Kindle’s Real Page Numbers
We’ve seen a lot of interest from customers about our new real page numbers feature for latest generation Kindles and what makes them “real”, so we wanted to tell you a little more about this feature and how we did it.
An e-book, like a print book, is at its core a stream of text. In a print book, this stream is broken up by the size of the pages on which it is printed. Number these pages and you have a way of referencing any point in the book. The text on page 53, for example, is always the same for every book of the same print edition. But in an e-book, what looks like a “page” is a display, and the amount of text displayed depends on the font size that you as a customer choose, as well as other options you set yourself such as portrait or landscape mode, or which Kindle or free Kindle app you read with.
We wanted to be able to display real page numbers that have value and are useful for those who need to cite a specific passage in a book for class, follow along with their friend in a book club, or simply point a friend to a favorite part of the book. Adding “real” page numbers means we had to find a way to match specific text in a Kindle book to the corresponding text in a print book and identify the correct page number to display.
With our massive selection and knowledge of print books, we were excited to be in a position to help solve this problem. We had to invent an entirely new way to match the streams of text in a print book to the streams of text in a Kindle book, and assign page numbers in Kindle books. There are hundreds of thousands of Kindle books (and growing every day), so to handle a job of this size, we turned to our Amazon Web Services computing fabric. We created algorithms to match the text of print books to Kindle books and organized all of this in the cloud, using our own AWS platform. The results of this work are stored in Amazon’s Simple Storage Service, where we track the complete history of every page matching file we’ve produced. We even found a way to deliver page numbers to books that customers had already purchased – without altering those books in any way, so customers’ highlights, notes, and reading location are preserved exactly as they were.
Some other e-bookstores have added virtual “page numbers” to e-books, but we’ve found that these approaches can be confusing and often inconsistent – they don’t map to the page numbers in physical books, and in some cases they don’t account for title pages, blank pages, and other nuances that we see in print books. We’ve already received a lot of great feedback from customers who like our approach. Real page numbers are already available in tens of thousands of our most popular Kindle books, including the top 100 bestselling books in the Kindle Store that have matching print editions, and we’re adding page numbers in more Kindle books every day. We want you to lose yourself in the reading, so page numbers are only displayed when you push the menu button.
We’re excited to hear what you think of our real page numbers. Please let us know.
Karen Steyskal on 03/16/2011 at 03:27 PM
It is frustrating and distracting to me to have only the location numbers, rather than the page numbers at the bottom of the page. I don't like having to go to menu to see what page I am on.
Carol on 03/16/2011 at 03:28 PM
I got my Kindle for Christmas and love it. I still don't know how to access the page number though. I gather from the comments above that I press Menu but then what???
Melina on 03/16/2011 at 03:29 PM
@Joel: The Amazon page for the book lists which edition the page numbers are mapped to. It's listed as "Page Numbers Source ISBN." Search for that ISBN on Amazon and you'll see the equivalent print edition.
Martin Cook on 03/16/2011 at 03:31 PM
I'm very annoyed that you haven't implemented this feature for the DX --which you initially positioned as the most text-book like of all the models. I'm a professor and have a strong need to be able to cite these texts in terms of standard pagination. One hopes you will move on to make sure the DX has this capability.
Trisha on 03/16/2011 at 03:33 PM
I just got a kindle in November,I guess its the newer version but I'm not sure. I haven't seen the numbers on the page, Do I need to download something? I'm also having a problem with placing the books that I've read in the archive. Can I please get some help.
Brian on 03/16/2011 at 03:34 PM
I, like Serafina and Daghain, would appreciate the option to display %, progress bar and page numbers, or some subset, or none of the above. I should be able to toggle each on or off, and I don't think it should be that hard to do. To say that I can't see page numbers without clicking a button because Amazon wants me to lose myself in the reading, yet still display the % and progress bar seems, to me, incongruous.
Judy Sharum on 03/16/2011 at 03:40 PM
OK! HOW do we see page numbers??? and are they only on latest books now?? NOT on the books we already own???
I'm reading a book now on top 10 and theres no page nos. on it???
I'm confused. If we want to see page numbers what do we have to do???
Stefanie on 03/16/2011 at 03:40 PM
Please, please, please bring page numbers to the Kindle DX. I have been waiting for this terrific feature and was thrilled when it was announced and then my elation was deflated at the news that it is only a feature available on the latest 6" devices. :( I have purchased (either for myself or a family member) at least one of each of the kindle devices ever released. Please don't forget about your LONG TIME LOYAL Kindle users! Thank you!!
mary gresham on 03/16/2011 at 03:41 PM
I really couldn't care less if they put the numbers or not, since I really don't pay attention to it as most of the time, even while reading a print book, I remember where I stop, I never even use a bookmark or turn down a page. Nor do I leave a book spread open. Most of the time when I am through reading a brand new print book, you cant even tell that it's been read, unless you look very close at the spine. So, the page numbers don't matter to me, but I can see where it would make a small difference to people who use their Kindles for school or work.
ds123 on 03/16/2011 at 03:47 PM
Remember those of us that purchased the Kindle early on and provide us with the same service as you do the "newest"owners. I have a Kindle 2 and LOVE it. But I truly hate when a new customer is given things and the old dependable customers loose out.
Dana on 03/16/2011 at 03:49 PM
I love it! And I love my Kindle...it just gets better and better. Thank you!
Caroline on 03/16/2011 at 03:51 PM
My kindle says it is version 3.0.2 Wi-Fi and 3G, but like Emma I have no page numbers. Why not?
davE on 03/16/2011 at 03:52 PM
page numbers? where? oh nevermind. I have a K2 and its not deemed worthy. Sadly my free PC version of the reader has it.
Rose from PA on 03/16/2011 at 03:55 PM
Love the idea as page numbers make more sense to me than the % does but like others have said I would like to see them without having to hit the menu button.
GP on 03/16/2011 at 04:00 PM
Well I paid a lot more for a Kindle DX, however many updates that have been already made available for the cheaper Kindles are still not available for the Kindle DX. Not very good Amazon! A lot of people have been complaining about this for quite some time and it seems you are not listening to us. This is a sure way to lose customers.
So, bottom line, when will these updates be made available for the Kindle DX?!
Tracy Rowan on 03/16/2011 at 04:06 PM
I love it. It was one of the things I'd been wishing for since I had a hard time with the percentage thing. Without looking up a page count and doing math all the time, there was simply no good way to connect percentage with the most familiar method of gauging how far you'd gotten in any given book.
Well done, Team Kindle!
glee on 03/16/2011 at 04:06 PM
@ Emma - page numbers are not available for every book yet. If they are available for your book, you have to press the menu button to see the page number.
I would like the option to choose between location, percentage, or page number to be shown at the bottom. The percentage is just as useless as the location.
keith on 03/16/2011 at 04:07 PM
the page numbers are excellent. thank you for doing this for us. great work Kindle Team!
Jeanne on 03/16/2011 at 04:09 PM
I can't find the page numbers and I went to menu!?
Mary Ann Iman on 03/16/2011 at 04:13 PM
Thank you so much for the page numbers. Love it. Amazing to me how all this works. My Kindle is by far the best serious toy I have ever had. It is never very far from me at all.
Jennifer Levy on 03/16/2011 at 04:16 PM
I downloaded the new software but am not getting page numbers.
Devin on 03/16/2011 at 04:19 PM
First for the people who want page nummbera on the status bars its a stupid request with the kindle able to alter the page with text size or orientation of the screen it wont be the exact page of the book this is why pressing the menu button is required. Also people with older kindle stop your complaing it's like any electronic device the newer versions have more features
.
Evelyn lindeman on 03/16/2011 at 04:22 PM
I do not have page numbers on my kindle. I downloaded the 3.1.
Dana on 03/16/2011 at 04:22 PM
This is an essential add-on for me. Most of my reading is reading where I might cite a text or choose to teach it. Others have asked, but I haven't seen the answers to my two questions. (1) Any chance this will help us K2 owners? (2) Does this map clearly onto one particular print edition?
Kim on 03/16/2011 at 04:33 PM
My 5th grade students are required to read at least 15 minutes per night and note the pages they've read. I've actually had 10 and 11 kids tell me that they use Kindle to fulfill their nightly reading requirement. They must record the page numbers read so that I can check their reading if need be. Until now, I've told them to report the percentage of the book read. Page numbering for all users would be a huge improvement.