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That review was pure cotton candy -- published the day before the device was released, with a few other similar embargoed pieces [1]. I was convinced that he j

That review was pure cotton candy -- published the day before the device was released, with a few other similar embargoed pieces [1]. I was convinced that he just wanted to keep getting scoops. I pre-ordered it and got it ASAP, and like it except for the extreme sparsity of settings. The wifi is on either for browsing or page syncing; it should be smart enough to turn off if you're not interested in either. The light can't be turned completely off [although, I admit I can't think of a use case for this]. I was excited at how quickly it transfers files -- the specs say USB 2.0, but it's pretty much instantaneous, even for 100 MB bootlegs. The uneven lighting makes me feel resentful, but of course they're just saving that for v2.0 The Kindle Store is useless at selling me new content -- I have a wishlist of books I'd like to read/buy someday. You'd think offering me a Kindle Version of one of them would be a first choice. And of course, the paperwhite is rooted, so if Gruber wants he can just add new fonts soon [2]. [1] http://gizmodo.com/5947435/kindle-paperwhite-review-forget-everything-else-this-is-the-e+reader-you-want http://gizmodo.com/5947435/kindle-paperwhite-review-forget-e... [2] http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=192858 http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=192858

w1ntermute 14y ago
> That review was pure cotton candy -- published the day before the device was released, with a few other similar embargoed pieces [1]. I was convinced that he just wanted to keep getting scoops. That's a very serious accusation. Do you have any proof to back it up? If anything, The Verge has been quite critical of technology products, and I have no reason to doubt that there's anything untoward influencing their reviews (other than from blatant Apple fanboyism, particularly on the part of Nilay Patel. Take a look at his recent iPod Nano review[0], for example). 0: http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/10/3481926/apple-ipod-nano-review-2012 http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/10/3481926/apple-ipod-nano-r...
- gurkendoktor 14y ago
  You start out with: > That's a very serious accusation (Which I don't agree with, the way it was written) And then you go on to accuse the same website of something else: > blatant Apple fanboyism Seriously? - And how is this related to the OP? And from the review you've linked to: > The new nano might have Apple’s connector of the future, but everything else about it clings tightly to the past — to a world in which iTunes is still the center of the digital media universe, not a bloated relic badly in need of a fresh start and new ideas. This is so fanboyish that it's worth the side snark?
  - w1ntermute 14y ago
    > Which I don't agree with, the way it was written The OP's saying that a technology website is allowing itself to be swayed for the sake of scoops. This is one of the most serious accusations you can make of a journalist, because it's basically saying you can't trust anything they write. > This is so fanboyish that it's worth the side snark? Nilay gave the device a 7.7 when Apple clearly fucked up with the Nano. There was a TON of potential for smart watch innovation with the previous Nano. Apple even acknowledged it when they added clock faces to the Nano last year. There were very successful Kickstarter projects based on using the Nano as a smart watch. Instead of making that official, Apple fucked it all up by (yet again) completely changing the form factor. My accusation is very different from the OP's because it's not based on any factual misconduct - it's simply the result of Nilay (like many other people) getting sucked into the RDF and drinking Apple's Kool-Aid far too much. If you watch the Vergecast, you'll understand very quickly that he has a barely concealed raging hardon for all things Apple.
    - gurkendoktor 14y ago
      I think the first four words here make a huge difference: > I was convinced that he just wanted to keep getting scoops.
      - w1ntermute 14y ago
        I don't see how they do. Of course he was convinced, otherwise he wouldn't be making that statement in the first place. My question was why he thought that.
eupharis 14y ago
Interesting. Would you say Topolsky's praise of the snappiness of the OS, the keyboard's usefulness, and the browser's handiness are overstated? If the Paperwhite had some of that tablet-like functionality, that'd be great. I initially dismissed the Paperwhite, but those three features made me pause. They could give the Paperwhite the edge over the Nook's hardware pageturn buttons and cheaper adlessness. Top of mind because I just spent an eternity (3 seconds ;] ) searching for a new book just loaded onto my Keyboard. When the combo LCD/eInk comes in earnest[1], tablets and ereaders will converge. It'll be interesting to see how device use shifts then. Will we spend most of the time on our phones and tablets looking at eInk, Only turning on the LCD when we need it? Battery life would be so amazing. And reading emails and other stuff might improve. I heard of a study that showed retention after reading on an LCD was worse than for deadtree. Maybe I should design my latest browser-based project with "How would this look in greyscale?" in back of mind... at the very least it would solve any colorblind issues. [1] http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/31/lcd-and-e-ink-dual-screen-prototypes-show-up-at-ifa/ http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/31/lcd-and-e-ink-dual-screen...
allwein 14y ago
> The wifi is on either for browsing or page syncing; it should be smart enough to turn off if you're not interested in either. It's also on for auto-delivery of new books and periodicals. I like the fact that my Kindle is always ready to go with the latest things that I've bought without me needing to think about remembering to sync.

w1ntermute 14y ago

> That review was pure cotton candy -- published the day before the device was released, with a few other similar embargoed pieces [1]. I was convinced that he just wanted to keep getting scoops. That's a very serious accusation. Do you have any proof to back it up? If anything, The Verge has been quite critical of technology products, and I have no reason to doubt that there's anything untoward influencing their reviews (other than from blatant Apple fanboyism, particularly on the part of Nilay Patel. Take a look at his recent iPod Nano review[0], for example). 0: http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/10/3481926/apple-ipod-nano-review-2012 http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/10/3481926/apple-ipod-nano-r...

gurkendoktor 14y ago
You start out with: > That's a very serious accusation (Which I don't agree with, the way it was written) And then you go on to accuse the same website of something else: > blatant Apple fanboyism Seriously? - And how is this related to the OP? And from the review you've linked to: > The new nano might have Apple’s connector of the future, but everything else about it clings tightly to the past — to a world in which iTunes is still the center of the digital media universe, not a bloated relic badly in need of a fresh start and new ideas. This is so fanboyish that it's worth the side snark?
- w1ntermute 14y ago
  > Which I don't agree with, the way it was written The OP's saying that a technology website is allowing itself to be swayed for the sake of scoops. This is one of the most serious accusations you can make of a journalist, because it's basically saying you can't trust anything they write. > This is so fanboyish that it's worth the side snark? Nilay gave the device a 7.7 when Apple clearly fucked up with the Nano. There was a TON of potential for smart watch innovation with the previous Nano. Apple even acknowledged it when they added clock faces to the Nano last year. There were very successful Kickstarter projects based on using the Nano as a smart watch. Instead of making that official, Apple fucked it all up by (yet again) completely changing the form factor. My accusation is very different from the OP's because it's not based on any factual misconduct - it's simply the result of Nilay (like many other people) getting sucked into the RDF and drinking Apple's Kool-Aid far too much. If you watch the Vergecast, you'll understand very quickly that he has a barely concealed raging hardon for all things Apple.
  - gurkendoktor 14y ago
    I think the first four words here make a huge difference: > I was convinced that he just wanted to keep getting scoops.
    - w1ntermute 14y ago
      I don't see how they do. Of course he was convinced, otherwise he wouldn't be making that statement in the first place. My question was why he thought that.

eupharis 14y ago

Interesting. Would you say Topolsky's praise of the snappiness of the OS, the keyboard's usefulness, and the browser's handiness are overstated? If the Paperwhite had some of that tablet-like functionality, that'd be great. I initially dismissed the Paperwhite, but those three features made me pause. They could give the Paperwhite the edge over the Nook's hardware pageturn buttons and cheaper adlessness. Top of mind because I just spent an eternity (3 seconds ;] ) searching for a new book just loaded onto my Keyboard. When the combo LCD/eInk comes in earnest[1], tablets and ereaders will converge. It'll be interesting to see how device use shifts then. Will we spend most of the time on our phones and tablets looking at eInk, Only turning on the LCD when we need it? Battery life would be so amazing. And reading emails and other stuff might improve. I heard of a study that showed retention after reading on an LCD was worse than for deadtree. Maybe I should design my latest browser-based project with "How would this look in greyscale?" in back of mind... at the very least it would solve any colorblind issues. [1] http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/31/lcd-and-e-ink-dual-screen-prototypes-show-up-at-ifa/ http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/31/lcd-and-e-ink-dual-screen...

allwein 14y ago

> The wifi is on either for browsing or page syncing; it should be smart enough to turn off if you're not interested in either. It's also on for auto-delivery of new books and periodicals. I like the fact that my Kindle is always ready to go with the latest things that I've bought without me needing to think about remembering to sync.