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January 14, 2024

Thoughts on using the kindle after 4 years

I had my kindle paperwhite for about 4 years so here's an update on using it.  (My previous post about about using the kindle is here.)
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The Bad
01 - Still didn't like how they changed the home screen to two separate sections — The Home page is basically advertising because it's the kindle home store in a smaller format. You can check out recommendations but that's it. Plus I see the same cover with what's-his-face (some guy who messed up twitter) and it annoys the heck out of me. The Library is where your books are. I only visit the Home section when I don't feel like reading what I have.

02 - No power off button either on screen or as an actual button on the device — This is a complaint from the start but I kind of hope they would update the software to have a screen power off button but nope. I read somewhere that the kindle use very little power to stay on but then why does the battery drain more when not in use if that is the case? There is no power off even if you have the screen turned off, it is still, technically, on.

03 - It still updates by itself (when wi-fi is turned on) and don't turn off screen which leads to battery draining — I don't get why users don't get the option to choose when to update. It randomly chooses the time to update. Once it had suddenly decided to update while I was reading - the screen turned white and then it started updating. You don't even get a notice before it happens.

04 - One thing that annoys me endlessly is the feature on the left bottom corner — It's usually blank but when you're reading and happen to tap the left bottom corner, it shows the location of the book, the percentage you are reading up to and how long it takes to finish the book - all good info but still annoying to me because I don't want any text there.

05 - Still find browsing the kindle store on the kindle a bad idea — I don't recommend browsing books on your kindle because the book covers are tiny, in fact, everything's tiny and the book info does not include the genre which I find unhelpful and neither is the way you can't arrange to read the one-star reviews first. But also, browsing the store drains battery considerably.

06 - The error that comes back now and now is when a book (usually the one you just close) suddenly takes on a cover of another book — This seems to be fixed when I turned off or on the 'group series in library' option. For now, turning it off keeps the error from happening but that means no grouping of series which is kind of annoying but nothing I can do about that.

07 - Still don't like that you can't pick your choice of images when the kindle sleeps — When you're not reading, your kindle shows typewriter/book images or you can set it to show the cover of the book you're currently reading. I don't like either option. I would prefer more pleasing images. Plus it's black and white, most covers look awful in black and white.

08 - Problems highlighting words to get the definition — This tap and hold or tap and drag or drag and hold and tap or whatever doesn't work well. I don't know what's wrong but I had to do it several times to get it to work but I usually give up after a while because who wants to waste time trying to highlight a word just to get the definition while you're reading?

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Good and Bad
09 - Still don't like that you can't orient the Library page horizontally — I set the reading orientation horizontal so I have to turn the kindle to see my book list. Why offer this option only for reading? I like the horizontal orientation because it's almost the exact width of a paperback.
10 - It still get a frozen screen now and then but a restart always solves the problem — Restart is the only option when your kindles freezes or doesn't work right but it always works after a restart.

11 - Still can only use the kindle ebook format — I chose the kindle ereader because the kindle format is more widely used but it sort of makes me a slave to the kindle format. On the downside, most public library ebooks are epub books but I can't get them onto the kindle because of DRM (Digital Rights Management) and I don't want to waste time trying to figure that out. I did try once but it was so frustrating that I gave up. If amazon allows you to install software such as Overdrive/Libby on the kindle, then I can read library epub books straight from the library without having to go through amazon but of course, they would never do that because they want to sell their own kindle format. Regardless of that, I still buy kindle ebooks because some books only comes in kindle format.

12 - The dictionary is a useful tool but only if you can select the words — The dictionary (which I have two of them which I had downloaded but I don't remember how that happened) is pretty useful and I use it a lot until recently because it has become rather difficult highlighting a word.

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The Good
13 - Storage memory is still good — I got the 8GB version which is really 6GB as it used 2GB for whatever it uses to make it run. I've used slightly more than 1GB as I don't read graphic novels nor illustrated or audio books, nor do I keep downloads of books I didn't like on my kindle and I also borrow books from the public library so I doubt I will ever use up the 6GB memory. Most books are such small files that they don't take much memory so even if I get a 2GB kindle (actually 4GB which they don't sell), I still would have been fine. Frankly, keeping downloads of books I've already read on my kindle is kind of useless because I don't re-read them.

14 - Battery life still pretty good — I complained about battery draining but if you don't browse the kindle store on your kindle (this drains the battery pretty quickly) and if you keep the screen turn off when not using, battery life is pretty good. 

15 - I no longer get a notice on the kindle when a library book has expired or when I return it to the library.

16 - It still works even after I dropped it twice — Hardware-wise, it is still in good shape, no broken screen or corners or scratches but lots of fingerprint smudges on the back side (I have the black version) and I can't remove them no matter what. I don't use a case of any kind but I do store it in a home-made paper case when not in use. I don't use a screen protector either. I know people want to protect their expensive devices like the kindle but if such devices can't be used without a case, then it means it isn't made well and the kindle is made well, hardware-wise anyway. The only reason to get a case is if you plan on using it while traveling.
    
That's it. I don't really have major issues with my kindle other than me wanting to throw it against a wall (which I definitely don't recommend) now and then when the screen freezes which probably would create some issues.

Do you use an kindle ereader and if you do, do you like it?

8 comments:

  1. No kindle reader here. When I have no options I read e-books on my desktop. However I much prefer the look, the feel, the smell of books. Which I still categorise as real books. And I find flicking back to find a page/paragraph I want to reread much easier on the paper version.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Elephant's Child: I couldn't read a book on a desktop as it's rather odd as the screen is a bit too large. I like real books more but I really don't have space for them.

      Thank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. Christine: I'm happy to share.

      Thank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete
  3. The update thing sounds really irritating...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Roberta: Yes, the update thing is a bit annoying. I suppose if I keep the wi-fi off, then it might be better but I keep forgetting.

      Thank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete
  4. I have a Paperwhite and I like it well enough, but I much prefer to read an actual book. So I don't use it that much? In fact it's sitting next to me now and needs to be recharged and has for two weeks lol, I'm just not using it...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Greg: I also kind of prefer to read a real book but I guess I'm more incline to keep using the ereader now as I am getting into the habit plus it takes too long to borrow actual books from the library. I have a few gadgets that are just sitting about also...

      Thank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete

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