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Technology: The Kindle 2 e-Reader

Pogue asked:


In his review of the new Kindle 2 e-reader from Amazon, David Pogue wonders if e-books will make physical books obsolete. …

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Amazon Kindle How-to Series: Learn to Access the "secret" Functions in Kindle 1

Michael Piston asked:


Amazon has built a number of different features into the Kindle that never made it to the menus you use to access your e-books and audio books. You can do everything from make screen shots of your Kindle screen to find your location on Google Maps using the WhisperNet wireless technology in the Kindle. 

NOTE- the features discussed here are for the Amazon Kindle 1 device. The Kindle 2 device available after February 24, 2009 likely will have different keyboard accessible features.

To access these features you will use a combination of keys on your Kindle’s keyboard. Most all of the features begin by pressing the key which is the at the lower left-hand side of your Kindle keyboard. You also may have to press the key which is directly above the key and has an upright arrow symbol. Here are a few of the special features you can access:

1. Play a game of Minesweeper on your Kindle - From the Home Screen press the key and the key and then the key to access a basic Minesweeper game.  The Minesweeper menu lets you control the grid size and the number of mines you have to find.

2. Find-out the time - From the Kindle Home Screen press the key and the key. The page number display (i.e. 1 of 3) at the bottom left of your Kindle screen will change to a time display. 

3. Find-out the time - From the Kindle Reader Screen (i.e. while reading and e-book) press the key and the key. The “Locations” display at the bottom left of your Kindle screen will change to a time that is in text vs. numeric format. For example 1:31 is “Twenty-nine till two”.

4. Take a “screen shot” of your Kindle screen - From any screen press the and key, then the key. You won’t get any notification that a screen-shot has been taken but you will find the screen shot on your Kindle’s SD card. The Kindle won’t save screen shots to its internal memory.

5. Find your current location - Open the Kindle’s browser - Menu > Experimental > Basic Web then press the key and the <1> key. Google Maps will open with your location shown. Your location is “triangulated” from the WhisperNet wireless access built into the Kindle so it’s not entirely accurate. But you can zoom in and out on the map to get a better idea of where you are - this gets you in the ball park.

6. View your e-book as a slide show - From the Kindle’s e-book reader press the key and <0> key to turn on the slide show capability. Then press the key and <1> key to start the slide show. Press the key and the <2> key to turn the slide show off. Press the key and the <0> key again to disable the slide show capability.

7. Control the Kindle audio player - Press the key and

key to play or stop the audio player. Press the key and the key to advance to the next track.

8. Reboot your Kindle - If you Kindle has been acting a bit “flakey” you can do a soft reboot by pressing the key and the key then the key.

The eight features listed above should give you an idea of the capabilities that are “hidden away” in your Kindle. Some of them will make your Kindle experience a bit better, and some will help you when you’re trying to trouble shoot problems with your Kindle. Keep this list handy so when you get tired of reading your favorite e-book or listening to your favorite audio book you can give them a try.



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