Amazon Forum Announcements: Kindle Fire Tips: Getting Started, Setting up Wi-Fi, Excellent Connect-Problem-Solving Guide

AMAZON FORUM ANNOUNCEMENT - Kindle Fire: Getting started

I just saw the first announcement shown below at the regular "Kindle Forum" and that refers us to the Q&A forum for questions about Kindle Fire and WiFi, taking us to the "Setting Up WiFi" announcement.

For those who don't have time to make it to the forums, Amazon Kindle Customer Service gave some general Kindle Fire Start-up tips on Christmas Eve at almost 8pm PST, and I'll quote those here adding active links (the forums don't use links for these announcements).   (Any bold-face emphases are mine)

Initial post: Dec. 24, 2011 7:47:31 PM PST
Last edited by the author 20 hours ago

' Amazon Kindle Customer Service says:
(AMAZON OFFICIAL)

Do you have a question about how to get started with your Kindle Fire? We have compiled some of the most common questions to help get you started!

If you have questions about the Kindle Fire and Wi-Fi, make sure to check out our "Kindle Fire Tips: Setting Up Wi-Fi" post here.

Q. How do I register my Kindle Fire?
A. To register online, visit Manage Your Kindle at www.amazon.com/manageyourkindle.
You can also register your Kindle Fire directly from the device by following the steps found here: www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=200729250#registering

Q. Having trouble registering from your Kindle Fire?
A. Here are some troubleshooting steps that may help:

a. Go to the "Your Account" page (found by clicking [that link at the top] of this page) and then Click "Change Account Settings" under Settings-account Settings. Make sure that your name is entered in the Name field.

b. Make sure you are connected to a Wi-Fi network. You should see the Wi-Fi icon in the top right of your Kindle Fire. You can also test your connection by browsing to a web page using the Silk web browser found under "Web".  Your Kindle Fire needs to be connected to a Wi-Fi network to complete the registration process.

c. If you cannot connect to a Wi-Fi network check out the troubleshooting steps found in our Kindle Fire Tips: Setting Up Wi-Fi post here

Still having problems registering? Please contact our Customer Support team by clicking Help at the top of the page and using the Contact Us button.

Q. How can I purchase apps for my Kindle Fire?
A. You will need to have a 1-Click payment method set up with your Amazon account. You can learn more about how to setup a 1-Click payment method here:
www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=200729570#start

Q. What can I do if my Kindle Fire will not turn on?  [Do read this.]
A. Charge your Kindle Fire for 30 minutes. If it is still unresponsive, unplug it from the power source and hold the power button for 20 seconds. After the Kindle Fire turns off, press the power button again to turn it back on.

Q. What is Amazon Prime?
A. Amazon Prime is an annual membership program that offers customers unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items and instant streaming of movies and TV shows for $79 a year with Prime instant videos. Eligible customers who purchase a Kindle Fire will be given a free month of Amazon Prime.
When you purchase a Kindle Fire as a gift, the gift recipient will receive a free month of Amazon Prime benefits once they activate the Kindle Fire, provided they are eligible for the offer. You can learn more about Amazon Prime and Kindle Fire at www.amazon.com/help/kindle/prime.

Q. How do I update the software on my Kindle Fire?
A. Kindle Fire will automatically update when a new software update is available and when the Kindle Fire is connected via Wi-Fi.
Visit the Kindle Software Updates page at www.amazon.com/kindlesoftwareupdates to see if a free software update is available.

Q. Why doesn't my computer recognize my Kindle Fire?  [Do read this.]
A. To use your Kindle Fire in USB mode, ensure that it is NOT in sleep mode when it is plugged in.

Not sure which Kindle is for you? Learn more about each new device and compare features on our website at www.amazon.com/kindlefamily

If these FAQs don't answer your question, please start a new discussion. '

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Below, for the record, is the full Amazon Forum Announcement on "Setting up Wi-Fi."  This one will have only minimal prepared links and will use only what was given in the forum (where they don't have active links). Will boldface questions.

Initial post: Dec. 24, 2011 7:39:14 PM PST
Last edited by the author 7:41:28 PM PST

' Amazon Kindle Customer Service says:
(AMAZON OFFICIAL)

Do you have a question about how to connect your Kindle Fire to a Wi-Fi network? We have compiled some of the most common questions to help get you started!

Q: How do I connect my Kindle Fire to a Wi-Fi Network?
A: Follow the steps found here: www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=200729310

Q: Having trouble connecting to your Wi-Fi network?
A: Here are some troubleshooting steps that can help:
1. Is your Wi-Fi turned on? Tap the cog in the upper right corner, select Wi-Fi and make sure Wireless Networking is set to ON.

2. Verify that your Kindle Fire software is up to date by going to www.amazon.com/kindlesoftwareupdates. You can check the version of your Kindle Fire software by tapping on the cog in the upper right hand corner, select More.., and then select Device. Your software version is listed under System Version. If your Kindle Fire is not up to date, follow the instructions found on the Kindle Software Updates page.

3. Are you getting one of these error messages?
a. "The password you entered is incorrect or invalid" - The password is the one associated with the Wi-Fi network, not your Amazon account password. If you don't know your Wi-Fi password, contact the person who set up your Wi-Fi network, your Internet service provider, or the manufacturer of your Wi-Fi router for help. Your Wi-Fi password may also be written on the bottom of your Wi-Fi router.
b. "Wi-Fi network connection failed" - The network you chose could not be found or did not respond. Contact your network's administrator for more assistance.
c. "Wi-Fi is not available right now" - Wi-Fi might be turned off on your Kindle Fire. Tap the cog in the upper right corner, select Wi-Fi and make sure Wireless Networking is set to ON.
d. "Local Network connection failed" - Try rebooting your router or contacting your network's administrator. Let them know that this error may be related to a failed DHCP request.
e."Internet connection failed" - Your Kindle Fire is connected, but unable to contact our servers. Try again in a few minutes or contact Amazon Customer Support for more assistance.

4. Do you see your desired network in the list of available networks?
Some networks may not be broadcasting (even though they are active). If you do not see the network, make sure the network is active by using another device that uses Wi-Fi. If it is and you have the network name, you can enter it manually by tapping the cog in the upper right corner, select More.., and then select Wireless Network. Scroll down the list to "Add a Network" and enter the network name manually. If you do not know the name of your network, or still cannot find it, you may need to contact your ISP or the network's administrator.

5. Can you connect to the web on another computer?
If you cannot connect at all, something might be wrong with your network - you may want to try rebooting your router or contacting the network's administrator. If you can connect with another computer, take the Kindle Fire to another local Hot Spot (libraries often have free Wi-Fi Hot Spots). If you can connect there, you may still need to refer to your network's administrator. However, if you cannot your Kindle Fire connect [sic] to any network, please contact us for more assistance.

6. Can you connect using the Silk Web browser?
If you can bring up a web page, you are online and should be able to use all the other functions of the Kindle Fire.

7. Do you need to have a static IP address?
Some networks may require this, while others may not. Check with your network's administrator for more assistance.

8. If none of these steps help, or you continue to have problems,
please select Help at the top of the page and use the Contact Us button to contact our Customer Support team.

In addition, you can watch a video at www.amazon.com/help/kindle/fire/wifi/video or consult our troubleshooting tips at www.amazon.com/help/kindle/fire/wifi for additional guidance on common issues.

For more information troubleshooting Wi-Fi issues see this post: http://www.amazon.com/forum/kindle/?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1D7SY3BVSESG&cdThread=Tx2RY4L7G1R2KE [*] '

  [*] That last one, by a S. Yelvington is an EXCELLENT document on troubleshooting WiFi connection problems.  If you're having connection problems, you should definitely follow this link to Yelvington's guide and print it out to make it easier to go through each step as appropriate.
  That's the Ultimate set of Internet connection tips, as far as I'm concerned   :-)



Kindle Touch 3G   Kindle Touch WiFi   Kindle Basic   (UK: KBasic)   Kindle Fire
Kindle Keybd 3G   (UK: Kindle Keybd 3G)   K3 Special Offers   K3-3G Special Offers   DX

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Check often: Temporarily-free recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button

Kindle and Kindle-Fire Helpers, Guides, app, podcast, and an off-topic short story - Updated w/ more books

SOME KINDLE AND KINDLE FIRE HELPERS

The 7 Dragons group has created probably the most popular tools and utilities for the Kindle Keyboard series (Kindle 2, Kindle 3, Kindle DX, and now Kindle 4 Basic-no Touch-no physical Keyboard):
  Notepad,   Calendar,   Calculator,  and   Converter

  At least some of these are being converted for Kindle Touch, and I'll be watching for those.

In the meantime, they have released a Kindle Fire app:
  Alarm Clock, Calendar, ToDo List - Productivity Helper.  A sort of "Productivity Swiss knife"...
  As with other apps for now, it's available only to U.S. customers.

  NOTE: This is for Kindle Fire only and NOT for other 7" tablets, despite Amazon's "Compatability" wording in the Buy box.  This set was tested and optimized ONLY for the quite wide-screen Kindle Fire, and A. Singh of 7 Dragons wrote the first comment to request that people not buy this if you have another 7" tablet.

  It was just released and there are already a few very positive reviews with one reviewer wishing only for Google sync for calendars

  The Product Description includes details such as the inclusion of Backup and Restore functionality and built-in, detailed Help.   The alarm clock works even when you're in another app and includes a Musical Alarm that allows the setting of a song as your alarm.  The ToDo List handles priorities, and you can choose one of the provided backgrounds or use one of your own images.
  There's also a stopwatch and a live Antique Clock with a second hand.
Cost: $1.00

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A Kindle book for those wondering how to work this Kindle Fire thing
Love Your Kindle Fire: The ILMK Guide to Amazon's Entertablet, by Bufo Calvin, 12 customer reviews, 4.6 stars, $2.99 (Link: amzn.to/love-your-kindle-fire )

Bufo Calvin is the author of 5 other Kindle books and is very popular in the Amazon Kindle forums for his clarity and good humor in answers to questions there, which he does on his own time.  He also has a best-selling Kindle-Edition blog, "I Love My Kindle."

  Calvin goes through each menu option, step by step, explaining what each does.  A lot of the book is in conversational Question and Answer format, in which he interviews himself with the types of questions he has seen most, from the Kindle forums and at his blog, but most important, with some very thorough answers.
  The writing style may be best suited to those new to the Android scene.
  The author has updated the book since it was first published and it now includes what he's found after a month with the Kindle Fire, his Android App recommendations, and some details about the recent v6.2.1 software update.

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The Kindle Chronicles Podcast
The Kindle Chronicles is the very popular Friday Podcast by Len Edgerly for listeners who'd like to know "All About the Kindle."  It includes both audio and text sections on News, Tech Tips, a Weekly Interview, and Comments received from the Kindle community during the previous week.
  Quick, sharp, and enthusiastically curious about much more than things Kindle, Len is also a relaxed, engaging interviewer.  Catch his very interesting blog "Random Reflections."

  I did a report on his poetry book on Kindle and Bufo Calvin's earlier books in the July 2, 2009 blog article.
  He has a large Twitter following at http://twitter.com/LenEdgerly.  Len's Kindle Chronicles, begun July 2008, is practically a log or history of the Kindle and its impact on readers and the publication world in the short time since its release.

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Stephen Windwalker's Complete Kindle Books series
The Complete 2012 User's Guide to the Amazing Amazon Kindle: Covers All Current Kindles including the Kindle Fire, Kindle Touch, Kindle Keyboard, and Kindle, by Stephen Windwalker who has been explaining what can be done on Kindles since the beginning of Kindle time, and as you can tell from the title, he provides information on all the current Kindles.  A prolific writer, he has a large following on Facebook and for his Kindle Nation blog. $1.49

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Mobi Manuals Guide (Mobile Reference)
Kindle Fire Survival Guide: Step-by-step User Guide for Kindle Fire: Getting Started, Downloading FREE eBooks, Buying Apps, Watching Movies, and Surfing the Web, by Toly K.

  This is quite a detailed book, at a decent price (I bought all three books), though it has a couple of errors noted, and some customer review statements and ratings are quite odd.

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A "For Dummies" book
Kindle Fire for Dummies, by Nancy C. Muir.

  Expensive at $9.68 but it has 12 customer reviews and an average 4.4 stars.
  This one I haven't bought, but I felt it should be included.

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And for something completely different, and free for maybe one more day (I'm not sure how long it's free.)
Our Dog Lucca: A funny, short, picture scrapbook, by Moe Zilla, probably better known as Jon Cog, the writer behind Beyond Black Friday (which was formerly known as the "Me and my Kindle" blog).  The book, recently released and his first, is a look at the life of his dog, written in rhyme for children, with photographs, and has shot up to #2 in the Kindle Store's genre Kindle subcategory of "Children's eBooks-) Animals-) Dogs and Nonfiction -) Children's Nonfiction -) Animals."
 It's a Kindle blog to put on your Visit list.  His tribute to a young Kindle blogger who died suddenly was not the usual Kindle blog read.



Kindle Touch 3G   Kindle Touch WiFi   Kindle Basic   (UK: KBasic)   Kindle Fire
Kindle Keybd 3G   (UK: Kindle Keybd 3G)   K3 Special Offers   K3-3G Special Offers   DX

---

Check often: Temporarily-free recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button

Kindle Tips: Kindle Fire/Touch info for new users + B&N closes up Nook Tablet loophole. UPDATED Dec. 25 for added links.

RANDOM THINGS ABOUT AND FOR KINDLE FIRE

By now, everything's in place for Christmas and the calls to Buy this, Buy that will finally scale back, well, until the day after Christmas.

In the meantime, a few million people will suddenly find themselves with Kindles of one type or another.  So, I'll write a few reminders about the Kindle Fire, about which there has been some misunderstanding in recent news stories.
  There are some tips for Kindle Touch e-readers also.


New Best of Digital page
  Amazon just added a page they call "Best of Digital" -or "amazondigital Deals" (the odd capitalization is Amazon's) which is described as "The year's best MP3 music, games and apps for Android, movies and TV shows, Kindle Books, Audible audiobooks, software downloads, and video game downloads."


Prime Program features
  For the first month, free Prime membership is included with Kindle Fire, though many of us have had that for awhile because it is basically a program to get free shipping within 2 days for almost any purchases from Amazon with no minimum purchase amount, BUT they've now added other features such as over 10,000 free streaming videos and the ability to borrow a Kindle book each calendar month with no library waits and no due date.  The cost of that is $79/yr, or $6.58/mo.

  They recently added current PBS specials and unusual items from the BBC and lots of documentaries if families are into that.  While doing reading for the blog the other day, I had the Kindle Fire behind the keyboard, hooked to external speakers, to watch recent offerings of a current documentary on Steve Jobs by PBS and a special on North Korea (after hearing so much news about their leader's death, and the concern over how this will affect us).  Both were fascinating to me.  They also have seasons full of TV favorites but they'll not be current seasons.  These are viewable at essentially no added cost for Prime members.


That power button
  The NY Times has complained mightily, quickly followed by other news-sites quoting them, about missing features that anyone with a $500 tablet is used to and can't do without.  They've quoted a few with unhappy reactions in Kindle forums while ignoring the rather large majority very pleased with the KFire.

  A power button on the 'bottom' that can put the tablet to sleep (not 'off') if your stomach presses it is a big concern although top and bottom are interchangeable and you can turn what is up(side), down and the speakers (low-powered) are then pointing toward you.  I miss the hardware volume button too, but they've whittled features down to get to the $199 price point.
For $300 difference, what is it that some will find impossible -- that's the key and those unhappy really should get other devices and pay a bit more.


B&N's Nook Tablet and B&N policies
  There is also the Nook Tablet, at $250 plus another $20 for a good microSD card to expand storage space, so that is an additional $70 for what is more expandable hardware by a company that itself doesn't have much for the tablet to use as it doesn't offer its own streaming of music or video, and now it's been found that their latest update no longer allows their customers to use a web browser to work around the fact that B&N will not allow side-loading (via USB cable) of non-B&N apps.  They've closed off that avenue, or loophole.

  And, as most know, they've limited non-B&N files on the internal storage, to 1 gigabyte.  But since their launch emphasized that the Kindle Fire is "not open" the way the Nook Tablet is, I'll talk about that a bit.
  B&N's first odd claim was that they had Netflix and Hulu Plus and that Amazon wouldn't allow that, due to wanting to bind customers to only Amazon content.

  That turned out to be strangely uninformed, since Netflix and other companies were announced as having the Kindle Fire Sept. 28 and working on it.  And, as KFire owners know, Netflix and Hulu Plus were both available for the KFire upon delivery.  As you'll see, most actual KFire users find the video streaming, and the quality of it (if your Internet host is giving you good download speeds and your router is good), a big plus.


Sideloading of non-Amazon store apps
  Amazon, interviewed at the launch, said that side-loading of non-Amazon apps IS allowed, and with the latest update it still is.  Bear in mind that some of these may not be entirely compatible with Amazon's heavy customization of the Android operating system.

  Amazon also shows, with the latest update (v6.2.1) as any Android device will, how much is set aside specifically for app files.  In this case, 1 gig.  I've added many apps, almost daily, and have used up 1/3 of my space for that (including mapping programs), but I don't keep on the device what I know I won't use.

  Server storage of your purchases or even your own non-Amazon files
  If I got an app from Amazon's app store, Amazon still keeps it for me on the servers at no charge and I can re-download it at any time, for use when wanted.
  Many are hoarding the daily free Android apps and when they're not using them, these should be deleted from the device until wanted, as they'll be available to the customer at any time via Amazon's servers which keep records of the 'purchase' even when $0.00.

  These are not charged storage use against the free 5 gigs that all customers globally get for storage of non-copyrighted data from anywhere else.  That's in addition to another free 5 gigs of Kindle-device storage/backup for personal documents (non-Amazon purchased material) that you decide you want backed up on the server and sync'd.
  B&N-purchased material is stored by B&N but they don't provide storage for non-B&N files.

  "Sideloading" non-Amazon apps is explained at the earlier article on how to sideload non-Amazon apps.

  I'll have more info on the more reliable sites to get good non-Amazon apps, in a future blog article.


Android Marketplace, which isn't readily available on either Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet
  Neither company allows access to the full, non-curated Android Marketplace.  And those of us who do use the Android Market via our other devices need to be careful about what we get there as malware/virus-infected files are proliferating in the Marketplace because they are not checked, at this point, by Google before being made available to the public. See:
  . Dec 23 article by ZDNet "More Trojanized games enter Google's Android Market app store."
  . Techworld's more-detailed article
  . A list of pulled malware in December, that was targeting Europeans.

  In the meantime, LinuxInsider has a story on Dec 20 titled, "Can Amazon Save Android from Malware Hell?"  They point out:

' Simply put, Amazon tests apps to death before letting them into its app store.  Every app submitted undergoes tests for various aspects of its performance.  There are linking tests, stability and functionality tests, tests on content issues and tests on security issues.

  Each aspect is tested in several ways.  For example, stability and functionality tests look to see whether an app opens within 15 seconds; whether it is compliant with the major carriers' networks; whether it freezes, has forced closings or exhibits other forms of instability; and how it reacts to phone calls, text messages, and alarms.

  Content issue tests look for missing content, unreadable text and incorrect graphics.   They also ensure the app complies with Amazon's content guidelines on offensive content, copyright infringement, illegal activities and other issues.

Security tests include making sure the app doesn't store passwords without the user's content, doesn't collect data and send it to unknown servers, and doesn't harm existing content on the device. '

They add that Apple puts apps through a tortuous approval process also, but adds that

'However, malicious content has slipped through because "the application reviews focus is on the end user experience, not end user security," Sutton pointed out.

Taking a more proactive stance on security, as Amazon has, would help secure Android apps better.

"Providing a known secure source for apps will greatly enhance the overall value of the app store, especially in the Android space where competing app stores exist -- an approach that Amazon appears to be adopting," Sutton concluded. '

Having said that, Amazon is known to be too controlling about what applications can be released, when it comes to whether users might like a particular app and can delay developer efforts by many months, including the time it takes to approve improved apps with features that users have requested, causing the creators to seem non-responsive to customers.


RE tiny fonts on WEBpages
Be sure to read the blog article here on how to enlarge web-page fonts and reflow the text for much more comfortable reading.


WiFi connection concerns
This is already too long, so I'll close this with some info on WiFi connection problems I've done some reading on, and I'll be back within the next day or two with some good new books and software for the Kindle Fire and e-Ink Kindle e-readers, in time for those with newly unwrapped Kindles.

  Common solution to some WiFi problems (from the forums)

' DiabetesDoc says:
Just got my KF, and it recognizes my wireless network, and a bunch of others. But when I try to access my wireless network (using the same cryptic series of letters & numbers as usual), it says "Unable to Connect to Wi-Fi Network" and despite tapping on "Keep Trying", it gets the same screen.  I've tried from 3 feet, 10 feet, and 30 feet from the wifi base, all with same results. What should I try next?

Addendum, 11/16/2011: My KF is now working fine. I turned off computer, modem, router, then back on (a trick mentioned to me by CS [Customer Support] and the KF came up w/o problem.

  [ and the next one from another message thread ]
Dec 17, 2011 6:23:13 PM PST
Old **Bah Humbug** Rocker says:

I had the WiFi issue 2 days ago and resetting my router did the trick. '

  NOTE: WiFi problems were seen by the thousands with the first iPad and then with the first NookColor.  It's often a combo of many factors, with a new device suddenly not connecting easily as the other devices had.

  A recommended router
 In my case, my Kindles had worked fine with the WiFi router but my NookColor would not connect most of the time and when it did it would drop out all the time.   I decided to try a new router and bought a Netgear N300 (mid-$-range type) and I've not had a problem since.

  There are better, more capable routers out there, but this was a relatively inexpensive one that works well for me, and I've not tried others because I've not had reason to look for one.
  For instance, there are dual-band routers that will isolate the two currently popular speeds so that slower ones won't slow down the newer type devices.


Important tips for navigating both Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire models
  . Tips for using Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire
  . Notes & tips on Kindle Touch
  . Browse the list of borrowable Prime Kindle books that new Kindle-device owners can download (only one per calendar month) without waiting and without due dates.  This is part of Prime, and new Kindle device customers get one month of Prime free.
  . Kindle Fire cases and a sleeve I like for the Kindle Touch + a GREAT mini speaker for the KFire.


Free Kindle Books guide
This blog's guide to finding free books for your Kindle from Amazon and elsewhere, plus prepared searches filtered by non-public-domain books (and vice versa) and sorted on published date, or bestselling, or highly rated.  It includes a way to find the lower-cost books also.


Articles or forum threads on the Kindle Fire
  . Kindle Fire Owners Love Their Tablet, Flaws and All.
  . Kindle Fire first impressions: Wow!
  . Taking Amazon's Kindle Fire on vacation
  . Kindle Fire's Volkswagon Moment
  . 12 things that kinda suck about the Kindle Fire
  . Is Fire's touchscreen responsive?
    I enjoyed one post that merely said, re the lighter touch that should be used,
    "B.Hart says:
"I have to keep reminding my husband it is a touch screen, not a thump screen. The lighter touch seems to work better."
  . A motorcyclists forum discussion about the Kindle Fire



VIDEO Demos that are especially illuminating
  (Kindle-Edition subscribers need to go to http://kindleworld.blogspot.com to click on video links - see entry for December 24.)
  . Video of MobileTechReview's thorough hands-on review/demo of the Kindle Fire
  . Video by reviewer djramsey shows how responsive the Kindle Fire can be with a lighter touch (and that was before the software upgrade).



Kindle Touch 3G   Kindle Touch WiFi   Kindle Basic   (UK: KBasic)   Kindle Fire
Kindle Keybd 3G   (UK: Kindle Keybd 3G)   K3 Special Offers   K3-3G Special Offers   DX

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Check often: Temporarily-free recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button

Kindle Tip for all Kindles (Images) + San Francisco Bay Area dark again

I realize this is all getting pretty old, and I agree. Sitting here in complete darkness for hours again is no fun.

Power came back about 5 times but not Comcast ... then Comcast said it would be back in a few hours and then all the electricity went out yet again.

Normally I'm here briefly with the Kindle 3 or what's known as the Kindle Keyboard (UK: KK), but my new Samsung Galaxy 3G now provides tethering and acts as a WiFi router for my Kindle Fire, so I'm coming in that way and it's faster.

However, all my notes for the blog are on the main computer so I'll need to start backing that kind of thing up from now on to a dropbox so I can pull them down as needed, as this happens too much in this area lately.

It IS amazing to me that a little phone can provide WiFi to the Kindle Fire though.

A SMALL KINDLE TIP FOR NOW:
Images -- on the various Kindles, when reading Kindle Books
One thing that the Kindles can do that most other e-readers can't, when you're reading an e-book, is to allow you to use a small picture in the book so that it fills the screen--very good if a photo was published in higher resolution as many are today.


Kindle 1 - Put your silver column-cursor next to the area that would be the center of the image and click on the scroll wheel.  It'll show you a pointing hand image in the center if it acts as a link to an Internet web site, and it will also display the magnifier/zoom-in icon that you can click on to enlarge the image to fill the screen.

  If it has text it'll be much easier to read and if the photo is in high enough resolution, you'll see more detail in general.  The feature was added some time after the Kindle 2's had it.  When you've finished viewing the image, pressing any key will exit the full-screen image.

Kindle 2 and 3 - With the direct screen access that came to Kindles with the release of Kindle 2, you can just move the screen cursor into the center of the image, which will then display what the Kindle 1 does. Click down on the 5-way navigation button when the cursor is on the magnifier icon.  Even the smallest picture will then fill the screen.  Then click any key to end the full-screen viewing.

Kindle 4 Basic - I don't have the Kindle 4 Basic but it probably works the way the Kindle 2 and 3 do. Let me know.

Kindle Touch
TOUCH procedures are quite different.  With the Kindle Touch, touching any area of the screen except the top edge -- which brings up options at top and bottom -- will merely take you to the next or previous page.

  As mentioned last week, touching the left side of the screen brings up the previous page, and touching from the the center area to the right edge takes you to the next page.  This segmenting of the screen surface favors those who use mainly the left hand for single-handed reading.

To enlarge a picture or illustration, you do a very light long-press (instead of the page-turning short press) until you see a reverse image (white info on dark, like a photo negative) and a magnifying glass appears.  Lightly tap the magnifying glass icon, and the picture will fill the screen.  To end it, tap anywhere on the screen.

Kindle Fire
With the Kindle Fire, while reading a book,  you can just double-tap an image and the KFire will put it into landscape mode if needed and center the image if it's too small to fill the screen.
  At that point, you can then pinch zoom the image [using two fingers on one point  on the surface and  spreading them apart to cause an expansion of the screen contents] to zoom in to see more detail.  When done, tap the 'X' at the top right corner.

Life in the Dark
WELL, as I was typing the Kindle Touch portion, my lights finally came on again.  Comcast was still down, and my computer screen said that the Cooling Fan was not responding, and it was hung up.  What a great night.

   Needing some kind of reward, I grabbed an ice cream, took a break and reset the computer, which apparently restarted the fan, and now Comcast is up.  So I'm finishing this on a nice computer keyboard, which I don't appreciate enough until I have to use a virtual keyboard on a tablet or a laggy physical keyboard attached to a tablet.

Sorry for all the delays.   Will definitely catch up on the free-books log of forum alerts and will get that back on a more regular basis.  But I also have more interesting tips coming up on slightly more esoteric matters.



Kindle Touch 3G   Kindle Touch WiFi   Kindle Basic   (UK: KBasic)   Kindle Fire
Kindle Keybd 3G   (UK: Kindle Keybd 3G)   K3 Special Offers   K3-3G Special Offers   DX

---

Check often: Temporarily-free recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button

Kindle Tips: for Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire

SOME TIPS PICKED UP FROM FORUMS, COMMENTERS HERE, AND SOME EXPERIMENTING

Re the Kindle Touch:
Be sure to see the first article on what you can do with some of the features on this unit, with basic tips on the changes and certain unexpected aspects encountered when using the Kindle Touch.

Encountering a screen with nothing but book text and no button icons
One thing for new users to be aware of -- you'll often be greeted with a screen of book text only, and with no clue about what to do.  I've seen that this has confused some reviewers who didn't spend enough time with the user's guide.  But it IS anti-intuitive to have no small icon anywhere to let people click to get to even a basic item like a menu.   I really like the Kindle Touch, but this has to be noted.

  Anyway, we're often finding ourselves with a page of just the text of a book (no headers or footers as with physical books) and no clues there as to what to do to get to something besides the Next and Previous page (by tapping on the left or right sides of the screen).  Note that the right 'side' or 'edge' is extended to near the center of the KTouch, probably so that a person holding the Kindle with the left hand will be able to reach the right 'edge' that way.

  When wondering "What do I do now?" (which happens to me still), here's the
  #1 action when you're reading a Kindle book on this ultra light unit.

  If you're not on the Home screen but are reading a book:
  Lightly press the top center part of the screen or the area to the left of center, and many options will come up, including the MENU button that will appear near the top right.

    If, instead you tap the middle area of the page, that will usually be interpreted by the Kindle Touch as a request for the Next Page because of the extended 'right side' that I mentioned above.

  The two most important buttons (for me)
The two most important buttons besides the dedicated, physical HOME button that looks like an air conditioning unit at the bottom of the screen are the ones seen after lightly pressing the top center of a book-text-only screen:

  . MENU -- This offers additional, important options that you don't see in the screen header and footer options that display after you press Menu

  . BACK ARROW ICON at the top left.
That makes sure you can get back to your last action before you jumped to the current page. That *doesn't* mean the last page you were on.  It means the last thing you jumped from (as in a link).
  In the case of a book I'm reading, it took me back to the Home screen, as it was the link action that took me to the book.

  NOTE: In the Kindle Store, the Back (arrow) indicator can get you back to the page of search results when you've searched on a book and have finished reading about one of them.

---

Summing up the basics
Main actions to remember:
  Home -- Top Center or Top Left Tap/Press -- Menu -- Back Arrow

  With those you'll have enough to 'safely' navigate around the Kindle Touch without getting the "What?!" experience (which I still get - because I'm exploring a new smart Android phone, the Kindle Fire, the Kindle Touch, and a larger tablet, all with somewhat different methods of navigation because the makers want theirs to be a unique experience.

  The possible upside?  Studies have shown that making ourselves learn new things, new methods, puzzling out odd situations -- any of that will help to protect us from dementia later on.  It's the equivalent of physical exercise, and the mind itself is physical.

It also helps when the makers remember it's better to avoid confusing the customer too much and to come up with consistent designs, where possible, in the interface.

---

OTHER TIPS
Making the small text on WEB pages and in PDFs readable, for the most part

  PDFs
  (The WEB portion of this section applies to the Kindle Fire also.

  Blog commenter Kristen B reminded us of something very important when trying to read two-column PDFs on a small 6" screen, which would have even smaller text.

There's an Android feature that allows for RE-FLOWING text when you enlarge or reduce the fonts, so that it adapts to the width of the space it's in.

  This works in different ways depending on the coding of the webpage, and I saw a video the other day in which a Samsung Galaxy S2 phone did re-wrap the text in a newspaper column, but the iPhone didn't, in that case.
  That ability to adjust the font and text-layout makes all the difference when trying to read tiny text on the web or in PDFs.  We've seen this as an everyday-thing when increasing or decreasing fonts in e-books.

  Kristen pointed out that when playing with a store demo of the Kindle Touch displaying a preloaded 2-column PDF file:

' I was able to "double tap" on 1 column of a 2-column PDF file (preloaded on the KT), and it zoomed to exactly fill the screen with that text.

  Then I could use the swipe or tap methods to advance through the document (properly... top left to bottom left, then top right, bottom right, next page) without any major hangups, though it did have trouble continuing to scroll past a table/figure in the document, but with just text it did great. '

  The earlier Kindles require doing a next-page, via the page buttons, to see the rest of one column and then page backward to see the top of the 2nd column, so this particular mode of handling two columns is considerably better.

  Also, in a PDF, you can also pinch-zoom to exactly where you want it, but as I've said before, it's a choppy, harder- to control function, and the double-tap method optimizes it for the longest line length. Also, some PDF makers create big margins and the Kindle software observes those, respecting the original layout too much.  I wish they'd handle that as they did the old, beloved Landscape mode on the Kindle2 and 3, trimming unnecessary large margins.  But, for now, there's no landscape mode with the Kindle Touch.  There IS Landscape mode for the Kindle Fire, which makes it much more readable.

  Apparently landscape mode wasn't made available because of the segmenting of areas that is done for the portrait mode, but a customer service rep told one Kindle owner that they were working on it.

  Web Page Text
Applying the method above to webpages with the usual tiny text on a 7" tablet

    Web forums usually have a column on the left identifying each message writer and a column for the post itself.

  Usually Android web browsers will auto-fit the width of the screen (they tend to default to that setting, which I like, so that I first see the original layout, but I can't read the text that way.

  Double tapping the screen can improve it, but the text may still be too small because the adjusting includes the left column that's of less interest usually.

    Important Web-Browser Setting: "Auto-fit pages"
    This web-settings box, if checked, formats web pages to fit the screen

    So, that box has to be checked for this to work.

Here's what to do:

1. Move the page with a finger or a stylus (the latter can be really helpful when typing) so that the message body is filling the screen -- even better, until it's expanded beyond the screen edges, too large for the screen area.

2. Double-tap the screen.
The software then keeps the font that chosen size but REFLOWS the text so that the message wraps and you can read it all in that larger font.  It's a great feature.

Blog commenter Tom Semple adds several other good tips also. Some of his finds and suggestions:

Changes:
1. "In addition to TTS ability for PDF, they have quietly added support for 'Table of Contents' (PDF bookmarks), and also PDF links! This makes PDF more navigable. Hopefully landscape will show up in an update."

2. In text to speech mode, the process pops up a dialog box when the user taps anywhere on the screen.

    The popup has options for male/female voices and 3 speed options as before, but you can see them while the text-to-speech is running..

3. A favorite of mine that Tom discovered does work in Kindle Touch after all.   On previous Kindles, when books are sorted by title on the Home screen, you can use the bottom search bar to type one alpha character (only), then click down on the 5-way controller button to jump to the first title that starts with that letter.  (If you forget and type more than one letter, the Kindle starts a search of the entire Kindle for that and it takes forever.)

  That method doesn't work with the KTouch.  Tom found that, on the KTouch, you can tap the "Page x of y" indicator at the top right to bring up a dialog box that lets you enter up to two alpha characters, to jump to the first title starting with those letters.

  It also lets you enter a Home listing page number so you can access it directly.
  For one thing, when the Home screen is sorted by "Most Recent Order" the 'Periodicals: Back Issues" folder created by Amazon for our subscriptions is on the last page, and you can jump to that page by putting the last page number in this dialog box.  There's another method to access the folder, and I'll add that at the end of this post.

  The User's Guide mentions that you can put in diacritics by holding a letter down and choosing one, which helps when typing in west european languages (where Amazon is opening up new stores).

  Shortcut for Screenshots: "Hold down the Home button and single-tap on the screen, continue holding Home for a second or two.  The screenshot is placed in the 'root' or top directiory of the Kindle."

  Screen Refresh (for the mild ghosting that happens when there is no refreshing done for the first 5 of 6 pages in order to load the pages more quickly and without a black flash on each page as happens with e-Ink).  Also, the very densely dark virtual keyboard leaves a bit of ghosting for the next page, though many won't notice it.
    To eliminate it, tap on the top center area or the top left of the screen, which brings up the many options (top and bottom) described eons ago at the start of this blog article.
  That will refresh the page.  Tap again to get rid of the option lines.  A double-click seldom works though.

  PDF page numbers - Actual page numbers show up (if they exist) when you press that center top or left top area.

  Some do have embedded page labels, but they may not match the actual page images due to lack of care during the PDF generation process.

FINAL TIPS
Home Screen's Shortcuts
1. Lightly pressing the home screen's header, "My Items," pops up a box to take
you directly to "Periodicals: Back Issues" or "Archived Items" folders.

2. Pressing or tapping the current sorting order allows you to change it without going to the menu.

Chapter Begin/End indicators
Also, in the Comments area we've discussed the Chapter indicators not being displayed anymore.  It's up to publishers to provide these, and not many of them seem to but when they do, it's very useful.

  For the books that have them, we don't see them, and the only way to find out whether the book we're reading has these or not, is to swipe up (as if rolling the bottom of the page up) or swipe down.  If the book has them, then we can go from chapter to chapter that way.

And, finally:
With both these units, but especially the Kindle Fire, a barely perceptible, very light press (more so than a tap) will be more likely to activate touchscreen responses.

Thanks to the blog's contributors to the Comments area for the good info.

Next time I'll include some ideas from Joe Golton and Edward Boyhan.



Kindle Touch 3G   Kindle Touch WiFi   Kindle Basic   (UK: KBasic)   Kindle Fire
Kindle Keybd 3G   (UK: Kindle Keybd 3G)   K3 Special Offers   K3-3G Special Offers   DX

---

Check often: Temporarily-free recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button

A set of Kindleworld's articles on the new Kindle models

ARTICLES ON NEW KINDLE, SO FAR

I've reorganized the Kindleworld website's "Articles on New Kindles" set found near the top of the Reference section in the right column of the article pages.

This blog entry is especially for those on Kindle Edition blog subscriptions, who wouldn't see this set in the Kindle-edition, which brings only the daily articles.  But it should also be helpful to those who don't have time to browse the Reference column at the website.

  On the Kindle editions of the blog, the new Kindles (and sometimes even the Kindle 3's) can click through most article links to access the linked articles without waiting an impossible time for page loads.

 With Kindle 2's or earlier, the load-times are pretty difficult.  All can of course also access articles, reference sets, and external links at the website ( kindleworld.blogspot.com ).

  Each time I draw attention to the free website, the blog loses Kindle-edition-blog subscribers who didn't know it exists :-) -- and it'd be helpful to blog subscribers if Amazon would add a link to the external website on all the Kindle editions.

  Thanks to all who support the site this way, and I'm hoping most subscribers will still see value in having the most-recent 25 blog articles at hand and searchable offline via the Kindle edition of the blog each day.

  Those with Kindle Touch's will find them several times faster for accessing the web than the keyboard models (faster processor and direct-access to links), which would be a big reason for Amazon's not offering free 3G web browsing on the new Kindles.   The speedup should be especially useful for those following links on the Kindle editions of blogs in general.

The list of Kindleworld articles on the new Kindle models
This listing is up to date as of today, and it'll be updated as it goes.  Am working on more tips on the still newish Kindles, as I've seen a lot of confusion in connection with what is offered on each, etc.

General
. Set of Kindleworld articles
    on new Kindles

. Prime's Lending Library:
    Rules; Borrowing;
    How to Browse List
. Prime gets current PBS
. Personal docs: Imprvmts
. Convert ePub to Kindle
. Edgerly on Kindle Event
. Intro Day, 9/28

Kindle Fire
. Tips: KFire and KTouch
. KFire cases/cvrs
. KFire rooted (Not needed)
. Non-Amzn apps: Sideload'g
. Software update v6.2
. Software update v6.1
   Kindle Fire
. Kindle Fire 1st reviews
. Nook Tablet vs Kindle Fire
. Amazon Q&A: Kindlefire
. Video demo: Kindle Fire
. Kindle Fire/Cloud facts
. Kindle Fire "on fire"
. More info on Kindle Fire

Kindle Touch
. Tips: KTouch and KFire
. Notes re Kindle Touch
. What is X-ray?
. Kindle Team re Kindle Touch
   3G web browsing
. KTouch 3G-Web'g or not?
. Notes: KTouch's 3G Web'g

Kindle Basic (NoTouch/NoKeybd)
. Video demo: $79 Kindle
. Software update v4.0.1
   Kindle Basic (NoTouch)
. User's Guide: $79 Kindle Basic


Kindle Touch 3G   Kindle Touch WiFi   Kindle Basic   (UK: KBasic)   Kindle Fire
Kindle Keybd 3G   (UK: Kindle Keybd 3G)   K3 Special Offers   K3-3G Special Offers   DX

---

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button

Kindle Touch (3G) - Unexpected aspects and a few changes noted (Updated)

While I had wanted to quick-blog first impressions after 12 hours with the Kindle Fire Wednesday (which I more than enjoyed despite minor reservations), I've been doing the forums and trading information.  There's always so much there that people find and relay.

  BUT -- my Kindle Touch 3G/WiFi arrived today, so I looked into that.

  And now I want to report on that first, due to a couple of unexpected items that impressed me.

   And there are several changes I want to highlight.

The known loss of the Free 3G Web-lookup feature
  Some, including me, have been disappointed that, unlike the 3G/WiFi Kindle 3 ("Kindle Keyboard") model and its much-appreciated free 3G webbing that's so useful when traveling -- locally even, but especially in countries where roaming charges for smartphones are sky-high --  the Touch models don't offer free 3G web lookups internationally as the older 3G Kindles did.  But I can see  now why Amazon decided not to offer it on the new Kindles.  I wouldn't either if I were paying for it.

Web browsing speed  (Web lookups are on WiFi-only, on the new models, except for accessing the  KindleStore and Wikipedia, the latter a really worthwhile feature when reading a book)

  The WiFi web-browsing, via my Comcast host and Netgear router, is actually usually quite fast with the 3G/WiFi SO (Special Offers) model.
  I don't mean just fastER than the often-slow but free Kindle 3 web lookups, which could be slow with WiFi also.   The new Touch model really can be very quick for an e-Ink device.  I was startled by it.

  When accessing web sites with the KTouch, you're often wisely taken to mobile versions of the web pages, but my over-long, over-imaged, site came up in normal desktop format 10x faster than it would before. 

  This is especially good for Kindle-Edition subscribers who are needing to follow a Kindle subscription blog link to information on another site. 

When I went to the simple, text-focused drudgereport.com, it of course came up fairly quickly, but I was surprised to see, when I clicked on a Telegraph (UK) story, that the whole thing came up suddenly -- it must have been pre-fetched by the webkit browser.

  New York Times web page as an example
   Accessing Amazon's bookmark'd NY Times site, in its print-newspaper layout, it comes up pretty fast!, but with the full page seen in portrait mode on a little screen, so it's not readable.  The zoom-box that used to be there to bring up sections so that we can read them is gone.

   Instead, we can pinch-zoom on an area and it brings up a much more readable version of that, and we can then click a link to a story that is readable while showing the whole width of a column or columns as appropriate plus side stories.   If that's not good enough, you can pinch-zoom THAT and it can look really good!  But if that's still not good enough, then choose Menu to select "Article Mode" which puts it in a highly readable layout that's very pleasant to read but which, as said elsewhere here, doesn't offer the links from the article.
   The Article Mode reformats a story into single-report form, usually with a small photo at the top. 

The processor used in the Touch models is a faster one, and the Touch method's advantage for webbing is that it gives direct access to clickable links, so there's no added time involved in moving the older 5-way controller up, down, and sideways to active hyperlinks (and each cursor movement meant a slowing-down refresh of part of the screen).   Much as I appreciate the free 3G web-lookups of the previous model when I'm outside the home, these changes are very nice.  (But it's still my Kindle 3 I'll be carrying with me outside since I can almost never find unprotected WiFi anymore, outside.)


Pressing or tapping on a screen area
  TIP:   The lightest possible keypress to bring up a menu or dialog box will work best -- even when lightly tapping for a page turn or on a link.  That doesn't seem intuitive but I found this works more reliably than using more pressure.  That's true even when doing a long-press that is used to to bring up an option box.  And it's true for the Kindle Fire also.

  On the other hand, the e-Ink keyboard input is more resistant than it is on LCD, which means less errors from a light touch.  My Kindle Fire keyboard, though, is so non-resistant that I can just hover over a key and it registers (dangerous, so I turned off 1-click buying).   That's been true of my 7" NookColor tablet too.

The 3G web browser's "New Window" link problems on previous Kindles
  The one thing that frustrated many of us 3G web users in the past was that Amazon had decided NOT to have the keyboard Kindles open links that used "New Window" processes.

  This has meant that Facebook and Twitter links recommended by people could not be used, although we could see messages to us and reply to them.  The recommended links, however, were lifeless.

  I always felt Amazon did not want to encourage our exploring all those links and staying on Facebook and Twitter through the day, as that could really cost them, with free 3G program (for us) paid by them.

  They had decided at some point to let Kindle Edition Blog-subscribers click through links requiring 'New Window' from a Kindle'd blog -- customers pay for subscriptions and I think they felt it was a service they should give, since blogs tend to have many links in them and can be worthless if people can't use them.

  But that was the only circumstance, that I know of, under which they allowed "New-Window"-links to be clicked through and the user taken to the new site.  Facebook and Twitter remained still-lifes for links.

With the new Kindle Touch, the Facebook and Twitter webpages are now useable for the links people are busily recommending at those popular sites.

Complex website-pages
   However, the Kindle Touch web browser can't handle a ridiculously heavy page like Huffington Post.
  It never loads.   I tried Overdrive (for public libraries), and it now lets me through the 'New Window' problems I used to have but that is a super-slow site for some reason. They should have a mobile version available for it.  It's too slow even for the new Touch Kindle.

NO Landscape mode on this
This mode has been crucial for web pages and for PDFs with the previous Kindles, giving the ability to expand the width and size of content.
  The default for the new Kindle Touch  is to show you the full web page and fit it to the width of the small 6" screen.  So, the words are unreadable that way, but putting the device into Landscape mode on the older models has helped with those.

  The earlier models with keyboards have Zoom boxes that let you zoom into areas to read the type (awkward but doable) and then you can choose 'Article Mode' from the Menu to read the article as very-readable text although that deactivates links in that mode, so  the zoom-in and pinch-zoom versions can be better to use if you want to follow article links.

  For more details on how to handle this, see the paragraph above on accessing a New York Times article and how that's changed from the Kindle 3.  It'll work for this.


Image zoom-ins - on web pages
Kindles 2 and 3 allow zooms to full-page by clicking in the center.  Kindle 1 allows it by moving the sliding silver column cursor to the line and choosing to enlarge the image to full screen.

  On the new Touch Kindles, this is now done, when WEB-browsing,  by pinch-zooms -- 2 fingers are used to expand the material seen or shrink it back.  I hadn't expected this on e-Ink e-readers but it works.

   It's choppy and difficult to control but when it's done for a full webpage  it does expand the material so that you can read sections of it enlarged. 

Image zoom-ins - in normal e-books
For normal e-books, a pinch-zoom actually enlarges the font size!  And any photos.
  This is normally done with the Aa -choice (for 'Aa keys on earlier Kindles) that is now found at the bottom of a book's footer if you press the area at the top line, which brings up options such as the old GoTo, which is now missing from the regular book Menu and I'd wondered where it was.

  So, at the bottom, you can get  Aa (fonts),  Go To,  and  Sync by pressing an area near the top.
  Also at the bottom are the Location #, the Page #,  and the percentage of the book that's still unread.

  At the top line, there's  1) a Back-arrow that corresponds to the old "Back" button,  2) a shopping cart,  3) a search box for searching the book, and  4) the Menu of options.
  There's also a line up there for  1) the activity-indicator (spins),  2) the title of the book that's open,  3) a wireless-activity indicator (including what type of wireless is being used) and  4) the current time.

    I really like that you can enlarge the font size by just doing a pinch-zoom.

PDFs
  I haven't found much in the User's Guide about PDFs, but trying it out I see that these are treated the way books are.  You don't scroll down the page if there's more, you page left and right.

  Pinch Zooms are used to enlarge a page, including both the fonts and images on the page.
I saw this on a PDF I made from taking images and text from the web and saving it in Word Doc to read later, on the Kindle.   But I saved it as a PDF.  So, this is a text-based PDF.

  I wondered where Adjustment of Contrast is now chosen, as the Aa font menu is no longer findable.  The Contrast Adjustment is selectable from pressing the top line area and pressing Menu at the top right.  It's called, simply, 'Contrast.'

  'Turn on Speech'
  That's also found under the top-right Menu.

   Go to...   for PDFs, this is also found under the Menu.

  This is all easier than selecting zoom-box areas or "150%  200%  300%" sizes as was done before.  It's a gradual zoom controlled by the fingers now.

Overall Speed + choosing Kindle books from my other Kindles
I quickly chose, from my Archived Items folder, about 100 titles to use for exploring the new system, and they included a couple of very large encyclopedias to test how the device would handle having to download them from Amazon and index them for keywords.  I then used Menu to "Import Collections"

  With this unit, I was able to tap one item after another, lickety split, without needing to use 'back' button and it kept up with me.   There's no slowness felt and I was able to do things on the unit while it downloaded the many items I chose for the new Kindle

Kindle Model Designations.
Kindle 1's have 1.x.x software versions; Kindle 2's have 2.x.x versions, and Kindle 3's use version 3.x.x.
They were also called first, second, and third generations.

  It seems the Kindle BASIC (NoTouch/NoKeyboard - $79) uses software version 4.x.x and
  Kindle Touch uses software version 5.x.x

  So, we are sort of looking at the 5th generation Kindle with these Touch models.

  Identifying software versions is now done under Menu/Settings/Device Info (which is scarily right next to the Reset to Factory Default option -- so touch-press carefull when in that Menu, even if they have a safety "Are you sure?" which I did not try  :-).

Kindle Touch Special Offers - Or Without Special Offers
It's hard to know how we will react to any kind of ad.  I've resisted them because I don't want to see them near my personal time with books.  I want to be away from the madding ad crowd.

  Nevertheless, I also don't throw my money away and have read that many actually like the Special Offers and the screensleeper  ads were not bothering them.  I have to say that they are designed very well, all have a classy look so far, and have not bothered me, not even in the lowest slot of the Home page. 

  BUT if they ever do, I've found that at the ManageYourKindle pages, there is an option to "Unsubscribe" from Special Offers by paying the $40 difference between the cost of the two models (the choices of With and Without Special Offers).

Anyway, this was a very nice surprise.  I ordered it only because I should report on it :-) and be able to answer questions, etc.  It's light but we knew that.  However, its small size seemed to make my left hand less comfortable with it, almost cramped, and I felt I'd have to get a case for it pronto, as it would be easier to hold that way.

  I got used to it though.  As for the ads/special offers, whoever directs that does a good job.

Going from one chapter to another, if the publisher used that feature
In the past, if the progress bar (which no longer exists that I can find) showed markers indicating new chapter, we could navigate to each one with a press-right on the 5-way button.
Now we can't see markers like this, that I can find (let me know if you find these), but you can swipe up or swipe down to get to next or previous chapters, respectively.  I saw this work in 'Cleopatra' by Stacy Schiff.

Collections
They've finally alphabetized Collections -- we no longer have to do workarounds, although, as of now, unless a future update fixes it, the Kindle 2 and Kindle 3 Collections remain unalphabetized, a decision I'll never understand, so if we're still using earlier models, the workaround has to stay.

Text contrast against screen background
The Kindle 3 is wonderful in this regard, and I had been puzzled to see how greyish the Nook Simple Touch fonts seemed when I visited BN and tried every font face, type and size.

  It was a disappointment for some on the BN forums too but they have just done an update to the Nook Simple Touch that is said to change this so that fonts, text, foreground images are darker when appropriate and the contrast is good now.

  I'd been worried about the screen contrast, after reading a NY Times article that said the Kindle screen programmers had been having some difficulty getting the screen contrast the way they wanted, a few months ago.  But what I see in my Kindle Touch is what I've seen on the Kindle 3, so those getting either company's e-reader will be very happy with that aspect.



Kindle Touch 3G   Kindle Touch WiFi   Kindle Basic   (UK: KBasic)   Kindle Fire
Kindle Keybd 3G   (UK: Kindle Keybd 3G)   K3 Special Offers   K3-3G Special Offers   DX

---

Check often: Temporarily-free recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button


\

Laptop Magazine's Guide to Sideloading Apps on the Kindle Fire. A note on ePub support on the Kindle Fire. First KindleFire reactions

At Twitter, @merralin tweeted today a really useful article at Laptop Magazine, by Avram Piltch, on "How to Sideload apps on the Kindle Fire" - an illustrated, step-by-step guide.

  I imagine this Laptop Magazine article will be a very popular one with Kindle Fire owners :-)

  (Also see the later article with a bit more on rooting (not needed) and sideloading of app files,.

Piltch explains:
 " The built-in App store on the Kindle Fire offers a decent selection, but it doesn’t have everything.
   For example, you can’t download Tweetdeck or TripIt, or alternate browsers like Opera Mini or Firefox.    While Google’s Android Market is off limits to Kindle Fire owners, you can install apps that aren’t available on Amazon’s store by transferring them via USB (also known as sideloading)."

  And then he shows the steps (although he assumes you already have the APK program file --  the latter is briefly addressed in an excerpt that I've included below from yesterday's blog article on Kindle Fire reviews.

Laptop Magazine' guide on Kindle Fire sideloading expands, in a big way, on what I had read in reviews yesterday, and I'll add some of that here, as the subject is buried in the 9 reviews blogged yesterday, and there's a mention of  adding an APK program file.
  I recommend caution, especially if you're new to the Android scene.

  From PC Magazine's Sascha Segan who describes generally how apps can be accessed with the Kindle Fire, even if not found at the Amazon Appstore for Android (but if found there, that version would generally work better with the Kindle Fire):

' A few apps I looked for, like Opera Mobile, weren't there, but there's another way to get apps onto the device.

This is still Android, and this tablet isn't locked down.  Plug the Kindle Fire into a PC or Mac and it pops up as a disk drive; you can drag and drop files into the 6.5GB of available memory at will.  For the tech-savvy, it's a simple task to extract any APK program file from an Android phone and drop it onto the Fire.  Amazon's app store includes the free Easy Installer[*], which lets you then install those apps on the Fire.

I installed a dozen free and paid apps from my HTC Sensation 4G ($199, 4 stars) phone...[several apps were named at the full article... all worked fine.   the Gmail app and the official Facebook app (which I sideloaded) both crashed and wouldn't run during my test period.  Amazon hasn't yet expressed any problem with users rooting this device, so hack away. '

I added a quote from Segan from one of his earlier articles:

' [In fact, Amazon Silk Browser project director, Jon Jenkins, has said they're not actively stopping people from rooting it, just not helping them with it.  "It's going to get rooted, and what you do after you root it is up to you..."   Sascha Segan (who got that quote earlier) continues...]
Curiously, the Barnes & Noble Nook Android app runs beautifully if you prefer that store's book selection, although it can't download or read books that are restricted to the actual Nook tablets like most childrens books.
'

Also, Chicago Sun-Times's Andy Ihnatko had mentioned in his review:

'...boatloads of onboard storage [being] far less important to a Kindle Fire user than it is to a Nook user, thanks to the Fire’s intimate connection to Amazon’s cloud services.  8 gigs is enough for several books, a few movies, a couple of TV shows, several hundred songs, and a pile of photos.

  That might not necessarily be enough to last you a couple of weeks, but it’ll certainly last until you find yourself near a hotspot and can swap out the stuff you’re sick of for some alternatives.  [Only 6.5 Gigs are available for consumer files though.]

You can tick a checkbox in its Settings to allow the Fire to run apps downloaded from any arbitrary source (such as, downloading from a website or an independent repository) '

  [*] When installing the APK program on the Kindle Fire, Laptop Magazine's Sascha Piltch used the Android file manager ES File Explorer on the Kindle Fire, as you can see in his illustrated guide.  It's the one I use too on my Android tablet.   Ihnatko mentions using "Easy Installer" from Amazon's appstore.

As for getting an APK program file from your current Android device (phone, another Android tablet), if you really want to use an app install file (which might not be altogether compatible with your specific device), google lists places that offer them if you don't have one on another Android device already.

CAUTION Remember that you should find a way to make sure that the file has been checked by a group the community trusts, as there is malware in many files offered or uploaded.  So there's a risk involved.  Don't go downloading any APKs from just anywhere.  Amazon checks out their files of course. 
I'd check out the MobileRead Kindle forum on this type of thing.


Experiencing any lag time on the Kindle Fire?
A Kindle forum thread started by someone who was experiencing this, (Richard S., indicates it's not a common problem with people getting theirs today, but the person who had the problem rebooted his Kindle Fire and he posted
"NEVERMIND GUYS, I rebooted my kindle and now it's running like a boss :)"


EPUB on Kindle Fire
And slightly off the topic, Ihnatko mentioned another aspect of apps for the Kindle File - an answer for many who ask whether the Kindle Fire will be able to access ePub books (and some good 3rd-party apps make this doable for Android devices in general)  Ihnatko writes:

' I now have what I’ve always wanted: a Kindle that can open and read ePUB books.  Mantano even supports Adobe DRM . . . so at least in theory, the Kindle Fire can even import the books you might have bought from a competing digital shop, such as the Google eBookstore.
...
Finally, there’s an Android-based tablet computer that people can justly get excited about. '

  So, note that ePub books even with Adobe DRM (digital rights management) applied are also supportable in this way.


FIRST REPORTS on Kindle Fire coming in (and shipments talk too)
See earliest reactions at the Kindle Forum.



Kindle Touch 3G   Kindle Touch WiFi   Kindle Basic   (UK: KBasic)   Kindle Fire
Kindle Keybd 3G   (UK: Kindle Keybd 3G)   K3 Special Offers   K3-3G Special Offers   DX

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Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

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