June 2009
Typos - It would be a neat feature if I could highlight a piece of text, choose Typo from the menu, and send that on to the publisher. By not allowing me to type a message we avoid any nastiness where someone might buy a book by someone they don't like and pepper the publisher with crap. This could still happen with the process I suggest, but Amazon could wait to alert the publisher until they get at least two reports. They could also limit how many typos any one user could submit per period of time.
Sample to Purchase - When I select the sample and jog right I get a link to Buy This Book Now, but no indication of the price. I found out I paid $11.00 for a book! I won't click that again; I need to see the price before I buy. Frankly, if the kindle version costs $9.00 then I check the used books first. If I can get a very good condition copy there for $9.00 or less, then I buy the paper copy.
Merge Sample with Purchase - If I have a sample on My Kindle and then I buy the book, I then have to navigate to the place I was last reading. I use the weird go-to feature, but it seems like the locations are not always exactly the same. So I Go-To a spot in the purchased book and have to page around a bit to get exactly the same place. Since I have both the sample and the book, why can't My Kindle just do that for me? In fact, once the book has been downloaded, My Kindle could just move any notations to the real book and delete the sample from my Kindle. Why do I have to mess with all that housekeeping?
Jogger Placement - I read the Merc News every day. For that reading I use the jogger a lot to move to the next article; it just takes a quick flick to the right. However the jogger is not in the best place for me. Where it is today I have to curl my thumb around and hold My Kindle with a difficult grip. The jogger is clearly placed for occasional use. I suggested to Amazon that they move the jogger to be directly under the lower right hand corner of the display. This would be a convenient place allowing me to operate the Next Page and jogger while using a comfortable grip.
March 2009
I've had my Kindle 2 for a few days and I have some suggestions for Amazon. Here they are...
Marketing Celebs - I've seen Jeff Bezos handing Kindles to celebrities. If I were him I'd have my staff research what books these celebrities have enjoyed and load them on the Kindle before giving it to them.
Hangs - So far I've had one every other day. I'd fix them.
Edit Clips - I haven't found a way to edit My Clips. When I highlight a section in My Clips, give me the option to delete the text. Easy to do.
Marketing Email - Allow me to send a highlight, with the reference, to someone via email for free. At the bottom of the email add the signature line "sent directly from my Kindle 2 via Amazon.com"
Backup - While any book I buy remains resident on Amazon, things I email to my Kindle via Amazon do not. If Kindle breaks I lose all that. Why not store things I send via Amazon and charge me a monthly fee?
Comics - I like to read the comics, but my Kindle Merc News doesn't have them. Why not put together a subscription to a bunch of comics? I'd pay for that.
NYT Crossword - I still have to buy the Sunday news paper to get the Sunday Times crossword. That costs me $4.00 a month and all I want is the crossword. Why doesn't Amazon find a way to collect that money from me?
User Sign In - She'd like to use my Kindle from time to time, but if she reads one of my ebooks then I lose my place. Why not let me have more than one user? We could each have the same Home menu list, but the last-read locations would be unique. Maybe unique highlights and clippings too.
Time - I'd like to have the current time displayed at the top or bottom of the screen.
Jim Schrempp is a sometimes freelance writer (only Vanity Press will publish his work) living in Saratoga, California. His writings have appeared on numerous pages on his own web site. The opinions expressed in this piece are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent those of anyone else (although Jim wishes more people shared his opinions)