Manual update may solve Kindle 2 downloading problems??
I’m told that the Kindle 2 has an update that will fix some of these downloading problems. I can’t verify this, as we have only have Kindle 1.0 here — but I hope the following is useful!
if you don’t want to call Kindle support, is to go to the Kindle Support Help page and type “Update Kindle” into the Search Help bar. Click on Kindle Software Updates, then scroll down to “Applying Kindle Software Updates Manually” and then click on the “Kindle US Wireless” link. It will download an exe file to your computer. Make sure the Kindle is plugged into the computer via the USB cable and follow the rest of the directions to manually update.
Voila. All fixed.
Trouble emailing documents to the Kindle?
We’re both having major problems when we email documents to our Kindles.
Documents aren’t showing up at all. sometimes, they’ve arrived on the device but Amazon’s conversion process spewed such a long file name that the Kindle operating system can’t read it; when we hooked them up to a computer and look at the files, we’ve been able to see them, and if we manually rename them, they will appear on the Kindle.
Sometimes they aren’t showing up even if the file name is fixed; when this happened today, we disconnected the Kindle and NONE of the files showed up. Happily, this was fixed by plugging the Kindle into the charger for a few minutes… but those were more nervewracking minutes that we didn’t need.
Let me know if you’re having problems, please?
Kindle download charges causing Visa to put a hold on some credit cards?
James Fallows at the Atlantic reports that Visa froze his credit card because of “suspicious” charges — many tiny charges from Amazon for Kindle deliveries that … happen to be the same sort of test transactions that credit card thieves use to see if a credit card is valid.
Perhaps Amazon should let the credit card companies know about this?
(thanks, @Sarahw!)
Kindle app for PC & Mac coming soon
According to Amazon’s Kindle blog, an application to read Kindle books on your PC is coming soon.
Fast Company reports that Amazon will also be making a Mac application as well.
Did you lose your Kindle?
Did you lose your Kindle in a taxi — and is your name John? if so, the editors at CNet may have found it for you!
Their photo editor Sarah found a Kindle in a cab on the way home from the airport. Unfortunately, there was no entry in the “edit personal info” tab for them to contact John and return his Kindle!
Here’s a lesson: put a note in the Personal Info setting with your name and phone number, on the chance that a generous soul finds it and wants to return it!
I’d also suggest adding a label to the Kindle, either to the machine, the case, or both, with your phone number! (Personally, mine mentions a reward if found. I know I’d be distraught if I lost it, so anything that might entice a would-be returner to give it back could help!)
(via blogkindle)
Sony amends regular price to $9.99/book, reduces prices for new readers
The New York Times reports today:
Sony Electronics announced Tuesday evening that it was lowering prices for new and best-selling books in its e-book store, to $9.99 from $11.99….Sony is also introducing two new electronic reading devices: the Reader Pocket Edition and Reader Touch Edition. They will sell for $199 and $299 respectively and will go on sale at theend of August.
How does this change the possibilities for the Kindle? Since the Kindle is still selling for the reduced price of $299 – equivalent to the Sony Reader Touch edition, I suppose you can choose for yourself which is more useful: a touch screen – which reportedly cuts the readability of the e-Ink screen – or the wireless capabilities for the Kindle, including the ability to email documents to yourself, as well as Amazon’s online store.
What do you think?
Apple reportedly talking to publishers about a new Tablet
The Financial Times reported today that Apple is hurrying to get a tablet-sized computer on the market for Christmas. Analysts expect the new tablet to have wi-fi but not necessarily phone network access -like the iPod Touch. It is predicted to have the ability to browse the web, listen to music and see liner notes, probably watch movies or TV. The Tablet screen could be up to 10 inches diagonally.
The FT also says:
Book publishers have been in talks with Apple and are optimistic about being included in the computer, which could provide an alternative to Amazon’s Kindle, Sony’s Reader and a forthcoming device from Plastic Logic, recently allied with Barnes & Noble.
“It would be a colour, flat-panel TV to the old-fashioned, black and white TV of the Kindle,” one publishing executive said.
Information Week has some interesting analysis on the proposition.
Apple’s success with the iPod, which redefined the market for portable music players, and the iPhone, which did the same for the smartphone category, has shown that the company is capable of bringing game-changing technology to market. But the tablet as described in media reports is not considered a slam dunk by some analysts.
The first issue is the price tag….For the device to be successful, it would have to be an affordable alternative to a netbook, the popular mini-laptops that typically sell for less than $500, and low-end full-size laptops. Wi-Fi would probably prove more popular for connecting to the Web than a wireless connection from a carrier.
What do you think? Will a large, flat-screen multipurpose tablet beat the Kindle in ease of use or readability?
Kindle Price drops to $299
Publishers’ Lunch reports that Amazon has lowered the price of the basic Kindle reader by $60 to $299.
“Having previously insisted that they could not afford to lower the price, spokesman Drew Herdener now says, “Whenever we are able to create cost efficiencies like this, we pass the savings along to our customers.”"
Is Kindle II slower than 1st gen?
Just back from a long weekend in Bermuda, where we met three (!) Kindle readers at our tiny beach. One couple (She: The Girls From Ames, on her Kindle II; He: a thriller, can’t remember what, on his 1st gen.) told us they buy several books per week between them, and report that the Kindle II has much slower download speed.
My wife and kept our manuscript-laden Kindles safely packed away, while I dug into a good old-fashioned paper copy of David Grann’s THE LOST CITY OF Z and a galley of the new Jonathan Tropper novel THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU. (I’m a new fan). She read & loved the very creepy Stieg Larsson’s THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATOO, in paperback.
Bezos Commits to Losing Money On Kindle Editions On Multiple Devices
The NYT reports more remarks from Jeff Bezos at the Wired conference: (boldface comments mine)
“The device team has the job of making the most remarkable purpose-built reading device in the world. We are going to give the device team competition. We will make Kindle books, at the same $9.99 price points, available on the iPhone, and other mobile devices and other computing devices.”
In other words, he both perpetuates the $9.99 is our top price fallacy, and commits the company to losing money on Kindle files even when it isn’t making money on the device sales. As for why they don’t sell the Kindle reader at a discount in exchange for an agreement to purchase content, “My opinion, and so far the market has responded to our approach, is very simple. Instead of driving the cogitative complexity of a two-year commitment, tell people, “This is the actual cost of the device.’”
He also states that the Kindle will be able to read other ebook formats in the future:
The latest Kindle model has better support for Adobe’s PDF file format, and he said that in the future, Kindle readers would support other formats as well. (He didn’t say anything about Adobe’s protected format, which competes more directly with the Kindle format.)
from publisher’s lunch
