Amazon - you've 100% hosed up a great product - kindle

jimbo45 · May 15, 2023

Hi folks
If you like kindles -- please DO NOT update the software. !!!!!!!

The new library display is ghastly if you have more than about 7 books in the device -- even on GRID listing you can't get the old text listing but you get thumbnails and it's horrendous if you have loads of books. There's no page in book display either - just location or time left in the book etc. What use are those things to man or beast. If I want to give someone a reference out of book isn't the standard thing to use the page number(s).

The new library search facility is one either of my 2 dogs could have designed better. The old decent filters have gone -- and please software guys on whatever systems you work on -- can't you design things so one can always revert to a previous release when there's problems with newer versions.

Anyway I really do like e-readers so I've just ordered a kobi e-reader --didn't even know they were still around -- but seems great -- and all my amazon stuff I can via calibre convert to epub anyway.

So this is a classic textbook way of how to ruin a great product. And you've lost a customer -- but I don't suppose the almighty amazon cares too much about that.

I'm donating the old one to whoever wants it first at a local primary school. (kindle paper white) -- If it wasn't for Samsung I'd suspect Amazon would have really messed up android as well on its fire stick with "non Google designed mods" to the android system.

At least with Windows etc there's ways of reverting back bad updates.

Finally the software if you charge the battery to 100% seems to get the OS's knickers in a twist and it won't start. You then have to connect the wretched thing to a computer, hold down the power button (on the kindle- flashing orange and green lights) for about 3 mins when finally the OS will re-boot. What a dogs dinner !!!!!! -- This might not happen on the latest models but the update on kindle paper white seems to be a universal thing update feb 2023 version 5.15.1.1 -- AVOID !!!!.

Cheers
jimbo

tinmar49 · May 15, 2023

That reminded me what happened when my old TomTom sat nav became unsupported and could not be used. I got a new one and it has been totally F----d up, the intuative easy to use programming has been replaced by junk just so overpaid people can claim they have "improved" things. Rather like Windows.

JAM83 · May 15, 2023

I can't stand Kindles regardless.

jimbo45 · May 15, 2023

JMedlock83 said:
I can't stand Kindles regardless.

Hi there
that's fine but many do so I was just warning users of the pitfalls of the latest updates - and also my complaint in general with software that can't be reverted back to previous versions.

If you travel a lot and that often means quite regular waiting around in endless slow moving lines, and on long boring flights having portable reading material is a way to overcome a load of the boredom of these events -- and carrying a load of physical books etc is not really feasable either.

At LAX recently (Los Angeles Int'l airport) it took on average around 2 hours to get through US customs and Immigration -- I've 100% no complaint with officials of any country checking the legality and desirability of people entering their country -- but nothing wrong also if you are in the line waiting for that to have something to help you pass the time too, or do you just look at the roof for 2 hours and complain which gets you precisely nowhere.

Cheers
jimbo

TraderGary · May 15, 2023

jimbo45 said:
Hi folks
If you like kindles -- please DO NOT update the software. !!!!!!!

The new library display is ghastly if you have more than about 7 books in the device -- even on GRID listing you can't get the old text listing but you get thumbnails and it's horrendous if you have loads of books. There's no page in book display either - just location or time left in the book etc. What use are those things to man or beast. If I want to give someone a reference out of book isn't the standard thing to use the page number(s).

The new library search facility is one either of my 2 dogs could have designed better. The old decent filters have gone -- and please software guys on whatever systems you work on -- can't you design things so one can always revert to a previous release when there's problems with newer versions.

Anyway I really do like e-readers so I've just ordered a kobi e-reader --didn't even know they were still around -- but seems great -- and all my amazon stuff I can via calibre convert to epub anyway.

So this is a classic textbook way of how to ruin a great product. And you've lost a customer -- but I don't suppose the almighty amazon cares too much about that.

I'm donating the old one to whoever wants it first at a local primary school. (kindle paper white) -- If it wasn't for Samsung I'd suspect Amazon would have really messed up android as well on its fire stick with "non Google designed mods" to the android system.

At least with Windows etc there's ways of reverting back bad updates.

Finally the software if you charge the battery to 100% seems to get the OS's knickers in a twist and it won't start. You then have to connect the wretched thing to a computer, hold down the power button (on the kindle- flashing orange and green lights) for about 3 mins when finally the OS will re-boot. What a dogs dinner !!!!!! -- This might not happen on the latest models but the update on kindle paper white seems to be a universal thing update feb 2023 version 5.15.1.1 -- AVOID !!!!.

Cheers
jimbo

I too love Kindles! I've had most Kindle hardware since the start. I currently use the latest Kindle Oasis. I updated the firmware back in February to the newest version 5.15.1.1. I didn't have the reaction you've had at all.

After playing with it for a bit and learning how the new version works, I really like it. I can slice and dice and sort my over 700 books any way I like. All the filters are still there, you just choose them differently. I think it's set up better now after I've learned how they've done it. I actually like and prefer the new list version with small thumbnail book covers. I can sort on Most Recent, Title, Author, Publication Date, in Ascending or Descending order. I can instantly search for any book in my collection and be at that spot in my list. I would never just scroll through my over 700 books to try to find one I wanted.

You said you no longer have page numbers on your Kindle. I have page numbers. If you tap on the lower left of a page you alternate through "Time left in the chapter", "Hours and Minutes left in the book", "Location index number", and "Physical Page Number". Page numbers are still there!

You mention a problem charging. I charge to 100% every time I charge my Kindle Oasis. I've never had the charging problem you're talking about. Charging works on my Oasis like it always did.

The current PC version of the Kindle software is quite excellent too. It's free on amazon.com. I often run the Kindle software for PC on my Microsoft Surface Tablet when reading reference and tutorial books. And on my Surface Tablet I have full, glorious, color! I love using a tutorial book on my Surface Tablet side-by-side with my PC this way.

As an aside, if I want to really quickly do something with my book collection, I go to amazon.com on my Windows 11 computer. Now I've got real speed. I can now type on a real keyboard! And Amazon.com does give you a list with no thumbnails like you like to see. Do you ever go look at your Kindle books on amazon.com?

jimbo45 · May 16, 2023

TraderGary said:
I too love Kindles! I've had most Kindle hardware since the start. I currently use the latest Kindle Oasis. I updated the firmware back in February to the newest version 5.15.1.1. I didn't have the reaction you've had at all.

After playing with it for a bit and learning how the new version works, I really like it. I can slice and dice and sort my over 700 books any way I like. All the filters are still there, you just choose them differently. I think it's set up better now after I've learned how they've done it. I actually like and prefer the new list version with small thumbnail book covers. I can sort on Most Recent, Title, Author, Publication Date, in Ascending or Descending order. I can instantly search for any book in my collection and be at that spot in my list. I would never just scroll through my over 700 books to try to find one I wanted.

You said you no longer have page numbers on your Kindle. I have page numbers. If you tap on the lower left of a page you alternate through "Time left in the chapter", "Hours and Minutes left in the book", "Location index number", and "Physical Page Number". Page numbers are still there!

You mention a problem charging. I charge to 100% every time I charge my Kindle Oasis. I've never had the charging problem you're talking about. Charging works on my Oasis like it always did.

The current PC version of the Kindle software is quite excellent too. It's free on amazon.com. I often run the Kindle software for PC on my Microsoft Surface Tablet when reading reference and tutorial books. And on my Surface Tablet I have full, glorious, color! I love using a tutorial book on my Surface Tablet side-by-side with my PC this way.

As an aside, if I want to really quickly do something with my book collection, I go to amazon.com on my Windows 11 computer. Now I've got real speed. I can now type on a real keyboard! And Amazon.com does give you a list with no thumbnails like you like to see. Do you ever go look at your Kindle books on amazon.com?

Hi there
kindle paper white was the kindle I had - quite an old version too - but it worked. Perhaps the software works properlly on the later kindles but it's a total POS on older kindle paper whites. I see also on the "Expensive 6.6 in screen one" there's another update so perhaps it's improved. I definitely don't get any option for page number (it's actually grayed out) and if I choose in a book the GO TO option the page option is also grayed out.

My 99% grief though i not being able to list books as before in text list -- it's got thumbnails even in grid mode which if you've a 6 inch screen makes scrolling etc a bit of a nuisance and slow as well. I think the old list format (without the book covers) should have been retained as an option. For a small number of books OK but when you've got over 200 then it's bonkers for some people. At one time I had over 1000 !!! although I'd probably never read them all.

Not an Amazon problem but it would be great if kindles could also support natively epub. No prob with conversion though using Calibre to convert. There's a huge amount of public domain literature out there in epub format. My local public library also lends out a huge range of e-books in epub format so I have to be a bit naughty and convert them although you aren't supposed to do this. Iceland has one of the highest literacy rates in the world and much of the population in rural areas cant get to a library so the e-book lending is brilliant. !!! So long as the author gets their fee then I've no problem doing this though.

Anyway I'll see how I get on with the kobi e-reader -- on ist glance seems fine for me.

Cheers
jimbo

TraderGary · May 16, 2023

You've caused me to pull my old Kindle Voyage from my desk drawer. It was new in July of 2015. It's running old firmware 5.13.6, so I can see what you're talking about. The battery was completely dead, of course, and I now have it charged to 30%, so I'm now comparing the software versions.

I've discovered that not all books have page numbers available! You might check that out.

In single line library display mode, on the old Kindle Voyage, while scrolling, I can see 6 lines at a time. With the new update on my Kindle Oasis in single line mode I also see 6 lines at a time, but I have the added advantage of now having a tiny book cover thumbnail in the line so I can see what the book cover looks like. The line with the book cover simply gives more information in the same line spacing, so I see it as a definite improvement. Scrolling speed on the two is close, but the Oasis is faster as it has a newer and faster processor. It isn't a dramatic speed difference though.

One of the things I liked about the new firmware update was the option to have the book cover of the book I'm currently reading as the screen saver. When I flip the cover open on my Oasis I see the book cover of what I'm currently reading. I find that quite useful.

I'm going to leave the Kindle Voyage at the old firmware version for a while so I can continue with comparisons.

jimbo45 · May 16, 2023

TraderGary said:
You've caused me to pull my old Kindle Voyage from my desk drawer. It was new in July of 2015. It's running old firmware 5.13.6, so I can see what you're talking about. The battery was completely dead, of course, and I now have it charged to 30%, so I'm now comparing the software versions.

I've discovered that not all books have page numbers available! You might check that out.

In single line library display mode, on the old Kindle Voyage, while scrolling, I can see 6 lines at a time. With the new update on my Kindle Oasis in single line mode I also see 6 lines at a time, but I have the added advantage of now having a tiny book cover thumbnail in the line so I can see what the book cover looks like. The line with the book cover simply gives more information in the same line spacing, so I see it as a definite improvement. Scrolling speed on the two is close, but the Oasis is faster as it has a newer and faster processor. It isn't a dramatic speed difference though.

One of the things I liked about the new firmware update was the option to have the book cover of the book I'm currently reading as the screen saver. When I flip the cover open on my Oasis I see the book cover of what I'm currently reading. I find that quite useful.

I'm going to leave the Kindle Voyage at the old firmware version for a while so I can continue with comparisons.

Thanks there
much appreciated -- keep posting the results !!.

on my kindle (paper white) I only get 4 books per page. If the thing was in line and didn't waste so much screen real estate it would be fine. 4 books per screen is just too few when you've a load to scroll through plus on the older models creating the icons uses more cpu than just displaying text so it's slower by far.

I realize that some books don't have page numbers but around 99% of mine did. I can live without that but not the limited display and the slower speed (significantly !!).

There might be some way of "Jail breaking this" to back level the firmware. I've done it with phones and if the device gets bricked I've saved the library so not lost the books. Besides always good to learn new things at any age.

Cheers

jimbo.

TraderGary · May 16, 2023

How old is your Paperwhite? There have been about a half dozen generations of Paperwhite's. You can go to your Amazon Orders and search on "paperwhite" to see the order date.

jimbo45 · May 16, 2023

TraderGary said:
How old is your Paperwhite? There have been about a half dozen generations of Paperwhite's. You can go to your Amazon Orders and search on "paperwhite" to see the order date.

Old -- probably about 6th gen. I didn't buy it on amazon in those days back then though.

Anyway I need something with a slightly bigger screen -- so no real big deal !! I'm still going to have a go at jail breaking it though.

The latest 6.5 inch thing looks actually quite good -- I might RMA the kobi and try the latest kindle paper white signature edition 11 gen 32 GB -- seems also to be OK but I still wish these devices would support natively epub though without having to go through conversion processing.

Testing on a friends device he has the paper white 11 gen signature edition 32 GB version -- loading into library is fast -- we'll see -- around 1500 books. Running Calibre to upload the books into the kindle --running on a Linux host but the interface is the same as Windows,

I also like the fact that it works with 5G Wifi and has a USB C connector (gives USB 3 speeds instead of USB 2) .

Cheers
jimbo

TraderGary · May 16, 2023

jimbo45 said:
Old -- probably about 6th gen. I didn't buy it on amazon in those days back then though.

Anyway I need something with a slightly bigger screen -- so no real big deal !! I'm still going to have a go at jail breaking it though.

The latest 6.5 inch thing looks actually quite good -- I might RMA the kobi and try the latest kindle paper white signature edition 11 gen 32 GB -- seems also to be OK but I still wish these devices would support natively epub though without having to go through conversion processing.

Cheers
jimbo

I really like the 7 inch screen on my Kindle Oasis. I compared it to my old resurrected Kindle Voyage 6 inch screen and there is a huge difference in reading comfort. I could never go back to a 6 inch screen.

My wife bought the new Kindle Paperwhite with the 6.8 inch screen, tried it for a while, and then went back to her 7 inch Kindle Oasis. She says that the small difference in screen size is noticeable to her and she much prefers the 7 inch screen.

We both currently have the latest generation of Kindle Oasis that has the adjustable warm lighting. After comparing the warm lighting to the blue-white of the Kindle Voyage, there is a big difference in reading comfort. We're both inveterate readers and read several hours every day.

I believe that Amazon still does a trade-in price adjustment if you send back your old Kindle within 30 days of receipt of the new one. I did trade-in's on several of my past Kindle purchases. It works quite well.

tinmar49 · May 16, 2023

Years ago, I bought my sister an early one for Christmas, the type which still had a keyboard and used the phone system for adding books. It still works and holds its charge for weeks. I told her that the updates would be unavailable but she has all she will ever want on it. I have decided not to buy her a new one after hearing that she is perfectly happy with the old one.