Kindle Fire HD 7" Sale: now $169 ($30 discount) "For a Limited Time." Amazon tops Saatchi's Clear survey as #1 desired brand in the U.S. Plus some thoughts on the Nook tablet situation.

Kindle Fire HD on sale again, this time at $169

I just happened to click on Amazon's Kindle Fire HD tablet page to see if there was some kind of sale, and voila, there it was.

Remember that if you paid a higher price at Amazon itself within the last 30 days, you can ask Amazon Kindle Support for a credit (1-866-321-8851 or contact them this way).  A difference-credit has been the case for a few years, at least -- and of course that's somewhat based on the fact there is always a 30-day full refund offer on any new Kindle if you don't want it after all, as Amazon seems to feel very secure about its positives.

 I stress this because lately there have been sales for recent holidays and now, possibly because B&N is ending production on its Nook HD tablets and dropping the prices to get their remaining Nook tablets to sell faster (as that has been the problem) as they try to find a partner who will take on the costs of producing these later.

  B&N has therefore given up the attempt to have tablet owners use B&N's far less attractive (almost nil) tablet ecosystem.  They did give their customers access to the Google Play store after agreeing to Google's terms, consisting of many restrictions on use of B&N's own areas (which Amazon would not do, since theirs have been profitable), but the Nook tablets don't have
  . a camera for Skype
  . a built-in HDMI-out direct to TV
  . the strong WiFi rep the Kindle Fire HD's have
  . the Dolby Enhanced stereo speakers, louder and clearer than on laptops, nor
  . the built-in web streaming viewer (for Flash on most popular websites)

  As with the Kindle Fire HD, the Nook tablets do have a great display, with somewhat higher resolution than on the Kindle.   B&N doesn't, as Amazon does, allow straight downloading of any apps from any other sites though, including vendors' own sites.  But Google Play access would be good enough for most.

  What happens when and if they find someone to produce Nook tablets later is anyone's guess.
  A problem for B&N has always been adequate customer support, so they'll have to find a way to improve that with any models produced by whatever company is found to do that.

  16 or 32 GB storage?
  Although I tend to recommend lower-priced items as a rule, I recommend, for some, getting the 32-Gig-storage version for the $199 (normally $229) because multimedia files (graphics galore in complex apps and games, plus videos especially) are just very large and with 32GB you won't need to worry often about what to swap out (to the Cloud) next before doing something else you want to do.

  However, for the sale-priced $169 16 GB-storage model, the Cloud storage (free and unlimited for any Amazon digital purchases) is meant for holding apps, music, and books until you need them and then they're easily downloadable.

  The Amazon PRIME program, as regular readers of the Amazon forums and this blog know, is a feature that's hard to beat (and along with all this goes the X-Ray feature on many of their instant videos).

  The free trial on any new Kindle Fire gives the owner an idea of whether or not to pay the $79/yr (equiv to $6.58/mo.) for the Prime program's free 2-day shipping of physical products and then the bonus features of free instant videos (thousands of older movies and tv series, the latter having some very popular just-ended season series which are now exclusive to Amazon).
  Also included is the free borrowing of one Kindle book per calendar month from the Prime Lending Library, with no waiting time or due dates.


Amazon considered #1 "most desirable brand" in the U.S. market, per Clear's report this year
"According to a new “Brand Desire” study by M&C Saatchi’s brand consultancy division Clear, Amazon leads in the U.S. market as the most desirable brand.  Clear surveyed consumers in the U.S., U.K., and Australia about 678 different brands."

For those interested in the details or to see the reasons given:

' Per news.investors.com:
  In the U.S., it interviewed 4,600 consumers about 245 familiar brands.
...
  The Reese's brand, owned by Hershey (HSY), ranked No. 2, followed by Disney, owned by Walt Disney (DIS).
...
  While Amazon kept up its allure, Apple (AAPL) lost some of its luster.  Its brand desirability dropped to No. 50 from No. 8 in 2012 as the brand wavered and lost focus, according to the report.

  "Starting with an onslaught of too many products in the fall of 2012, the debacle of Maps' reliability, as well as 'function over feeling' branding, has affected its reputation for providing technology that truly matters," the report found."

[My note: That seems unduly harsh and likely not accurate, as survey wording is key.  As we all know, Apple is doing just fine.  What's ultimately important in our modern world is the bottom line, and its customers are devoted and, for any of the above factors, pretty forgiving, from what I've encountered.]

... "Amazon’s desirability stems from the great success of the Kindle Fire HD, a steady stream of perks for Amazon Prime members, an increased focus on its Prime Instant Video, and a continued stream of meaningful innovation such as Amazon Lockers.  Amazon has truly transformed from a marketplace for shopping to a digital hub for consumers to manage their lives,” states Clear in a press release via Investor’s Business Daily.

"However, Apple was still the top-rated brand in the British and Australian markets"

Will end this here, as I'd like to make sure this gets out earlier.

One great thing happened  I've had to (because the blog is considered popular) deal with about 500 spam comments a day, with 300 caught by the Blogger spam detector, and then each day I had to go through, one by one, about 200 comments that were considered to be needing either approval or to be sent to Blogger's Spam folder.  That was exhausting.

  They've finally fixed that problem very well, so I'll now have more time and energy to get more blog articles out.



  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

Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Kindle News: Free Android App of Day: Open Sea. B&N stops Nook tablet production. FAA may allow Kindles ON for take-off + landing, More PBS on prime instant video, More free time unlimited programs. Around the World in 80 Books. Tablet competition.

Open Sea is the Free Android App of the Day for Wednesday only.
  By The Pixelizers, it's normally only 99 cents anyway, so this will just draw attention to the predominantly delighted customer reviews if you're looking for a fun Android game app.  Other reviews noted in the Product Description are:
- “An epic, sweeping game”... “a treat to look at”... — JayIsGames, Voted Best Mobile Action Game of 2011
- “Great design”... “a strongly recommended game for all ages and beliefs” - AndroidZoom, 5/5
- “A breath of fresh air”.., “the sort of game that makes smartphone gaming so enjoyable”... — PocketGamer, Silver Award
- “A blast to play” — Android-apps.com
- “Excellent graphics and cute characters”... — AppEggs, Editor's Pick


Kindle for Windows 8 Update v2.0
Announced June 17, the new version's added features include:
  * Ability to search from inside a book
  * Redesigned home screen and in-book navigation
  * Easier bookmarking
  * Filtering of Notes and Bookmarks
  * Option to sample recommended books
  * Live Tile displays of the book you're reading
  * Updated view options menu, library and search views


Barnes and Noble announced Tuesday that it will stop manufacturing its own Nook tablets
  Their stock plunged 17 percent after the report of a fiscal 4th-qtr loss twice as much as Wall Street had expected.  There was a 34 percent drop in sales of Nook devices and ebooks business.

  This has raised concerns about B&N's ability to sell its Nook Media subsidiary (Nook and its college bookstore chain), and Barclays Capital analyst Alan Rifkin wrote that the losses will "reduce the likelihood" that the bookseller will find a buyer for its digital business.

  As a card-carrying member of their stores and emotionally dependent on their store nearby, with its physical items (printed books, DVDs & Blu-rays, Sheet Music, and a large selection of accessories) and a browsing atmosphere I can enjoy for hours at a time, I'm sad to see that even sales at their stores that have been open at least 15 months fell 8.8% last quarter and they expect sales to be down by a similar amount in its new fiscal year.

  B&N's chief, William Lynch, told investors that B&N will no longer produce Nook tablets and are in talks to find a manufacturing partner for the Nook.  It will still design its Nook e-Ink readers, the Simple Touch and Glowlight.
  He added that they no longer wanted to "take on all that risk ourselves" and that "it was very capital intensive to build our own tablets."

  Buyers can get their remaining tablets for very little now, but their customer support, which has been B&N's Achilles Heel, will be an even shakier proposition now.  There's more at NBC News's Reuters article by Phil Wahba.

  For a more upbeat look at this, focusing on the 16% increase in EBITDA for the company's retail segment, though Nook EBITDA was -$475 million, leaving an overall $10 million EBITDA on nearly $7 billion in profit, see Forbes's report by Jeremy Greenfield.


FAA might allow iPads and Kindles, etc., throughout flights
In fact, flying crews have been allowed iPads for awhile.  The FAA approved them in February 2011 for pilots with a charter company, and American Ailine pilots were allowed to replace their paper maps and charts with iPads recently.  I've read that Jetblue allows them for the pilots also.  From general reading, I think they will still want passengers' 3G wireless Off for during takeoff and landing.

The Washington Business Journal cites the Wall Street Journal's report that the FAA's advisory group "has proposed a draft report that would ease restrictions on e-readers (like Kindle or the iPad)."  The findings are due July 31, but the advisory group is asking for more time to deliver its findings.


Amazon expands Agreement with PBS, bringing more popular TV shows to Prime Instant Video
(See also this Prime Instant Video page by categories.)

The agreement offers access to "an expanded multi-year licensing agreement with PBS Distribution that will allow Amazon Prime members to instantly stream, at no additional cost, past seasons of PBS programs.  Prime Instant Video will now have hundreds of additional episodes of popular PBS programs including NOVA, Masterpiece and Ken Burns documentaries along with even more great PBS KIDS shows like Caillou, Arthur, Daniels Tiger’s Neighborhood, Dinosaur Train and Wild Kratts."  See full details here.


Amazon Free Time Unlimited (for ages 3-8) adds popular content from Disney, Warner Bros Interacive Entertainment, and Electronic Arts.
  "These include Disney’s hit Where’s My Mickey?, Warner Brother’s LEGO Harry Potter Years 1-4, Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat Comes Back from Oceanhouse Media, Plants vs. Zombies by EA, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Curious George at the Zoo."
  This one has a subscription cost offered from within the FreeTime app on the Kindle Fire.


New Amazon feature for Travelers - 'Around the World in 80 Books'

Hand-picked Reads for Every Traveler.
  Amazon's focus here: "Explore contemporary novels, memoirs and travel books about destinations near and far, familiar and remote.

  Whether you’re a vacationer or an ambitious armchair traveler, we hope you’ll find a new great read to bring you along."


Tablet competition fallout for PC sales
A Huffington Post article by Django Wylie looks at earlier reports by International Data Corp showing a 14% "plummet in sales" worldwide [for laptops/desktops] for the first three months of 2013, hitting HP and Dell the most (24% and 11% drops respectively).

' HP and Dell's pain has proved, however, to be Apple and Amazon's gain.  With the iPad and Kindle taking the lion's share, tablet sales are expected to top 229.3 million units this year -- a breathtaking 59% percent increase over 2012's still strong 144.5 million. '

  The long, interesting perspective includes the strong effect of the Internet on current technology and consumers.

' After decades of supine passivity under television's enthronement as the dominant form of mass entertainment and subsequent hegemony, people could create and share freely and easily.  Citizens became citizen journalists, geeks became millionaires, and everyone with a computer could find others with shared interests.  It was as if the age-old longing expressed in EM Forster's famous epigraph had been realised.  The imaginatively stultifying enforced silence of the viewer was usurped by the possibility for a groundswell of active engagement at a grassroots, individual level.  We could, in other words, at last upload, rather than solely download...
...
...the dominant and most perceptive of the tech corporations and the government eventually caught up, and in recent years have tried to quell the anarchic freedom, like an irate parent at an illicit houseparty.  And by and large, they have done a good job of stemming the flow of active participators and re-subjugating the participating public.  The producer or potential producer is being subtly ushered away from personal, self-deterministic agency and activity, and turned once more towards passive consumptive practices. '

As you can see, he doesn't see the seductive powers of the iPad or Kindle as much of a positive :-)


That's it for now, and I have more, including news that came in while I've not been here much this summer.

---

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

US: Updated Kindle Fire 2 Basic  7" tablet - $159 Kindle Fire HD 7" 16/32GB - $199/$229 * Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16/32GB - $269/$299 Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G 32/64GB - $399/$499 Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89 Kindle Touch WiFi - $99 Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi - $119/$139 Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi+3G - $179/$199 Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free slow web Kindle DX - $379 $299 (Yes)

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 - Kindlestore, CDN-$ Kindle Basic, NoTouch - $79 Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi - $129 Kindle Paperwhite, 3G - $199 Kindle Fire HD 7" - 214.00 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 $199 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

---

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 Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Kindle Paperwhite News: Paperwhite Software Update v5.3.6 and feedback about an error message which can be safely ignored

Kindle Paperwhite Software Upgrade to v5.3.6

I missed a forum notice about about a software update four days ago for the Kindle Paperwhite (US)   (UK Paperwhite: here; Global Paperwhite: here.) [Bracketed notes are mine.]

Amazon Kindle Forum Notice and thread
"Initial post: Jun 17, 2013 10:38:18 AM PDT
Kevin G.., Community Manager, says:

' We have a new, free software update available for Kindle Paperwhite which can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/kindlesoftwareupdates/paperwhite [U.S.]

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

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

The software update includes the following enhancement:
* Improvements when buying from a book sample - While reading a sample of a book, you can view the price of the full book and purchase from the reading toolbar with one tap..

If you have any questions or need help with this update, please visit the Kindle Help Forum:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/forums/kindleqna/ref=kindle_help_forum_gd. '

As ever, note that keeping your Kindle connected to a Wi-Fi network will drain your battery faster.  So, once you've got the update "over the air," put the Paperwhite back to "Airplane Mode ON" - which turns Wireless Off.  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' 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.

  I realize they prefer Wireless On due to delivery of Special Offers but the battery-drain problem is real.

Only if you'd rather not wait - DOWNLOADING and transferring the Update via USB
US:  Go to the Kindle Paperwhite Software Update v5.3.6 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

  - The v5.3.6 enhancement and some feedback on the software at the forum
This is an update I think most wouldn't rush to get, waiting for it to be delivered over the air instead, as it makes it easier for you to buy a book from the sample you're reading and is more an enhancement for Amazon, though it's convenient, but I thought it was easy enough as it was, when you're asked if you'd like to buy the book, and you can click to get to that function.

  One fear expressed was that people could make a tap they didn't intend and wind up buying a book if inadvertently tapping the link on the toolbar to get the book.  I don't have the update on mine yet, but I imagine that after the one-tap, you'd be asked if you want to buy the book, but if a person is distracted s/he may click an unintended Yes if in a hurry and not reading carefully.

  NOTE: Amazon has always asked, at the end of a purchase, if you've just bought a book by mistake and then reverses it if you click on Yes -- and they also have a refund period you can use if the book is unsatisfactory in some basic formatting, is missing pages, or is filled with typos, etc., and even if you realize later that you didn't intend to get that book.  This would work better when you're not on record as having read the full book.

  The "general improvements" are not listed or described.

  Unintended-error-messages after the install have been reported by some of the forumners after the installation when requesting a download of a book.  If the error messages are ignored, the download completes without problems (unless you really have exceeded device limits for that book).

  The "Exceeded device limits" message has been received even for two Oxford dictionaries, which are not subject to the restriction which publishers can require on normal e-books.

  A couple of customers reporting this said they were called by Amazon to to get more information on the glitch.

  Other than that, there've been no reports of installation problems or other glitches involved with the upgrade over the past 5 days.



  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


Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Kindle Fire Tips: TODAY's Free Android App of the day Tuesday is "Daily Workouts" - normally $3.99. Amazon's new "Experimental Streaming Viewer" plays Flash video on some websites

The paid version of Daily Workouts app is free today ONLY, Tuesday, June 18

This is one in a series of Daily Workouts that target certain areas of the bod and is said to include most of the single-target exercises available in the other apps ("abs, arms, butt, cardio, legs"), except for the work with a ball and the yoga one.

You can choose to do a workout that'll take 5, 8, or 10 minutes and choose:
. a pre-set routine
. an exercise from the list or
. make your own full-body custom routine from the list

Each group of exercises has a looping video showing you how to do the exercise, and there are text instructions under the video describing the correct way to do the exercise -- things to remember. I have two 5-lb hand weights which of course will work the wrists, forearms, biceps, back, and shoulder muscles and I never knew exactly what might be the correct ways to use them.  This gives several good examples.

There's no background rhythmic music but I guess that if you need it, you can add appropriately bouncy music found online to loop before starting the workout.

Essentially, this is a combination of 5 separate $0.99 apps, including a free advertiser-supported one -- normally for $3.99 but free for today.  It works very well on my Kindle Fire HD 7" model.


Amazon quietly adds Experimental Streaming Viewer to recent Kindle Fire 2nd Gen and HD software updates
As explained in older blog articles linked below, Adobe withdrew support for its Flash Player from Android-based tablets and phones that use later operating systems.  The newer Adobe Flash Player files won't work with them, and that includes the Google Nexus and Samsung mobile devices.

  Some users have found that certain *older* Adobe files will work well with the later Android operating systems, and users have to find them via searching blogs and forums.

Now, Amazon has at least a partial solution -- and they describe the new streaming viewer feature on their WEB help area but did not mention this feature in the software update announcements probably because they'd rather people be watching Amazon Instant Video, since the tablet is sold mostly at cost with revenue coming from use of the tablet with Amazon-offered products and is also a very sophisticated e-reader.

However, when you read the below, be aware that no Android tablet I've heard of (let me know if there IS one) has a solution like this one to the no-flash-player support dilemma -- a built-in workaround with no work on the customer's part, as opposed to finding the right files and installing them to make it all happen.  A vendor would have to pay Adobe a special fee to offer on a mobile device (with later operating system) an authorized working Flash Player with a Flash-supporting web browser.

  I first saw this new web browsing feature mentioned on the Amazon Kindle Forums by Amazon Forum Pros Laura M. Dean and *~*Pineapple*~*

  In addition to the two blog articles (linked just below) on using certain older Adobe Flash Player files that have been found to work with Android-based tablets with later operating systems:

    How to install Flash Player on your Kindle Fire and
    How to install Non-Amazon Apps on your Kindle Fire,

  there are also other good ways to view (and download) YouTube videos -- my favorite apps for that are discussed in "Two favorite Kindle Fire apps: BSPlayer and Tubemate."

The first blog article link just above describes the method I've used, since September 2012, for watching full episodes of TV shows I've missed.  It's worked well, although the new, free ABCWatch app is now available for the Kindle Fire, but the app does NOT work quite as well as just viewing them on the web with Flash on the tablet when that was allowed by ABC.  Now ABC discourages the web method on an Android or Kindle Fire tablet.

However, Amazon's newer Experimental Streaming Viewer (explained at this link) is said by a customer service representative in a reply to forumner John K this way:

' I want to inform [you] that the Amazon Silk web browser on Kindle Fire 2nd Generation / HD doesn't support Flash, but some videos in the Silk browser can be viewed using the experimental streaming viewer.

  Compatible websites will display a notification at the bottom of the screen when Flash is detected.  Tap the notification to watch the video.  You can also tap the Menu icon at the bottom or right side of the screen, and then select "Open experimental viewer."

For the best video playback experience, confirm that you have a strong wireless connection.  Not all websites are compatible with the experimental streaming viewer and video playback quality may vary.

At this time, the experimental streaming viewer is optimized for videos only.

"Currently, we're working on the software updates, so that it can be supported by most of the websites. '

You do need the latest Kindle Fire software updates and
you need to enable "Accelerate page loading" setting in Amazon's Silk web browser menu to do this.

For any website pages that don't work with even the Experimental Streaming Viewer, you can use the workaround many of us have used described in the first blog article link mentioned above.  I've not found a website for which this workaround does not work.

  In the meantime, the new built-in streaming viewer is a more straightforward solution where it works, and Laura M. Dean said it worked for her for CBS, NBC and ABC's Flash where they don't redirect you to their new app when you ask for a full episode.  It's great that Amazon is working on this even though it involves watching video that's not on Amazon.

---

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

Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Kindle Fire News: Software Update version x.4.3 for HD models and 2nd Gen Kindle Fire now available

Amazon's product pages are now showing a software update again for the Kindle Fire HD 7", 8.9" and Kindle Fire 2nd generation models

On June 12th, I did an alert that software update x.4.1 had been withdrawn from the product software pages and those pages had returned to software version x.3.1, although at least two of us had received x.4.3 'over the air' without explanation.

 The wording on the software update pages at Amazon for the new version x.4.3 update now states what was announced when the software update version x.4.1 was offered and they mention the changes (battery percentage status shown, Canadian language support) as if we had not received them before.

There are a couple of features for each plus at least one which had not been mentioned in the earlier announcement of version x.4.1  and that's the implementation of Amazon's Android Appstore apps being made available to customer Kindles outside the U.S., in almost 170 countries now activated for access to that app store.

That and the new Battery Percentage shown in the Status Bar (when enabled) are the key features we see again.

(Other changes that had been reported by customers for x.4.1 (the latest today is x.4.3)
  . Notification sounds are working for some for whom that was not working.
  . Map apps showing location using home location referencing WiFi IP address
      has been fixed for at least one customer (probably using
      nearby WiFi network access info.)

  Am also adding, as usual, UK software pages:

Amazon's new, free software update for Kindle Fire 2nd Generation, Kindle Fire HD 7", and Kindle Fire HD 8.9 are now available at the usual software update help pages:

There are, in addition to bug fixes and performance improvements, the following features added to the three Kindle Fire models noted below the product page descriptions of the changes:

  . Language Support for Canadian English and Canadian French
    You can now change your device language to Canadian English and Canadian French.

  . Enable Battery Percentage in the Status Bar [Applause from many]
    You can now see the total percentage of battery life left when you enable this feature from the Device menu.

Kindle Fire HD 7":
Head over to the Kindle Fire HD 7" Software Update page for more details:
  v7.4.3 US/Most Int'l here.   UK software page.

Kindle Fire HD 8.9":
Please see the Kindle Fire HD 8.9" Software Update page for more information:
  v8.4.3 US/Most Int'l here   UK software page.

Kindle Fire 2nd Generation Software Update page contains information on how to manually install the update if you'd prefer:
  v10.4.3 US/Most Int'l here.   UK software page.

If you need assistance with any of these updates, you can find help at the Kindle Help Forums. '

IF Choosing to Manually Download This Version

(instead of waiting for it to arrive via WiFi)
This update automatically downloads and installs for most Kindle Fire customers; however, you can initiate the software update from your Kindle or manually download the software update via USB (some use the excellent WiFi File Explorer PRO app rather than the USB cable hookup).

Again -- before you begin, confirm your current software version:

1. KF: Tap the top of the device -- KFHD: Swipe down from the top of the screen.
     Then tap More.
2. Tap Device, and then tap About.

The instructions for manually downloading -- if needed -- the update via USB are at the software update pages mentioned above.  Most will find it more convenient to have the update arrive via the automated download.

NOTE that when it does arrive, your Kindle Fire will reboot and sometimes it does that twice, so don't be alarmed when it happens while it's idle and you're nearby.


EARLIER posts on Kindle Fire HD

  . Getting non-Amazon apps on Kindle Fires (non-HD Kindle Fires have storage space limitations)
  . More comparisons on iPad mini and Kindle Fire HD
  . Basic Features Comparison Table for iPad mini, Google Nexus 7", Kindle Fire HD 7"
  . Comparison reviews of the Kindle Fire HD 7" and Google Nexus 7" tablets
  . Step-by-step guide for installing a working Adobe Flash player when needed.
  . Google Maps, Street View and other apps on my Kindle Fire, via enabling one device setting
  . Downloading and playing YouTube videos on Kindle Fire HD
  . Using the camera and Video, Panorama mode, Time Lapses
  . App for WiFi file transfers w/o cable.

---

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

US: Updated Kindle Fire 2 Basic  7" tablet - $159 Kindle Fire HD 7" 16/32GB - $199/$229 * Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16/32GB - $269/$299 Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G 32/64GB - $399/$499 Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89 Kindle Touch WiFi - $99 Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi - $119/$139 Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi+3G - $179/$199 Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free slow web Kindle DX - $379 $299 (Yes)

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 - Kindlestore, CDN-$ Kindle Basic, NoTouch - $79 Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi - $129 Kindle Paperwhite, 3G - $199 Kindle Fire HD 7" - 214.00 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 $199 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 Book Alert: Temporarily Free Kindle book on 'mastering' basic camera settings

An excellent Kindle guide to photography basics is free for another day or so.

Guven Witteveen sent an alert yesterday that a book on the basics of camera settings -- what they mean and how they work together -- is free for a day or so.  Generally the free promos are one day to five, the average seeming to be 2 days while some are free for only a few hours.

  This one is a guide to 'mastering' the concepts of aperture, shutter speed, ISO and exposure, written by AI Judge, whose Kindle books on photography basics get high ratings for clarity.  It's not a book for advanced users who already use these controls with a good understanding of them.  It's for those who depend on 'auto' mode but would like to experiment with more control over their results when they want.

  It's a small book, only 68 pages, but I've downloaded it and it's very well organized, very clearly written and should be a boon for anyone who would like to try a bit more than 'auto' mode on their cameras and it will help in understanding why certain combinations of settings may be optimal for this or that situation.  Focal Length is explained as well.  The Kindle editions of these small guides are generally $2.99 - it's also available in paperback for $12.21.

  And of course, the cost of the Kindle edition is $0.00 today.  I've no idea if it'll still be a free promo tomorrow.



  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 models :   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 HD Sale returns for Father's Day, thru' June 15 - $20 off any Kindle Fire HD tablet. Some other Amazon specials.

Today's Amazon pages show a RETURN of the discount of $20 off any Kindle Fire HD tablet, this time through June 15, 2013 when using the same special promotional code.

See the information page with the title "Father's Day Sale."

The Promo Code DADSFIRE, used at checkout, will get you the $20 off any of these HD models.  Although it mentions that this discount with code is good through June 15, they add (as they did last time) "Offer good while supplies last," which is wording commonly seen in any of these time-limited offers.

That means:
  The 16 GB Kindle Fire HD 7-inch tablet would start at $179 for this time period, when using the promo code.
  The 32 GB Kindle Fire HD 7-inch tablet would start at $209 (the 32 GB one is my recommendation, due to the large size of multimedia files.

    The models with 'Special Offers' shown on the opening lock screen
    are always priced $15 lower than the ones without the special offers.

  The 16 GB Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch model would start at $249.
  The 32 GB Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch model would start at $279.

  The 32 GB KFHD 8.9-inch tablet with 4G LTE cellular network access: $399.
  The 64 GB KFHD 8.9-inch tablet with 4G LTE cellular network access: $479.

    For comparison on pricing with the 4G LTE models,
    The 32 GB Apple iPad 4G LTE tablet starts at $729 (vs the $399 KFire HD 4G LTE).


This is just another quick alert.  The promotional info page has a thumbnail for every model, so click on any for specific information on that model.

(I saw this announced by a gadget news site last night, but the Amazon pages had not changed to show this, so they apparently got advance word.)

NOTE: If you bought a Kindle Fire between June 9 and June 12,, Amazon tends to give credits if the price is reduced within 30 days of your purchase, so call 1-866-321-8851 or contact them at http://amzn.to/kcallme


In the meantime, Amazon is still in larger sale mode and pricing aggressively for
  .  Father's Day in general
  . "Gifts for Dads & Grads in Electronics" through 6/17/13, and
  . "June Audio Month" deals, up to 50% Off Select Items, through 6/30/13



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A Kindle Fire Software Downdate to version x.3.1 for HD models and 2nd Gen Kindle Fire is available, but two of us received an update to x.4.3 ... This is an alert, and I'd wait for more news.

Kindle Fire software downdate to version x.3.1 from x.4.1 but with some Kindle Fires updated over-the-air to x.4.3

In the rest of the world, when an update may be causing unexpected oddities, vendors will offer an option to fall-back to the former software version.  Amazon hasn't done that in the past, though customers sometimes request that option if they feel an update brings unforeseen glitches and needs further updating.

  The other day, Nate Hoffelder of The Digital Reader found that his Kindle Fire now had software version 7.4.3.  The last update announced for the 7" Kindle Fire HD was v7.4.1, and the Kindle Fire Gen 2 and HD models received the version x.4.1 updates.

  However, when you go to the associated software update page linked for your Kindle Fire model, those Amazon software update pages now show (for the last 2 days) Version x.3.1 and there is no explanation for it there.  The main difference I see is that the update pages normally show what to do for downloading a file for manual-updating if preferred, depending on your software version number, with added update-steps for some devices with old software versions.

  For the last two days, it has said "If you see a System Version other than x.3.1_user_3140720, follow one of the steps below to download the latest version."  No mention of version x.4.1 that had been announced and used since May 29 or so.

  Stranger yet - Version x.4.3 was received by Nate, and today, when I looked at version numbers under the Device "About" settings for both my 7" and 8.9" tablets, they show "Current Version: 7.4.3..." and "8.4.3" respectively.

  It seems that Amazon developers are planning to do these over the air but aren't putting the x.4.3 update files on the public area until (maybe) they are certain that the apparent glitches with version x.4.1 are fixed with version x.4.3 sent wirelessly to customers, in batches.

What were the glitches?
Best guess? Problems with charging and battery drain and some random freezing were mentioned in the forums and those experiencing them hoped for a fallback to the older version.  But I have nothing to go by but that.

  I didn't have the random freezing but did see faster battery drain than normal. The newer x.4.1 update brought us the Show Battery Percentage in Status Bar option.  Anytime you monitor something like this and update the figure, the battery is used more than when it doesn't have to monitor or update what is showing for the figure.  However, the battery calculation IS used already for the battery icon, although small percentage changes wouldn't cause icon-display changes as often, and the drain seemed faster than one would expect.

  The version x.4.3 update being sent over the air (but the Amazon software update pages for those who want to do this manually not showing it yet and instead offering only the older x.3.1 software version) may lessen the drain.  Some apps will generally cause hanging when they're not taking into account what to do when operating memory is too low but there should be recovery methods in those apps and in the system.  I've not experienced any system hangs except with the very buggy ABCWatch app for its full-episodes.

Recommendation:
  Do nothing, unless you're experiencing glitches that interfere with normal use of your device.  In that case, you can use the blog article announcing updates for versions x.4.1, which will link you to the current software files for your Kindle Fire (US and UK), which (until they offer the version x.4.3 file), currently shows the older x.3.1 software version.

  Since I hardly ever get a software update over the air until after most people have, I'd guess that the version x.4.3 upgrade will be here within a couple of days for most and if you sync your Kindle Fire, that may cause it to slowly download when the device is idle.  Once a file is fully downloaded, then it will be installed.

  If you're having no particular problem with yours, there's no reason to get the current older file.

---

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 Quick Alert: Free App for day is $3.99 Food and Diet Tracker

Am back and working on a blog entry but wanted to do this alert for the one-day free app

SparkPeople's Diet and Food Tracker is a popular diet tracker in its Website version, where it is free.

  The Android app used to be free too, but they started charging $3.99 at some point and there were quite a few upset people who wrote 1-star reviews about that charge.

  Also, as with so many Android app venders (and all of the ones on Facebook) they want access to your contact list in the "Permissions" section.  That's a consideration too.  Add that you have to register with the website (but that part seems normal to me).

  Add that to use it, you have to be in a WiFi area if you don't have 3G as you do on phones.

  However, a lot of 1-star customer reviewers say it's not worth it for $4 but if it were free, they'd download it.  Others are unhappy because they're under 18, and you have to be 18 to use it.

  So this is just an alert for those of you who might be interested and want to download it on the day it's free, in case you do want to use it later.

  So, that's the alert. Meant to send it earlier, but even the east coast has the night hours remaining, for those who are interested.

---

  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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DOJ-APPLE Trial quotes...AmazonFresh delivery service may launch in Los Angeles within a week...The Kindle Daily Deals page now includes "10 Top-Rated Deal Books at $3.99 or Less"Kindle for iOS app gets another update, v3.8, for layout enhancements

Amazon working in earnest to expand 1-Day Grocery Delivery in effect

NPR's Maria Godoy points us to Joe Nicholson's AP report that Amazon may expand its fresh grocery delivery service (tested in Seattle since 2007) to Los Angeles possibly "as early as this week" and delivery in San Francisco "is on the horizon for later this year, according to Reuters and adds that "By 2014, the company could expand grocery delivery to as many as 40 major urban areas."

  Apparently, it's popular in Seattle and its features include "no minimum order, pre-dawn delivery (the most popular option) and the ability to choose the time when your food shows up. You can also opt to have your groceries dropped off in a chilled tote bag."

  In Seattle, this includes items from favorite vendors, "from artisan breads and doughnuts to craft beers" from a popular local market and "deliveries from local restaurants."  A retailNet Group analyst expects Amazon to do something similar as it expands into LA and SF.

  The Reuters report references two people who "were not authorized to speak publicly," one of whom said that if the two new locations "go well," they may launch AmazonFresh in "20 other urban areas in 2014, including some outside the United States," with a target of "as many as 40 markets."

  As usual, the thinking seems to be, the reports say, that Amazon doesn't have to make a profit off these but this would be foot-in-door purchasing on a more regular basis, and it's expected that those customers would be interested in buying other, more profitable, products online at Amazon.

  It's a daunting effort, as fresh food doesn't stay fresh for long.  Wal-Mart is said to be testing something similar in the San Francisco Bay Area and already operates one in Britain.  See Reuters for considerably more detail.


Newish Kindle Book Deal
The ongoing Kindle Daily Deal page now also includes "10 Top-Rated Deal Books, $3.99 or Less" as well as the monthly specials.


IN OTHER NEWS - quotes and links
Quotes from DoJ-Apple Trial
Web news is large with the Apple and Big5 ebook pricing trial now going on and it's fairly dramatic as each publisher is asked to step up and describe the interactions with Apple, and yesterday Amazon's VP of Kindle Content, Russell Grandinetti, testified about the tense conferences with publishers back in 2010 and the threats that went back and forth.

 Just picking one generic story randomly from a "Breaking News - Business"-focused site, I see what shows up in most news stories last night:

' Carolyn Reidy, chief executive of Simon & Schuster...testified she met with Apple executive Eddy Cue and that [she] was aware that other big publishers were in talks with the California tech giant to end the pricing model imposed by Amazon...

  "You left the meeting understanding Apple didn't want [Amazon's price of US$9.99] to continue?" [US DoJ lawyer Lawrence] Buterman asked.
  "Clearly," Reidy responded.
...
The Justice Department also presented evidence of Reidy's telephone contacts with other publishing CEOs during the Apple negotiations.

  Reidy denied discussing the Apple talks with them, but the government introduced an email from Reidy to Cue, in which she said she "looked forward" to his progress in “herding us cats." '

Remember that the case is now focused on Apple as "ringleader" ("facilitator and go-between") and all the publishers involved have settled, albeit for a relatively low $164 million and stopping the current arrangement and a promise not to try Agency plan again for a couple of years.

PaidContent's Laura Hazard Owen brings up, despite S&S's Reidy arguing "that Apple did not require the publisher to move Amazon and other accounts to the agency model":

' A related, charged point raised by the government was an internal mail to the S&S team on January 4, in which Reidy writes in part about how to respond to Eddy Cue’s proposed Apple terms, noting that ‘we are in total agreement that…agency model should hold for all retailers.’” '

PaidContent's Mathew Ingram wrote, on June 4, a story headlined, "The DoJ has an open-and-shut case," calling the evidence "overwhelming."

  "...the fact is that the DoJ has what amounts to a slam-dunk case: no matter how you look at it, the company colluded with publishers to keep e-book prices high."

  Ingram reiterates that Apple's argument that boils down to "But your honor, we had to do this because our competitor is too large and it was the only way we could compete with them” just won't fly in an anti-trust case focusing on collusion.

' ...antitrust law in the U.S. isn’t designed to help prevent competitors from being squashed by a large player in an industry — even if that player has what amounts to a monopoly position.  The key point is whether that particular company’s behavior alters or damages the marketplace in a way that harms consumers.  And when it comes to that, the DoJ is on rock-solid ground. '

  As Kindle owners will remember, and it came up in Grandinetti's testimony yesterday, Amazon was told that if they didn't agree to the Agency agreement as set up (for the higher pricing forced on them), then they would not get Kindle editions of the popular new books until several months after the release of the print book.  This was not an attractive option for them nor for Kindle owners.

  Publishers Weekly's Calvin Reid reminds everyone of a strange faux pas Steve Jobs made which this blog pointed out as significant ("says too much") when this was all happening.  See that link for the video of what Jobs said to Mossberg.  It was not widely circulated but eventually would be big in this case.

  He gave away to Walt Mossberg that he knew the prices would be fixed, in the brief video'd interview after the iPad launch, in which Mossberg asked why anyone would buy a book for $14.99 at Apple's store when they could get it for $9.99 at Amazon.

  When Jobs replied that, in effect, Amazon would not be selling the mentioned book at a lower cost than Apple, and Mossberg couldn't understand why -- in reply to Mossberg's question, "You mean you won’t be $14.99? Or they won’t be $9.99" -- Jobs would smile and say, "The prices will be the same.." (See the video in two versions.)

  I was flabbergasted by that at the time, and The Register, UK's Brid-Aine Parnell reports on a piece of email evidence submitted (the wording in that email is unpleasant but it was said by the general counsel of Simon and Schuster and not stated by me -- I just thought Jobs's words were really unwise).

' In further evidence to support its allegations, the DoJ showed an email from Eliza Rivlin, then general counsel of publisher Simon & Schuster, who was horrified that Jobs had made the comments [in that video'd interview].

“I can’t believe Jobs made the statement… Incredibly stupid,” she wrote.
  The Department of Justice's lawyers suggested Rivlin was incredulous because Jobs’ comments pointed out their conspiracy.  But Apple lawyers said that the Feds were twisting the facts to paint a “sinister” picture of Apple. '

  Trial Exhibits
  For those intrigued by all this and wanting to know more, see the actual Trial Exhibits for this case.

  A fascinating read, because of the inclusion of information from voluminous emails never meant to be public, is the PDF file for Plaintiffs' Proposed Findings of Fact.  It's more interesting than most mystery or detective books I've read, and it's still up to the reader to sort out what it all really means.


New Kindle for Apple iOS update, v3.8
NEW: (Get the free app/update at iTunes.)
• Line Spacing - loose, normal, and tight line spacing options change the page layout to suit your reading preference
• Multipage Highlights – highlight long passages that span multiple pages for added convenience
• Print Replica Textbooks notebook improvements – filter by type: notes, bookmarks, and highlights by color; Sync starred notes between devices
• Accessibility Improvements – select a higher maximum font size, bug fixes
• Bug Fixes/Stability Improvements


Current Articles Reference:
See:
1. June's current Kindle and Kindle Book deals info here:
2. All Kindle Fire HD tablets $20 off through June 8 + some other Amazon specials.  Has an interesting price comparison.
3. Large E-Ink Kindle DX Graphite available again, almost as pricey as before.
4. Software Update x.4.1 for HD and 2nd Gen Kindle Fire tablets
5. Current worldwide listing of Kindle devices


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

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Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Kindle Fire HD Sale through June 8 - $20 off any Kindle Fire HD tablet. Some other Amazon specials.

Today's Amazon pages show a discount of $20 off any Kindle Fire HD tablet through June 8, 2013 when using a special promotional code.

See the information page with the title "Father's Day Sale."

The Promo Code DADSFIRE, used at checkout, will get you the $20 off any of these HD models.  Although it mentions that this discount with code is good through June 8, they add "Offer good while supplies last," which is wording commonly seen in any of these time-limited offers.

That means:
  The 16 GB Kindle Fire HD 7-inch tablet would start at $179 for this time period, when using the promo code.
  The 32 GB Kindle Fire HD 7-inch tablet would start at $209 (the 32 GB one is my recommendation, due to the large size of multimedia files.

    The models with 'Special Offers' shown on the opening lock screen
    are always priced $15 lower than the ones without the special offers.

  The 16 GB Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch model would start at $249.
  The 32 GB Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch model would start at $279.

  The 32 GB KFHD 8.9-inch tablet with 4G LTE cellular network access: $399.
  The 64 GB KFHD 8.9-inch tablet with 4G LTE cellular network access: $479.

    For comparison on pricing with the 4G LTE models,
    The 32 GB Apple iPad 4G LTE tablet starts at $729 (vs the $399 KFire HD 4G LTE).


This is just another quick alert.  The promotional info page has a thumbnail for every model, so click on any for specific information on that model.

In the meantime, Amazon is in larger sale mode again and pricing aggressively for
  .  Father's Day in general
  . "Gifts for Dads & Grads in Electronics" through 6/17/13, and
  . "June Audio Month" deals, up to 50% Off Select Items, through 6/30/13



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Kindle Fire Tip: ONE DAY Free Android App of the day Sunday is SAS Survival Guide, normally $5.99

This is just a quick alert for Kindle Fire owners passing through who didn't look at the free Android App of the Day today (I normally don't).

  If you don't own one yet, it's still orderable at this 'price' if you have a Kindle Fire coming and maybe even if you don't.  Digital books and apps are kept on the Amazon servers in your personal area until you decide you want to use it and then download it.

UPDATE: Commenter Gary LaPointe reported that you need an Android device of SOME kind (or a Kindle Fire already ordered) in order to order a free app from the Amazon Android Appstore.  See his comment here.

It's free for this one day [Sunday, June 2, 2013], and is usually $5.99. Seems a very useful free app.


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Kindle Tips: June's Monthly 100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less - Editors' Choices + Free non-classics by publication date + discounted-book alerts. Strangers on a Train: Farley Granger at age 80 in 2006.

JUNE 2013's 100 Kindle Books deal, for $3.99 or less (See UK page below.)

I highlight the monthly deal at or near the beginning of the month for those who don't know about it or might not remember.

  The June pricing for this group of 100 Kindle books ranges from $0.99 to $3.99, as usual for this monthly deal, and are "hand-selected" by Amazon's Editors each month.

What you'll see on that special monthly-deals page (UK version is here) are new for June 2013.

(US Link: amzn.to/100kbooks-1to4,  UK Link: amzn.to/100kbooks-1to4uk)


FREE KINDLE BOOKS (Non-classics) for June (and May)
I've updated the "Temporarily-free books -- Non-classics" search results to show free contemporary Kindle books for JUNE, sorted by publication-date, as of June 1, 2013.  There are only a few shown on the first day or two of any month, and these include pre-orders due that month.  On the first day of the month, most of these are listed as "free preview" of whatever chapters chosen, some are short stories, and a few (overnight) not-entire-family-safe titles may show up.

  Here, also, are the current Search results for still free Kindle non-classics, by publication date during the last month (May).


The Kindle Daily Deal page
for any given day now shows a lot of books since it includes children's books, a couple of genre-specific deals, and the monthly daily deals as well.


DISCOUNTED / Price Dropped Kindle eBooks II - the ongoing Kindle Forum message thread
  This is an ongoing message thread in which Kindle owners share information on recent drops in pricing on specific Kindle books, often with some added info by the person posting it.

  Here's a link to the thread, starting at a May 29 posting that includes some books that are still on sale June 1.
    These tend to be very short-term discounts.

  The forum topic link is to a specific day to start, in this case, a book released 5/29, as mentioned, but you can look at previous days or keep up with ongoing alerts after that, as Amazon keeps track of the last message# that you read, so that you can start from there next time.  While most of the better deals seem around $1.99-$4.99, there are many larger-publishing house deals included that tend to end in a DAY, so you'd need to double-check the current pricing of ANY Kindle books that interest you to see if the discounts are still active.


I saw that Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith was noted for a usually-temporary price drop for May 29 and is still discounted today, June 1, so I've started the forum topic browse-link at that point.

  The image here is of Farley Granger at age 80 when interviewed on stage at the Noir City Film Festival in Jan. 2006 and I took it from from the audience w/o flash.  I've also added a very shaky 14-second videoclip done right after that, as he answers a question about Director Nicholas Ray - I was surprised he still had a remarkably young voice for his age.
  Kindle Editions of the blog can't show video, so if nostalgically curious about this, it can be seen on a desktop, tablet, or smart phone but it's not worth the trouble.  Pure nostalgia, poorly shot.


  Again, Kindle book prices are discounted for only a very short time, too often, and are promos, and that's another reason to watch the list.  Most of the large-publisher discounts last only one or two days.


DISCOUNTS ON ACCESSORIES Amazon's current (some, ongoing) on accessories for Kindle e-Reader and Kindle Fire
  1. Up to 50% (higher discount as a "Spring Sale: than usual) on covers for Kindle eReaders
  2. Up to 50% on covers for Kindle Fire (Gen 2) and Kindle Fire HD tablets

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Current Kindle Models for reference.

US: Updated Kindle Fire 2 Basic  7" tablet - $159 Kindle Fire HD 7" 16/32GB - $199/$229 * Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16/32GB - $269/$299 Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G 32/64GB - $399/$499 Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89 Kindle Touch WiFi - $99 Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi - $119/$139 Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi+3G - $179/$199 Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free slow web Kindle DX - $379 $299 (Yes)

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 - Kindlestore, CDN-$ Kindle Basic, NoTouch - $79 Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi - $129 Kindle Paperwhite, 3G - $199 Kindle Fire HD 7" - 214.00 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 $199 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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