Kindle Fire Tip: Photo Transfer app (wireless, Android to/from iOS) is Free Android App of the Day, Wednesday 8/6/13

Free Photo Transfer App (wireless) today

This app by ERCLab is normally $1.99 and and is Wednesday's Free Android app of the day.  It's compatible with all Kindle Fire devices and Android ones.

 This is a mixed bag.  It has an average rating of almost 4 stars out of 5, with 284 customer reviews as of today.

  An upside is that if it works for you, you can transfer photos without having to first upload them to a server from one device and then download them from the server on another one.

  Another upside is that the app should work between Android and iOS devices.

  However, there are problems for 48 of those 284 customers as of today's stats, and it involves the fact what one reviewer mentions a lack of security for your photo files  And, for some of these customers, the app worked at one point and stopped working sometime afterward.

  Nevertheless, 196 as of today give it a 4 or 5-star rating.

  I'm letting people know about it in case they want to try it to see if it'll do the wireless transfers for them (and quickly) as it does for many.

Added Tip: Remember that Amazon recently added a "Cloud Photo" feature that automatically backs up, to your server area at Amazon, all photos you put on your Kindle Fire.  You can disable that in Settings if you don't want that done (for space reasons etc).

  All Amazon customers get a free 5 GB of server storage space for almost any kind of file (this includes Video files, but one of those very large multimedia files could eat up most of your free space).

  Kindle owners also get an additional 5 GB of free storage space specifically for "Personal docs" - text files that are not Amazon purchases.



  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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Kindle Fire Tips plus one KindleTouch Tip. Follow-up Info on recent software updates. Free audio/video enhanced Kindle books to try.

FOLLOW-UPS ON RECENT KINDLE SOFTWARE UPDATES: Touch - v5.3.2.1;
Fire - v10.3.0, v7.3.0, and v8.3.0

Kindle Touch, v5.3.2 and 5.3.2.1
Q: "After the software update, my Collections are no longer listed.  The books are just listed in abc order.  So, I tried to reenter a title such as Suspense, and it says the title is currently in use and to enter a different title.  Does anyone know what I should do?"

A:   Amazon made an odd decision there.  Normally, when you tap 'Recent' or 'Title' or 'Author' sorting options while choosing "Books" to view on the Home Screen, you'd expect to be able to see another option, which would be 'Collections' -- but that option doesn't show up when you have selected only "Books" (where they SHOULD show up).

  You have to lightly tap 'Books' (or 'Periodicals,' 'Audible,' 'Docs' etc.) below the top row and choose "My Items" instead before you can get the 'Collections' choice for sorting now.  It may be due to Amazon's defining 'Books' as Kindle Books only, while "My Items" includes Docs, etc.


Recent Kindle Fire updates, x.3.0
  Enhanced Kindle Editions with Audio/Video feature that came with the recent Kindle Fire updates.
  There is an added step to see these, if you've downloaded the book previously.

Q: "How do you get the audio/vidio to work?"

A: People are finding out that they need to remove any current copy of an Enhanced Kindle Edition from their Kindle Fire (2nd gen, 7" HD and 8.9" HD) and then RE-download the title previously purchased with audio and video, before they can access the audio/video portions of the book with the Kindle Fire.

  Hyperion offered, In Sept. 2011, the Audio/Video Edition of the Jacqueline Kennedy Historic Conversations, for $10 rather than the regular $16.49 price, but it was usable only on "iPads, iPhones, and iPod Touch devices" (and it's still described that way despite the software updates).

  Nevertheless, at the time, figuring Amazon would make this available for their own tablets someday, I bought the enhanced edition at that price (it was and still is available without the audio/video for $10 too,  but why not get the one with more features, for later?)

  So, this week I downloaded the never-read Kindle book from my Cloud, and sure enough the audio and video features work very well on the Kindle Fire HD 7" and 8.9" tablets I have.

  Bear in mind that that the Enhanced Edition will take up a LOT of tablet storage space.
  For instance, the Kennedy Conversations Edition WITHOUT audio/video (readable text and photos only) is s 5 Meg file, which already (because it has photos) is over 5 times larger than an average novel.

    The Audio/Video Edition, however, is a 500 Megabyte file, 100 times larger, and essentially HALF a GIG.  The basic Kindle Fire HD 7" tablet can store 16 Gigs but a few gigs are used for system files.  I bought the 32G model and 5 gigs are set aside for system files.
  If I'd bought only the 16G basic Kindle Fire, I'd have no storage space left by now, as I have only 16 gigs remaining on my 32G tablet.

  Of course we can always remove files from a device, and any Kindle purchases (and personal documents we've sent to our "Personal Documents" storage space (via EMail) are re-downloadable at any time, when we actually want or need to read them.

  I tend to keep a lot of favorite Youtube video files on mine, but there's no reason that I need to have as many books ON the device as I do.

  BONUS Tip - Here are a few FREE Enhanced Audio/Video Kindle Books (from time to time) that you can try, via this special link.


Q: "Why does Time to Read (the remaining pages of a chapter or book) seem to work only sporadically if at all?

A: 1. You need to be on WiFi for this to work, when reading a book, as the servers keep track of time taken to read, and they calculate time remaining based on that.  This information, they say, is not retrieved for the server but kept on the Kindle device.  Some people like to know, when they need to sleep or leave, how much time it might take to finish the chapter (or the next one).

    2. Also, when you're seeing location number (and page number for books that have this) and the timeline bar at the bottom of a screen, you can get the other options (Time to Read, Page No. only, Location No. only) by lightly tapping just above the bottom timeline bar.

  Then tap whatever NON-timeline-bar option is showing at bottom left to get the other options.
  If you want the timeline bar back, lightly tap just above the normal bottom-bar area, near the center.

  Note: When the timeline bar is showing, don't touch the bar itself, as it changes where you are in the book if you move it at all (which is too easy to do).


Comments and advice from the Amazon Kindle Forum Kindle Fire software update x.3.0 topic.  Emphases and bracketed comments are mine.

'
Kim Shown says
  [in response to questions about glitches after the update]
I suggest contacting kindle customer service, Scott. My kindle hd 8.9 was fixed in less than 15 minutes. He had me go to another power outlet & plug it in, then wait a couple of minutes before depressing the on button & hold it down for 30 seconds. After that, He asked me to wait 20 seconds & repeat the process. I did this 3 times, at his request; then he told me to remove it from the charger & power it back up (holding the power button for less than 15 seconds) & voila, it magically came back to life with no problems. I did get the update & that is what caused the problem, but it works fine now! I hope this helps!


A. Rupert says
" ... I made it so my email wouldn't check for new mail. "

  [I turned that one off from the start.  I don't want my tablet to be checking email all the time.

  I also make sure that my applications don't automatically update. (See Settings / Applications)  I just don't want that activity going on all the time, especially when I don't use most of my apps that much, so I don't need the constant updating that would occur.]

Murtaza Aliakbar says:
Hi I develop for Kindle Fire, and I confirm that "Collect App Usage Data" surely has nothing to do with the Battery Drain issue.

  [I posted, re this new Kindle Fire setting, found under 'Applications']
Murtaza,
Are you actually saying that gathering info on app use and taking it back to the server does not use battery life - I don't mean extraordinary use but any WiFi activity does use battery and we don't know how often you're taking that info.


mbuff says:
I had the battery drain issue (Kindle Fire HD 8.9" wifi), and now it is resolved.  Not sure exactly what fixed it, but here's what I did:
1) I turned off "Collect App Usage Data"  (I suspect it was this, not sure)
2) I [then] held down the power key for 20 seconds until my Kindle shut itself off.  Then, turned it back on.  Previously I had tried shutting it down multiple times the "normal" way without success.


KiddWilliams says:
Battery drain issues for my Fire 2nd gen., after receiving the update, seem largely resolved for me now after
1) turning off the Collect App Usage Data, and
2) doing a hard reset: press and hold the off button for a full 30 seconds, ignoring all screen prompts, etc., then waiting for a minute and turning it back on.


Dr. Bobby H. Wang MD says:
  Good news is that 7.3.0 & 8.3.0 can finally handle a >50,000 Item Cloud Library.
[ Emphasis mine -- this is good news. ]


Alan Harrah says:
For those with battery drain problems, you might try turning off location services.  Once turned on by an app that used it, it was THE main reason my battery was draining.  It seems to not allow the kindle to sleep. This needs to be fixed obviously, but turning off location services for now is something you might try to see if it helps in your case as well.

[That's another setting I do turn Off unless an app I am using REALLY needs it for something I want.]

[I also do not have Weather apps active.   The constant use of battery for some weather apps may be worth it to some, but not to me.] '

That's the latest I've seen on the discussions following the recent software updates.


  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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Kindle Fire Tips: Two favorite Kindle Fire apps: BSPlayer and Tubemate

A few Kindle Fire apps I use the most

The ones described today work for Original Kindle Fire as well as the later models that are in HD.
  If you'd like more info on how some of these work, you can write to the comments area for this blog entry or, if easier, write a question to the kindleworld.andrys Facebook page, as it's easier to do conversations there.  The two apps recommended here are available at Amazon's appstore.


1. BSPlayer Lite - While the Kindle Fire's built-in videoplayer officially plays only certain (but not all) mp4 format videos, BSPlayer Lite (free version) plays almost any format and especially the many camera formats that other good play apps do not play well (having audio probs or halting ones or not being able to play them at all).

   BSPlayer supports:

' avi, divx, flv, mkv, mov, mpg, mts, mp4, m4v, rmvb, wmv, 3gp, mp3, ac3... and streaming content such as RTMP, RTSP, MMS (tcp, http), HTTP Live stream, HTTP.

- Multiple audio streams and subtitles.
- Playlist support and various playback modes.
- Playback media files such as videos and mp3's directly via Wi-Fi from your LAN shared drives/folders (such as external USB drives, Samba (SMB/CIFS) shared drives, PC shared folders, NAS servers (Synology and others)) - no need to convert video files and copy media files to SD card anymore!
- Playback files directly from uncompressed RAR files. '

  It's hardware accelerated and works very well with the Kindle Fire HD (I've not tested it on the original Kindle Fire, but Amazon says that it's compatible).

  CAVEAT:  'Hardware rendering" (the default) works well for Kindle Fire HD models, but you'll be using the app's "software" decoding option on the original first-generation Kindle Fire, which has a different processor and is not High Definition in screen resolution -- it may not handle 720p video resolution files well, not being a high-definition tablet (but I was able to make 720p resolution mp4 files for my Kindle Fire and they played well if the converter used was a good one like DVD Catalyst 4's) while the newer Kindle Fires that were launched Sept 2012 are HD devices.
  With BSPlayer you don't have to do file conversions on most files to play them.

  Earlier, I mentioned that maybe the flash-player problems with Adobe's dropping support for Android devices with later operating systems is causing no small frustration to tablet buyers re video in general and is leading Amazon to offer more generally good video player alternatives.

  With BSPlayer in 'hardware' mode on the Kindle Fire HD models, you can adjust the brightness with a swipe up or down on the left side and can adjust volume with a swipe up and down on the right side, etc.  It has played everything I've thrown at it, flawlessly,  and gives you a lot of file info too.  No other popular video player I tried could play the files from my varying camera video recorders.  If you have HTC devices, read their support notes though.  It's a good idea no matter what device you have, to read an app's support notes, to save some frustration and time.

  The hardware decoder works beautifully but plays audio as-is and doesn't use the Dolby Stereo feature, from what I can tell.  If you want the Dolby Stereo, you'd choose, on any videoplayer-choice popup Menu, to use "VideoPlayer" instead of BSPlayer OR change the Settings in BSPlayer (which I'd rather not do).
  Also, there are higher-resolution files offered by some uploaders at Youtube that are available only in "flv video" and most Android app players don't play those, nor does Kindle Fire's "Video Player" -- but BSPlayer does.

  I use BSPlayer with 'Tubemate' (see below) for Youtube videos that I've downloaded, and there you're asked which videoplayer you want to use.  BSPlayer, itself, does not have a great user-interface but when called from Tubemate, you can find your videos in the 'Downloads' video folder (this will be either the tablet's generic Downloads folder or if, instead, a folder you chose when doing the setup for a program like Tubemate, where you'd want to see JUST Tubemate videos rather than all downloads made.

   In connection with finding items in folders etc., you should get comfortable with a good file-explorer/manager like ES File Explorer  AND, often even better  if you have trouble finding your install (".apk") files, get the Easy Installer, at Amazon also, which automatically hunts those down for you (a must-have app, in my view).


2. Tubemate - This does a GREAT job of downloading Youtube videoclips to the KFHD, to play when not connected to the Net.  And of course you can just watch them w/o downloading them.

  I've written a few times about how to install Adobe Flash Player for Flash-videos, which I use especially for full-past-episodes watching at NetworkTV places like ABC's site, something the iPad can't do.  However, this popular workaround or feature that you can add with the help of Amazon's allowed settings described in the articles is not necessary for accessing Youtube's videos if you use Tubemate or other somewhat-less-capable Youtube-focused apps.

  Also mentioned in the past is that you can use Amazon's web browser (Silk) to get Youtube videos by changing settings to see websites only in 'mobile' format, which can be quite ugly and missing in features when done on a 7" device (especially a high-definition one). The mobile-type access was meant for the tiny screens of smartphones.  But Amazon's silk browser will work with Youtube video viewing if you change the Settings from "Desktop" to either "Automatic" (which will choose 'mobile' access for Youtube) or "Mobile" (which gives only mobile access to all pages, a mode I personally dislike on a larger device).

  As mentioned, when you are wanting to play a video that's in the "Downloads" video folder, you're given options of which video player to use and one of those options will be BSPlayer (if you downloaded that app and set it up), and that option controlled by Tubemate app gives you a nicer overall file-interface for choosing files to play.

  (With BSPlayer opened on its own, you're dropped into the file system and would need to find the "Video" folder to see the video files and would need to know which folder that was.

  But, as ever, when using ANY app, look for a rectangular Menu for it (looks like a washboard, air conditioner, or stepladder) and then look through "Preferences" or "Settings" (or both) to see what settings would suit you best.

  When I show friends what the Kindle Fire can do, the most popular feature next to Amazon's Prime Instant Videos section (which needs no external apps), the runaway favorite is being able to view favorite Youtube videos on the Kindle Fire when there's no WiFi access.

  You are "defaulted," when opening the Tubemate app, to its version of the Youtube user-interface (which is searchable), but I prefer after a short while to have it open to my local Kindle Fire's video downloads folder which it labels "Downloads" in its own menu.  You can change the folder used for that, using the Preferences feature, either way.

  As you view a Youtube video and decide you'd like to watch it offline, there is a somewhat odd procedure but easy enough to remember if you don't want the reminder coming up each time.

You'll see the video starting in a standard mode, but below it on the right side is a GREEN ARROW that points downward.

  You should press this when wanting to download a file and it will then ask whether you want to download or just watch the video (meaning watch it in a video resolution of your choosing if your Internet speed allows).  I press the Green Arrow only when I want to download, as watching in standard mode is okay when I'm just checking it out.

  Then it presents you a list of files in varying resolutions.  Choose the resolution that fits your device best. For Kindle Fire HD 7", it'll be 1280x800 or thereabouts (which is HD video and therefore a larger file -- so think of space considerations vs video clarity), and if no file that large is available for that video, then choose the next size down.
  For the Kindle Fire HD 8.9", choose 1920x1200 or so if it's available, as that is super high resolution (or 'Retina' range specs).

  Now here's the kicker: As of the latest software update, the author does not tell you the file IS downloading, and then when he tells you the file is downloaded, it is visible for maybe 1-2 seconds and we often miss it and you're left wondering.

  You can press the MENU and check your Downloads folder to see if it's there, completed.
On a slow connection the other day, a friend and I were startled to see it had downloaded the file just fine but we'd have never known.

  CAUTION - Watch the File Storage space. (Touch the top row and Swipe down, then click on "More" for more settings, and check "Device" to see how much storage you are using and still have left.)

  If choosing a 16-gig Android tablet by anyone, the space for videos, and especially HD videos!, puts you up against limits very quickly.  I chose the 32GB model for $50 more, which is not much more expensive than getting a solid, fast 16GB SD card that is always there though you can't pop it in and out, but with the Amazon Cloud where I can keep things or with the ability to use my computer or external drive as a backup device, 32GB works very well (though I'll always want more.)

After a few months, I still have about 17 Gigs of space left but I would find it frustrating to always have to swap files in and out if I'd bought a 16GB model.

I'll stop here, as more will probably confuse and will add more Favorite apps later with tips on how to use them.  Of course, please feel free to ask any questions here or at the Facebook kindleworld.andrys area or write any feedback you have on these two apps.  Thanks!



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E-books vs physical books - two other factors

John Sledge writes, at Birmingham's Press Register on the 'fading of books' and while there are many articles on the topic, there were a couple of especially interesting paragraphs in this one.
  In my recent post about 18 or 19 reasons e-readers (currently, predominantly Kindles) might be chosen over traditional books, I never mentioned storage problems or the weight of books.  But the latter can be key for students especially, and storage space has become a problem for some institutions.

After a very heavy book in his library fell on his foot, Sledge has some interesting info in connection with some disadvantages of the physical nature of books.  Here's an extended excerpt:

' Medical experts agree that a backpack should come to no more than 10 to 15 percent of a child’s body weight.  Anything over that is a recipe for pain and, according to the Children’s Hospital Boston, more worrying issues like spondylolysis (stress fracture) or apophysitis (inflammation of growth cartilage, especially in the heel).
...
  In some cases, colleges are making it even easier for students to abandon old-fashioned books.  In a recent astonishing development, the State of Florida has offered students within its university system free downloadable textbooks, liberating them from both the staggering weight and cost of traditional college text books.  A Kindle weighs some 10 ounces, whereas “Art History” by Marilyn Stokstad is a whopping 11 pounds.
  Even though a Kindle costs around $250 compared to about $95 for Stokstad’s book, students can download multiple titles onto the electronic device, saving not only money but also precious storage space in cramped dorm rooms.  Given such realities, the trend toward bookless campuses seems inevitable.

  Heavy books have also proven to be expensive and troublesome for institutions. According to a 2007 BBC report, the Vatican library (1.5 million books on 37 miles of shelving) was literally sinking under its printed burden.  The 16th-century building’s foundations were discovered to be buckling beneath the strain, and in order to arrest the problem, the library was forced to close for the first time in its 500-year history (something not even Hitler had been able to make it do).  It is set to reopen in 2010 with, hardly a surprise, more online and digital resources.

One wonders if the straw that broke the Vatican Library’s back might have been a copy of the world’s largest and heaviest book — “Bhutan: A Visual Odyssey Across the Kingdom” — which measures over 5 feet wide, has 112 pages and weighs a punishing 133 pounds. This behemoth would tax the limits of any repository, practically requiring its own room. '

Cushing Academy - a follow-up post
This is recent news on the school library with few books, which I posted information on earlier.  They were:
  1. The initial story
  2. The Kindle Chronicles interview with headmaster Tracy

The follow-up story by Worcester Journal Online reports that the school now has 68 Kindles at an average $250 each while showing the library director, Tom Corbin, with a $489 Kindle DX.

' At Cushing Academy, Tracy has removed about 8,000 books from its once 20,000-volume library and is instead focusing library resources on subscriptions to electronic academic journals.

Tracy purchased 18 Kindles for administrators and staff to test out over the summer. After rave reviews, he ordered 50 more this fall. The school recently announced a donation of 100 more e-readers from a former student’s parent. Tracy wants 600 on campus in the coming years, one for each student and teacher. Tracy admits the approach is bold, but he said it will be the norm in a few years. '

It's not your average school...

' Cushing Academy has had steady enrollment in recent years of about 450 students and brought in $26 million in revenue in 2007. The school charges $42,850 for boarding students and $31,200 for day students.

The $100,000 investment this year has increased Cushing’s library offerings from 20,000 print volumes to a 5 million volume online library.

It’s what Tracy calls the “democratization of information.”

“I think eventually every school in the country is going to say, ‘Why do we keep buying these printed books that students are decreasingly using, that are just collecting dust?’” Tracy said.

“The students are going to electronic resources anyway; meanwhile we are warehousing books in these vast buildings at a tremendous overhead. The financials alone will drive schools to say, we can offer far more resources much more cheaply, and give students resources they will actually use.”

Other schools are quoted and they are less enthusiastic about the idea and some good sense is heard from Myra McGovern, director of public information for the National Association of Independent Schools: ' ...she said the technology will supplement, not replace printed text.

“I don’t think it’s ever going to be one or the other exclusively,” she said. ' Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
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