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Kindle Voyage First Impressions

79K views 479 replies 110 participants last post by  Bibliophile 
#1 ·
I figured this would be a good place for everyone who is receiving their Kindle Voyage over the coming days and weeks to post their initial impressions.

So, you fine lucky people, let's hear your thoughts... likes, dislikes, comparisons, whatever!
 
#352 ·
FearIndex said:
I agree. One more point, though: Just because people don't have a problem with some issue or feature of a product, doesn't of course mean the issue or feature doesn't exist. It may just mean subjectively those people are not bothered by it and thus don't notice it or complain about it. I think after the past few years, for example, we can conclude a lot of people are not bothered by PW1/2 screen issues, but there is also a wealth of evidence to suggest those issues are still real and exist probably in all units at varying levels of severity. That is useful for example for people who want to judge the likelihood of further replacements helping them out or not (or getting a refund/selecting different product).

I am not asking anyone to dislike something they don't dislike. :) But sometimes more objective information helps and pics can be a good tool for that.
But those issues also vary from device to device. So some people will get better quality and others have to return until they get a better one...or not.

I had 4 different PW1's lined up and tested all 4 in exact same (multiple) conditions side by side....every single one was different.

I think Amazon does need to look more closely at quality control.
 
#353 ·
lindnet said:
The back of the Voyage is very nice and looks classy. I'm not sure what you want to know about the shiny vs matte.....the matte part is rubbery feeling and it's nice to hold onto. I will say that if fingerprints bother you, you might be annoyed. Not only by the back of it, but the front as well. This Kindle is a huge print/smudge magnet. The ones on the front clean off very easily, as do the ones on the shiny piece in the back. The matte/rubbery part on the back? Pretty hard to clean.

I read without a case, so I probably have more smudges than most people.
I love the 'rubbery' part on the back and that's why I only put the skin on the front of my PW1...for better gripping of the device.

I dont see the back, ever! I dont care what it looks like, lol. I prefer a better grip and reading without a cover for the lightest experience.

So my feedback to Amazon will be to continue with 'grip-ability' and a more tactile back on the device.
 
#355 ·
Lursa (aka 9MMare) said:
Right now, I've been to 2 Best Buy's and they do have the PW2 and the new KV side by side.

Interestingly, Fry's Electronics doesnt have the KVs in stock yet.

(I'm laptop shopping...scoping things out for CyberMonday)
The Best Buy's in my area did have the Voyage WiFi in stock for a while, but now they are all sold out.
 
#356 ·
crebel said:
I have the Fintie navy cover coming. I also hoped it would be the teal color it appears on the screen, but one person who has received it already and posted in the accessories thread says it really is navy - bummer.
Sigh. Saw that this morning. *pouts*

I'd like a home page button too....

Betsy
 
#357 ·
Lursa (aka 9MMare) said:
I love the 'rubbery' part on the back and that's why I only put the skin on the front of my PW1...for better gripping of the device.

I dont see the back, ever! I dont care what it looks like, lol. I prefer a better grip and reading without a cover for the lightest experience.

So my feedback to Amazon will be to continue with 'grip-ability' and a more tactile back on the device.
I love the feel of the back as well. I'm much more annoyed by the fingerprints that show on the black border in the front. I put a skin on my PW2 to cover that, but with the flat glass on the Voyage I can't. I guess I need to learn to love smudges, lol.
 
#358 ·
I have an issue with my Voyage. Once in a while when I turn it on it will skip my password prompt. Will then get a message like 'A service has failed to start, I don't remember exactly what it says. I am able to view all my books like normal but when I try to open a book nothing happens. I cant replicate it, the only thing that seems to cause this is when the Voyage is not used for an extended period of time. A hard rest does fix the problem. I am just going to disable the password feature for now.
 
#359 ·
The first thing I would try, Neorreloaded313, is to do a restart.  Press and hold the power button and press "Restart" when the screen appears. 

This frequently cures issues.  If you persist in getting the "A service has failed to start", you should contact Kindle customer service.


Betsy

 
#360 ·
Betsy the Quilter said:
The first thing I would try, Neorreloaded313, is to do a restart. Press and hold the power button and press "Restart" when the screen appears.

This frequently cures issues. If you persist in getting the "A service has failed to start", you should contact Kindle customer service.

Betsy
If it happens again I will. I want to write down the exact wording of the error message so I know what to report to Amazon. I believe the service that has failed to start is my password prompt, which causes my Kindle to give me only limited access to the device.
 
#361 ·
Neoreloaded313 said:
I have an issue with my Voyage. Once in a while when I turn it on it will skip my password prompt. Will then get a message like 'A service has failed to start, I don't remember exactly what it says. I am able to view all my books like normal but when I try to open a book nothing happens. I cant replicate it, the only thing that seems to cause this is when the Voyage is not used for an extended period of time. A hard rest does fix the problem. I am just going to disable the password feature for now.
you may have to return it. I've seen several others have this issue and there isn't a solid fix to keep it from happening again. I had that at first and then I got stuck in a book and even with the hard reset I couldn't exit out of it. Finally requested a replacement and the new one is much better
 
#362 ·
I got the Voyage a couple of weeks ago and I'm completely in love with it. I hadn't realized just how much strain I was putting on my eyes reading on my phone or reading paperbacks with too-small type.

I find myself buying ebooks that I already own in paper because it's so much easier to read them on the Voyage. It's let me return to reading in a volume I haven't hit in years. Why did I wait so long to get a Kindle? I can't remember. [emoji14]

My screen doesn't have any discoloration and the page press buttons work well for me. I like reading it with one hand, but my husband got me an Oberon case for my birthday and I've been using that some. I still like to take the Voyage out of it if I'm reading for a long time, but the case is gorgeous and adds a comfortably book-like weight for shorter reading times. It feels safer to carry around with a case, too. I felt nervous with it naked.

If I can ask a newb question, when I make collections on the Voyage, do those save to the Amazon cloud? I think it might be easier to arrange the collections on the Amazon page instead of on the Voyage, but I'm not sure how to do it. [emoji28]
 
#363 ·
CMD said:
If I can ask a newb question, when I make collections on the Voyage, do those save to the Amazon cloud? I think it might be easier to arrange the collections on the Amazon page instead of on the Voyage, but I'm not sure how to do it. [emoji28]
The collections do save to the cloud. So they'll be available and books will be properly sorted if you get a new device. But I don't think you can use the 'Cloud Reader' to manipulate them. Which doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but there you have it. :(
 
#364 ·
I wouldn't mind a dedicated Home button, but not at the expense of the page turn buttons.  After almost three weeks of use, I have figured out how to hold the Voyage so it's easy to reliably use the page press feature.
That was really the only thing that I felt was missing with my PW1.
 
#365 ·
As Ann said, your collections do go to the Cloud.  But I also think you can't use the Cloud to edit your collections.  You can use Kindle for PC or Kindle for Mac to edit your collections but I can't remember if those do "live" updates to the collections.  I can test on my Kindle for PC in a bit.

If you have an iOS device, you can play with your collections on those, and the collection changes will carry over to your Voyage (just tested) and of course, if you have a Fire, the collections will carry over.

Betsy
 
#366 ·
I have a friend with neuropathy and she wants to know if the Voyager has a soft or hard back.  A hard plastic back is too painful for her.  Thanks in advance!
 
#369 ·
Thanks all, but she really just wants to know if its a hard plastic back or the more 'rubberized' one like the Paperwhite.
 
#371 ·
Some of my first impressions of the Voyage hardware:
-Very sleek and attractive, good weight.
-Feels good in the hand but I can't get my hand around it in the same way I can with the baby kindle to page turn with one hand under the device (no big deal, ultimately)
-The flat glass bezel is very very impressive to me (the etched glass has a nice effect), pleasantly wow'd and the text really pops in the light/sunlight (curious of those who are wanting to put a DecalGirl skin on it which would make it protrude from flush)
-Compared to the P2, its brighter and has a whiter screen
-The shape is nice and it feels best when holding it on the side with one hand
-Zippy and looks very premium to me
-The smaller form factor makes a real impression and I like the angles on it
-Page press is pretty awesome. Big fan of haptic touch and I feel it is implemented well

I received my Voyage two weeks ago, set it up, sideloaded a few books of mine from Calibre and immediately ran to the dark, jumped in bed. A little background: Kindle user since the original. Every gen i've purchased and loved up until the first gen Paperwhite...Paperwhite 1 was a huge disappointment for me. I'm, unfortunately, one of the small minority whose eyes saw shades and tints of blues and yellows and pinks. I tried 7 replacements and all of them had different shades and discoloration (some literally rainbows) that I just ended up returning them all, stayed with my baby kindle and hoped for better for Paperwhite 2 a year later. Beautifully, the P2 for me was perfect sepia slightly yellowish, completely equal shading, and my eyes saw a perfect screen (particularly in the pitch dark which was the dream feature I had always wanted).

Now, onto the Voyage lighting (I do consider this first gen lighting (even though it's technically generation 3) because working from a flat bezel is an entirely new ballgame IMO and new calibration is needed with the glass bezel. I started with the light turned up high and immediately could see a different top shade on the 1/3 top of the screen. I tried it in various lighting conditions, went to a coffeehouse, my office, my kitchen and all of the lighting had a more yellowish shade on top and 2/3 completely white. flipped it upside down, turned it sideways in order to see if it was the angles, no luck. I read with it for a week and ended up disappointed and unhappy so i exchanged it for another Voyage.

I've spent this week with the new one and it is a little bit better. Unfortunately, the shading issue is almost identical to the first (the sepia tone runs a little to the left of the screen and forms a small blob of discoloration at the top which is a softer color and not as white. Once again, this may be a case of my eyes (20/20 just to cross off my eyes being crappy as a reason why i see discoloration) only catching the light differences which is a shame. Gonna read with it for another few days and see. In the light and in well lit rooms, I just turn down the lighting to 5 or 6 and the screen looks really good. I've tried reading with it in the pitch dark but get p*ssed off because of the discoloration I see and end up grabbing my Paperwhite 2. Oddly, I enjoy reading more on the Voyage in the light than the Paperwhite 2 (which I can see the layers when dust comes onto the screen and ruins the experience for me because the dust created a shadow on the screen itself).  Ultimately, win win for me but it's nice to have the newest Kindle so I may have to get a 3rd Voyage just for peace of mind before ditching it and staying with my P2 and waiting a year for the next gen Voyage. Currently P2 in the dark, baby kindle during the day.

Sad news for me, unfortunately but happy to those of you who are enjoying your Voyages. It's a really really nice piece of hardware and Amazon seemingly has another hit on their hands.
 
#372 ·
northofdivision said:
Oddly, I enjoy reading more on the Voyage in the light than the Paperwhite 2 (which I can see the layers when dust comes onto the screen and ruins the experience for me because the dust created a shadow on the screen itself).
I have the same "issue" with both Voyage and the Paperwhites, a spec of dust on the screen immediately reminds of the layers on top of e-ink and Voyage too creates a shadow underneath if there is external lighting. I find the Voyage perhaps worst of them all, because the flush glass may add to the layering. This is one reason why I like non-lit e-ink readers so much, they just feel more like real paper than a screen, because the "ink" is right there on top, not under capacitive touch and lightguide layers... (Of the competition the Kobo Aura H20 is a bit of an in-between because it has a lightguide but not capacitive touch - IR touch has no layers on the screen - so layering is perhaps a tad bit less.)
 
#375 ·
Betsy the Quilter said:
I'm currently reading the User's Guide, and I have a first impression: because it has the PagePress sensors (aka "buttons" for the purposes of discussion), you can use those to move through your pages on the Home screen. Since we've had numerous members who have had problems turning pages on the home screen without selecting a book instead of turning the page, I declare this A Good Thing. (The trick on the Paperwhite is to swipe diagonally across the page, not horizontally.)

Betsy
Ah, that's good to know! My husband has a Fire and it's really difficult for me to swipe without buying a ton of something or other. I still have my original dinosaur Kindle, but am looking at getting a new one soon. :)
 
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