One thing I’ve noticed lately is a lot of ebook readers have the ability to adjust the frontlight level without having to open a bunch of annoying menus.
Kobos, Pocketbooks, and Onyx ereaders all now have the option to adjust the frontlight level by swiping vertically up and down the left side of the screen (actually with the Nova3 Color it’s on the right side by default but you can move it to either side).
This is one feature Kindles still lack, and I think it’s an extremely convenient way to easily and quickly adjust the frontlight without leaving your book.
Presently Kindles require you to tap the top of the page to open the menu, then you have to tap on the settings icon, then you can adjust the frontlight with most of the page obscured by menus.
I like frontlight swiping adjustment because you don’t have to leave the page or open any menus, and it’s nice to be able to see the page exactly how it is while reading to be able to get the frontlight level just right, instead of having the menus add a bunch of extra white space to make it harder to judge the preferred light level while reading.
The only thing I don’t like about the way Pocketbook does it is they have an annoying popup window that asks to confirm if you want to turn the frontlight on or off when you reach the bottom. It makes it hard to get the lowest frontlight settings without triggering the popup that stops frontlight adjustment in its tracks until you confirm yes or no, and since you can hold the menu button to turn the light on and off anyway it seems like a pointless added step.
Kobo ereaders have had this feature for a really long time now. Onyx just added side gestures with their last 3.1 firmware update—they also have the option to use side gestures to control volume level and screen contrast.
I think this is one feature Kindles really need to add, perhaps with the option to turn it on and off for those that resist change. You can still adjust the frontlight from the menu if you’d like, but it’s easier just being able to swipe up and down the side of the screen.
They already have pinch and zoom font control…which is nice-but you are right, it seems like low hanging fruit.
I don’t hhave an issue with how the kindle currently handles it but I agree that it would be great if they offered as an option so individuals can customise how their kindle functions. The more options the better. Just hope they don’t make it difficult to use like they have with the voiceview. I think they could streamline that featjure. I can’t imgine people with low vision being able to use voiceview without help.I would vote for Amazon fix that. Maybe more people would use it if it were more accessable.
Honestly, I’m surprised they haven’t done this already. Apart from the turn off option, Pocketbook does it very well. You can even adjust the temperature on the other side.
Apart from obscure firmware updates, Amazon seems to be devoting little time to its Kindle products.
I agree that a swipe motion would be more efficient. As long as they don’t take it off the settings menu I’m all for it. I do not think having to memorize swipes to activate features would be a good experience for most e-reader folks.