How to find and use the Kindle Owners' Lending Library on latest Kindle Fire tablets as well as e-Ink Kindle eReaders. Basics on Kindle Unlimited and Kindle First. UPDATED January 22, 2016

Finding the Kindle Owners' Lending Library (KOLL)
  - May 2015 but Updated Jan 22, 2016,
While looking up info for Prime Music to use with the new Amazon Echo that I finally received, and to answer questions for friends who have received one as well, I found that the older methods for finding KOLL had changed for the later Kindle Fire tablets.


Also, the Kindle Owners' Lending Library (KOLL) is no longer highlighted in the top banners when you go to the book store, and the link to it, on Kindle Fire tablets, is in the unseen menu that you need to swipe to the right, from the left edge, to see -- or you can click on the TINY menu icon at the top left to get the options, but I usually have better luck with the swiping method.

So, this is a refresher for those who've not used it for awhile (like me) and may be completely new info for recent Kindle owners because Amazon features, more visibly, (1) Kindle Unlimited, a ($10/month subscription that allows anyone to borrow up to 10 books at a given time instead of only Kindle device owners being able to borrow one-only per calendar month for free), as well as (2) the Kindle First program and other currently highlighted features.

For details on how the Kindle Owners' Lending Library wime-orks, see the scrolling page of Kindleworld blog articles on this feature.

  The details found on that scrolling page will answer a lot of common questions about the program.

The Kindle Owners' Lending library started with only 5,000+ books and is currently at over 1,160,000 Kindle books, according to my Paperwhite 2's all-categories display for the lending library.

And here, seen in a web browser, is a straight listing of over 1,188,000 Prime-Eligible Kindle books, the default listing being those that Amazon is currently featuring -- and if you change the Sorting (at top right) from "Featured" to "Avg Customer Review," you'll see which ones have a lot of 5-star ratings for whatever reasons.

  The Kindle Unlimited program includes books that are not Prime-Eligible.  Harry Potter books are a part of the Kindle Unlimited subscription feature, but it seems that most Potter books are not designated "Prime"-eligible currently (Publisher did not agree to do it), so Prime members who are Kindle owners cannot borrow those to read via KOLL/Prime program, but KOLL subscribers can of course borrow them plus nine other books to read at any given time, for their $10/month.

  The lending library (KOLL) started with only 5,000+ books and the number of Prime-Eligible books for borrowing for reading on Kindle devices is currently at over 1,188,000+ Kindle books.

  The more-often featured Kindle Unlimited program gets Amazon $10/mo from each member for the flexibility allowing almost unlimited borrowing from that set of over a million Kindle books, available to users of ANY reading device (not just Kindle Owners).

  On both, you can browse by categories or, when using a Kindle e-Ink eReader or a Kindle Fire tablet, you can search the lending library. The Kindle Fire tablets use up more room with their large color book cover graphics, and the Search feature is very important when you're looking for a specific book or topic.

  Prime shipping members (UK here) who own Kindle devices can use KOLL, but it's not available on Kindle apps for other devices.

  You can borrow one Kindle book per calendar month, from a choice of over 1,188,000 now, without dealing with waiting times or due-dates.  The Big6 publishers don't tend to place their books in this library though.

  I borrowed a book the other day (after returning one I had held onto for a long time), so I won't be able to borrow another one until the next calendar month, June, after I return the current loan.


  Prime's Lending Library:
     Rules for borrowing
        Note:  When you borrow a Prime library book,
              you do this from your Kindle, at the Kindle's Kindle Store
                and not from the Amazon web pages.
        The BIG RED $0.00 you see on the product page for "Prime" cost
        means it's $0.00 to Borrow it, from the Kindle,


How to borrow from the KOLL on your Kindle
Amazon changes the navigation process somewhat as the years and models roll by. The Help page they have is not quite up to date because the navigation steps tend to differ a bit between the devices.

The first images below are from Amazon, showing generally (vaguely) what the process looks like on e-Ink eReaders,
and those images are followed by some screenshots of the process on my Year 2013 Kindle Fire HDX tablet.

Getting to the Lending Library -- On the Kindle e-Ink eReaders, Amazon seems to have changed the method a bit very recently, on the varying devices (maybe they're programmed by different Kindle teams).

On my Paperwhite 2, Year 2014~, there are two ways:
  1. I can tap the top-right Menu and Select "Shop Kindle Store"
That brings up the store menu, and then I need to tap the top-right store-menu, which offers the "Kindle Owners' Lending Library' option near the bottom.
  2. I can also tqp the CART icon at the top, which also takes me to the store, where a tap on the store menu at top-right will offer me the KOLL option near the bottom.

The resulting KOLL page for e-Ink readers DEFAULTS now to just show all categories (pure text) without requiring us to choose All Categories as some older models do  It's well organized.

  Older Kindle e-Ink readers will differ somewhat in several ways, as mentioned (I no longer have one to use for tests).  The Amazon help page does still mention choosing "All Categories" or maybe "See all categories" before seeing the Lending Library option, but that doesn't apply to my Paperwhite2 eReader.


Here's Amazon's VIDEO-tutorial (this video doesn't run on e-Ink Kindle Blog Edition subscriptions), which uses a recent Kindle eReader model   Although the steps shown in the video don't match precisely steps needed for various eReaders, their current help page indicates that the KOLL benefits are available on any Kindle eReader. Continue to let us know if you have problems finding KOLL on an old Kindle e-Ink Reader.  I'll look into it more.

 VIDEO: (Kindle Blog Edition subscribers shouldn't try to run this.  Use a computer, tablet, or smartphone instead)
That comes from the Kindle borrowing-help page -- the text steps on that page are not entirely clear, but it's helpful to read it.  It has links to areas that explain other aspects of the borrowing programs.

On a Kindle Fire tablet, you'd click on 'Books' in the top menu.
Then, at your library listing, click on the "Store" icon at top-right corner.


At the Bookstore, swipe right, from left edge, to get the options
and choose "Kindle Owners' Lending Library," near the bottom of the page.
(These are all Prime-eligible books and show as $0.00 for Kindle Unlimited users as well.)


When you get the KOLL screen to browse,
you can also search for a book or author at the top.
I typed 'Amy Tan' into the search field.


I didn't find anything by Tan in the Kindle Owners' Lending Library
and chose from results showing books with similar content.
When deciding on one, you'll see "Borrow for Free" under the orange "Buy for ___".


When I did this, Amazon reminded me that I still had a book out from this library
and I needed to return it first, as we get only one book per calendar month.

That's it!


The Kindle First program
The Kindle First program, introduced by Amazon in the U.S., is also available in the UK.

  For those who haven't tried it yet, in either country, Amazon offers, each month, 4 of the next month's new releases early and from these you can select one.  They're Editors' Picks, and anyone can buy one of the featured book for $.99 (or UK £0.99).  HOWEVER if you are a Prime (UK prime page here) program member, you get that selection for FREE (capitalization courtesy of 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


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Amazon Studios' TV series "Transparent" makes history at the Golden Globes as the first online show to ever win the top series prize, comedy or drama. Ir took a best actor award also.

Amazon makes history at the Golden Globes Awards show

I completely missed the Golden Globes last night - forgot it was on and forgot Amazon Studios' dark comedy series, Transparent, had been nominated, although I did post about the historic nomination when it happened.

Who wudda thunk??

Bear in mind that Prime shipping program members are able to watch TV shows like this at no added cost (40,000 video episodes are included).

The first story, late last night, by Variety - "Amazon, ‘Transparent’ Make History at Golden Globes" - included the following:

' Transparent” won the Golden Globe for best TV series, musical or comedy and star Jeffrey Tambor won best actor.

On the red carpet prior to the ceremony, creator Jill Soloway admitted she considered other homes for the series, but Amazon ended up being a perfect fit. “You want to be somewhere where they’re passionate about you,” she noted. “And they’ve been wonderful.”
. . .
A visibly choked up Tambor thanked Soloway for the opportunity, noting, “I’m 70 years old, these (roles) don’t come along.” He added that he was grateful, “Not for the reviews or for awards…just to get it right. I’m just honored.” '

Variety's second story, this afternoon - "Golden Globes Winner Amazon Is Hollywood’s ‘New Best Friend’" - made these points.

' With two major wins at the Golden Globes, Amazon Studios is now a contender in Hollywood.

The digital network earned its bona fides as a competitive force in TV by landing trophies for best comedy for its critically praised “Transparent” and actor for series star Jeffrey Tambor.
. . .
“Transparent,” which bowed as a series in September after its pilot debuted in February, has been the most talked-about and critically praised entry from Amazon so far...
. . .
Not only was it Amazon’s first-ever Golden Globe award, “Transparent” also became the first online show to ever win a top series prize, comedy or drama, at the annual fete.

Amazon Studios topper Roy Price called the Globe wins “a thrilling dream come true” for the studio and the “Transparent” team.
. . .
Amazon takes the unusual approach of posting its pilots online and making pickup decisions in part based on feedback from viewers.
. . .
... Series creator Jill Soloway and Tambor heaped praise on Amazon for taking the chance on an unconventional story. In “Transparent,” Tambor plays a 70-year-old father who comes out as transgender to his adult children.

“They have guts and they have taste,” said Tambor of Amazon. He also called the streaming service his “new best friend” in his acceptance speech. '

Soloway talks about her own parent's story having inspired her.   Read the rest of the article here.

Other points made
CNBC writes:
"Amazon is debuting four original series in 2015 backed by high profile Hollywood names such as Marc Foster, the director of action blockbuster World War Z and James Bond movie Quantam of Solace.
. . .
Seattle-based Amazon spent around $2 billion on content for its streaming services in 2014, while Netflix splashed out $3 billion. This includes securing the rights for other shows as well as bankrolling original content. Both companies have indicated that they plan to spend more on original productions."

Businessweek writes:
"...winning a Golden Globe for best television comedy for Transparent instantly afforded its Prime Instant Video platform newfound credibility as a venue for first-rate original programming.
  The win for best TV comedy, in fact, let Amazon surpass Netflix in the race for streaming-video awards: House of Cards has so far won Golden Globes only for its stars, including last night's win by Kevin Spacey.
. . .
"... Laura Martin, a media analyst for Needham & Co....says Amazon’s Golden Globe has given it “a positive halo effect on all original programming they’re creating.”  An award is “the best marketing you can buy because it’s free and it’s about quality.”

FT.com reports:
"The online retailer launched its studio division in 2010 and has steadily increased its output every year since, offering its streaming service to Amazon Prime delivery programme subscribers.

  It struck a three-year deal worth about $300m with HBO in 2014 to stream old episodes of hit shows such as The Sopranos and has invested millions of dollars more on its line-up of original shows, which includes Transparent and Alpha House, a political comedy.
. . .
  Amazon and Netflix have led the charge in original production, using streaming technology to take their programming direct to consumers. Streaming has upended the traditional TV model, with many younger people “cutting the cord” on expensive cable or satellite packages."


  Here's the page to view Transparent
  Remember that there's no added cost for Prime shipping members.



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Amazon Studios wins Golden Globes nomination with Transparent series ... Best Books of the Month ... 12 Days of Deals.

FIRST, Saw today that Amazon Studios received a Golden Globes nomination for its free-with-Prime Instant series "Transparent"

From VARIETY:

' SURPRISE: ' Transparent” makes history for Amazon.

It was a huge morning for Amazon Studios as the critically acclaimed “Transparent” landed noms for comedy series and lead actor Jeffrey Tambor.  That’s the first recognition for the upstart digital player from a major awards show, and well deserved for Jill Soloway’s semi-autobiographical dramedy. '

I've read nothing but raves, for months, for that apparently groundbreaking series, which is free watching for Prime members.


12 Days of You Know What
Today, Amazon starts its "12 Days of Deals" (general) - a page to bookmark if still in shopping mode.  There's also a related 12-days of Deals that's focused on deals for the home.


"Best Books of the Month" feature
I received an email last week about Amazon's "Must-reads" for December (see table below) as chosen by their editors.

These are selected from the larger selection of Best Books of the 2014 (which I Tweeted and Facebook'd but had not blogged.
  Here's the link for Kindle book versions.

The email described "December must-reads, carefully selected by Amazon Books' editorial team ... books from best-selling authors to historical nonfiction picks and even a Kindle Single (a type of e-book published through Amazon.com)..."

Title	Author	Release Date
Moriarty	Anthony Horowitz	12/9/2014
When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II	Molly Guptill Manning	12/2/2014
Here	Richard McGuire	12/9/2014
The Strange Library	Haruki Murakami	12/2/2014
Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream	Joshua Davis	12/2/2014
Becoming Richard Pryor	Scott Saul	12/9/2014
Skylight	José Saramago	12/2/2014
Empire of Cotton: A Global History	Sven Beckert	12/2/2014
Safety Tips for Living Alone  (Kindle Single)	Jim Shepard	12/1/14
The Boston Girl: A Novel	Anita Diamant	12/9/2014
Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys.: A Memoir	Viv Albertine	11/25/2014

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Amazon offers Free, Unlimited Photo Storage to active Prime Members in the U.S. Updated for link to main Prime Unlimited Photo Storage page

Updated same night to include the main PRIME PHOTOS link
The new Unlimited Photo Storage plan for Prime members actually is quite an offer because photos can be huge, with today's many-megapixel lenses.  My Nokia Lumia 1020 cell phone's camera is a 40 megapixel one.  In the past, Amazon customers worldwide have received 5GB of storage free, to use for miscellaneous files, which could include normal work files, photos and even videos, but one video could use up most of it.  The popular sharing host, Dropbox offers all of 2 free Gigabites for storage of anything, although with flexible features and fast upload time and encourages us to refer others for an additional storage allowance of 500 megs (half a Gigabyte).

Amazon's existing file requirements for photos (videos are not part of the new Unlimited Photo Storage feature) include a limit of 2 GB for a photo.  Well, I've never made a photo that huge.  The new feature is for non-commercial use, for which you'd seldom see any photo be that large, even in 'tiff' or normal Photoshop-file size.

So, to have free, totally unlimited, photo storage as yet another feature for the Prime membership program is amazing.  As most customers know by now, Prime membership includes free 2-day shipping on most of Amazon's products; free access to Prime Instant video (about 40,000 movies and TV show episodes); Prime Music (ad-free Prime stations plus over a million songs, with X-Ray feature of scrolling lyrics); and the Kindle Lending library, which allows Prime mebers to borrow one Kindle book each calendar month without waiting periods or due-dates.

According to their Prime Photos Help page:

' Store your photos safely in Cloud Drive and you can access them anywhere, from almost any device by signing in with your Amazon account. Cloud Drive offers free mobile apps, secure access from any computer, and it's built in to all Fire devices. '

I've used the app that lets me back up photos to the Cloud, and access for viewing them is unexpectedly fast with a normal fast connection.

CAVEATS - This is also from the help page.  Read these carefully (I've bold-faced some of the points).

  . Prime Photos requires an Amazon Prime, Amazon Mom, Amazon Student or Amazon Fresh membership.  If you cancel or do not renew your Prime membership, you will lose the unlimited photo storage benefit associated with the membership and your uploaded photos will count toward your Cloud Drive storage limit.
  For more information about your Cloud Drive storage limits and what happens to your content if you exceed those limits, go to About Cloud Drive Storage Limits.

  . Prime Photos is for your personal, non-commercial use only. You may not use it in connection with a professional photography business or other commercial service.
Certain photo formats are excluded.  For more information, go to Cloud Drive Photos & Videos File Requirements.

If you're not already a Prime member and are interested in this, Amazon has a 30-day free Prime trial.  This is a strong incentive for those for whom photos are important.



  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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Amazon's new Fire TV Stick - Like Chromecast? This is even better. $19 for the next 2 days only for new (free trials do count) and existing Prime members - Intro promo. Update2 for remote control + setup info. New limit: 1 per customer.

Amazon's new Fire TV Stick, a challenge to Chromecast

After Amazon's success with Fire TV (which really is beautiful, fast and smooth,  with a burst of new apps recently -- over 600 now), Amazon has added the FIRE  TV STICK" - a portable unit that attaches to any HDMI port of an HDTV.

And to bring it to our attention in a big way, this $39 item will be $19 for the next two days only (US only, currently), for new and existing Prime members.

Amazon adds that "Eligible customers get a free 30-day trial of Netflix and Amazon Prime when they purchase Fire TV Stick."

  In addition, per Amazon's Press Release, Amazon states: Customers who are new to Prime can sign up for a free trial and also receive this special price.  That statement is not seen on the product page but is an important point.

  As of late Monday night, Amazon changed its initial "two per customer" to "one per customer."  I've had a lot of inquiries about the stick, so that doesn't surprise me.

Here's a quick look at Amazon's comparison chart for the FireTVStick.  (See the  larger comparison chart in the Amazon product page's popup.)
As you can see, the Amazon stick and the Roku both include dedicated remotes. (The Voice remote -- an upgrade from the one included in the TVStick box -- is separate upgrade option at $30).  Google's Chromecast doesn't offer a dedicated remote.

  There will be a free Remote App for Fire and Android (and arriving later, for iOS), which will make Voice Searches possible without the optional Voice remote.
  TIP: If you do order the optional Voice Remote, some report that their dogs are attacted to it, so keep them higher, out of reach of pets.

  Here's info on how the unit is set up and ways to control it with mobile devices if you don't get the Voice remote control

Some runaway capabilities of the FireTVStick:
1.  It has a dual-core processor over the others' single-core processor so will be noticeably faster.
2.  It has twice the memory of the other two and will be smoother during processing of streams.
3.  The storage is 8 GB versus the 2 GB of the Chromecast and the 256K of the Roku sticks.
4.  Those with the FireTV will know how easy the VOICE Search is vs typing in alpha letters.
5.  FireTVStick has Dolby Digital Plus certified surround sound feature.
6.  It has an optional game controller (sold separately then) and has over 200 games to less than 30 for the Chromecast and less than 100 for the  Roku stick.

The Chromecast is at a disadvantage to the other two, even further, as it
1. doesn't have the Dual-band/Dual Antenna WiFi capability
2. doesn't have Amazon Instant Prime.

However, Amazon doesn't yet have HBOGo, though it was mentioned as coming, some time ago.  Until that happens, those having Fire tablets can Mirror to the FireTVStick for the HDTV what is on them (HBOGo is an official app for these).  But then this can be done with the FireTVStick with other tablets and phones.  Amazon's product page emphasizes:

' Use your iOS or Android device to fling music and movies to your HDTV—and control playback—from apps like YouTube and Spotify. Or, share movies, TV shows, music, and photos from your compatible tablet or phone with everyone in your living room using display mirroring. What you see on your Fire OS or Android device is exactly what you’ll see on your big screen. '

Another important feature is Amazon's ASAP for instant streaming. "No more waiting for your movies and shows to buffer—ASAP learns what movies and shows you like so they start instantly."

Amazon emphasizes its ecosystem, which has "over 200,000 TV episodes and movies, millions of songs, and hundreds of games.  Amazon's press release highlighted the following:

' ... Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu, WatchESPN, NBA Game Time, Prime Music, Pandora, Spotify, and more for instant access to shows like Transparent, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Game of Thrones, and The Wire—plus the largest selection of movies and TV episodes to rent or buy from Amazon Instant Video. '

I already have the FireTV but have wanted something for my computer room and of course a more portable version that I can take to friends' homes to easily share my own video-streaming favorites and watchlists.  While the HDMI Cable on the old Kindle Fire HD 8.9" tablet from 2012 could be used to attach to hotel TVs, Amazon has this info box:

' Coming soon -- take Fire TV Stick with you to use with HDTVs in hotels, college dorms, airports, or anywhere with captive portal Internet access that requires entering a password or a log-in. '

At any rate, I will end this here so more will know right away about Amazon's aggressive 2-day intro rate



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Fire TV and Prime Shipping Tips: The Fire TV app selection has more than doubled, challenging Apple TV's, and Prime Instant-Video-ONLY categories have been expanded ... Amazon expands Same Day Delivery to more U.S. cities ... Amazon also offers a SLOWER shipping option to Prime members in return for a $1 Instant video credit.

Amazon's Fire TV's appstore has quickly become competitive with Apple's Apple TV offerings.

The Motley Fool, an investing site, reports today that "Amazon Fire TV Just Leveled the Playing Field With Apple TV."

  The article by Steve Symington draws our attention to Amazon's announcement that

' ... the Fire TV app selection has more than doubled, with "hundreds" of new services and games added since the media streaming device was launched in April.  Among Fire TV's new games are Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Dungeon Quest, Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse, and the official Flappy Birds Family -- the last of which is currently a Fire TV exclusive.  Meanwhile, new services include WATCH Disney Channel, WATCH Disney Jr., MLB.TV, Animal Planet Live, and WWE Network.

If that wasn't enough, Amazon promised more significant Fire TV services to come by the end of the year, including WATCH ABC, WATCH ABC Family, NFL Now, A&E, Lifetime, Outside TV, Young Hollywood, North Face TV, Fashion TV, Green TV, and Dailymotion. '

The Apple TV box has been reviewed as slower than the Fire TV, with much less memory, and with less advanced gaming capability (although the Fire TV is not going to be the equal of an actual $300-400 gaming console).  Curiously, Symington writes that an Apple TV advantage is its full-screen mirroring functionality.  But not only does Fire TV have that (and it's very smooth, with no delays), the Fire TV also has "Fling" a feature that allows you to use your Kindle Fire HDX or HD2 or Fire Phone to send a video to the TV where it will be streamed via Amazon's Cloud and not take up processing power while you can continue to do other work on the tablet or phone AND get X-Ray'd info on who is in a scene you're watching with Amazon Prime videos.

Tips from other customers
You can browse the customer reviews for tips on how to minimize your Cable bill by using the Fire TV offerings.
 There's a search box in the customer reviews area that lets you search the customer reviews for words like "cable" etc.

Voice Search - Does it work for more than Amazon's videos?
Hulu Plus's is now included in the voice search, for the most part (they're building the database, and most of it is working).
  Netflix will be integrated with voice search control later.  From a recent Amazon press release, a quote from CEO Jeff Bezos:

'... innovative features like unified voice search, which we’re delighted is being adopted by so many new partners, including Netflix, HBO Go, Hulu Plus, Crackle and Showtime Anytime... '

  Anyone doing keypad searches knows how arduous searches can be.

Finding Amazon Prime Instant Videos Only
Searching for only Prime Instant Video -- This has not been possible but customers have of course been keen to have this capability, and Amazon has said, earlier, that they are working on making Prime Instant Videos easier to find on the Fire TV.

  As of mid-July, Amazon added more Prime-Instant Only browsing categories.  One customer review mentioned it's not a Search, but it's much more helpful than it was. (Note that Apple TV does not get Prime Instant videos.)

  On July 30, Amazon explained the new features in a reply to a customer review:

' The Amazon team says                           July 30, 2014

. . . We wanted to let you know that we made it easier to find your favorite Prime content with the click of your remote.   You can now browse many more Prime-only categories, including
  Top Prime TV,
  Top Prime Movies,
  Prime TV for Kids,
  Prime Movies for Kids,
  Prime TV by Genre, and
  Prime Movies by Genre. '

They don't mention a coming Voice Search that searches specifically for Prime Instant videos, and even then it would take forever to show results that included large segments of the 40,000 or so that are available for a search-results page.  The Genre category should be very useful, as long as Amazon doesn't limit greatly the number of videos that will come up.  You can of course search for a specific movie to see whether it carries a charge for Prime members or is included at no added cost.

HOWEVER, there's another way to view what is available for Prime members at no added cost:
  You can use your laptop, desktop, or even tablet, to go to the Prime-Only pages, by categories and genres or by a listing that's sortable, with details.

Generally, it would be faster to go through these on a computing device when so many items are involved.
  I've read that due to various Agreements that are for varying terms, a video can go in and out of 'Free' category, so that may be an additional reason to have fixed categories that include only Prime Instant Video content.

  Some are also just putting Prime videos onto their "Watch" lists and these will show up on that list on the Fire TV.

If you're new to checking out Fire TV, see earlier blog articles for much more detail on the features and how to use them:
1. Intro to Features of the new Fire TV - April 2, 2014
2. Tips from further exploration of my Fire TV - April 8, 2014
3. The amazing Frequency app - April 14, 2014.


Amazon expands Same Day Delivery to more cities
Press release details are cited in a story by Forbes's Jeremy Greenfield, who reports:

' Amazon has launched Same Day Delivery in six more major cities, making goods from baby supplies to textbooks available almost immediately for millions more shoppers.

The program, which initially launched in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco and Seattle is now also available in Baltimore, Dallas, Indianapolis, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.
  For an additional charge of $5.99, Amazon Prime customers can have as many items as they want delivered to their doors on the same day they’re ordered.  Not all Amazon items are available for delivery same day and orders must be placed before noon.
. . .
It’s unclear from the Amazon release whether trade books — that is, books widely read by the general public like fiction, nonfiction, illustrated books, etc. — are included in the new program.  The release specifically mentioned textbooks, however: “Fill-up the back pack with things like pencils, glue, text books, lunch boxes and other supplies.”

Amazon has not yet replied to a request for comment. '

From the press release:

' ... Prime members pay only $5.99 for all the same-day delivery items they can order.
Pricing for non-Prime customers remains unchanged, with a $9.98 fee for the first item and $0.99 for each additional item. '

"Metro" areas:
I live across the bay from San Francisco but "the East Bay' (which includes Berkeley) is not considered part of the "metro" area of San Francisco, so it's not available where I am.  It's really rare that I ever need something in one day.  And I just received one item in 1 business day though it was estimated to take the usual two days.

  To view Same-Day eligible ZIP codes in select cities and see if your area is eligible:
    * East Coast & Midwest Cities
    * West Coast & Southwest Cities


In the meantime!
Amazon is encouraging Prime customers to opt for slower shipping if the item isn't needed in two days.
Cnet's Lance Whitney writes that Amazon is offering Prime members a $1 credit toward an Instant Video rental (usually costing $1.99 to $2.99) if they choose free "no rush" shipping.

It seems the expense of offering Prime benefits is having an impact on its bottom line, and this is one way to lower the costs for Amazon without having to raise the cost of Prime features any further.

  And it makes sense too.  Some commenters on news sites are saying that they can use their Prime to buy 3 separate items which will be delivered in slow motion :-) and get $3 toward video credits that way.  So far, it's being allowed.  Apparently some noticed that this option began to appear about 8 days ago.


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Amazon's FireTV is a reality, ready for pre-order, searchable by voice

Amazon announces the AMAZON FIRE TV

Fire Tv,Amazon's "tiny box" that you connect to your HDTV to easily enjoy "Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, low-cost movie rentals, and much more" (including WatchESPN) is even ready for delivery.  Didn't I just read that Amazon denied the rumors?

  The only surprise for me was that instead of the usual pre-ordering, it's available in one day to people who can't wait the usual Prime two days if ordered within ~4 hours from the time I'm typing this but I'm never in that much of a hurry for any product.  And 2-day Prime shipping (+ the program's InstantVideo + downloads and Kindle-book loans) is fast enough.

They offer an HDMI cable with it for $6 if you don't already have one.  If you don't, I'd get the one they are suggesting, as it's a decent price and they will have tested it together.  HDMI cables vary in effectiveness.

I'm editing to add that they have a separate page for "What's on" or available for the new Fire TV unit.

  They also suggest an Amazon Fire Game Controller for $40 currently (which needs batteries and those are suggested also, in their purchase box.  Their description of what you can do with this:

'...In addition to using the Fire TV remote and the Fire TV app available starting next month, you can also choose the Amazon Fire game controller, which enables more high-intensity and complex gaming with dual analog sticks and a complete assortment of controls. Simple and comfortable to use for hours, the Fire game controller pairs with Fire TV via Bluetooth.

The Fire game controller also intelligently manages power by automatically going to sleep when not in use, and waking at a touch of a button, so you get up to 55 hours of gaming on a pair of AA batteries. You can pair multiple game controllers with a Fire TV so the whole family can play together in the same room. ... The Fire game controller can also be used as a remote, with fast forward, rewind, play and pause, so you can control all your movies and music on Fire TV. The Fire game controller is available today for $39.99, and comes with a free copy of Sev Zero
[an Amazon's original game] and 1,000 Amazon Coins (a $10 value) for purchasing games.

They also have a page now for Fire TV apps: Apps for Android.

I'll just get this off by reproducing Amazon's wording, so people who've been interested can see what Amazon has to say about what they've actually done, and this one will be of interest to many.

   The VOICE-search is the thing that got my own interest, as I hate doing searches with the remote control, and I already have good experiences with the quality of Amazon's streaming of video and music. Here is what they're describing at their product page.  I'll add more detail later.

For $99:
The Features You Expect from Amazon

Amazon Fire TV is a tiny box you connect to your HDTV. It's the easiest way to enjoy Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, low-cost movie rentals, and much more

Your partner in Prime—The best way to enjoy unlimited access to over 40,000 Prime Instant Videos on your HDTV, including Amazon exclusives like Downton Abbey and Justified Massive selection—Over 200,000 TV episodes and movies, millions of songs, and over a hundred games Voice search that actually works—Simply say the name of what you want to watch and start enjoying in seconds. Tiny box, huge specs—Fast quad-core processor, 2 GB of memory, dedicated GPU, plus 1080p HD video and Dolby Digital Plus surround sound Easy to set up and use—Pre-registered to your Amazon account so you can enjoy favorite titles and personalized recommendations Instant streaming—Exclusive new feature ASAP predicts what movies and TV episodes you’ll want to watch and buffers them for playback before you hit play Perfect for parents—Amazon FreeTime lets you easily limit screen time and create personalized profiles just for kids (coming soon) Great for gaming, too—Play blockbuster titles like Minecraft-Pocket Edition,The Walking Dead, and Monsters University, plus free games and Amazon exclusives. Paid games start from just 99 cents

At the moment, I'm not sure how much will be on it right away but here's what Amazon says it will do:  This is a small preview of the comparison chart with Roku, Apple TV and Chromecast that you'll get a larger version of at Amazon if you click on "Show me" on the Fire TV product page.

So, for now, if interested, take a look for yourself, as there are too many details for one blog space, and I'm reading info from other sources that I'll add later today.


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Amazon raises its yearly Prime program fee: Details and a round-up of media observations and my own.

AmazonPrime's incrased cost: Is it worth it for you?

On February 27, I wrote an alert about Amazon's US Prime Program cost going up between $20 and $40/yr and said that, in my view, a $40/yr increase would not work.

  An email from Amazon to those of us who are Prime members confirmed the coming increase today, and I'm writing this for those who do not always see their Amazon email and to add information beyond what is in the email, as these communications are customized to the person's Prime program status (regular and student memberships), whether one is already a Prime member, and one's renewal date if so.

  They kept it to a $20 raise ($10 increase for students) -- a new price of $99/year, giving the same reasons they had before when they first announced they might do this, quoted in the earlier alert linked above.

  While the effective monthly cost (paid yearly) by adult Prime members has been $6.58, the new price will be the equivalent of $8.25/mo.

  This is a rise of $1.67 per month for the general Prime program, after 9 years at the same price.

Amazon CFO Thomas Szkutak had said, "...shipping costs have gone up a lot. Fuel costs have gone up a lot."

According to the email I received this morning (which I've reformatted for clarity):

' We are writing to provide you advance notice that the price of your Prime membership will be increasing.  The annual rate will be $99 when your membership renews....

Even as fuel and transportation costs have increased, the price of Prime has remained the same for nine years.

Since 2005, the number of items eligible for unlimited free Two-Day Shipping has grown from one million to over 20 million.

We also added
  unlimited access to over 40,000 movies and TV episodes with Prime Instant Video and
  a selection of over 500,000 books to borrow from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library.

For more information about your Prime membership, visit our Prime membership page at www.amazon.com/prime. '

  The Amazon Student price, (the free-trial period for the less-expensive Student version of Prime has no Instant video streaming, but if it's followed by a paid student subscription, it does), will rise from $39/year to $$49/year on March 20, but for students not yet on Prime, they're offering this:

  "If you start an Amazon Student free trial before March 20, 2014, you'll be charged at a membership rate of $39 when it automatically renews.
  ... If you have an existing paid annual Amazon Student Prime membership that renews before April 17, 2014, you'll be charged at a membership rate of $39.


*Regular* priced Amazon Prime changes
The increased price goes into effect April 17, and if your renewal comes before that date, you'll get the older rate of $79/year.  I wasn't so lucky there.

AMAZON'S Prime Program Membership Fee Changes page
Amazon has added a page with details on the fee changes.


Valuewalk opines:

' Those who order from the service frequently will certainly find it to be worth the extra money just to save on shipping.

  And of course those who frequently utilize the on-demand videos and / or the Kindle lending library will also find value, even in the higher price.  After all, the price is just $3 higher than Netflix, Inc.’s annual price—of $8 a month—and getting free shipping on products enhances the value even further. '

Amazon's pages state that the new Prime Fresh, a their same-day local groceries delivery service, will remain at $299."

  The last I paid attention, they were trying out the same-day delivery of groceries service in Los Angeles and Seattle, with plans to add other cities as it goes.  So, now we know that this costs members of that (more or less beta) program the equivalent of $25/mo.

  Amazon's stock has been rising this morning, since profit margin will be improved while the cost is not so high that people leave the program in droves.

Quartz's Zachary M. Seward has written an interesting story on how the first Amazon Prime price was set. Excerpts:

' Amazon didn’t expect Prime to be profitable at first, but didn’t want to hemorrhage money on it, either.
. . .
  The name actually referred to the “prime position” in Amazon’s warehouses for goods that were eligible to ship in two days at the flat rate, former Amazon executive Vijay Ravindran tweeted today '
. . .
" ... it needed to be large enough to matter to customers but small enough that they would be willing to try it out,” writes Brad Stone in his book about the company.
. . .
“It was never about the $79,” Ravindran is quoting saying in the book. “It was really about changing people’s mentality, so they wouldn’t shop anywhere else.”
. .
If it had kept pace with US inflation, Prime would cost $94.62 today."

A recently added benefit for those who use the Prime instant-video streaming feature (40,000+ movie and tv videos available at no added-cost for Prime members), includes the ability to download many of these to your computer to watch when you're away from your home or a WiFi connection.

Brad Stone, author of The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon, wrote today, for Business Week: (emphases mine)

' Bezos believes, even more so than his rivals, that content (books, music, and the like) can be the gateway drug that lures customers into Amazon’s immersive world of devices and digital services.  So over the last few years, he has packed digital freebies into Prime membership...
. . .
Amazon is producing its own television shows and movies in an arms race with Netflix to secure exclusive streaming rights to the most popular TV series. And the company is reportedly working on adding a free music streaming service into Prime.
. . .
In the next few weeks, Amazon will also likely release a set-top box for the living room, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the device touting extra benefits for Prime members. '

In my case, the additional $1.67/month is still worth it to me, as I'm a frequent shopper and watcher of Instant Prime video.

  To be able to order something I need that's even low priced and get it within 2 days without having to wait until I can add more products to the order to make the $35 ninimum for non-Prime Super Savings program, is a real boon.

  Add that, although it's not considered by me as important for my own needs, it's likely that the rumored new TV box and streaming music program will include benefits for Prime members.

---

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 News: 1-day sale: Basic Kindle eReader $49, Today-Only. Amazon's Prime shipping delivery before Christmas for orders thru' Dec 22. A couple of Amazon drone reactions. Kindle Fire HDX shares top of PC World list of Top 5 products for 2013.

ONE-Day Sale. $20 off the Basic Kindle and a delivery guarantee before Christmas for Prime purchases thru' the night of the 22nd.


 The $49 price for the basic Kindle eReader is for TODAY Only (Tuesday), effective through midnight.  $20 off the Basic e-Ink Kindle - $49.00.

The e-Ink Basic Kindle is for basic e-book reading and it's NOT a touch screen device.  Any searches are done with an alphabetically-arranged keyboard which you navigate with a 5-way controller button, clicking it for each alpha character needed.  But it has good customer feedback from those who just want to read books and who don't take many notes or do many searches and it has features not found on e-Ink devices from other makers, especially for $49.
  Furthermore, it has the physical side buttons for Previous and Next page, a feature some e-Ink eReader users miss.  (Me, I'd miss the normal touch keyboard, but many rarely want to type or do searches.)

  Note that once you add a night light, it can still be $70 total for one, but it's still not close to the price of a Paperwhite 2 with built-in light.  It's lighter and if you don't need a night light for it, you get two of these eReaders for less than the cost of a Paperwhite 2 (which is currently $119).


Amazon Prime offers Free Shipping through Dec. 22.
Also announced today was Amazon's Free Holiday Shipping for Prime members through Sunday, December 22 for delivery before Christmas.  That's 5 days and nights remaining.
  "[Prime] Customers can order as late as midnight EST, Sunday, Dec. 22, to receive delivery before Christmas with Free Two-Day Shipping"

  Prime Program members do have free two-day shipping on most Amazon-sold and shipped orders year round, but the emphasis is that the packages will arrive before Christmas Day on Prime members' purchases made as late as Sunday night on the 22nd.
  They draw attention to "incredible deals" still findable on the Top Holiday Deals page.

They add that "Amazon Prime members can order gifts as late as midnight EST on Sunday, Dec. 22, for free delivery before Christmas and the media release has a reminder that if you're not a Prime member you can sign up to take advantage of the free shipping offer by visiting Amazon's Prime page with detailed information and FAQs.

  Also, they have a special price for ONE-day delivery for Prime members also, which I hadn't noticed, thinking it was $1 higher.  But that's available for $2.99 an order.


Speaking of fast delivery offers
Everyone's had fun with Jeff Bezos' announcement of a future Amazon drone delivery vehicle that will fly the apparently cluttered skies with your package for 30-minute delivery time if you live near an Amazon warehouse.  I saw a couple of fun takes on this that others might enjoy.   One muses on a type of item the drone might drop through mechanical error.

  It was at least a way to get a lot of buzz on Amazon on Cyber Monday when "the futuristic concept got 200,000 Google searches that day (later, on Thursday, there were at least 2 million queries for Amazon)..."

  Privacy concerns
  And there was a dire warning that was irony at its best from Google's Chairman, who wants a ban on Amazon's drones, according to a quote in The Guardian reported by CNN's Philip Elmer-DeWitt.

  Also interesting is Apple's statement on the differences between its business model and that of other businesses when it comes to privacy concerns.


Kindle Fire HDX shares the top of PC World's list for "Best of 2013"
PC World's headline caught my eye because the Surface Pro 2, which is my newish and addicting laptop tablet and now main computer, shared top billing with the Kindle Fire HDX 7" tablet in the Top 5 products cited by them among 50 that they're highlighting.  But more on the reception of the HDX line in the next blog entry.

---

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 (Basic) - $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 $169 (*Temp* 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

---

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.
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