Kindle Tips

Publishers Marketplace reports that this Wednesday, May 6th, Amazon is holding a press conference – presumably to announce a new Kindle

Amazon will hold a press conference on Wednesday morning at a Pace University building (on the site of old NYT offices), presumably to debut a version of Kindle with a larger screen. At one point the media had decided the rumored bigger Kindle would be aimed at the educational/textbook market, but now they’ve decided it’s focused on displaying magazines and newspapers, trying to beat Plastic Logic and other devices in development to market. “People briefed on the plans” tell the NYT that the New York Times is “expected to be involved in the introduction of the device,” but a spokesperson for the New York Times declines to comment.

(however,  Pub Marketplace links to an NYT page which doesn’t mention the news conference at all — so your guess of its accuracy is as good as mine.)

Here’s hoping for some much-needed improvements to the Kindle, including:

1. Notes organization:
   1. All notes, bookmarks, and clippings are mixed together in the text file called “My Clippings” by the date entered;  I’d like to see them sorted by book and book page (or even chapter heading!).
   2. All notes are cited only by location in the text.
   3. I’d like to email my notes on one document to myself – or otherwise retrieve them without jumping through the hoops of importing my clippings
2. Book organization:  I have 14 pages of books right now.  I’d like to put them in folders:  new submissions, client books, pleasure reading.
3. Page numbers:  My colleague would very much like to be able to tell how long a book or proposal is – while within the document as well as looking at the Home screen.    Book page numbering is not yet obsolete, when we as readers go from kindle to book to computer screen every day!
4. Chapter headings on our own documents would also be useful. Particularly if page numbering isn’t possible.
5. Faster text entry.  The keyboard has a painfully pronounced delay, which makes making notes difficult.
6. Gifts: I’d like to be able to send a gift to another Kindle user
7. I’d like it to be easier to switch credit cards for Kindle purchases – even to be able to on the device itself.

and an anti-wishlist:

1. Do NOT increase the cost for sending your own documents — particularly if none of the above innovations for working on our own documents are made available.

Addendum:  news of the announcement can be found here, at All Things D.