Amazon Kindle How-to Series: Convert Free E-books to Kindle Books
Michael Piston asked:
While the Kindle wireless reading device lets you carry literally hundreds of e-books, newspapers, and magazines anywhere you go, your Kindle is actually pretty picky about the types of documents it will let you read. Free e-books, articles, white papers, and other documents you might wish to read on your Kindle are everywhere on the Internet. The problem is that they are not in a format that is “Kindle-friendly.”
The Kindle “natively” supports the following document formats -
Kindle documents (.azw)
Text documents (.txt)
Mobi Reader documents (.mobi or .prc)
But, if you have a document you wish to read on your Kindle that is in another format – for example = a free e-book that is an Adobe Reader (.pdf) file or a Microsoft Word (.doc) file then you have to convert it to the proper format for use on your Kindle. Fortunately this is not something that is hard to do.
Amazon has a service for which they charge a nominal amount allowing you to convert documents such as .pdf (Adobe Acrobat Reader) files to Kindle files. To do this you must first have an active Kindle e-mail address. You can make sure you are set-up with a Kindle e-mail address by visiting the “Manage Your Kindle” section of the Amazon web site. Typically, your Kindle e-mail address will be “yourusername@kindle.com”.
1. Make sure the document you want to convert is in one of the following formats
Microsoft Word (.doc)
HTML (.html)
Adobe Acrobat Reader (.pdf)
2. Check to be sure the file is not “protected.” This can occur with e-books you have purchased with DRM (digital rights management) restrictions. You also might have documents that include passwords or other means to restrict access. You will not be able to convert these files.
3. Create an e-mail to your Kindle e-mail address and attach the file you wish to read on your Kindle.
4. Send the e-mail – Amazon will convert the document and send it to your Kindle via the wireless connection.
5. The cost for this service is $.10 (ten cents) per document.
If you want to convert your document at no charge, or are in an area where you cannot access the Kindle’s wireless service you can do so with a slight change in the steps above.
Rather than send the e-mail with the attached document to your Kindle e-mail address send it to “yourusername@free.kindle.com”. Amazon will convert the document and send it back to the originating e-mail address. When you get the e-mail back from Amazon you can transfer the document to your Kindle using the USB cable connected to your computer.
It’s as simple as that!
A few important things to remember. First, as stated above, if the files you wish to convert have any sort of DRM (digital rights management) restrictions then the file won’t be converted. Also – this is an “experimental” service for Amazon. Documents with complex formatting, or certain .pdf files, may not convert as expected. While this may not prevent you from reading the document, it will make it a bit more difficult to navigate through and around your e-book.
Congratulations! Now you know how you can quickly convert e-books in Microsoft Word, HTML, and Adobe Acrobat Reader format to “Kindle-friendly” e-books. This process can help you add a lot of great content to your Kindle wireless reading device.
While the Kindle wireless reading device lets you carry literally hundreds of e-books, newspapers, and magazines anywhere you go, your Kindle is actually pretty picky about the types of documents it will let you read. Free e-books, articles, white papers, and other documents you might wish to read on your Kindle are everywhere on the Internet. The problem is that they are not in a format that is “Kindle-friendly.”
The Kindle “natively” supports the following document formats -
Kindle documents (.azw)
Text documents (.txt)
Mobi Reader documents (.mobi or .prc)
But, if you have a document you wish to read on your Kindle that is in another format – for example = a free e-book that is an Adobe Reader (.pdf) file or a Microsoft Word (.doc) file then you have to convert it to the proper format for use on your Kindle. Fortunately this is not something that is hard to do.
Amazon has a service for which they charge a nominal amount allowing you to convert documents such as .pdf (Adobe Acrobat Reader) files to Kindle files. To do this you must first have an active Kindle e-mail address. You can make sure you are set-up with a Kindle e-mail address by visiting the “Manage Your Kindle” section of the Amazon web site. Typically, your Kindle e-mail address will be “yourusername@kindle.com”.
1. Make sure the document you want to convert is in one of the following formats
Microsoft Word (.doc)
HTML (.html)
Adobe Acrobat Reader (.pdf)
2. Check to be sure the file is not “protected.” This can occur with e-books you have purchased with DRM (digital rights management) restrictions. You also might have documents that include passwords or other means to restrict access. You will not be able to convert these files.
3. Create an e-mail to your Kindle e-mail address and attach the file you wish to read on your Kindle.
4. Send the e-mail – Amazon will convert the document and send it to your Kindle via the wireless connection.
5. The cost for this service is $.10 (ten cents) per document.
If you want to convert your document at no charge, or are in an area where you cannot access the Kindle’s wireless service you can do so with a slight change in the steps above.
Rather than send the e-mail with the attached document to your Kindle e-mail address send it to “yourusername@free.kindle.com”. Amazon will convert the document and send it back to the originating e-mail address. When you get the e-mail back from Amazon you can transfer the document to your Kindle using the USB cable connected to your computer.
It’s as simple as that!
A few important things to remember. First, as stated above, if the files you wish to convert have any sort of DRM (digital rights management) restrictions then the file won’t be converted. Also – this is an “experimental” service for Amazon. Documents with complex formatting, or certain .pdf files, may not convert as expected. While this may not prevent you from reading the document, it will make it a bit more difficult to navigate through and around your e-book.
Congratulations! Now you know how you can quickly convert e-books in Microsoft Word, HTML, and Adobe Acrobat Reader format to “Kindle-friendly” e-books. This process can help you add a lot of great content to your Kindle wireless reading device.
E Reader Review Terms
Amazon Kindle How-to Series – Loading and Viewing Pictures on Your Kindle E-book Reader
Michael Piston asked:
Your new Kindle wireless reading device is great for holding e-books and audio books but did you also know you can display your pictures on your Kindle? Keep in mind that the Kindle has a gray scale display, not color, so the quality of your pictures won’t be great. But, despite that it might be nice to have a few of your favorite pictures for quick viewing on your Kindle.
The process for loading and viewing pictures on your Kindle is not entirely intuitive, but it’s not difficult for you to master. Follow the steps below and you’ll have more than just books on your Kindle.
1. Get a collection of pictures you want to load on your Kindle. These can be color images but remember that your Kindle will display them as gray scale images.
2. Use a photo editing program to reduce the size of your images before loading them into your Kindle. The Kindle screen can display a picture at a maximum size of 550 pixels high x 450 pixels wide. There is no sense loading large images – which will take-up a large amount of your Kindle’s memory – if the image size is limited.
3. Attach the Kindle’s USB cable to both your Kindle and your computer.
4. Once the screen letting you know your Kindle is attached to your computer via USB appears you can double-click on your computer’s “My Computer” icon.
5. Your Kindle should appear as one of the disk drives attached to your computer.
6. Double-click on your Kindle drive. You will see several folders. One for Audible books, one for documents, and one for music.
7. Add a new folder to your Kindle called “pictures”.
8. Open the new “pictures” folder and create one sub-folder for each of the groups of pictures you wish to load onto your Kindle. For example “Moms Birthday” might be one folder and “Summer Vacation 2009″ might be another. These folder names will appear on your Kindle’s Home Screen so make them descriptive.
9. Open each new sub-folder then copy the pictures you’ve collected into their appropriate folder.
10. When you are done take a look at your Kindle’s screen. If the USB activity indicator at the bottom right side of the screen is not showing any activity you can remove the USB cable from your Kindle.
11. Go to the Home Screen of your Kindle. Press the “ALT” key and the “Z” key at the same time to refresh your Kindle’s list of e-books. The screen will blink a few time – when it stops use your “Next Page”, “Prev Page” buttons to locate the new picture folders you created in Step 8.
12. Scroll to the picture folder you want to open then press the scroll wheel to select it. The folder will open and in a moment or two your first picture will appear. You can move through your pictures by pressing the “Next” or “Prev” page buttons.
Congratulations! You now know how to make using your Kindle even more enjoyable by being able to carry special pictures with you in your Kindle wireless reading device.
For more complete How-To information, including screen shots of the process described above visit the web address in the resource box below.
Happy reading!
Your new Kindle wireless reading device is great for holding e-books and audio books but did you also know you can display your pictures on your Kindle? Keep in mind that the Kindle has a gray scale display, not color, so the quality of your pictures won’t be great. But, despite that it might be nice to have a few of your favorite pictures for quick viewing on your Kindle.
The process for loading and viewing pictures on your Kindle is not entirely intuitive, but it’s not difficult for you to master. Follow the steps below and you’ll have more than just books on your Kindle.
1. Get a collection of pictures you want to load on your Kindle. These can be color images but remember that your Kindle will display them as gray scale images.
2. Use a photo editing program to reduce the size of your images before loading them into your Kindle. The Kindle screen can display a picture at a maximum size of 550 pixels high x 450 pixels wide. There is no sense loading large images – which will take-up a large amount of your Kindle’s memory – if the image size is limited.
3. Attach the Kindle’s USB cable to both your Kindle and your computer.
4. Once the screen letting you know your Kindle is attached to your computer via USB appears you can double-click on your computer’s “My Computer” icon.
5. Your Kindle should appear as one of the disk drives attached to your computer.
6. Double-click on your Kindle drive. You will see several folders. One for Audible books, one for documents, and one for music.
7. Add a new folder to your Kindle called “pictures”.
8. Open the new “pictures” folder and create one sub-folder for each of the groups of pictures you wish to load onto your Kindle. For example “Moms Birthday” might be one folder and “Summer Vacation 2009″ might be another. These folder names will appear on your Kindle’s Home Screen so make them descriptive.
9. Open each new sub-folder then copy the pictures you’ve collected into their appropriate folder.
10. When you are done take a look at your Kindle’s screen. If the USB activity indicator at the bottom right side of the screen is not showing any activity you can remove the USB cable from your Kindle.
11. Go to the Home Screen of your Kindle. Press the “ALT” key and the “Z” key at the same time to refresh your Kindle’s list of e-books. The screen will blink a few time – when it stops use your “Next Page”, “Prev Page” buttons to locate the new picture folders you created in Step 8.
12. Scroll to the picture folder you want to open then press the scroll wheel to select it. The folder will open and in a moment or two your first picture will appear. You can move through your pictures by pressing the “Next” or “Prev” page buttons.
Congratulations! You now know how to make using your Kindle even more enjoyable by being able to carry special pictures with you in your Kindle wireless reading device.
For more complete How-To information, including screen shots of the process described above visit the web address in the resource box below.
Happy reading!
Amazon Kindle How-to Series: Adding Extra Memory to Your Kindle
Michael Piston asked:
The Amazon Kindle is one of the high points of the 2008 holiday selling season for retailers. The Kindle wireless reading device for reading e-books sold-out before the holidays and at this writing is on a 8 to 10 week backorder. There are some great reasons for the popularity of this device:
It holds a LOT of e-books:
The internal memory of the Kindle can hold up-to 200 text-based books so you can take a virtual library with you wherever you go. Whether you are on an airplane, in the train on your way to work, or at home your favorite books are available to read at the flick of a switch.
The quality of the text is great:
Amazon has designed the reader and the “e-ink” used in the Kindle’s display to handle books. While this does mean that images display less than optimally, text is crisp and easily read. You also can adjust the size of the text on the display letting those of us with less than great vision keep reading without our glasses or contacts.
Amazon offers a “try before you buy” feature:
Like browsing at a bookstore, Amazon will instantly deliver a sample of any book you might be interested in purchasing to your Kindle so you can see if you’d like to make a purchase. This is a great feature that makes the whole experience more enjoyable.
Many e-books are available for the Kindle:
At this writing Amazon offered over 215,000 titles for the Kindle
The Kindle is lightweight and easy to carry:
You can carry around 200 books in the same space as a typical paperback book
The Kindle also plays audiobooks:
If you’re a fan of Audible.com or have some .mp3 e-books you can put them on your Kindle and listen as you would on an mp3 player or iPod.
Adding more memory to your Kindle -
As mentioned above, the internal memory of the Kindle holds about 200 e-books that are primarily text-based. Books containing images take more memory so the total number of books your Kindle can hold may be more or less than 200. To increase the number of e-books you can store on your Kindle e-book reader do the following:
1. Choose an SD memory card for your Kindle – typically you’ll want a 4mb or 8mb card
2. Turn your Kindle OFF
3. Disconnect your Kindle from the charger
4. Turn your Kindle face-down on a hard surface – remember to protect your screen!
5. Remove the back cover of the Kindle – this is the dark gray embossed cover
6. Locate the SD card memory slot on the inside edge of the Kindle
7. Insert your SD card into the slot until it “clicks”
8. Replace the cover
For more complete instructions with photos visit www.guidetokindle.com.
The Amazon Kindle is one of the high points of the 2008 holiday selling season for retailers. The Kindle wireless reading device for reading e-books sold-out before the holidays and at this writing is on a 8 to 10 week backorder. There are some great reasons for the popularity of this device:
It holds a LOT of e-books:
The internal memory of the Kindle can hold up-to 200 text-based books so you can take a virtual library with you wherever you go. Whether you are on an airplane, in the train on your way to work, or at home your favorite books are available to read at the flick of a switch.
The quality of the text is great:
Amazon has designed the reader and the “e-ink” used in the Kindle’s display to handle books. While this does mean that images display less than optimally, text is crisp and easily read. You also can adjust the size of the text on the display letting those of us with less than great vision keep reading without our glasses or contacts.
Amazon offers a “try before you buy” feature:
Like browsing at a bookstore, Amazon will instantly deliver a sample of any book you might be interested in purchasing to your Kindle so you can see if you’d like to make a purchase. This is a great feature that makes the whole experience more enjoyable.
Many e-books are available for the Kindle:
At this writing Amazon offered over 215,000 titles for the Kindle
The Kindle is lightweight and easy to carry:
You can carry around 200 books in the same space as a typical paperback book
The Kindle also plays audiobooks:
If you’re a fan of Audible.com or have some .mp3 e-books you can put them on your Kindle and listen as you would on an mp3 player or iPod.
Adding more memory to your Kindle -
As mentioned above, the internal memory of the Kindle holds about 200 e-books that are primarily text-based. Books containing images take more memory so the total number of books your Kindle can hold may be more or less than 200. To increase the number of e-books you can store on your Kindle e-book reader do the following:
1. Choose an SD memory card for your Kindle – typically you’ll want a 4mb or 8mb card
2. Turn your Kindle OFF
3. Disconnect your Kindle from the charger
4. Turn your Kindle face-down on a hard surface – remember to protect your screen!
5. Remove the back cover of the Kindle – this is the dark gray embossed cover
6. Locate the SD card memory slot on the inside edge of the Kindle
7. Insert your SD card into the slot until it “clicks”
8. Replace the cover
For more complete instructions with photos visit www.guidetokindle.com.
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