let alone to dig around in my bag to get it out and put it away). The X4 is always in my pants pocket during the commute and small enough to break out wherever I am. Also, it’s small enough to not feel fragile, and cheap enough that it wouldn’t be devastating if I broke it anyway.

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

#122

Post by trueno »

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…

if they want buttons just look at the various e-readers online there's like such a breadth of these things now its insane. i personally was fetched an xteink reader cause theyre tiny (literally magsafes to the back of my phone wtf) and i love that (they have buttons) and chucked this dudes custom firmware on it to make formatting and usability a lil bit better https://github.com/crosspoint-reader/crosspoint-reader

is it kindle, no but can i read a book on it yeah. easily.

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

#123

Post by hoppyhoppy2 »

devilbunny wrote: post #100
literalAardvark wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It'd be fair if they unlocked them.

The device isn’t locked, and you can continue to read anything on it. You just can’t put new things on it directly from Amazon via its built-in interface. An original-model Kindle has more of its original functionality than an original-model iPad.

The OS is locked, no? That's why people have to jailbreak it to install software like KOreader?

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

#124

Post by stock_toaster »

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.

Unfortunately a lot of fiction (sci-fi/fantasy) ebooks are effectively kindle exclusive these days (amazon publisher deals exclusivity), due to the near monopoly amazon has… and since they have locked things down even harder lately, it is much more difficult to export purchases to other readers.

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

#125

Post by al_borland »

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.

It seems they’ve gone out of their want to make them useless. They could have ended official support, while still allowing users to download ebooks from the store and side loading them through a computer. However, before killing support, they eliminated the ability to download ebooks to the computer.

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

#126

Post by Aloha »

e28eta wrote: post #114
Aloha wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 c…

I'm supporting a 30 year old product, the oldest one in the field are 20+ years old, we still support them.

I'm just in the process of developing a lifecycle policy, being able to cut off support for a 12 year systems would make my life much more full of joy.

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

#127

Post by paulcole »

PunchyHamster wrote: post #116
paulcole wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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

“But people cry about it” doesnt mean the criticisms are legitimate.

To be fair, I don’t think the criticisms are illegitimate by your definition, I just think they’re pointless and from vocal crybabies.

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

#128

Post by liveoneggs »

Insanity wrote: post #98
__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.

There is a Kindle Color . Haven’t used that yet either.

I just replaced my old kindle with a colorsoft. It was annoyingly white until I figured out how to get that old school kindle yellow/newspaper/paperback look going again.

The newer battery is nice and usb-c is a big upgrade instead of finding my last mini usb (or whatever it was). I think I'm down to just one last thing on that stupid cable (a camping lantern).

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

#129

Post by Lanrei »

kstrauser wrote: post #118
jay_kyburz wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I'd change mine so that the portrait and landscape button layout were separately configurable.

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

#130

Post by propter_hoc »

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 just bought a boox go color 2. Kindle form factor, color e-ink screen, runs android, supports stylus.

I don't know if I love it yet but I read seven ebooks in a month on it, so I guess it's been a good purchase. The android kindle app has a neat smooth scrolling feature that works really well.

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