Kindle - Novice help

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  • spiney2spiney2 Posts: 27,058
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    ..... all kindles have wi fi and built in simple web browser. you can use that to download books from internet. either ones purchased on an amazon account, or entirely free books at places like web archive or project gutenberg etc.

    the kindle should connect directly to your home wireless router via wi fi. you will need the same password you use for your computer on internet.

    note the free wi fi in cafes etc often requires a complicated registration process to use. an exception is starbucks where you can just connect and use it.

    kindles with 3g can download books via mobile phone system. the system used is verizon wireless. this gives you 3g if in range otherwise you get the slower edge or gprs system if outside 3g range. these are the older wireless data systems which use mobile phone base stations. it is very versatile. u can get a data connection anywhere with vodaphone mobile phone coverage.

    i am writing this on my kindle keyboard via 3g sitting in local park. note that newer model kindles allow only limited 3g use mainly for book purchasing and downloading plus wikipedia access. full internet access on newer models is wi fi only. note the built in browser is correctly descibed as "experimental" and is best used via a mobiliser website such as skweezer.com or google mobile.
  • spiney2spiney2 Posts: 27,058
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    ..... the other way of putting stuff on kindle ..... as already mentioned ..... is via your home computer. kindle connects to computer usb socket using special lead with different usb size plugs either end but fairly standard (you can buy replacement lead from most computer shops). behaves just like any memory stick. if u transfer a file to kindle which is not a kindle readable ebook this will "work" but the file cannot be seen on the kindle screen. just a waste of kindle memory. although can be used to transfer files between computers just like a memory stick.
  • spiney2spiney2 Posts: 27,058
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    ..... with this kindle keyboard im using right now in park with birds twitterring etc, i can use 3g to connect to - for example - project gutenberg and download any of their free books and there it is on my kindle after a few seconds. completely free costs me nothing.

    newer model kindles allow amazon purchases via 3g but not general web browsing. so youd need wi fi access - including at home - to connect kindle browser to free books sites like project gutenberg.
  • spiney2spiney2 Posts: 27,058
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    ..... there are cheaper ereaders than kindle ! as mentioned some also read several different ebook formats, not just amazon kindle. where an ebook is not copyright protected then the freeware programme called Calibre can be downloaded from internet and will run on your computer and easily converts ebooks between the different ereader formats.
  • spiney2spiney2 Posts: 27,058
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    ..... note amazon also do occasional limited time special offers. often for just one day. there are websites that list these ...... and i see from google news - just read on this kindle - that kindle lending library will be coming to uk. not sure if this is the amazon usa scheme, or the uk one where many local authority libraries lend out ebooks but currently in epub format only.
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