The Amazon Kindle Versus the Sony PRS Series

The electronic book readers have come to stay, with manufacturers punching out tons of different models each and every year, and the popularity of these devices forever increasing. While the Kindle by Amazon has been dominating the market for quite some time now, the Sony PRS series is pretty hot on its trail. So many people would love to know which device they should purchase.

These devices are good at what they do, with many people speaking positively about both of these devices. However, there are a number of issues that will sway you on either side.

For most people, they'd rather go with the Kindle. The huge selection of eBook titles, coupled with magazines and newspapers, makes it a sure winner in the eyes of many, and I haven't even begun to mention its wireless features.

Despite that, it's important that people are aware of the conversion that is required in order for you to view PDF files on the Kindle. With results that aren't flattering, many business professionals and students may want to choose something other than the Kindle.

Most academic books, reports and research is usually only available in the popular PDF format, however, because of the conversion process that is required in order for you to read them on the Kindle, it can often leave them looking rather unreadable, with glitches and alignment issues.

The electronic reader by Sony, although not as easy to operate, comes with full support for PDF files, making it ideal for the people that I mentioned above. Most people have found that it takes slightly longer for them to master the functions on the Sony, and having to use a computer in order to access the internet makes the whole online experience that much dissimilar from the Kindle.

But most students and business professionals will have a computer not too far from them, which they can use to access the internet from.

In Conclusion

If you are someone who likes to read lots of magazines and newspapers, then you are likely to love the Kindle with its ability to deliver new papers to the device every morning. You are also likely to prefer the online purchasing process of the Kindle device. However, if you intend to read mostly PDF files, then you're probably better off opting for the Sony PRS series.

Uchenna Ani-Okoye has been writing articles online for many years now. For additional information on eBook reading devices, including any questions that you may want answered, advice on specific products and recommendations, check out his latest website kindle pc reader at http://www.allaboutereaders.com/kindle-reader/kindle-reader-for-pc/

Kindle How-To Series - Adding Extra Memory to Your Kindle

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 back order. 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 audio books:

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 http://www.guidetokindle.com

Michael Piston is a technology enthusiast, voracious reader, and Kindle owner. He edits a web site for Kindle owners http://www.guidetokindle.com.

Amazon Kindle How-To Series - Replacing the Battery on Your Kindle

Since the Amazon Kindle is a fairly new innovation, most owners have not had their Kindle e-book reader long enough to require a new battery. However, if you use your Kindle frequently and charge it often then you may get to the point where the battery doesn't seem to last as long as when your Kindle was new. This is not an usual phenomenon - most rechargeable batteries have a "life" measured in number of re-charges.

Another reason that you may wish to replace the battery on your Kindle is that you are going to be using it for a long period of time and can't charge it. For example let's say you are planning a trip with a long international airplane flight. In this case you can take two (or more) fully charged Kindle batteries with you and replace them as required.

To save battery life, the Kindle goes into a "sleep" mode if you have not been reading an e-book or listening to an audio book for a long period of time. You'll recognize when your Kindle has entered "sleep" mode because a screen saver will appear on your screen in-place of the book you were reading. Kindle comes with built-in screen savers, or you can check the site in the resource box below to learn how-to create your own.

Your Amazon Kindle has a built-in battery power meter you will find at the bottom right-side of the screen. The battery power meter is right next to the wireless signal strength meter. It's sometimes easy to get these meters confused. The wireless signal strength indicator appears as a bar graph with a small antenna in-front of the first bar. When your battery power meter shows nearly all white you know it's either time to recharge your Kindle or replace your battery. If the power meter goes down quickly after a charge it may be time to replace your battery.

Here's how you replace the battery on your Amazon Kindle:

1. Turn-off your Kindle

2. Find a soft cloth or other means to protect the face of your Kindle

3. Place your Kindle face down on a flat, secure surface

4. Slide the gray back cover off of your Kindle

5. You will see the gray battery in it's compartment

6. Note the battery compartment has a rounded "notch" on one end

7. Using your finger (not a screwdriver or any other device that might damage your Kindle) gently push the battery to the back of the compartment then lift it out

8. The battery is attached to your Kindle by a white plastic connector and several wires

9. GENTLY pull the white connector back until the battery is disconnected from your Kindle

10. Attach your new battery by pushing the white wiring connector into the proper location in the battery compartment

11. Seat the battery into the back of the battery compartment - make sure the white wiring connector is attached properly

12. Press the battery down at the front of the battery compartment - note that the battery and the compartment have a small notch and grove to help you line-up the battery

13. Replace the cover

14. Turn on your Kindle and you're ready to get back to reading your favorite e-book or listening to your favorite audio book

Congratulations! You have just learned how-to replace the battery in your Amazon Kindle.

While this is not a procedure everyone will do regularly it's helpful to know either when your battery does not hold a charge or if you are traveling with more than one charged battery.

One more important point! The battery in your Amazon Kindle is made from Lithium Polymer. It should be disposed of properly - likely at a battery recycling center located near you.

Want to learn even more about how to make your Kindle e-book or audio book experience even more enjoyable? Great free information, tips, and well illustrated how-to articles are available at http://www.guidetokindle.com

Be sure to sign-up for our free newsletter and keep up-to-date on everything Kindle.

Kindle How-To Series - Saving E-Books and Audio Books on Your Kindle

One of the great features of the Kindle Wireless Reading Device from Amazon is that it holds so many e-books and audio books. Even with it's fairly large built-in storage however, your book collection might exceed the limits of what can fit on your Kindle. 

To help you handle your growing collection of e-books and audio books, the you can add extra memory to your Kindle in the form of an SD memory card. You can purchase these cards in many sizes from 1 GB up-to 16 GB. At the time you read this 32 GB cards may readily be available and affordable. Installing SD memory in your Kindle is straightforward. You can find complete instructions in our Kindle How-To Series available in the web-site listed below.

Once you have your memory card installed it's time to move some of the e-books or audio books stored in your Kindle's main memory to your new SD Card. There are a few things you should consider first before "making the move."

1. Audio books are a good candidate for moving from your Kindle's main memory to the SD card. Audio book files can be large - some are up-to 90 mb or more. Audio books will quickly consumer your Kindle's main memory leaving less space for your e-books.

2. If you've purchased books that are on the Amazon digital site and have yet to be sent to your Kindle these also might be good candidates to load onto your SD memory card. This will keep all of your e-books and audio books in one place in-case you run into a situation where you do not have wireless access.

3. Pictures, music files, and digital files other than e-books also consume a lot of space in the Kindle's main memory. Again, this makes them good choices to move to the new SD card you've installed in your Kindle.

Now - let's take a look at your Kindle and get ready to save some files to your SD memory card. Here are the steps you can follow to do this -

A. Turn on your Kindle

B. Move the scroll wheel to "Menu" and press to select the Main Menu

C. Scroll to "Content Manager" on the Main Menu the press to select the Content Manager

D. Once the Content Manager screen opens take a look at your list of audio books and e-books - pay specific attention to the storage location of the book listed directly under the first word of the title -

a. "Kindle" - the book is stored in your Kindle's main memory


b. "SD Card" - any books you've moved to your SD Card will have this location


c. "Amazon" - books you've purchased but that have not been downloaded to your Kindle will have this location

E. Choose a book now located on your Kindle by scrolling to the location of the book and pressing the scroll wheel to "select" the book. When you do this you will notice an "x" in the box immediately to the right of the book's title.

F. Next scroll back down to "Menu" at the bottom of the Kindle screen and press the scroll wheel to select.

G. When the Menu opens, scroll to "Move to SD Card" and press the scroll wheel to select.

H. Once you do this you will notice the location icon will show the book is being transferred to your Kindle's SD memory card. For example you will see an arrow pointing from the "Kindle" location to the SD Card location.

I. When the move is complete the location icon below the title will change from "Kindle" to "SD Card" - this is how you know the transfer process is complete.

That's all there is to it! You've now learned how-to quickly save books from your Kindle's main memory to the SD Card you've installed in your Kindle. Complete instructions with photos can be found at the web site in the resource box below.

Michael Piston is a technology enthusiast, voracious reader, and Kindle owner. He edits a web site for Kindle owners providing news, information, and how-to advice. Go to http://www.guidetokindle.com

Amazon Kindle How-To Series - What Could Be New With the Kindle 2?

Amazon has sent-out press releases for a big announcement on February 9th in New York City hosted by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Since the event is being held in the Morgan Library, the big rumor is that the new Kindle 2 will debut. For Amazon this is big news since the Kindle was one of the big bright spots of the depressing 2008 holiday selling season.

One of the other interesting reasons that the Kindle is great for Amazon is that it appears to be incremental sales for the company. During a recent earnings call, Amazon's Jeff Bezos claimed that for every physical book Kindle owners purchase from Amazon they also purchase 1.6 to 1.7 e-books for their Kindle. It seems that the Kindle really gets owners even more involved in reading.

So what's in it for people like you and me that might buy a new Kindle 2? We've done a little research on the rumors and some sites like The New York Times and The Boy Genius Report have some interesting details.

1. According to The New York Times the big feature is the improved responsiveness of the display on the new Kindle. One of the key irritants owners of the Kindle 1 have is that when you click the "Next Page" button the Kindle screen goes dark for a second before the next page displays. The new display uses a new microchip and digital ink technology that - reportedly - does away with this issue.

2. In addition to improving responsiveness for reading, the new display also improves responsiveness for doing things OTHER than reading - for example browsing the Web and working with e-mail. The Kindle 1 Web browser was an "experimental" feature that handled text-based sites best. You could use G-Mail for example, but in the "mobile phone mode" which is primarily text vs. graphics based. The new screen technology seems to remove this barrier.

3. Keyboard is larger - based on "leaked" pictures posted on The Boy Genius Report, the new Kindle 2 keyboard is larger making it easier to work with the keys.

4. The scroll wheel is replaced with a track-ball. Again - checking out the "leaked" pictures of the Kindle 2 it appears the scroll wheel is replaced by a track-ball. We expect this means the way you might interact with the new Kindle 2 screen will be significantly different than the Kindle 1. Rather than using the screen in a "linear" fashion, the track ball will allow you to roam the screen and select text more easily for bookmarks, notes, etc. The new Kindle 2 track-ball might also make it easier to interact with web pages vs. the current scroll wheel.

Let's think about what we'd like to see in the new Kindle 2 as well!

A. Better web browsing - this seems to be covered

B. Built-in Media Player - allow selecting and playing of mp3 files vs. random play

C. Built-in ability to read .pdf files - Adobe .pdf is a universal file format for a lot of e-books. You can now read .pdf files by e-mailing them to your Kindle e-mail address. Google will convert them for a small charge

And the big question - will those people who now have Kindle's on back order get the new Kindle 2 when it is released?

We can only wait until February 9th to find-out!

Do you want great tips, how-to information, and news on the Amazon Kindle and Amazon Kindle 2? Visit http://www.guidetokindle.com the web's best resource. Sign-up for the Guide To Kindle e-mail news and keep up-to-date on everything Kindle.

Amazon Kindle How-To Series - Email With Your Kindle

The Amazon Kindle is a great e-book reader and audio-book player. Wouldn't it be great if you could use the built-in wireless service for other things like surfing the Internet or sending and receiving e-mail? Well, actually depending upon the e-mail service you use, you can!

Not surprisingly, we've found that the Amazon Kindle (both version 1 and 2) work great with Google's Gmail. However, "right-out-of-the-box", you will not be able to use Gmail unless you make a few modifications to your Kindle's settings. If you do not do this, you will get an error message when trying to get into your Gmail account.

Here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Get a GMail account if you do not have one already - very simple - visit Gmail.com and sign-up. Gmail offers a number of great features including over 7GB of storage space, IMAP support, and easy labeling of e-mail.

2. Turn on your Kindle and go to Menu > Experimental > Basic Web. This will open the Kindle's Web Browser. Keep in mind that the Kindle browser (even on the new Kindle 2) is VERY basic.

3. When your Kindle browser has opened, go to Menu > Settings.

4. Navigate to the Menu item "Enable Javascript" - Gmail requires Javascript to work. If Javascript is not enabled then you will get an error message when trying to access your Gmail account.

5. Close the Settings window.

6. Go to Menu > Enter URL and then enter http://mail.google.com - this is important, if you use the Kindle's default shortcut or bookmark for Google you will get the Google "PDA" or mobile edition. When you try to access Gmail from the Google mobile site it will prompt you to download an e-mail application. This application cannot be installed on your Kindle. Go direction to the gmail site.

7. Log into the Gmail site with your existing user name and password, or use the new one you created in Step #1. Click "Sign in".

8. You should now be logged into Gmail and ready to read and send e-mail messages.

A few things to keep in-mind when using your Kindle for Gmail. First, don't forget the "Next Page" and "Prev Page" buttons. You have to get-out of your computer mind and into your Kindle mind. Next, the screen quality is not exceptional because it is in gray scale vs. color. The Kindle 2's screen is better than the Kindle 1, however you will not equal anywhere near the experience of using your computer for e-mail. Finally - you won't be able to open attachments sent to your Gmail account, and you may not be able to see all of the images sent with your e-mails.

With all of this, it still is pretty neat that you can take advantage of the wireless "Whispernet" service to take care of some basic e-mail tasks while you are using your Kindle. Who knows? In the event that your computer crashes and you're out on the road your Kindle might be just come in very handy!

Congratulations, now you know how-to use Gmail on your Amazon Kindle wireless reading device.

The Amazon Kindle e-book reader includes features that can make your e-book reading and audio-book listening more enjoyable. Find out about the Kindle's basic features, "hidden" features, and more by going to http://www.guidetokindle.com News, information, and how-to tips for owners of the Amazon Kindle 1 and Kindle 2. Sign-up for our e-mail newsletter and stay informed about everything Kindle.

Amazon Kindle How-To Series - Fast Steps to Creating Free Kindle E-Books

Fans of Amazon's Kindle e-book reader have plenty of content from which to choose. Amazon offers over 260,000 (as of this writing) e-books, newspapers, magazines, and other publications that can be transmitted by wireless to the Kindle. With all of this content you may wonder if you'll ever need another source for your reading enjoyment. But think of all of the other content you may have stored away in your computer in the form of Adobe Acrobat .pdf files, text files, or .HTML files you've downloaded from the Internet. Wouldn't it be great to be able to put these on your Kindle as well?

As a matter of fact you can! There are several ways you can do this. Amazon offers a file conversion service for Kindle owners. Check our web site at the address below for an article that provides the steps to use Amazon's service. But, there is another way that we'll describe in this article and that is with the Mobipocket Creator software. Mobipocket Creator software is designed to convert documents into the Mobi .prc format that can be read by the Mobipocket e-book Reader software for PCs and for phones using the Palm Os, Windows Mobile, Symbian Os, and Blackberry operating systems. Interestingly Amazon owns Mobipocket and the Amazon Kindle's book format is based on the Mobipocket format.

What does this mean to you? It means that files you convert with the Mobipocket Creator software can be loaded onto your Kindle through your computer and read as any other Kindle e-book! Here are the instructions for converting your files with Mobipocket Creator software:

1. Realize that this software ONLY works with unprotected files. If the file you want to convert have any sort of DRM (digital rights management) protection then you cannot convert your books.

2. Download the Mobipocket Creator software from Mobipocket's web site - you'll find the link below. Make sure you download the "Publisher" edition and not the "Home" edition. The current version is 4.2.

3. Install Mobipocket Creator software on your PC following the installation instructions.

4. Open Mobipocket Creator - you will be at the "Home" page.

5. You will see "Import From Existing File" on the right side of the "Home" page. For this example we'll convert an Adobe Acrobat file so choose "Adobe PDF" from the menu - this will bring you to the Import File Wizard.

6. Choose the file you wish to convert (using the "Browse" button) and the location in which you wish to place the imported file (again - use the "Browse" button). Click the "Import" button.

7. You will be brought to a work screen that shows you the Publication File or files you've imported. From here you can either build your final output to save on your Kindle, or modify some of the options for your e-book.

8. If you wish to add a Cover Image or Table of Contents choose the appropriate menu items under the "View" menu on the left side of the program window. You also can modify a number of settings for your e-book and add or modify the book's metadata by choosing other options under the "View" menu. Note that you do not have to modify any of the settings under the "View" menu - they are there as options for your use if you choose.

9. When you are done click the "Build" button on the toolbar at the top of the program window. You will be brought to the "Build Publication" window. You can choose the compression settings for your e-book ("Standard" is fine for your Kindle) and also encryption options (choose "No Encryption"). Click the "Build" button just above the progress bars when you are ready to create your e-book.

10. You will go next to the "Build finished" window. This window will let you know if you've successfully created your e-book. You may get a message that says "Build succeeded but with warnings." Normally this indicates a minor error or notification such as when you choose not to add a cover to your e-book. This will not prevent you from loading the e-book onto your Kindle.

11. Click the "Open folder containing eBook" then click "OK." The folder you provided in step 6 will open and you will see a number of files. This will include your initial Adobe PDF file, plus files with the extension .html, .opf, .xml, and .jpg. You also will see the file you need to transfer to your Kindle, the file with the extension .prc.

12. Attach your Kindle to your computer using the USB cable. Open your Kindle and locate the "documents" folder. Copy the .prc file you created with Mobipocket Creator into your Kindle's download folder. Close the Kindle > documents window and disconnect your Kindle by opening "My Computer", right clicking on the "Kindle" drive icon, and selecting "Eject" from the menu.

13. Your new document will appear on your Kindle's Home Page. You may need to refresh your Home Page view by pressing and holding down the "ALT" key and then pressing the "Z" key.

14. You can now enjoy your new Kindle e-book.

This process will work for Microsoft Word (.doc), Adobe Acrobat (.pdf), Text (.txt), and HTML files. You can download the Mobipocket Creator software from the Mobipocket web site - http://www.mobipocket.com.

By the way - if your new e-book file does not appear the way you expect on your Kindle 2 and you wish to delete if from your Kindle simply highlight the book and move the 5-way navigator to the left. The "delete" button will appear, press down on the 5-way navigator and then confirm the delete.

Congratulations! You now know how-to convert files into e-books you can read on your Kindle wireless reading device.

Got a Kindle? Then you need to get right over to http://www.guidetokindle.com News, information, pictures, and how-to advice for the worlds most popular e-book reader. Exclusive, well-documented articles show you how to get the most from your Kindle investment. Be sure to sign-up for our e-mail newsletter and stay informed about everything Kindle.

Amazon Kindle How-To Series - Convert Free E-Books to Kindle Books

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 "naively" 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.

Get more great how-to information, news, and tips on the Kindle wireless reading device by visiting http://www.guidetokindle.com. Sign-up for the Guide to Kindle e-mail newsletter and keep informed and up-to-date on everything Kindle.

Amazon Kindle How-To Series - Find Out the "Secret" Functions on the Kindle 1

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 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 key to turn on the slide show capability. Then press the key and key to start the slide show. Press the key and the key to turn the slide show off. Press the key and the 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 "flaky" 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.

Want to learn even more about the Kindle 1 and Kindle 2 e-book readers? Visit http://www.guidetokindle.com and find-out about even more keyboard accessible features on your Kindle. Sign-up for our e-mail newsletter and keep up-to-date on everything Kindle.

Amazon Kindle How-To Series - Five Cool Things You Can Do With Your Kindle 2

Once you've had time to spend a while with your new Amazon Kindle 2 you really begin to appreciate the enjoyable reading experience provided by this great device. If you've had a chance to download some e-books into your Kindle 2 you also have enjoyed an additional benefits of a great audio book listening experience. But, your Kindle 2 is capable of so much more! Here are five cool things you can do with your Amazon Kindle 2:

Cool Capability #1) - You're spending a relaxing afternoon reading an e-book on your new Kindle 2 e-book reader and the thought strikes you - "I need to check my e-mail to see if I've heard back from my daughter!" Now normally that means that you have to stop reading, put down your Kindle, and check your e-mail account on your computer. But, if you have a Gmail account you can read and respond to e-mails right on your Kindle!

First, go to your Kindle's built-in basic web browser (Home > Menu > Experimental > Basic Web). Next, make sure that Javascript for your Kindle's browser is turned on (Browser > Menu > Settings > Enable Javascript). Finally, go to the Gmail Internet address (Browser > Menu > Enter URL > Gmail address - see below), enter your Username and Password.

IMPORTANT - use the standard Gmail URL and not the Google URL provided by default in the Kindle's bookmark folder. If you try to access your Gmail from the URL provided in your Kindle you will be prompted to load a Google Gmail application. Applications cannot be loaded onto your Kindle so this will fail - you need to use the URL provided above to be able to use your Gmail account.

Cool Capability #2) - Are you a Twitter user? If you'd like to send a "Tweet" to your friends and followers about the great new book your reading on your Kindle you can do it right from your Kindle. This popular microblogging service offers a mobile version that works great on your Kindle.

Go to your Kindle's built-in basic web browser (Home > Menu > Experimental > Basic Web). Next, make sure that Javascript for your Kindle's browser is turned on (Browser > Menu > Settings > Enable Javascript). Finally, go to the Twitter Mobile URL (Browser > Menu > Enter URL > [http://www.m.twitter.com]), enter your Username and Password.

IMPORTANT - The standard Twitter URL is too complex for your Kindle to display properly. Use the URL above for best results on your Kindle.

Cool Capability #3) - Have you ever wanted to "save" a page you were reading to share with a friend? The Kindle has two different ways to do this. The first way is to take a screen shot of the page you wish to share. To take a screen shot hold down the and the keys then press the "G" key. You will notice that the Kindle screen will "flash" showing that the Kindle created the screen shot.

The screen shots are stored in your Kindle's "documents" folder as image files with a .gif extension. You can get them by plugging your Kindle into your computer using the USB cable that you got with your Kindle. Open "My Computer" and look for the Kindle drive icon. Double click on the icon to open up your Kindle and then double-click on the "documents" folder. Look for files that end with .gif and you'll find the screen shots you just made.

To share them with your friends you can save the files to your computer and then attach them to an e-mail message. You also can print-out the screen shots by opening them in a graphic program such as Windows Paint or Windows Internet Explorer. The quality is not great - but is certainly acceptable for sharing several pages.

Cool Capability #4) - There is another way to capture and share passages from Kindle e-books. When you highlight passages from Kindle e-books and make notes your Kindle saves them to a file in the "documents" folder called "My Clippings.txt". You can open this file with a program like Windows Notepad and copy your highlights to save in another program or share.

To do this, go to the passage you wish to share. Move the Kindle cursor to the beginning of the passage you want to save and click the navigation button. Now move the cursor to the end of the passage you want to save and press the navigation button again once all of the text is highlighted. This will save the highlighted text to the "My Clippings.txt" file.

Plug your Kindle into your computer then look for the Kindle icon in "My Computer." Double- click on the Kindle drive icon then double-click on the "documents" folder. Locate the "My Clippings.txt" file and double-click on it to open it in Windows Notepad. Find the text you highlighted on the Kindle. It should be at the bottom of the file. You can copy the text and paste it into a program like Microsoft Word to save it. Or you can copy and paste the text into an e-mail message.

Cool Capability #5) - Up to now we've been talking about text - now let's talk about graphics. If you haven't noticed, your Kindle 2 offers the ability to enlarge graphics so you can actually see them! To do this simply move your cursor over the graphic and it will change to a magnifying glass. Press the navigator button and your Kindle will zoom-in on the image so that it fills the Kindle's screen.

This is very handy when you are reading books with technical graphics or screen shots. The Kindle 2's screen is enough better quality that these graphics are worthwhile reviewing as you read through your books. To return to the original page view, press the button or the button.

Congratulations! You now know about five cool things you can do with your Kindle 2. You can use your Kindle 2 to check your Gmail and send "Tweets" with Twitter, take screen shots to save or share, save or share passages from Kindle e-books, and make graphics in your e-books more relevant by using the Kindle's "zoom" feature.

Got a Kindle? Then you need to go directly to http://www.guidetokindle.com for the best information, tips, and how-to advice for owners of the Amazon Kindle wireless reading device. Be sure to sign-up to receive our Guide to Kindle e-newsletter and keep up-to-date on everything Kindle.

Amazon Kindle How-To Series - Help! My New Kindle 2 is Frozen!

One thing about electronic devices - they know how to put us in a panic every once in a while! The new Amazon Kindle 2 is no different - it sometimes seems to get possessed by one of those demons in the books stored deep inside it's memory. While the Kindle 2 is a very well designed and durable device, it is subject to strange behavior. The worst of these behaviors is when the Kindle 2 freezes-up. The pages don't turn, the screen saver won't turn-off no matter how many times you "Slide and release the power switch to wake".

There are a few things you can do to "unfreeze" your Kindle 2, but the best cure is a bit of prevention. First, let's get to the "unfreezing". In the Kindle 1 you have a few options to unfreeze your device:

A. Use the keyboard reset - hold down the ALT and SHIFT keys then press the "R" button.

B. Manually reset by remove the back cover and insert a paper clip (GENTLY) into the "Reset" hole to reset and unfreeze the Kindle.

C. Remove the battery (with the unit unplugged), turn on the power button to discharge the power in the Kindle, then reinstall the battery.

Unfortunately the new Kindle 2 does not have a keyboard reset, there is no manual reset using a paper clip, and the battery cannot be accessed. So you have one option left for unfreezing your Kindle 2. That is resetting the device using the Power button.

Before doing this it's a good idea to make sure your Kindle 2 is completely charged. Even if it is "frozen" it should still charge - that is the charging indicator should light when the charger is connected. If the charging indicator does not light-up check your plug and if that's OK contact Amazon Kindle support.

Once you are satisfied that your Kindle 2 is charged it's time to reset. To do this -

1. Remove your Kindle 2 from the charger.

2. Slide the power switch to the right and hold it there.

3. SLOWLY count to 15 (the switch has to be held in-place for at least 15 seconds).

4. Release the switch.

5. What will happen? At first NOTHING so don't panic.

6. After about 5 to 10 seconds the Kindle 2 will flash on and off several times.

7. The Amazon logo will appear along with a progress bar showing the Kindle is restarting.

8. Next the Hope page will load with the ebooks, audio books, and other media you've loaded onto your Kindle.

That's it! You should be back in business ready to read another book.

A few things to remember:

If you only hold the Power button to the right for five to 10 seconds you'll just turn the unit OFF. You have to hold the power button to the right for at least 15 seconds.

If the process above does not work - contact the Amazon Kindle support team. They are very helpful and may be able to do some other trouble-shooting on your device.

Now - how do you prevent your Kindle 2 from freezing in the first place?

Well, unlike the Kindle 1, the Kindle 2 does not like to be completely turned off and on. The unit goes into a screensaver power-down mode when not in use consuming very little power. Try leaving the unit on continually and take advantage of the power-down feature. This seems to prevent freeze-ups for many owners. Ok, ok, if you're flying please turn off your Kindle and wait until you get above 10,000 feet before turning on approved electronic devices. And please disable the wireless feature Kindle while flying!

One other thing you can do to prevent Kindle 2 freeze-ups is to make sure your battery doesn't fall below about 15% to 20% charged. The device seems to work better when the charge is above 20%. You don't have to charge your Kindle 2 everyday - in fact that is NOT recommended unless you need it. Just watch the power indicator and give your Kindle 2 a charge when the battery level falls below 20%.

OK - by now we trust you are back to enjoying your favorite ebook or audio book. Congratulations! You've learned how-to unfreeze your Kindle 2 and prevent future freeze-ups from happening.

Got a Kindle? Then you need to get right over to http://www.guidetokindle.com News, information, pictures, and how-to advice for the worlds most popular e-book reader. Exclusive, well-documented articles show you how to get the most from your Kindle investment. Be sure to sign-up for our e-mail newsletter and stay informed about everything Kindle.

Kindle How-To Series - Loading and Viewing Pictures on Your Kindle E-Book Reader

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!

Visit http://www.guidetokindle.com for the latest news, information, and great free how-to advice for the Kindle e-book reader. Join the Guide to Kindle e-mail list to get how-to tips delivered right to your in box.