[BookishMom]

I received my K2 yesterday and have been very pleased with it so far. It has no fade issues (in the sun or otherwise - is this something that happens from the beginning, or does it happen over time?).

Also, I'm surprised at the font. I expected to install the font hack that everyone's been talking about, but I don't need to. The fonts are almost the same darkness on the K1 and the K2 at the sizes I normally use (3 & 4). It was hard for me to detect a difference at all.

It's also faster at page-turns, accessing WhisperNet, searching, browsing the store, etc, and there's more lines per page (for the same book), so it seems like the screen is larger (but I know it isn't). I knew it would be faster, but it's faster than I expected.

I like the 5-way navigation more than I thought I would, too, and really like the immediacy of the dictionary (I knew I would!). And I didn't realize how much I like pushing one button (instead of two) to put it to sleep, and it doesn't take multiple steps for a few other things. Little things, but nice.

I passed my K1 down to my children, and they love it, but I may sell it and get them a K2, too. They said that they're fine with the K1 (and are fascinated with the scroll wheel), so I may not. I'll let them play with the K2 after I get more time with it, then decide.

I didn't plan to upgrade to the K2, but wanted an extra reader for my childlren. Regardless, I'm glad I waited until now to get it - it seems that Amazon has worked out all the issues (knock on wood) and I got a good one.

 

[Ruby296]

Good comparison!  I find myself using my K2 alot more than my K1 for all the same reasons you mentioned.  There's a small part of me that would love the DX for the larger screen size when reading newspapers, but the overall size of it makes it a little less portable.  May I ask you how old your children are?  I kept my K1 w/the thought that I'd give it to my daughter who is an avid reader, but she's only 8 and I'm not sure that I want to entrust her w/such an expensive piece of electronics.

 

[reemixx]

Nice comparison, BookishMom. Glad you're happy, and glad you got a K2 without any issues! Awesome sauce.

The biggest downside of the K2 that means I will never 'upgrade' from the K1 (unless Amazon rolls out a software update that fixes this particular issue) is the inability to change the justification of the text on the screen. You can do this on the K1, and it works for the majority of the books from Amazon. I've come to rely on it because I can't stand reading a book with fully justified text. It's just wrong.

 

[Ann in Arlington]

I've come to rely on it because I can't stand reading a book with fully justified text. It's just wrong.

You know, I've heard this from several people and it really confuses me. Books printed on paper are pretty much all fully justified, aren't they. The 6 random books I just pulled off my shelves sure are. I read on Kindle fully justified too. Not a problem for me. I guess it's a case of "different strokes".

 

[libros_lego]

What does it mean that a text is fully justified? 

 

[ak rain]

even on both sides.
fully justified  both sides even
left justified  right side is jagged left even
center is like poetry, title, runs down the middle not flat either side
not good a explaining hope this helped
sylvia

 

[libros_lego]

even on both sides.
fully justified both sides even
left justified right side is jagged left even
center is like poetry, title, runs down the middle not flat either side
not good a explaining hope this helped
sylvia

Thanks!

 

[BookishMom]

Nice comparison, BookishMom. Glad you're happy, and glad you got a K2 without any issues! Awesome sauce.

The biggest downside of the K2 that means I will never 'upgrade' from the K1 (unless Amazon rolls out a software update that fixes this particular issue) is the inability to change the justification of the text on the screen. You can do this on the K1, and it works for the majority of the books from Amazon. I've come to rely on it because I can't stand reading a book with fully justified text. It's just wrong.

I didn't realize that it couldn't do this. I usually prefer reading text that's not justified, but I haven't really noticed whether it's justifed or not when I'm reading my Kindle, so it hasn't been an issue so far. Hopefully the Kindle 3 (or, like you said, a software upgrade) will address this.

 

[ak rain]

I prefer left justified myself too maybe with the folder upgrade
Sylvia

 

[BookishMom]

I'm chuckling while I'm reading this because I remember a discussion I once had with an author about formatting, and justified lefts and ragged rights, etc., and how it kind of evolved into a discussion about religion and politics... nevermind... it was a "had to be there" kind of thing.

 

[reemixx]

You know, I've heard this from several people and it really confuses me. Books printed on paper are pretty much all fully justified, aren't they. The 6 random books I just pulled off my shelves sure are. I read on Kindle fully justified too. Not a problem for me. I guess it's a case of "different strokes".

Usually, yes. The difference is that they don't have giant gaps between words, like what often happens when the Kindle tries to handle fully justified text. It doesn't bother everyone, but it really bothers me.

 

[libros_lego]

Usually, yes. The difference is that they don't have giant gaps between words, like what often happens when the Kindle tries to handle fully justified text. It doesn't bother everyone, but it really bothers me.

Ugh, I know what you mean. Those gaps really annoy me.

 

[BookishMom]

Good comparison! I find myself using my K2 alot more than my K1 for all the same reasons you mentioned. There's a small part of me that would love the DX for the larger screen size when reading newspapers, but the overall size of it makes it a little less portable. May I ask you how old your children are? I kept my K1 w/the thought that I'd give it to my daughter who is an avid reader, but she's only 8 and I'm not sure that I want to entrust her w/such an expensive piece of electronics.

The two children I'm passing my K1 to are in their teens, and they're pretty responsible with their electronics, so I don't have any issues. I have younger children, too, and won't let them use it until they're older. For them I focus on paper books and audiobooks.

 

[Ruby296]

The two children I'm passing my K1 to are in their teens, and they're pretty responsible with their electronics, so I don't have any issues. I have younger children, too, and won't let them use it until they're older. For them I focus on paper books and audiobooks.

Thanks for sharing. My 8 yr. old is very responsible w/her things too (DS lite, Wii) etc. but I haven't let her use the K1 yet. Maybe next year!