What do you want to see in the next generation e-readers?

[amafan]

I want direct links to scientific and technical pubs so we can follow links directly to the latest news in our field of study or occupation.  What about you?

[geoffthomas]

Yeah URLs would be nice in several different types of published work.

Just sayin......

[Gerund]

Honestly? Aside from resolving the ePub/mobi dispute (which isn't really a technological problem) and the usual more-is-always-better improvements (longer battery life, more storage space, crisper screen, more shades of grey, etc.), the K3 seems like it'll do just about everything I need in a device of this nature.

If anything, I'd be happy to lose some features, provided this was a trade-off with some benefits: I don't plan on using features like TTS, the dictionary lookup, the Facebook tie-ins, the highlighting feature, nor do I plan to make extensive use of the web browser for anything but buying books and managing the Kindle. If losing some of these features meant I got a smaller, lighter, cheaper or quicker device, then I'd be in favour of making that swap.

[mooshie78]

-Screen big enough to handle 8.5 x 11 documents
-Instant page turns so I can flip through documents easily
-Lag-free and precise stylus mark ups so I can highlight and jot notes as quickly and easily as I can in a book or print out of a scholarly journal article etc.
-Color screen


Those are the biggies for me--but to be fair I'm no really looking for a reader device to do that, but more an iPad like tablet or slate PC that does it all with iPad like form factor and battery life.  i.e. not a heavy, hot running, short battery lifed tablet PC of today or the past.

[R. M. Reed]

Some kind of roll-out or fold out screen so the closed device could be carried in a pocket. If the screen looked as good as Kindles do now.

[Jason in OH]

The main things for me are:
   - Speed: i.e. page turns, operations, highlighting, etc.
   - Better formatting: make the books "look" nicer. Pay more attention to formatting. (Probably something on the publisher's end, however)
   - User replaceable battery, back, a la nook. That is one feature I really like about the nook
   - Lending
   - Color would be nice, but not essential

[fuschiahedgehog]

Better support for 'collections' (or whatever they choose to call them).  Categories, sub-categories, etc.
The ability to manage 'collections' from a PC - the Kindle keyboard is murder on my fingers if I'm putting more than a couple of books/documents into various 'collections'
Some sort of backlight.  It would be nice to have the option available.  It's not always possible to find a good light source, and I've already trashed 2 booklights.  And besides, I've never found a booklight that I don't have to constantly adjust while reading.
Ability to turn pages remotely - either through a tethered remote or some sort of small wireless remote.

[CaroleC]

The k3 was designed as though Jeff Bezos had called me up on my home phone and asked me personally what I really wanted in the next Kindle. Well, he could have left out the Facebook and Twitter stuff, but I suppose a couple of unused menu options won't bother me.

There were a few improvements that I wanted that weren't included (though my main desires were addressed). One was access to more formats and library books. Even though my library has very few e-books, and the ones it has do not appeal to me, it just seems silly that my Kindle can't read them. Also, subfolders would have been nice.

It would be nice if I could share e-books that I bought with at least one other person, even if he isn't buying his Kindle books on my credit card. He and I have been together for over a decade and it's not like I'm putting the books out on the internet for public use or anything. I know we can move the registration back and forth on our credit card accounts, but why should I have to act and feel like a crook to do this?

Oh, and then I suppose it would be mildly pleasing if we had a choice of about 20 different colors, instead of just graphite or white. I might choose azure. But that's just an afterthought and not really that important.

The k3 sounds fantastic and I can hardly wait to get mine.

[Basilius]

Probably the biggest feature I'd want is the ability for a document to link to other documents on the device.

Then, we could create our own "portal" into our content, and organize it however we choose without the limitations imposed by the current collections system.

[David Derrico]

Well, I'd say the K3 pretty much nailed it. But for the next generations (starting with reality and then drifting a bit into fantasy land…):

K4: Better screen contrast (lighter, almost white background), more responsive (page turns almost instantaneous, capable of showing animation), unbreakable screen, library e-book support.

K5: Mirasol or color e-Ink screen (something non-backlit and energy efficient like e-Ink) -- hey, I like color covers. Better organization (subfolders, etc.) options. Lending features. Life-like text-to-speech, enabled on all books.

K7: Support for working with documents and spreadsheets. Productivity tools and apps. Great RSS reader. Good Internet browsing and full video capability should be around by then, in a form that doesn't detract from the reading experience. Some sort of Internet connection (Wi-Max, 5G, whatever) that works everywhere. Still the best e-reader around, but with added productivity functions and content creation/modification functions in addition to just reading. I'd like to maybe write some future novel on a K7 or K8.

K10: Foldable screen that collapses from 12" to fit into a pocket. Also perhaps includes your ID, license, credit card/banking info, car key fob (we better have flying cars by then too -- I was promised flying cars!), etc. and replaces not just your books, computer, keys, and phone, but also your wallet. 

[Vegas_Asian]

shun gun like mechanism for those who dare interupt my reading at an epic part of the story. (glares at bro)

[Tuttle]

Things that I would like:
-Better battery life
-Faster page turns
-More durable, especially in the screen. (despite me never having durability issues)
-The ability to use "AND" and "OR" with collections - i.e. "unread AND sci fi" coming up with all unread sci fi books
-Better PDF support (note taking working on pdfs, links on PDFs working (table of contents and otherwise), getting the option to download a PDF from the web browser, and such)
-Kindle "friends" - individuals who you can share books with, unlimited number of times but only within that group, when others have the book you don't, in order to make this more likely a limited size group and one which you must provide some level of detail to have new "friends".
-Waterproof kindle for use in bathtubs, specifically immersion proof would be better.

[rockstone]

An option to turn on a colour screen when required....

[history_lover]

The only thing I miss about paper books is being able to share/lend them to a few family members or friends. That's the only thing I really want from Kindle that they don't already have. A color screen would be nice but I'm not dying for it, especially if it's more expensive.

Of course I don't have one yet so I may find things that bother me when I start using it. Hope not though.

[SamuraiXSendai]

An option to turn on a colour screen when required....

Would reduced contrast in black and white mode be an acceptable trade-off for a color screen? It would not be acceptable to me. I would like greater contrast over any other improvement.

[Nicolas]

Better integration. Extended web usability outside the US. Amazon should start a dedicated information service for Kindle, by delivering news, blogs, reports "on the go". Would be a bit Apple-like (I hate their market policy) but would turn the Kindle into an ultimate information device without at annoyances, distractions and un-portability of a tablet pc. Color e-ink would be nice, but only if it's advanced enough. I bet few would trade a crispy b&w screen for a hazy, foggy, unreadable color solution. Also: direct Kindle-to-Kindle sync via bluetooth or IR. Bluetooth would also great for wireless headphones, pc sync. Also implementing other, non-text formats like presentations, Excel-sheets, etc... I'm getting a bit carried away

[robins777]

Other than, as mentioned above,  being able to lend or give/lend books to a freind or family member after I have read them I don't think there is much more I want.

[JSRinUK]

I know the technology isn't there yet, but I'd be interested in some kind of sensible touchscreen - so long as it's sufficiently advanced as to not impede the reading experience in any way whatsoever (if it's high-gloss, a fingerprint magnet, scratches easily, or results in lower-resolution, then I'd rather they didn't bother).

It's not high on most people's lists, but I'd like to be able to "write" notes in margins or on the page rather than just highlight and annotate.  Currently, when working on one of my books, I get it printed in book form and then go through it with a pen for corrections/edits.  Just a scribble here, an arrow there, a circle there, and a correction somewhere else.  It's so easy with a pen that I'd love to be able to do that with a stylus on an ebook reader.

That said, I don't yet have a Kindle and the K3 might prove to me that the current highlight/annotate function is adequate enough without this.

[mooshie78]

It's not high on most people's lists, but I'd like to be able to "write" notes in margins or on the page rather than just highlight and annotate. 

I'm 100% with you there.  Being a professor I'm constantly reading books and printouts of scholarly journal articles, student papers etc. etc. and jotting tons of notes in the margins.

So robust stylus mark up options are a huge need for me.  As noted above I'm leaning more toward a large screen tablet device (something like the iPad but bigger screen and stylus etc.) as I think it would work better for that purpose and I'd like internet access for research etc. etc.

[The Hooded Claw]

Collections interface now is stinky. I think partly because it has to deal with the Kindle's crummy interface. I'd rather see collections be set up on the computer, where I could point drag and click.  I'd also like it to ber based on tags rather than folders, so a book could be in more than one group. I assume this is done the way it is on K2 because Amazon wants to advertise ' no computer needed.' If they did this based on the computer, it could be used by K1 owners, which would be popular I'm sure.

I'd like library books and book lending, otherwise I think the K3 has about nailed it for a text reader.

[mooshie78]

I agree with that about collections as well.

That's another reason I lean toward wanting some tablet type device down the road--I really want something with a PC style file/folder system for organizing books and documents.

[Geoffrey]

K10: Foldable screen that collapses from 12" to fit into a pocket. Also perhaps includes your ID, license, credit card/banking info, car key fob (we better have flying cars by then too -- I was promised flying cars!), etc. and replaces not just your books, computer, keys, and phone, but also your wallet. 

ooh ... I want one of those - complete with holographic keyboard and solar charger.

[mpeg2]

For me, its a pretty simple set of features:

1) NO DRM
2) Ability to organize books into folders/subfolders
3) Faster page turns
4) Wide range of ebook formats (including at least pdf, txt, mobi, epub)
5) pdf reformatting to fit display screen

    Rich

[mattbiernat]

here is what i would like to see:
- alarm clock
- folders
- mail application (one that is only capable of downloading text - no attachments via 3G)
- wordpad with spellchecker
- stylus to jot down notes on the side
- better PDF support

[mattbiernat]

ooh ... I want one of those - complete with holographic keyboard and solar charger.

you can actually buy a holographic keyboard and a solar charger. i don't know why you insist that these should be integrated.