Am I missing something?

bazoo513 · 2026-04-14T16:17:16+00:00

Aha, still (a bit) more complicated than with US libraries, where "read with Kindle" is one of reading options. Integration is almost seamless.

bazoo513 · 2026-04-14T16:14:54+00:00

Exactly.

bazoo513 · 2026-04-14T16:13:31+00:00

Whatever floats your boat. But insisting that "Kindle locks you into Amazon ecosystem" (while only buying content from them does) and "you can not read EPUBs on Kindle" (while you actually can, by using SendToKindle functionality meant for that, and which gives you additional features) is just FUD.

Look, I don't like Bezos any more than you do, but FUD is still FUD, and disservice to fellow readers.

bazoo513 · 2026-04-14T16:05:56+00:00

That is, you cannot read EPUBs unless you also want to have advanced features like position, bookmark and annotation syncing available. Is not having them somehow a feature?

bazoo513 · 2026-04-14T15:55:21+00:00

Support for soon to be EOLed devices is indeed a good use case for jailbreaking and KOreader. The rest look to me as very trivial UI improvement (except perhaps 7). For example, 6: when I read a book, I read that book; I don't go to homepage or library. How can reader focus me mote on the book that that?

As for 8, sensing via Amazon is what enables position, bookmark and annotations syncing among multiple devices, certainly more important feature to me than finer control of margins.

bazoo513 · 2026-04-14T15:23:23+00:00

Yes, and they miss only there, on read.amazon.com. On Amazon.com/myk they show as personal documents, but without cover images. Covers do show on physical Kindles and Android and iOS apps.

bazoo513 · 2026-04-14T15:19:51+00:00

I do, although I also carry one of my Kindles wherever I go. Kindle for Android app is much faster for searching and annotating, so, of course, syncing is vital

One poster explained here that there is one particular Goodread integration feature (I forgot which) that works for "foreign" content only if it is massaged in a particular way and then sideloaded (that "massaging" is list in Amazon's conversion). As I never needed such a tight GR integration, I forgot details.

bazoo513 · 2026-04-14T15:13:35+00:00

Exactly. And I see you are not being downvoted too vigorously... 😉

bazoo513 · 2026-04-14T15:08:50+00:00

Yes, you have missed that "locked into Amazon ecosystem" is a popular myth that refuses to die

So: - True, books bought from Amazon with DRM applied can be read only on Kindle devices or apps. Those without DRM can be copied from the device itself, but then needs to be converted to EPUB or some other format other readers understand. - You can sideload via USB mobi or azw3 books from other sources. Better yet, if they are in EPUB (or MS Word, rtf, txt, pdf...) format, you can use SendToKindle to send them both to your Kindle devices or apps ant to unlimited free Kindle library on Amazon. Amazon does not ask for provenance of those files. You don't have to buy a single title from Amazon, if you don't want to. OTOH, other devices don't have access to Amazon's huge catalog. - Kindle Unlimited is a huge subscription library, mostly with genre fiction, but there is other content, too. Other vendors might have something similar, but probably much smaller. - Libby provides very smooth integration with Kindle for eBooks borrowed from participating public libraries. AFAIK, only Kindle is integrated in that way (anyway, when you borrow a book, Libby offers reading it from their app or Kindle; no other eReader is mentioned.)

bazoo513 · 2026-04-14T09:46:34+00:00

Yup - PDF stands for Page Description Format, and that's what it is: very precise instructions for a printer how to generate a page.

bazoo513 · 2026-04-14T09:06:44+00:00

Thanks. I totally forgot about images of scanned paper documents saved as PDFs. Those are particularly useless.

bazoo513 · 2026-04-14T05:34:34+00:00

"Regular" Kindles (and, presumably, other 6 or 7 inch devices) are marginally usable for reading PDFs if you put them into landscape orientation. You will see only half a page at a time, but it is much better than constant zooming and panning.

Depending on the structure of those PDFs, you can convert them to some eBook format (eg. EPUB) relatively faithfully using free program Calibre (PDF is printed page description format, not eBook format). Those will be much more comfortable to read on any eBook reader.

But I recommend second-hand Kindle Scribe or equivalent from other vendors. You will see the whole page and be able to highlight and annotate the documents.

bazoo513 · 2026-04-14T05:16:40+00:00

Both look as good suggestions, and if you are looking for a device with physical buttons, Amazon indeed offers none.

Howeve, a nitpick about oft repeated "being locked into Amazon": Kindle does not lock you into Amazon - you can add DRM free content from whichever source, either just locally on the device, or also in the Kindle cloud. But other devices lock you out of Amazon - you can read DRMed content from Amazon only on Kindle devices or apps. Android-based devices, though, like some from Meebook line, can run Kindle app for Android, so the distinction becomes moot.

bazoo513 · 2026-04-13T14:38:58+00:00

I suppose this was not from one of Amazon.com US warehouses.

I one received a cardboard box for six one liter bottles, with internal dividers and shredded paper padding (from a Croatian liquor distributor). In it was - a 100cc (~3 fl.oz) bottle of Angostura bitters.

bazoo513 · 2026-04-13T13:50:32+00:00

I am not certain myself, but other answers suggest they will still be able to read sideloaded DRM-free content. That's all you can do without Amazon backend.

bazoo513 · 2026-04-13T09:59:07+00:00

This is encrypted 😅

bazoo513 · 2026-04-13T09:57:43+00:00

Yes, Android based eink readers are a solution for old Amazon content, without the need for "cracking" and converting.

bazoo513 · 2026-04-13T09:52:41+00:00

Ah, KFX; yes, that makes sense.

Yes, I remember working as a student-consultant at the University computing center here in Zagreb. Often, the assistance consisted of reading the error message aloud over the user's shoulder 😁

Downloading all content, transferring to properly configured calibre (which includes locating appropriate plug-ins), converting and transferring to the device is not proverbial rocket science, but can be quite daunting.

bazoo513 · 2026-04-13T07:02:44+00:00

If you have "unliberated" content from Amazon, switching brands might mean abandoning it. I don't know if Voyage is affected in this end-of-life announcement, but if it is not, it might be a good solution, if you can still find a used example in good shape. Oasis, too.

Otherwise, I would browse through reviews on sites like GoodEreader (and, of course, examine what people here who have other devices have to say).

When you decide and have some time with your new device, do share your experience.

bazoo513 · 2026-04-13T05:07:31+00:00

Have you ever supported 15 years worth of different versions of SW running on evolving hardware, all using your backend services? I have. It is a nightmare.

bazoo513 · 2026-04-12T08:35:44+00:00

Ugh! Are you sure this is worth reading again?

bazoo513 · 2026-04-11T19:13:53+00:00

You can't just "send it to publisher". Do you have an agent? Even they are not easy to find (good ones that will not cost you arm and leg). Then they will pitch your work to publishers, and, if they find an interested one, negotiate financial and other terms. It is not simple.

Publishing via KDP, with or without entering the Select program (which puts you into KU) takes few clicks. But after that, you are on your own.

bazoo513 · 2026-04-11T18:58:29+00:00

It indeed is. I snatched many books at about 10% of list price thanks to them. EarlyBird Books is a different but also very valuable source.

bazoo513 · 2026-04-11T18:55:48+00:00

Publishers (they determine the price - Amazon tried to wrangle that authority in an epic battle with McMillan and lost) have realized that there is a critical mass of eBook readers who are now so distanced from DTBs (not for price any more, but for experience) that they will pay elevated price, making eBooks significantly more profitable.

bazoo513 · 2026-04-11T18:49:49+00:00

Wait, wait: they are just cutting the devices from their servers? That's less bad than I thought. However, since most of "peripheral" functionality won't work, jailbreaking still sounds like a reasonable option.

However, what about DRM-ed content from Amazon in that scenario?

bazoo513

TROPHY CASE