How would you change Amazon's Kindle?
By Darren Murph 
posted February 1st 2008 6:30PM
posted February 1st 2008 6:30PM
As with most highly-anticipated devices, this particular one was also met with its fair share of critics and proponents, but judging by the initial difficulty it had remaining in stock, it seemed well on its way to e-reader stardom. Granted, we've no clairvoyant on staff, but we're guessing a few of those orders went to a few of you all. Assuming that's the case, why not give ole Jeff and company something to think about for Kindle v2.0? Yeah, we know you've been enjoying those unannounced easter eggs and whatnot, but now that you've had ample time to flip through a few paperless pages and really get a read (ahem) on this thing, what alterations would you make going forward? How's about a color screen, for starters? Maybe a little more responsiveness? A little less '80, a little more '08 in the design? Or, say, native Engadget support in the RSS reader? We're only partially kidding on that last one, but feel free to agree and tack on a dozen more worthwhile changes in comments below.
I'd make it an iPhone.
I'd make itt really cheap. Then I'd buy one. I don't have the money to buy something like that. That would maake it popular amond teens and other peopple which would reallyy improve sales.
make it a non-ripoff price duh
Totally totally agree.
BTW, many posters, including Engadget, have criticized the color of the Kindle. I don't know why I didn't think of this before, but is it not supposed to be the color of paper, and sort of "disappear" like Bezos intended?
I'd make it an rPhone!!!
http://www.piratepalooza.com/rphone
Steam-driven technology is much more amusing and easier to use as a weapon when you find yourself in tight spots.
Yarr.
Make it sleeker and better looking like the Sony. And add native PDF support & the ability to download things directly from your computer without having to go through their system.
I totally agree. For the price it doesn't support near what it needs to. If it supported more formats, I would be thrilled to add it to my library even at it's rather high price.
It does that already. Why do people think you cannot transfer files directly from your computer txt. ect..?
Give it firefox... And a touchscreen...
It's hard to say. The Kindle, and most e-book readers just seem like they so much techno fluff. A real book is just so much simpler, there's no learning curve, there's no fuss if you forget it somewhere go grab another copy, it's never going to break, I don't have to charge it. I've tried the e-book thing and it's just a pain in the ass. I had a Newton for a while that I usedas strictly an e-reader, and while this will be easier because there are obviously more books to choose from even my iPhone is a pain sometimes, it's going to have to be completely idiot-proof before people are really going to get on board.
Nevermind the fact that Amazon has all these rules attached. They charge you to put your own data on the thing! Come on!
Real books are also so god-damn overpriced, much less durable (if they're in cheaper paperback), heavier, and are one of the reasons literature is so backward: With the means to create a book being so ridiculously difficult, there are no means for an author to actually be DIY, and has to consistently rely on a publisher.
Okay, here's one. In addition to the usual laundry list we've already gone over (RSS doodads, more flexible methods of loading in books, Typing of the Doom) I'd like a litte Vim on it. That is to say, a very basic text editor.
Reading goes hand and hand with writing. Why not have a nice little editor so the more verbose of us can get an idea down on Kindle-paper when it hits us? It'd probably suck up power to refresh the screen while typing, but darn it I'd use it!
Have it not take forever to get in my hands.
Easy.. just add a scratch resistant layer of polycarbonate with capacitive touch, make it thinner but fullscreen, replace bulky plastic enclosing by thinner, durable aluminium. Or as mentioned above, just make it an iphone but in the same format? design by function -> function is a reading screen -> make it fullscreen. Easy.
I have to agree with Apple fanboy that the price should be lower. I would expect that will happen in time. From all that I hear and see people really like the product and from questions that I've asked of those using one they love it and can't think of anything they would change. I've sampled Metro North and NYC straphangers.
Add color.
Does this have to be in essay format? I don't think I can fit it all in this textbox.
I absolutely cannot believe people will stash another gadget in their road warrior kits. Laptop, cell phone, iPod and now this?
No thanks...just develop cheap e-publishing via .PDF and text-to-speech technology so you can have those e-books read to you if you wish. NO reason to use anything other than a nice iPod touch or iPhone device, or your tablet/laptop PC to read books/magazines...and if you decide you'd rather listen on the train, voila!
The only way this will fly is if it gets VERY small and VERY cheap...think $49.99 reader hardware that is the size and weight of an average magazine (not Cosmo, but, say PC World, et al).
Too Expensive!!!
i would re-name it " the kindling" and toss it in the fireplace.
I was thinking about the kindle today and was wondering why they aren't selling it at a loss? It seems like most other hardware out there that relies on a closed software sales system (e.g. videogame consoles) sells at a loss to grow the user base in order to make money off of software sales.
I would buy a kindle if it was in the $200 range. But, if they're selling out there's no reason for Amazon to drop the price yet.
use it as fire KINDLEing?
A new layout for the buttons. The current setup has me accidentally hitting the page buttons WAY too much. Also, because of their locations, there's no way to actually hold the device without pushing down on one of the buttons. Lighter and cheaper would be nice too.
I'd like to see it hit with less of the ugly-stick.
The keyboard should be slide-out or else a separate attachment (like a console game's texting add-on). The page-forward buttons should be harder to hit accidentally (smaller or hit twice or ?).
It would be good to have more native e-book formats (less conversion required).
Some of you want it to be a phone too? Too small. Maybe with a roll-out e-ink screen but this is as small as I want an e-book to go.
I don't think it needs color, but reading PDF would be extremely nice. Connectivity for RSS feeds would be cool. A better look is necessary. If it's going to be that expensive, how about giving away some free books (like 20)... OR, make the device a lot less expensive and create a subscription service for x books per month or whatnot.
You see the big image you used with the story?
Well I'd completely change that part.
Love my Kindle. Changes: the right "Next" button doesn't have to be so big. I push near the bottom of it 90% of the time.
Yeah, it's expensive, but I'd buy it again. Having the ability to read the newspaper and a book from the same device is better than carrying both. I don't own a car so I don't have the luxury of having a trunk/back seat that can hold a ton of books. With my iPhone and this, I pretty much can do everything on the road. Read, I use the kindle. Music, movies, TV, email, and internet: I use the iPhone.
People who are saying, "please not another gadget," are right.
It's another set of batteries and charger to babysit, plus it's DRM'ed to the hilt. This isn't progress. You don't really own any of the content you're purchasing. You couldn't sell your Kindle to somebody else. All this is tied to your Amazon account, and if you misbehave, then can make it all vanish.
I don't see why you can't get by with a screen the size of the iPhone. I'm constantly reading books on my Treo.
$50
Then I'd buy one.
Color/PDF like above...
Then partner with the Government and Schools/Colleges to offer nearly free text book content on the Kindle to those that have one; Govt subsidies and discounts for those than can't afford one.
That's exactly what I was thinking. I think the Kindle (if it adds color resolution to it) would be the near perfect solution towards schools where people are complaining about backpacks. If this concept were to be realized, not only would this ease a lot of parents's mind of backpack weight, but this would null torn and written pages. Plus you get to "own" the books allowing you to make notes on it if you want. Like other suggestions, the Kindle should also go touch screen.
AKBlade13
Larger, high resolution screen. Battery life should be hundreds of hours, maybe indefinitely with solar panels(keep wireless off unless I specifically request something).
Give it a color screen. Black and white/grey, is ok for text. But, the pictures look a bit disappointing. People are not asking for HD graphics. But, considering the steep entry fee, it should offer more.
I don't know about the kindle (which is pronounced the same as a brand of cheap beer here in germany that mostly only bums drink - Berliner Kindl) but I highly recommend the book freakonomics. The best book I read in 07, from sumo wrestlers to abortions a lot of "innaresting theo-rizing" and very well written. First book I read completely as a pdf file on my notebook, it was that good!
1. Better contrast e-ink screen.
2. Free RSS feeds would be cool. But....
3. Needs better battery life w/ 3G cellular on all the time.
3. Cheaper books / cheaper device. Best sellers should be dirt cheap, not 9.99, but 4.99, That will sell the device more, I mean there is no production cost for these books anymore. At least get textbook publishers to get onboard and sell them half priced, or even cheaper.
4. More native support for different file formats. Open it up, or offer some sort of converter.
5. Better handling of graphics. i should be able to zoom in to diagrams and stuff. Ok this is probably as hard as native PDF support, but hey, this is a wish list.
Hire an industial designer -- this thing is butt ugly and inelegant
You can get more books with an iPhone than Kindle, and with the iPhone all the books are free. It's called Project Guttenberg.
If Kindle wants to get in the game, they should give owners free access to Guttenberg.
They should turn it from a "book reader" to a "document reader" that affords easy reading and annotating of PDF, Word and the like files. Yes, books too, but books are just a limited small subset of what we read.
We need a GPR ("general portable reader") that can be used for any sort of documents. Of course, easy docs exchange would be nice too. The killer app will contain my library, brochures, file cabinet, newspapers, contracts, notes, journal articles, etc.
Limited functionality is the problem, not the price.
Here, let me get the average blogtard's post out of the way: Full-color 1080p multitouch e-paper display, coverflow, ditch the keyboard, make it play Crysis at max detail, 1TB SSD, make it a phone, give it GPS, 10 megapixel camera (with flash), have it run Linux, have it run OSX, don't run Vista (but give it an Aero glass interface), better battery life (at least 6 years on one charge), and MAKE IT CHEAP!!!! Also everything on it should be free and if I load a cookbook on it, it will make a sandwich.
To be serious:
I admit I have not used a Kindle, or any other ebook reader of this sort (Sony's thing, that iRex iLiad iWhatever). But I can appreciate what Amazon is trying to do with this product. As for what I'd like the see in a "Kindle 2":
-Cheaper. Even only $100 less would be nice, $400 seems to be on the border between affordable gadget and luxury toy. An eBook reader should most definitely be affordable.
-Open up the software a bit more. The Kindle clearly has the hardware to do more complicated things, so why not add some more PDA type functions? Heck, let people develop apps for it! Of course, if this would hinder the Kindle's ability to display eBooks (its primary function), then forget about that.
-Tweak the overall design. If the Kindle was painted gray/silver, you'd have a hard time convincing me it wasn't from the 90s. Get some designers to make it more attractive! A lot of people seem to gripe about the button layout, so adjust its ergonomics. The ENORMOUS prev/next page buttons seem silly and annoying.
-Wifi. It would be quite useful in EVDO dead spots, and would make the Kindle a bit more useable outside of the US. I imagine there are lots of areas with poor cellular coverage, but numerous areas with wifi hotspots where one would be using the Kindle (libraries, coffee shops, hotels, etc).
-Perhaps add a premium connection option. A small monthly fee for unlimited usage of the online conversion feature, RSS feeds, maybe some other perks (members only content or something? Email?)
Price_new = Price_old - $250;
Frontlighting. They claim backlighting can't be used with e-ink, fine, there must be some way they can add a front light. Not everyone has perfect eyesight, and decent lighting can make a big difference in where you're actually able to effectively use it.
Bigger screen! Bigger Screen! Bigger screen!
I read a lot of magazines, as does my wife. The screen should be the same size as a standard magazine page and should be able to more clearly display photos/graphics.
drop the price
Give it an SD card slot. That way if Sprint kills EVDO, or someone does not live in an area where EVDO is, they can still add books to it.
Also better PDF support, and CBR (Comic Book) Files.
Get rid of the $0.10 wireless transfer fee for sending your files to it.
No keys, thin as a MacBook Air, with color, multi-touch screens on both sides. That should do it.
I would get rid of the expensive magnetic ink thingy until it is cheap,a nd stick with the good old...
WTF, I can't read these quarter-sized pixels!
Other then the features everyone mentions above (price, RSS feeds. native format support, etc.), provide the ability to share books. My wife and I are both big readers, and share many books, but we don't want to be swapping kindles to allow the other to read the book we've just finished, nor do we want to be buying multiple copies of the same book.
I like my kindle alot, but at some point I would like to be able to use it to completely eliminate the need to use paper books/documents. In that vain, I would like to see:
- Good support for PDF and images (with zoom in/out capability), so I could use it to read all of my work documents without printing them. By the way, I really don't care about color and the contrast is fine.
- Optional password protection so I could safely put confidential material on it
- More books. Amazon has a lot of titles, but I won't be happy until I can completely stop buying a paper books.
Make it more usable AND incorporate an player and storage for audio books for dual-purpose, dual-purchase books.
http://www.chaosscenario.com/main/2007/11/amazons-kindle.html
I would like to have it to be able to "write on the books", so that I can take notes, highlight, etc, on some of the pages that I am reading.
Heck, this may also spawn off the sale of quiz and puzzle books too.