Kindle News: Amazon Canada launches, Amazon China too

AMAZON CANADA LAUNCHES, FINALLY! and AMAZON CHINA gets a beta store

Canada
I first heard about Canada's Amazon store launch being imminent from Nate Hoffelder, who's also written about the China launch after being prepared for it since he noticed the Paperwhite's User Manual was available in Mandarin.

  I see the basic Kindle is on sale on Amazon Canada's front page, though they direct the interested to Amazon U.S.'s International product page for Canada.


  The wording, with no date on when it was posted, reads:

' Over 1,560,000 English-language books to choose from; plus U.S. and international newspapers and magazines are available for your country.  Because publishers give us eBook rights on a country by country basis, available titles for your country will vary from our current U.S selection.  We are actively working with publishers to get the rights to all titles for every country and adding this selection every day.  Check the Kindle Store to see available titles.

Low Book Prices: New York Times® Best Sellers and New Releases are $11.99, unless marked otherwise.  You'll also find many books for less - over 135,000 titles are priced under $5.99 '

No app store or mention of Kindle Fire tablets.  Also, the Kindle Paperwhite has a waiting period in the States (not in stock until Dec. 20 here), so that may be a reason it's not showing in the Canada store at this point.


China
The Kindle e-readers aren't being sold IN China or in the U.S. at this point! Below is what C/NET's Jeff Eisenhauer and Lance Whitney are seeing so far.

  There are about 25,000 books, but Dangdang, a major retailer there, offers around 100,000.

 Currently, in watching the forums, I've seen that consumers in China have bought Kindles from other countries, as C/NET writes.

  While the Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire, as well as two other Kindle devices, did receive, Whitney says, regulatory approval from the State Radio Regulation of China (he cites Reuters), there are apparently some obstacles to these being ready right away, as I've read for the last few weeks.
`
  Whitney adds that "Despite not having an official Kindle e-reader for the Chinese market, Amazon is encouraging customers to get the Kindle app for their iOS or Android mobile devices. Just don't expect to get the app through the Amazon website, since the Amazon app store is not yet available in China. Nevertheless, it's a good idea to put the app on the recently available iPhone 5 or iPad Mini."

  In the meantime, U.S. residents can choose from approximately 1,480+ Kindle books in Chinese that are in the Foreign Language Books area of the U.S. store.



  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

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(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
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Update v7.2.3 for Kindle Fire HD 7-inch model

NEW SOFTWARE UPDATE v7.2.3 for the Kindle Fire HD 7" tablet - bug fixes and performance improvements

This blog entry also includes links to earlier articles with tips on how to add needed apps from other sources to the Kindle Fire plus Flash player work arounds, as well as some comparison reviews.

Commenter kindleowner alerted us to the update 7.23 received over-the-air by a few without a notice by Amazon the last two days.  I saw an added post about it in the Kindle Community Forums Wednesday and one in Mobileread Forums quoting a poster in XDA Developer forums.  But that was all I noticed as of early Thursday morning.  Then kindleowner saw the update go live on the Amazon software page and let us know later Thursday morning (thank you!).

The new update -- v7.2.3 for Kindle Fire HD 7" -- will automatically download and install for most Kindle Fire customers.  My Kindle Fire HD 7" is still on v7.2.2, and sync'g my device didn't seem to show an update file there that could be clicked on, but it takes a while to deliver these huge files and they're installed normally when the Kindle is not being used but WiFi is accessible.
  UK Link is: Kindle Fire HD 7" v7.2.3, UK.

Amazon notes only that the update "includes bug fixes and performance improvements" and that, as usual, it will be delivered automatically via wireless.

However, one fix was noted yesterday:

' Posted on Dec 13, 2012 12:09:47 PM PST
Chuck1 says:
Just received the 7.2.3, and it fixed the "destroying of all my calender appointments" after each update..."'

Checking which software version you have.
I checked by swiping down my Top Menu, then clicking on "More" and then "Settings," where I looked at "Device," then "About" and saw that I still have System Version 7.2.2.
  Since I am experiencing no problems with it, I might wait for it to be delivered automatically rather than get the file and manually install it.

  For those who prefer to do the updates via USB cable because you don't have WiFi, the update files are at the Amazon server locations linked above.

IF Downloading Version 7.2.3

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

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

1. Swipe down from the top of the screen and tap More.
2. Tap Device, and then tap About.

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

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

EARLIER posts on Kindle Fire HD

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

---

Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books  
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.   Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
  Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

 *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

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

Kindle Fire HD's HDMI-Out to HDTV - example. Friends + Family Gifting feature. Extended ordering & shipping schedule.

Kindle Fire HD's HDMI-out to HDTV
One of the features that the 7" and 8.9" Kindle Fire HD tablets have and which neither the Google Nexus nor Apple iPad mini offers is a simple, direct HDMI port that takes a microHDMI cable, which is then connected to the HDMI input of an HDTV so that you can show on that HDTV what you're seeing on your Kindle Fire HD.

I was able to just hook up the two end connectors and instantly saw the contents of whichever Kindle Fire HD tablet (KFHD) I was using, full screen, even the 7" tablet -- probably because my LG 22" HDTV (only $235 last year but now selling through others for more) in the computer space, is a 720p display (1080i).  It likely wouldn't fill the screen of an HDTV screen with an 1080p display.

The image above is taken with a Sony RX100 camera in a room with no lights on, and so there's no TV frame shown, as the border around the KFire's ABC episode shown (from Castle with Nathan Fillion) is just a lighter black, so I trimmed the photo to show just the screen.  I made a somewhat larger version, which shows the grid lines a bit.  On the TV itself I see no grid lines, but in photographing it, these show up and it's difficult to do a good photo of screen output like this.

Also tried to video part of a Vimeo video timelapse I really like but was concerned about digital rights violations since my favorite one was taken off of Youtube for country-rights reasons.  As for the HDMI-out feature, the plus (or minus) here is that everyone in the room can see whatever material you're seeing while surfing, including normal web pages and whatever video streaming there is.  I haven't tried a Prime Instant video yet, as I had read some user reports that it didn't work with those, but I'll try it later today and add an update here.  Have something else on right now.

UPDATE - Commenter JeffGr reported that during a recent hotel stay, he watched a Prime Instant movie from his 7" Kindle Fire HD on the hotel room HDTV via the tablet's micro-HDMI out and "it worked just fine."
  Excellent news!

Here's the 10 feet micro HDMI to HDMI cable with Ethernet that I used (it went down $1 while I was typing this).  It's by BlueRigger, and I chose it only because there was so much positive feedback for their cables and some had already used it for the Kindle Fire HD without any problems.  It is problem-free for me - no fancy setups to be done, just a direct connection on each end.  Of course this will work only if you have an HDMI connection freeable on your TV.  (I've no idea if it works with a switch box for multiple inputs but I kind of doubt it.)

Updated 12/13/12 to add a link to the blog article on how to play Flash files on the Kindle Fires when Flash is required to play video as with many TV network past-episode site pages.


Amazon's new "Friends & Family Gifting" feature
This new feature will appeal mostly to those who like seeing personal recommendations when shopping Amazon.  With 9 shopping days left, it'll also appeal to some who might like an organizational and reminder feature with links to the Amazon Wish Lists of potential giftees.  

  As is so prevalent these days, the connections involve both just adding names to a list on your own and/or using Facebook to add them.  Personally, I link my social networks minimally, but many do use the social connection features.

Now, for those who are interested in the feature, here is what Amazon highlights as benefits:
  . Keep track of birthdays and gift ideas
  . Get shopping reminders for every occasion
  . Find and remember friends' Wish Lists

Here's their FAQ on the feature and how it works.

They also have reminders for last minute shoppers on the "Top Holiday Deals" and, in keeping with the new feature, "Holiday 2012 Electronics Gift List"


Free Super Saver Shipping for last minute holiday shopping
Some information from their press release on this:

Amazon has 'extended the ordering deadline for Free Super Saver Shipping by two days.  Customers can now place orders through Dec. 18 with free delivery by Christmas on millions of items...'

' Amazon Prime members can place orders up until 7:00 p.m. EST on Dec. 21 to receive deliveries by Dec. 24 using Free Two-Day Shipping (cut-off time varies by item).

For delivery by Christmas, the following ordering deadlines apply:

Dec. 18: Free Super Saver Shipping
Dec. 19: Standard Shipping
Dec. 21: Two-Day Shipping (order as late as 7:00 p.m. EST; varies by item; free with Amazon Prime)
Dec. 22: One-Day Shipping (order as late as 3:00 p.m. EST; varies by item; as low as $3.99/item with Amazon Prime)
Dec. 24: Local Express Delivery (while available; select cities; varies by item; as low as $3.99/item with Amazon Prime)
Dec. 25: Email and printable Amazon Gift Cards can be sent immediately, at any time

Some restrictions apply.  Visit amazon.com/holiday-shipping for more details. '

---

Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

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

Kindle Fire HD 8.9-9-inch tablet $50 off Today ONLY - Deal of the Day (for sure)

2-page Kindle book layout on Kindle Fire HD 8.9"	2-page Kindle book layout on Kindle Fire HD 8.9"	2-page magazine layout on Kindle Fire HD 8.9"
2-page magazine layout on Kindle Fire HD 8.9	Google Earth: San Francisco, on KFire HD 8.9"	Google Earth: Golden Gate Bridge, on KFire HD 8.9"

KINDLE FIRE HD 8.9" TABLET IS THE DEAL OF THE DAY TODAY (Monday Dec. 10, 2012)

Am relaying this alert from Amazon, which apparently was in the email box for a few hours.

"Today ONLY -- Save $50 on Kindle Fire HD 8.9".
To get this deal, enter promotional code FIREHD89 at checkout.

Limit one discount per customer. U.S. customers only.
Discount valid on all versions of Kindle Fire HD 8.9” sold and shipped by Amazon. It does not apply to the same products sold by other sellers. Amazon reserves the right to cancel the promotion at any time.  Promo codes may not be combined with other offers. If you return items purchased using a promo code, we will subtract the value of the discount from your return credit.
Offer not valid with 1-Click ordering. Void where prohibited."

That's a 16GB 8.9" High Definition (1920x1200) tablet (much more readable than the iPad mini which has far lower screen resolution at only 1024x768) and today's deal makes it $249 for the 8.9" Kindle Fire HD with 16GB.
  The 32GB model (I do recommend this if you like to put on things like Google Maps, Street View, and Google Earth) is $319 today.
  The 4G LTE models also are included in the $50 off Deal for today (Monday).

Read about it at the link.  I have one and it's a beautiful device.

They're limiting it to one discount per customer, so it's not the type of deal you can buy several with for gifting...


Updated with a reference to add a link to the blog article on how to add non-Amazon apps to your Kindle Fire.

---

Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button


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

Send to Kindle

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

Kindle News: Kindle app for Android updated to v3.8.0 BUT you should *WAIT* for a fix. Brazil Kindle store up. Kindle apps grow 500%.

Amazon has added another update - this time for the Kindle app for Android
  But you should probably WAIT for the next update (see below) to save some frustration.

Kindle Fire tablets come with the Kindle-books feature built in, so there are no Kindle apps for those, of course.  However, many Kindle owners also have Android phones and tablets.


ConnectedDigitalWorld's Andrew Edney reports the update, but when I went to Google Play store to see the description, I saw a lot of unhappiness over the font sizing and general line layout, and people are finding it very difficult to read.

  I suspect the new font and layout problems are affecting phone-users more, as I saw someone with a Samsung Galaxy Tab who's happy with it while a Samsung Galaxy S2 phone user is not at all happy.

  Another user, with a phone and a tablet says "Works great" but others report being unable to resize their fonts (either w/ the option or with pinch zoom).

  Amazon Mobile LLC responded to the reviews with this:

' Hi Diane, we are currently working on an update to resolve this. Please stay tuned!
Thanks, Kindle for Android Team '

Amazon highlighting of new Kindle for Android's new features otherwise:
  What's New
• Kindle for Android now supports Simplified Chinese, including dictionaries.
• Turn it up to 11! New font sizes now available.
• Read print replica textbooks on Android tablets. Print Replica Kindle books maintain the rich formatting and layout of their related print editions and provide features to highlight passages, add margin notes, and search for keywords.
• Several bug fixes.

We just saw support for the Japanese Language dictionaries the other day, and now we have Simplified Chinese books, including dictionaries, supported as well.

So, Asia, it won't be long! I did read that Amazon had to delay SOMEthing in China recently, as there was a problem over there with server Cloud issues to be worked out.


Welcome, Brazil
TNW's Anna Heim reports on the launching of the Kindle Store in Brazil where a $150 (R$299) Kindle will be available in the "coming weeks."

 Heim links to the The Brazilian blog announcement.
  See more details at Heim's story on the the "long legal battle" in Brazil with the Internet Domain's previous owner "Amazon Corporation" and she links to what she describes as a bit of a "soap opera."
  Amazon has officially announced the store, at www.amazon.com.br.

  And here are the full details of what will be available at the store.

Amazon's Appstore downloads grew 500% this year
What it grew from is a question, but most tech writers find it impressive regardless.

  For app developers (or customers interested in investing in tablets that may get more support from developers), Ars Technica's Florence Ion relays some interesting details on new features for Amazon developers.

  She adds that "A/B testing will also help developers understand what users of the Amazon Appstore and Kindle ecosystem like and need from their applications, as their scope may be increasingly different from that of regular Android users."

  Re the free A/B testing service to lure new developers, TNW's Harrison Weber quotes Mike Frazzini, Director of Amazon Games, on this:
  "A/B Testing service is essential for developers because it will help offload the overhead costs of building, maintaining and running scalable tests.”

  Amazon also noted other developer offerings, including its GameCircle + a new, more interactive Maps API, and localization support for options for different regions, and its Kindle Fire Emulator.

While we're on the topic, check out Amazon's Top-rated Android apps.


Kindle Daily Deal today, Dec. 7
The Kindle Daily Deal for today, Dec. 7, is a book on "The Ascent of George Washington", by John Ferling, which Amazon describes this way:
  "Perhaps the most revered American of all, George Washington has long been considered a stoic leader who held himself above the fray of political infighting. What's gone unnoticed about Washington's life is that he was a consummate politician, as historian John Ferling shows in this revealing and provocative new book."
  It's $1.99 at "83% off"

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Current Kindle Models for reference, plus free-ebook search links.
NOTES on newer Kindles.

US: Updated Kindle Fire Basic  7" tablet - $159 Kindle Fire HD 7" 16/32GB - $199/$249 Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16/32GB - $299/$369 Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G 32/64GB - $499/$599 Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89 Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi - $119/$139 Kindle Paperwhite, 3G - $179/$199 Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free but slow web Kindle DX - $379 $299, Free, slow web

UK: Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £69 Kindle Touch WiFi, UK - £89 Refurb'd Kindle Keyboard 3G, UK - £149   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi - £109 Kindle Paperwhite 3G, UK - £169 Kindle Fire 2, UK -  £129 Kindle Fire HD 7" 16/32GB, UK - £159/199

OTHER International Kindle NoTouch Basic - $89 Kindle Touch WiFi - $139 Kindle Keybd 3G - $189   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB France Boutique Kindle Deutschland - Kindle Store Italia - Kindle Store Spain - Tienda Kindle

---

Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

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

Updates for new Kindle Fires to add: Swype keyboard, very basic Camera app, Kindle Free Time Unlimited

NEW FEATURES in latest updates for the Kindle Fire HD 7-inch and Kindle Fire 2 tablets

The two new updates -- v7.2.2 for Kindle Fire HD 7" and v10.2.3 for Kindle fire 2 -- will automatically download and install for most Kindle Fire customers.
  UK Links are: Kindle Fire HD 7" v7.2.2, UK and Kindle Fire 2, v10.2.3, UK.

GeckoFriend and Betsy the Quilter at Kindleboards.com discovered the updates ready to go on the Amazon servers and they include features people have requested -- one for the front-facing camera app for the 7" HD model and the long-awaited SWYPE keyboard mode for both newer 7" models.  Moderator Ann in Arlington points out that the 8.9" Kfire HD tablet already has the camera app built in and comes Swype-featured, which I hadn't noticed

Amazon's sending these over the air already
I just found that I received my v7.2.2 update over the air - Checked by swiping down my Top Menu to get "More" and then "Settings," where I looked at "Device," then "About" and saw that I already have System Version 7.2.2.

  Keyboard
The Swype Keyboard mode is accessed by just starting to draw a line through the keyboard characters you want 'typed' pausing slightly at each letter.  I just did 'erstwhile' that way and it worked right away.  Had never used it before.  I could type it faster, but others love this feature.

  Camera
Although we mentioned on Nov. 10 the HD Camera app, which has unusually fast and thorough customer support from the appmaker and repeated earlier instructions on how to activate the many front-facing camera features such as panoramic mode, time-lapses and video via the ES File Explorer, Amazon is now offering their own (very basic) camera app.

  NOTE that the new Camera app is initiated with an icon of a camera in the Photos section (top menu - Home screen) but it's limited to taking a picture and, as with the more flexible basic mode using ES File Explorer (free) and also the HD Camera app, the basic camera function allows you to send the photos through email or to your Dropbox, for instance.

For those who don't want to wait for the software update to arrive over the air, you can *start* the update from the Kindle Fire (see the appropriate software update page for each on how to do that -- essentially it's sync'g the Kindle Fire with the servers via the option on your top-menu quick-settings row but they want you to make sure you have a full battery before doing the sync).

  For those who prefer to do the updates via USB cable because you don't have WiFi), the update files are at the Amazon server locations linked above.

The Kindle Fire HD 7" update includes the following, in Amazon's words (Amazon kept changing the software-update page wording on new features while I was writing this blog and driving me bonkers).

• Camera app. You can now use the front-facing web camera to take pictures of yourself with an included camera app in the Photos library.
    [It earlier said "New and improved keyboard functionalities" and now says]
  Swype.  Swype is a keyboard feature that provides a fast way to enter text.  It lets you create a word by drawing through letters.  Swype also provides additional keyboard functions like copy and paste [ YAY ] and the ability to change the keyboard language.
  
• Japanese support Customers can now select Japanese as the device language.
  [This was dropped as a stated new feature while I was typing this article.
  But I do see it in my updated software under 'Keyboards.']
  
• Location based services will now be part of the parental control settings and will appear on the page where you can set parental control for individual apps/features [Amazon removed this while I was copying it, but the feature is in the new software.]
  
• Kindle FreeTime Unlimited. Kindle FreeTime Unlimited is a subscription service you can choose to sign up for within Kindle FreeTime. Parents can subscribe children's profiles to a wide variety of videos, apps, and games appropriate for ages 3-8. For more information, see www.amazon.com/freetimeunlimited.

The newer Basic Kindle Fire 2 doesn't have a camera, so no camera app for those.

 UK residents: NOTE that the UK listing doesn't include FreeTime Unlimited.

IF Downloading Version 7.2.2 or 10.2.3

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

Before you begin, confirm your current software version:

1. Swipe down from the top of the screen and tap More.
2. Tap Device, and then tap About.

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

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

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

---

Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books  
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.   Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
  Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

 *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button
Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

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

Kindle News: Kindle app for iOS gets X-Ray feature. Also, new "FreeTime Unlimited" parental control plan. Kindle Fire HD 8.9" software update v8.1.3

Two Amazon announcements this week and a Kindle Fire HD 8.9 tablet S/W update

First:
Photo credit: Ben Rotman at Lost at e minor.

See the larger version of the penguin-x-rays image and more at that site.

  Also, indie publishers, Rotman has an intriguing excerpt (involving a seemingly sleepless child whose nights are spent exploring his urban surrounds on the trains of Paris) from "an as yet unpublished screenplay."

  Also check out the whimsical flip flops by Kusa at the end of the page.
  (I don't know him -- I found his x-ray images for the blog and enjoyed them and the site.)

Others of you who may be more interested in crafts, might enjoy the feature on Izziyana Suhaimi's "black and white pencil and watercolor drawings with colorful ornate embroidery in her seductive textured illustrations."

All right, when here, I've been gathering and organizing material for some HowTo-oriented articles, but they're not ready at the moment.  After that off-topic intro prompted by the X-ray feature, I'll bring you the latest commercial Kindle-related news from Amazon.

  Note to Kindle-Edition blog subscribers: Remember that if you click to follow a link, you can click on an article and then choose Menu/ArticleView to read it in a special book-like format.


Kindle for iOS gets X-ray support
PC Magazine's Stephanie Miot relays an alert on the Kindle for iOS app update.

For those who've seen the name of a character on a page and wondered WHO that was in pages past, Amazon's X-Ray can be a Godsend.  I've appreciated it most in books like Columbine and for the many characters in Steve Jobs's life.  X-ray links you to every appearance of that person in the book, in context of a paragraph for each.  True for topics, ideas, etc.

This update for iOS also has manga image rendering improvements.


Kindle FreeTime Unlimited
The key word in the BusinessWire release is Unlimited - and it's an optional upgrade over the free version of FreeTime, which is available for the new Kindle Fire models announced in September 2012.

  For families who could benefit from this new content service "for kids ages 3-8," it features unlimited access "to thousands of titles including exclusive-to-Amazon Android apps and games—all curated for age-appropriateness."

  The new feature is priced at $2.99/mo. per child for Prime members, or $6.99 per month per family ($4.99 per child or $9.99 per family for non-Prime members).  It'll be available "as part of a free, over-the-air software update that will be automatically delivered in the coming weeks."

  Owners of any of the new Kindle Fires can try it at no cost during the first month of use.

  Per the press release, some of the benefits mentioned:
  For children:

• They can explore all the content on their own and pick for themselves what to read, watch or play next
• With individual profiles, everything in their library is theirs—no sharing a home screen with siblings or parents and no losing their place in a movie or TV show when someone else picks up the Kindle Fire
• They can easily explore their favorite topics...

For parents:

• All apps have in-app payments, advertisements and social media removed
• No worries that the young'un will run up a bill
• All-you-can-eat pricing means no negotiations with the kids about what to buy or rent
• All content has been pre-screened for age-appropriateness.

For details on the content (which includes "Popular Kids Movies and TV Shows" and how it all works, see the BusinessWire release.

As an aside, when I worked for a science-education museum, I was advised not to refer to children as "kids" as that word refers more to goats :-).  In real life, that's the general word though.  "The kids [don't] want to do that!"


Software Update for Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch tablet
Software update v8.1.3 was just released and was received at my Kindle Fire Hd 8.9" tablet sometime in the last two days.  When an update happens, your tablet may act strangely when you fire it up and it decides there is enough battery power remaining to download and install the new upgrade.

  The software update info, including how to tell which software version you have currently, and a guide to how to get the update manually (for what appears to be just a maintenance (glitch-fix) update) is on Amazon's KFHD 8.9" software page.

---

Current Kindle Models for reference, plus free-ebook search links.
NOTES on newer Kindles.

US: Updated Kindle Fire Basic  7" tablet - $159 Kindle Fire HD 7" 16/32GB - $199/$249 Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16/32GB - $299/$369 Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G 32/64GB - $499/$599 Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89 Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi - $119/$139 Kindle Paperwhite, 3G - $179/$199 Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free but slow web Kindle DX - $379 $299, Free, slow web

UK: Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £69 Kindle Touch WiFi, UK - £89 Refurb'd Kindle Keyboard 3G, UK - £149   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi - £109 Kindle Paperwhite 3G, UK - £169 Kindle Fire 2, UK -  £129 Kindle Fire HD 7" 16/32GB, UK - £159/199

OTHER International Kindle NoTouch Basic - $89 Kindle Touch WiFi - $139 Kindle Keybd 3G - $189   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB France Boutique Kindle Deutschland - Kindle Store Italia - Kindle Store Spain - Tienda Kindle

---

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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Dec's 100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less - Editors' Choices + Free non-classics by publication date + discounted-book alerts

"DECEMBER 2012's 100 Kindle Books deal, for $3.99 or less"

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

  These 100 Kindle books are $1.99 to $3.99 and are "hand-selected" by Amazon's Editors each month.

  What you'll see on that special monthly-deals page are the new ones for December 2012.

(Link: amzn.to/100kbooks-2to4)

NON-KINDLE reading for the day, for those who need or just enjoy a chuckle.  I don't know if any of you have ever read a police log for your area, but this ongoing one for Arcata is definitely unique and you'll see why it has a larger than local following.

Tweet Tunnel
For any who follow Twitter and also my add'l info bits that aren't generally blogged but tweeted there, I found recently that older ones are organized over time by a site called "Tweet Tunnel" that does this for the now 500 million noisy birds.  Here's my recent history of tweeted info, nicely organized; they do a nice job.  You can click on any "inReplyTo" links to follow a thread or to see what a comment was about.  Without images, it's considerably faster than previous attempts at this type of history.  And they're said to be able to show/download past tweets soon (why?).  To check yours, use the searchbox on the same page.

Cyber Monday Deals Week continues at Amazon today
For another day, Amazon continues its Cyber Monday Week deals page.
  As of this morning (Dec. 1), their page announces they'll begin their Top Holiday Deals tomorrow.


FREE KINDLE BOOKS (Non-classics) for December (and November)
In the meantime, I've updated the "Temporarily-free books -- Non-classics" search results to show free contemporary Kindle books for DECEMBER, sorted by publication-date, as of today, 12/1.  There are only a few shown on the first day of any month, and these include pre-orders for December, of course.  As ever, on the first day of the month, most are listed as "free preview" of whatever chapters chosen.

  Here are the current Search results for free Kindle non-classics, by publication date for November.


Today's Kindle Daily Deal, for December 1, Saturday only, is Pines, by Blake Crouch.  Inspired, at age 12, by seeing the television series, Twin Peaks (ABC, 1990), a "quirky show about a creepy town with damn fine coffee and brilliant cherry pie, where nothing was as it seemed" his Pines is about a Secret Service agent who comes to a scenic town to recover two federal agents who went missing a month earlier, but within minutes of his arrival, he's involved in a bad car accident and wakes up in a hospital, with no ID, no cell phone, no briefcase, and no money -- and, for some reason, unable to reach his boss or his wife.

  The 'Starred' Booklist review by Stacy Alesi says, "The suspense builds to an almost unbearable point, culminating with a twist that ratchets it up even further. Fans of Stephen King, Peter Straub and F. Paul Wilson will appreciate this genre-bending, completely riveting thrill ride, which mixes suspense, horror, science fiction and dystopian nightmare all rolled up into one unputdownable book.

  It has 467 customer reviews, with an average rating of 4.1 stars.
  It's $1.99 for today (Saturday) only. 80% off
  Their Kindle Young Readers Daily Deal is "Gooney Bird and the Room Mother" - by Lois Lowry (author) and Middy Thomas (Illustrator).


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

  Here's a link to the thread starting from a few days ago that includes some books still on sale Dec. 1.

  The link I gave is to a specific day to start, in this case, 11/28, mid-point, but you can look at previous days or keep up with ongoing alerts after that, as Amazon keeps track of the last message# that you read, so that you can start from there next time.  Most of the better deals seem around $2.99-$3.99 but I saw that there are quite a few good deals during the holidays of course.  On the other hand, there are Hachette deals included that ended in a DAY, so you need to double-check the current pricing of any Kindle books that interest you to see if the discounts are still active.

  I heard of one small new Kindle book released November 16, "Portrait of a Hero," by Randall H. Miller, with an initial discounted price of $0.99 for the holidays, which is about "Lieutenant Colonel Truman Bishop Ransom who resigned the presidency of Norwich University (the nation’s oldest private military college and birthplace of the citizen soldier) to lead the 9th U.S. Infantry in the Mexican-American War."
  Sounds interesting.  All I know of the author and his book is that he's an engaging, long-time reader of the blog and we share a mutual enthusiasm for the Beam N Read light, which I no longer need for my (latest) Kindle reader, because it's a Paperwhite, but which I still tend to wear at night for general use.

  Prices are discounted for only a very short time, too often, and are promos, and that's another reason to watch the list.

---

Current Kindle Models for reference, plus free-ebook search links.
NOTES on newer Kindles.

US: Updated Kindle Fire Basic  7" tablet - $159 Kindle Fire HD 7" 16/32GB - $199/$249 Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16/32GB - $299/$369 Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G 32/64GB - $499/$599 Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89 Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi - $119/$139 Kindle Paperwhite, 3G - $179/$199 Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free but slow web Kindle DX - $379 $299, Free, slow web

UK: Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £69 Kindle Touch WiFi, UK - £89 Refurb'd Kindle Keyboard 3G, UK - £149   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi - £109 Kindle Paperwhite 3G, UK - £169 Kindle Fire 2, UK -  £129 Kindle Fire HD 7" 16/32GB, UK - £159/199

OTHER International Kindle NoTouch Basic - $89 Kindle Touch WiFi - $139 Kindle Keybd 3G - $189   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB France Boutique Kindle Deutschland - Kindle Store Italia - Kindle Store Spain - Tienda Kindle

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Kindle News: More detailed comparisons of 7" tablets: iPad mini, Nexus, + Kindle Fire HD... Amzn Lockers...Appstore in Japan...CyberMonday sales

I've been trying out wireless bluetooth keyboards on the 7" and 8.9" Kindle Fire HD's and will report on this in a day or two.   Found two that work VERY well and another that is said to, after the latest Kindle Fire HD software update (v7.2.1), and which is the least expensive but has Apple control-keys predominant and I prefer more Android-key functions at the fingertips.

Recent news
Amazon's appstore opens in Japan, it was announced Wednesday, ahead of Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD shipments there.  Here's the appstore for Japan.

  Amazon also announced that sales of its Kindles during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend was twice what it was for that time period last year (no numbers).

A HINT of the popularity can be seen in the most popular customer review at the product page, which so far has 12,653 people findng it helpful, of 12,853 taking time to 'vote.'  In the meantime, there are 424 posts in questions and answers connected with TL's obviously engaging review.
  Eric DiPier thought it 'incredible' that the review received almost 8,000 votes in less than 2 months (by Nov. 2) and Kerri Elders thinks that when you consider how few people take the time to respond rather than just read, it may well indicate the popularity of the device.  It's been felt that those who interact rather than just lurk dicussions are about 1 per 1,000.  It at least reflects a lot of interest.

 Amazon almost never offers numbers when it comes to Kindles; however, a company like Apple, with tablets and other hardware a major portion of its business, numbers are required by the SEC.  Kindles, a year ago were said to be only 5-7% of Amazon's business and so they don't have to report numbers and can keep the competition guessing and a bit off balance.

Amazon is finally offering, InternetRetailer reports, more of its "Lockers" for those who can't safely receive shipments at home because they're not there, etc. (where this is available).   The latest ones are at Staples.  An early report on the lockers here was on September 12, 2011.

WSJ's Greg Bensinger had a good article on the ones available as of August 2012.
  Here are links to several other news articles on how the new lockers will work and where they're available currently.


So, what else might Amazon be up to?  That's right (image at right) - Amazon Wine!


Holidays and Decisions - Tablets everywhere
In the meantime, some are still trying to decide on a tablet for the Holidays and I haven't added more recent reviews from tech sites since the early ones over a month ago, although I was logging them.

  Here are a few points from several during the last month. (Warning: this blog tends often to go into mindnumbing detail but I hope you find something here not found when trying to decide by reading other sources, that is, if you've stayed here after seeing the length of this.)

ZDNet's David Gewirtz - "How to decide: should you buy an iPad mini, a Kindle Fire HD (UK: here), or a Nexus 7?"
  His security concerns aside (which favor Apple's complete control over apps, with Amazon's app-vetting getting an 'honorable mention'), he is sanguine about the iPad mini's lower resolution that comes with a higher price.
  "... the iPad mini comes with a last-generation display that many users aren't happy with.  Our own Stephen Chapman called the...display 'atrocious' and added, 'With almost every single device of Apple's now having a Retina display, the regression for the iPad mini immediately makes it feel like a half-hearted, disingenuous, and greedy effort.'
  Ouch.  On the other hand, ZDNet's Joel Evans likes his iPad mini more than the iPad 3."
  Gewirtz finishes with some good guidelines on "How to decide."

Macworld's Mark Hattersley calls attention to DisplayMate.com's comparison covering lab measurements of display characteristics of the "iPad mini vs Nexus 7 vs Kindle Fire" which Hattersley (as a Mac writer) cautions:
  "The conclusions aren’t always flattering for the iPad mini."

  Hattersley adds that "When it comes to playing games, watching video, and general tasks the iPad mini is as good as its larger brethren, but considerably lighter and more portable."

[I wouldn't say that is true of HD video material, which the iPad Mini cannot show in HD as it is not an HD display, at only 1024x768, as pointed out by Displaymate later.]

The full Displaymate details are at this page, and are pretty interesting for those keen to see how things 'measure up' for each tablet in several categories.  Examples:

  "While screen Resolution gets lots of attention from both consumers and marketers – it’s really only critical for providing visually sharp text – but that applies for most applications running on a Tablet.
  The $199 Amazon Kindle Fire HD and Google Nexus 7 both have considerably sharper displays with 216 Pixels Per Inch, and they both delivered considerably sharper text..."

Displaymate further links to an earlier "7 inch Tablet Display Technology Shoot-Out" between the 7" models of the Kindle Fire HD and the Nexus.

  "While the Nexus 7 has a very nice saturated Red that is close to the new iPad Red, its Greens and Yellows are less saturated than even the iPad 2, which is a significant step backward.  On the other hand, the Kindle Fire HD has Greens and Yellows that are slightly more saturated than the new iPad.

  "These were easy to see during the Viewing Tests.  Just as important as the Color Gamut is the Factory Display Calibration, which can ruin a excellent display if done improperly…

  "... the Factory Display Calibration on the Nexus 7 was severely botched, which significantly degrades its picture quality.  In spite of its good Color Gamut, colors and contrast are washed out due to a compressed, convex, and irregular Intensity Scale (sometimes called the Gray Scale).  Bright images look like over exposed photographs...it is a software or firmware problem rather than an inherent hardware display issue.  Depending on the display firmware this may or may not be correctable with a software update."

  [On another display issue] "... We borrowed and tested a second Nexus 7 unit and found identical behavior – so the effect is unlikely to be due to a defective unit. In fact, we discovered it to be another software bug.

  "The Kindle Fire HD has the highest measured Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light of any Tablet that we have tested in our entire Shoot-Out series, and the Nexus 7 is a close second. Both are much better than either the iPad 2 or the new iPad.   The display on the Kindle Fire was the decisive winner of these two leading 7 inch Tablets. It is much better than the iPad 2 and almost as good as the new iPad in overall picture quality and color accuracy...
...
  "Conclusion:...
  ...Like the new iPad, the Kindle Fire HD has better picture quality and color accuracy than most HDTVs, laptops, and monitors, so it could wind up being your most accurate display for viewing photos, videos and web content.

  "Mobile displays are often viewed under reasonably high Ambient Lighting. The Kindle Fire HD has the highest measured Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light of any Tablet that we have tested in our Shoot-Out series, which is impressive."

  [Back to their more recent comparison of the two with the new iPad mini]
  "While the iPad 2 and iPhone 4 had reduced 61-64 percent Color Gamuts, the Amazon Kindle Fire HD and Google Nexus 7 both deliver a much larger 86 percent Color Gamut, and the new iPad 3 and iPhone 5 have full 100 percent standard Color Gamuts.
  "So it was a surprise and a major disappointment for the iPad mini to arrive with an antiquated smaller 62 percent Color Gamut.

  Displaymate testers give an example of their comparison factors, this one showing newest iPad 4 vs more 'dull' or 'faded' iPad 2 and iPhone 4 subject matter.

  Re "reflectance" or glare in high ambient lighting situations, they write:
  "Most displays are now coming with lower Reflectance screens.  The Amazon Kindle Fire HD and Google Nexus 7 managed to accomplish this, even at their low price points, but the iPad mini comes with an unusually high Reflectance – it reflects 53 percent more ambient light than the Nexus 7 and 41 percent more than the Kindle Fire HD.  This is another poor choice and another significant competitive shortfall…"

Displaymate ends the comparison with a very detailed "Display Shoot-Out Comparison Table."


PopHerald's Kevin Go writes about the same three tablets in "...The display game."
  He writes that the iPad Mini is the "perfect choice for those who want a full-fledged tablet that runs Apple's ...iOS... without the excessive bulk of the regular 10-inch iPad" but wonders if, at $329, consumers are getting what they really deserve... and then he goes on to quote from the Displaymate article above and doesn't think consumers get the best deal there.

  But really, Apple users will like the real lightness of the iPad mini (this is an important factor to any of us tablet users) plus its access to the 250,000 highly regarded tablet-optimized Apple apps and to another 450,000 phone apps that might look better on a smaller screen.  For Apple apps, there is no other 7-inch tablet choice.  Most won't care about display resolution that much.


Android Authority's Carl Parker compares the ipad mini to the Kindle Fire HD 7-inch tablet.
That (missing) Charger - Parker points out something many miss about the option to get a charger during purchase of a Kindle Fire HD:
"Thanks to the standard Micro USB port, you don’t need to worry if you leave your Kindle Fire HD’s charger at home because you can just use your other Android device’s USB charger cable."

"These two displays provide very different results when viewing the same images.  The iPad mini display gives higher contrast, making whites whiter and blacks blacker, while washing out some colors.  The Kindle Fire HD, on the other hand, provides richer and vibrant colors, which may make media viewing on the Kindle Fire HD more pleasurable.
...
"Amazon tablet...[has a] responsive and smooth user interface, which arguably is smoother and silkier compared to the previous Kindle Fire.  But, I do get some occasional lags especially when reading highly animated comics.  Scrolling Web pages and zooming in or out are quite laggy compared to that on the iPad mini.

"As for benchmarks, while the Kindle Fire HD gave a much better score for overall performance (as reported by Geekbench 2), the iPad mini outran its Amazon competitor in the GPU and browser benchmarks, except in the Google V8 Benchmark Suite, in which the Kindle tablet lorded over the iPad mini."


HeraldNet's AP article by Peter Svensson is titled "Subpar screen hobbles Apple's smallest tablet."
"I ...bet that for a lot of people, it's not going to be the best choice. It's beautiful and light, but Apple made a big compromise in the design, one that means that buyers should look closely at the competition before deciding.
  "By comparison [with the iPad 4], the iPad Mini's screen looks coarse.  It looks dull, too, because it doesn't have the same color-boosting technology that the full-size model has...
 ..."The real issue is that this year, there are other tablets that are cheaper than the iPad Mini, weigh only slightly more and still have better screens."

  I'd not seen the following explanation before.

  "Sharper screens are darker, requiring a more powerful backlight to appear bright.  That, in turn, would have forced an increase in the battery size.  That's the reason the first iPad with a Retina display was thicker and heavier than the iPad 2.   So to keep the iPad Mini thin while matching the 10-hour battery life of the bigger iPads, Apple had to compromise on the display."

  Another reason, of course, was to make sure the new little brother could handle the many iPad 2 tablet apps wthout having to modify them all for a smaller size.

  "By next year, it will likely be even more obvious that Apple is seriously behind in screen quality on its small tablet, and it will have to upgrade to a Retina display somehow. That means this first-generation iPad Mini will look old pretty fast."
  [Other problems] - "One is that when you run iPhone apps on the Mini, it uses the coarsest version of the graphics for that app -- the version designed for iPhones up to the 2009 model, the 3GS. You can blow the app up to fill more of the screen, but it looks pretty ugly."

  "Some apps adapted for the iPad screen don't display that well on the Mini screen, either, because of the smaller size.  Buttons can be too small to hit accurately, bringing to mind Steve Jobs' 2010 comments about smaller tablets...
  "...In some apps, text on the Mini is too small to be comfortably read -- the section fronts in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal apps are examples of this.
  "... In particular, the Mini is a $329 entry ticket to the wonderful world of iPad and iPhone apps.  For quality and quantity, it beats all the other app stores."


CNET's Brooke Crothers comments on Displaymate's report described above and compares its findings with their own earlier statements, pointing out that:
  "... this echoes CNET's take on iPad Mini's display. "If you own a recent iPhone or the last iPad, you'll feel that this screen is blurry.  Text isn't as sharp. The pixels per inch don't even match what's available on a Kindle Fire HD or Nook HD," wrote CNET's Scott Stein."

Well, I hope that helped with some details not given in earlier reviews:


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


A note on David Pogue's NY Times NYT article ignoring the Kindle Fire HD in favor of the also-impressive B&N Nook HD.  A friend mentioned this, and I responded with reasons I've given before for not including the Nook in the detailed comparisons, though I'm a B&N paying member and want the physical stores to survive.
  But you may notice few sites include the Nook tablets in their comparisons possibly for similar reasons.

  But if Amazon didn't allow apps from other online app-stores onto the Kindle Fire (which just involves checking just one easily visible option-setting to enable this), I wouldn't buy or keep the Kindle Fire HD either, nor write much about it.

  It's a self-destructive decision to actually restrict customers to only the vendor-store's own apps (unless you're Apple w/ a different operating system entirely), especially when they're so limited as B&N's are.  This was essentially my reply:

'Pogue has to cover a lot so can't be expected to know everything in depth but that doesn't keep him from surface-level judgments that will influence many due to his platform and entertaining style.

Nook:
  Most important:
KFire can easily have non-Amazon store apps installed.  It's just checking one setting that allows it (this is a typical Android option). That's why I have Google Maps and Street View on my Kindle Fires.  No 'hacking' involved at all.
  This isn't possible on an unhacked Nook.

1. Barnes and Noble refuses to allow its Nooks to have any apps installed in it except their own and they have the weakest app store

2. Ecosystem for tablet:  No B&N music or video streaming, and a lack of downloadable content store for those vs Amazon's Prime instant videos and music.
Content can be side-loaded to the tablet.
  Streaming is from paid, 3rd party Netflix or Hulu Plus subscriptions, etc.

3. Gives far less Cloud storage
    Amazon gives all customers 5 gigs for non-Amazon docs and books
    with syncing between devices though books were bought elsewhere.
      It keeps a log of annotations on those, if we want,
    in our personal Amazon server space for personal docs
    and for Kindle owners, it's an additional 5GB of free space.

  B&N gives server space only to B&N products, the last I read on their boards
  when I was using the NookColor daily.

4. Amazon has a 7-day-refund period - done by automated email - for any Kindle book that doesn't measure up -- formatting problems, poor editing, etc.

    B&N, though, has a hardline approach - NO REFUNDS on Nook books.
    They've even refused them when pages were missing.

5. Customer Support - Kindle support is usually superb at Amazon.
    Almost non-existent at B&N post-sales.
    Store clerks can try to be helpful but are not as well trained.

6. No camera for Skype (the only major tablet I know of w/ no way to do
    today's free camera/video communication popular w/ families and friends

7. Higher book prices at B&N. '

I hope that some of that info somewhat compensates for being absent from active blogging for a few days.  When quiet, I'm usually researching for a bit more context.  I was also active in some tech-site forums but also holidaying!

Note that I refrained from talking about additional stereo speaker comparisons although a few reviewers have referred to these as the best tablet ones and 'sublime' - an important factor when watching movies w/o having the head clamped by headphones or ears plugged.  :-)

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Kindle News: Yesterday's Gone, first season of popular serialized fiction, is free today.

The first season of serialized fiction series "Yesterday's Gone" by Platt & Wright is available for download free from today, Tuesday, November 27 until November 28.

I don't know if that means end of day November 28 or start of day.

Collective Inkwell, the indie publishers, normally price this at $5.99.

The six episodes of Yesterday's Gone Season One, has an average review rating of 4.7 stars out of 5, and there are over 180 5-star reviews on it.  From the PR:

' First launched in July 2011, with an episode released every week, Yesterday's Gone quickly grew a loyal readership who eagerly awaited each new episode.

“What can I say to the reception Yesterday's Gone has had from readers?” Platt said when asked about the success of the series. “One word: Wow! We always knew we had a great idea with Yesterday's Gone, but only in our wildest dreams did it blow up this big."

In a dramatic twist, Platt and Wright, the pioneers of serialized fiction for the Kindle, were recently signed by Amazon's publishing arm, 47North, to write two new serialized novels, Z 2134 and Monstrous.

  "With Amazon Serials now live, serialized fiction is generating a lot of buzz.” Platt said. "It feels great to be right in the middle of it all."
  Featuring a cliffhanger at the end of every episode, the novel is a tense and nerve-wracking read.

"I always loved watching TV shows with a cliffhanger ending as a kid," said David Wright, co-author. "Waiting a whole week to find out what happens to the hero is both painful and exciting - a bittersweet satisfaction. That's one of my favorite feelings"

Wright added: "Serialized fiction is nearly as old as the novel itself, but TV upped the game and added a modern twist. With Yesterday's Gone, we aimed to repackage the punch of TV cliffhangers back into fiction."

In the most recent review, published November 25, Anthony White wrote of Yesterday's Gone Season One: "I loved this story and had the 'could not put it down experience' that I have always heard people talk about."

Three seasons of Yesterday's Gone, totally 18 episodes, have launched so far. Fans of the series are eagerly awaiting the fourth season. Episode 19 will launch summer 2013. '

Seemed interesting enough for a quick blog entry.



  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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Cyber Monday only: Kindle Fire 2 (non-HD) $129 US and £99 UK. Also, Panasonic 3D TVs today, headphones at 70% off, etc.

MONDAY ONLY - Kindle Fire tablet, 2nd Generation (NOT the HD version though), normally $159, is $129 (U.S.), Monday only.
  This is the Standard Definition model.

  [*NOTE: The Kindle Fire Monday deal below
        has ended.*] - Nov. 27, 2012.

The info below is mostly historical now but Amazon is continuing Cyber Monday Deals Week with other ongoing deals, though probably not at the hectic pace we saw Monday.

[Monday's blog entry]
  To get the $30 off this U.S. model, you need to enter promotional code FIREDEAL at checkout, Amazon says, and again, the U.S. deal is only for Monday the 26.

  The UK version of the Kindle Fire 2, normally £129 is £99 for a "Limited time only" and that's the shown pricing today on the UK product page, first seen on Black Friday in the UK.  However, in bold lettering, the UK page says "Final Day" on the Christmas Deals page.

  I normally would not recommend the non-HD version of Kindle Fire when the difference is only $40 or £30.  But when it's a difference of $70 (U.S.) and £60 (UK), that's another story. The Freetime parental control comes with this model.
  RAM was increased from 512 MB to 1 GB.  Has 8 GB storage.

I actually heard about the three offers shown from my local TV News, including even that select Panasonic smart 3D LED HDTVs are shown today at up to 60% off.
  The Amazon deals page says:

' The TC-L42ET5 42-inch TV is available for $599 (list price of $1,099.99), the TC-L47DT50 47-inch TV is available for $799 (list price of $1,899.99), and the TC-L55DT50 55-inch TV is available for $999 (list price of $2,499.99).  All three models feature the VIERA Connect IPTV cloud service so that you can access apps such as Amazon Instant Video, hulu plus, Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and more.  TVs also feature an IPS LED panel that delivers an 178° viewing angle for clear, vibrant images from every seat in the room.  Offer valid when shipped and sold by Amazon.com.
. . .
  Offer good through 11:59 p.m. PST on November 26, 2012, while supplies last. Amazon reserves the right to change or terminate this promotion at any time. '

And, as you can see, their other special promo offers include things like (when I last looked a few minutes ago) "$40 Amazon.com promotional credit," one per customer, with the order of a Braun Series 7 shaver plus "an additional $15 off instantly" at checkout when clicking on the item and "clipping the coupon." The credit expires by January 31, 2013.

  This particular promo-credit deal is on purchases before end of day, December 22, 2012, and the product pricing seems to change through the day.

  For instance, the popular Canon S100 normally sold near its list price of $400 was $250 yesterday and is $300 today.  Oddly, the Canon S95 which it replaced, has fewer megapixels and no optical zoom in video mode but has less noise-reduction and therefore a sharper image and is still selling at $400.


The Kindle Fire 2 was a natural 1-day discount to report, but the others might be of interest to some and the three are featured together on their Cyber Monday page today.  If nothing else, interest in the holiday sales is thought to be good for the economy.

  I certainly won't be doing reports on most of these sales -- but the Kindle Fire 2 price today is one that should interest some readers of this blog.  And my local TV news is still at it with the Amazon sales just now again, so it's getting a lot of reporting outside of the Net.

---

Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

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