Kindle's bare bones home screen

[prey4war]

Kinda disappointed that the latest kindles' homescreens are still just lists of book titles. Even Sony's readers have a more attractive interface. Does anyone foresee a major update to the Kindle UI that would make it look as nice as what the nook or sony reader has?

[The Hooded Claw]

I have seen the Nook Color, but otherwise haven't seen the Sony or Nook, so I can't make a comparison from experience.  But for myself, I like the simple nature of the Kindle, just listing the info I want to know (the books available).  I doubt Amazon will change anything on the eInk Kindle, certainly haven't heard a groundswell of support for the idea.  On the Nook Color, I felt like I was always thrashing around to find things, though part of that may have been simply because I didn't have much experience with it, so never grew familiar with it.

I must admit that I enjoy scrolling through the covers using the Kindle app on my iPad.  Probably an advantage for the "classic" eInk Nook with the little LCD strip at the bottom.

[Betsy the Quilter]

I never cared much about the covers showing, but then I don't turn on the album art on my iPod either.  The only change I would make to the Kindle UI is the ability to see a short blurb about the book without connectivity.

Betsy

[NightGoat]

I have the Nook Simple Touch, I honestly don't pay much attention to the UI being better than the Kindle's though I do like the "Reading Now" book that appears on the Home Page and Shelves over Collections. After you create a Shelve you can immediately start adding books by scrolling and checking.

Okay, maybe I do pay attention. 

But I would trade all the world for... the ability to add sub-collections/shelves. I know this has been discussed ad nauseum, so there must be a reason this functionality cannot be achieved.

[Betsy the Quilter]

They're doing it just to get your goat, Goat.
 

Betsy

[Ann in Arlington]

I'm with Betsy. . .I don't mind the strictly text list. 

I wouldn't object to thumbnail book covers, but in B&W they may not be particularly helpful anyway.

But a way to quickly access a short blurb to remind me why I got the book in the first place would be a good thing. 

The lack of such is clearly not a deal breaker, however.

[patrickt]

For me, utilitarian trumps attractive. That goes for covers, too.

[NightGoat]

They're doing it just to get your goat, Goat.
 

Betsy

I think you're on to something Betsy, goats eat books and since I've had my Kindle I haven't been ordering DTBs, cutting into Amazon's profits.

This is completely retaliatory on Amazon's part... and on the other hand, it's in Barnes and Nobel's best interest to keep me out of their stores.

 

[KayakerNC]

I think you're on to something Betsy, goats eat books and since I've had my Kindle I haven't been ordering DTBs, cutting into Amazon's profits.
This is completely retaliatory on Amazon's part... and on the other hand, it's in Barnes and Nobel's best interest to keep me out of their stores.
 

The way things seem to be going, you may want to visit B&N while they still exist.

[Sarah Ettritch]

I don't mind the Kindle home screen, since all I want to do is open a book and read. I have an older Sony Reader, and the two home screens look similar. I guess the home screen has been updated on Sony's newer models.

[Cardinal]

Does anyone foresee a major update to the Kindle UI that would make it look as nice as what the nook or sony reader has?

I don't work for Amazon but I doubt it.  To me Amazon has always seemed to be more about function than aesthetics.

Personally I think it would be nice to be able to switch between a list of books on the home screen with a graphic view of the covers.  I think the picture of the Touch with graphic covers on Amazon's page where you can buy the Kindle Touch is very pretty. 

[SusanCassidy]

It would take a jillion pages to display thumbnails of all the books I have on my Kindle, as opposed to the 24 or so pages of just text that it uses now.

[sparklemotion]

I very much agree with you. I don't like the bare bones look of the kindle home screens either. Very drab. I'm surprised they haven't done anything to change it to make it more aesthetically appealing. I prefer the look of the carousel on the fire even though the carousel wouldn't be my first choice, I do like seeing the book covers. I was hoping they'd change it with the new kindle e-readers, and was disappointed when they didn't. It would be nice to see them use something like the other e-readers do. It's so much more appealing.

[Betsy the Quilter]

LOL!  This conversation shows how different our wants are.  For me, covers in grayscale in thumbnail format are not always easy to read.  I like the text, clear and simple and I can see the author's name easily, too, which is often NOT the case in thumbnails, even in color.

In the end...I just want to be able to grab it, click on a book and start reading.  Anything that helps me do that, I'm good with.  Anything that gets in the way, I don'twant.  Clearly, different strokes for different folks!  It would be nice if it were an option that we could choose according to our preferences.  (As I have album art turned off on my old iPod.)

Betsy

[NightGoat]

Now that I've read other's comments, a thought occurred to me. The allure of eink readers is that they are supposed to replicate the experience of reading a real book as close as possible. As the Kindle is now, one element of the experience that is missing seeing the cover.

You click or touch on the text and it opens your book to where you left off. Most people probably open a close their real books catching a glimpse of the cover as they're doing so.

Still not a deal breaker, for me anyhow.

[sparklemotion]

(As I have album art turned off on my old iPod.)

  Hehe different strokes indeed. I get upset if the artwork isn't showing on my iPod too.   It's the one thing I don't like about the e-ink kindles, the bare bone screens
and no book covers. bah. It's also one of the reasons why I enjoy the reading experience on my fire better too. The aesthetics of seeing all my little book covers lined up, ahhh,
I love it.

Now that I've read other's comments, a thought occurred to me. The allure of eink readers is that they are supposed to replicate the experience of reading a real book as close as possible. As the Kindle is now, one element of the experience that is missing seeing the cover.

Yes, yes! That is my feeling. It would be nice if, like Betsy mentioned above, they gave us the option to choose our own preferences. I can understand some people not caring about it, but I'd really like that personally. Little things like that make me happy.

[Hadou]

The barebones approach works well enough for me.  I don't need to see a bunch of fluff.  I just need to see the title of the book, tap a button, and read the book. 

I know others may want different, and that's fine.  But, for me, I am completely content with the simplicity.

[Lionfury]

Personally I like it better thn the nook or the sony. one of the things i hate about the nook homscreen is that it shows reccomended books that you DONT EVEN OWN. And then B&N brags about no ads. What hypocrites. The one thing i would want different is the ability to search though all of your book titles. I have over 200 books and the current search my items feature only searches within the books, instead of the books themselves.

[JUNEBUG5]

I very much agree with you. I don't like the bare bones look of the kindle home screens either. Very drab. I'm surprised they haven't done anything to change it to make it more aesthetically appealing. I prefer the look of the carousel on the fire even though the carousel wouldn't be my first choice, I do like seeing the book covers. I was hoping they'd change it with the new kindle e-readers, and was disappointed when they didn't. It would be nice to see them use something like the other e-readers do. It's so much more appealing.

I soooo agree!!! I was really hoping Amazon would update their new kindles with the option to view book covers. That way for those that prefer book view they can view with that option, or leave as title list for others that don't. 

Actually like the Amazon store view would be ideal for me (--like when viewing "Kindle Top 100"). Viewing book cover pic then title/author off to the right. Also you have the option to see only book covers as well! GEEZ...if that was possible on home screen.... Maybe 1 day.....

[planet_janet]

I must admit that I enjoy scrolling through the covers using the Kindle app on my iPad.  Probably an advantage for the "classic" eInk Nook with the little LCD strip at the bottom.

I agree with this.  Sometimes when I peruse the book titles on my Kindle, I can't recall what a particular book is about, or sometimes even why I downloaded it!  The book covers help jog my memory.  I would really like to be able to see the book covers on my Kindle.

[mooshie78]

Subfolders in collections are about all I'd like added.  Book covers are nice, but I doubt thumbnail covers would look very good in e-ink anyway.

I barely use my K3 for anything other than reading in bed anyway, so I don't really need much in the way of features on it.

[dori chatelain]

I like the bare bones homepage. I like having the information there that I put there. I alsowould like to have sub folders in the collections we make.and I would love to be able to list the books in the folders the way I want them listed instead of the most recent used.

[ak rain]

I like the bare bones as Betsy says its easier to read.  I would like to be able to select the cover art to use as screen saver.   I want to restate I would like to choose which covers to use 😊 and change covers when I want to.  I don't want to hack.

I do use kindle app on my iPad when I want to see cover art.
Sylvia

[Ann in Arlington]

One thing I really like on the eInk Kindle. . .prefer to the Fire, in fact. . . is the row of dots that gives me a visual idea of how long a book is. . . .so if I'm looking for something that will be a quick read, it's easier to find than on the Fire where I have to check the number of locations on each book.

[caseyf6]

I like the bare-bones screen but YES a little blurb would be SO NICE.  Like if we could hover over the title and it showed up....  Sigh.

[Linjeakel]

It seems that some people like the pretty and are more concerned with the look, while others prefer the practical approach that allows them to see clearly what they have and get to it quickly - which the 'barebones' interface pretty much does.

What we need is for someone to think outside the box and try to marry the two together and come up with something completely different. You have to bear in mind though, that apart from the Fire, you're slightly restricted by the non-colour e-ink Kindles.

I'm sure Amazon have got someone on the case right now ......