A Kindle World blog: January 2012

Monday, January 30, 2012

Optimism at Digital Book World 2012 - Borrowing, exposure, and subsequent purchasing

Findings on 'book-buying behavior' from the Digital Book World 2012 Conference

While this isn't about free e-books or the latest e-readers (or tablets), there are some interesting trends pointed out in Library Journal's report on the Digital Book World 2012 conference of publishers, authors, agents, librarians, editors, marketers, and bookstores.
Library Journal's Heather McCormack sensed a "markedly different psychology among the Big Six suits" that hasn't otherwise been reported.

"The damaging fear-induced myopia that took over publishing with the rise of ebooks in 2009 seems to be waning," she writes. More than one CEO used what used to be an uncool word, ecosystem :-)

Verso Media presented the findings of its 2011 Survey of Book Buying Behavior, including that there are:

' 70 million “avid book-buyers” in America and that they patronize online retailers, chain bricks-and-mortars, and local independent bookstores... ”

Co-existence seems so natural if some would just relax their fear of what the interest in e-books will "do to" print-book sales and instead take advantage of the fact that both are available and both have an audience but that with changes in technology always come changes in methods and, historically, those who do well adjust to those changes and make the most of them.

McCormack adds

"More public libraries (9,225 according to ALA) exist than do independents in this country, so Random has done a wise thing by stepping up its library marketing and going deeper into the trenches to interact with patrons, likely part of the demographic who made “personal recommendations” (at 49.2 percent) the top ranking way that respondents in the Verso study found out about new books. Coming in at number two, not surprisingly, was bookstore staff recommendations (at 30.8 percent). '

That's right - as ever, the value of word of mouth and what that does for book buying.

Unfortunately, Random House was the only Big Six publisher "to make the connection publicly between indies and public libraries," according to McCormack.

Some still think of library purchases as "lost sales" or, on the other side, think that library patronage will make a publisher millions overnight, but, more realistically, Library Journal's Patron Profiles "demonstrates a clear link between borrowing books and purchasing them, not to mention a discovery opportunity for publishers." Some stats from the study:

"Power Patrons" - those who visit the physical library at least once a week:
On average, they borrow 42 books a year and buy 10.
40% of them reported buying a title they'd previously borrowed
2/3rds reported buying a book by an author discovered via the library.

"Word of mouth is essential to marketing, and Power Patrons are also active users of social media.

Amazon's Russ Grandinetti said that preliminary findings from the Amazon Prime Lending program were that sales for books available to Prime subscribers via the Lending Library have increased since the program started.

' As an example, Grandinetti cited people who read the first entry in “The Hunger Games” trilogy bought the second book 19 percent of the time rather than wait.

The same scenario played out with the third entry in the series. (Note: Kindle owners can borrow only one book every month from the Lending Library.) '

However, library patrons have always looked for books by the traditional publishers, of course, or Big 6 content -- currently, only Random House and HarperCollins loan ebooks to libraries though.

That is such a sad situation. Some libraries have increased budgets for ebooks but "can't find enough books to acquire." Time then to add focus on independent publisher books with good word of mouth...

McCormack comes to three more-positive conclusions.

. "A 'lost loan,' so to speak, for a library could very well mean a sale for an indie, B&N, or Amazon and money in the pockets of publishers...
. "A lost loan" may not even be that because..."indies are plentiful in OverDrive's catalog (and could perform so well that the Big Six holdouts cave)"
. "...while data is still lacking on how libraries contribute to the publishing ecosystem, we’ve laid a firm foundation, thanks in part to Amazon, five words I never thought I’d type."

Note that the word indies is used in the Library Journal article to mean either independent bookstores or independent publishers/authors depending on context.

Photo credit: 52projects.com

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

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Hotmail App ready for Kindle Fire, which passed Samsung Galaxy Tab as most-used Android tablet, plus those 5-star accessory-reviews

Kindle Fire Edges Samsung Galaxy Tab and gets Hotmail app

I didn't think that very many people use hotmail accounts anymore, but apparently they do, enough, GMA News says, for Microsoft to announce the advantages of their new official Kindle Fire app:

In the Kindle Fire application, [Hotmail product management director] David Law said the new Hotmail app can sync all mail, contacts, folders, and subfolders via the more robust Exchange Active Sync protocol.
In contrast, he said the native Kindle application [the only option until now] simply downloads mail via POP3.

On the other hand, he said they had to tweak the app for Kindle Fire because it uses a different implementation of Android. '

GMA News added that "Law said the apps for iOS and Android benefit 12 million active Hotmail users on iOS and over three million active users of Android apps.

Kindle Fire, in first 2 months, edges past Samsung Galaxy Tab as most used Android tablet
GigaOM's Ryan Kim writes that according to analytics firm Flurry, The Kindle Fire, which wasn't even released until mid-November, had "35.7 percent of application user sessions."

The numbers compared usage in November and January, before and after the holiday season. The intriguing graphs are on the Flurry page. What's considered remarkable is that the Kindle Fire overtook the Galaxy Tab in such a very short time, despite "Galaxy Tab sessions increasing by more than 50%."

As reported by others, Android tablets have been growing aggressively suddenly, and the momentum has been identified as largely Kindle-Fire fueled.

The ratio of of "Top Paid Downloads":
Kindle, 2.53 and Galaxy Tab 1.00

It does seem to reflect Amazon's focus on the razor-razorblade model, with a very low-cost razor driving, of course, sales of razor blades (what else?). Flurry adds that this

"sheds light on why they [Amazon mgmt] embrace the end-user experience and the religious focus on making the sale of content compelling and easy. Further, it shows us why launching with an aggressive low price penetration strategy for their hardware, priced at $199, was critical to its strategy.

Amazon’s distribution model starts with its own roots: books, music and video (aka “BMV”). Through this move, Kindle Fire is changing the rules of engagement on the Android platform to shape the playing field into one where they, the consumer and the developer win. '

Well, let's hope so.

Watch those 5-star Accessories reviews !
TIME Magazine cites yesterday's NY Times article on VIP Deals ('Vipertek') giving customers rebates for writing reviews while saying it strives for 5-star ones.

I would add that a $10 case people liked when most cases were priced at $40 was likely also a factor, but the trend of buying reviews should be nipped fast.

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

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Kindle News: Android market growing due to Kindle Fire, + Amzn to compete w/ Netflix? + good Intro to Kindle e-Ink devices w/ tests of e-Ink screen differences (slight) + Best free comics on KFire, Amazon digital pirate unmasked

A GOOD ASSORTMENT OF NEWS
And I'll mainly point you to most of it.

ANDROID MARKET SHARE'S SHARP RISE
Intomobile's Blake Stimac writes that Android’s tablet market share rises to 39 percent in Q4 2011, according to Strategy Analytics, "which has counted the Kindle Fire into the Android mix."

Stimac, who presents the global table of operating system shipments and market share on Infomobile's page, says, "it's probably safe to assume that the sharp rise is likely due to the Kindle Fire. See their page for considerably more detail.

NETFLIX AGREES WITH RUMOR ABOUT AMAZON PLANS
Tech Buzz Examiner Michael Santo writes that Netflix agrees that Amazon, which is obviously constantly expanding its streaming video service, Amazon Instant Video (many announcements about it recently), may expand their video service "into a standalone subscription service" as described by the New York Post. See story and detail at Santos' TechBuzz page and at the NY Post. A Netflix comment stressed by Santo:

' “We expect Amazon to continue to offer their video service as a free extra with Prime domestically but also to brand their video subscription offering as a standalone service at a price less than ours.” '

BEST 15 FREE COMICS ON KFIRE
Comics Alliance's John Parker gives us a list of 15 best free issues of comics that he's found, based on "device readability, likelihood of drawing in new readers, and how badly they make you want more."

He was surprised to get a Kindle Fire for the holidays and not initially excited about it due to what he terms his "tactile orientation" making it hard for him to "get along with the idea of digital comics" but he is coming along. Profusely illustrated, his list gives you his reasons for his choices.

TOM'S HARDWARE LOOKS AT THE KINDLE TOUCH AND THE KINDLE NON-TOUCH
Writer Andrew Ku has some really good illustrations for his article on the new e-Ink Kindles and does an update on the 4th Generation Kindle screen quality issue.

Newcomers to the new Kindle Touch and Kindle BASIC e-readers can easily be confused by Amazon's non-numbering of the many current Kindles, as shown even by this article and definitely in all the forums.

On the screen quality issue having to do with the Kindle 4th Gen (Basic Kindle NoTouch), he updates the analysis of what is or isn't happening there but he then says he's extending this to the Kindle Touch and then calls them both "Amazon's fourth-gen Kindles."

Unfortunately that perpetuates a misunderstanding. The Kindle Touch is Generation 5, as these things go (and I'll explain this in a minute) and the Kindle Basic is what has been called "Generation 4." They were born together and may seem identical twins but are more along the lines of fraternal ones.

Ku references the concern seen in a Mobileread Forum thread over the screen display of the Kindle 4 vs the Kindle 3 (now called the Kindle Keyboard).

That Kindle Keyboard is sold in the UK also, but only in the 3G/WiFi configuration (K3-UK)rather than the WiFi-only one.

As Mobileread Forum's Blossom and I both explained today in the forum thread to any who were lumping the two e-Ink Kindles as "Gen 4" Kindles:

The numbers 3, 4, and 5 have been used for the "generation ID" of any Kindle.

Amazon has used "Kindle 3" (actually, "Third Generation Kindle" has been said in some marketing) and this matches its operating system software version 3.x.x

The NoTouch $79 (confusingly named by Amazon as only "Kindle") is the Kindle 4 in the lineup, using operating system software version 4.x.x.

The Kindle Touch would be Kindle 5, as its operating system uses what Amazon calls software version 5.x.x.

Note that the Kindle Fire's operating system is software version 6.x.x .

Since they're all quite different, I think it's important to separate
Kindle 4 NoTouch/No Keyboard (v4.01 currently) and Kindle 5 Touch (which has the v5.0.3 update)

The Kindle 4 (Kindle Basic Non-Touch) has been the subject of the screen quality concern by some Kindle owners.

As mentioned in the thread, we haven't heard much about the K5 Touch having the problems that some K4 owners have seen.

At any rate Andrew Ku does a great job on describing the new eInk Kindles' features and, as mentioned, he illustrates and describes the functioning of these models very well -- and it's important to be aware of the Kindle Touch's "Easy Reach" feature on the touch screen. So be sure to go see the article I am fairly familiar with how these Kindles work but the article was interesting to me.

On the screen-quality issue, Ku's team did a terrific analysis of what might be happening there and why some see it and some don't -- they test many models of each. Sometimes there's something to be seen, and other times not so much, and this may have involved a problem with batches.

UNMASKING A DIGITAL PIRATE ON AMAZON
Many Kindle owners having to browse huge lists of promo-free or low-cost books will be interested in this article. I'm not going to get into it in this blog entry but those interested should definitely go read this article by Fast Company's Adam Penenberg

It explains how this kind of thing is done (to too great an extent) and includes a "Who, me? I didn't know" story about someone caught (who didn't even make decent money on this) and saying he had NO IDEA what he was doing was not exactly ligit. It also highlights the extent of "copyright infringement come-ons at Warrior Forum.

That's it for now! Kindle-Edition subscribers, who get the last 25 blog entries on their Kindles, can read these linked stories on their Kindles if they are uncommonly patient but will have an easier time reading that news by visiting this blog on your computer if wanting the details (Link: kindleworld.blogspot.com ).

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

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Kingston Wi-Drive App for Kindle Fire now in Android App Store, 16-32Gig drive at Amazon. UPDATE-7 Jan 24 (Unit originally only for Apple)

KINGSTON WI-DRIVE NOW SUPPORTS KINDLE FIRE AND IS AT AMAZON STORE - FREE WI-DRIVE APP FOR KFIRE IS NOW DOWNLOADABLE

See several updates below. I'll do a report soon from having worked with the Wi-Drive now, which has been working better than I expected. - Jan 24 (Original blog entry was Jan 17, morning)

Now we can add a 16 to 64GB pocket-sized drive to the Kindle Fire. The drive can be carried in your pocket.

Android Mag's Pallavi had one of the several announcements of the availability of Kingston's WiDrive a few days ago, but the Kindle Fire app was not available in the Amazon AppStore. It is now. I just downloaded it.

Pallavi writes:

' It utilizes "Flash-based technology to store data from USB-compatible PCs." The content can be retrieved via Wi-Drive’s built-in wireless signal; and you do not require cables or an internet connection to do so. What's more, three users can work on different file types simultaneously from a single Wi-Drive. '

THAT SHARING FEATURE
That would mean each could be accessing different movies, music or other data at the same time, without wires.

The product description for the Wi-Drive with Kindle Fire Support mentions that you can run other apps while using WiDrive features and that there are "enhanced photo features."
Also mentioned: "Additional Network Setting - select WiFi channel"

Update - The first, very helpful customer review there, by Steeler Nation "Peter", written from use with iDevices, explains that the unit provides its own WiFi network in which the Kindle Fire connects to the Wi-Drive, and two or three devices can access different or same media files on the drive at the same time, all streaming smoothly, per customer reviews of the use of Wi-Drive with the iPad and other Apple devices using this drive for add-on storage and Non-Internet streaming.

His caveats are that with two or more people using it at a time, constantly streaming, it runs for only 3 hours and then must be re-charged again and ~~you cannot recharge this with the miniUSB adapter while using it~~. He doesn't say how long it lasts with one person using it. [End of Update]

Update 6 - I struck the part in the last paragraph that I found probably not to be true I'm able to recharge it at home when plugged into a power source (though we cannot recharge it via a computer USB port as explained in the manual) and it should work with a car charger unless there is something added that is necessary for a charger to power it.
I called up Kingston Tech Support and talked with a Level 2 support rep who said that a car adapter does charge it while you're using the drive but the car adapter has to be up to a certain standard and the best thing to do is look for car adapters that are Apple Product Certified. [End of Update 6]

Mobile Magazine has some very good photos.

The Wi-Drive can be shared by 3 users concurrently, as we've seen, and is already available from Amazon in 16GB, 32GB or 64GB versions.

Wi-Drives are the shape and approximate size of Apple's iPhone 4s.

The unit comes with a one-year warranty and free technical support.

Amazon customer reviews of the basic unit (which had been only for Apple devices previously) -- 34 reviews at 4.5 stars average. No '1' or '2' ratings.

There's one customer review at the Amazon product page, for the Kindle Fire version, from someone who already had the drive for his Apple devices.

' By Wayne2626 [January 12, 2012]
Amazon Verified Purchase
This review is from: Kingston Wi-Drive 16 GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive WID/16GBZ (Personal Computers)

I have a Iphone 4 and I was give[n] a gift certificate which I used to get a 16g wi-drive and it worked great with the iPhone. I also got a kindle fire for christmas. I found that amazon was going to come out with the wi-drive program which I just downloaded and it was no problem getting it to work with the fire giving me 24g of usable memory with the fire for shows, movies, and pictures.

Also one person can watch a movie stored on the wi-drive and another person can watch the same movie or a different movie stored on the same wi-drive at the same time, sharing media on the same wi-drive at the same time with two different devices... '

UPDATE 2 - An example of the convenience of sharing the drive, from one review (by Vurtis):

'...exactly what I needed. My family was flying across the country and we didn't have enough memory on our iPhones & my iPad. After being told from several stores that there was no way to expand with extra hard drives ... I tried the Kingston. I couldn't be more happy. The device works great. My wife watched a chick flick, I watched an action adventure and my daughter watched a Disney film. We made it across the country and all were happy. We had about 15 movies ripped onto it. It is about the same size as the iPhone and was a bit lighter. '

In that case he chose the 32-gig drive, but this spelled out the apparent ease of sharing without problems. We'll see. I'll try the smaller one out soon.

DOWNLOADING THE WI-DRIVE APP

Here's the downloadable Wi-Drive app for KindleFire, which you can order this way and it'll be ready for your Kindle Fire. Or, after checking this app page, you can just get on the Kindle Fire, go to "Apps" and then click on "Store" at upper-right and search for it and download it there.
But it's simpler to just click on the product page's download box and get the app ready for your Kindle Fire to install (and the record of $0.00 'purchase' is on your server records already that way).

WI-DRIVE FOR KINDLE FIRE USER MANUAL
Kingston offers a downloadable Wi-Drive for Kindle Fire User Manual in PDF format

HOW YOU USE WI-DRIVE - A VIDEO
Kingston's press release of Jan. 10 recommends their (high definition) YouTube VIDEO about the Wi-Drive.

REMINDER ABOUT VIDEO FORMATS - A CONVERTER
Any video you play on the Kindle Fire, whether from a DVD or from your personal videos, ~~must be converted to MP4 first~~.
Conversion's no longer needed, as there is an app you can get from Amazon which plays almost ANY kind of formatted personal videos from your cameras or videos from Youtube.

That app is "BSPlayer" and, as mentioned, it's in the Amazon appstore.

I describe it in a blog article Nov. 15, 2012.

People outside of the U.S. can get this app from 1mobile.com and other secondary appstores.

I've had great luck with the extremely flexible and ultra-effective Tools4Movies' DVD Catalyst 4, which is easily the best one of the several I tried and worth much more than the $9.95 price. Another one, which is not as flexible but which has the easiest 'joining' of mp4 files I've encountered, is Emicsoft, but it's $35 and the author won't give you a full file result with the Trial copy. Tools4Movies' DVD Catalyst has the most responsive, quality tech support I've experienced while Emicsoft comes with virtually no support.

UPDATE [1] -- Video Converter tools
I've asked the knowledgeable Amazon Kindle Forum members what good, free or low-cost utilities they know of for converting videos to mp4 and have already received very good information from L. Leverton, Pineapple, Tink-erbell. Q, cicsos2, and kwajkat in that forum thread.

So far, DVD Catalyst 4's full $9.95 version (vs free versio)n, stands out. L. says:

' It now has new Fire upgrades that do some amazing things. It can eliminate the gray bar and make it a full screen video among other things. I tried it again yesterday on the Liam Neeson Unknown movie. I stuck the dvd in the drive and selected kindle fire as the device and selected go. It was done in a matter of minutes and was great. '

L. also mentions seeing a new Movie Gallery app that was $2.00 ... so there's another possibility.

Visit that thread for any additional very useful input from the members there.

(Later) I've seen more recommendations and the fact that DVD Analyst has a rep for very good customer service. Apparently, their Movie Gallery 2.0 feature allows you to keep videos there for later streaming by you, which would be a good feature for non-Amazon videos you have. Amazon will store, free, up to 5 gigs of any of your non_Amazon video files but not stream them, and of course 5 gigs of videos don't go that far.

UPDATE 4: Highrider, in another forum thread, writes, about DVD Catalyst:

' It has a drop down menu to select the device you want the video formatted for. You can select the Kindle Fire from the list and then choose one of several quality formats. I've had the best luck with what they call Kindle Fire (fast). Haven't had one fail to play after using this setting and it's formatted to 1024x600 already to fit the Fire screen '

[End of Update 4]

UPDATE 5 - kwajkat described Maxell's AirStash, a flash thumb-drive that comes with 8 or 16 gigs of memory and data is stored on SD cards. &bnsp;This is $149 to $179 depending on how much internal memory you want to use for running it, but you'd have access to several 16 or 32 gig SD cards this way.

HOWEVER, I read that you must switch to this drive's network and turn off the Kindle Fire's Internet access, and the AirStash's access when the AirStash is itself connected to your WiFi router, is limited, though there are utilities that can improve that.

The customer reviews are less positive for this but it's still a strong competitor, except that you cannot do the Net while it's attached unless it is itself connected to a WiFi network.

The Wi-Drive has a 2nd wireless built in that allows your connected Kindle Fire to work with it while the KFire is connected to the Internet

Also, the AirStash uses WEP security only, not WPA, so is considered less-secure in public places. The SD card switching is a great feature though.
I'd like to hear any comments pro and con that you have, on either device. Thanks. [End of Update 5]

HandBrake - This is a free converter very useful for resizing segments when you run up against contraints such as the 4-gig file-size maximum on the FAT system (which is used by the KindleFire device), but users get only 5.5 gigs for user data on that anyway. It's a very good adjunct to your video converter toolbox but is not known as the easiest program to use otherwise.

SUMMING UP
This Kingston Wi-Drive info should be good news for many :-)
If you have any first-hand experiences with this, now that it's available for the Kindle Fire (or even with Apple devices in the past), let us know in the Comments area. Thanks.

Apple users who don't already know about this unit might benefit from it also.

Updated 10/17/12

Current Kindle Models for reference, plus free-ebook search links.
NOTES on newer Kindles.

US:
Updated Kindle Fire Basic 7" tablet - $159
Kindle Fire HD 7" 16/32GB - $199/$249
Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16/32GB - $299/$369
Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G 32/64GB - $499/$599
Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89
Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi - $119/$139
Kindle Paperwhite, 3G - $179/$199
Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free but slow web
Kindle DX - ~~$379~~ $299, Free, slow web

UK:
Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £69
Kindle Touch WiFi, UK - £109
Kindle Keyboard 3G, UK - £149
Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB
Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi - £109
Kindle Paperwhite 3G, UK - £169
Kindle Fire 2, UK - £129
Kindle Fire HD 7" 16/32GB, UK - £159/199

OTHER International
Kindle NoTouch Basic - $89
Kindle Touch WiFi - $139
Kindle Keybd 3G - $189
Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB

France Boutique Kindle
Deutschland - Kindle Store
Italia - Kindle Store
Spain - Tienda Kindle

* Kindle Fire HD to be released October 25, 2012 in listed European areas above;
Paperwhite to be released November 22, 2012 there.

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

Monday, January 23, 2012

Quick Note + Free Kindle Books - Reminders and recommended browsing

Just a quick note

Have been somewhat under the weather, but things are clearing up and I'll be back at it tomorrow morning.

I did take a little time to check out more closely the Wi-Drive and looked at what is needed for putting video on your Kindle Fire and also on the tiny Wi-Drive that can smoothly stream video or display images and personal documents to your Kindle Fire. And of course it is very useful pocketable storage for images, documents, video, for transfer to the Kindle Fire as needed. That the streaming or image and document access can be shared with two others is an unusual plus not possible with SD cards, though I'd like that feature too.

Kindle-Edition subscribers of this blog who've never visited the web page might want to come visit briefly (Link: kindleworld.blogspot.com), to take a look at the right-hand column that holds earlier articles that can answer questions that many have had about any of the Kindle models, older or newer, and info on how to make use of the many features not often described or publicized. Thanks for visiting, either here, or via the Kindle edition, and for the helpful comments I get to blog items or in email.

FREE AND LOW-COST KINDLE BOOKS IN GENERAL
If you'd like to browse for current free books (especially non-classics) or lower-cost offerings from Amazon that are available on an ongoing basis (although the books themselves go off-sale quite quickly) but which newer visitors will not have seen before, here's some light browsing:

Links to Free Kindle Books - Non-Classics - available today

Dec 2011 Jan 2012, by:
Publication Date Bestselling
High-ratings

   Amazon's Limited Time Free Promos

UK: PubDate Popular

Most Popular Free K-Books:
U.S. & Int'l (although NOT UK):
   Top 100 free
UK-Only:
   Top 100 free

Here's the blog's general Free Books Guide

Top 100 free Android apps, for Kindle Fire owners (who should check out the free app of the day each day)

PRIME Lending Library - borrowing books
In the forums, I've found some who did not know that with the Prime membership, which gets you free 2-day shipping on almost all of Amazon's own items (not so much 3rd party Marketplace items), you not only have access to about 12,000 no-add'l-cost streaming videos, you can also borrow one Kindle book per calendar month, from a choice of over 75,000 now, without dealing with waiting times or due-dates.

Prime's Lending Library:
   Rules; Borrowing;
   How to Browse or search the now voluminous List
Note: When you borrow a Prime library book, you do it from your Kindle, at the Kindle Store
and not from the Amazon web pages.

NOT FREE, BUT MOSTLY UNDER $1
Non-Classics under $1:
Highly rated, under $1
Amazon's specific mostly 99c Kindle Books page

And then there's the Kindle Daily Deal that changes each night, at around midnight, into a pumpkin and then back into a new carriage.

OVER $1 BUT SPECIALLY FEATURED POPULAR BOOKS
There are also the monthly Kindle book deals, with 100 Editors' Choices priced at $1.99-$3.99.

CUSTOMER DISCUSSION THREADS
Ongoing or completed but informative popular discussions (See Kindle Forums for more.)
. Are you sorry you bought a Fire?
. Kindle touch or Kindle Keyboard
. 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?

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Kindle News: What Apple's textbook revolution means + the Lawsuit against Apple and Big5 Publishers is modified. Update

I'm typing in the dark again
Not only that -- after slowly typing a few things on Google's blogger.com, with a wildly malfunctioning cursor on my 10" tablet, Blogger.com was itself down for over an hour and nothing I wrote had been saved or saveable. [End of sob story, AKA the Power Dog ate my homework]

SOMEwhat undaunted, here's a bit of it anyway, that I could remember. My power is still not back, so these are the stories I remember finding. [Later: I went to sleep without completing it as I wanted to add some detail, and finished the entry this morning on an old-fashioned computer.]

TechRadar leads off with the following headline about their new textbook authoring program:
Apple iBooks Author ties your book to iBookstore You can't sell it anywhere else

It may not be as bad as some fear though, because the authors' "work" that can't ever be distributed except by Apple is defined as the "software" package completed by the author using the Author program and it doesn't appear to refer to the basic Content of the book.

The larger story is Apple's attempt to bring sweeping changes to textbook publishing and the costs involved for students. Basically, it could be seen as a good thing, as textbook costs have been outrageous for a long time. Apple's pricing will generally be $14.99~ But as with everything else, a suspicion remains that Apple makes plans that are wholly Apple-centric.

Current example: Apple iBookStore books can't be read on anything but Apple devices. As a result the language in the Agreement for Author software authors is disconcerting to some because of the reality of how closed Apple's system can be for its own books. Since Apple's focus is on Apple hardware, it's of more interest to them that you be interested in buying more of that.

E-Books sold at Amazon, B&N, Kobe, etc., are readable on Apple devices, Android, webOS, Windows Phone 7, BlackBerry Mac and Windows machines. In these cases, the book's the thing.

The wording
Per several stories yesterday, the actual wording by Apple for Author-generated interactive ebooks::

' IMPORTANT NOTE: If you charge a fee for any book or other work you generate using this software (a “Work”), you may only sell or distribute such Work through Apple (e.g., through the iBookstore) and such distribution will be subject to a separate agreement with Apple. ... '

Today, all the google news stories on first reactions to this clause are seen in this google-news search on the clause.

So, it actually seems, to me, to mean the package 'generated by their software' and not the contents of the basic book, and if you put your book into another e-format elsewhere, it's fine as long as you don't use one generated by iAuthor, That makes sense, if I'm reading that right.

I do think though that Apple's more-than-savvy lawyers were aware it could be interpreted the other way by some and probably felt that if an author chooses to not publish the book elsewhere in a form generated by another venduor's publishing mechanism, that would be fine by them.

Update - I just read Appside's take from the news-list link I gave, and it's one of the better ones, from his initial thoughts to another opinion he quotes after that. [End of Update]

"The Truth about Apple's Textbooks Announcement"
That's the Business Insider's headline, or part of it. They found the announcement "underwhelming" with the new items being an area for downloading textbooks and the iBooks Author software that makes it easy to make interactive textbooks. Their take is that it's just a start.

"Apple Kindles Textbook War" - Wall Street Journal's Rolfe Winkler writes:
"Electronic textbooks may look cool on Apple's iPad, but they are likely to end up selling more Amazon Kindles."

His reasons? iTunes Store has "only a handful available to start" and publishers may limit supply because they're used to selling textbooks at more like $100+. Amazon, Winkler argues, has the Kindle Fire at 60% less than an iPad 2 and there are "already far more textbook titles available for the Fire, direct from Amazon" or through CourseSmart. He ends with, "The cool factor may mean kids prefer iPads. The price factor likely means more will be sent to class with Kindles."

AMENDED Lawsuit against Apple and the Big6 publishers
AppleInsider headlines: "Class-action lawsuit alleges Apple, publishers engaged in 'price-fixing conspiracy."

Hagens Berman modified the lawsuit to include new allegations as well as information that could support their case, including Walter Isaacson's description of Steve Jobs boasting about his known and reported leadership part in the Gentlemen's Agreement to raise ebook prices to fixed amounts that would be required to be the same between all -- to thwart Amazon's strategic low-ball pricing. The interesting changes to the lawsuit include this wording:

' "The information we’ve included in this new filing shows the deep antagonism that publishers had toward Amazon for its consumer-friendly pricing," said Steve W. Berman, managing partner at the firm and lead counsel on the case. "Since we began the action last August we’ve uncovered statements from executives at several publishers that demonstrate they viewed Amazon as a significant threat to the long-term survival of their profitability.” '

In Steve Jobs' own words:

' Amazon screwed it up. It paid the wholesale price for some books, but started selling them below cost at $9.99. The publishers hated that -- they thought it would trash their ability to sell hard-cover books at $28. So before Apple even got on the scene, some booksellers were starting to withhold their books from Amazon.

So we told the publishers, "We'll go to the agency model, where you set the price, and we get our 30%, and yes, the customer pays a little more, but that's what you want anyway." But we also asked for a guarantee that if anybody else is selling the books cheaper than we are, then we can sell them at the lower price too. So they went to Amazon and said, "You're going to sign an agency contract or we're not going to give you the books."

Given the situation that existed, what was best for us was to do this aikido move and end up with the agency model. And we pulled it off. '

As we've seen, the complaint's alleged increase in pricing, as a result, by 30 to 50 percent, is not exaggerated and, the Complaiint continues, "completely changed the competitive pricing landscape that had existed for decades in the industry." to the point that often the e-book price exceeds the sales price of the print book.

Also see: History of the Pricing Wars in News Articles, with Sourcing for details and sources

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Thursday, January 19, 2012

Quick alert on $10 Kindle Fire app that's free today. Links to free Kindle books

FREE KINDLE FIRE APP FOR THE DAY, JAN 19

Easy Money, by Handy Apps, Inc., is "a personal finance app that combines an expense tracker, a checkbook register, a budget manager, and a bills reminder. EasyMoney provides a rich, detailed window into your finances. A simple and intuitive data entry system is combined with a wealth of easily accessible financial information. Input your bills and never lose track of payments. Analyze how and where your money is being spent. Set spending limits on a variety of customizable categories."

66 customer reviews at 3.6 stars average, $0.00 today

It gets some good reviews, while some say it has bugs, and others advise today that people "purchase" it for $0.00 and keep it in their Amazon library to download after it has received another update, as it's normally $9.95. You can read about the features as well as the pros and cons on the product page.

If you get it at the product page, for $0, it'll be ready to be installed when you next access the Amazon Android AppsStore on your Kindle Fire. You can then choose to not install it or maybe install it and check it out and then if you decide you don't want any bugs you might encounter, you'd UNinstall it but it would remain yours with later updates. Some of the reviews are from use with other devices in the past.

You can get it straight from the Kindle Fire of course, but reading the reviews is slower there. If you sort the reviews by Newest, you'll see more reviews that are for use with the Kindle Fire.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal
Longtime Kindlers know there's a new Kindle Daily Deal today, which changes at midnight each day, and is available mostly in the U.S.

Breathless, by Jessica Warman, 24 customer reviews at 4.2 stars average.

Genre: Teens, Fiction. It has a starred review at Booklist.

$4.61 yesterday, $0.99 today, at 79% off

Reminders and Notes for newer Kindlers
. Amazon's specific mostly 99c Kindle books page
. Amazon's monthly 100 Kindle book deals, from $1.99 to $3.99
. Temporarily-free non-classics for January 2012

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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Kindle Fire SOFTWARE UPDATE, VERSION 6.2.2 is here. SSL and what it means. Flash default: Change to "On Demand' might be better.

flash

KINDLEFIRE SOFTWARE UPDATE VERSION 6.2.2 IS READY

Kindle Fire Software Update, V6.2.2 is now available online (after many of us downloaded it from XDA Developers yesterday and discussed it, and it's officially downloadable at the link, in case the update isn't already on your Kindle Fire (some got it "by air") and you decide you want it right away.

The announcement was made by Amazon on a Kindle Forum thread. Mine was still at v6.2.1 yesterday, and the 'Update your Kindle" button for "System Version" setting was grayed out. So I did update it prematurely instead of waiting (despite knowing that a later revision could be placed there before the official announcement). Waiting for delivery of the software update will be easier for most. I don't think they'll take their time on sending this to the devices as they started delivering the update over the air a day before they announced it on the fourms topday.

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

Initial post: Jan 18, 2011 3:26:22 PM PST
Amazon Kindle Customer Service:
(AMAZON OFFICIAL)

We wanted to let you know that we've released a new, over-the-air software update for Kindle Fire. As with all of our free software updates, this will be delivered automatically to your Kindle Fire.

This update contains several performance improvements and additional features.

First, we've made improvements to the graphics system. You will notice smoother rendering when performing common operations like pinching and zooming, panning and scrolling.

Second, you will notice a new icon (four arrows pointing outward) in the lower right corner of the display. Tapping on this icon enables a full screen mode that maximizes the amount of the screen devoted to the web site. To exit full screen mode, you can tap on the up arrow at the bottom center of the display.
[ Andrys here: The bottom bar is nicely just a sliver.]

We think you will find this new feature especially helpful when browsing with the device in landscape orientation.

We've also made it easier to turn Flash on and off. The "Enable plug-ins" setting in the browser settings has been changed to "Enable Flash." The Flash default is "Off" but if you'd like Flash to be turned on, it's easy to do - simply go to Silk settings and select "Enable Flash."
[Andrys here: I use "On Demand" setting so you can see the box for the video not being loaded and then press the down-arrow to start it running if you want. This means not having to go to Settings to turn it 'on' ... The 'Off' default was causing people to think yesterday that Flash is now not allowed anymore.]
Finally, we've made a change to the way that the Kindle Fire communicates with the Silk acceleration servers when in cloud acceleration mode. To reduce overhead and speed up page loads, we've changed the way these communications are processed and will no longer use SSL by default.

If you want to enable SSL for the communication between the Kindle Fire and the Silk acceleration servers, you can select the "Optional Encryption" setting in the browser settings menu.

This change does not affect traffic to SSL (HTTPS) web sites; that traffic is routed directly to the those web sites and remains encrypted.
[ Andrys here: SSL stands for "Secure Sockets Layer" and is a commonly-used protocol for managing the security of a message transmitted on the Internet.

It's an extra step which some will want but it also would take a bit longer, as it encodes data sent ver the Web and makes it unreadable to anyone intercepting the transmission. ]
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 v6.2.2 rather than have you choose from several possible ones on the page they cite.

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: 6.2.2," you are running the latest software. If your System Version is "Current version: 6.0, 6.1, or 6.2.1" follow the instructions [at the 6.2.2 update 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.

It was great that this time, Amazon did provide more specific 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.

LONG, with UK
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Kindle Active Content for $0.99 for January 2012

KINDLE ACTIVE CONTENT FOR 99 CENTS FOR JANUARY

These are 23 "active content" items (productivity & educational tools in this case) for the non-Touch Kindles and are all at 99c during the rest of January.

Some are usually higher-priced while some are always 99c but are among the most popular in customer reviews. This is a collection that Amazon decided to highlight for those who aren't aware they're available.

I haven't been able to find wording by Amazon today on availability of these outside the U.S. Let me know if you can't download these in your country or if you can. I don't know why that information is not on the product page header.

They work with "the Kindle" (which is the NON-Touch/Non-Keyboard {also UK}, the Kindle Keyboard {also UK} -- formerly known as Kindle 3 -- and most of these work with the older Kindle 2 also, and Kindle DX devices.

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Monday, January 16, 2012

Kindle Touch SOFTWARE UPDATE, VERSION 5.0.3 is ready -- How to get it.

KINDLE TOUCH SOFTWARE UPDATE VERSION 5.0.3 IS READY

Kindle Touch Software Update, V5.0.3 is available online, and downloadable at the link, in case the update isn't already on your Kindle Touch and you decide you want it right away.

I received an alert on the update by eagle-eyed Randall Leverette.

My Kindle Touch is still at v5.0.0 and the 'Update your Kindle" button is grayed out. So I'll be updating instead of waiting, although the latter will be easier for most. As with the Kindle Fire update, I don't think they'll take their time on sending this one to the devices.

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.

As mentioned, here's the actual software update page for the Kindle Touch update v5.0.3 rather than have you choose from several possible ones on the general page. They have been sending these types of updates out pretty quickly when they happen.

On the Kindle forums, some have reported sporadic freezes on the Kindle Touch.

The reason given by Amazon for the update:
"This update features general software improvements for Kindle Touch."

Amazon's directions on the software update page:

Determine your software version: From Home, tap "Menu," and then tap "Settings." On the Settings screen tap "Menu" and select "Device Info." If you see "Firmware Version: Kindle 5.0.3" you're running the latest software. If you see a prior version, proceed with the following steps to update your Kindle Touch to the latest software.

Download your software: Click on the link below to download the software update file directly to your computer:

At THIS point go to Amazon's page to get the actual file, linked under this #2 point. and follow the rest of the directions there. It's pretty straightforward. But it's important to follow EACH step completely to avoid problems.

Important things to remember:
. This uses your USB cable as you'd be opting to do this transfer manually.
. Don't drop the file into one of the Kindle folders. Put it at the top.
. Make sure the transfer is complete before you disconnect.
. Then 'safely disconnect' (depends on your computer) the Kindle.
. Disconnect the USB cable from both your Kindle Touch and your computer.

After you're finished with that, follow Step #5 to start the Kindle up using the new updated software.

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

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

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Kindle News and Tips: How to use Amazon's own SendtoKindle for PC

AMAZON's OWN SEND TO KINDLE feature "for PC"

A lot has been said about this recent Amazon development, and from my read of the forums, many are confused by it.

The newish feature is titled Send to Kindle for PC (similar name as a popular Google Chrome add-on), and a paragraph I saw in the Help pages for this feature gives the essence of it.

The "for PC" part means that the feature isn't ready for Macs yet but it's expected to be, soon. What caused some confusion is that the most popular Amazon Kindle app is named "Kindle for PC" and some are not quite comfortable with the concept of a PC-Windows or Mac program that works on your computer, rather than on the now many Kindle devices that Amazon is offering -- where they are called 'apps' whether a Kindle app, an Android app, a Kindle Fire app, iOS app (Apple), etc.

First, read the description of and download Send to Kindle for PC

The GOAL
From the Help page mentioned, a Question and Answer:

' I installed Send to Kindle on my PC, how can I start using it?

From Windows Explorer [ TWO options ]
Right click on one or more documents and choose Send to Kindle

From any Windows application that can print, select Print and choose Send to Kindle (documents are delivered in PDF format). '

[ This is done wirelessly, without a cable. ]

Many at the forums are finding this very useful. Others don't know where to download it to or how to use it. But it's essentially as simple as the above paragraph, modified from the Amazon Help page.

The one drawback is that PDFs are hard to read on a 6" screen. The older way of sending these documents via email to your Kindle email address (see the ManageYourKindle page will get them on your Kindle in normal Kindle (not PDF) format.

See How to send documents to your Kindle for more detail on the steps to take.

Features:
. You no longer have to email a a personal document to your Kindle.
. It's free if, as most will, you use WiFi for the action
Those with 3G-only Kindles (all models prior to Kindle 3 (UK: K3)) would either:
1. Pay a small fee: 15 cents per megabyte (U.S. residents), (non-US):$0.99
(calculating SIZE: most novels are under 1 megabyte)
2. Forget wireless delivery like this and use a USB cable to transfer the file instead.
NOTE: Kindle Personal Docs Service is not available via Whispernet (3G) in Canada.

   Tip: you can set the Maximum Charge that you allow for delivery of personal docs by 3G:
         1. Visit Manage your Kindle
         2. Select Personal Document Settings from the left hand menu.
         3. Scroll down to the heading "Whispernet Delivery Options."
         4. Select "Edit" on the right hand side of the page
         5. Enter your preferred personal document charge limit.
         [Could be $0.00 to avoid 'accidents']
         6. Click "Update."

Important Feature
"You can also store your personal documents in your Kindle Library
and download them conveniently to your Kindle device AND
[to] supported Kindle reading applications when connected wirelessly.

Additional bonus of this feature
Essentially, this means that if you have a Kindle 3 or later (which means WiFi is always an available option) AND you have an older 3G-only Kindle (3G transfers are more expensive for Amazon because they pay AT&T or Sprint for that), you can now:
. transfer a personal doc on your PC wirelessly to any Kindle you have that uses WiFi
and then
. download from your Amazon Library to your 3G Kindle that personal doc,
with no personal doc fee involved.

Compatibility at this time
"Send to Kindle for PC is compatible with your Windows-based personal computer running Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 (64 or 32 bit).
At this time, the only Kindle reading application supported by Send to Kindle for PC is the Kindle App for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch."

Supported file types
. Microsoft Word (.doc and .docx)
. TXT (.txt)
. RTF (.rtf)
. JPEG (.jpeg, .jpg)
. GIF (.gif)
. PNG (.png)
. BMP (.bmp)
. PDF (.pdf)

Update: Commenter Julie quickly and rightly noted that they didn't include *.mobi or *.prc files, but these are always supported file types, as they are Amazon's own, so they may have just forgotten to list them. [End of Update]

Amazon's main description of what Send to Kindle for PC does

Send personal documents to your Kindle from your PC.

From Windows Explorer, simply right click on one or more documents and choose Send to Kindle.

From any Windows application that can print, select Print and choose Send to Kindle (documents are delivered in PDF format).

Choose to archive documents in your Kindle Library, where you can re-download them conveniently anywhere at any time.

Added Note
This feature is different from other tools previously discussed
. sendtoreader
. The Google Chrome add-on, sendtokindle
. the original, Instapaper.

These 3rd party web to Kindle tools are helpful in other ways, mainly for sending documents from web pages without ads included, to your Kindle.

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Sunday, January 15, 2012

Free Kindle Books (Jan 14 -- 534 books) Forum member selections with links

FREE KINDLE BOOKS from Joyce's daily forum thread of free Kindle book alerts and forumner recommendations.

534 newly and temporarily free Kindle books for Friday, 1/14/12. Recommendation-listings by forum members + discounted-book alerts.
Some of these are free for only a few days, others maybe two weeks.
[ Doublecheck the prices always.]

THIS BLOG ARTICLE CONSISTS OF LISTS OF BOOKS SELECTED BY FORUM MEMBERS
and posted so that others can see what was found to be interesting to them, out of over 500 book titles.

Some Kindle Forum members are going through the full lists and then creating links to the books that were of interest to them, to make it easier for others to find them.

Lists by forum members are compiled from the several postings they make while plowing through the titles -- All their recommendations are listed together under their forum names so we can easily see sets by each in these public forum threads.
I also included their duplicated picks, as they give a sense of what strikes people, in general, as worth picking up.
If a book is free for only ONE day and is no longer free, let me know and I'll strike it off the lists.

Listing-types and some genre identification
If you can see that some forum members choose the types of books you like, that'll help, and if you can see that any choose the types of books you may not find as interesting, that should help too! Many also specify the genre involved, which is very helpful. Even as subsets, there are 3 links involved in this set, although some are duplicates, chosen by different members. I hope this approach will prove useful for readers, when I have the time to do them.
Kindle-Edition subscribers (thank you for the support) should use their computers at the web page to use these links at kindleworld.blogspot.com

MORE... ( If you are reading this from the main blog page, the temporarily newly-free books and discounted-book forum-alerts link(s) are on the 2nd page, to load the main page more quickly and so that those wanting to go through the details can do so by: Clicking on "MORE" just below)
*****

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