Kindle for Mac and PC apps get updates, with Collections and Shelfari features - UPDATE

"Updates for Kindle for PC (v1.6.1) and for Mac (v1.6.2) now available

The update for the Mac was announced two days ago, the PC update earlier.  They both add the Collections feature.

UPDATE - Nate at The Digital Reader has been having problems with the Kindle for PC update and points to others reporting the same at MobileRead Forum the first days of August.  At that site, HarryT provides a link to HippoFiles' list of downloadable files for earlier versions for anyone having trouble with the latest v1.6.1 install.  [End of Update]

  If you've not made any Collections for your Kindle yet, see my basic guide to making Kindle Collections (which are like folders, but are done through 'tags' the way gmail 'folders' are).

  Shelfari features have also been added in both updates.  What is Shelfari?  It began as Tastemakers Inc., the focus of which was to create a social networking service for avid readers.

  Amazon acquired the company in Aug 2008 (the month I got my Kindle 1) and Shelfari "continues to function as an independent book social network within the Amazon.com family of sites."

  You can download the updates at the two product pages linked above.  Mine WAS on automatic update but would not install on its own, so I went through the Download new update process at the "Kindle for..." app page.

From the Amazon Kindle Customer Service Q&A Forum, the following thread:

' Initial post: Aug 16, 2011 10:24:46 AM PDT

Amazon Kindle Customer Service says:
(AMAZON OFFICIAL)
Kindle for Mac is a free application that lets you read Kindle books on your computer with Mac OS 10.5 or higher, including Mac OS X Lion.

The latest version of Kindle for Mac includes:

* Collections: Organize your content into collections, and import your existing collections.
* Easy Shelfari access: Quickly add to the community-powered encyclopedia for book lovers

To download and install the application, visit this page:

www.amazon.com/kindleformac

Best Regards,

Trevor L.
Amazon Kindle Customer Service '

Here are a couple of customer replies to that thread, with more info from their perspective:

' ShirleyKat says:
Thanks for posting this.  My Kindle for Mac had updated automatically within the last week and was dead in the water.  I deleted everything associated with Kindle for Mac and installed it again.  It would run but not make contact with Amazon.

Today, seeing this announcement, I started the program again and it automatically updated and now it makes contact with Amazon.  Not only that, but I'm seeing current dates instead of the old December 1969 date.

It's looking good. I'm on Leopard, OS 10.5.8. '

and

' Kenneth Jennings says:
AT LAST!

I've downloaded it on both my MacBook Pro 17" and MacBook Air 11", and both are running just fine.  I simply deleted the old app, installed 1.6.2 from here (Amazon), and I'm as pleased as can be.  I now have my dictionary back, as well as the Collections I built on my Kindle, and the ability to create unique Collections on my other Macs (which will come in handy since one is very work-related).

Thanks Amazon '

The Kindle for PC update also had some problems at first, so I've gone back to automatic-update Off in my Kindle for PC app (Tools/Options).

Kindle for PC
The Amazon Kindle for PC and for Mac product-pages have the same wording to describe the new features:

  . Support for collections allows you to take control of your Kindle library and organize your books with ease.
  . Book Extras by Shelfari.  Access character descriptions, important places, popular quotations, themes, and book-specific glossaries from Shelfari, the community-powered encyclopedia for book-lovers.

The previous update for each of the apps included several new features which are also described on the current product-pages.  An important one is "real page numbers for thousands of books in the Kindle store."

Both added earlier a German language version of Kindle for PC for customers purchasing content from the Amazon.de Kindle Store, and that version includes instant dictionary word lookup using the Duden Deutsches Universalwörterbuch.

Sorting of Collection titles
On the Kindle device, Amazon did not make Collection titles sortable by alpha character, for some reason.
  Some of us add a symbol, then, in front of a title -- mine is {  and then we sort the Home screen listing by Title instead of by Collection to see them alphabetically -- the downside being that the individual books also show up under the Collection-titles shown in alpha order at the top.

 That's okay with me because I can, if I want, just press the key for the FIRST character of a book-title (no more than one character) and press Click on the 5-way, and am taken to the book titles that start with that character.  If you click on more than one character, it instead searches the entire Kindle for that sequence of alpha-character which means a very long waiting time and a humongous listing of uninteresting Finds.  So it's important to type only the first character of a book-title when jumping to the section for that part of the alphabet.

  Kindle for PC (probably the one for Mac too)
  You can't sort the Collection titles at all.  I can't believe they again left no way to sort them alphabetically.  But at least we have a folder-type way to organize our ebooks.



Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's)   K3 Special ($114)   K3-3G Special ($139)   DX Graphite

---

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.

New Kindle for PC Update w/ Real Page Numbers & Touch for Win7 Tablets

The Kindle for PC page has again been updated (see features of original, basic Kindle for PC) with the following new features:

Download the new version to enjoy these new features.

• Real Page Numbers
  See real page numbers for thousands of books in the Kindle Store. Now you can easily reference and cite passages, and read alongside others in a book club or class.
• Popular Highlights
  See what our community of Kindle readers think are the most interesting passages in your books.  If several other readers have highlighted a particular passage, then that passage will be highlighted in your book.
• Touch for Windows 7 Tablets
  Enjoy a touch-friendly interface on Windows 7 tablet computers.

As with all of our services, we plan to continue improving Kindle for PC.  Below are some features we are thinking about bringing to Kindle for PC in the near future:

• Library Management
  A new way to manage and organize your content

Here's an image of how they implemented the Page numbers display that are included with Locations display for the computer version of Kindle.

The PREVIOUS big update in November added these features:

* Use the built-in dictionary to seamlessly look up the definitions of
    English words without interrupting your reading.
* Read in the standard one-column mode or take advantage of a larger screen
    with a multi-column view, which will automatically adjust
    according to your screen size. [ Very slick. ]
* Choose whether you'd like to browse your library in a tile view or in a list view.

Examples of normal one-column book page mode and the multi-column view:
By the way, in the November changes that allow us to view by covers or by a detailed text listing, we have new sorting options:

  1. TEXT listing: Sort by TYPE (New or Sample, at the top or bottom)
  2. TEXT & COVER: Sort by LENGTH of book.

UPDATE, later same day
Les Bell posted in the Amazon forum the following:

' ... the problem seems to have been resolved - I just downloaded the latest version of K4PC [1.4.1 (31629)] and it seems to be displaying math & Greek characters correctly - albeit the book (Modeling and Reasoning with Bayesian Networks...) is displaying in a sans serif font, rather than the serif font I believe it was in previously. '

As before, the Kindle team says they'd like to hear from Kindle for PC users.
  "You can send them to the Kindle team at kindleforpc-feedback@amazon.com or via the feedback form available in the application - we'd love to hear what you think"


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

---

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

Kindle for PC Update ready. GiveKindleBooks report by Thomas Palmer

The Kindle for PC page has again been updated (see features of original, basic Kindle for PC) with the following new features:

* Use the built-in dictionary to seamlessly look up the definitions of
    English words without interrupting your reading.
* Read in the standard one-column mode or take advantage of a larger screen
    with a multi-column view, which will automatically adjust
    according to your screen size. [ Very slick. ]
* Choose whether you'd like to browse your library in a tile view or in a list view.

I don't know when the Kindle  (UK: K3) Search feature was added, but it's there now and very speedy.

Being a keyboard-shortcuts type (speedier for me and avoids repetitive mouse/arm movements), I especially like the keyboard shortcuts they made available in the prior update.

The general Kindle for PC Help webpage is easily reachable through the app's Help option, and the most helpful sections for day-to-day functions, can be found under the Using Kindle for PC page.

  The Navigation icons are explained under Using the Reading Tool Bar section which also details the three methods for turning pages.

  The highlighting and notes guide is at the Using Highlights and Notes section.

At the Future Improvements page for this app (easily reachable from the app's Help menu's Future Improvements choice), Amazon tells us what they are thinking of bringing to the app in the "near future."

* Library Management
    A new way to manage and organize your content

As before, the Kindle team says they'd like to hear from Kindle for PC users.
  "You can send them to the Kindle team at kindleforpc-feedback@amazon.com or via the feedback form available in the application - we'd love to hear what you think!"


HOW THE NEW GIVE-KINDLE-BOOKS FEATURE WORKS - BY THOMAS PALMER
While browsing the Amazon Kindle Community Forums, I saw a posting by Thomas Palmer describing what he experienced using the new feature to gift himself a Kindle book and letting us know what we should expect.  For those of you who don't do the forum scene, here is his write-up

' Thomas Palmer says:
OK folks, I just tested it.  I used one of the books in my Kindle Wishlist to test it out. (I already wanted it so what the heck, gifting it to myself. ;) )

When you buy it as a gift you are sent to a new type of shopping cart page where you can enter in the recipients email address, their name, your name and some text for the gift email that will be sent.
  You are asked to log in again if you have not already fully logged in (like when you normally use the shopping cart) If you went to the book through the person's Kindle Wishlist the email address is already filled in.

[ Note by Andrys: Gifters cannot see the recipient's email address though. ]

It looks like you can send it to anyone even if the book isn't available in their country as well.  The fine print on the gift order page says "Title availability may vary by country.  If this title isn't available for your gift recipient, we will exchange your gift for an equivalent value Amazon.com gift card."

Your order receipt will list it as "[Kindle Gift Purchased]" instead of "[Kindle Edition]".  The recipient will get an e-mail from Amazon with the subject "Amazon.com: A Gift from Thomas Palmerþ", with your name instead of mine of course. ;)
  The body of the email is designed like a little gift box with the book you gifted them in it, your name and the message text you wrote down when you ordered it.  It includes a link that says "Get your Kindle Book Gift Now".

When the recipient clicks on that link they are sent to a new type of Kindle Book product page.  The main part of the page is the same as the book's normal product page, but now the top of the page says "Accept Your Kindle Book Gift", it again gives the senders name and message, and the buy box on the right side has an "Accept Kindle Gift" button instead of the "Buy Now" button.  It has the same drop down Kindle selection box as normal.

It also has the standard "Send Sample Now" box as well.  I guess so the recipient can check the book first to see if they want it.  While the buy box doesn't have a button to not accept the gift, the "How does this work?" link informs the recipient that they can exchange the gift for a gift card by contacting customer service and referencing the gift order number, which it also gives them.

The "How does this work?" link also gives them links to pages about the Kindle apps and the Kindle devices in case they are "new to Kindle".

Once you click on the "Accept Kindle Gift" you get a confirmation page and the book is sent to the Kindle you selected in the drop down box and it's added to your Kindle account, just like any other Kindle book you order. '

It's worth noting that you cannot gift any of the free Kindle books.  As someone else noted, if you really want someone to see or read a specific free Kindle book, just send them the link.

Also, for convenience, here again is the tiny FAQ at the givekindlebooks page posted yesterday:

'

Frequently Asked Questions about Giving Kindle eBooks

• Do I have to own a Kindle to give or receive a Kindle ebook as a gift?
  No. Kindle ebooks can be given and received by anyone with an e-mail address.  Kindle ebooks can be read either on Kindle or on your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, or Android Phone using one of our free reading apps.

• What if the recipient doesn't like or want their gift?
  Kindle ebooks received as gifts can be exchanged for Amazon.com gift cards.

• Are all Kindle ebooks eligible to be given as gifts? All ebooks available for purchase in the Amazon.com Kindle Store can be given as gifts. '

The Kindle forum discussion on this feature may be of interest to some of you, as there are people who'd rather not be getting Kindle books as gifts and there are more people who are building their public Wish Lists to make it easier for friends and family :-)


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

---

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