Saturday, May 1, 2010

Kindle for PC App Updated with Excellent Features but missing a few


The Kindle for PC page has been updated (see features of original, basic Kindle for PC) to show the following features added:
* Create new highlights, notes [identified with mouse movements], and bookmarks
*   and manage those created on your Kindle
* Full screen reading view [love it]
* Color modes [allows the change of background & text colors and offers sepia as well -- this feature is found under the Aa icon as well as through the View sub-menu option for "Text Color" although this should say "text-background color" rather than "text color" since I thought at first they meant text-fonts color.   I'd especially wanted this set of features after reading about them in the Kindle for iPad app].
* Brightness controls [sliding control under Aa icon also "
These are excellent features, but I wish they had the Kindle-style Search capability ready.  I use that in Kindle books more than any other feature except the in-line Dictionary and really miss the search capability when using this otherwise pleasing alternate method of reading a Kindle book.

 And it seems the Dictionary might not be available for the PC and Mac "Kindle for..." apps (?), as I've seen no mention of it at for those -- BUT in the Kindle for iPad ad, Amazon promises "Coming soon: Search and instant dictionary lookup .

  Might Amazon actually decide to make the iPad more useful for Kindle books (offering the instant dictionary) than our Kindle-owner pc's and Macs would be ?  Had to ask that question, and I'll send it to the feedback crew.  I'll hope that was just an oversight.

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

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

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

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

At the Future Improvements page for this app (easily reachable from the app's Help menu's Future Improvements choice), Amazon tells us what they are thinking of bringing to the app in the "near future."
* Search
    You will be able to search within your book or across your Kindle library
    [That had been one of the features listed last time.]
* Two page reading mode
* Zoom and rotate images
    Click on an image to see an expanded view and rotate it if desired
* Collections
    [to organize the books downloaded to Kindle for PC, a feature now being slowly rolled out, to a few, on current Kindle models' software update v2.5, and to be distributed to all current Kindle models by late May.]
The Kindle team says they'd like to hear from Kindle for PC users.
  " You can send them to the Kindle team at kindleforpc-feedback@amazon.com or via the feedback form available in the application - we'd love to hear what you think! "



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10 comments:

  1. Hi Andrys

    Is the Kindle for PC update automatic or do I have to reinstall it?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kathy,
    You need to click on the link to get the file and and then run it. The setup will see the existing Kindle for PC files and update them with the new features once you run the file you download. It's seamless.

    Good luck !

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for the summary, Andrys! Is there any indication where the notes and highlights are kept when using Kindle For PC? Do you know if these notes on KFPC will synch across all the reading platforms, or simply stay resident on the host machine?

    ReplyDelete
  4. For a dictionary on Kindle for PC, I would strongly recommend installing WordWeb (http://wordweb.info/). It has hotkey functionality which allows you to look up any word instantly, from inside any Windows application. It works great with the Kindle for PC. (I am not affiliated with the product.)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi, Will -
    I haven't looked but they're probably where the books are kept, under Documents & Settings folder, in a Kindle app subfolder and in a small aassociated file, as happens with the Kindle device.

    Yes, the created notes will be synced with the other devices, they say, unless you have your sync'g between devices Off, which I did for a long time because I wanted to check the less used Kindle 1 for awhile without it affecting my current one. (The sync'g option is at the bottom of your Amazon 'manageyourkindle' page.)

    Okay, just found it in the link to the highlighting help-page. Here's what it says:

    "The Kindle application allows you to add highlights and leave notes in your reading the same as you would on a Kindle. Any annotations you make in your reading are automatically synced across devices so you see the same notes on your other Kindle devices or applications.

    Note: To use this feature, please make sure you are using the most recent version of the Kindle application."

    (The previous Kindle app for PC didn't have it at all.)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jerry,
    Thanks very much for that tip ! I'll try it out.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks, Andrys, for the response. Of course, I don't think this will work for items not purchased through the Amazon Kindle Store, right?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Will, if I put .mobi or .prc books into the folder within documents & settings folder, they are read by my Kindle for PC.

    It's not retrieved from Amazon but it's noticed and readable by Kindle for PC.

    I think that even happens when I click on a .prc file elsewhere on my computer now. The file-association may have been made.

    What doesn't work is that Amazon won't be backing up non-Amazon-book files of course and so it won't be sync'g the non-Amazon files between devices.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Greetings -- I just wanted to thank you for your excellent work on this site. As a fellow Kindle lover, I've found your site to be a valuable tool that has enhanced my already strong appreciation for my Kindle.

    By the way, I was led to your site by Stephen Windwalker through his blog at http://kindlehomepage.blogspot.com/.

    Best wishes for continued success, and thanks again!

    WitStop

    ReplyDelete

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