Thanks to Kindle Nation citizen Shirley for writing in with an important question on the new Kindle 3
I’ve been hoping that someone would compare the new 5–way controller to the old one. Basically, I have yet to read one review that does this. The joystick thing is probably the weakest element of the current Kindles and I’ve made many pleas for a controller like the new one, but watching Len Edgerly’s video makes me wonder how well this was implemented. It looks like he’s pressing down repeatedly to move the cursor around. That could be a disaster if you can’t just push and hold to get the cursor move up or down the page on its own.
As my purchase plans revolve around waiting for a DX that has been upgraded to at least the K3 level, I have no reason to try out the K3. I hope you can be the first to clarify how the new controller works. It’s a big internet out there, but so far I just can’t find anyone who takes any interest in the new 5–way controller. My poor sister can hardly select anything because she always moves the joystick in some other direction while pressing down on it. Consequently she often fails to do what she wants to do and trying to help her on the telephone is useless.
Great question, Shirley, and I am glad to help.
Yes, you can push and hold the directional edges of the new 5-way for steady movement of the cursor in any of its four directions. Although it takes some getting used to, I am already finding it a big improvement over the 5-way on previous models. Particularly helpful is the fact that, on the new 5-way, the center spot that you press to click on a selection is separate and distinct from the four directional edges that you use to move the cursor, so that once you get the hang of it there is less chance of doing what I used to do regularly on my Kindle 2, which was to inadvertently delete titles from the Home listings.
One caveat is that, when you press down on the new Kindle 3 5-way edges for directional movement of the cursor, it moves a little faster than what I was prepared for, so that I tended to overshoot the goal at times. But that’s just a matter of getting used to it.
I hope that helps!
