Don't like my Kindle!

[Deleted User]

What argument? The majority of people in this thread were having a sensible discussion until you came in with your Dunces hat on.

I'm astonished people could have such a vitriolic hatred for something as simple as a Kindle. Madness.

Fifer

BunShopBandit wrote: »

Then back light it, make it all of a quarter of an inch thicker and make it useful. How difficult is that?!

The advantages of reflective rather than transmissive displays (for e-readers) is that they are more 'book-like' (the experience is close to that of reading from paper which is also a reflective technology), it causes much less eye-strain and the battery life is orders of magnitude greater than can be achieved with backlit technologies.

poet123

Fifer wrote: »

The advantages of reflective rather than transmissive displays (for e-readers) is that they are more 'book-like' (the experience is close to that of reading from paper which is also a reflective technology), it causes much less eye-strain and the battery life is orders of magnitude greater than can be achieved with backlit technologies.

I would have thought that someone so au fait with technology, and Ebooks in particular, would have known that was the USP.

BunShopBandit wrote: »

That would explain the poor sales - thanks for clearing it up.

I suspect that the sales are not poor in comparison with other Ereaders. Do you have that info to hand?

BunShopBandit wrote: »

Just looking on Amazon for a few books now. Found some 'used' for only a penny each plus postage - where do I find the Kindle versions for the same price?

There is an extensive free kindle book list,and many more for less than £2.76 (Amazon postage costs) but, of course, it can never replace books entirely, but that is true of any Ereader, it is not Kindle specific. However, I doubt that was ever the intent. Books will always have a place.

BunShopBandit wrote: »

When I'm done with a book, I like to sell it on via eBay. How do I do that with my expensive Kindle books?

You don't, so that puts you firmly in the camp which is not the kindle target market.:D

BunShopBandit wrote: »

I may like to lend a book to a friend who does *not* have a Kindle. How would that work without me lending them my entire portable library?

Ditto;)

BunShopBandit wrote: »

Nope - I'm definitely the 'wrong type' of reader for a Kindle.... And to think I asked for COLOUR too - what a nerve..... :rotfl:

Agreed, but not the fault of the Kindle, it is just not suited to your requirements, that shouldn't detract from its inherent qualities and appeal to those who use it for what it was specifically designed for.

S0litaire

Well i use my kindle (well when i get it back of my Sis) for IT Technical / Reference manuals all the time.
It being a grayscale screen does not hinder my use at all.

p.s.
Those LED head-mounted lights are cool! ^_^

S0litaire

BunShopBandit wrote: »

I may like to lend a book to a friend who does *not* have a Kindle. How would that work without me lending them my entire portable library?

Well in a future update you will be able to "lend" someone your e-book from your kindle and they can read it in ANY kindle app (mobile / pc/e-reader) for up to 2 weeks

This will also allow library lending.

But since you're made your mind up to hate it I doubt anything posted in this thread will make you change or re-evaluate your position..

^_^ peace!

asbokid

anewhope wrote: »

A full colour display would remove a number of the selling points that the Kindle has. The weight and physical dimensions would have to increase to accommodate a larger battery

Nope. There are at least two research programmes that are developing colour electrophoretic displays.

One research team is developing coloured filters in the uppermost substrate of the panel, and the other team is using coloured pigment particles to replace the black (or black and white) charged particles that are suspended in the "e-ink" micro capsules of the EPD.

Neither of those colour technologies would noticeably increase the production cost. And neither of the colour technologies has any effect on the size or power consumption of the EPD.

The power required to energise an electrode to repel or attract a cyan, magenta or yellow charged particle, is exactly the same power needed to repel or attract a black or a white particle.

and the cost of production and retail would also be significantly higher.

The EPD used in the Kindles is a revived 1970s technology that nobody could find an application for at the time of its discovery. With no viable application, research was abandoned at that point. In fact, the EPD technology actually has its roots in the 1950s.

The display refresh rate of the EPD (of ~200ms) is appalling. Such a slow display doesn't lend itself for use in today's WIMP user interface, and that was why further development of EPDs was abandoned over three decades ago.

If there is anything in favour of the EPD it is its astonishingly low production cost. EPDs are produced on vast scale in a roll-to-roll process. Existing plant for manufacturing AM-TFT screens can be used for EPD fabrication with minimal modification. The fabrication cost is just a few pence per Kindle screen.

Fifer

asbokid wrote: »

The fabrication cost is just a few pence per Kindle screen.

Evidence please.

Fifer

BunShopBandit wrote: »

It was nearly 10 years ago I had a Palm that I could read eBooks on, and to be honest that device had more features than a basic Kindle, and only cost £30.

I've owned several Palm products over the years (I still have a soft spot for the Palm Vx) and I don't recall a product at anything close to a £30 price point.

S0litaire

The Lowest Amazon could "Sell" a kindle for is around the £80 mark for the Wi-Fi only model. They have stated this on a number of occasions in press releases.

They were/are thinking of giving away the Kindle with an "Amazon Prime" account. (Which is around the £80 mark itself). But they have not said any more on this for a while.

asbokid

Fifer wrote: »

Evidence please.

The entire Kindle is a junk device. Its key technology - its electrophoretic display - is an ugly relic of the 1970s.

Electrophoresis is the kind of technology that got smelly, bearded lecturers from the Open University sexually aroused and foaming at the mouth at 3.30am on BBC2 in the 1970s. Disgusting.

As to an indication of the fabrication cost of the Kindle's EPD, just look at the technologies involved in the hideous thing.. Its manufacture involves a handful of mass-produced polymer layers glued together and printed off by the metre and chopped down to size with a guillotine cutter.

The Kindle display is about as sexy and innovative as the plastic membrane you find inside the lowest quality of PC keyboard. And how much does that membrane cost to produce? Evidently no more than a few pence, since the keyboard itself only costs a quid or two.

In terms of fabrication cost, the Kindle EPD involves roughly the same order as the keyboard membrane: we are talking pennies not pounds here.