Monday, November 18, 2013

Kindle Fire HDX and HD2 Tips: Software updates adding some promised features for the new tablets are here - v11.3.1, v13.3.1, and v14.3.1. Details added. Also, a Miracast adapter recommended by Amazon. And new customization of personalized Kindle covers announced.



SOFTWARE UPDATES for promised additional features for the KINDLE FIRE HDX's and the new 7" HD 2nd Gen

Amazon has made a software update available as of today for the new HDX line and for the new Kindle Fire Basic 7", which is called "HD 2nd Gen" (which replaces last year's basic Kindle Fire that had no HD, no camera, and no HDMI-out and which sold, retail, for $159).

Most of the new features added in this update group are described below, and they also include the usual general improvements as well as the mentioned feature enhancements.

  One neat feature not mentioned in the software-download pages, but noted in the press release, is the addition of Voice Dictation.
  "Voice dictation converts your speech to text -- available in all languages when online; offline support available in US English"

  In addition to the Voice Dictation feature, some other features mentioned in Amazon's press release but not detailed on the update pages include the following:

  "New accessibility enhancements that enable blind and visually impaired customers to save a separate accessibility profile for children in Kindle FreeTime, scroll lists automatically when swipe navigating, hear enhanced sound feedback and screen orientation changes announced, and have more control when editing text and navigating web content."

  "Dozens more new features, performance and battery life improvements, and bug fixes."

These updates will be delivered wirelessly as usual in a distribution over a few weeks -- but if you'd rather get them now, you can do a manual update by downloading the software and updating your device via USB cable.  Here are direct links to the software-update pages for the 3 tablets involved (emphases are mine):

  Update Page for Kindle Fire HD 7" 2nd Gen
  Update Page for Kindle Fire HDX 7"
  Update Page for Kindle Fire HDX 8.9"

The main added features described on the update pages (shown below) are the same for all three tablet models except that the sentence under the "Enterprise" category on the HDX 7" update page inadvertently omits "Protect secure data on your Kindle Fire with device encryption tools" although the feature IS included in the described features for the lower cost HD 7" 2nd Gen tablet.  So, that would just be an oversight.
* Find and share books with Goodreads
Goodreads on Kindle lets you connect with the Goodreads community to follow friends and see what they are reading, and share and rate books on your Kindle Fire.

* Organize your content with Cloud Collections [Long requested]
Organize your content library into collections like "Favorite Books" and "Sports Apps" that are synchronized with compatible Kindle devices and reading apps.

* Watch movies and TV shows on another device with Second Screen
Fling movies and TV shows from your Kindle Fire to your 2013 Samsung Smart TV or PlayStation 3 using Second Screen.

* Learn more about books with Smart Lookup
With the Smart Lookup feature, you can quickly look up words in the dictionary or Wikipedia or translate text in a book.

* Print from your Kindle Fire [Built-in support instead of dependence on an external app]
Print Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents, photos, e-mails, calendar events, and contact information from your Kindle Fire to a printer that supports mobile printing.

* Free up storage space with 1-Tap Archive
With 1-Tap Archive, your Kindle Fire groups all content that has not been used recently so you can move it to the Cloud with just one tap.

* Enhanced enterprise features [See Note above]
Protect secure data on your Kindle Fire with device encryption tools, manage security certificates, and connect to your company’s Wi-Fi network—whether you’re at home or at work -- with remote VPN capabilities.

* Set alarms and view additional time zones with the Clock app
Use the all-new Clock app to check the date and time, set an alarm clock, and more.

The press release adds a larger explanation of Second Screen
"Fling TV shows and movies from your tablet to your big-screen TV.   Second Screen turns your TV into the primary screen and frees up your Fire HDX to provide playback controls, a customized display for X-Ray, or simply a place to email, browse the web, and more while you watch a movie.  Second Screen is available for PlayStation 3 and Samsung TVs, and will be available starting later this year for PlayStation 4."

  This is in contrast to Miracast, which -- like the cabled HDMI-out, in last year's HD models, will "only" MIRROR what is on your tablet (whether a movie or web-browsing) HDTV without using cables from your tablet to the TV.

  Here's a recommended Miracast adapter (seen mentioned positively in the Amazon Kindle Forums based on a recently added recommendation by Amazon as "Certified" at its tablet Miracast help page) -- The Netgear Push2TV PTV3000 --
-- BUT NOTE that Amazon says it requires a Firmware-update for the adapter before using it.
 The update likely fixes a main reason for some '1' ratings in earlier customer reviews on the product page).  The adapter is $60 but Amazon has its 30-day refund policy on this Prime shipping product shipped and sold by Amazon.

  Here are two recent comments given on the Amazon Kindle Community forums when I asked if anyone had found a Miracast adapter without notable lag time:
' Steve Z. says:
I have read the reviews of the miracast adapters sold on Amazon as well. They all seem to have a lag problem. Then I read the reports by several here in the forums that they had had good luck with the mirroring technology with their HDX's. I also did a search in Amazon help and see that Amazon recommends the Netgear Push2TV adapter. This happened to be the same one others in these forums have suggested. I purchased one figuring I could return it if it didn't work. It arrived last Monday and the first thing I did was update the firmware. ( the newest firmware is dated in November.) I hooked it up to my TV and it immediately worked. Turning on mirroring in the HDX is very simple. I detected no lag or stuttering. It mirrored well with pictures, video (youtube), and simple games. (Have not tried a graphics intensive game yet.) Last night we watched an entire Amazon Prime movie with no hiccups or errors. Works for me.


Jules Nichols says:
I agree with Steve Z, I got my Netgear Push2TV adapter on Monday, I didn't update the firmware, but went straight to try it out. Worked fantastic. No lag or stuttering. I'm using it with the 7"HDX. '

Note that the recommendation (and certification) is by Amazon and not by me, as I haven't bought the product yet.

For MORE DETAILS on the new feature enhancements on this update, see the earlier HDX/HD2 articles with far more thorough descriptions of what they do:

  1. Overview of New Features
  2. Things to Know about the new features

  Those articles have clarifications for some points that have puzzled some.

ADDED TIP on a tablet cover + a new "Personalization" feature
The first tip is for those who find the Origami cases more pricey than wanted.

  1. The Poetic Slimline cover is notable for having 65 customer reviews currently, with 63 of them 5-star and the other two, 4-star, while being inexpensive ($9.95 currently for the 8.9" model) -- and while this page highlights the 8.9" HDX model, the bordered TEXTBOX under Availability at the top of that product page gives links for these covers for the 7" HDX and HD 2nd Gen models as well.  They all carry the same ID number for links.  Each headlines a 3-year manufacturer warranty from Poetic.

  A new Customization or Personalization feature for Kindle covers was announced, and you can read about that on the "Create your own Kindle accessories" page but from what I see it has to be ordered at the same time you order the case.  You can upload your own photo or image design or choose from several pre-designed ones offered by Amazon.  This is all I know for now, though.

  Probably enough info, overall, for one day?  Am still working on a report on the 8.9" HDX 64GB I bought and have been putting through the mill (and it generally has exceeded my expectations).




Current Kindle Models for reference, plus free-ebook search links.
US:
New Kindle Fire HD 7" 2nd Gen - $139/169
Kindle Fire HDX 7" 16-64GB - $229/269/309
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" 16-64GB - $379/429/479
- with 4G added: $479/529/579
Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16GB - 1st Gen $229
- 32GB w/ no special-offers: $314
Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89
Kindle Touch WiFi - $99
Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi - $119/$139
Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi+3G - $189
Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free web
Kindle DX - $379 $199 (*New* price)
UK:
Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £69
Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi
£109
Kindle Paperwhite2 3G, UK
£169
Kindle Fire Basic HD 8/16GB, UK
 from £119
Kindle Fire HDX 7" 16-64GB, UK
from £199. 4G/3G
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" 16-64GB, UK - from £329. 4G/3G

CANADA - Kindlestore, CDN-$
Kindle Basic, NoTouch - $79
Kindle Paperwhite 2 - $139
Kindle Paperwhite 2, 3G - $209
KFire HD Yr 2012 7" $214,  8.9" $244.
Yr 2013 KFires: HD Gen2, HDX line

*OTHER Int'l pages*
Kindle NoTouch Basic - $89
Paperwhite 2 WiFi $139, 3G/Wifi $209
KFire HD Yr 2012: 7" $214,  8.9" $244
Yr 2013: HD Gen2 + HDX line

Australia Kindlestore
France Boutique Kindle
Deutschland - Kindle Store
Italia - Kindle Store
Spain - Tienda Kindle
Brazil - Amazon Brazil
China - Amazon China [?]
Japan - Amazon Japan

  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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(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
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24 comments:

  1. Goodreads, cloud collections.
    Exactly the update I am waiting for, but for the Paperwhite!

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    1. Fabien, you're in luck. That update for Paperwhite is ready too. The press release went out today and I'm about to write it up and of course others already will have, as I've been doing other things since reading it. But, O happy day :-)

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  2. Finally got some hands on with Fire HDX 7" at Best Buy. The 'blue bleed' issue was unfortunately in evidence and quite distracting (if only in the reading app), at least on that particular unit. I would not be able to get used to it, even if Amazon doesn't consider it 'defective'.

    OTOH the iPad mini retina is probably not in my future either: turns out to have only 63% color gamut, and another reason to go with iPad Air instead. But now we're talking $600+, requiring more serious justification. And more iPad Pro (12") rumors. If only the entry price got you 32GB... In the meantime, I replaced the battery in my iPod Touch ($50) and it has been restored to greatness.

    Also played with the Surface tablets. Liked 'em!

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    Replies
    1. I saw, on an iPad mini thread yesterday the same complaints about the blue bleed or leakage on that device. For an Apple thread, it was quite negative. I think Apple's pricing philosophy is starting to take its toll, even if people are more apt to think 'Apple' when considering a tablet according to a poll today.

      Isn't a 12" tablet a bit large? I had found the 8.9" too-large for daily portability until I got the HDX, which is lighter than my 7" HD and easier to hold and is just a beautiful unit. At a full 64GB and 2 gigs of RAM + the song lyrics scrolling, which I find I love because I like singing along, it is still less expensive than the iPad's 16GB unit with 1 GB of RAM.

      And, really, the Kindle Fire HDX's have SO MANY content features now that are lacking in both the Nexus and the iPad (both of which scored pretty well under the Kindle HDX in the Displaymate's thorough testing).

      GREAT news about the new battery's effect on the iPod Touch! As for the Surface tablets, I am truly bewitched by my Surface Pro 2. It is just a great little device. Amazing. Its color gamut is limited too but the angle viewing and color accuracy as well as its brightness (I have to turn mine down to 37%) is all I need for the kind of Photoshopping I like to do (it's been awhile - and just bought some video software with good features for relatively little to supplement what the Adobe can't do -- video is something I have to learn and get decent.

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    2. Of course a 12" tablet is large, that is sort of the point. But finally it is big enough to display letter size PDF at near 100%. PDF is extremely important in business, legal, etc. Even 17" laptops kind of suck for PDF as they lack sufficient vertical dimension, and they are way too heavy besides that. And drawing apps, sheet music, magazines, blueprints/schematics all get better when there are more square inches. It need not be much heavier or costly than 10" tablet if they retain 2048x1536 resolution. Yes DPI would go down but I think still adequate. They could probably improve other display qualities as a tradeoff (viewing angle, saturation, brightness, power efficiency etc.). If you have room in your bag for an 10" tablet a 12" will probably fit too. So I'm making this up but I think there is some sort of market for it. For example check out these 13"ers:
      http://cintiqcompanion.wacom.com/CintiqCompanion/en/ (Windows 8) and http://cintiqcompanion.wacom.com/CintiqCompanionHybrid/en/ (Android)

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    3. Ah, okay, the PDFs -- yes, they do need a wide length across. I haven't missed these because with the ultra-fine resolution and almost 9" devices available with highest resoloution, they're actually very enjoyable now, since PDFs are usually read on paper that is 8-1/2" wide and I can read only half a page at a time even on paper anyway, since my eye focus can handle only that much at a time.

      Ideally the tablet should be at least 8.5" across though and you'd think the almost 10" tablets would do nearly that. But no question 12" would be better and allow larger font sizes too for those who need them.

      The market for it would likely, in my own view, be fairly small. Reviews are forever calling 10" tablets "too heavy" as it is and people seem to go along with that. I'm making room for my 9" HDX now where I used to allow only a 7" to take up space when I'm out. There's no way I'd be carrying around a 12" one, but people who need them for work and put them in briefcases will find that no prob. So, maybe in enterprise-focused outfits. I say this mainly because PDFs are so readable on high-res tablets now, that a smaller tablet is quite doable. I prefer larger fonts but can read the smallest ones very well. This will all depend on the individual user.

      The examples you linked to are interesting, marketing-wise, because the pen, relative to the screens, is so large it makes each screen seem smaller and more portable looking. My Wacom-feel pen (an amazing experience with the special drivers) is much smaller relative to the only-10.6" screen on my SP2.
      I AM very taken with the incredible technology that exists with the SP2 and Win 8.1 -- I've never experienced this combo of speed and smoothness ever in small to medium devices and have worked inside some large companies with the best, newest equipment. To have it on such a small device is sort of heady and definitely addictive. People are using these smaller ones for travel (business and personal) and then hooking them up to large HD monitors when at the office or at home working. Take the detachable keyboard off and it's a very effective but usually heavier tablet. With a good built-in stand, this doesn't matter so much though.

      I sent Nate an article on a 20" tablet due to come out soon. Great for crowd presentations.

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    4. The Holy Grail is 'full page display'. Nothing less will do, at least to handle more complex layouts. Half-page is no good if there are columns, for example. Of course PDFs that are facsimiles of books may be 6x8", 7x9" etc. and those work okay on 10" tablets, particularly if you can trim the whitespace a bit.

      As for weight I think it can be distributed non linearly (towards the edges) so that it is easier to hold in one hand. And if you are drawing it's going to be resting on a desk or your lap. I think Apple would need built-in support for high resolution stylus and support for wireless mouse/trackpad if they are serious about this. That would give it more versatility in the workplace and justify the higher price they're likely to charge for it ('iPad Pro' as it were).

      I'm seeing so little about the New Fire HD. Is it because nobody is buying them, or because HDX news drowns out online coverage (blogs forums etc.)? I'm actually thinking about getting one, particularly if there's another $99 sale. For that price (ok, I'd probably want the 16GB model if that were $129) I would not care so much about versatility, app ecosystem, blah blah. It has better performance than last year's HD, smaller bezel (I hated the wider bezel), better button placement, and I don't care about video out etc (though it does do Second Screen).

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    5. Tom -- full page on would need to be 12 inches long - and a 12" tablet is measured diagonally... So it would still be not be ideal for the eyes.
      Funny, because on our computers we tend to read PDFs a half-page at a time and scroll even for columns,. Most don't have monitors large enough with excellent resolution that will allow us to read a full page with great comfort.

      In the olden days, I used to like to see those vertical monitors that were meant to show full pages of a document and those monitors were in Portrait mode and really large.

      Microsoft could put one out, since the stylus used for the Surface Pro 2 is just super amazing, and artists who draw with various intensities of lines swear by it. Of course, the SP2 is about 2 pounds in just its tablet format, but it's easy to write on PDFs with it, and the handwriting is just as realistic and smooth as if you were writing on paper. No wiggles or squiggles.

      The new Fire HD? I never recommend it except for youngest children using Kindle Freetime. It's the ultra basic model with almost nothing on it. Great resolution but at the highest 16GB storage, it's very limited. No Skype. No HDMI out.

      I'd get last year's 7" HD, which has HDMI out (even if you don't want it, it can be used in presentations easily), a mic, Skype capability, and the best speakers Amazon has put on a tablet.

      The 8.9" models' speakers are not as impressive. Would the performance be that much better than last year's HD? Better than last year's Basic Non-HD, yes, which is what it actually replaced. The wider bezel may not be as sexy but it sure is easier to hold without touching the screen. The new HD basic has bigger system storage, taking away from the room for apps, but if you don't go for much multmedia, it's fine.

      The HDX's are just TONs faster than last year's HD's though -- and, in the More tips article,under "Less known..." I list a number of really clever under-the-hood things they are doing to get that speed on quad-core models.

      The 8.9" one is of course great for PDF's.

      I think that without Mayday, there's not as much written about the 7" HD basic model.

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    6. I dunno, you are talking me into this New Fire HD idea. I don't care about any of the features that got dropped from last year's Fire HD (which is slower and whose form factor does not appeal to me, older Android and no prospects for Mojito updates, no quick switch, etc.). 'Mayday' is a big yawner for me, I would never use it and would gladly accept $20 (or whatever it cost Amazon to add it) to remove the feature. More likely to see improvements to the reading app (page flip?) too. My only concern is whether the pixel density is adequate for extended reading (though it is about the same as PW). At the lower price I'm willing to treat it more like a 'color e-reader', mostly just for less distracted reading (w the TTS and immersive reading features PW lacks), a little web surfing, Feedly, etc, Maybe I don't even need 16GB for that. Well here's hoping for a nice Fire sale on Black Friday.

      I think 12" diag would be just about right for PDF, just trim the margins a little bit. 10" is not quite enough though I often read full page with that as well. Yes I liked to rotate a second monitor in portrait with desktop systems for PDF or text heavy web pages. Surprised there aren't laptops with this feature, but of course tablets are flexible with that.

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    7. Well, Amazon cripples the new basic one, in order to sell it for $139 when at regular pricing., The OLD one is not crippled in the same ways and is $99 at BestBuy on Good Friday. Don't know if Amazon will have a special on it that day.

      NEITHER one has Mayday, which I've used only once for a question about the brightness and contrast but they're on low-bandwidth -- however, it's great for friends and relatives who don't like to read user guides.

      The system takes up 2/3rds of the 8 GB. That would be a waste of money.

      The QuickSwitch is much better (and an unknown feature) on the old HD7. The Star icon on the ever-present system toolbar on the side or bottom has a Star, which brings up "Favorites" you make under Carousel and they can fill the screen and you don't have to look at your Carousel.

      Best you can call them up at anytime from a book or other app (even games) and run one and then be put right back in the book or other app. The Favorites you make are always available, vs the few they present you on the new OS.

      I use Star-Favorite switching all the time and wish the new one was as easy to use. Pixel Density on the old
      HD was the same at a screen resolution of 1280x720 or so (can't remember). I have pictures of it up but can't look for them right now.

      My Samsung 2008 laptop could be rotated with function and arrow keys. Very nice. It still works and got me through August and September (with only 2GB of RAM on it -- it's a great little 10.1" laptop).

      - A

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  3. I don't understand the value of "Second Screen". Who is going to run out and get a Playstation or Samsung TV to be able to use it? Besides PS3 already has Amazon Instant Video app (as well as Netflix etc.). They should have kept cabling option.

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    1. Tom, if the Playstations and Samsung are adding 'fling' capability, the others will too, so it's a matter of having it eventually and then using it but I don't think I know anyone even half interested in getting a TV for that feature. I am very happy with just mirroring the tablet.
      Now that people are happy with the recommended Miracast adapter Amazon 'certified,' the loss of a microHDMI-out is not as bad, but you still have to pay about $60 more to get that capability in wireless form. I am keeping my HDs for the cabled HDMI out :-)

      The pluses of Second Screen are supposed to be about being able to send the movie to the TV, having the processing of the movie being done by the cloud instead of limited by your tablet processer which would also limit what else you can do on the tablet during that time! and instead being able to use the tablet for other things at the same time the movie is on the TV.
      Also, I think Amazon might be working on a TV that uses its own Fling technology. How can it not be?

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    2. Ah yes, as if we don't have enough multitasking in our lives. Tell me again, what is Second Screen good for?

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    3. Tom, Second Screen is very good for those whose family members or visiting friends or home partners may want to see a movie viewable on their HDTVs and the video can be 'flung' to the TV and the tablet owners can then go about doing other things on the tablet, like work, or something that just pleasures them. Most tablet owners probably don't live alone.
      -- It's also good for business presentations. One guy wrote about throwing a video presentation onto a screen for an audience while his work partner gave a talk about what the audience was seeing on the screen -- and he was able to go about doing his own other work on that same tablet since the Cloud was processing the TV material and the tablet was freed up for other things.

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  4. I am very frustrated with the Miracast function, and don't know where to turn. I bought the Amazon HDX, not realizing that I would need seperate hardware to make it work with my HDMI-enabled TV. I returned to BestBuy and bought a Rocketfish adapter. Although the adapter SAYS it is working, I cannot see the adapter from my Kindle. It did, however, knock out the Internet connection on my Windows 8.1 laptop.

    Am I doing something wrong? Should this be so difficult for an otherwise-computer-savvy-professional to set up for her Luddite husband?

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    Replies
    1. Diane, as I mentioned, the lot of them is rather iffy but I also added that Amazon has 'certified' one and if you read the reviews, you'll see that HDX users seem to have the best experience with it. I'd return the Rocketfish and get the Netgear described in this article. Let me know...

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  5. I am so frustrated! I have a new Kindle Fire HDX 7". I want to download a Prime Instant Video movie or TV show so I can watch off line on the plane. I've browsed, I've searched in Amazon, I can't find a single one. Instructions say there will be a "download" button for a movie and a down arrow for a TV show on the detail page but I haven't found one yet. I've used the filers but they are worthless and don't filter correctly. A reporter said he downloaded Casablanca for free using Prime on the HDX but when I went to that movie there is only the "Watch" button option. Can you help me find a way to browse for free (using Prime) downloadable videos? Thanks!

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    1. Anonymous, any new HDX 7" should have a 30-day free trial on Prime. Are you within that 30-day period? Are you the account holder? Also, are you in the U.S.? or Puerto Rico? Are you a student on Prime? (There is limited access on those). Some are movies that publishers have approved for download. They have to approve them, and not all are downloadable by publisher decision.

      You did mention Casablanca is said to be free...Okay. I went there, and the trick is to
      first click on "Watch Now" and then
      click on the pop-up box that has a button to "Launch the Kindle Fire Video app" and
      then you will see the "Download" button for videos for which publishers allow download (quite a few)

      Here are the official instructions, by the way, for downloading when you find a downloadable one:
      Help page for downloading Prime Instant video.

      Delete
  6. I got the HDX for Christmas and overall I like it. I am having a hard time getting videos onto the device. I was able to purchase a couple through amazon. But I can't get my digital movies to play. Also the files end up in my photos section, the music videos will play but the movies will not. Any ideas?

    Also if I buy a digital movie on amazon, can I watch it on any of my other devices, Ipod touch? Nexus 4?

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  7. I got a HDX for Christmas and I am a little frustrated with the movie capabilities. I bought two digital movies on amazon and they work great, but I have been unable to upload the digital movies in my itunes, or other files on my computer. How do you best manage this. Also, what do you do if I want to put one of my amazon movies into itunes or on my google nexus 4? It seems like the HDX is only able to take care of Amazon purchased movies and then those are just for that device. Any tips?

    When I have tried to load a movie from my pc to my kindle, the movie goes to the photos section instead of the movie section. Is there a reason for this?

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    Replies
    1. Daniel, it may be that because the Amazon-purchased movies are digital-rights-protected by the movie company, they're not accepted by iTunes, which pays attention to whatever is used for the copy-protection. This is a good question for Kindle Support, and they answer within a few seconds (and maybe your MayDay assistant will know too and MayDay button (under Settings) can reach a human 24 hrs a day right on your tablet.

      This doesn't guarantee they'd know re uploading to iTunes or to your Nexus, but they've likely been asked that question before.
      -- Wasn't sure re your clause re "other files on my computer" ... and what that meant.

      -- Re your digital movies -- I guess you mean your own personal videos. The personal videos do go into the Photos section now,. Normally, if you look at the Help pages, the Kindle Fire directly supports mp4 files only, but there are alternatives,

      -- I have a couple of articles on video-playing apps like BS Player (this one is not available at Amazon but you can use the 1mobile store that has over 500,000 android apps, to get BS Player.. See my article on installing non-Amazon apps and especially about the one setting you have to change to allow installation of non-Amazon apps (it's just a checkmark),

      The article also links to a file manager for your tablet, and then getting the 1Mobile appstore ON your tablet so you can just download from it, as you do from Amazon, for apps not found at Amazon.

      Besides BS Player, there are (1) HD Video Player and (2) Mobo Player, both available at the Amazon app store that may play your videos. From my own experience BSPlayer plays just about everything. And where other apps fail to sync audio with video on personal camera videos, BS Player tends to do a good job.

      On my own HDX I have lots of videos from Youtube as well as from several different pocket cameras and phones I've used, so yes, it can play many types of videos as long as you get a flexible video player app.

      Take a look at some of the articles in the reference column on the right to see if any might have topics of interest to you, as those will have detailed instructions. Also, let me know how any of this works for you.

      It's a lot to take in, but there's a lot of flexibility to the system.

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  8. I have had my Kindle Fire HDX (my first Kindle) for a few weeks now, and I really like it but must confess I'm still lost. I installed Mobile Desktop on it to eliminate scrolling through the carousel, but when I start fire my Kindle up, the old familiar carousel appears, and I have to scroll to the end to find the Mobile Desktop. What's the point? I set up folders in the MD to group similar apps together (Movies, Radio, Games, etc.). That was easy to do, but some of the icons did not disappear from the actual desktop. So now they appear on the carousel as well as in the Mobile Desktop. Argh! Most of them transferred, but about six did not. What to do?

    I did buy a few "manuals" to help me sort out regular stuff, and that has helped. But printing, et cetera, is a bummer. There is no driver for one of my printers, the color printer, of course. Thiis post is becoming a real whine, but I'm asking is whether anyone who reads your blog has any suggestions for me. Should I just remove all the apps and just start over with the Mobile Desktop first, or is there a better method of organizing apps?

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous,
      Mobile Desktop isnt' needed at all for HDX. On your Kindle Fire, tap the Help button to see how to use Apps -- or search the User Guide for 'app' .... It is very flexible (or even use free 24/7 Mayday feature under Settings, as a video assistant will walk you through it

      But essentially, 'Apps' option at left side of top menu gets you the listing, as you know, of apps sorted by either (Most) Recent or by Title
      -- . LONG-press the app icon and it will put it on your Home page UNDER the Carousel. This works for any apps that you'd like to use often..these used to be called "Favorites"
      -- You then Swipe UP to see these chosen apps and that gets the Carousel OUT of view and you see only your chosen apps.

      When viewing apps, you can slide the left screen to the right (or, I think, tap on the top left menu but my HDX is not with me at the moment), to see that you can also create or use COLLECTIONS. You can have apps in Collections or folders of your choosing.

      Your manuals haven't mentioned that you can put favorite apps on the Home screen under the Carousel?
      Anyway, do stop using Mobile Desktop. HDX makes it redundant and ineffective.

      Printing -- Besides the printing feature that was just added, there are apps for printing which may support your printer. You can call Kindle Customer Service to ask about when they might provide support for it -- or if using a special printer app, you can write the developer and ask if the developer supports it or plans to.

      Kindle Customer Support:'s phone (answered within seconds) 866-321-8851

      For other-customer experiences, try the Kindle Community Forums
      These are all good to try.

      Let me know that you read this if you could, as many don't know how to get back to the Comments area -- and also how you are doing with it.

      Delete
  9. http://sendtoreader.com/blog/weekend-reading-list-october-11th/

    ReplyDelete

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