Hacker News Reader

Comment by douche | Hacker News Reader

> Glad they're embracing physical buttons

Re-embracing, more like it. I forget how old mine is, but it's from before the basic Kindles went to touchscreen. The side-mounted page flipping buttons are just about perfect. Throw in battery life of like six months of hard use on airplane mode and the non-glare screen that you can read outside on the beach in full sun, and it is just about a perfect e-reader.

I just wish they would resurrect the DX concept. I'd like to have a thin, light Kindle that was approximately letter-sized, for textbooks, programming books, etc. It'd probably also be a great fit for somebody like my dad, who's eyes are going bad - you can crank up the font size on 6" kindles, but then you only get a handful of words on a line.

View on HN

>The side-mounted page flipping buttons are just about perfect

I completely agree. I've had a Kindle 3 keyboard with the physical page-turn buttons for nearly five years and although the new models might have sharper screens, the lack of physical buttons is an deal killer for me.

They also seem to have gone backwards with the form factor. The 3 screen is nearly flush with the bezel, which slopes away to the buttons at the edge and feels great in the hand. I've handled the newer versions and they're thicker and feel more clunky and cheap.

When you can replace the screen for $20 (replaced once) and the motherboard for $4 (replaced twice), it's kind of hard to justify upgrading, even after you break both by sitting on it.

There is a 13.3" eReader due from Onyx in the next few weeks.

http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/onyx-boox-13-...

Yeah, re-embracing is correct. Lack of physical buttons on my paperwhite is a pain because the OS starts to severely lag after a few weeks of usage and turning the page can sometimes take 2-5 seconds. I've actually been looking around for a smaller kindle that's easier to keep in my pocket for traveling.

Nook Simple Touch had page turning buttons too. Mine's on its deathbed and I'm loathe to replace it with a newer touchscreen only device.

If you ask me, half the point of ebooks is that you can turn pages with your hands under a blanket or a cat flopped on your wrist.

Yes I've been dying for a DX again. I had one years ago and it was my favorite gadget. Perfect for the PDF books and what not.

I'll pick up a used one someday.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com