5 ms·
I finally found a way to do remote page-turning for Kindle -- something I was trying to do for years. It does mean I have to read books on my Android phone inst
by morsch 5y ago
I finally found a way to do remote page-turning for Kindle -- something I was trying to do for years. It does mean I have to read books on my Android phone instead of the Paperwhite. With OLED and white on black, I find it's pretty all right though. But I can finally rest the reader somewhere, on my knees, on a pillow, whatever, and click a remote button to get to the next page. Freedom!
You enable volume button page turning in the Kindle app settings. This already means you can attach e.g. a USB keyboard to your device and use its volume buttons. But you can also use these tiny BTLE media control gadgets[1], meant primarily for putting on steering wheels of cars that don't have built-in media controls. The replaceable battery lasted a couple of thousand pages so far, which is kind of amazing. Note that the volume buttons of bluetooth headsets do not work.
I've never understood how this isn't a standard feature with standalone Kindles. People made it work using the USB port, but you need to install a custom ROM. It makes incredible sense for accessibility purposes, alone. Imagine a big fat button for people with limited limb control, or something based on eye movement for people who are even worse off.
[1] e.g. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32948528629.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32948528629.html 5.49 USD
- AdmiralAsshat 5y agoWhat is the use-case, exactly? The only real-life experience I have with wanting to turn ebook pages remotely is during the winter, when my hands are cold and even touchscreen-compatible gloves/mittens don't work well with the touchscreen sensor. But if I ever truly got that desperate, there are several lines of Kobo and Kindle devices with physical touch buttons that would solve the problem.
- sipior 5y agoA lot of musicians these days keep their sheet music in digital formats; hands-off page turning is handy when playing. I'm sure there are many other use cases.
- morsch 5y agoI've already gone into it in a sibling comment, but basically because I can rest my arms and hands wherever I want, especially when reading a book for hours on end. If you ever watch long-ish video content on your tablet or phone, do you keep holding the device? Or do you put it down someplace where you can see the screen? Same thing, really. Maybe it's not for you. But I've seen enough people in public precariously balance their phones on their knees while watching Youtube that I know I'm not totally alone.
- AdmiralAsshat 5y agoIt could be for me in theory, I suppose. My ebook reader does have a "stand" option built into the case. But the screen size is only 6", and so I suppose I never found a situation where I'd want to prop the device a foot or more away from me, because then I'd be unable to read the text. And if I could read the text, the font size would have to be so large that I probably couldn't fit more than a paragraph on the screen before having to turn the page!
- Taywee 5y agoFor me, I'd love to use my e-reader to handle sheet music while playing my piano or cello, but the screen size means that I have to turn pages far more often than with physical sheets, and ends up being impractical in real life. I love playing around with a lot of different sheets and trying things out before deciding if I want to really spend time on it, and I hate how much I have to print to do so, and using screens for the purpose ends up being also impractical (and I much prefer how sheet music looks on e-ink vs a backlit LCD). If I could tap a button on the floor with my feet to turn pages, it would make this quite reasonable.
- powersnail 5y agoI'd imagine any ereader that can connect to a bluetooth keyboard can work. They have those bluetooth page turning pedals that's pretty much just a PageDown button.
- acomjean 5y agoMy partner has the foot pedals and a tablet for her violin playing. One community orchestra she plays in most people are using tablets, the other one its paper sheet music. For the tablet its just a pdf reader on the tablet and page up /page down for the foot pedals. The tablet works, but its smaller, and there is always a question of making sure the batteries are charged up. (though with paper music it the little sheet music light needed to be charged too). Paper is pretty robust though, survives drops...
- salamandersauce 5y agoBoox sells a foot pedal for use with 10" or 13" eInk tablets for exactly that purpose. Ain't cheap though.
- wintermutestwin 5y agoPersonally, I find that the tap or swipe to turn pages functionality is insanely difficult when I have highlighted the whole page of text. I miss the world of tactile buttons for many things - get off my lawn!
- AdmiralAsshat 5y agoThen, again, the "premium" versions of the e-reader lines like the Kindle Oasis or the Kobo Forma should scratch that itch for you, right? https://us.kobobooks.com/products/kobo-forma?utm_source=Kobo&utm_medium=TopNav&utm_campaign=Forma https://us.kobobooks.com/products/kobo-forma?utm_source=Kobo... The biggest downside, of course, being that they're each about double the price of the Kindle Paperwhite or Kobo Clara HD models, respectively. Both of those devices are perfectly serviceable to me, so I'm not yet so old or rich that I'll pay an extra $100 for physical buttons.
- ukyrgf 5y agoI got a refurb Kindle off Woot for like $40 that has forward/backward buttons on both sides of the frame - outside of the screen itself - that have tactile feedback. I think they marketed it so you can use it one-handed.
- stinkytaco 5y ago> I've never understood how this isn't a standard feature with standalone Kindles. Is this an accessibility issue? I work fairly extensively with ebook devices and users in my job and this has never come up, I doubt it even occurs to most people, which probably answers your question. However, I also work quite a bit with accessibility (for which the Kindle is excellent for many common challenges that come with age) and I know users that this would be quite useful for if it was a standard feature, so I'm curious what your use case is.
- morsch 5y agoNo, for me it's just a laziness issue. ;) I just enjoy not having to hold the device. I can just rest my arms wherever they naturally would rest. Or put them under the sheets when the bedroom is cold. Etc.
- Spivak 5y agoThis is why I love playing games on my Switch. It's super noticeable now when I play on my PS4 that I have to think about holding the controller in front of me rather than just letting my arms fall.
- kbenson 5y agoI'm confused. The switch has a screen and accelerometers. How does that that result in a situation you can just let your arms drop that you can't when playing the PS4?
- danhor 5y agoIf he's playing the switch docked, the split controllers mean that the arms can be moved freely. Normal controllers don't allow that
- sleepybrett 5y agoDoesn't technically have to be docked to do this. It's how I use it on an airplane often. Screen on the tray table with it's little kickstand, arms to my sides maybe in my hoodie pockets. It took a little bit of getting used to strangely but once you do :thumbsup:
- fnomnom 5y agoi didnt know that i really really want this. attach the kindle in soem kind of flexible arm on the headrest and turn the pages with a small remote control.
- diob 5y agoI already do the flexible arm, it's great for helping me to fall asleep at night! I read and read until I can't keep my eyes open.
- diob 5y agoI absolutely agree. I read with a mechanical arm that holds the book for me so I can read on my back while I try to sleep. I would love a way to turn pages with a little remote.
- wintermutestwin 5y agoThat's a great idea! Could you please link the arm you use?
- diob 5y agoSure, it's here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07P8YHKLF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07P8YHKLF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b... I have a shelf behind my bed, so I connect it to that. Works great.
- animal531 5y agoI have a slightly smaller pad arm that I've connected to a deck (sitting) chair and now that's become my reading chair. A remote would be really neat though.
- ibraheemdev 5y agoDoes anyone happen to know if this possible with a Kobo?
- brokenmachine 5y agoMaybe those tiny bluetooth selfie button things work too? They'd be even smaller and cheaper. My next reader must have bluetooth and support remote page turn buttons. It would be ridiculous if it doesn't. I want to rest the reader somewhere and have the remote to turn pages while I'm comfortable.
- franga2000 5y agoI can't believe I'm not the only one who's thought about this!! Putting my kindle on the table in front of me and flipping pages with a clicker in my hand would be such a great experience. I used to do this when reading on my phone by using the volume rockers on some old wired earbuds and it was great. It's not even about accessibility for me, although that's probably the better way to sell it. It's also about comfort. Holding the device in one hand isn't very comfortable and already makes it hard to flip pages. Holding it like a book works, but since it's smaller it's even more uncomfortable and in general holding your arms in isn't a particularly ergonomic position. Putting it down on a table or pillow in front of me works great, until I have to flip the page, meaning I probably need to get me arm out from under a blanket if it's cold and either way it's annoying, takes enough time to break the flow of reading and is likely to jostle whatever surface I've placed the reader on, so I then have to adjust it back. To be clear, this is a 1000% first-world problem for me. If you treat the reader like a book, the experience will be just as good as a book. But I don't just want a book, or even many books in one. I want something even better.