[quote=“Mucha Man”]Thanks jlick. Good to hear they aren’t all like this. Al I need are chapter markers. I suppose I can just go through a book and make them myself.
Craig, I downloaded (among others) the King James Bible and also the complete works of Shakespeare. Not much good either without clear chapter/play breaks. 
[/quote]
That’s probably because they are project gutenberg/free e-books, nobody has bothered to prepare them properly for Kindle.
[quote=“headhonchoII”][quote=“Muzha Man”]Thanks jlick. Good to hear they aren’t all like this. Al I need are chapter markers. I suppose I can just go through a book and make them myself.
Craig, I downloaded (among others) the King James Bible and also the complete works of Shakespeare. Not much good either without clear chapter/play breaks. [/quote]
That’s probably because they are project gutenberg/free e-books, nobody has bothered to prepare them properly for Kindle.[/quote]
Yeah, but they are the kindle versions. Also I’ve found that some of the other PG books do have functioning table of contents. And as Craig said, not all paid for books are properly formatted either. I still think it’s a stupid omission on the part of the devise that you can’t slide or click your way along the lower ruler/scale to jump back and forth in the book.
Isn’t there a “search” feature when you hit the Menu button while in a book?
Yes, but then what do you search for? If you know you’re looking for a specific phrase, great, but often that won’t work. Going back 50-odd pages for that scene you half-remember is annoyingly difficult on a Kindle.
MM’s right - a slider along the bottom would be good, and now that he’s pointed it out, it seems painfully obvious. I’m happy with the device, but there’s not yet a good substitution for “flipping through pages”.
(Note on Project Gutenburg vs. Kindle edition: if you can, get the e-book through Amazon, because then it’ll sync with your Kindle apps/ readers on computers and on the web. Files simply downloaded from Gutenburg will be on your Kindle device only, and won’t sync notes and comments across devices. Also, if you want to type notes, things work much better if you simply underline on the Kindle device, and then later type notes in the Kindle app on your computer.)
Yes, but then what do you search for? If you know you’re looking for a specific phrase, great, but often that won’t work. Going back 50-odd pages for that scene you half-remember is annoyingly difficult on a Kindle.[/quote]
Perhaps “Chapter 1” or the name of a particular work, if you’re talking the complete works of someone. If it’s the bible, perhaps the name of the book, chapter, verse…
It’s not ideal, but if one gets a little creative, there are work-around to most limitations. Mind you, I’m a cover-to-cover novel reader. I’ve not used my Kindle for the situations that MM describes, but I understand the issue.
Yes, but then what do you search for? If you know you’re looking for a specific phrase, great, but often that won’t work. Going back 50-odd pages for that scene you half-remember is annoyingly difficult on a Kindle.[/quote]
Perhaps “Chapter 1” or the name of a particular work, if you’re talking the complete works of someone. If it’s the bible, perhaps the name of the book, chapter, verse…
It’s not ideal, but if one gets a little creative, there are work-around to most limitations. Mind you, I’m a cover-to-cover novel reader. I’ve not used my Kindle for the situations that MM describes, but I understand the issue.[/quote]
Yeah, there are ways around it. I suppose when one gets a book, one could go through it and make bookmarks at the start of each chapter. These then would appear in Menu and allow you to jump around. A little bit of extra work but not horrendous.
hey - is anyone else having problems connecting to the 3G network? i got my kindle in mid-december and the signal was low, but i was still able to connect both in my town (gueishan) and in taipei. now, though, i’m showing zero signal in places i used to get a signal. i did a soft reset, a hard reset, and installed the latest update, and am still having the problem. any suggestions/verification that it’s not a taipei-county-wide low signal, but actually a problem (probably hardware) with my personal device?
thanks a lot! lord knows i don’t depend on the crappy browser/3G, but shit. i paid $50USD extra for it!!!
edit: if you live in or near taipei, could you please please do me a favour and give me an address at which you have a good signal? i need to be able to tell amazon that another device works well at a location where mine picks up nothing. thanks!!
There is a new Kindle software update version 3.1 for the latest generation model. Simply turn on your WiFi and let it do its thing, or follow the directions below to manually update via USB:
jallands,
I get pretty decent signal in Xinyi and Nangang Districts.
Which, among other things, adds page numbers (well, they still call them locations numbers, but at least they are more specific), something that someone had mentioned earlier was a problem for them.
I get crappy 3G service in Taipei too. Also has anyone seen a case for the kindle sold here?
the verdict is my signal is very unreliable. and, like crack, it’s making me want a smartphone. need more internet!!! thanks for the information, you guys. sincerely.
e-ink sucks for web browsing. If you want a device for surfing the net, get a smart phone, tablet computer or notebook. Kindle is designed for e-book reading, and it’s pretty rare that I can’t wait until I am someplace with a wireless signal to download a book. 3G on a Kindle is a waste.
Saw the Kindle at Guanghua Market last weekend, along with quite an array of different e-readers. At 12K, no cheapie. Amazon lists it at 189, plus shipping. Still quite a gap.
Has anybody bought the Kindle here in Taiwan? Any advantage servicewise?
I believe the iPad 1 is now selling for $12900 NT while quantities last. That’s a way better deal for reading Kindle books AND web surfing, although it would be limited to wifi and LCD screen vs 3G and e-ink on the Kindle.
As far as I’m aware, Amazon only sells Kindles through retail stores in the US, so the dealer here is probably doing so unofficially. Besides, that’s a steep premium compared to importing it yourself.
Reading on LCD screens for long periods of time is hard on the eyes. I really like having a dedicated e-book device.
Reading on LCD screens for long periods of time is hard on the eyes. I really like having a dedicated e-book device.[/quote]
Me too. I was critical of Kindle a bit at the start but the reading experience is unparalleled. And yes, I have used the iPad for reading. Good devise but no where near as good as Kindle for reading and you also can’t hold it in one hand. The Kindle is hands down a better reading devise.
Agreed that the Kindle is a better device for reading e-books / PDFs without many graphics. iPad wins for reading graphic-rich PDFs, websites, magazines etc.
Is it the light from the LCD or the screen resolution that’s tiring on the iPad vs the Kindle?
I haven’t read much at all on a Kindle, but just went through four color-diagram-heavy books (on mobile UX, reputation systems and gamification) and a whole bunch of related decks from Slideshare this weekend on the iPad and I find myself holding the iPad at computer-monitor distance because eventually you start to notice the jaggies when holding it book-close. I find reading on the iPhone 4 more comfortable on the eyes because the screen just makes it that much better. Volume reading of anything more than a few pages, however, I switch to the iPad. Will a retina-level display on an iPad help here or is it simply the light from the LCD?