Kindle Tips: Kindle Paperwhite software update (most likely just for Paperwhite 1, but the Amazon page doesn't say)

KINDLE PAPERWHITE 1 Software Update v5.3.8.1

Kindle Paperwhite Software Upgrade to v5.3.8.1

Reader Peraino sent a tip that a software upgrade for Kindle Paperwhite 1 is available.

I have not been around lately, and when I have, my main laptop (HP) has been dying and finally did collapse this week, and although I'm now on a 5 year old reliable old Samsung with only 2 GB RAM on it I can at least get online with this one.  A Surface Pro 2 is arriving Wednesday and I hope to be back to speed with that one.

  See Paperwhite (US);   (UK Paperwhite: here; Global Paperwhite: here.) [Bracketed notes are mine.]

A new, free software update available for Kindle Paperwhite 1 can be found [here] [U.S.]

    [Here's the UK-only software update page]

Amazon's lack of separation of Paperwhite software update pages
What's odd is that this is under Paperwhite software updates and there's no differentiation between Paperwhite 1 and 2 devices, but their software IS different in that the Paperwhite 2's have other features like the page-flipping one, and someone had mentioned that the new device's software is v5.4.0, but since I did not upgrade mine and didn't request a review copy, I don't know why they don't have a separate page for Paperwhite 2.

  Nevertheless, the software page does tell you how to check the software version currently on your Paperwhite.  Mine still has v5.3.8 on it rather than v5.3.8.1

This update automatically downloads and installs on the applicable Kindle Paperwhite; however, you can also manually download the software and transfer the update to your device via USB cable.

The software update includes general improvements and the following feature enhancements that were already announced (see below for a REPEAT of that announcement) for v5.3.8 early in October.  This would be just a 'maintenance' update for general improvements.

'
* Search terms highlighted in search results
When you search for a word or phrase within a book, the search terms will appear highlighted within the search results. When you tap a result to go to that location in the book, the search terms will appear highlighted on the page.
* Select other dictionaries when looking up a word
When you look up a word in the dictionary, you can choose to look up the word in other dictionaries on your device from within the dictionary definition window.
* View other definitions of a word [within same window]
When you look up a word that has multiple meanings for the same spelling (homonym), you can navigate through each of the available definitions from within the dictionary definition window. '

As ever, note that keeping your Kindle always connected to a Wi-Fi network can drain your battery faster.  So, once you've got the update "over the air," put the Paperwhite back to "Airplane Mode ON" via the 'Settings' option on the Menu -- the option lets you toggle Wireless Off with the "Airplane On" choice.
 They still have not put the "Wireless Off" and "On" back on the front menu as they recently did for the Kindle Touch, removing the 'airplane mode' icon, which many of us wish they would do, as it is very inconvenient to have it on a secondary menu and many do not even know about the wireless-off feature, causing more battery drain and confusion over that.  Amazon: please do this in the next update; the Kindle Touch team has the right problem-avoiding idea.

  I realize Amazon prefers Wireless 'On' due to delivery of Special Offers but the battery-drain problem can occur when circumstances involve subscriptions that are downloaded regularly or due to a weaker connection that results from the distance from the router, in which case the device keeps trying to connect when a download is due (and that can be for the special offers that Amazon regularly needs to send for those who choose to opt for the less-expensive special-offers feature).

Only if you'd rather not wait - DOWNLOADING and transferring the Update via USB
US:  Go to the Kindle Paperwhite Software Update v5.3.8.1 download section to get the instructions for the download and transfer to your Kindle via USB:
UK:  Go to the same for the UK-only page

More when I learn more...

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Current Kindle Models for reference, plus free-ebook search links.

US: New Kindle Fire HD 7" 2nd Gen - $139/169 Kindle Fire HDX 7" 16-64GB - $229/269/309 Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" 16-64GB - $379/429/479 - with 4G added: $479/529/579 Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16GB - 1st Gen $229 - 32GB w/ no special-offers: $314 Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89 Kindle Touch WiFi - $99 Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi - $119/$139 Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi+3G - $189 Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free web Kindle DX - $379 $239 (New price)

UK: Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £69 Kindle Touch WiFi, UK - ~£89 Refurb'd Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi - £109 Kindle Paperwhite2 3G, UK - £169 Kindle Fire 2, UK -  £129 Kindle Fire HD 7" 16/32GB, UK - £159/199 CANADA - Kindlestore, CDN-$ Kindle Basic, NoTouch - $79 Kindle Paperwhite 2 - $139 Kindle Paperwhite 2, 3G - $209 KFire HD Yr 2012 7" $214,  8.9" $284. Yr 2013 KFires: HD Gen2, HDX line

*OTHER Int'l pages* Kindle NoTouch Basic - $89 Paperwhite WiFi $139, 3G/Wifi $209 KFire HD Yr 2012: 7" $214,  8.9" $284 Yr 2013: HD Gen2 + HDX line France Boutique Kindle Deutschland - Kindle Store Italia - Kindle Store Spain - Tienda Kindle Brazil - Amazon Brazil China - Amazon China [?] Japan - Amazon Japan

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Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  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 Fire HDX News: HDX's are shipping in the U.S. now and have been announced for UK/International areas. Yr2013 Basic HD 7" ships in Canada Oct. 24. Table of current (plus some previous) Kindle devices for various countries updated Oct. 18. Review highlights.

Updates on availability of new Kindle Fire line internationally -- shipping of new basic HD model starts Oct 24 for Canada.

  Also, the Table of all current Kindles for the U.S. and International areas has been updated Oct. 18.

  I'm on various other projects and while there hasn't been any big news, reviews have been very good on the new line, as most who are interested will have seen.  The one flaw is that many large tech-sites still seem to enjoy saying that Amazon locks owners in to Amazon's own apps and that one has to do without Google Play apps

  As many who read this blog know, that's not true, even if it simplifies things for large tech-site reviewers.  As said before, Amazon has always ENABLED the Android system Settings checkbox that allows the owner to CHOOSE to install apps from Unknown Sources (can this be more clear?).  After the owner has checked that box, they can go to OTHER app stores like 1mobile.com's site (which has 300,000+ GooglePlay apps) and to various other app stores named in the article-guide you can read at this blog: "How to Install Non-Amazon Apps on a Kindle Fire."

  This allows owners to download direct, to the tablet, the Google Play apps from the other stores that carry them AND which allow Kindle Fire owners to download those apps, although Google Play does not allow Kindle Fires to download them direct from its store.  Google tends to want any associated vendors to negotiate an agreement with them that normally involves becoming main source for its content (Amazon itself sells unique content and because of that, they sell the tablets at cost).  The other android app market stores allow Kindle Fires and it's just a matter of searching for an app by name and then downloading it directly to the Kindle Fire and installing it.  I stress this because after two years, the large tech-sites generally seem to love to say that Amazon keeps its customers from doing that, and it's just the opposite.  NO "rooting" or software "modifications" are needed.

This relatively short blog article is just a quick update, otherwise, as I've had to finish other projects this last week and will be free of most of them by next week -- and except for shipping announcements and a plethora of good reviews which are easily googled, there isn't that much to report.  Amazon did make a list of review blurbs which I can add here for those who would like to see, quickly, what will obviously be the most positive ones, and I'll add those to the end of this article.  Any negative ones I've seen are the statements re any alleged inability to use GooglePlay apps -- a now willfully ignorant view of the Kindle Fire devices.

  Announcements of the release of the new Kindle Fire HDX line in the UK specifically (plus the most inexpensive and basic Kindle Fire now getting an HD screen) can be read in detail at the Daily Mail.

  Product pages for several countries still sell the Yr 2012 models but say the new devices will be available and can be pre-ordered soon.  Customers in Germany can pre-order already.   The countries-table I mentioned has links for each country and I'm now linking to the yr 2013 and yr 2012 lines on those pages where I find the later tablets mentioned, and generally Amazon mentions the new ones are coming.  s;That includes the general international (non-country-specific) models.

  Here is Amazon's listing of reviews that highlight certain features that really are amazing ones, even though I've seen the 'cool set' of reviewers saying that the 24/7 human-person available to show you, ON the tablet, how to do something, find a setting, etc. is for "grandmothers" and those who don't understand tablets.  Well, a careful examination of the new offerings will show the new devices are filled with entertainment and information features you won't find on other tablets, so it can save time, including time that many would otherwise spend on phone help for family and friends, when the giftee's Amazon helper can see the screen layout and show the owner what to do to get an end result.  The review blurbs:

' The reviews are in:

“As it is, the Kindle Fire HDX is a lightweight, sharp-screened, superfast pleasure” – New York Times
“HDX hums with nary a hiccup or UI stutter” – Wired
“It [Mayday] is, in short, an amazing idea well-implemented” – TechCrunch
“It's got a sleek redesign, blazing fast guts, and a few new tricks.  Most of all, though, it's the best small tablet you can buy.” – Gizmodo
“It’s called Mayday, and it’s the most remarkable customer service tool I’ve ever seen.” – The Verge
“Spending the weekend with Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch tablet, it’s easy to see why Amazon has built a commanding lead in the Android tablet space.” – Mashable
“There’s a lot to like about the Kindle Fire HDX.  The screen is superb, the form-factor sober but sturdy, and the processor cutting edge for the market. “ – SlashGear
“Armed with a powerful processor and Amazon's exhaustive content library, the Kindle Fire HDX delivers incredible value for its price, especially for Amazon Prime members.” – CNET
“For the first time, truly, the company has made a product that won't make some users feel like they're compromising an excellent user experience for a cheap price tag.  Because now, Amazon's tablet line has both.” – Fortune '

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Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  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 Tips: Kindle 9.7" E-Ink DX-Graphite now $189 for a ltd time...Amazon matches eligible Kindlebooks w/ more discounted Audiobooks ('Matchmaker')...KindleFire-specific app development encouraged by new 'Select' program offering added exposure...iFixit Teardown: Yr2013 Kindle Fire HD 7"...A Don't Miss book excerpt by Brad Stone on Jeff Bezos, with info from former employees and friends (fascinating).

CNET's Lance Whitney Amazon's new "Matchmaker" Audible book bundling feature.  The image here is of an Audible audio-book that Amazon presented to Whitney as matching a Kindle book he owns, available at a Matchmaker discount price.

' The retailer's new Matchmaker page scans your Kindle library to see which e-books have a corresponding audio version.  The audio versions then pop up with discounted price tags. Simply click on the upgrade button for a specific book to make your payment.  You can also listen to an audio preview of any book before you buy it. '

You'll need the Audible app on your mobile device.  With Whispersync, you can listen to the book "and then switch to the e-book version where you left off."

The ones presented to me at the Matchmaker page were of NON-public domain books and I was surprised they were available on Audible.

He points out that ""The Wizard of Oz" could be had for 99 cents, down from $14.95. And "Gulliver's Travels," as read by actor David Hyde Pierce, was free."


E-Ink Kindle DX Graphite (DXG) - $50 off until Oct. 15 at 11:59 pm
This 9.7" e-Ink Kindle, with more text on a 'page' and larger fonts that look as if they are etched onto the screen, made a re-appearance on Amazon's e-Ink family header in May 2013, at $299 (formerly $379).

  A couple of months ago, the price was lowered to $239 and as of last night, when I saw that it became $189 for "a limited time", the specific time given in an Amazon email notice I received this morning.

  That price is good until almost midnight on October 15.  You can see information on what this device is like in the blog article for May 31.

  Alert: The current e-Ink family header with the discounted DXG price has an oddity on it, at least for now: The 3G Kindle Paperwhite is linking to the previous Paperwhite model at $179 rather than to the current 3G Paperwhite that is $189.  If you click on that, note that it's the older model for some reason.


Meaty excerpt from Brad Stone's book about Jeff Bezos
The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon (release date Oct. 15).

  The long excerpt really is a fascinating read.  Considering the often eye-opening descriptions of Jeff Bezos by those who are former employees or friends (as well as current ones), the following paragraph probably describes the working atmosphere well:

' The people who do well at Amazon are often those who thrive in an adversarial atmosphere with almost constant friction.  Bezos abhors what he calls “social cohesion,” the natural impulse to seek consensus.  He’d rather his minions battle it out backed by numbers and passion, and he has codified this approach in one of Amazon’s 14 leadership principles—the company’s highly prized values that are often discussed and inculcated into new hires:

"Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting.  Leaders have conviction and are tenacious.  They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion.  Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly." '

  And of course there can be sudden limits to that idea when the person whose ideas or reactions you're challenging is Jeff Bezos.

  As a result of this article and book, I suspect that his longtime email address will be flooded and, even though staff would open most of it while he reads at least some of it, the latter will be considerably more difficult soon.  One thing remains clear; the customer is royalty, with limits, though the latter seem fewer than normally encountered.  Even clearer is how essential Bezos the man is to Amazon as the consumer-trusted company it is.

  Outside of some not totally surprising confrontational styles, there is one unexpected parallel with Steve Jobs in that JB has never (past the age of 3, with no memory of it) met his biological father (T. Jorgensen), while having a supportive adopted father from earliest years.  These are examples of apples falling quite far from the trees.

  And, ironically, now Brad Stone has met Jorgenson, who had never heard of Jeff Bezos.  "Is he still alive?"  While this may seem idle gossip, the similarities with S. Jobs's situation is remarkable.  And the story is a poignant one.

  I was going to quote a startled reaction by one of Jorgenson's grandchildren, but since it ends the Businessweek excerpt, it's fairer for you to read it there.  I think I know what book will be in the Top 10 in Amazon charts for awhile :-) (I just ordered mine.)


Digital Trend's Trevor Mogg reports on Amazon's new incentives for Android app developers to optimize apps for the Kindle Fire line (with tight standards), making the developers eligible for more exposure or 'discovery' and more revenue and growing the appstore.

Free Android app of the day - 10/10/13 - Entertainment category
Supermarket Management - a game in Time Management with focus on managing, well, a supermarket - gets good ratings

Updated Skype app soon
"Skype improves Android application, adds better video quality"
The Mobile Indian's Rahul Gupta reports on an updated Skype for Android, to be available on Kindle "later this month."


ifixit.com's "Teardown" of the 7" Kindle Fire HD 2013 (the $139 model)
Intro and highlights
The pictures and details are on scrolling pages -- with an option to see it all on a single page

Am glad they clarify for readers what Amazon's Kindle naming hasn't made very clear (described by me earlier).
  "Let us break it down for you: This HD is really the new Kindle Fire and the Kindle Fire HDX will be the new Kindle Fire HD. Confused yet?"

So, again, comparison of the Yr 2013 7" HD model vs last year's model should be by looking at last year's NON-HD basic model, since this year's basic model was upgraded to an HD display and, as before, does not have a camera or HDMI-out but does have a faster processor in addition, although the super-budget $139 model has only GB of memory as an option.  My recommendation is that people wanting the basic model buy the 16GB version ($169) as most will want to have more apps and probably a video on the device and that additional 8GB will save users some frustration with needing to swap out apps or other content due to limited storage space.  The $139 model is for those who want to save the money and can deal with using the Cloud to swap content in and out.

- A couple of findings (besides identifying all the parts)
"Not only does your tablet have virtual surround sound, but it has clarity-optimized sound, with or without headphone."

"The few components that might fail can be easily, inexpensively replaced."


Opportunities increase for authors in e-book Singles marketplace
(Tweeted earlier for authors interested in the growing "Singles" book market)
article by Howard Polskin for Huffington Post


Wow, they are really tough in Guyana!
"Jailed three years for stealing Kindle" - Only a part of the story is available as the rest of it is for subscribers.

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Current Kindle Models for reference, plus free-ebook search links.

US: New Kindle Fire HD 7" 2nd Gen - $139/169 Kindle Fire HDX 7" 16-64GB - $229/269/309 Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" 16-64GB - $379/429/479 - with 4G added: $479/529/579 Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16GB - 1st Gen $229 - 32GB w/ no special-offers: $314 Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89 Kindle Touch WiFi - $99 Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi - $119/$139 Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi+3G - $189 Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free web Kindle DX - $379 $239 (but   $189 until 11:59pm Oct 15

UK: Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £69 Kindle Touch WiFi, UK - ~£89 Refurb'd Kindle Keyboard 3G, UK - £149   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi - £109 Kindle Paperwhite2 3G, UK - £169 Kindle Fire 2, UK -  £129 Kindle Fire HD 7" 16/32GB, UK - £159/199 Canada - Kindlestore, CDN-$ Kindle Basic, NoTouch - $79 Kindle Paperwhite 2 - $139 Kindle Paperwhite 2, 3G - $209 KFire HD 7" $214,  8.9" $284

*OTHER Int'l pages* Kindle NoTouch Basic - $89 Kindle Keybd 3G - $189   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB Paperwhite WiFi $139, 3G/Wifi $209 KFire HD 7" $214,  8.9" $284 France Boutique Kindle Deutschland - Kindle Store Italia - Kindle Store Spain - Tienda Kindle Brazil - Amazon Brazil China - Amazon China [?] Japan - Amazon Japan

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Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  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

Free Kindle Books Guide: Low-Cost also. Updated. VERSION 5 - Updated Nov. 12, 2013

Update 10/7/13 - Adding additional Kindle book searches and including the monthly Amazon deals. Updated the free non-classics (or contemporary) book searches section and will do that monthly.

  I've added a separate page for Free Non-Classics today so that the search links there can be accessed and used without having to see the the long page of blog posts that are on the main A Kindle World (Kindleworld) page.

  The searches include (1) the current and previous months' releases that are still available and which can be sorted by publication date, popularity, or customer ratings average as of that day and (2) several less-known Amazon lists for temporarily-free or very low-cost Kindle books.  That now separate page can be separately bookmarked and browsed without having to see the daily postings on the main page.

  Occasionally, I'll post an alert on Twitter about a Kindle book (or productivity app) that's temporarily free or on discount for a day or so, if I think readers might not want to miss it.  For books, this will generally be a non-fiction one having to do with the Kindle or just a book that's highly regarded.  You can 'follow' twitter.com/kindleworld to catch them, although the tweets are usually about info in the latest blog posts.

  Those already on Facebook might like to add Facebook (facebook.com/kindleworld.andrys) via the 'Like' feature (to get Facebook notifications of a new posting or alert) if interested in that.  Questions can be posted there, with responses in a day or two, which for some is more convenient than posting questions in a comment-area of a blog post.

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Update 12/23/12 - Amazon expanded the Kindle Daily Deal to include books in several genres as of December 2012 and children's books earlier in 2012.  They also added prior to that the MONTHLY as opposed to Daily deals.
  This blog article was updated throughout, as of Dec. 23, 2012, for latest information, links and approximate numbers of Kindle books in current Amazon sets, as of that day.

Earlier Update - 12/15/11 - Amazon changed the coding of the display of Kindle books -- types and sorting methods -- so I changed the various links.

UPDATES for Dec. 20-21, 2011 include adding links for Classics + Public Domain ONLY, as they include latest governmental and organizational information books and documents, and some of the latter are intriguing.  Also updated Feedbooks info.

UPDATE Dec. 19, 2011 to change all links and add some
First notification Dec. 15 was not complete and it's ready now (US books).  Please Let me know of any errors in the links. 

The Interim post said: Here are the latest correct links for current free non-classics, for the last two months, and then by various sorts for all free non-classics.

Updated Nov. 12, 2013
Oct. 2013,  Nov 2013
   Also, all currently free non-classics sorted by:
   Publication Date   Bestselling    High ratings

   Adding, for interim alert, Highly rated, under $1

And, of course, here's the Kindle Daily Deal, which changes shortly after midnight each day.
  They added the Monthly Kindle deals, but these are 99c up to $3.99, often at very good discounts, but never free.  However, they're very popular, so are included here for interest.

 In addition, added during 2012: "Mostly 99c Kindle Books" page, which is a different Amazon listing from the one for highly rated Kindle books under $1.

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


ALL REVISED LINKS FOR FREE KINDLE BOOKS PAGE ARE BELOW
  The various links below are now revised to work with the new coding, Monday the 19th  In the meantime, the information on free book sources remains accurate. The UK links at the end still need revising though.

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This long-standing blog entry, Free Kindle Books (begun in 2009), was revised April 10, 2011 to remove most of the chronological changes made over the last two years as it became too confusing to read.

  It was also updated again soon after that for the many changes to the free and low-cost Kindle books area at Amazon.  Besides the 33,000+  free, complete books (only the ones in English),  there are links to find Kindle books that are $0.99, $1.99, and $2.99, as a lot of authors are publishing in that price-range and they're not easy to find.  Some are books by indie authors and others  are popular books for which the price has been dropped by Big6 publishers after a couple of years or when they want to introduce new readers to authors who have

  UPDATE-2a:  NOTE that as of Dec. 2012, Amazon Prime customers can borrow one book per calendar month from the the Prime Kindle Owners Lending Library (KOLL) selection of approximately 180,000 Kindle books   (Link: amzn.to/kprimebooks), a set which includes over 100+ New York Times Bestsellers, with no due-dates and no waiting lists.

  And as of September 21, 2011, Amazon Kindle customers have been able to borrow Kindle books from 11,000+ public libraries in the U.S.
 [ End of Update-2a, first added Nov. 10, 2011, and updated Dec. 23, 2012 ]


Find Free Kindle books plus Lower-Cost Kindle Books
Click here first for most recently published NON-classics under $1 or try that list sorted by bestselling.  There are more new temporarily-free books or discount-promos on most days, but also prices do change back, so check them regularly.

  UPDATE-1:  NOTE that the Amazon book promos tend to be temporary and when the price goes back up, Amazon updates the product page $-amounts faster than they update the pricing amounts for the database used for the Amazon searches.  You'll note that they're in flux often, so ignore the few that are higher than $0.99 the search-value.

To limit your search to Only the FREE non-classics, check directly below:

This resource contains prepared links that you can click on, at any time, to find, for example, the most recently published free non-classics,  or  you can choose to see these according to bestselling or highest rated ones as they appear, on a daily basis or more.

  These are usually temporarily free, on a short promotional basis, and a click will show you the latest ones, although Amazon displays free books on various listings and they don't all show up any one list

  On your computer's web-browser, you can of course bookmark this page to get here more easily.  The short URL is http://bit.ly/kfreelow3.

Chapter, Excerpts and Previews
   Since most Kindle owners seem interested in complete books, I've tried to avoid search results for books which offer only certain chapters, excerpts and which are, essentially, previews.   At least, they're labelled clealy, in any event when you go to the Amazon Kindle book pages. <--   I'll test these more before giving links to Kindle book lists that show no Chapters or Previews or Excerpts, with the downside that titles of full books which include one of these words won't be on these lists.   But later on this particular set -->

Free Kindle-Compatible books at Non-Amazon  websites
  This guide to Free and Low-cost Books page also includes links to most of the other (non-Amazon) Web site that have a strong offering of free Kindle-compatible books, many of which are directly downloadable to your Kindle at no added cost.  Let me know about good (legal) ones I haven't included.

Important advantages to downloading Kindle versions of free books
Bear in mind that when you download free Kindle books from Amazon, they can be
  1.  Sync'd with your other Kindle-compatible devices and
  2.  Included in your private-password protected Annotations webpage on Amazon servers,
         which can be accessed at kindle.amazon.com

Kindle Edition blog-subscribers
Subscribers to the Kindle blog-edition have found that when following blog-links to a book or other Amazon product, the Kindle Edition is not always enabled to make clickable orders through the Kindle-version of the Kindle Store.

.  So I recommend a drop-in to the webpage when you feel like checking the latest published free nonclassics and best-selling free nonclassics -- as these can change in a couple of hours and there are about 6 pages of them at any given time.

Another Amazon Change - "Relevance," which I've called "LateListed."
It shows up now only in certain circumstances and sometimes is called 'default' so I'm ignoring it at this point.
"By Relevance" ('default') or Late-listed ebooks tended to include books that were published some years ago but which were recently added to the temporarily-free non-classic Kindle book listings.   "By Publication Date"-lists would show these books, published some years ago, lower down in the listings when sorting by more-recently published, at the top.  I'll watch what they're doing it with it these days and see if I can make sense of it.

  With the links below you can  quickly see only the small selection of currently-free contemporary Kindle books sorted also by Publication Date, Bestsellers (linked just above) or by the Average Customer-Rating, as that's made easier with the prepared links on this page.

  Each Kindle Edition blog has the last 25 blog articles, searchable on the Kindle so that you can find items of interest more easily within the 25 articles while offline.  I think many will find it useful despite my penchant for giving source-links for data.  I try to include enough info from the news sources so that Kindle Edition blog-subscribers for A Kindle World don't have to click links to get the main points.

  Again, a few newer books are promotional and free for only a while.  Sometimes for only a couple of days.

  So it's a good idea to bookmark this page, in addition to other resources you use, to check out, when you're able, what might be new to you, with the ready-links to categories of available free or very low cost books.

SUMMING UP:
MAIN FREE KINDLE BOOK SEARCH LINKS
1.  INCLUDING CLASSICS & PUBLIC DOMAIN (updated 12/23/12)
    Amazon's now almost 41,000+ free books (complete and in English), sorted by:
      Bestselling or by Highest Rated   or by Publication Date
    These include both the classics and non-classic books.


   UPDATE 12/20-21 to include mostly Public Domain (Classics included) titles -- somehow some contemporary ones and books with the work 'classic' in the description are also included.
2.  MOSTLY CLASSICS & PUBLIC DOMAIN
    The Public Domain ones include later books or documents that are offered to the public by government or informational organizations.
    As of today, 12/23/2012, there are over 33,000 Classics and Public Domain offerings and some impurities that sneak in.  These are sorted by:
      Bestselling or by Highest Rated   or by Publication Date
    The last, publication-date, sort is best for latest free government or organizational information releases on quite esoteric subjects. [End of Update]


3.  NON-CLASSICS ONLY (mainly)
 Amazon's CURRENTLY FREE Non-Classics sorted by Bestselling, or by Highest Rated, or by Publication Date.

    UK links added:
    Recently published free books and bestsellers


  The free Non-classic Kindle books list changes almost daily, sometimes hourly.

This should help with finding Amazon's Kindle Digital-Text Platform (DTP)-published authors' new self-published books and other-publisher Kindle books that are discounted):

        (NOTE:  SOME higher prices will appear in each set because their prices changed but they are
           still tagged somewhere as the lower price.)

    These are links for non-classics UNDER $1 (From $0.01 to $1)
    a. For Under $1.00     Non-Classics sorted by NEWEST publication date
    b. For Under $1.00     Non-Classics sorted by BESTSELLING books
    c. For Under $1.00     Non-Classics sorted by CUSTOMER RATINGS.

    and links for non-classics FROM $1 to $1.99 (mostly)
    a. From $1 to $1.99     Non-Classics sorted by NEWEST publication date
    b. From $1 to $1.99     Non-Classics sorted by BESTSELLING books
    c. From $1 to $1.99     Non-Classics sorted by CUSTOMER RATINGS

    and links for non-classics FROM $2 to $2.99 (mostly)
    a. From $2 to $2.99     Non-Classics sorted by NEWEST publication date
    b. From $2 to $2.99     Non-Classics sorted by BESTSELLING books
    c. From $2 to $2.99     Non-Classics sorted by CUSTOMER RATINGS

  You can change the Sort on the Amazon page, at the top-right.

4.  The Project Gutenberg e-books catalog (MOBI editions) for Kindles.  You can browse or search the catalog on your Kindle and click on one to have it downloaded to your Kindle from the site.
 There are no Amazon charges on a download from the Project Gutenberg site.

5.  A humongous Amazon Forum thread on a million or so books readable on the Kindle - How to get them (mostly free).

6.  How to convert, in 2-3 minutes, any of Google's half million free books.  They are available in ePub format.  But you can now download instead the PDF versions although the re-flowed text of ePub and Kindle-Mobi books may be easier to read than original layout PDFs.


OTHER SEARCHES
I need to add these days that some international Kindle users in Europe and some other countries are in high wireless-cost areas, so Amazon charges about $2 more in some countries for the otherwise free book.  They've removed the additional charge in a few countries though.

  FREE CLASSICS AND PUBLIC DOMAIN BOOKS AVAILABLE ELSEWHERE
(Let me know what you use, from the list below, that needs updating.  Thanks.)
  For these Amazon customers and any Kindle owners interested in finding mostly free, direct-to-Kindle e-books at other sites -- these sites can download direct to a Kindle, at no cost:

You can also download to your Kindle or computer, for later transfer to your Kindle, free "mobi" or "prc" format books from feedbooks.com, manybooks.net, fictionwise.com, and as I've often mentioned, any of 30,000 well-formatted books from the Project Gutenberg set.

  Recommended also are the millions of free Internet Archive books and documents plus other offerings from the January 24, 2010 blog article.
  The Internet Archive folks are responsible for Open Library -- "Open Library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published."

  Mobileread Forum books makes very well-proofed e-books.  This links to their listing of e-books, sorted by Amazon-readable 'PRC' format and by most recent first.  These tend to be very well formatted, with linked table-of-contents page when applicable, and mostly free.  Some of their ebooks are sold at Amazon and I think more of them will use the self-publishing feature of Amazon in the future.

  Baen.com.   Baen's Free Library offers science-fiction in ".prc" (MOBI) format, which is essentially the Kindle format without rights-protection.  While Baen's e-books might not be directly downloaded to the Kindle  (they offer you the choice to email their e-books to your Kindle instead) -- and if you get a book that way, it incurs costs of about 15c per megabyte of a file.  Books that are mainly text seldom are more than a megabyte so the cost would be 15c).

But you can choose to, instead, download Baen's e-books to the computer and transfer them via USB cable to the Kindle's "documents" folder (or use the USB cable to attach the Kindle to your computer and download direct to the Kindle's "documents" folder.  Here's their Guide to doing that.
  Baen.com also sells non-rights-protected commercial offerings (in addition to offering free classics) in that format.

NOTE: Again, Kindles with 3G Cellular wireless or using WiFi networks CAN download books direct-to-Kindle from several book stores (see above) using the Kindle web-browser. 

If wondering what the differences are between the '3G' and 'WiFi' capabilities, a short blog article here may help.

FURTHER UPDATE 12/20-21, 2011
Feedbooks Dedicated Kindle Guide
Commenter Tom Semple pointed out that Feedbooks.com discontinued the Kindle Guide but has instructions for downloading the Kindle-compatible editions as well as a link for downloading them direct to the Kindle. [End of Update]

Mobile Device-Optimized Pages
  For those who can and do use the wireless feature to look up information on the Net, there are links to the mobile-device-optimized versions of the webpages for feedbooks.com and manybooks.net.
  The Kindle can access these two sites more easily using these links::
    (1) feedbooks.com-mobile: http://www.feedbooks.com/?format=mobile and
    (2) manybooks.net: http://mnybks.net.

  Some (especially e-Ink reader users) who need smaller mobile-oriented webpages might want to use the free, downloadable 'book' file I put together which is made up of mobile-device-friendly links to various popular websites and which explains some workarounds for problems that might be encountered using webpages such as the one for gmail.

AMAZON'S Free Book Collections webpage
As of March 2, 2010, Amazon added a new page with pointers to Free Book Collections on the Net, all of which are included here. This ongoing blog article includes other large, Kindle-compatible book sources as well and has pointers to and links for such things as how to get the Project Gutenberg books on your Kindle directly, without needing to use a computer vs the method described at Amazon's page.

  That new Amazon page also includes a link to its own Amazon Free Classics listing. There are over 15,500 free classics at Amazon.  Again, annotations made on these Classics can be kept on your private, password-protected webpage on the Amazon servers, and you can sync Amazon books between your Kindle-compatible devices, including smart phones, tablets, and with free apps for them and for your PC or Mac.

---

NOT FREE
 For those interested in an easier-to-remember shortcut to Amazon's current 100 Bestsellers (the majority seem to be free but there are regular-priced ones in the list as well), try http://bit.ly/kbsellers.

Here's a search some have requested on the forums -- non-classics under $10, for a time when the Big6 publishers (with Apple iBookstore as driving force) have successfully pushed Amazon to the "Agency" model and to prices too often from $13 to $15 for newer books.

  That lists contemporary Kindle books priced from $3.00 through $9.99, and sorts by bestselling books, with most popular books first, as Kindle owners on forums have wanted to be able to easily find e-books that are priced below $10.
  These start at $3 because $0 to $2.99 range is already covered above.
  When at the page results, you can sort by low-to-high or high-to low also, using the options in the top, right-hand corner.

  Also, a popular item for browsing has been the Bestsellers in Kindle books for 2009.   This was first noted in the blog entry for Amazon's Best of 2009.
  Later added Bestsellers in Kindle books for 2010.
  And here's Bestsellers in Kindle books for 2011 so far (Dec. 19 Update).


*NON*-KINDLE - These are paper books, but the 40% discounts should be noted.
  As of March 3, 2010, Amazon has created a new page that highlights what they consider "the best new books" to read every month.  These feature "editors' picks" and "reviews of the best new reads in fiction, nonfiction, and books for young readers, available at 40% off all month long."  The new page is titled Amazon's Best Books of the Month Store.
  Again, these are *NOT* Kindle books, but some books are not in Kindle format and some readers don't have Kindles, yet :-)

---

Current Kindle Models for reference, plus free-ebook search links.

US: New Kindle Fire HD 7" 2nd Gen - $139/169 Kindle Fire HDX 7" 16-64GB - $229/269/309 Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" 16-64GB - $379/429/479 - with 4G added: $479/529/579 Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16GB - 1st Gen $229 - 32GB w/ no special-offers: $314 Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89 Kindle Touch WiFi - $99 Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi - $119/$139 Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi+3G - $189 Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free web Kindle DX - $379 $199 (NEW price)

UK: Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £69 Kindle Touch WiFi, UK - ~£89 Refurb'd Kindle Keyboard 3G, UK - £149   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi - £109 Kindle Paperwhite 3G, UK - £169 Kindle Fire 2, UK -  £129 Kindle Fire HD 7" 16/32GB, UK - £159/199 Canada - Kindlestore, CDN-$ Kindle Basic, NoTouch - $79 Kindle Paperwhite 2 - $169 Kindle Paperwhite 2, 3G - $209 KFire HD 7" $214,  8.9" $284

*OTHER Int'l pages* Kindle NoTouch Basic - $89 Kindle Keybd 3G - $189   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB Paperwhite WiFi $139, 3G/Wifi $209 KFire HD 7" $214,  8.9" $284 France Boutique Kindle Deutschland - Kindle Store Italia - Kindle Store Spain - Tienda Kindle Brazil - Amazon Brazil China - Amazon China [?] Japan - Amazon Japan

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Kindle and Kindle Fire Software Updates Roundup: Update for NEW Kindle Fire HD (2nd Gen) - v11.3.0.1 and for coming HDX - v13.3.0.1 + the recent one for Kindle Paperwhite 1, v5.3.8

SOFTWARE UPDATES for new KINDLE FIRE HDX and HD lineup
1. Amazon has rather quietly made a software update available for the already-shipped (Oct. 2) new Kindle Fire HD 2nd Gen tablet (which replaces last year's basic Kindle Fire that had no HD, no camera, and no HDMI-out and which sold, retail, for $159).

This now current Kindle Fire HD 7" tablet, the new basic model this year, has an even lower price, but has been given an HD (High Definition) display.  However, as with last year's basic model, it has no camera for Skype and no HDMI-out port. (Don't confuse it with last year's "HD" model, which had all that for $199.  Amazon has now titled this year's basic tablet model the Kindle Fire HD (2nd Gen) in the lineup at its all-encompassing Kindles Help page as well as at its software update pages.

The ever vigilant and often prescient Jesslyn of MyKindleStuff wrote early Friday to let me know she'd seen news of and pages for software updates for the new Kindle Fire HDX and HD line at Softpedia.  They, in fact, were mirroring what is at Amazon's software update pages, and after being alerted by Softpedia, I'd always actually get the latest update at Amazon itself.  So, here are the pages for those updates.  (This new trio of tablets will go International later on, with "Stay tuned" the word.)

For the above-described Kindle Fire HD 7" 2nd Gen tablet, software update v11.3.0.1 can be downloaded from its update page if you'd rather not wait for Amazon to send it "over the air," and one method is to merely do it from the tablet.  Instructions are on that page.

' This software update will be delivered wirelessly and includes feature enhancements and general improvements for your Kindle Fire HD 2nd Generation.  This update automatically downloads and installs on your Kindle Fire HD 2nd Generation; however, you can also manually download the software and update your device via USB cable. '

2. The HDX tablets have not shipped yet and are not scheduled to, until Oct. 18 (for the 7" HDX w/o 4G/LTE) and Nov. 7 (for the 8.9" HDX w/o 4G/LTE).
  However, there is already an update waiting for the HDX's, and once your Kindle HDX arrives, it will probably automatically install the update once you are connected to your WiFi network, which means it will reboot at least twice, at that point, since they tend to come with battery power at a 60% level, which is high enough for a software install process.  It's important to not interrupt the re-boot process.  Wait until it's done, even if eager to try it out.  I actually plug mine into the wall socket, to be sure.

  If the software update does not automatically install for you after awhile, you can make it happen at the Kindle Fire HDX software update page.  The changes in this update:

' This software update will be delivered wirelessly and includes feature enhancements and general improvements for your Kindle Fire HDX. This update automatically downloads and installs on your Kindle Fire HDX; however, you can also manually download the software and update your device via USB cable.

The software update includes the following enhancement:
  Mayday Button
  Tap the Mayday button from Quick Settings to get in touch with an Amazon Tech advisor from your device when you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network. '

KINDLE PAPERWHITE 1 Software Update v5.3.8

Kindle Paperwhite Software Upgrade to v5.3.8

I incorrectly thought that I'd blogged this update and found today I hadn't when I actually received this "over the air" and couldn't remember what the improvements were and looked up Kindle Paperwhite 1.   See Paperwhite (US);   (UK Paperwhite: here; Global Paperwhite: here.) [Bracketed notes are mine.]

Amazon Kindle Forum Notice
"Initial post: Sep 5, 2013 9:56:10 AM PDT
David A. - Forum Moderator says:

' We have a new, free software update available for Kindle Paperwhite which can be found [here] [U.S.]

    [Here's the UK-only software update page]

This update automatically downloads and installs on your Kindle Paperwhite; however, you can also manually download the software and transfer the update to your device via USB cable.

The software update includes general improvements and the following feature enhancements:

* Search terms highlighted in search results
When you search for a word or phrase within a book, the search terms will appear highlighted within the search results. When you tap a result to go to that location in the book, the search terms will appear highlighted on the page.
* Select other dictionaries when looking up a word
When you look up a word in the dictionary, you can choose to look up the word in other dictionaries on your device from within the dictionary definition window.
* View other definitions of a word [within same window]
When you look up a word that has multiple meanings for the same spelling (homonym), you can navigate through each of the available definitions from within the dictionary definition window. '

As ever, note that keeping your Kindle always connected to a Wi-Fi network can drain your battery faster.  So, once you've got the update "over the air," put the Paperwhite back to "Airplane Mode ON" via the 'Settings' option on the Menu -- the option lets you toggle Wireless Off with the "Airplane On" choice.
 They still have not put the "Wireless Off" and "On" back on the front menu as they recently did for the Kindle Touch, removing the 'airplane mode' icon, which many of us wish they would do, as it is very inconvenient to have it on a secondary menu and many do not even know about the wireless-off feature, causing more battery drain and confusion over that.  Amazon: please do this in the next update; the Kindle Touch team has the right problem-avoiding idea.

  I realize they prefer Wireless 'On' due to delivery of Special Offers but the battery-drain problem can occur when circumstances involve subscriptions that are downloaded regularly or due to a weaker connection that results from the distance from the router, in which case the device keeps trying to connect when a download is due (and that can be for the special offers that Amazon regularly needs to send for those who choose to opt for the less-expensive special-offers feature).

Only if you'd rather not wait - DOWNLOADING and transferring the Update via USB
US:  Go to the Kindle Paperwhite Software Update v5.3.8 download section to get the instructions for the download and transfer to your Kindle via USB:
UK:  Go to the same for the UK-only page


Well, that should do it for today's software update alerts.  Expect more soon, since someone posted in the Kindle forums that they had received v5.4.0 on their Paperwhite (which may have been for the Paperwhite2, but this is all I know for now).



  For daily free ebooks, check the following links:

Temporarily-free books - Non-classics USA: by:    Publication Date      Bestselling   High-ratings UK: PubDate   Popular The Kindle Daily Deal What is 3G? and "WiFi"?       Battery Care Highly-rated under $1,  Newest: $1-$2, $2-$3

Most Popular Free K-Books U.S. & Int'l (NOT UK):    Top 100 free UK-Only:    Top 100 free Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources. USEFUL for your Kindle Keyboard (U.S. only, currently):   99c Notepad 1.1,   99c Calculator,   99c Calendar,   99c Converter

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

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Kindle Fire HDX and HD tips: Several things to know. Which tablets have certain features (or don't) and which features will come later. Unheralded enhancements. Yr 2012 HD 8.9" Kindle Fire HD w/ HDMI-out is now $229

What, where, and when are the new features coming with the new Kindle Fire HDX and HD line?

Here again is the simple table comparison of new models here for easy reference, with
Pricing bases plus Amazon links for the new HDX models and the new basic HD 7"
  ALL have Dolby Audio Dual Stereo Speakers and Dual band WiFi, while the HDX models have dual antennas also.

Starting prices are with special offers that they say will offer more savings than Lighting deals.

Kindle Fire HD 7" - $139   Basic "family" tablet, HD 2nd Gen 8 and 16GB options Display: 1280 x 800, 216 PPI Ram: 1GB No camera or mic (no Skype) No HDMI-out, No Mayday Dual-core 1.5 GHz processor

Kindle Fire HDX 7" - $229   'Personal' HDX tablet 16, 32 or 64GB options Display: 1920 x 1200, 323 PPI Ram: 2GB Front-facing, 720p camera No HDMI-out: Use 'Fling' or Miracast Quad-core 2.2 GHz processor

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" - $379   'Does it all' HDX tablet 16, 32, or 64GB options Display: 2560 x 1600, 339 PPI Ram: 2GBfling Adds 8MB rear-facing camera No HDMI-out: Use 'Fling' or Miracast Quad-core 2.2 GHz processor

  (The 1st generation HD 8.9" remains available, starting at $229) **.  See why you might want the Yr 2012 HD 8.9" 1st Gen model instead but you'd be missing many new features you might want (info in original new-HDX's blog article).

  (This is a follow up to the main Overview of features for new HDX/HD line that was first posted Sept. 25, 2013, with several information updates after that.)

QUESTIONS in the Kindle forums have generally been about the details of the many new features, which models offer them, and WHEN the features will actually be available, since the tablets to be received in Oct. and early November won't have them all.  A mid-November update is expected to bring most of the more-delayed ones.

READY ON THE NEWLY DELIVERED 3RD-GEN KINDLE FIRE HDX/HD's
    ("[ ALL ]" includes HDX and HD models -- confirmed by Amazon)

. Mayday video-help (Press release and Amazon's detailed Comparison Table say "HDX" only.
. Expanded X-RAY, with Music also, for Movies and TV [ ALL ]
      See Song titles as they play in-scene (powered by IMDB)
. Carousel and Grid Views -- From Amazon's Mojito" Press Release: [ ALL ]
      "...home screen easily switches between viewing their recent content on the Carousel
      or their favorites in Grid view.  [ ALL ]
. Quiet Time - mute all incoming notifications and calendar reminders [ ALL ]
. Quick Switch - Go between multiple apps, using a global swipe gesture [ ALL ]
      without navigating Home
. Enhanced E-mail - Makes it easier to set up accounts and group conversations
      by subject [ ALL ]
. Basic printing support Accessibility Tools [ ALL ]
. Downloading of "Prime Instant Video movies and TV shows -- "now available..." [ ALL ]
    The press release for the HDX models had mentioned this is
    "exclusively on Kindle Fire HDX," while the press release for
    the HD 7" model included it as an "Amazon-exclusive feature."
    I received confirmation it's on all 3 new tablets.)  But publishers will
    probably decide which movies can be downloaded as well as streamed.
. Miracast capability - Display, wirelessly on your HDTV, what is on your tablet. [ ALL ]
    This displays, wirelessly on your HDTV, what is on your tablet and
    it requires a Miracast-enabled adapter.   Amazon Search 1, Search 2.
      TV-involved technology is very sophisticated, so I asked for clarification
    on whether it was included in the $139 basic Kindle HD 7"tablet.
      The response: "Both Second Screen (coming later this month) and Miracast
    mirroring are available on all of the new tablets (including the $139 HD)."


COMING MID-NOVEMBER VIA A FREE OVER-THE-AIR UPDATE
. Second Screen and 'Fling' technology, turning your TV into the primary
    screen and freeing up your Fire as a 'second' screen to email, browse the web,
    play a game, or follow along scene-by-scene with x-ray.  
    Note that this works with some Samsung TVs and newer Playstations. [ ALL ]
. Goodreads integration - sharing from within a Kindle book [ ALL ]
. Cloud Collections - Organize your apps, books, newspapers, and magazines in
    customized collections...Whispersync sunchronizes the collections across
    your Kindle devices and reading apps.   [ ALL ]
    "Organize your content library into Collections like "Favorite Books" and "Sports Apps"
      Whispersync technology synchronizes the collections across your Kindle devices
    and reading apps so they’re available on all of your devices..."
. The 1-Tap Archive feature - Not enough space remaining?
    Frees up space on your Kindle Fire by identifying items not used recently
    and provides a 1-tap option to store them in the Cloud for later retrieval.  [ ALL ]
. Complete Enterprise Support - "Reliable management of Kindle tablet deployments,
    with support for encryption, Kerberos Intranet, secure Wi-Fi connections
    and VPN integration.  Encryption is software-based on the $139 model and
    hardware-based on the HDX.  [ ALL ]
. Extended Printing Support - Print photos, PDFs, e-mails, contacts, calendar,
    and Kindle docs.  [ ALL ]


LESS-KNOWN OR DISCUSSED FEATURES - Some are under the hood, but the results were requested.
The Essential and primary Coming features are already described in some detail in the main Kindle Fire HDX article, and I'll add some detail below while listing some of the less-marketed new features and capabilities.

New Graphics Engine "Perfect for Gaming"
Before this new line of tablets, the Google Nexus was superior in this area.  But the new Kindle Fire hardware is the fastest available.

  "The new Adreno 330 graphics engine on Kindle Fire HDX delivers 4x the graphics performance of the previous generation Kindle Fire HD.  This combination of a new graphics engine, HDX display, quad-core processor, and 2x the memory creates a more immersive, high-frame rate HD gaming experience."

The lightest, large-screen tablet , at 13.2 ounces and 34% lighter than before.
"Amazon integrated the capacitive touch layer directly into the glass display on Fire HDX, leaving a lighter single layer instead of the typical 2-layer display stack.

  The Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" frame is a single-piece of machined magnesium with a blend of glass and nylon molded onto the unibody to create openings for the antennas and maximize signal strength without sacrificing sturdiness..."

8MP Rear-Facing Camera for Kindle Fire HDX 8.9"
While both HDX tablets have front-facing cameras at 720p for HD video calls with Skype use primarily, the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" model "has an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera that allows for high-resolution photos and 1080p HD video, plus an LED flash, Electronic Image Stabilization, and a wide-aperture 5P f2.2 lens that lets in more light, reducing exposure times and producing sharper images.  See a [19-second] video: http://amzn.to/fire-camera, which mentions "HDR images, panoramas, and burst photos, even in low light, as well as video in 1080p."

  In-camera 'HDR' would normally mean the camera takes at least 3 pictures with different exposures to get the best combination of highly-contrasting light, for a final single picture.  There's no explanation what was meant by 'HDR' in the video and no information on how the panoramas are done (wide-sweep like iPhones and Sony RX100's? or more like auto-stitched photos?).

Optimizing Download Manager
Amazon's doing serious work here.  They're optimizing parallel content downloads.

' Unlike standard Android, Fire OS adjusts the number of simultaneous downloads per device, so that foreground app performance is not impacted by background download activity.

In addition, the Optimizing Download Manager automatically pauses ongoing content downloads when the customer starts streaming an Amazon Instant Video, to maximize video quality.

  Customers can prioritize individual items to download first, and with progressive download they can open videos, Audible audiobooks, or magazines and start enjoying them while the download is still ongoing. '

That's pretty impressive.

Graphics Direct Texture - More optimization for speed
This "replaces the standard Android graphics pipeline.  The Fire OS graphics system is customized to quickly load large graphical assets like the high-resolution cover art in the Fire OS home screen.  It enables the Carousel and the Fire OS media libraries to include large, detailed images and still load quickly and scroll smoothly."

Touch Responsiveness - Very clever what they've done with the Touch processes.
  The system dynamically increases the CPU speed after the customer lifts the finger off the screen, to minimize delay in response to touch in games and apps.

  When a customer taps an app in the Carousel or Grid views, the system removes unnecessary overhead and drives the app animation direct to the graphics processor, and the app will open immediately.
  So, they were listening.

Tablet Reading Mode optimizations for battery life
Now, when you're just reading static pages, which would take less resources in the first place, the system "automatically powers down unnecessary system components, storing the text in a dedicated, low-power memory, and powering down the CPU."  A lot of thought was put into the lower-level enhancements.


Origami cases or covers that Amazon highlights
Well, these are fairly expensive -- For the 8.9" HDX, the cost is $65 for the leather one and $55 for the polyurethane, so what are the upsides?  I normally buy lighter, less-expensive ones but these are described by Amazon as the 'lightest, thinnest' available for the new Kindles.

  The Origami covers have magnetized panels that allow it to stand in either landscape or portrait orientation and should be easier to attach or remove, and they redirect the speaker sound back toward you.  An unusual plus for camera users is that if you slide the device up in the case, the camera automatically starts, allowing you to quickly snap a picture

  Here's a good video showing how it works for the larger model with the 8-megapixels rear-facing camera..


Youtube
The other day, I saw the words "Youtube optimized..." and the name of an app on one of the marketing pages.  Looking for it today, I no longer see that wording, but it's interesting to see how Amazon has worked on making Youtube, a Google-owned video site, easier to access.  What I see today is:

' YouTube
Enjoy your favorite YouTube videos — easily discover, bookmark, and view video content. '

The GooglePlay apps question
This question comes up a lot.  I replied yesterday to tech-site articles that said that Amazon users are locked into the Amazon ecosystem.  Well, of course that's not true, but it's still a powerful myth among tech writers on the larger sites.

  Android system tablets include a Settings box that lets us choose to allow installation of apps from 'unknown sources' and Amazon actually enabled that option box (while B&N did not for its Nook tablets before giving up on their current tablets and their own apps store).

That enabled setting lets us get other appstore shopping apps to download from as we do at Amazon, though Amazon is the best vetted store for Kindle Fire users.  1mobile and m.getjar.com are favorites of many of us, but 1mobile is the easiest and has over 300,000 Google Play apps now.  I go there only if an app is not available at the Amazon store for the Kindle Fire.  I also wait two or three days before downloading a new version from ANY appstore to make sure it's not giving users unforeseen problems.

  So, Kindle Fire users can install non-Apps easily by straight-downloading them to a totally unmodified Kindle Fire.  See How to install non-Amazon apps on the Kindle Fire HD to discover how easy it is to install google-play apps (not in Amazon's store) on a Kindle Fire because there are now many good app stores that carry those GooglePlay apps and which do not bar the Kindle Fires from downoading them.  No rooting or modifications are needed - just a checking of a Settings box.

  With regard to the walled-garden complaint,a summary: The setting to install apps from 'unknown sources' is a normal Android setting.  It also means that the Amazon tablets are not walled in or 'locked' into Amazon with no access to the world outside.  You can decide to open the door and allow yourself to go outside Amazon to pick up an item you want.  Amazon did the right thing there but gets little credit for it from most tech-review sites.


  Availability, Shipping Estimates - Pre-Orders for "a place in line" started Sept 25.
  Kindle Fire HDX 7":    Oct 18, but with 4G: Nov 14.
  Kindle Fire HDX 8.9": Nov 7, but with 4G Dec 10
  Kindle Fire 7" HD 2nd Gen: Oct. 2.


  You can do a TRADE-IN on your older Kindles
To learn how to submit a trade-in order for your Kindle, visit this Help page


Related article
Also, see the main Overview of features for new HDX/HD line that was first posted Sept. 25, 2013, with several information updates after that.

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Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  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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