Not a lot of people know about it, but there’s a simple way for anyone to suggest new Kindle features, so if you want a Kindle with a bigger screen or you want some new layout options you can tell Amazon what you think.
Amazon has a dedicated feedback channel for all things related to Kindles. The official email address is kindle-feedback@amazon.com.
Amazon used to advertise this on screensaver images for older Kindles, like the Kindle Keyboard, but they don’t seem to bring much attention to it anymore.
Nonetheless, it’s the one way to voice your opinions about Kindle features and products to people at Amazon. Complaining about it on some forum or website isn’t going to get noticed.
So spread the word. If you really want a particular new Kindle feature, like a larger screen or more font choices, keep sending Amazon emails to kindle-feedback@amazon.com and get a bunch of like-minded friends to send suggestions too. The only way it works is if a lot of people make their voice heard.
Possible New Kindle Features
Larger Screen Kindle: A few months ago I posted an article asking what would make you want to buy a Kindle Voyage 2? By far the most requested new feature was a larger screen. Lots of people would love to have a Kindle with a bigger display. Amazon offers several tablet sizes, so why only one Kindle size?
Waterproof: Barnes and Noble and Kobo both have waterproof ebook readers available now, so why isn’t there a waterproof Kindle too?
Real Page Buttons: Lots of people miss real page buttons. Let’s face it: ebook readers aren’t the same as tablets and phones. They are designed for reading, and sometimes a simple page turn buttons can be a lot more convenient to turn pages than having to move your hand and readjust your grip with every page turn.
More Fonts: One thing I’d really like to see on Kindles is more font choices and having more control over fonts by being able to set custom weight to make them bolder and darker, like Kobo ereaders.
More Layout Options: A lot of people would like to have more layout settings for things like line-spacing, margins, hyphens, and justification.
More Storage Space: Some people want more storage space, and when you consider how large ebook files are getting and the size of things like PDFs, magazines, and comics you can see why.
What are some new Kindle features that you’d like to see in the future?
Thanks for sending this out. I have already sent a few emails to Amazon with feature requests. Many readers have no idea how to make their wants known.
I agree on practically everything you said especially with a larger eReader and more font options. Question for you, why do you think Amazon offers the Georgia font on Fire Tablets but mot on their dedicated EReader, does that make any sense?
Perhaps they think it’s not optimized enough for E Ink? Who knows… They have different versions of the Bookerly font for E Ink and LCD.
Thanks! I contacted Amazon via the email address you provided. A slightly larger screen would be nice, but I REALLY miss the audio option. The Fire can synchronize text & audio, why not the ereaders???
The old Kindle Keyboard can read Audio books and provide Text To Speech. It always struck me as a step backwards when Amazon removed these features from their ereaders. I’m surprised there wasn’t more uproar from an ADA group. Macular degeneration hits a lot of people, and I don’t think the Fires have a Text To Speech option.
I find the current size of Voyage just perfect. I can hold it very nicely even in bed and put it in a large pocket. I would really hate it if they made it bigger, but each to their own I guess.
But what is that “real page button”? Doesn’t the Voyage has two of them, or are we talking about something else altogether?
Some people prefer real physical buttons to sensors.
Ah, I see what it is. Yes, I can understand some people preferring them, but it doesn’t fit with the comment about “having to move your hand and readjust your grip with every page turn”…
Maybe it doesn’t happen for you but I’m always having to readjust my grip when holding one-handed to swipe pages. My hands are too big for these tiny ereaders. There’s only like half an inch to hold onto and having to keep switching between using a thumb to hold onto the edge and swipe pages requires grip readjustment. I like buttons better because I can just rest a thumb on the button and not have to move it every twenty seconds, just apply a little pressure.
From what you’re describing you’re not using a Voyage, are you? I can understand it in that case. But with a Voyage, which is what the original questionnaire was about if I’m not mistaken, swiping is unnecessary – adding another button would be what would require you to readjust your grip…
Custom screensaver capability! It’s one of the main things I miss from my Nooks when I switched over to my Voyage last year.
Lack of audio support for TTS (text to speech) has been a deal breaker for me since kindle touch. I hope it comes back. How about an Audiobook player in a small format? Headphone, maybe bluetooth and no screen… pretty similar to an mp3 player? I know… I know.. phones do that but I’m talking about 4 audiobooks capacity, enough for a long weekend or a road trip.
I requested these features for PW3:
Show battery level as actual percent charged like on Fire tablets.
Show battery level while charging cable is plugged in like on fire tablets.
Show battery level on lock screen like on Fire tablets.
If possible, provide a way to get current date/time from the network and display it. (I realize the device has no built-in clock).
I would like them to show a percentage for the battery as well. It’s a lot more accurate than trying to guess what the meter is estimating. They should just have an estimated battery timer like they have with the reading timer that tells you how long the battery will last in minutes/hours before needing to be charged again.
I recently bought another Kindle Paperwhite (Generation 3, I believe). Shortly after I got it it was automated updated to 5.7.4.1 and I hate it. What’s with the funky icons on the home page. ‘Looks like a first grader did it. I did figure out how to get rid of the page that opens before the Home page. I would love to go back to my 5.6.1.1. version that is on my old Paperwhite. This new version improved NOTHING for me and I still can’t change the line spacing to anything but 1.5.
Is there any way to go back to an earlier firmware version?
Unfortunately there is not.
Thank you for providing this information! I was looking for a mechanism for suggesting Kindle features, and even several years after you published this, it was among the first hits. And as far as I can tell, the address you give is still functional! 🙂 (Or at least, it hasn’t bounced yet 😉 )