Updates for KindleFire's Scrabble and Solitare apps, 976 more free books, unusual history special on Kindle Daily Deal today

SCRABBLE FOR KINDLE FIRE UPDATED TO ADD SINGLE-PLAYER MODE

  There have been 280 customer reviews of Scrabble for Kindle Fire and a full 80 of them are rated only 1-star because Electronic Arts did not provide a single-player mode at first.  What were they thinking?

  As of December 19, the single-player mode was added, and the latest reviews reflect this  (Link: amzn.to/kfscrabble ) and are very positive.  Since I used to be a Scrabble addict, this is bad news for me.  The updated Scrabble app is downloadable at no added charge, of course, for those who purchased it earlier.  (Link: amzn.to/kfscrabble-dl )  The price is $0.99.


Solitare v1.1.4 for Kindle Fire, by MobilityWare, has been updated for customizable designs and bug fixes, and is $0.00

  Currently, Android apps are still U.S. only.



Unusual Kindle Daily Deal today - Three history books by Stephen Ambrose
As the Amazon editors say,
  "Today only, three top-rated American history books from the inimitable historian Stephen E. Ambrose are just $1.99 each."  All were $9.99 Friday, have a discount of $8 each today (Saturday), and are then priced today at $1.99 each 80% off
 Here are the details and links to each of the 3 books.  Two of them have hundreds of reviews and are ranked at 4.5 stars, and the third one has 65 reviews averaging 4.3.



The flood of free Kindle books continues
Friday morning, brought 356 more newly released temporarily-free books after Thursday's 294 books, and members of the forum in which Joyce and, sometimes AnnieB, announce these alerts, are trying to help filter them by posting the titles (and links) for the ones that most interested each of them from all those listed.
And now, Saturday morning, we have another 326 books! and already the forum members have listed some that stood out for them.


Discounted/Price-Dropped alerts on Kindle books
The latest, since I last linked to this message thread are from Dec 29 until today.

Happy 2012 to All!


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

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Free Kindle books from Konrath and Crouch, 23 each, for one more day. Other free books and promos. Update: Millions of Kindle Fires + Millions of Kindle ereaders purchased, two Indy authors #1 and #4

Happily satiated with so many free Kindle books

Danish Polar Bear Cub Siku lies in bliss after just being fed, and it reminded me (okay, I just needed an excuse to post that picture!) of Kindlers after downloading so many free books each day lately (although I've seen that some are actually exhausted by the sheer number of them and the choices to be made).
  (For the others interested, here's the story and video for Siku. Kindle edition subscribers can't do video but can use the following link at a computer: bit.ly/blissed-out-siku )
  One more: an even better Siku videoclip (1-1/2 min.) (Link: bit.ly/siku-2 )

I actually ran across a Daily Mail comment that makes Siku almost on-topic :-)


Back to the many free Kindle books available lately
And now, J.A. Konrath and Blake Crouch offer a few more.
Two days ago, at 9:35 AM, December 27, the bestselling author J.A. Konrath announced:

' I've sold 7000 ebooks in the last 36 hours, making over $14,000.

For the next three days, I'm making 23 of my titles free on Amazon Kindle. '

He added that "Blake Crouch is doing the same" and then linked us to their general pages of books.

  Since there is only ONE DAY REMAINING (I tweeted this but then was not here most of the time to blog it) I'm giving two links that will lead straight to the free 23 books for each, heading lists of their books, sorted low-to-high price.  The "next three days" would end Thursday night (tonight) or at 9:35am Friday morning.  I'd go for midnight tonight to be sure you get them while they're free.

  J.A. Konrath's 23+ free  Kindle books [ Update 12/31/11 - That sale is now over.]

  Blake Crouch's 23+ free Kindle books [ Update 12/31/11 - That sale is now over.]


UPDATE - Am adding that Amazon just announced that "Amazon customers purchased millions of Kindle Fires and millions of Kindle e-readers" in what they describe as "...the Best Holiday Ever for Kindle"

  So you'll see the news sites quoting the numbers galore for a few days.

  They also mention a nice side effect: "Authors also continue to benefit from the success of Kindle — the #1 and #4 best-selling Kindle books released in 2011 were both published independently by their authors using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)."

  Darcie Chan, the author of ‘The Mill River Recluse,’ and Chris Culver, the author of ‘The Abbey,’ wrote "two of the best-selling Kindle books of the year."
  I remember noticing The Mill River Recluse, on August 25, when looking for a good, low-cost book to highlight for blog readers and the same for The Abbey, on August 30.  Sometimes, a high number of positive customer reviews, along with low-negative counts, will indicate very high interest.
  See the press release for quite a bit more detail.


Today's Kindle Daily Deal
This particular link will always get you the current deal, ending midnight each day. (mostly U.S.)
  Today's is Margaret Atwood's infamous and uplifting (just kidding) "The Handmaid's Tale" which was priced at $8.99 yesterday but, with a $7.50 discount today (Wed., 29th), is $1.49 83% off


In the meantime, what about the daily free Kindle books?
  Here's this morning's announcement, by the Kindle Forum's Joyce, of the latest release of (294) free Kindle books.  She of course is not listing each one when there are so many but is referring you to one of the sites she uses when collecting the titles and it's the one with a lot of information for each book although it then takes some time to go through them.
  When wanting to browse the latest titles faster although with less detail upfront (more will show in popups when hovering over one) try EReaderIQ.


Discount Alerts from the Kindle Forum
 Haven't had time to keep up with all the free books and discount alerts, but here's the latest page of the discounted and dropped-price alerts from the forum community, and you can work back if interested in earlier pages.


Don't forget Amazon's LtdTime Free Kindle Book Promos or Amazon's mostly 99c Kindle books page.


Ongoing popular discussions   (See Kindle Forums for more.)
  . Are you sorry you bought a Fire?   Newer
  . Kindle Fire for nonTech person?
  . Kindle Fire Keyboard.. Anyone else having issues?
  . Any happy Kindle Touch owners?
  . Kindle Fire video on airplane compared with iPad video, a tense thread :-)
  . Got my Fire!
  . Feel like almost crying - Kindle loss and personalizing Kindles - lighthearted
  . Unusual calls from Amazon because of forum posts
  . Personal docs now sendable to individual Kindles again
  . To Avoid Confusion, Please Use the Official Product Names in Forum" [entertaining]
  . Discussion of geographic restrictions on digital purchases
  . Discount-alert books discussed on separate message thread
  . What have been your favorite public domain books that are not so well known?
  . Best "Free" books you've read (many are no longer free, however).
  . Highly recommended Indie authors
  . Unique Uses of Kindles

Other current forum threads that might interest some
Public Library Lending questions at the forums, and Lendle's Kindle borrowing
  . How many e-books does your public library have?
  . Public librarians: what has been your Kindle/Overdrive experience?



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

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Beam N Read reading and general light - 1 wk holiday-discount of 25%

BEAM N READ 3-Led light, made by ASF Lightware Solutions.

As regular readers will know, my personal favorite in reading lights (I've bought too many different types) has been the Beam N Read "LED 3 Hands Free Travel Reading Light; for Kindle, Power Outages & More" that I first wrote about in early October 2010.

  I'm including much of what I wrote at the time, as the company who makes the Beam N Read, noting my now long-term enthusiasm, is offering a 25% discount to readers of this blog for Dec. 26 - Jan. 1, 2012.  Sorry I didn't get to this earlier today.  Was caught up in getting some information together for owners of the new Kindles found under trees yesterday.

  As before, I'm including a couple of photos below to show light coverage on my Kindle 3 with the Amazon cover for the Kindle 3, with built-in light vs. using what, by last year, became my favorite light for the various Kindles I have.

This portable light is worn around the neck and has an adjustable strap.  The light is said to last about 120 hours, and I do use it nightly for weeks before needing to change batteries.

  It comes with 4 standard alkaline AA batteries and a clip-on red filter to minimize "night blindness" and soften the light if needed, they say (I've never needed that).  Because it's very lightweight and flexible with a patented flip-up design, reflector, and the adjustable strap, I usually have it on when I'm home.  Going downstairs at night or to a less well-lit room, or when I just can't see something well enough, I can just turn this on briefly, which is done by flipping up the hood/reflector.

For reading a book or an e-book reader, you can also reverse it if you prefer (as I do) to hold the book higher than on your lap, and then flip the reflector down instead, so that the light angles up.  But if someone is sitting across from you, that may not be very comfortable for that person, as the Led lamps would be directed at their eyes too.

 I do love that it's always available when I need extra light.  No, I'm not associated with the company that makes them.  I was just tired of clipping on a light and adjusting it, as much as I love the ease of the Mighty Bright Xtraflex 2 which has the little foam pad where the clip-on meets the top of the Kindle's bezel.  The Beam N Read is pretty good at keeping the light from reaching the other person for night reading in bed.  There are times that I would like a somewhat brighter light, and when I do (not when reading a Kindle), I've used:

  The 6-led version (not part of the holiday promo but I'll include the info for those curious about it)
  Their 6-led version is VERY bright and probably overkill for reading a Kindle 6" reader, though I've sometimes used it for situations where the light is just dim.  I tried one for other uses, and for my Kindle DX in Landscape mode.  The batteries for this last, they say, about 48 hours, only 40% of the lasting power of the 3-Led model.  This one doesn't come with batteries included though it has a magnifier for short-session, detailed craft work, but I found the texture quite hard to see through and it's not not a feature I'd use.

  I DO use both Beam N Read units for piano music though, depending on how well the room is lit.

  I had bought a head lamp for a trip I took in October 2011, since we needed to go into some unlit places (Egyptian tombs!), but I don't at all like wearing something around my head just to read so I wondered if there was anything like this.  Amazon doesn't make this easy to find, but I found it extremely useful for any e-reader.

Here are photos of the effect of two reading lights on my Kindles.

Lit by the Amazon cover with built-in light, the upper right hand corner of my Kindle 3 (UK: K3) ("Kindle Keyboard") is brighter than the lower-left area, of course, and the light isn't as bright as I like but it's useful if you're out and need a light for reading.  That special cover light needs no batteries, as it runs off the Kindle's own battery, and it shuts off automatically if the Kindle goes into sleep mode after about 10 minutes.

The second picture is of the same Kindle lit by the Beam N Read 3-Led light -- the lighting on my Kindle 3, in this case (no flash was used, as you can tell from a click of the image that leads to the EXIF camera data included with the larger image at PBase) is very even and brighter overall than from the one built into the Amazon cover, but one would seldom wear the Beam N Read when out, probably, though I've definitely done it :-).

Again, I hope this helps some who are looking for good lights to use with the Kindle.  I did the various photos, as choice of a light has been one of the most asked questions on the Kindle forums.

Here are reviews and user feedback cited on the company's website collected from several types of communities, including gadget and e-reader blog site staff.  At the Amazon product page, the light, though not promoted by Amazon as a Kindle light, has 23 customer reviews with an average rating of 4.6 stars.

I do use this light daily, as I don't have to worry anymore about which light fits which Kindle model and because I use it for other purposes as well, as mentioned.  Although I'm not affiliated with the company that makes and distributes Beam N Read, my enthusiasm's been noted by ASF Lightware Solutions (website: www.readinglight.com ) and I'm delighted they've offered Kindleworld readers the special 1 week holiday pricing of $14.95 for the Dec. 26-Jan. 1 period, as they just released in mid December a new model with a more elastic neck strap that's easier to adjust and can be worn higher.
  Remember that I like to reverse the way it's worn when I'm reading in sitting position as I prefer to hold the Kindle higher than some.

  Amazon customers can use the coupon code "KNDLWRLD" when ordering the 3-LED light model during the next week to get the 25% discount off the MSRP of $19.95.  While I receive many offers of products for review, I don't do actual reviews, writing only about products I've bought and really enjoy.  In this case, I've bought some for friends, and friends have bought them as well.  It's just an unusual, generally useful product.

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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

---

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

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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

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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

---

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

Read More

Today's Update (12/21) to Free Kindle Books Guide, for free public-domain-only books + UK free books

MORE FREE-BOOK LINKS

U.S.
I updated the Free Kindle Books Guide yesterday and today to now include prepared search links for CLASSICS OR PUBLIC-DOMAIN ONLY - separating them from the 33,000 free books, with only about 3,000 being non-classics and non-public-domain.

As with the others, the free public-domain books include sorting by Bestselling, High-to-Low Ratings, and Publication Date.
  The latter sort-choice, to find the latest ones released, can be interesting, as it includes later books or documents that are offered to the public by government or informational organizations.

    As of today, 12/20/2011, there are over 29,000 Classics and Public Domain offerings.  Currently showing at the top of this list are some definitely esoteric titles released a day ago.

  . The Ancient Phonetic Alphabet of Yucatan by Daniel Garrison Brinton, Dec 20, 2011
  . The Arabian Art of Taming and Training Wild & Vicious Horses by P. R. Kincaid and John J. Stutzman, Dec. 20, 2011
  . Artistic Anatomy of Animals by Édouard Cuy, Dec. 20, 2011
  . Bakhchisaraiskii fontan. English by Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin and Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin, Dec. 20, 2011
  . Boy Scouts: Tenderfoot Squad or, Camping at Raccoon Lodge by Alan Douglas, Dec 20, 2011
  . By Desert Ways to Baghdad by Louisa Jebb, Dec 20, 2011
  . The Chevalier d'Auriac by S. (Sidney) Levett-Yeats, Dec. 20, 2011
  . The Children's Hour, Volume 3 (of 10) Stories from the Classics by Eva March Tappan, Dec. 20, 2011

I also updated information on Feedbooks.com


U.K.
I've adjusted the Free non-classics, non-public-domain links to the new system:

  Recently published free books and bestsellers


Hoping a few will find some of these worth exploring.


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

Read More

Kindle Fire SOFTWARE UPDATE, VERSION 6.2.1 is here-- Two ways to get it.

KINDLEFIRE SOFTWARE UPDATE VERSION 6.2.1 IS READY

Kindle Fire Software Update, V6.2.1 is available online, and downloadable at the link, in case the update isn't already on your Kindle Fire and you decide you want it right away.

The announcement was made by Amazon on a Kindle Forum thread.  Mine is still at v6.2 and the 'Update your Kindle" button for "System Version" setting is grayed out.  So I'll be updating instead of waiting, though the latter will be easier for most.  I don't think they'll take their time on sending this to the devices.

  IN FACT, while typing this, I noticed my Kindle Fire updating in that my screen was 'on' when it should be off, so I checked the Menu settings and saw that it had already updated my Kindle Fire to v6.2.1, so, yes, they are apparently 'on' this one.  Since I am usually among the last to get any over-the-air update, I recommend that most wait for it to happen unless they need to have it now and haven't been updated yet.  See further below on that.

  The forum announcement in whole (bold face emphases mine):

Initial post: Dec 20, 2011 7:25:14 PM PST

The Amazon Kindle team says:
(AMAZON OFFICIAL)

We have a new, free over-the-air software update available for Kindle Fire. This update enhances fluidity and performance, improves touch navigation responsiveness, gives you the option to choose which items display on the carousel, and adds the ability to add a password lock on Wi-Fi access. The update will be automatically delivered to your Kindle Fire.

For more information about the software update go to www.amazon.com/kindlesoftwareupdates.

As mentioned, here's the actual software update page for the Kindle Fire update v6.2.1 rather than have you choose from several possible ones on the page they cite.  They are sending these out pretty quickly, I think, as in doing the forum I encountered an unusual slowdown in Amazon server request time which just about never happens on the forums.

On the forum thread, some people had slower downloads to start, in getting the new software, while others had normal download times -- probably because they're busy sending these out probably a few million devices.

  With respect to Carousel changes, Q points out that "Unfortunately, to clean books off your carousel is still one book at a time. But it does go fairly fast."


Amazon's directions on the software update page:

' If you are not sure what software version you're running, tap the Quick Settings icon, tap "More," then tap "Device."  If your System Version is "Current version: 6.2.1," you are running the latest software.  If your System Version is "Current version: 6.0, 6.1, or 6.2" follow the instructions [at that page] to take advantage of all of the features available for Kindle Fire.
. . .
To update your Kindle, ensure
  . you are connected to a Wi-Fi network and that
  . your battery is fully charged.

  Tap the Quick Settings icon in the upper right corner of your device,
  then tap "Sync."

The software update will automatically download in the background and will be applied once download is complete and the device is asleep. '

The above describes a semi-automated update.

However, if you don't have a WiFi connection at the time and want to do this, you can do a MANUAL update at the software update page for Kindle Fire, where Amazon has step-by-step directions, for doing this with a USB cable to transfer the update to your Kindle Fire.

This time, Amazon did provide some notes on what is being updated.

  If you have reactions to these changes or find any other ones, and have time, please let us know what you find.   Thanks.



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

Read More

Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire accessories - external mini speaker + cases, + a general light that's on sale thru' Dec 18. - UPDATED to give KTouch sleeve link

A quick Good-Sale tip before I start here: I've caught just the tail end of a sale by Read n Beam that ends tonight [Dec. 18, 2011]: the 3-LED Hands-Free Travel Reading light for Kindle and power outages etc.

  I wrote a long description of it in an earlier blog article, and I still wear it nightly, as it works for all my Kindles and other devices and when in a darker room.  I'll repeat that it may be better to wear it in reverse-mode for reading on an e-reader.  Normally $20, it's $15 through tonight.  Apologies I didn't see this until last night, but do read the earlier description to see why I use this one for everything.


The two Kindle Fire side-speakers (both are on one short end) are very low-volume in some applications.  When you play the sound through external speakers, there is plenty of output though, in fact, more than with my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1,

I'd ordered another brand of mini speaker but it was unpleasant sounding (shrill) so I decided to try another vendor's and the Ayl is really a surprise for a tiny one.

  So I put up a videoclip of a few measures of a vocal from an mp3 album (Link for Kindle Edition subscribers to use on a computer: kfire-ayl-acase-video )
  (This is on a table with mounds of paper on it, shoved aside.)

Update - 3/7/12, apparently, the Ayl models are no longer on Amazon, while the images are still on the Amazon servers.
  Maybe try the XMI-x-Mini-II-black, although a disconcerting 10% of 557 reviews mention a short-life battery.

  There's a similar XSKN-x-mini-ii-red speaker which has 181 customer reviews and doesn't get cautions for failing-battery problem.
  Ayl Mini speaker (White)

Ayl Mini speaker (Black)
  Apparently, I'm not alone in liking these.  The white model has 57 customer reviews with 4.8 stars averaged, and the black one has 187 customer reviews with 4.8 stars averaged.

 Note that this little thing comes came with a nice cloth case (sort of velvety) that even has a decent thin liner in it, and the connection cable (longer than with other mini speakers I've tried) has a standard USB connector for charging (you can listen while you're charging it) as well as a 3.5mm plug for a 3.5mm audio socket/stereo headset jack.  No volume control -- your device has to handle that -- and I've used it with 3 tablets, a laptop, and a cell phone.  It gets from 9-12 hrs on a USB charge depending on the volume setting of the device using it.

ACASE
In the video, I'm using what I've found to be the very lightest Kindle Fire case possible -- some have called it 'flimsy' as a result.  The KFire rests in a shell, and I must say that it's "too snug" in that I have to pry it out of there when I want to use it reliably in portrait/vertical mode in the earlier Poetic case that is 360-degrees slideable for reliable viewing in vertical mode.  But it's so light it's almost no weight at all, and the spine is the thinnest.

  The back is hard plastic that seems almost metallic and the front is faux leather. The elastic wide-band is actually very secure and, outside of having to pry it out, I've enjoyed the fact it doesn't seem to add weight and even seems to make it seem lighter due to perception of what you expect in a case.

  Also it's protective enough - I never worried about it -- remember that the Kindle Fire screen is Corning Gorilla Glass and very difficult to break or scratch, and the front cover with wide elastic band is very secure.

  BUT then I got a Moko case for my Samsung 10-inch tablet (bought refurbished at Amazon's "Woot!") and I prefer the more leathery feel of that case although I think that tablets stand up less securely in those, even horizontally, but then all a tablet does in that case is go to a slightly back-elevated slope at worse.

  I then found out that ACase distributes this case for the Kindle Fire and bought it, as it has thick padding on the front side, that just has a very nice feel and it has deeper grooves for the tablet stand-points.  So though the spine is probably 50% wider and it takes up 50% more room in my purse, I use this more now.  But for absolute slimness and lightness, it's the shell-like, more plastic ACase shown in the videoclip.  It all depends on how much room I have in the purse.
  The quality of the more padded case, also "slim" (but not as much so), is higher, at the cost of weight.  The product page's additional pictures show the padding well.


MOKO case:   And NOW, Moko has made this case for the Kindle Fire also!, at even less cost (but I don't have this particular maker's Kindle Fire version so can't vouch for it).  I'd looked for it at Moko earlier after getting my Samsung case there, but they didn't have it 10 days ago.

I had also sent, early on, for the very popular splash SAFARI slim model, and that one is really well made, unexpectedly so for that price, including the inside materials especially.  Their pictures don't at all do the interior justice.

  But the splash-Safari has the widest spine and is the heaviest of the 3 slim-style cases, so I'm not currently using it -- and it has a frame over the KFire bezel, which means it's harder for me to effectively touch the bottom options when using the free Dolphin browser (which I prefer to Amazon's Silk because the Dolphin browser lets me easily do full-screen for photos and thus uses more of the little 7" device's screen real estate, very important for me).  Others really like the quality of it though, and it has pockets too.

KINDLE TOUCH SLEEVE
(Link to KZip product page added at 9PM Sunday)
The Kindle Touch is SO light, that I didn't want to spoil it with a normal cover.  I enjoy holding it to read, as is, but then I found another way to prop it up. if I want, with the same nicely made, light sleeve.  Note that this way of holding a Kindle book works well for winter days :-)

  The Kindle Zip sleeve:  Some Kindle reviewers don't like that the small $79 No-Touch Kindle 4 Basic almost swims in it while other reviewers expected it to work for the much taller Kindle Keyboard (K3), for which it was definitely not designed.

  The Kindle Touch, in (3G/Wifi and Wi-Fi only models) fits snugly in my Kindle Zip sleeve, but I have no problem closing the zipper and the package is kept light.  It also looks somewhat less pale than the product images.  It's priced too high though, for those not that keen on getting a light sleeve when at this price.

  The larger photo version of my KTouch sleeve worn like a glove is at PBase.

  I do like it a lot for its space- and weight-saving qualities.

REMINDER: Beam n Read 3-Led light-beamer sale ends tonight.  Again, details from my own perspective here.

(Sorry this took so long -- a lot of things going on during the holidays.)



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

Read More

Free Kindle Books - NON-public domain - Revised links, Adding, under $1

Update - 12/15/11 - Amazon has changed the coding of the Amazon-US page listings of Kindle books -- types and sorting methods -- so I've been changing the various ongoing links. I'll probably need to change the UK ones also.

I just discovered the changes today, since the links had been working the last time I checked about a month ago.  Until I can re-do and test all of the varied links for the ongoing free-e-books guide, here are the latest correct links for currently Free non-classics for just the last two months, and then by various sorts for all currently free non-classics.

Nov 2011,  Dec 2011
   Also, all currently free non-classics sorted by:
   Publication Date   Bestselling    High ratings

   Added Highly rated, under $1

Amazon Top 100   (Also, UK-only)  along with Amazon's own Limited Time Free Promos.


Although Kindle Edition subscribers can actually click through the links, Amazon's pages are not that easy to read on a Kindle athough it's doable.  I'd visit the website (Link: kindleworld.blogspot.com ) now and then to use the links that are always in the reference column at the right and near the top.

Postponed the videoclip + other recommendations until Friday afternoon due to handling some birthday time Thursday.


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, 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.

Read More

Kindle News: (Interim post 12/15) Amazon announces it's selling 1 million Kindles a week - Amazon's free Cloud storage

Update - Amazon's latest announcement is that "for the third week in a row, customers are purchasing well over 1 million Kindle devices per week, and the Kindle Fire remains the #1 bestselling product (though it has taken some flak from a few reviewers who insist it should have the features and power of devices $300 more expensive, though I agree they should improve the initial software which they say they'll do within the next 10 days or so).

  I feel it was unwise of Amazon to have device storage of only 8 gigs, but I also have to say that 6.5 gigs of it is for user's own files wherever they choose to get them, while B&N allows only 1 gig of their device storage for non-BN-purchased files and their "Cloud" is only for BN purchases.

  Amazon allows "side-loading" (via USB cable) of non-Amazon apps.  B&N does not.  There's a workaround the B&N wall, but it's added work.  An earlier article explained how this is done, and I'll link it later today here's the link for that.

  I should clarify since few know it, that every Amazon customer gets 5 free gigs of storage space for ANY data from anywhere (unless it's copy-protected by others) -- and any music you upload from your own stash is streamable for you from anywhere, at anytime, at no added cost.  Any mp3's you buy from Amazon are not counted against the 5 free gigs.  Just as with Kindle books, they're just automatically stored.

  All Kindle owners (globally) now get 5 additional gigs of storage for "personal documents" -- meaning doc, text, PDF, or non-Amazon books (with no digital-rights-management protecting them) received from other sites and this includes your own notes, which if sent via e-mail to your Kindle by you will be automatically stored for you and will be sync'able between all your devices just as Kindle books are, so that you can read them on your other devices, from where you last left off.

  Any notes you make for your personal docs sent by you to your Kindle will also be stored for you (with your consent by sending them to your Kindle) and annotations will be kept retrievable by you with the document.  5 gigs is quite a lot for this type of material.
  Amazon is alone in offering this kind of storage and retrieval (which includes non-Amazon-bought items), not to mention sync'g of these between the various devices you have.

  That you can remove books or documents from the device to leave it clearer (and faster because less indexing of countless books is needed that way) and then re-download any of it at any time you want, with your notes in place, means a kind of flexibility you don't get elsewhere, which is of real interest to me.

  For those for whom their entire music collection is important to have smoothly streamable from anywhere at all times on the web or through their mp3-player app, Amazon also has a not-much-mentioned add-on plan that's been available for months but is also a limited-time offer:

  For $20 per year they offer Unlimited space for storing and streaming all of your non-DRM'd music (they can't store or stream copy-protected music) AND 20 gigs of space also, for all your other files, any of which can be transferred to your Kindle Fire (or whatever tablet(s) will come next) when you want it.  I just tend to play mine from the Cloud but I have the big favorites on the device for when I'm not around Wifi. The files can be mp3 or AAC (m4a).  I should clarify that I don't want or need my entire music collection on Amazon's storage but others like the feature.

No other company offering tablets at this affordable price range has the vast amount of content in place, without sending its customers to subscribe to other services to get that content, and it does a beautiful job of streaming its own video and music.  Most tablets costing $400-$600 leave the general consumer asking "What do I do now?" which is why Apple is so successful and the individual Android tablets with such good technical specs have suffered in sales.

Amazon's "ecosystem" is such that existing consumers already have e-books, music and have tried the instant videos (most are for pay while about 13,000 will be included at no added cost for those who are already Prime members (they pay $79/year for 2-day free shipping on just about anything).

The photo at the top is of the Kindle Fire while it's accessing a Yosemite Merced River photo on my PBase site.  You can click on that image to see the larger photo of the Kindle Fire's web image or click here for the actual Yosemite river photo on the web (although the PBase site is having big problems the last day with displaying photos at all).


  The KFire does a great job with colors and contrast although that's quite hard to show when trying to do a photo of a slide-like photo on a tablet.

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(Earlier)
This is just to say that I'm alive. Haven't forgotten the blog or its readers.

Did do a brief videoclip yesterday which I'll talk about after a meeting today that I have to be at, but it involves a little external speaker for the Kindle Fire that amazed me after having received craptastic other ones.

I did the videoclip so it could be heard rather than just described. Will also have other recommendations only from what I know myself, what I ordered for myself and wound up liking, since I don't accept products for review (one exception in 3 years because I already planned to get it) as I think I'd be too influenced by not paying to try it. Others can do it well. I tend just not to write about things I don't like.

More this afternoon.


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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