Comments on: Trying to turn the page on a Kindle

CNET News reporter Daniel Terdiman, trying out the Kindle DX for the first time, discovers that reading a book will never be the same.

[-fjtorres-]

Try keeping your thumb on the next page button.
You will quickly get used to just adding a bit of pressure to switch the page.
By all reports, most people (who aren't dead tired to start with) get into it in about 50 pages.
You'll soon find that, conditioning or no conditioning, ebooks are more immersive than treeware.

[ddanckaert]

This article should be filed under Old Fogeys trying to adapt to life in the 21st Century...

Slow news day. Maybe something new with Michael Jackson you can report?

[servermaker]

I love people like you - your worldview and perspective is the only one that matters

[san_diego_guy]

servermaker, worldview & perspective do not change someone's inability to adapt or slow to change. Fortunately those worldviews will be extinct at some point and life will just move on.

[mweingar]

If you can't say anything nice...

I own all 3 kindles and the DX is certainly nice for technical manuals but it is noticeably larger than the kindle 2.

One of the best features is the ability to share your collection across multiple kindles. Now my wife and daughter can share in our virtual library without having to purchase multiple copies. I nice feature indeed.

[sportsfan206]

servemaker, what in his comment leads you to believe his opinion is the only one that matters? He said no such thing... Stating that old people have a hard time adapting to technology has nothing to do with his worldview or perspective. Now saying old people should be left alone and forgotten about entirely, that would.

[richardkaufmann]

I own a Kindle 2 (the smaller one), and rarely use it anymore. The reason: that device you really like, the iPhone, has an absolute killer Kindle app. You can access your electronic library at Amazon from it (downloading books you previously bought on your Kindle), and even though the screen is tiny, I find it quite readable.

And, guess what! You "flip" the pages by dragging your finger across the screen.

[mweingar]

I read too many technical manuals to use the iPhone app. I have it and try it but it is just too small.

[jnmadill]

You said: "Having already set the Amazon account up, and being connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi"

Wi/Fi? Thought it was cellular based ...

Amazon sez: "Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots"

-jm

[chriswaco]

I remember when the Apple PowerBooks first shipped and some columnist said that it would take weeks or months for people to get used to trackballs.

Those of us that grew up playing Missile Command took to it in a minute or two.

You'll get used to it at some point. What will really freak you out is when, in 25 years, you open an actual book and turning the pages feels weird.

[HeartofHistory]

This happened to me when I got my first e-ink reader (a Sony 500) a few years back. I kept reaching up to the upper corner to turn the page and then would laugh at myself.

It's the e-ink, imo, because I've been reading ebooks for years, on various generations of Palms, and hadn't ever tried to turn pages on those devices.

As I recall, it took me a while to stop trying to physically turn the page, but I did finally learn to click 'next page' and keep reading. Still read a lot of p-books, too, but haven't yet tried to click anything. I do pick up a heavy bulky hardcover these days and wish I could get it on my Kindle.

(Love my DX.)

[kwhsy82]

I have a Kindle, still use it often, but I must admit, I have reverted to paper.

I use Kindle if the price is far cheaper on Kindle, for samples (which are great) and if I'm traveling and want to bring 3 or 4 books for long flights.

On the other hand, reading a book while falling asleep -- I go for the original.

The other time I avoid my Kindle is if I'm buying a book I know I want to lend to my wife, daughters or a friend. Yep, I could lend the Kindle, but....

[Inconnux]

buy a netbook for far cheaper and 100x the functionality... can't see why a black and white text reader is so ridiculously expensive.

[twitter_1963]

Got my Kindle at Christmas. Returned it after 29 days.....

Doesn't work in the bath - AM a Brit, love a good soak.

Doesn't work on the beach. Love sitting in the shade.

Can't read until 10,000 ft in the air - that can be 45 mins from door close. Can't read till at Gate - in ATL, that can be a while..

If I nod off, I can generally pick up and speed read flipping through the pages to get to the right place. With the Kindle, i struggled to find my page. Don't know why, just did...

Changing font sizes changes page number. I remember page numbers. Perhaps if I got used to Kindle!!!

Can't read sitting in the shallow end of a pool or jacazzi or around the pool with kids splashing.

..... I'm 46 and a techno freak and have all the other gadgets. the Kindle is 60% of the solution for me and at the price, it's not for me - yet...

[jameso73]

I use my knidle in the bath all the time. Just slip it in a zip-lock.

I hate the beach, but I imagine the same would work there too.

How can you not find your page? That makes no sense ... you turn it on and it's already at your page. You can also "dog-ear" pages if you really want to mark somewhere.

Kindle doesn't have page numbers ...

Did you actually own one? Doesn't sound like it.

[skynet_today]

And watch, right when you get used to hitting the "next page" button, a touchscreen Kindle will come out where a finger swipe will flip the page, making everything okay again.

[rob1400]

You are not alone. Medieval people had the same problem when they used books for the first time.

So enjoy this video :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-SjgQvQ

[ralfthedog]

I am a very fast reader. My big problem is that I tend to flip pages about a paragraph before the end of the page. Unfortunately, the Kindle can turn pages faster than I so I keep having to hit the page back button.

[Understarsidream]

I still just can't get past the price on this thing - for the same amount of money as a kindle I can go to a great used bookstore by my house and get 200+ books not counting trading back ones I don't want to keep or reread.

On top of the cost of a kindle the books I purchase at the bookstore are MINE they aren't a piece of software a company may turn off or become useless if they discontinue the kindle in a few years. Better yet, I can resell, loan, or give away the books without dealing with the DMCA.

[dominicsotirescu]

and make sure you don't drop it...

[bvdon]

I'm surprised the DRM issue is not a topic. It's a deal killer for me.

[simonjoker]

Which is why the COOL-ER appeals to me

http://www.coolreaders.com/

[Inconnux]

It is a major issue to me next to the ridiculous price.

[jb_iphone]

In reading these posts I find the main reasons I do not own one.

1. DRM... you should be able to share the book even if it was $1 per share and it had a way of not letting you use it while you shared it.

2. Area of use - they need a toughKindle. As pointed out you can not drop it, get it wet use it on the beach. I think they need to make one that can stand up to the elements.

3. Charges for accessing email attachments. This is BS since you are supposed to get free cellular signal for life.

4. Not all books are available for download and not all prices are that much cheaper. They do not have to print the book on paper, ship it, store it, inventory it, display it or sell it. There should always be a much cheaper price.

I think if the resolved these 3 issues without raising the already sky high price I would seriously look into one.

[scifidaddyo]

hmm. don't own a kindle, but have purused ones owned by people i know. i too found my self trying to 'turn the page'. perhaps if the next page/previous page buttons were re-located say in the upper right and left corners and on the back. then when i reached for this corner and pressed on the underside, the next page would appear. since i tend to turn pages using the upper right corner of the page, it works for me. the upper left corner could be used to go back a page.

[Schorschi]

A few years ago I went to Scotland on vacation and rented a stick-shift. So, you sit on the right and shift with your left hand. Can you imagine putting the car into first gear with your left hand? It felt like I was in driving school again. Stalling the car at every other stop.

That concept threw my subconsciousness for a big loop. My brain was so confused I - subconsciously - ended up putting my wallet into my right inside pocket of my coat - instead of my left - which I had done for years.

[Gasmeister]

Mr.Terdiman- did you have trouble with the remote control on your first modern-era television set? Did it lack that "feel" of getting up to change the station by hand? How about speed-dialing on your cell phone? Does it lack the "personal touch" of pressing those quaint and comforting keypad buttons ten times instead of once? The Kindle is about convenience, versatility, variety And comfort (I'd rather hold a small 8 oz. tablet than a 600 page book any day). And what could be more American than a device which requires an ergonomic button press instead of the phyhsically taxing and laborious effort of actually turning a real paper page?

Adapt, man.