Kindle Tip: CNET's "Mastering the Kindle Fire" How-to-guide FREE thru' Dec. 26. Update

"CNET's holiday gift: Our first CNET How To e-book -- free!"

Today, CNET published their first digital How To book and are making Sharon Vaknin's guide, Mastering The Kindle Fire, free through the 26th.

CNET describes the book as a compilation of their very best Kindle advice, tips, and tricks.  Free, then, through December 26, it will be $4.99 starting December 27.

They show (as does this blog over and over again, hoping it'll "take" when so many tech sites hold fast to the mantra that Amazon doesn't allow non-Amazon apps on its Kindle Fires), how to install Amazon-"banned" apps.

 Actually Amazon does not "ban" apps -- they just don't choose to sell competitor-focused apps in their own store; it would be tantamount to expecting Barnes and Noble to have a little Amazon area in their own stores.

  Android apps allow us, though, to find other-bookstore apps in the secondary appstores like 1mobile.com, apknew.com, getjar.com, slideme.org, handango.com, and others.  So, in fact, we can find the B&N Nook app and read our Nook books (if we have any, and I do) on the Kindle Fires.

  But, as regular readers here know, Amazon enables the Android setting which lets the Kindle owner decide whether to allow installation of apps from non-Amazon ("unknown") sources.  It's a setting that Barnes and Noble has hidden because they don't want that done for their own tablets.
  This allows Kindle Fire owners to install apps like Mantano and Aldiko, which legally read DRM'd ePub books from other stores.

UPDATE: - I just took a look at the section in the book, and the solution for installing a Flash Player on the Kindle Fire HD may not work reliably for tablets with v4.x.x Android operating system versions.
  There are specific files recommended for more stable functioning with
Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean versions.  If you have any problems, see How to install a working Flash Player on the Kindle Fire HD (works for Google Nexus also.)

  CNET says that if you prefer to take it slower than indicated above, you can "glide through eight chapters offering more than 75 tips."

  Thanks to Nate Hoffelder for the early alert.

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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 - £89 Refurb'd 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 Canada - Amazon Canada Kindle Basic, NoTouch - $89

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 Brazil - Amazon Brazil

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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.

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-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

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