How to Read Manga on the Kindle 2

Yes, a Kindle 2 reads manga if you give it MOBI files over USB. It has no Wi-Fi and its 3G service is gone, so nothing can be sent to it wirelessly any more.

The Kindle 2 at a glance

What that screen means for manga

A printed manga volume has a page of roughly 5 by 7 inches. At 6 inches this screen shows that page at about 69% of its printed size. At 167ppi the screen has about half the sharpness of a current e-reader. Bold art holds up; small dialogue is where it struggles.

This is why the device profile matters more than any other setting. A scan is drawn at print resolution, far larger than this screen. Left alone, the reader shrinks each page on the fly, slowly and without care for the lettering. A file converted for the Kindle 2 already has every page at exactly 600 x 670, with the greyscale tuned for e-ink, so nothing is resized on the device.

Getting manga onto the Kindle 2

First, convert:

1. Open Manga for Kindle 2 and drop in your files. CBZ and CBR are the usual inputs; ZIP, RAR, 7Z, PDF and EPUB also work.
2. Check that the device is set to Kindle 2. That is the exact name in the picker.
3. Leave manga mode on for right-to-left titles. Turn it off for webtoons and Western comics.
4. Look at the preview, then convert and download.

Then, transfer:

• Choose MOBI as the output. A Kindle 2 predates EPUB delivery and has no working wireless connection.
• Connect the Kindle to a computer with its USB cable. It shows up as a drive.
• Copy the file into the documents folder, eject the drive, and the volume appears on the home screen.

Can it open a CBZ without converting? No. A Kindle does not open CBZ or CBR files, whichever way they arrive. They have to be converted first.

How many volumes fit

A volume converted for this screen comes to roughly 10 to 25MB, depending on page count. That figure is scaled from our own conversions by pixel count, so treat it as a guide. With 2GB (about 1.4GB usable), that works out to about 80 volumes on the device at once.

Settings worth changing

• Use the page buttons on both edges. They are the best thing about this model for long sessions.
• The screen shows 16 shades of grey, a real improvement over the first Kindle, but dense panels still lose fine hatching.
• For double-page spreads, keep splitting on. A whole spread squeezed onto a 6 inch screen is too small to read, so each half gets a screen of its own, right half first for manga.

Is the Kindle 2 good for manga?

Readable for big-panel shonen, tight for anything with small text. Fine if it is already in a drawer, not worth buying for manga.

For the wider picture, including where to get manga legally and how the other models compare, see Manga on Kindle.

Frequently asked questions