# Paperwhite? Or 'that other one'...?



## Zithras (Dec 27, 2012)

I read many books a week either in dead tree format, or on my phone.  For a while now, I've been wanting to get an eReader, and it's finally time, I think, to get around to it.

I'd like a dedicated eInk reader, rather than a backlit color screen.  So....Nook with GlowLight, or Kindle Paperwhite?

From everything I have read, the new Kindle has almost every advantage.  It's a better size (less awkward), comparable or better battery life (on paper anyway), a MUCH higher resolution (which I KNOW i will easily notice and love), and a much more even backlight.  Basically, better in almost every way, with a clearer, crisper, more evenly lit display.  It seems, however, to have two enormous, possibly dealbreaking flaws:
1) screen issues
2) no removable storage slot

I realize these forums are hardly unbiased, but I'm really looking for a way around these issues so I can justify the Paperwhite over the Nook anyway...sooo...help?

As far as issue #1 is concerned, do the newest batches of Paperwhites still have screen issues?  Is it noticable to the point where the Nook Glowlight is preferable to the average Kindle?  I don't mind a small chance of having to return a Paperwhite because of a bad screen, but I really don't want to spend months playing phone tag with CS and going through 4-5 Kindles before I find one with a good screen (and this forum seems filled with horror stories  albeit mostly from a few months ago)  Whats the current status of this issue?

Which brings us to problem #2. The big one.  I have probably several thousand eBooks (probably only 1-2 thousand or so unique books, but thats still a lot) i've collected over the years - usually when i find a paper book I like, ill get an eBook version and add it to the collection. As a result, i have tons and tons of ebooks in every format imaginable (.mobi .epub .txt .pdf microsoft reader, etc.).  Converting them to a single format and inputting proper title/author data for each is going to be a week 's worth of free time, but doable.  Trying to upload them individually via email to a Kindle seems to be a much larger issue.  With the Nook, I could just stick them all on my harddrive, and copy/delete to and from the Nook's MicroSD card as needed.  Is there any way at all to batch convert or send non-amazon content to and from a Kindle?  Is converting, uploading, and downloading each book manually really the only option?  If I don't have the storage space for them all, do I need to delete/reupload each individual book AGAIN each time I want to put it back on?

Finally, related to my second issue, it seems the Kindle slows down greatly when presented with a large amount of content, while the Nook does not have this issue.  Is this a function of free space ornumber of items?  Howmany books can I put on, or how much storage space can I use up, before browsing books and reading on the Kindle slowly slows to a crawl?

I'm familiar enough with computers that using external software, or modifying my paperwhite to get around these two issues is not a problem, if that's what it takes, but at the same time, I don't want to be spending more time setting up/fiddling with my Kindle weekly than actually reading books on it!

Thank you for your help,
Zithras

TLDR version:  Trying to decide between Nook(Glowlight) and Paperwhite.  1) Have tons of non-amazon ebooks and need an easy way to manage and transfer/delete/update/rotate them in batches, since Paperwhite has no MicroSD/external storage.  Does this exist?  2) Worried about Paperwhite screen issues.  Do these still exist?


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## Cardinal (Feb 24, 2010)

Hi Zithras, 

Welcome to Kindle Boards!  

I think the lighting is better on the Paperwhite than on the Nook Glow and the Kindle fonts are easier for me to read than the Nook.  I like the user interface better on the Nook.  

I haven't kept up with the Kindle screen issues but I have a Paperwhite from the early batch and I think it is fine.  You have thirty days to return the Kindle to Amazon so I don't think the screen should stop you from ordering the Paperwhite.  If you get a bad screen and don't want to risk being stuck in a cycle of lots of Kindle exchanges just return the first one, you won't be out any money.

Not having the storage slot on the Kindle is a drag for lots on non-Amazon books.  Amazon does give you five gigs of storage space so you can send a bunch of them up.  Amazon will keep track of your notes, highlights and bookmarks, and if you download a book to another Kindle it will have your marks.  Amazon does have a send to cloud app, I haven't used it but it might allow a quick way to send a bunch of books to the cloud at once. 

Nook doesn't support .txt, mobi or Microsoft Reader so if you go with the Nook I believe you will still have a lot of converting to do.  If I am wrong on this, the Nook might be a lot easier, but I believe it will only read ePub and PDFs and everything else will need to be converted.  Kindle can read .txt .

Whichever reader you go with, someone who uses Caliber might know if there is a way to convert a batch of books at once.

I haven't loaded my Nook up with books, but I suspect it would slow to a crawl if I did.  I've kept few books on my Paperwhite so that it won't be slow (but I still find it lags).

I'm almost thinking because of the many different formats you have, a tablet might be easier to get to your content, but I personally like reading on eInk better.  I hope you enjoy whichever eReader you pick.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Honestly, the main thing to think about when deciding between Kindle and Nook is file format. If most of the books you already have are ePub, you don't want a Kindle. Because they could be loaded without any problems on a Nook. But they'd need to be converted to be loaded on a Kindle.

As far as I'm concerned the screen issues on the Kindle are not major -- yes, some devices have arrived with poor screens. But, on the whole, it was a minority of folks who had issues, though a very vocal one. And, Amazon was _extremely responsive_, processing exchanges without difficulty until the customer got a device they were happy with. 'Cause, after all, if your eyes see things that will bother you as you read, then it's important to YOU. And if you're not happy, you won't use the device so you won't buy content. Yes, it's self serving, but Amazon has superior customer service when there _are_ problems.

I've no idea how problematic nook screens were or are. The only thing I ever heard was that impact on the screen could 'scratch' the lighting coating making bright specks. That's not been reported, as far as I know, on the Kindle.

If a card slot is critical for you, you don't want a Kindle. For me, it would be a waste -- and I wouldn't want to spend more just to have it. I have my books on my devices or stored in the cloud by Amazon and that's sufficiently available for me.

Books you buy from Amazon are returnable, no questions asked, no need to contact CS, for 7 days after purchase. . . .so if you get it, look through it and realize the formatting or something is wonky, or it's not as you expected, you can return it. My understanding is this is NOT B&N's policy, though people have gotten refunds for severe formatting problems if they contacted a person through customer service. But there's no ability to return a book you clicked by mistake or anything like that.

For either device, content you purchase from The Store will likely have DRM --digital rights management aka copy protection -- and will NOT be able to be easily converted to another format. Removing the DRM is against the terms of service of either book seller. But in both cases there is content widely available elsewhere than The Store.


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## backslidr (Nov 23, 2012)

My Kindle is getting pretty close to full and I haven't noticed any lagging issues at all. The light seems to be even all over, so that isn't a problem. Having more books than memory would be a problem, but you can always swap them out. Realistically, I think I already have more books on my Kindle than I can read in my lifetime. You may be younger, though.    I had thought about getting the other brand, but I went to their website and started reading reviews. They were mostly terrible, with lots of screen problems, such as cracks and holes showing up in the screen. Also, many people were complaining that their customer service was terrible to nearly nonexistent, whereas Amazon CS has always been great. So, that is why I decided to stick with the Kindle and not try something different.


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## rlkubi (Dec 7, 2009)

I can't speak for the Nook but I have owned the Kindle 2, Kindle 3 Keyboard and the Fire and for Christmas I received the Paperwhite.  I have gifted the K2 and K3 and absolutely love the Paperwhite!  I don't keep all my books on it anymore but keep them in the Cloud.  It is so easy to get them that I see no reason to keep them all on the Kindle.  I believe Amazon's customer service is fantastic and they stand behind their products fully!

Good luck with your decision!


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## uncrules (Nov 14, 2009)

I am pretty sure that Calibre will allow you to do a batch conversion of your books.  

Personally, I would use Calibre for loading all of my non-Amazon books to my Kindle.  If you add all of your ebooks to Calibre and then convert them it is really easy to do.  When you plug your Kindle in, you will see all of the books in your Calibre library and you can also see what is on the Kindle.  You can select several books and add them to (or remove them from) your Kindle with one click.


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## Guy Hepp (Dec 27, 2012)

A brief comment about kindle storage size: When I first got my older model kindle, I was also worried about storage size. I store a lot of PDFs on my kindle, in addition to ebook files. Since PDFs are generally larger files, I thought this might be an issue. Now it has been over two years since I got the kindle. I have literally hundreds of PDFs and ebooks on the device, and I estimate that I have only used about a third of the storage capacity. The memory lasts longer than you think. I wouldn't worry about it.


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## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

Having used a Kindle since the beginning... there really is no need to add storage space to the Kindle.  Amazon stores all of your books in their cloud.  While it is "nice" knowing all your "stuff" is downloaded - I have come to the place where that is really not necessary as long as I can get to my "stuff" if and when I want it.  So - I would tell you that the lack of a storage slot is really not a problem once you realize you don't need more storage.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

Welcome to the Kindleboards!


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Directly commenting on #2.


> I have probably several thousand eBooks ... Trying to upload them individually via email to a Kindle seems to be a much larger issue. Is there any way at all to batch convert or send non-amazon content to and from a Kindle? Is converting, uploading, and downloading each book manually really the only option? If I don't have the storage space for them all, do I need to delete/reupload each individual book AGAIN each time I want to put it back on?


E-pub format will need to be converted to Kindle format, as long as they are NOT DRM'd Calibre can do this. and vice versa if you decide on Nook..

Here's the thing with Kindle Vs. Nook that for you would seem to be the most influential:

Amazon will store your personal books/documents for Free, and allow you to download to any of your devices at any time for FREE via Wifi. Nook does not at all have this type of support. Nook will not support uploading of your books/documents into any cloud service and allow you to seamlessly download them at any time. Uploading to Amazon takes 2 simple steps, install the "send to Kindle" program from Amazon (free), then right click any document you want to upload and choose the "send to Kindle". It will ask you if you want to send the document directly to a specific Kindle ready device (Kindle, computer, iPad/iTouch, phone etc..) which is a simple matter of checking a box as to which device you want to read on, and another checkbox asking you if you want the device saved to your "cloud" for later retrieval on any device.

I have taught 5 lectures on choosing e-reading devices at my college, and I spent 2 hours on the phone with various Nook support making sure I had their information correct. They do not in any way offer "cloud storage" Not for books, or your own documents, or any music you may not have purchased from them. Amazon does all 3. All of my music is now stored in my Amazon cloud and I can listen to it on any device that can use it. They even store/upload/download for iTunes.

Also Kindle Customer Support is HANDS DOWN vastly superior to Nook tech support. If you have ANY problem with your Kindle, you can pop on your computer use the "call me" support feature, your phone will ring in less than a minute, and by the end of the call, a new Kindle will be on its way to you. I have had various Kindles for 4 years (11 devices on account currently) and twice I had a new Kindle THE NEXT DAY. and those were both when my kids broke the screens on their Kindles.


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## Zithras (Dec 27, 2012)

Thank you for all the comments!

That answered a lot of my questions, but, unsurprisingly, raised a few more 

On the plus side - If I can be pretty sure that managing large numbers of files on the Kindle (after conversion) won't be a pain, the Kindle it looking better and better - that's really the final hurdle I'm unsure of.

But first, a bit more background info:
I don't have a majority of books in any particular format...I just have a lot of books. Whatever I get, there's going to be a looot of converting going on 
I greatly dislike DRM, but all of the major stores have it anyway  so either way, I'm going to have to load in a lot of other books (I wish more dead tree vendors would start packaging ebook cds with their products...)
It's good to know the screen issue thing isn't quite as widespread or damning as might be otherwise inferred - not too worried about this anymore.
I specifically want an eInk reader, rather than a full tablet-type reader (I'll almost certainly get one of those eventually, but for now I like the idea of a dedicated book reader first  )

So, three new categories of questions (2 easy, one long)

Amazon's website says that the device (Paperwhite) supports .mobi .txt and a few other formats (doc/docx are supported, surprisingly, but not .lit? huh?). It does not say it supports .pdf, which I thought it did. Wikipedia's website says it supports .pdf I even found another site online which says it (directly, without conversion) supports .epub (which I was almost certain was completely false!). Obviously theres some incomplete information running around here. From someone who owns one please - does the Paperwhite support: pdf lit epub mobi?
Edit: okay the PaperWhite page DOES say it supports .pdf...at least when I reloaded it, it gave me a completely-differently-formatted page, this one saying it supported .pdfs...i was apparently doing something wrong...maybe it somehow loaded an older page the first time, or i loaded the page for an earlier generation kindle...

Book data: Calibre does this wonderful thing when you add a book: it lets you search for more information about the book, given a title and author, and lets you add data like cover images, isbn numbers, series numbering, and review summaries - a godsend for indexing and sorting, and great for keeping those pesky authors with multiple names easily organized . Does Amazon do anything similar when you send to kindle? Can it import this data from existing books? I know Stanza on my phone does when I download from Calibre, but im not sure if this data is stored and transferred with the book (epub for Stanza), or something nice that Calibre does and keeps separately.

Finally, the big point of confusion: this whole 'cloud' business, and local file management using a Kindle. Amazon's PaperWhite website says that you have infinite storage space for Amazon content, which can be accessed at any time. It doesn't mention anything about storage space for non-Amazon content. Earlier in the thread it was implied that the purchase of a Kindle comes with 5 GB of cloud storage space for non-amazon content, greatly expanding the storage capacity of the device (which is apparently actually limited to 1.25 GB for user content *cry*). Is this true? How does this work? Can I purchase more space (or get more space in any other way?) I always thought that 'uploading' non-amazon content was just them sending the file to your kindle and then deleting the original. If its kept stored in a storage space run by Amazon for non-Amazon content that you can access, a lot of things potentially become MUCH easier, file-management wise. Looking up 'amazon cloud storage' on google gets me http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000796931 - is this the additional space that the Kindle accesses? I really with they'd link it from the Paperwhite page if so...

As a sideline to the previous question, the issue of file management:
Using this 'extra' non-Amazon storage (if it exists), can I upload batches of files directly to the cloud? How would that work? would I want to convert beforehand, to save all the cover/author/title/isbn/summary/etc data, then select a list of files and upload, with Amazon reading all relevant data automatically? Or would I upload the unconverted file, have Amazon convert it, then have to manually add in data through some sort of kindle/web interface? Can I download multiple books at a time through this storage space into the kindle (or, for example, all books from a particular author?) or is it one click, then wait, then repeat per book? This seems like it has potential to save the storage problem if it can easily handle uploading/deleting/downloading batches of books based on author (I could just keep the ones I want at any given time on the Kindle). I don't mind leaving it on overnight to catch up - but individually deleting and adding a bunch of titles every few days one at a time rather than just selecting a list and clicking 'go' would be much more annoying.
Alternatively, if the whole cloud storage space for non-Amazon content is just me misreading earlier comments:
I previously believed that downloading from Amazon directly (and uploading files to it first) was the only way to put files on your Kindle. Someone mentioned that Calibre also interfaces with the Kindle. If I set up my library in Calibre, and convert everything from there, would I be able to handle batch uploads/deletions/downloads from Calibre instead (basically, if I have 1 GB on my Kindle, and 5 GB in my calibre library, how hard is it to just refresh 100 MB of books overnight each week or two, or month or two, more likely... on the Kindle)? Does anything I send from Calibre to the kindle get uploaded to Amazon as well? Or would that be a separate step from the kindle? Does transferring from Calibre->Kindle keep all the 'extra' data Calibre adds about the book so it's visible in the Kindle?

Sorry if these have already been answered - feel free to point me to appropriate links  I didnt spend as long looking up potential answers to this lot of questions as I did the original post - they're just questions that came up as I read replies, with a quick google doublecheck to wikipedia, top hits, and the amazon paperwhite site.

Thanks again!
Zithras

TLDR version:
1) Does PaperWhite support: pdf lit mobi epub
2) Does Paperwhite store 'extra' data about a book (isbn, review, cover), and how is this input?
3) Does Amazon offer non-Amazon content storage space? How much? Can I get more? Is either this cloud storage space or Calibre, or some combination of both, an appropriate and simple solution for rotating a large library as needed on and off the 1.25 Gb of space on the Paperwhite (Essentially, can I use Amazon storage for non-Amazon items, and/or my hard drive as a replacement for the 'management' I would use on the Nook - keeping a directory structure on my hdd and copy/pasting/deleting to a MicroSD as needed)?


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Zithras said:


> TLDR version:
> 1) Does PaperWhite support: pdf lit mobi epub
> 2) Does Paperwhite store 'extra' data about a book (isbn, review, cover), and how is this input?
> 3) Does Amazon offer non-Amazon content storage space? How much? Can I get more? Is either this cloud storage space or Calibre, or some combination of both, an appropriate and simple solution for rotating a large library as needed on and off the 1.25 Gb of space on the Paperwhite (Essentially, can I use Amazon storage for non-Amazon items, and/or my hard drive as a replacement for the 'management' I would use on the Nook - keeping a directory structure on my hdd and copy/pasting/deleting to a MicroSD as needed)?


1) As to lit & epub, no, the PW (or Kindles in general) does not support lit or epub. But, yes, PDF. Here are the supported file types as shown on the Paperwhite product page:

Content Formats Supported	Kindle Format 8 (AZW3), Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion

2) No, you can't add the extra information to the PW; though you used to be able to change the cover shown on your Kindle using Calbre; I haven't tried it with the Paperwhite.

3) Yes, you can add books to your cloud storage using the "Send to Kindle." I think they are considered "personal documents." (I haven't done this, but others have.) They can't be batch done, however. And you can purchase additional cloud storage. Right now, the prices are:
20GB $10
50GB $25
100GB $50
200GB $100
500GB $250
1000GB $500

I could only see these by logging into my account and going to the page where I can actually buy more; I'm sure it's somewhere public, but I didn't find it after a cursory glance.

Hope this helps!

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Zithras said:


> TLDR version:
> 1) Does PaperWhite support: pdf lit mobi epub
> 2) Does Paperwhite store 'extra' data about a book (isbn, review, cover), and how is this input?
> 3) Does Amazon offer non-Amazon content storage space? How much? Can I get more? Is either this cloud storage space or Calibre, or some combination of both, an appropriate and simple solution for rotating a large library as needed on and off the 1.25 Gb of space on the Paperwhite (Essentially, can I use Amazon storage for non-Amazon items, and/or my hard drive as a replacement for the 'management' I would use on the Nook - keeping a directory structure on my hdd and copy/pasting/deleting to a MicroSD as needed)?


1) Re PDF. . . .it is supported, but may not display optimally. Remember, PDF is a final output type of format with size and font specifications built in. Usually, they're formatted for a standard 8½ x 11 or A4 sheet. The kindle screen is decidedly smaller than that so, although zooming and panning is possible, depending on the original font size, the print might be to small to comfortably read. That said, if it's a text only PDF, conversion to .mobi will usually produce pretty good results with little work.

2) Never used Calibre. The information you're talking about may be part of the book, but not a separate indexing category. Basically you can sort by title, author, and 'most recent' or, if you've set up collections, by collections. Many books have 'shelfari' extras that may be accessed if you have wireless connection. These may include reviews or other information. Of course, the more 'popular' books have more details there.

3) I have nearly 100 personal documents that I've sent over the last few years that are stored at Amazon. It shows I've used .1 of my 5GB. I'm not worried about needing more space.  But, as Betsy says, you can buy more if you need it.

The easiest way to get content on the Kindle is, I think, to use Amazon's Send to Kindle applet. Send to Kindle for PC is available to download at www.amazon.com/sendtokindle/pc and Send to Kindle for Mac is available for download at www.amazon.com/sendtokindle/mac. (There's a similar plug in to Firefox and Chrome that lets you 'print' a web page to your Kindle.) When you first start it you provide your Amazon credentials and it becomes an option when you 'right click' on a compatible document. It will convert text files as needed; PDF's it leaves as PDF's so you'd have to convert those separately. The documents are then archived at Amazon.

You can have a given document, or group of documents sent immediately to any or all Kindles on the account. (You select a group with the ctrl or shift options (or Mac equivalent) on your computer.) You can give each document a proper title and author. . .not sure how that works if you send a group; I'd guess it'll pull the Title from the file names and assign whatever author you specify to all of them. I should go try that. 

From the Manage Your Kindle page you can later send those same documents again to any kindle on the account. Smartphones and Tablets count as available devices. . .you might want to download the Kindle app if you have something like that and then at least you'll have access to MYK to play a bit.

You can also download the Kindle for PC (or Mac) app. That will also count as a 'device' on MYK. . . . many people like to use it for making collections and sorting stuff and then import the collections to the physical kindle. That way its all kept even when you get a new device.

Lots of people use Calibre for organization. Non DRM files are not an issue -- they don't get DRM added just because you send them via Amazon. It's only the Amazon content that will be restricted by that. And it can still be read on any Kindle. . .it's really not hard at all to send it to a different one, either from MYK or the device itself.

Alternatively, you can physically connect your computer and kindle and just copy and paste or drag and drop. I suppose if you have a LOT you want to move, that's easiest.

I don't feel the need to have every book I've ever owned on the Kindle. I used to. . . .but that was when I only had about a hundred books. I now have well over 2000 items. Ones I've read are just stored in the cloud. If I really hated them, I even delete them from Amazon. If it's on a kindle, I probably haven't read it -- or I'm reading it now. When I have read it, I delete it, and I make sure to note on Amazon that I read it -- that's pretty easy as you can rate and share at the end of the book directly from the device and it's stored at Amazon. So any fiction book in my library that has a rating is one I've read. If there's no rating, I've not. There are some reference type books I do keep on the kindle.


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## HappyGuy (Nov 3, 2008)

Don't know if anyone mentioned it (don't see it anyway) but any book you buy from Amazon which is stored in the cloud DOES NOT count against your free 5gb of space, so you have unlimited free storaage of Amazon ebooks.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

What file types are supported by Send to Kindle for PC?

You can send the following file types to your registered Kindles, supported Kindle reading applications, and your Kindle Library in the Amazon Cloud:

Microsoft Word (.DOC), Microsoft Word (.DOCX), TXT (.TXT), RTF (.RTF), JPEG (.JPEG, .JPG), GIF (.GIF), PNG (.PNG), BMP (.BMP)
PDF (.PDF)
Note: The file size of each personal document must be 50MB or less. No more than 25 personal documents can be sent at one time.










There is a 5GB limit for free storage, but I think you can buy more.. I've barely tapped into my 5GB storage and I've got a couple hundred personal docs there.

This should help you a little: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_200767340_delarchive?nodeId=200767340#deletearchived


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> 1) Re PDF. . . .it is supported, but may not display optimally.


This.

I love my PW, but have never been satisfied with a six inch screen eINk device for viewing PDFs. I recommend a device with a large LCD screen such as an ipad, Xoom, or Nexus 10 for viewing PDF files. The Kindle DX, an older model of Kindle with a large eInk screen is reported to be acceptable by many people as a PDF viewer, but I have no experience.


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## Zithras (Dec 27, 2012)

Hmm the best solution here seems to be to spend a few days setting up a Calibre library with each book converted to .mobi and transferred to Amazon Cloud (and buy more space for a year if necessary).  Once that's set up, I can order a Peperwhite, spend a day copying files to it, and then have a few weeks to try it out.  As long as I get calibre and the cloud sorted out beforehand, that should be plenty of time to try out the device itself, and it seems like the .mobi files might not take as much space as I think anyway 

Thank you for all the help! (especially the details about Calibre and the storage Amazon offers for non-Amazon content!)

Zithras


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## boblenx (Sep 4, 2010)

I would tend to go with your general feeling about getting the Kindle Paperwhite.  If you currently are reading novels on a smartphone, you will definitely like the PW. I have the Kindle app on my iPad and my laptop, but like you,find the backlit screens hard on my eyes with prolonged usage.


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## BradW (Sep 6, 2012)

HappyGuy said:


> Don't know if anyone mentioned it (don't see it anyway) but any book you buy from Amazon which is stored in the cloud DOES NOT count against your free 5gb of space, so you have unlimited free storaage of Amazon ebooks.


Which makes sense, since the book is already taking up space on the Amazon storage farm. You're not getting your own personal copy of all 5 MB (whatever) of it, you're just taking up a few dozen bytes at most to point to the copy that everyone is using.


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## HappyGuy (Nov 3, 2008)

Zithras said:


> Hmm the best solution here seems to be to spend a few days setting up a Calibre library with each book converted to .mobi and transferred to Amazon Cloud ...


Why spend extra money on extra cloud space? Why not just send everything from Calibre? do you REALLY need your entire library on your PW at one time?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

HappyGuy said:


> Why spend extra money on extra cloud space? Why not just send everything from Calibre? do you REALLY need your entire library on your PW at one time?


Well, of course, keeping it in the cloud may make it more accessible when you're not, say, at home. So, if it's in the cloud at Amazon, but not on the device I'm holding, and I want to show it to someone or look something up, I can d/l it as long as I can get a wireless connection. If it's only on my home computer, I'm probably stuck. 

There are, of course, other 'cloud' services besides Amazon's. I know a bunch of folks here use Drop Box and Microsoft has Sky Drive too. But those aren't particularly accessible with an eInk Kindle.


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## Speaker-To-Animals (Feb 21, 2012)

You can connect your paperwhite through USB directly to the PC and load your library or whatever portion of your library you want directly from Calibre. That's really what the entire Calibre program is about. It will even show, once you've connected your kindle, what books have and have not been transferred.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Katie Elle said:


> You can connect your paperwhite through USB directly to the PC and load your library or whatever portion of your library you want directly from Calibre. That's really what the entire Calibre program is about. It will even show, once you've connected your kindle, what books have and have not been transferred.


Right.

But if you do that, and a book you HAVEN'T loaded this way is the one you want, there's no way to get it while you're out and about. Or if you deleted it and now want it back. You can't get it again without going home and re-loading it.

Whereas if you send them to the Kindle wirelessly via Amazon you can set them to be archived in the cloud. Maybe you decide you're finished with it and remove it from your Kindle. But it's still in the cloud. So if you're out somewhere and need access to it, you have it as long as you can find a wireless connection. AND notes you made are saved with it as well!


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## Hadou (Jun 1, 2011)

Getting either the PW or "that other one" would be fine.  Both are good lit-readers.  You really couldn't go wrong with either.

But, if you're big into the Amazon world, I'd say you'd be better off with the PW just out of convenience.


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## Toby (Nov 25, 2008)

This is a great discussion as I have only had kindles. Also, many years ago, you could send PDF'S by sending it to your free kindle address, stating CONVERT in the subject line. Amazon would then send an email to your computer, (this was before the free cloud, & before the kindles had wifi.).  You would then click on the attachment & dragged & dropped the Document to your kindle via the USB cord. i think. It was a very long time ago. When you got the PDF, you could change the font on it, so it was readable on any kindle. Betsy, thanks for showing that Pic of the Send to Kindle. I've never tried that.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Katie Elle said:


> You can connect your paperwhite through USB directly to the PC and load your library or whatever portion of your library you want directly from Calibre. That's really what the entire Calibre program is about. It will even show, once you've connected your kindle, what books have and have not been transferred.


You don't even have to connect via USB - you can connect via your wifi when you're home. Not optimal for loading lots of books at once, but great for snagging a couple of books when that's all you need at a time. And there's even a way to be able to connect wirelessly from anywhere (although I haven't tried it myelf yet).


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Toby said:


> This is a great discussion as I have only had kindles. Also, many years ago, you could send PDF'S by sending it to your free kindle address, stating CONVERT in the subject line. Amazon would then send an email to your computer, (this was before the free cloud, & before the kindles had wifi.). You would then click on the attachment & dragged & dropped the Document to your kindle via the USB cord. i think. It was a very long time ago. When you got the PDF, you could change the font on it, so it was readable on any kindle. Betsy, thanks for showing that Pic of the Send to Kindle. I've never tried that.


That still works. If you want to convert it from PDF to kindle format, though, don't use Send to Kindle which will NOT convert it -- it just sends a PDF as a PDF.

Instead, send to your kindle email address from a whitelisted address with the word 'convert' in the subject. You will get a message back but you don't need to then load it via physical USB connection: when you next turn on wifi it will download directly.


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## Zithras (Dec 27, 2012)

Got my Paperwhite all sorted out, and discovered a few things I wanted to share on the way.

Device space is misleading.  Indexing takes up a substantial amount of space, which is not preallocated when the books are copied, so if you fill your device with a lot of books, and it won't index them, check to see if it ran out of space.  Corrupt files not indexing are an entirely separate issue.

Author sort and multiple authors sort by first author first name, unless you set the last name to first name and first name to last name in the mobi, either manually or with some method such as Calibre plugboards.  If you do that, the authors will display AND sort correctly (display firstname lastname, sort lastname firstname)

Calibre plugboards change the .mobi file itself and cause it to recompile when sending to kindle, so if you use send to kindle, or download from a mobi emailed to amazon through your archive, not only will it have the wrong sort info, but it will register as a different file as the one sent to calibre with the 'right' info - so synching between Amazon's onlyine storage and Calibre is a pain, and generally not worth it.  Pick one. Probably Calibre.

Collections sort alphabetically, so you can make folders according to authors.  However, any book not assigned to a collection will show up in a long list at the end of the collections page, so it's best to make sure each book is in at least one collection.  By no means shoudl you leave 1000+ books unsorted in a long rambling list - search is useful, but there are limits.

Trying to search collections by name will also list books starting with that name (or author) in alphabetical order, in a long list.  Still usable if your search is specific enough, but a bit annoying.  You're better off paging through collections, or using goto page.  

Once all books are indexed, searching only takes a few seconds even with large numbers of books.

You can know the kindle is alseep, and not shut off, if you have the standard eInk sleep screen, BUT the kindle is lit up as well.  A good way to tell if it's plugged in and indexing, or just off and charging.  Closing the official case, even when the device is plugged in, will turn it off, rather than placing it into sleep mode.

Uploading more than 25ish books through calibre at a time to the kindle may cause crashing and other annoying behavior

The Kindle will be extremely slow until all books are indexed.  This includes if it stops indexing halfway though because it ran out of storage space.

Booksover 25MB cannot be emailed to amazon, nor uploaded with send to kindle, but can be copied over manually or with Calibre.

Collections can only be edited, created, and removed through the Kindle itself, rather than external software, which is a HUGE pain with large numbers of books.  If you delete and re-add a book, you'll have to redo its collections.  Jailbreaking allows for external editing I hear, but I didn't go that route

Probably more to add, since i've been at this a good couple of weeks now, uploading, comparing, sorting, and organizing, and if I remember them and get around to it, I will add, but this'll do for now


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Zithras said:


> Got my Paperwhite all sorted out, and discovered a few things I wanted to share on the way.
> 
> Device space is misleading. Indexing takes up a substantial amount of space, which is not preallocated when the books are copied, so if you fill your device with a lot of books, and it won't index them, check to see if it ran out of space. Corrupt files not indexing are an entirely separate issue.


I think the product page says how many books 'officially' but, yeah, if you get to over half that number response will get sluggish. It needs 'swap' space for indexing. We generally don't recommend loading it up in one fell swoop but rather do batches at a time of 40-60 books. The indexing works better and once that's done it's not as big a deal.



> Author sort and multiple authors sort by first author first name, unless you set the last name to first name and first name to last name in the mobi, either manually or with some method such as Calibre plugboards. If you do that, the authors will display AND sort correctly (display firstname lastname, sort lastname firstname)
> 
> Calibre plugboards change the .mobi file itself and cause it to recompile when sending to kindle, so if you use send to kindle, or download from a mobi emailed to amazon through your archive, not only will it have the wrong sort info, but it will register as a different file as the one sent to calibre with the 'right' info - so synching between Amazon's onlyine storage and Calibre is a pain, and generally not worth it. Pick one. Probably Calibre.
> 
> Collections sort alphabetically, so you can make folders according to authors. However, any book not assigned to a collection will show up in a long list at the end of the collections page, so it's best to make sure each book is in at least one collection. By no means shoudl you leave 1000+ books unsorted in a long rambling list - search is useful, but there are limits.


Can't speak to calibre but I have most of my books in collections, and the ones I am going to be reading soon NOT. The sorting I use is "my items" and "collections" and this way I don't need to dig into a collection to change books. Their on the home page. It works for me.  I've not had any issues in a long time, either, with author sort not working properly though, early on, it's true there was no consistency in how authors were listed. A function of the way publishers produced it, rather than the device, I think.



> Trying to search collections by name will also list books starting with that name (or author) in alphabetical order, in a long list. Still usable if your search is specific enough, but a bit annoying. You're better off paging through collections, or using goto page.
> 
> Once all books are indexed, searching only takes a few seconds even with large numbers of books.
> 
> You can know the kindle is alseep, and not shut off, if you have the standard eInk sleep screen, BUT the kindle is lit up as well. A good way to tell if it's plugged in and indexing, or just off and charging. Closing the official case, even when the device is plugged in, will turn it off, rather than placing it into sleep mode.


No. . . .when you close the case, it just goes to sleep. Even if it's plugged in. At least it should. You can only turn it all the way off by pressing and holding the button for longer than a second or two -- 10-20 seconds is usually right. NORMALLY the light will also go off when you close the cover to sleep it, but sometimes it does not. AND, sometimes waking it with the cover won't turn the light on. You can fix the former by doing a restart. You can fix the latter by accessing the brightness control.



> Uploading more than 25ish books through calibre at a time to the kindle may cause crashing and other annoying behavior
> 
> The Kindle will be extremely slow until all books are indexed. This includes if it stops indexing halfway though because it ran out of storage space.
> 
> ...


My advice in general to new kindleers is to load it slowly -- give it time to acclimate so to speak! But once you get done with organizing and collecting, reading will be great!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Thanks, Zithras!

Note that a lot of your comments apply only if one is using Calibre; and since a lot of members use or will want to use Calibre, it's very useful info!

For those who don't, one further note to what Ann posted--if you sort into collections on the device, using the Kindle's own software, deleting a book from the device that was in a collection or collections and then re-adding it places it back into the collections it was last in, no additional work needed.  

Betsy


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## patrickt (Aug 28, 2010)

Screen issues? I have bought two Paperwhites and both are fine. My sister bought one and swore it was inferior to mine. I set her Paperwhite and mine to the same text, same font, same font size, and same brightness level and said, "Now pick out your Kindle." She couldn't. And, one person swore they got nine, that's 9, Paperwhite Kindles in a row that all had defective screens. I think we sometimes need to consider defective customers.

For me, when I bought my first ereader, it was availability of books I wanted to read that was the deciding factor.


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## laughinggravy (Feb 28, 2010)

Hi, don't know if you are still thinking about this but I have a review in the Paperwhite section which might help.
For the formatting of file types, Caliber is your friend : ) set it to do a batch change and then leave it overnight. I only had around 500 and they converted very quickly.

I have written a review here, under Paperwhite reviews but in case you can't be bothered to read it: I LOVE the Paperwhite. I had to change two, one for screen issues ( a model bought when they first came out in the UK at the start of the year) and the other which had less intrusive screen issues but had a very creaky frame which worried me. Third time lucky - the screen on the replacement is brilliant and I'm very glad I held out. Amazon was great. Cash back in my account already and the kindle is waiting to be sent back when I'm next back in the UK. 

I email word and PDF docs from work to my Kindle which is hugely more convenient than carrying around files and folders. Getting my Calibre onto the Paperwhite was very easy. Collections work great on the kindle, tho' not onto kindle via calibre or cloud, you need to set them up on the kindle itself, but it is easy, if time-consuming.

So yes, without doubt, with a good screen the thing is wonderful: read any time, no headache or eye strain. I have 600 'books' - in inverted commas because many are collections/complete works and have a quarter of the memory still available so no probs with capacity. Can't fault it. 

Hope that helps. Good luck and enjoy it


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## Zithras (Dec 27, 2012)

My Calibre tend to crash and corrupt random books if I try and convert too many at once   But i think that's my computer, not the program - if yours doesn't, that's defintiely the way to go!  I had to do batches of 25-ish - still not horrible.

I was really worried about screen issues when I went to purchase my Paperwhite, but so far, it seems just fine.  I notice very minor ghosting (expected with eInk), and hints of rainbowing, but nothing at all distracting from reading, and my light is very even - im thrilled with the screen on my Paperwhite so far! Text is crisp and easily readable, contrast is great, the light level can be adjusted as needed, and eInk helps prevent headaches!

My major gripes with the device remain low storage space and lack of external organization capability and custom sorting/folders.

Overall though, for me, the hugely improved screen and more convenient size make my verry happy with my purchase thus far   I'm glad I picked the Paperwhite! (But will definitely be in line on Day1 to buy a new Amazon eInk tablet with more storage space if and when it comes out)

Oh - and one more gripe - where's my free Minesweeper easter egg!  Lack of an alt button shouldn't prevent me from accessing fun hidden features


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## o.henry (Apr 6, 2013)

I'm a huge fan of the PaperWhite and highly recommend it. This is coming from a guy who used a Kindle Keyboard for several months and hated that it had no backlight. Also, the touchscreen on the PaperWhite is akin to the touchscreen on my Android phone - so very easy to use. As far as ereaders - I definitely recommend the PaperWhite!


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## kindlematt (Mar 1, 2013)

In addition, the Paperwhite has better lighting, more pixels, and higher resolution.


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