Amazon Kindle discussion
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Upgrading Kindle...
My first - gotten two years ago December - is a Kindle Fire and I wouldn't trade it for anything. The swipe screen, no buttons, being able to read in bed with no lights on at all, and capable to buy books, check out library ebooks, watch a movie or TV show on Netflix, and even check Facebook (if I want; I rarely use it to get online, other than Amazon or Netflix) ... at this point, I almost couldn't be without it!
Julia if you upgrade can i have your old kindle. Mine pooped. The on button no longer works. Usa
I got a kindle paperwhite about 6 months ago and I love it, I don't miss fisical buttons and I can read and turn the pages with one hand (and I have small hands).
I have one of the older Kindle keyboards. I got a Paperwhite, tried it, loathed it, but by the time I made the decision it was too late to return it. So I gave it away to my brother's wife's sister, who wanted an ebook reader but couldn't afford one just then. Part of the "no" decision was the severe loss of memory between Kindle Keyboard and Paperwhite, i.e., from 3500MB to 1100MB...all because of the lighting features and extra software for touch page turns, etc. Thus reducing the number of books you can have on it.I bought a case for the Kindle, which "plugs into" the case, and has a small slide-out light that shines down onto the screen, making reading easy in darkness, without strain. It only works, of course, when you're actually reading.
However, on an impulse, I signed up for the Voyage. This time I'll be careful to do my testing before the 30-day return window is up.
Since I use my Kindle solely for ebook reading, and have no need for anything fancier, e.g., I'm perfectly happy to do all my purchasing at my desktop computer, etc., I'll see what this one is like. And for whatever use my opinions might be, I'll let you know sometime in November. (They don't come out until 10/21).
Eric-who-always-offers-his-USD .02
Eric wrote: "I have one of the older Kindle keyboards. I got a Paperwhite, tried it, loathed it, but by the time I made the decision it was too late to return it. So I gave it away to my brother's wife's sister..."Thanks very much for your comments. I also have an old Kindle keyboard with the light in the cover. It serves my purposes very nicely. I am anxious to see what you think about the new Voyage model. I just bought my first ipad and so I have books on that one too. I don't really need a new toy, but will wait to see what you say. See how influential you are! Plus I just ordered my first iphone (6 Plus). I've never had a smart phone - probably don't really need one of those either - but I have a new car with blue tooth and so many other gizmos that I don't think I want any more toys to have to figure out. I'll wait to see what you think.
Thanks for the kind words, Tricia.I "want" a smartphone, and "want" a tablet (I doubt I'll ever buy an Apple product, too comfortable with the alternatives), but I don't need either one.
I work from my home to earn a living, so I'm not out and about where I need email access via phone, or any other apps like mobile banking, etc. And when I have a nice desktop, comfortable chair, and large screen to use for my writing (MM romances, with a Regency romance called The Rake, The Rogue and the Roue, just released for free)...I don't need a tablet, either.
I'm just inherently gadget-hungry. Thus the comparatively modest impulse buy with the Voyage.
I will report my conclusions faithfully, and quite possibly far too much at length, as a friend once told me that my post-it notes are 8.5 x 11. >g<
Eric
Eric wrote: "Thanks for the kind words, Tricia.I "want" a smartphone, and "want" a tablet (I doubt I'll ever buy an Apple product, too comfortable with the alternatives), but I don't need either one.
I work ..."
Okay, you promised! And I'll faithfully await your report. I'm a retired teacher, way too much into reading. (Need to find a more active hobby.) I also do not need these fancy toys, but they are fun when I'm not too frustrated trying to figure them out. Thanks for your help and advice. Tricia
Julia wrote: "What do you guys think? Did anyone upgrade? Did you regret your decision?"Hi Julia,
Here are a few random thoughts that probably won’t help you decide anything. :) I upgraded from a Kindle Keyboard to a 2nd generation Paperwhite last year. I love my Paperwhite, and I normally skip at least one or two generations before upgrading, but I have the Voyage on pre-order. I always have family and friends who can’t easily afford gadgets and enjoy receiving my older devices.
If you’re on the fence about ordering the Voyage, you might want to go ahead and pre-order it now. The wi-fi only version with special offers is already showing a delivery date for current orders of 11/23 which is a month after the 10/21 release date. Right now the only version of the Voyage that still has an October date is the Wi-Fi + 3G version with special offers. It would be better to get it on order now before the date gets pushed back even further, and then you can think about it over the next month or two and cancel it if you change your mind. At this point, you would probably even have time to read reviews from those of us who pre-ordered more quickly and gets ours in October to help you decide whether to keep your order.
I also just want to clarify that the Paperwhite and Voyage are front lit, not backlit. I know this may seem like a minor detail, but it’s actually a huge difference. Backlighting is what you see on a computer monitor, a smartphone, or a tablet such as the Kindle Fire or the iPad. The light shines out from the device. Ever use your cell phone as a flashlight in a pinch? That doesn’t work with the Paperwhite because the light is shining down toward the “page”. Backlit devices are usually difficult to read in direct sunlight due to the glare, and a lot of people complain of eye strain if they stare at them too long. Front lit devices, on the other hand, are a lot like having a good reading light shining down on a physical book. There is no glare, and there should be no more eye strain than what you would experience reading a physical book – perhaps less thanks to the ability to adjust the font size.
You mentioned the reading speed monitoring feature… I refer to the “time to read” indicator on my Paperwhite quite a bit, but it isn’t very accurate. At least, it isn’t for me. I would like to use the option that tells me how much time I have left in the entire book, but it’s very erratic. When I start a new book, it will tell me I can read a 600 page book in an hour. (I assure you, I can’t.) As I get closer to the middle of the book, the estimate slowly increases until it’s actually overestimating my time. Then, by the end of the book, it’s underestimating again. The setting that shows how much time is left in the current chapter is a little more useful, though. It’s just as inaccurate, but it makes much less of a difference with shorter segments of the book. I can at least tell when I’ve started a long or short chapter, and whether or not I’m close to the end.
As far as my reasons for ordering the Voyage -- I really like the improved resolution, the improved lighting options, and the fact that it’s a little bit lighter and thinner. However, the physical buttons were the biggest selling point for me. The lack thereof was my only complaint about the Paperwhite. The touch screen is very easy to use, and I never have trouble getting it to do what I want, but I find it awkward to hold it and read it with just my left hand, which used to be my preferred Kindle-holding position. The right hand works better because I can grip the flap from the cover for extra support when I’m using my thumb to turn the page. Also, I usually like to read under a cover that’s pulled up to my chin. With my old Kindles, I could hold the Kindle through the cover and squeeze the buttons when I wanted to turn the page while staying fully covered. With the Paperwhite, I have to keep half an arm outside of the cover.
If you’re not in a huge hurry and care more about saving money, another option would be to wait a few months for sales and/or lower-priced refurbished models. Of course, if you wait too long, then you may end up waiting for next year's new models to be announced and find yourself in the same boat. :)
Eric wrote: "Part of the "no" decision was the severe loss of memory between Kindle Keyboard and Paperwhite, i.e., from 3500MB to 1100MB...all because of the lighting features and extra software for touch page turns, etc. Thus reducing the number of books you can have on it."For me, that was irrelevant. I don't see the Kindle as a storage device. I try to keep it to less than a dozen books at any given time.
Randy wrote: "For me, that was irrelevant. I don't see the Kindle as a storage device. I try to keep it to less than a dozen books at any given time."I’m the same way. Having too many books on my device makes it hard for me to decide what book to read next. I like my world, even my electronic world, to be clean, simple, and uncluttered.
I keep the next 5-10 books I plan to read on my Kindle. When I get down to around 5 books left, I decide on the next set of books and download a few more. I might download a few extra if I’m traveling, just in case I get stuck somewhere without Wi-Fi. Everything else is stored on my cloud. Non-Amazon books are also sent to my cloud for the convenience factor. I almost always have Wi-Fi access, and it only takes a second to download a book. I can't think of any point in my six or seven years of Kindle usage when I haven't been able to access a book that I wanted to read at the moment I wanted to read it.
Thanks for the many replies, you've helped me a lot already :) @Donald I've got a kindle fire as well - but I don't like reading on it. I mainly use it for browsing, apps etc... :)
@Sonya I assume you're in the US, I'm in the UK. We'd probably pay more for postage than what its worth :D
@Eric Very interesting, thanks! I don't really care about the storage to be honest, my kindle is only a 2gb model and I'm perfectly fine with it (I don't like to have too many books on there at the same time)
@Youkneek You actually helped me quite a lot :D More often than not I like to read while fully covered - and that was my main concern that I would be a little less comfortable haha :D So (I think) I decided that I want the Voyage. I'm not sure if I'll actually get it, as factors like the improved resolution don't concern me too much and it feels like I am spending £70 more on the same device. BUT I need those buttons. And I want a front light (thanks for clarifying that ;))
The preorder dates don't concern me too much, I'll wait for Christmas anyway and I'll either order in the UK or Germany (my other home :p), we have to wait until November anyway and the preorder date hasn't changed (so far).
I'm happy to read more opinions and some reviews on the voyage :)
I've had 4 kindles since they were released - the very original one released in 2008; the DX (which I later sold because I wasn't using); a K2i and then the paperwhite and I will likely get the voyager because i like toys...the memory thing didn't bother me - I still have close to 200 books on my paperwhite and have no issues (mostly because I get a bad case of book ADD and bounce around to many books at once)
Oh you guys are making me excited about the Voyage. The physical keys was why I never jumped at the Paperwhite. I do have about 400 books on Precious (4 year-old K3) but I use Calibre to organize and side-load so I rarely whispernet to the K and if it does (because of pre-orders or borrows), I end up moving the preorders to Calibre to metatag it and make title changes etc. I just never know what I want to read next and I use the Calibre collections to categorize so I just randomly pick the next read. So I can probably get away with the cheap wifi model anyway.It will be nice to not have to the cover with the light poking out, I have to be so careful and have fallen asleep and had it fall on the floor and get bent or the brackets that hold the kindle in the cover have gotten bent and sometimes connection is an issue. Precious has started to act a little hinky at times - getting stuck on a page and having to reset and sometimes that doesn't work.
@Eric, I'll go look at your LHNB reads. I've been slowly adding them, I usually wait for the full anthologies but I've been reading a few that I've like quite a bit.
ETA: I pre-ordered the wifi only, with special offers and with a delivery date of November 28.
YouKneeK wrote: "Julia wrote: "What do you guys think? Did anyone upgrade? Did you regret your decision?"Hi Julia,
Here are a few random thoughts that probably won’t help you decide anything. :) I upgraded from..."
You convinced me! I just placed my order with a mid-November delivery date - in time for Thanksgiving travel. I am upgrading from a Kindle KB that I've had for 4 years. It still works but I'm noticing that the battery needs charging more frequently and sometimes it freezes and I have to reboot. Plus I really like the new features especially resolution and lighting. I waited just long enough to order the Paperwhite for Amazon to remedy my issues with the Voyage upgrade (physical buttons instead of touch-screen and page turn on both sides).
@julia, I got a free nook reader over the weekend. it's a gift from a friend, a barnes and noble reader.
I didn't order the origami cover because I really like the look of the Paperwhite cover (which doesn't fit the Voyage) and opens like a book but I noticed that a lot of people were complaining about the Origami cover (the flip-over like a steno notebook) and then saw on Reddit that Amazon is working on a like-Paperwhite cover for the Voyage - but no time frame....I think I might wait for that.
I pre-ordered the Voyage on the day it was announced. I'm looking forward to the front lit screen but most of all...the page turn buttons! That is what kept me from ordering a PW when they came out.
I own a K2 and 1st gen Fire but my K2 died and I hate my Fire. I don't like reading with a backlit touch screen and the Fire isn't like a normal tablet so it's not good for much else.
I own a K2 and 1st gen Fire but my K2 died and I hate my Fire. I don't like reading with a backlit touch screen and the Fire isn't like a normal tablet so it's not good for much else.
Shannen *aka Mrs. Jericho Barrons* wrote: "I pre-ordered the Voyage on the day it was announced. I'm looking forward to the front lit screen but most of all...the page turn buttons! That is what kept me from ordering a PW when they came out..."Me 2
Shannen *aka Mrs. Jericho Barrons* wrote: "I own a K2 and 1st gen Fire but my K2 died and I hate my Fire. I don't like reading with a backlit touch screen and the Fire isn't like a normal tablet so it's not good for much else. "Really? I love mine. I use it for for magazines (National Geographic, Time, Cooking Light, Smithsonian) and cookbooks (Kindle book versions in color of BH&G Red Plaid cookbook, etc). I love that I can put it into Freetime mode and hand it to my son and he can't touch any apps I didn't approve for him to use. I also download videos (Amazon Prime membership) to watch at the gym, which I can't do with Netflix or on my husband's iPad.
I haven't found anything my husband's iPad can do that I can't also do on my Fire other then iTunes, and there are some things I can do that he can't.
Oh, and I so want a Voyage. I have a PW1 and it works wonderfully, but I still having total tech lust over the new one. I keep hoping my husband will magically get me one for Christmas.
My new Voyage arrived today. (I was lucky enough to get an order in the same day they announced, so delivery the same day they're officially available.)A LOT smaller than I expected...a great deal less than my Kindle keyboard (which like the old Timex watch commercials most of you are too young to remember, just keeps on ticking). Lighter weight.
I'm not interested in the bells and whistles (pressing a word for a definition, making notes, blah blah blah) as the only thing I want to do is read fiction easily.
As is not surprising, the instructions are less than clear. So far I haven't found a way to turn off the 3G (as you can do so easily with the KK). My understanding is that having the wireless function on is a greater drain on the battery, but we'll have to see.
I'm heading to bed in a bit, so I'll plug it in and get it fully charged overnight and see what happens.
Oh by the way, if you get the version without special offers, and you turn it on, go to the home page and across the bottom you see several books, with an arrow you can tap for more...it turns out those aren't special offers they're recommendations, and you have to go into settings and device preferences to turn the bloody things off. Just an FYI.
The idea of one of those origami covers is, I think, absurd, because inevitably all that folding and unfolding is going to give way. So I bought a cheaper Incipio cover in basic black that is supposed to arrive tomorrow. I'll see if it's any good, since I could find any specs anywhere (the Incipio.com Web site doesn't even list the Voyage covers) to even find out what it's made of.
More later.
Eric
Hi Eric, I received my Voyage today also. I have the Wi-Fi only version, but I assume that by turning off the 3G you mean that you want to turn off both 3G and Wi-Fi, as opposed to turning off 3G and using Wi-Fi instead? If so, then you’re looking for “Airplane Mode” – they changed the terminology a few devices back to be more consistent with the terminology used by other internet-capable devices such as smartphones.When airplane mode is on, your 3G/Wi-Fi is turned off, meaning, it's safe for use on airplanes. When airplane mode is off, the reverse is true. You can find this mode under settings. Click the icon with the 3 horizontal lines on the far right of the icon bar at the top. Then select Settings and you’ll see Airplane Mode at the top of the list. It’s one or two extra steps, I believe, over pre-Paperwhite devices. When I got my Paperwhite, I wished it had its own icon on the menu at the top.
You should also find a “Kindle Voyage User’s Guide” already loaded on your device. The tutorial when you first turn the device on just covers extremely basic functionality. If you open the User Guide up, you can search for keywords related to specific questions -- assuming you don’t want to just read the whole thing. For example, searching for 3G will bring up information about how to turn it off. I tried it to verify, and the solution was on page 3 of the search results, the 3rd entry on that page, at location 180. The user’s guide really isn’t very long, and I found it worthwhile to read. I actually read it quite some time ago because there was a link to it on the product page, so I felt like I already knew my Voyage by the time it arrived. Plus it has a lot of similarities with my Paperwhite.
I was skeptical about the origami cover, but I decided to take a chance on it. So far I like it. The magnets help make everything stick in the position you want without it being floppy, which was my primary concern. When you fold the cover back, it clasps firmly to the back of the cover and doesn’t move. When you fold it so that it forms the “stand”, that part is magnetized also so that it stays in place firmly. After the Paperwhite case, which was very hard to get the Paperwhite out of, I like how easy it is to get my Voyage out of the origami case. It’s also pretty light. Only time will tell how well it will stand up. However, since I don’t plan to use the stand feature often, it won’t be getting folded that often. In any case, I doubt it would be subject to any more stress than what the fold of any Kindle cover gets subjected to as readers constantly open them and fold them back.
Obviously I haven’t used it much at this point, but my first impressions are favorable – both of the Voyage and of the origami cover.
Cool - loving the comments. Still trying to decide what to do about the cover. My delivery date is 10/31 and I had ordered on the Sunday after the announcement.
I had the kk for maybe a year close to two when it started getting lines across the screen so I invested in the pw when it came out but I was am happy with both. I might like the pw more because I can read it in the dark. But I don't know where I have been.....There is a new device! !! The Voyage. I'm going to look at Amazon now. I was just there Saturday night buying something else. I'm glad I read this thread.
I'm hoping they offer a custom image origami cover similar to the custom image Paperwhite covers you can order from Amazon.
By the way, for those who were excited about the Voyage having manual page forward/back controls, they're a wee bit odd in reality. My Kindle keyboard has "buttons" on either side of the screen that you quickly and easily clicked. What the Voyage has, however, is a circle on each side for page back, and a vertical line on each side for page forward. What you have to do to make them work is to squeeze the spot, presumably between thumb and forefinger, and hold it for a couple of seconds. Not a good design in my opinion.
Frankly, in my experiments with it briefly yesterday (10/21), page turning was easier with just a light tap on the screen close to the right edge (forward) or left edge (back).
Just more of my USD .02.
Eric
Follow-up:I bought the Incipio black folio/folder style cover for the Voyage. It arrived this morning. It's leather-looking, and the Voyage fit into it easily. The power button is in the upper right corner on the back, so the cover has a knob/bump that fits into the power button site, and on the back of the cover is a depression that you just press to work the power function.
I noted, too, that with the cover "backing" the Voyage, using the circle (backward) and line (forward) to change pages was much easier. It just requires a modicum of pressure, not much more than tapping the screen.
Only caveat: there's nothing to hold the cover closed. Not necessarily a deal-breaker (as in a return) but I'll see how it works in "real life." I'm taking myself to dinner and the theatre tonight and since I usually take my Kindle with me, I'll substitute the Voyage.
Also, I let it charge overnight, so we'll see how well it performs, battery-wise.
More later.
Eric
p.s. Hope this is of some help.
Eric wrote: "I noted, too, that with the cover "backing" the Voyage, using the circle (backward) and line (forward) to change pages was much easier. It just requires a modicum of pressure, not much more than tapping the screen."Have you adjusted the PagePress sensitivity at all? I was happy with it left on medium, but I did adjust the haptic feedback to the highest setting as suggested since I usually read with the cover on. Although that might change now that it's so easy to take the Voyage out of the cover!
I personally haven’t found it difficult or awkward to use the PagePress buttons, with or without the cover. I’ve been able to go back to my pre-Paperwhite Kindle holding method – holding it with my thumb on the bezel, right on top of the next page button on the left side of the device. When I’m ready to go to the next page, I just add light pressure right where my thumb is already at. For me, it’s perfect.
I suspect I’ll use the buttons and the touch screen interchangeably depending on my reading position, but it’s really nice to have the option. Especially now that it’s starting to get chilly where I live. Yesterday I was wrapped up in a blanket pulled up to my chin without the need to keep a hand free to touch the screen directly. I could just squeeze through the cover.
Did you get your 3G turned off?
Just discovered that my loyal old Kindle 2 is reaching the end of its useful life -- so thanks to all for the comments on the Voyage & Paperwhite models. Still haven't decided which of these would meet my needs best, but I do need to pick a replacement. Any guidance welcome.
Hi Ann,It looks like the price difference between the two devices is currently about $80 in the U.S., so I think the main question to ask yourself is whether or not the PagePress buttons and the improved resolution are worth $80 to you.
The resolution on the Voyage is very impressive. When I hold it next to my 2nd generation Paperwhite, the Paperwhite looks almost blurry by comparison. However, the Paperwhite always looked great to me – it was only in direct comparison with the Voyage that it seemed inferior. Since you’re upgrading from a much older device, you’re bound to see a significant improvement versus what you’re used to no matter which one you choose.
The buttons are pretty subjective. Once new Kindles stopped coming with physical buttons, my impression was that most people were perfectly fine without them. But there seemed to be a significant number of people, myself included, who missed them. The touch screen on both devices works very well – it isn’t too sensitive, and it typically does what I expect it to do. This might be less true for people who are less experienced with using touch screen devices. In my opinion, it’s less a question of the functionality of the touch screen and more a question of how you like to hold your Kindle. You might try holding your current Kindle for a while and imagine that you have to tap the screen instead of pressing the buttons. Consider also that this means you can’t turn the page if both of your hands are buried under a cover. Well, I guess you could use your nose, but that would be awkward! :)
In my eyes, those are the two biggest differences. Most of the basic functionality is exactly the same between the two devices. The Voyage is a bit thinner and lighter, which is nice, but it isn’t as if the Paperwhite were big and heavy. And, again, compared to your current Kindle, either device will probably seem like a dramatic change from what you're used to.
Actually, the auto-brightness feature on the Voyage is very nice also. If I were facing your decision, and if I were on the fence, I think that feature would nudge me over to the Voyage side. I like not having to adjust the light manually. The best part is that there’s a setting that adjusts the light gradually so it doesn’t seem quite so jarring when you change the brightness. Sometimes if I moved from a light room into a dark room, for example, the existing setting was too bright but the appropriately low setting seemed too dark after I had been used to the higher brightness. Sometimes I would find myself manually doing my own slow-adjust and continuously dropping it to a lower brightness as my eyes adjusted! It’s much nicer and less distracting to have my Voyage do that for me. But whether or not this is a worthwhile feature for you would depend on how often you change to different levels of ambient light.
Lara Amber - I went from a K2 to the Fire 1st gen. The Fire was heavier, no 3G and no page turn buttons. I have been reading with a touch screen for a few years now and have never liked it. Can't read left handed. Can't read outside. Can't surf the internet because it's SO slow.
I have been using my Voyage for a couple days now and love it. The PagePress feature is wonderful but weird at first. I had to set mine on low so it turns with a lighter "squeeze". Is it worth $199+? The PagePress feature alone is worth it to me. The front lit screen is my other favorite thing.
I have been using my Voyage for a couple days now and love it. The PagePress feature is wonderful but weird at first. I had to set mine on low so it turns with a lighter "squeeze". Is it worth $199+? The PagePress feature alone is worth it to me. The front lit screen is my other favorite thing.
I'm glad to see all the positive reviews of the Voyage. I think if I drop any more hints about wanting one for Christmas my husband will wonder if I think he's simple.
YouKneeK wrote: "Eric wrote: "I noted, too, that with the cover "backing" the Voyage, using the circle (backward) and line (forward) to change pages was much easier. It just requires a modicum of pressure, not much..."Sorry for the delay in saying thanks for your help. Real life intruded big time.
I did get the 3G turned off, so I'm hoping that increases battery life. Although 2 days ago, I had it with me for about 12 hours (not always with the screen active), probably read 4-5 hours in the aggregate, and the fully-charged battery went to 50%. Since all the hoopla about weeks of battery life is, I think, based on .5 hours/day reading...WHO reads a half hour a day?...the battery life hype is totally inaccurate.
I'm just going to put the Voyage on the charger overnight if it's down any reasonable amount when I go to bed.
I adjusted the page press, but for the most part it's still more effort that a finger tap. I keep the Voyage in its cover, and when reading hold it open like I'm reading a physical book. That leaves my right hand free for tapping or squeezing as the mood strikes.
Thanks for your advice.
Eric
YouKneeK wrote: "Hi Ann,It looks like the price difference between the two devices is currently about $80 in the U.S., so I think the main question to ask yourself is whether or not the PagePress buttons and the ..."
Thanks for all this great info! BTW, I do also have a 2012 Fire HD, so I'm OK with swiping or tapping pages - I just know I need an e-ink Kindle for many situations. Right now, what's keeping me from just going with a Voyage is some hesitation about very new tech: do I want the latest & greatest, with that very useful page "button" feature, or do I want a more proven device? I'll keep checking this topic & reading what braver Kindle folks are learning about their new Voyages.
Eric wrote: "YouKneeK wrote: "Eric wrote: "I noted, too, that with the cover "backing" the Voyage, using the circle (backward) and line (forward) to change pages was much easier. It just requires a modicum of p..."they have always based their battery esimates off half hour reading a day, with light set at the lowest level for Paperwhite and even before that
I read about 4 hours daily, I get 3 to 4 days on my paperwhite.
Given the amount of reading I do, the rapid battery reduction for the Voyage is the only potential reason for sending it back.Unfortunately, I don't compare battery life to Paperwhite or other self-lit devices, but to my trusty (still chugging along after all these years) Kindle keyboard. Logically, it's all the extra "energy" used up for the internal lighting which is the problem.
But the Incipio black folio cover is nice, with the caveat that it doesn't quite avoid pressure on the screen. So if I shut the cover to carry the V upstairs, finger pressure holding it closed can move me several pages back or forward.
True, it's small enough that I could carry it open, cradled in one hand. But what if that glass of wine in the other hand should spill (klutz that I are) on the V itself? Quelle horreur!
>g<
Eric-the-never-nimble
I received my new Voyage yesterday - ordered 9/21 with original delivery date of 11/28, moved to 10/31, then got a text Sunday that it was shipping with delivery yesterday.It's beautiful. I was going to save it until I found a cover and just still use the KK but after playing with it for an hour or so, couldn't put it down. I tested it in bed, oh my! After having the KK with the lighted cover headlight for four years, no comparison at all.
I ordered a Bear Motion sleeve for $8 bucks http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N... (with Prime, delivery tomorrow) so I can at least put it in something (besides carrying around in the box) while I wait for either Amazon to come to their senses and do a book style cover, or read reviews of third party covers coming available in the next few weeks.
So far after 24 hours, I am a total Voyage fan.
Only caveat, will have to be very careful that my smutty books are hidden when people want to look at it. Haven't had time to side load anything yet.
Anyone use Calibre? Do I need to do anything to Calibre for it to recognize the new K? Probably won't have time until this weekend to do anything about it.
I bought the Incipio folder/book style cover for my Voyage because it was the only thing immediately available. It's black, has the "feel" of leather but undoubtedly isn't and works just fine. $29.95 if I recall correctly. The prices I saw for other covers to be available later were in the $49.95-$59.95 range. I frankly don't see the need to spend that kind of money, but that's just me.Eric
~Lei ~ Reading Is An Adventure ~ wrote: "I received my new Voyage yesterday - ordered 9/21 with original delivery date of 11/28, moved to 10/31, then got a text Sunday that it was shipping with delivery yesterday.It's beautiful. I was ..."
Thanks so much for this link. I've taken the plunge & am awaiting my Voyage in early December, but wanted something to protect it until the case issue gets sorted out.
Ann - I received the case today and the Voyage fits perfectly. I don't notice an odor unless I put my nose in it which you're not going to do.I'm really pleased with it and can breathe easier while I figure out what to do. I may even not get a case, but then I'd probably want to get a skin so the screen doesn't get scratched.
With the light in the Voyage, not so much of a worry of cover or no cover and with having the KK with the lighted cover, which I can already tell you I don't miss having that headlight on in the dark.
Great minds! I also ordered a Bear Motion sleeve but it is this one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K...
So I have a couple of questions about the Cloud Collection for Voyage.I've always downloaded all my books, not just Amazon purchases, to Calibre first, where I organize them into series, collections, metatag them etc then side-load to the K. Since I had a KK, haven't really paid much attention to the newer kindle versions, and realized when I went to run the Collection plug-in for the Voyage, there's no model for Voyage available. Which led me to mobireads to catch up on what's going on.
I had side-loaded two books (Amazon purchases) but when I turned on the wifi, it looks like the Cloud also downloaded it to the device and now I have two copies of each book, the mobi copies and az* files.
So it looks like my Calibre Collections are pretty much useless for the Voyage? And really the only books I should side-load are the non-Amazon purchases? And making Collections on the Voyage is painful compared to doing it in Calibre?
And, I read racy books, and now all the covers are showing!! Which is when I found out how trying making Collections on the Voyage can be. Why is there no search when you're making the Collection. Seriously I have around 975 Kindle books which makes the Cloud page on the Voyage say there are 123 pages. How the heck am I supposed to easily make a collection?
I never wanted to delete books from Amazon if I didn't like them but at 123 pages, I'm thinking that might be the only way to make it manageable. (They're not downloaded to the device).
Any suggestions or thoughts on how to make collections more palatable, I'd love to hear them.
My Kindle Voyage arrived yesterday a month ahead of the projected ship date. While I am still figuring out how it works, two differences from my KK are immediately striking - the Voyage is much lighter weight and the screen resolution is amazing. I also like the lighting on the 'page'. I did not like the 'recommendations' appearing at the bottom of my home screen. I spent extra money for no special offers because I do not want Amazon marketing to me every time I read. And I don't want to see other folks highlights on my e-book. Reminds me of reading a used textbook. Both of these are default settings that have now been turned off. I needed Amazon Customer Service to assist with the first one and the representative was ill-prepared to answer basic questions (e.g., where is the power button?) or to quickly resolve my complaint. After being put on hold multiple times for several minutes each and after a couple of wrong directions, he was finally able to resolve the problem. Apparently there's a learning curve at Amazon. I wish they had transferred me to someone who knew what to do - probably the person he was asking every time he put me on hold!
One question for the group - The ebooks on my KK are organized in collections. When I go to the cloud from my Voyage, it shows each book (300) in apparently random order. Can I transfer the collections from my KK or do I have to create new ones on Voyage?
Thanks in advance to anyone who spares me another arduous call with Amazon. (I'm used to better informed customer service from them.)
Well, heads up to a potential new Voyage problem. I've had mind since 10/21. I like the light weight, the lighting. Like Nell I got rid of the recommendations and the highlight/notes garbage. I also like the small size when I take myself out to dinner and the theatre...I can slip it into the pocket of my suitcoat, instead of having to carry it (the KK).BUT here's what I just discovered.
Since I have all my ebooks in a single folder on my computer, whether bought from AMZ or not, I've simply hooked up my previous devices...the KK and my Nexus 7 (it's a "control panel for my Google Fiber TV/DVR)...to the computer with a USB cable, and moved books where I wanted. I had no trouble opening/reading them on either device.
So to save time on transfers (HA!) I downloaded the 900 or so books on the KK to a temporary folder on my computer, hooked up the Voyage and transferred back.
On a significant number of those books, when I try to open it, I get a message telling me I don't own the book, I should download it from the Cloud or I should delete the book and buy a copy ("you effing thief!" is implied).
I haven't had time (real world, sick dogs, earning a living, yada yada yada) to snarl at AMZ and see if there's a fix other than manually downloading the 1500 or so books I've bought from AMZ to the Voyage, and then manually deleting the ones I've already read/don't want on there.
Anyone else experienced this? If so, any solutions?
Thanks.
Eric
Nell wrote: "Can I transfer the collections from my KK or do I have to create new ones on Voyage?"Hi Nell, I’m not sure if the KK had cloud collections or not. If it did, your collections should be out there. If I remember correctly, when you first get the Voyage, your cloud collections are hidden by default. You can access them by performing the following steps:
1. From the home screen, select the middle drop-down (it’s the one to the left of your sort method drop down – it probably says “My Items”) and choose “Collections”.
2. If you do have cloud collections, you should now see a list of them and can proceed to steps 3 and 4.
3. To add a collection so that it’s visible on your Voyage, hold your finger on the collection until the menu comes up and select “Show in All Views”. That collection will now have a star next to it.
4. To get back to where you probably were before, click that middle drop-down again and select “All Items”. Then, to see everything nicely sorted into collections, select the far-right drop-down and select “Collection”. Any collections that you put a star on in step 3 should show up now.
If you didn’t see any collections in step 2, then I think you’re probably going to have to recreate them. Cloud collections weren’t added until later and I’m not sure if they pushed them out as a software update to the Kindle Keyboard. Going forward, though, your collections will be stored on the cloud so you shouldn’t have to create them again.
Eric wrote: "On a significant number of those books, when I try to open it, I get a message telling me I don't own the book, I should download it from the Cloud or I should delete the book and buy a copy ("you effing thief!" is implied)."Hi Eric,
This sounds like the basic behavior of any e-book that’s protected by DRM. I don’t know all of the nitty-gritty details behind DRM, but it protects e-books from being distributed illegally. For example, if you were to send a bunch of your e-books to a friend, and they tried to load them on their own device, they would be unable to open the e-books if they were protected with DRM. It somehow keys it to the device that it was originally sent to, so that the book can only be opened on that device. Of course, the obvious downside is that it also prevents legitimate copying of e-books for use on multiple devices that you own. You have to re-download them from the distributor (such as Amazon) onto the new device.
The part that confuses me is that you said you’ve transferred books around between devices before without issue. My question would be whether you’re sure you’ve transferred DRM-protected books and opened them without issue on a device other than the one where you initially downloaded the book. Some books may work fine if you have books that aren’t protected by DRM.
Another thought would be if, on your non-Amazon device(s), you’re using some sort of software other than the Kindle app to read the e-books. It might be automatically converting the books and/or stripping the DRM so you can read them.
YouKneeK wrote: "Nell wrote: "Can I transfer the collections from my KK or do I have to create new ones on Voyage?"Hi Nell, I’m not sure if the KK had cloud collections or not. If it did, your collections should..."
Thanks for the tip. It didn't work so my KK collections must be on the device only. There is one preliminary step missing. You need to go to "Cloud" on the home screen and then to "My Items".
YouKneeK wrote: "Eric wrote: "On a significant number of those books, when I try to open it, I get a message telling me I don't own the book, I should download it from the Cloud or I should delete the book and buy ..."It's early Friday afternoon, American Midwest, and GR says that your note was posted 17 hours ago...and I just got notice of it. Almost as efficient as our postal service! (Not)
Thanks for the advice. All my books from Baen are DRM free, the books I self-publish are DRM free, and I reasonably often see AMZ note that a particular book I'm buying has been requested to be DRM free. So I'd forgotten that possibility.
A couple of years ago, when my first KK was lost, and after KK2 arrived (still chugging along) I discovered there was no way online to just click something and download everything. So I called Kindle support, worked my way up to a supervisor (after several people said "download all" was impossible), and she did something that started everything I then owned (about 1100 books at the time) downloading to KK2.
When I got my Paperwhite (eventually given away) I wanted to do the same thing, but everyone at Kindle Support kept telling me that was impossible, and without directly saying so, called me a liar when I told them it had been done once before. One support person told me that the only way it could have been done by Kindle Support was the same way I would have to do it...manually go through a couple of mouse-clicks per book to choose the device and download. Which was patently untrue, since the books came down the 3G pipeline far faster than anyone manually selecting each for download.
I guess when that happens I'll just have to decide whether I really want to read the book on the Voyage, or just read it on the KK.
I use no software that strips DRM from my ebooks.
My Nexus (though I doubt that I will ever use it again for reading) is registered with AMZ, but I simply transferred books to it via USB from my desktop, from the folder that has all my ebooks from every source. Perhaps I just never tried it with a book that had DRM.
In any event, thanks for clarifying matters. Your technical expertise and willingness to share is greatly appreciated.
Eric
Received my Voyage last week. Love it.
I had also ordered the origami cover because I tend to toss stuff about.
The Amazon cover on the PW was near perfect and I thought I'd dislike the steno style origami.
Wrong on both counts.
The PW cover didn't stay folded back, you needed to hold it closed. Not a biggie but switching hands etc the cover would open.
The origami cover stays open (and shut) magnetically.
Also the stand like fold is great. At the restaurant last night I could rudely set up my book and chow down. (Flying single, family away doing Nana things)
My PW would have to be propped up at a very specific angle at breakfast to avoid slipping flat while I ate my Cheerios. No more!
I am surprised myself that the origami cover works so well for me.
I had also ordered the origami cover because I tend to toss stuff about.
The Amazon cover on the PW was near perfect and I thought I'd dislike the steno style origami.
Wrong on both counts.
The PW cover didn't stay folded back, you needed to hold it closed. Not a biggie but switching hands etc the cover would open.
The origami cover stays open (and shut) magnetically.
Also the stand like fold is great. At the restaurant last night I could rudely set up my book and chow down. (Flying single, family away doing Nana things)
My PW would have to be propped up at a very specific angle at breakfast to avoid slipping flat while I ate my Cheerios. No more!
I am surprised myself that the origami cover works so well for me.
I bought a Kindle 4 about 2 1/2 years ago. It works perfectly fine and I am perfectly happy with it. It is very basic though - I fell in love with some of the features of the Paperwhite/Voyage. Such as the backlight (obviously), the different start screen, monitoring your reading speed ...
I am considering upgrading (I'll probably find someone who'll take my good old friend) but I'm not sure if it's worth it. I'd be perfectly fine with the Paperwhite but I am missing the buttons and I am not going to spend £70 more to get the Voyage just to have buttons :D
What do you guys think? Did anyone upgrade? Did you regret your decision?