Faded Menu on Kindle 2

[Xestrix]

Hello kindleBoards

I just received my Kindle 2 today I ran into a minor issue however, and thought I'd check the Kindle 2 forums on Amazon for some help, but they seem a bit slow to reply and I thought this community may be able to help me

Thanks in advance! (PS: I did use the search function, so I hope I didn't miss this issue already being covered here :x )

Hi there, I just received my Kindle 2 today. (actually a gift for my gf, but I thought I'd play around with it a bit ;P )

I have to say that I am very impressed with the most all aspects of the Kindle 2, and am now considering buing a second Kindle for myself.

I have, however, noticed a small issue already. When I am reading a book and press the 'Menu' button, the menu pops up -very- faded, almost sun-bleached looking. half of the characters aren't even completely displayed.

I can close the menu and everything else still looks perfect.

Is this normal, or are there any suggested solutions for this issue?

I'd hate to have to wait for a new Kindle to be shipped after just getting it :/

Pressing alt-g did fix the broken characters on the page, but did not solve the faded text. Alos, this fix only works if I'm already at the menu, each time that I re-open the menu, it is faded, etc. again.

I could have sworn that the first time I opened the menu, it faded whatever I was reading, and the menu popped up with the text being as dark as the normal reading text.

What happens now is that both the text I am reading and the menu appear faded, which doesn't make it very easy to see the menu.

[pomlover2586]

So is your menu faded? In the sun or just faded period? Either way I'd try a reset, and if that doesn't work I'd call CS

[Xestrix]

Thanks for the quick reply

To clarify, the -only- thing faded (from what I can tell) on my entire Kindle is the menu that pops up while I'm reading a book and hit the 'Menu' button. At no other time do I have this issue. From the home screen, when I hit 'Menu', everything shows up just fine. Its -only- while reading a book and opening the menu.

Also to note, I have updated my Kindle's firmware to the latest available (2.0.2).

[pomlover2586]

Yeah I still say a call to CS is in order......doesn't sound normal at all.

[Xestrix]

An Update:

This is a little strange, and also something that perhaps I could coerce another person into trying to reproduce.

I have further isolated my issue to only occurring on 2 particular books. I'm not sure if the issue is farther spread as I only have two books on my kindle, aside from the user guide and thank you letter.

When I am reading the user manual, welcome letter, or the dictionary the issue -does not occur-. When I'm reading either of my MOBI format books from Project Gutenberg, the issue -does occur-.

http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/11 - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2591 - Grimm's Fairy Tales

I'm not sure if this issue is only limited to MOBI files from Project Gutenberg, or just MOBI files, or just Project Gutenberg. I'll spend some time trying different combinations and I'll let you know what I find.

In the meantime, If anyone would be so kind as to try downloading either of those two books from PG in MOBI format and opening their menu while reading the book, I would be most appreciative to hear your results. Please and Thank you! ^^;

[Xestrix]

One more update:

An independent member of the Amazon.com Kindle2 forum has just verified that this issue can be reproduced.

Anyone else have thoughts on this issue?

Is this something that no one has run into before? I was under the impression that Project Gutenberg was a fairly popular site, and I just assumed someone may have downloaded a MOBI format book from them before :x

EDIT: The issue does -not- occur in TXT format files from PG. A problem with the MOBI format? This is my first time ever using a mobi file, so I have no background experience here :x

[pomlover2586]

I've never experienced it before.......it may be reproducible but that doesn't mean it's not a flaw on your Kindle. I still recommend CS.

[Xestrix]

I just got this back from the Kindle Support:

Andrew,

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I tested out the two files mentioned in that discussion on my own Kindle 2 and was able to confirm the error, so I've sent that information to our technicians.

It appears at this time to be related to Project Gutenberg .mobi files, as I've been unable to reproduce the error on some from other sources. If you've been able to see otherwise, however, please let us know.

You can write back to us using the link below. Again, if you do see this on any other .mobi files from other sources, please include a link to the file download so we can take a look at it.

[marianneg]

Wow, I didn't realize that PG had started offering mobi books.  That's a really weird problem to have, though.

[Athenagwis]

I just got this back from the Kindle Support:

I have also gotten this issue on Alice in Wonderland.  Just wanted to let you know you aren't alone!

Let us know when there is a final answer please!

Rachel

[suicidepact]

I too have noticed faded menus on non-Amazon books on my Kindle 2. My books are from feedbooks.com, such as "Anda's Game" and "Little Brother" by Cory Doctorow.

[VictoriaP]

For me, it only shows up on PG freebies from Feedbooks, and only on some of them.  You can still use the menus when they're faded, so I think it's more just a bug than something to worry about.

[suicidepact]

 The same with me, the books are offered free under a Creative Commons license by Cory Doctorow (you should check him out.) I'l also note that the free weekly feedbooks.com guide shows up up with the menus at 100%. Also, when the menus are faded, they are still usable.

[DoubleDog]

just a quick note

Faded menu screen with non-amazon books fixed with new update.