Live data from Hacker News

Voyage to Nowhere: The Amazon Kindle Story

cgpgrey.com

101–110 of 192 posts

Re: Voyage to Nowhere: The Amazon Kindle Story

#101
As a commuter the kindle paperwhite was such a step back, the removal of the side buttons effectively prevented you from reading it left handed, I find myself halving to turn the page with my nose if for some reason I have to hold on with my right hand while on the subway.

Re: Voyage to Nowhere: The Amazon Kindle Story

#102

After having owned three kindles, I have switched to a kobo about a year ago. The kobo has many of its own problems, but it gets the reading experience right: it uses (very un-aggressive) hyphenation, and the lock screen displays the book cover. I miss going on Amazon, clicking some button, and immediately start reading a new book. Now that's a multi step process that involves a computer and a DRM removal tool. But t…

> the lock screen displays the book cover. That's almost right. It should display the last page read!

The problem with that is (at least on e-ink displays) you wouldn't know if the device was on or off.

Showing the book cover solves that :)

Re: Voyage to Nowhere: The Amazon Kindle Story

#104
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with this post, but not with regards to the Kindle, but more Amazon as an entity. Also, perfect timing to read this article, after just purchasing a Kindle Paperwhite and having it for a few weeks now. As a casual reader, I find the Kindle Paperwhite as the perfect medium for my reading needs. I can hold it in one hand, I can read it any time of the day with adjustable brightness, and the e-ink is very clear…

> The justification notion, I would argue that the typical user may not notice it as much as the hardcore reader. The fact of the matter is it impacts all readers, whether they recognize it or not, and there is a reason the printing industry generally doesn't do it.

At what point would you acknowledge that maybe the large number of people who think they prefer full justification... actually prefer full justification?

Re: Voyage to Nowhere: The Amazon Kindle Story

#105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the lock screen displays the book cover. That's almost right. It should display the last page read!

The problem with that is (at least on e-ink displays) you wouldn't know if the device was on or off. Showing the book cover solves that :)

Easy. It could be shown with a black border instead of a white one. Or any of innumerable other ways.

Re: Voyage to Nowhere: The Amazon Kindle Story

#106

This person seems extremely picky. I have pretty much every generation of kindle and they just keep getting incrementally better. Resolution, backlight, multiple dictionaries, x-ray, etc.

Completely agreed. The worse argument is the one about the backlight not being red... If you care about that kind of thing you already have a bedside luminotherapy lamp. Which means you will use it to read (which is way more comfortable). The backlight's primary function is to counter the effect of the sun in daytime park / balcony / beach / etc... reading. You need a lot of luminosity, and certainly not weak ass red lighting.

Re: Voyage to Nowhere: The Amazon Kindle Story

#107
post #88

This person seems extremely picky. I have pretty much every generation of kindle and they just keep getting incrementally better. Resolution, backlight, multiple dictionaries, x-ray, etc.

Removing physical buttons to turn the pages was a giant leap backwards. It's stopped me from buying the Voyage.

It's paperwhite that has no physical buttons. Voyage has them again, but apparently they don't act quite like the old buttons.

Re: Voyage to Nowhere: The Amazon Kindle Story

#108
post #107
post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Removing physical buttons to turn the pages was a giant leap backwards. It's stopped me from buying the Voyage.

It's paperwhite that has no physical buttons. Voyage has them again, but apparently they don't act quite like the old buttons.

The Voyage has buttons that you can't push. It uses a strange touch sensitive mechanism that works badly enough that you can't rely on it.

Re: Voyage to Nowhere: The Amazon Kindle Story

#109
post #6

To be fair, I find it much easier to fall asleep after using my Kindle Paperwhite than I do with an iPad. But, virtually every aspect of the Kindle ecosystem user experience is an experience in mediocrity. In some respects, I feel like the company is like what you'd get if you crossed the worst aspects of Microsoft and Google. (And apologies to my friends who work at Amazon, but let's be honest: you're all going to q…

I too fall asleep easier while reading on my Paperwhite. Rather annoying actually.

Did you try reading something less boring? ;)

Re: Voyage to Nowhere: The Amazon Kindle Story

#110
post #36
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I love my Kindle, but I hate the touch function. I don't know, I read a lot on the Paperwhite and I got used to the touch screen. It's quite comfortable, even though I would probably prefer some actual buttons. In any case I was won over. I was reading a lot of paper books before and I am finding the experience of reading with an ereader to be superior in almost every way.

> ... and I am finding the experience of reading with an ereader to be superior in almost every way. That's what keep sneezing or Kindle. Not having to fiddle and accidentally leave my place if I set the book down, being able to get a new book almost instantly, being able to look up words I don't know keep using the Kindle despite all the software/hardware faults. Not having to fiddle and accidentally leave my place…

> I'm glad I didn't have to struggle with the 1,200 page physical edition.

Yes. I read a lot in bed before sleeping, and i found it extremely uncomfortable nowadays to have to turn pages in a paper book - having the possibility to just be on the same "surface" when reading text is just great. And the paperwhite is just light enough that it does not get too painful on your wrists, compared to a large book that just makes you tired holding it.

Post reply on HN