The Kindle Fire uses a soft keyboard for data entry and editing of text, regardless of field length, and operates in a fashion reflecting the Kindle Fire's Android base. A long press in a text field that is editable brings up one of three sets of menus:
- If nothing had previously been cut from the text the user is given options to select text
- If something is on the 'clipboard' the system adds an option to paste text
- If the user is already in the middle of the 'text selection' mode, the system offers to copy or cut the selected text
Once in edit mode the Kindle presents a set of 'grab tabs' that can be used to drag the text selection area to fine tune the text selected. All that may seem pretty basic, but keeping in mind the iPhone didn't support copy and paste until well into it's product life cycle it is noteworthy the Kindle Fire supports these concepts in version 1.
One trivia-worthy note about editing. Scrolling while editing on Android devices works a little differently from the behavior on Apple devices. For example, given a subject line longer than the visible text box, selecting text may require 'horizontally scrolling' to reach the text not shown. In Apple devices, dragging left or right moves a cursor with the text staying stationary, while on Android devices if the text has been highlighted via 'select all' the system behaves as if you were moving the text itself. The net effect is that the direction you drag your finger to move the text is reversed between the two modes. On the Kindle, there is a visible cursor that can be moved with the large 'drag tags' (orange strips that hang down below the cursor), on other android devices I've used there is no visible cursor while dragging, but one does appear after touching text.
Editing in the Kindle Reader application works a little differently, reflecting the nature of the app being intended for content consumption and also supporting highlighting and note taking. The Kindle touch screen interface allows for a very smooth highlighting and note making experience. Just put your finger on the text, wait a second, then drag to the end of the text you'd like to highlight or note. After lifting your finger the Kindle asks if you'd like to highlight or add a note. A long press on a word without dragging brings up the dictionary entry for the word selected. Once highlights and or notes are made, they appear in the bookmarks list and are accessible from the Internet as with all other Kindle Reader platforms (web, devices, or the app on smartphones and tablets)
Next Up: Cover flow (K-version vs. Apple) / Setting settings, everywhere.
