davistroy
Status: Dr. Seuss
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Gender: 
Marietta, GA, USA
Posts: 13
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« on: February 27, 2009, 08:06:38 AM » |
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My Kindle 2 arrived on Tuesday, but I didn't get home from a business trip until late Thursday, so I had an exercise in what I always am talking to my kids about - patience.
In summary, I love this thing. It's absolutely awesome. I'd really give it an 8.5 on a scale of 1-10.
But it's not perfect. Rather than devote a lot of text to what's already been said, I thought I'd point out a few things that I think could have or should have been done better.
1. The 5-way - I really like it, but it's too small/slick. This concept has been around for years on mobile phones, game consoles, and digital cameras and the like so I would have thought that Amazon could have implemented this better. The 5-way is the right concept, but it seems small (too hard to get your finger or thumb on it just right to manipulate it), and it is "slick" - meaning your finger/thumb slips on it. I have had laptops with replaceable rubberized "nubs" that work great, and I have had cell phones that actually had smaller nubs, but had sharper edges or something that made it easier to use ... so maybe small isn't the real problem. Maybe it needs a texture or edge so that your appendage can more easily "grab" it.
2. Screen/Cursor responsiveness - the cursor responds slowly when moving it with the 5-way - I constantly find myself waiting for the cursor to catch up.
3. Folders and/or tags - yes, it really needs it. I'm less than 24 hours with the device in hand and I already need something like this.
4. The contrast could be better - the screen is excellent, but obviously, stark white background with deep black letters would be better. I'm getting REALLY nitpicky here, because the screen really is fantastic.
5. Allow other fonts - I'd like to try other fonts to see if I like them better. The built in font is nice, but options would be nicer.
6. Better web browser - the browser really is horrible - it renders a LOT of pages that I visited incorrectly. Once Chrome comes out for Linux, a port of Chrome over to the Kindle would be fantastic (Firefox is too feature-rich for a device like the Kindle).
That's it for now. I'm sure I'll have more as I use it.
To summarize - a fantastic device, exceeds my expectations - it really does "disappear" when I am reading. A few minor changes, some of which can be fixed with a firmware upgrade and it would be perfect.
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« Last Edit: February 27, 2009, 09:09:38 AM by davistroy »
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Linda Cannon-Mott
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« Reply #2 on: February 27, 2009, 09:50:19 AM » |
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Nice review, thanks! I think the joy stick would be more difficult for a man. I don't have any problem with it but I can see it being too small for a guy.
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« Last Edit: February 27, 2009, 09:51:58 AM by Linda Cannon-Mott »
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DD
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« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2009, 06:47:16 AM » |
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Hi, davistroy. Great review. I agree with you on the controller thing. Some texture would have been nice to give some grip. I'm beginning to think my K1 screen was darker than some or on the blink because I find the new K2 screen contrast so sharp it almost seems like black and white to me. My K1 page background was much darker.
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Member #484   "Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning the devil says, "OH d*mn, SHE'S UP"!" |
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Jesslyn
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« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2009, 01:23:07 PM » |
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Wow, your review made me look at the fonts and I hadn't noticed before that they changed the font on the K2! They are using sanserif on the K1 but not on the K2
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happyblob
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« Reply #5 on: March 04, 2009, 04:25:50 PM » |
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That pretty much sums it up. I second the thing about the web browser. But still K2 is as good as you can get.
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jimbellow
Status: Dr. Seuss
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Posts: 40
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« Reply #6 on: March 13, 2009, 06:05:55 PM » |
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I agree its the best new product since the Iphone  |
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tylerdurden51
Status: Dr. Seuss
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Posts: 22
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« Reply #8 on: April 04, 2009, 08:40:00 AM » |
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thanks for the honest review!
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Knowledge is power!
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MichaelS
Status: Dr. Seuss
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Posts: 28
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« Reply #9 on: June 05, 2009, 05:41:03 PM » |
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i love kindle, but the iphone really is sex on a stick  YEP! |
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angelad
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« Reply #10 on: July 02, 2009, 11:55:59 AM » |
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i love kindle, but the iphone really is sex on a stick LOL |
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cheerio
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« Reply #11 on: July 15, 2009, 03:39:02 PM » |
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I agree its the best new product since the Iphone I dont know about the iphone comparison, Iphone is pretty genius |
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"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent." Eleanor Roosevelt
"A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her." David Brinkle
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angelad
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« Reply #12 on: September 25, 2009, 11:36:30 AM » |
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I dont know about the iphone comparison, Iphone is pretty genius
Ehh, to each his own. |
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911jason
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« Reply #13 on: September 25, 2009, 03:44:31 PM » |
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1. The 5-way - I really like it, but it's too small/slick. This concept has been around for years on mobile phones, game consoles, and digital cameras and the like so I would have thought that Amazon could have implemented this better. The 5-way is the right concept, but it seems small (too hard to get your finger or thumb on it just right to manipulate it), and it is "slick" - meaning your finger/thumb slips on it. I have had laptops with replaceable rubberized "nubs" that work great, and I have had cell phones that actually had smaller nubs, but had sharper edges or something that made it easier to use ... so maybe small isn't the real problem. Maybe it needs a texture or edge so that your appendage can more easily "grab" it. It took me awhile to really figure out a good way to use the 5-way, I basically use my fingernail on the side of the 5-way and push it towards the direction I need it to go. Whenever I tried to just lay my finger on the top of it, I would either go the wrong way or accidentally click down. 2. Screen/Cursor responsiveness - the cursor responds slowly when moving it with the 5-way - I constantly find myself waiting for the cursor to catch up. I think that's more a limitation of the e-Ink screen, probably not much they could do to speed that up. 4. The contrast could be better - the screen is excellent, but obviously, stark white background with deep black letters would be better. I'm getting REALLY nitpicky here, because the screen really is fantastic. I agree with this one, others have found some success with adding a dark, solid color skin which increases the perceived contrast to your eye.   Changing the font to a darker, bolder font also helps the contrast tremendously (see below). 5. Allow other fonts - I'd like to try other fonts to see if I like them better. The built in font is nice, but options would be nicer. Couldn't agree more, which is why I did THE FONT HACK. I used Georgia 2 which looks 100x better than the original Kindle font, but there are several to choose from. |
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« Last Edit: September 25, 2009, 03:46:34 PM by 911jason »
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nathan19
Status: Dr. Seuss
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Posts: 32
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« Reply #14 on: December 31, 2009, 11:51:35 AM » |
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Great review!
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Closet Book Nerd  |
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loca
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« Reply #15 on: January 03, 2010, 12:54:25 PM » |
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Yea, I agree with most stuff here.
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cheerio
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« Reply #16 on: January 16, 2010, 03:25:26 PM » |
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looks very technological, nice |
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"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent." Eleanor Roosevelt
"A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her." David Brinkle
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loca
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« Reply #17 on: January 21, 2010, 01:34:04 PM » |
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looks very technological, nice
aGree, looks pretty cool. |
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cheerio
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« Reply #18 on: January 21, 2010, 01:53:09 PM » |
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davistroy - just curious if you could give us a review now that you have had it over a year. I love follow-ups
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"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent." Eleanor Roosevelt
"A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her." David Brinkle
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loca
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« Reply #19 on: January 21, 2010, 05:12:27 PM » |
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davistroy - just curious if you could give us a review now that you have had it over a year. I love follow-ups
Me too, hehe. |
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MarthaT
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« Reply #20 on: February 16, 2010, 07:52:41 AM » |
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I'd love a follow up too
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angelad
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« Reply #21 on: February 17, 2010, 10:41:22 AM » |
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that would be nice.
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cheerio
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« Reply #22 on: February 17, 2010, 03:39:21 PM » |
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I think he has disappeared
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"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent." Eleanor Roosevelt
"A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her." David Brinkle
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loca
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« Reply #23 on: March 01, 2010, 12:24:21 PM » |
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He will come around.
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cheerio
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« Reply #24 on: March 02, 2010, 01:33:16 PM » |
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davistroy - please come back
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"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent." Eleanor Roosevelt
"A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her." David Brinkle
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loca
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« Reply #25 on: March 05, 2010, 08:35:44 AM » |
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He is busy making a snowman somehwere.
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cheerio
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« Reply #26 on: March 05, 2010, 01:15:20 PM » |
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snowman would probably start melting soon
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"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent." Eleanor Roosevelt
"A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her." David Brinkle
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Merlilu
Status: Lewis Carroll
Offline
Gender: 
Northeast Ohio
Posts: 100
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« Reply #27 on: March 06, 2010, 05:54:56 PM » |
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Screen Contrast....That's a good point - with 16 grayscale - the text is very readable. However, I just bought a skin which is mostly black on the front and do find that it "pops" the screen even more. 5-way - just use your fingernail. I'm a girl - don't have long nails, but find it very responsive.
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loca
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« Reply #28 on: March 13, 2010, 10:33:15 AM » |
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Screen Contrast....That's a good point - with 16 grayscale - the text is very readable. However, I just bought a skin which is mostly black on the front and do find that it "pops" the screen even more. 5-way - just use your fingernail. I'm a girl - don't have long nails, but find it very responsive.
Solution noted |
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cheerio
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« Reply #29 on: March 13, 2010, 07:00:32 PM » |
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Screen Contrast....That's a good point - with 16 grayscale - the text is very readable. However, I just bought a skin which is mostly black on the front and do find that it "pops" the screen even more. 5-way - just use your fingernail. I'm a girl - don't have long nails, but find it very responsive.
i dont have fingernail, or at least long one like a girl has |
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"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent." Eleanor Roosevelt
"A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her." David Brinkle
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loca
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« Reply #30 on: March 16, 2010, 11:17:52 AM » |
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i dont have fingernail, or at least long one like a girl has
you should grow on just for this purpose. |
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cheerio
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« Reply #31 on: March 18, 2010, 12:22:40 PM » |
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then i can complain i broke a nail
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"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent." Eleanor Roosevelt
"A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her." David Brinkle
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loca
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« Reply #32 on: March 27, 2010, 11:11:20 AM » |
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haha, true.
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cheerio
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« Reply #33 on: March 28, 2010, 05:09:19 PM » |
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no one wants to break a nail
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"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent." Eleanor Roosevelt
"A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her." David Brinkle
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loca
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« Reply #34 on: April 29, 2010, 01:45:16 PM » |
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Not the most pleasant experience |
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