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Kindle Paperwhite - Printable Version

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Kindle Paperwhite - cophnia61 - 2014-10-19

I'm going to buy a kindle paperwhite. My main concern is, it is going to work as it is, or to read japanese text I have to fight with it to get it work? Things like you can not connect to amazon jp if you're not in japan, or japanese dictionary is not included if I don't buy the kindle from Japan... thinks like these xD

Kindle Paperwhite - Sebastian - 2014-10-19

Why not buying a Nook instead, which comes with a rootable Android operative system?

Quote:The Nook Simple Touch can be rooted to read pretty much any e-book, manga, and install Ankidroid. Cheaper and longer battery life than a lot of the other e-readers on the market.

Kindle Paperwhite - cophnia61 - 2014-10-19

Sebastian Wrote:Why not buying a Nook instead, which comes with a rootable Android operative system?

Quote:The Nook Simple Touch can be rooted to read pretty much any e-book, manga, and install Ankidroid. Cheaper and longer battery life than a lot of the other e-readers on the market.
Thank you Sebastian for your reply! The thing is I want something that works as it is without any need to root or other things. Something that when I open the box and turn on the reader, I can put a japanese ebook in it and just start reading that same moment, with dictionary already enabled etc..

I understand Kindle is from Amazon, so maybe it is more ready for buying books from Amazon and it's better supported. I wanna play safe and avoid risky purchases.

What are other differences between the Kindle Paperwhite and the Nook? Which has better resolution?

Kindle Paperwhite - NickT - 2014-10-19

The Kindle Paperwhite works with Japanese straight out the box. However the bigger problem will be registering on Amazon.co.jp so you can easily buy Japanese ebooks online. It's possible, but it can be a bit of a hassle.

The Japanese dictionary also works straight out the box, but the default is a Japanese to Japanese dictionary I believe. There is a Japanese to English dictionary, but I think you have to install it yourself.

It is not necessary to root it.

Kindle Paperwhite - comeauch - 2014-10-19

It works well with Japanese text, including furigana (for ebooks who have it) and JP monolingual dictionary. I had already an address set up with Tenso (a packet forwarding service), so I can buy ebooks off Amazon.co.jp with no problems. It's free to set up and it gives you a Japanese address, which you can use. The device can only be registered at one location at any time, so if there's anything you want on .com, you might have to change it back to another country. I'm really happy about my kindle Tongue

Kindle Paperwhite - cophnia61 - 2014-10-19

Big Grin Thanks for the informations! But how is the dictionary? You click on the word and it detect the bounds of the word, like rikaichan? Or you have to underline all the word by hand?

Kindle Paperwhite - Kapitanma - 2014-10-19

cophnia61 Wrote:Big Grin Thanks for the informations! But how is the dictionary? You click on the word and it detect the bounds of the word, like rikaichan? Or you have to underline all the word by hand?
Yes, when you tap on a word it will usually recognize the full phrase like Rikaichan does. It's pretty good about recognizing the words, but on rare occasions you'll find stuff it won't properly recognize. Not really a big deal. There is a J-E dictionary on the Paperwhite by default so you don't need to buy a second one unless you want a second dictionary.

It took about an hour to get the Kindle and my existing amazon.jp account synched up. There is another thread here with all the information you might need to do that if you search for Kindle. After that it's just a matter of getting on my proxy and buying the books I want, and then synching my Kindle.

Kindle Paperwhite - comeauch - 2014-10-19

What? No, there is no J-E dictionary by default. Unless things changed?
Also, the parsing is great, but you need to either a. get the book from amazon or b. send it to your kindle through email (and it then gets parsed so that the kindle knows what are the words). Otherwise, it's going to select entire sentences, rendering it useless for dictionary search. Then again, I believe I have Paperwhite v2, maybe there's already a new one?

Kindle Paperwhite - cophnia61 - 2014-10-19

I'm trying the android app just now and it has the jp - en dictionary.. the first time when you tap a word it downloads the monolingual dictionary, but when you look at a word in the dict there is an icon that shows a menu with other dicts and you can chose and download them.. but I don't know if it's the same on kindle..

Kapitanma, the dictionary does deconjugations? If you select the word yonde it understands it is yomu? Another thing, did you tried if the email conversion gives the same result as if you buy the book from amazon? Not that I want to download illegally, but maybe I want to read articles and other stuff copy-pasted from web, forums, blogs etc..

Kindle Paperwhite - Kapitanma - 2014-10-19

comeauch Wrote:What? No, there is no J-E dictionary by default. Unless things changed?
Also, the parsing is great, but you need to either a. get the book from amazon or b. send it to your kindle through email (and it then gets parsed so that the kindle knows what are the words). Otherwise, it's going to select entire sentences, rendering it useless for dictionary search. Then again, I believe I have Paperwhite v2, maybe there's already a new one?
Hmm, now that you mention it I think you're right. I must be been mistaking one of the free dictionaries I downloaded. I have a couple different ones so I can't really remember what was or wasn't there when I first got it since I downloaded a ton of stuff the same night.

cophnia61 Wrote:I'm trying the android app just now and it has the jp - en dictionary.. the first time when you tap a word it downloads the monolingual dictionary, but when you look at a word in the dict there is an icon that shows a menu with other dicts and you can chose and download them.. but I don't know if it's the same on kindle..

Kapitanma, the dictionary does deconjugations? If you select the word yonde it understands it is yomu? Another thing, did you tried if the email conversion gives the same result as if you buy the book from amazon? Not that I want to download illegally, but maybe I want to read articles and other stuff copy-pasted from web, forums, blogs etc..
Yes, it does. I don't know about your other question, I just buy the book from amazon if I want to read it on the Kindle.

Kindle Paperwhite - Sebastian - 2014-10-19

From what I've read, it seems mostly everyone considers "better" the Kindle, but in practice the differences are minimal in my opinion, and anyway whatever e-reader you buy, sooner than later it will pale in comparison to the next model, so I don't give much importance in getting the latest model or the technically speaking slightly superior model.

On the other hand, since the Nook uses a version of Android and can be rooted, you can add different features that will never be available for a Kindle, that uses a different SO.

If I can get an e-reader with which I can read Japanese books in html (nicely formatted using some programs available in this very forum), I can use Rikaichan for Firefox to mine sentences from it, and then import that vocabulary into Anki, then I'll love that reader and I couldn't care less about having or not having a 5% better screen or something like that.

If you are interested in giving your ereader a different use than what the company that makes it provides you out of the box, I'd personally go with the Nook. If just reading books in Amazon's privative format with DRM is your thing, then you'll probably be more comfortable with the Kindle. I think it's possible to read other formats in the Kindle, but don't know if you have to do some "hacking" or what.

Also, unfortunately in the latest Nook Glowlight model they took out the card reader, so if you want to load lots of books, heavy dictionaries, apps or other stuff, I'd stick with the previous model, which also has physical buttons for turning pages, which I've read many people prefer.

If someone has experience with the Nook, or other ereader that allows you to install Rikaichan on it, please share your experience.

Kindle Paperwhite - rich_f - 2014-10-19

NickT Wrote:However the bigger problem will be registering on Amazon.co.jp so you can easily buy Japanese ebooks online. It's possible, but it can be a bit of a hassle.
This. Very much this. Have a look at the threads below devoted to people trying to use their Kindles from outside Japan. I lovelovelove the reading experience, but I hate this elaborate jumping through hoops BS just to buy some damn books.

I haven't had any problems using the store, but I haven't used it in a while, and when I do, I always use a dedicated JP VPN.

Also, don't EVER buy Kindle hardware from Amazon JP and try to ship it through Tenso; they will send you a nasty little email about it. You could ship damn near anything else, and they won't care. Just don't ship their Kindle. (Ironically, I keep getting spam ads from them asking me why I don't want to buy a Kindle from them. *sigh*)

These two threads are useful. Dunno if Melonberry ever got her account working again, though, or why customer service wanted to talk to her, or why she couldn't buy books from the Kindle store anymore, either.

http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?tid=11883

http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?pid=207811#pid207811

One thing that trips up people is failing to link their JP mailing address and their payment method to one-click, and also failing to activate one-click. Always test with a free book like こころ that's out of copyright to make sure it works. If it does, you should be okay. (If you get an email from customer service, you can always use the Natsume Soseki defense! "Oh, I'm sorry. I wanted to read this classic Japanese literature, you see..." Wink )

BTW: Has anyone ever gotten Honto.jp's e-book service to work outside of Japan? I always wondered about that. I get a ton of spam from them, too. "Buy our e-books!" then I can't. Tongue

Kindle Paperwhite - gaiaslastlaugh - 2014-10-19

I started using the Kindle app for iPad last week with my Amazon JP account. No troubles so far. However, like rich, I only order and download books after switching on my Japan VPN.

I think they've simplified the account sign up process as well. They make it pretty clear that you need a Japanese address to be able to purchase Kindle books. On the down side, you also need to register a device, be it an actual Kindle or the app for iPhone/android. (Cloud Reader doesn't count.) If you go the latter route, you will absolutely need to use a VPN to force the app to log in to Amazon JP instead of Amazon US.

I've never gone to so much trouble to give someone my hard earned money.

One nice thing about ordering from Amazon JP is that they do points promotions, where some purchases earn points against future purchases. I had ordered the full 16 volume run of 貧乏神が！ a month ago, so my first legitimate Kindle JP purchase only cost ¥68. Not too shabby.

Kindle Paperwhite - cophnia61 - 2014-10-20

It looks difficult Sad How do you use the app with an Amazon JP account? Now I'll try with VPN to see if it works :/ Why they did it so difficult to buy jp books from other countries? Btw thanks to all so far!

Kindle Paperwhite - gaiaslastlaugh - 2014-10-20

If you use VPN software to mimic connecting from Japan, the Kindle app on iOS recognizes that you're "in Japan", and logs you on through your Amazon JP account. There is, as far as I can tell, no built in feature for managing multiple accounts across regions. It's actually not that difficult, but I would recommend getting it set up and then NEVER TOUCHING IT EVER AGAIN.

Kindle Paperwhite - cophnia61 - 2014-10-20

gaiaslastlaugh Wrote:If you use VPN software to mimic connecting from Japan, the Kindle app on iOS recognizes that you're "in Japan", and logs you on through your Amazon JP account. There is, as far as I can tell, no built in feature for managing multiple accounts across regions. It's actually not that difficult, but I would recommend getting it set up and then NEVER TOUCHING IT EVER AGAIN.
Awww I'm going crazy ahaha I've still to do my anki reps today, let alone study new vocabs :/ Now I'll try with VPN on android, thank you gaiaslastlaugh for the help!!

Kindle Paperwhite - rich_f - 2014-10-20

It's much easier to manage accounts if you use different email addresses for amazon.co.jp and whatever other amazon you're using. (That's how I set mine up.) If the email addresses are different, then Amazon US sees it and says, "Oh, this is not in my US database. Hey, who's got this email address?" "I do!" says Amazon JP. And boom, you're logged in properly. (This is why you should never link your accounts.)

Another thing I do (simply out of paranoia, but it also saves a little battery)-- I leave my Paperwhite in Airplane mode. I don't buy books with my Paperwhite, either. I buy books with my tablet, which is set up to use VPN, and then read on the Paperwhite-- and yeah, it's an incredible pain in the ass.

I'm speculating, but I'd imagine the reason why they don't want to take your money is because those of us who want to read Japanese books outside of Japan are a minority of a minority, and don't add up to enough revenue to make it worth the trouble of negotiating the deals and setting up the software accordingly. Also, when publishers give US/English rights to a book, that sometimes means rights over all editions of the book in that region, regardless of language, so getting it in any other language becomes impossible, because screw you, readers, we want sales.

What makes it even more frustrating is even though Amazon US has Japanese-language books now, the selection is wretched and impossible to use to discover anything remotely interesting to me. (Unless you really like Black Jack.) Not to mention horrible horrible romaji titles and charging for public domain books that are free in the JP Kindle store. ARGH.

Kindle Paperwhite - cophnia61 - 2014-10-20

Wakatta :/ And what about payment from outside Japan? It's difficult to link a card to amazon jp?

It's working! VPN on my phone! Big Grin Big Grin I've searched Kokoro but now it asks me a japanese address :O

EDIT:

I've done a TENSO account and I downloaded Kokoro, but in case I want to send it to the kindle without recurring to the amazon cloud (or how the hell is it called xD ) to avoid them notice I'm no in Japan, how do I send them from the Phone to the Kindle? In the android kindle app there not seems to be any option to do this...

Kindle Paperwhite - gaiaslastlaugh - 2014-10-20

rich_f Wrote:It's much easier to manage accounts if you use different email addresses for amazon.co.jp and whatever other amazon you're using. (That's how I set mine up.) If the email addresses are different, then Amazon US sees it and says, "Oh, this is not in my US database. Hey, who's got this email address?" "I do!" says Amazon JP. And boom, you're logged in properly. (This is why you should never link your accounts.)
That I did not know. Excellent idea. (And increased motivation to set up Gmail for my domain.)

rich_f Wrote:I'm speculating, but I'd imagine the reason why they don't want to take your money is because those of us who want to read Japanese books outside of Japan are a minority of a minority, and don't add up to enough revenue to make it worth the trouble of negotiating the deals and setting up the software accordingly. Also, when publishers give US/English rights to a book, that sometimes means rights over all editions of the book in that region, regardless of language, so getting it in any other language becomes impossible, because screw you, readers, we want sales.
Yep. It's the same reason you'll never get Crunchyroll to provide Japanese-language subtitles. From a business standpoint, I totally understand - it's a ton of busy work with little to no reward.

Kindle Paperwhite - rich_f - 2014-10-20

I had no idea that that little round book icon in the on-screen dictionary let you change the default dictionary. Is that new? Because that's freaking awesome. I still prefer my paperwhite's display, but this makes the Android app a heck of a lot more useful.

EDIT: Ah, never mind. It still kind of sucks, because it doesn't de-conjugate verbs. It couldn't find 食べる from 食べ. Stick with the Paperwhite for sure, then, and use a tablet if you want to buy Kindle manga, I suppose.

cophnia61 Wrote:Wakatta :/ And what about payment from outside Japan? It's difficult to link a card to amazon jp?
No, you can use any card as long as it usually works there. Doesn't have to be in Japan. They do that because foreigners who are there short-term have trouble getting Japanese credit cards from Japanese banks. And also because they do sell some stuff overseas, so they have to accept pretty much anything. Just make sure your 1-click is linked properly to a Japanese address and a valid payment method.

cophnia61 Wrote:I've done a TENSO account and I downloaded Kokoro, but in case I want to send it to the kindle without recurring to the amazon cloud (or how the hell is it called xD ) to avoid them notice I'm no in Japan, how do I send them from the Phone to the Kindle? In the android kindle app there not seems to be any option to do this...
I don't have any problems downloading the books over WiFi in the US on the Kindle. (Once you purchase, you should be okay.) I just tend to leave it in Airplane mode when I'm not downloading new books from the store. From what I gather, the problems occur when you *buy* books from outside of Japan, not when you download content you've already purchased. They have to accommodate people who travel and want access to their books. It's a tricky line they're walking-- keep out certain people, but don't alienate certain other people. Seems like a lot of work to me.

OPTIONAL, PARANOID STEP: I suppose if you were really paranoid, you could VPN through your home router, if it lets you. But some VPNs won't let you have more than a certain number of connections (mine is limited to 5), so if you use the home router, and you have more than 5 devices on your internet, you're gonna have problems.

Generally, it's good to check your VPN with a web site that will show you what IP is being reported before you do anything you're nervous about.

Kindle Paperwhite - cophnia61 - 2014-10-20

Quote:I don't have any problems downloading the books over WiFi in the US on the Kindle. (Once you purchase, you should be okay.) I just tend to leave it in Airplane mode when I'm not downloading new books from the store. From what I gather, the problems occur when you *buy* books from outside of Japan, not when you download content you've already purchased. They have to accommodate people who travel and want access to their books. It's a tricky line they're walking-- keep out certain people, but don't alienate certain other people. Seems like a lot of work to me.
Ahhh, so you link your Kindle to your Amazon account, but you use it only do download the book you bought before with your app + vpn? Ok, now it's much more reasonable!

Btw I'm still trying it on the android app and the dictionary doesn't do deconjugation :/ If for example I select 言った it says "No definition". Must I worry? Or it doesn't happen on the real kindle?

EDIT:

from here: "NOTE: Unfortunately the Kindle Android App does not support dictionary inflections, yielding verbs lookup practically impossible. No known workaround."

So I suppose the real Kindle does deconjugation and I must not worry!

Ok, so the last step is to order it, I'm excited xD

Kindle Paperwhite - gdaxeman - 2014-10-20

Sebastian Wrote:On the other hand, since the Nook uses a version of Android and can be rooted, you can add different features that will never be available for a Kindle, that uses a different SO.

If I can get an e-reader with which I can read Japanese books in html (nicely formatted using some programs available in this very forum), I can use Rikaichan for Firefox to mine sentences from it, and then import that vocabulary into Anki, then I'll love that reader and I couldn't care less about having or not having a 5% better screen or something like that.
...
If someone has experience with the Nook, or other ereader that allows you to install Rikaichan on it, please share your experience.
If you want the e-reader to work as as an Android tablet, then what about an Android tablet with an e-ink screen, such as the Boyue T62? It comes with Android version 4.2.2 working out of the box and it has 512 MB of RAM, while the Nook Simple Touch and the Nook Glowlight run the much older 2.1 version, they have only 256 MB of RAM, and the CPU is much slower; most importantly, they can't run any Firefox version released since 2012, only older ones — and it's the same for many other apps.

(Note: None of them come with the Google Play Store, you have to install it manually or sideload the apps.)

Kindle Paperwhite - Sebastian - 2014-10-20

Wow, the Boyue T62 looks absolutely fantastic, and it's just what I was looking for, thanks a lot for the info, gdaxeman!

It even has 8GB storage + sd card slot, and headphone jack.

It isn't even expensive, at only 169 USD on Amazon and even 117 USD on Banggood.com.

Has anyone here any experience with this kind of ereader?

Kindle Paperwhite - cophnia61 - 2014-10-21

There is another problem :/ Tenso asks me to confirm my identity:

"*Caution
In order to complete the identity verification process, you will need to be able to receive the package sent to your address. Please make sure to enter your current address in your registered information on Tenso.com."

Does this means that they send a package for confirmation purpose?

Kindle Paperwhite - rich_f - 2014-10-21

@cohpnia61 No, they want you to send them a scan of some sort of ID. It's standard. It doesn't cost anything. They just have to verify that you are you, and you are where you say you are. If they send you a package, they want you to be somewhere where it will be delivered to you, and *not* returned to them.

About the de-conjugating: the Paperwhites all de-conjugate verbs properly. That's why I recommend them so highly. The lookup is much faster/easier than the Android app. You simply press, drag to select the word (or let it auto-select), and the definition will pop up instantly in a window. Verbs are automatically de-conjugated. This makes reading a hell of a lot faster than any other solution I've tried, and I've tried a lot of them.