Amazon provides the ability to read your notes and highlights on the Web. Readers have always been able to make
notes and highlight text on the Kindle itself. Now those annotations appear on your account at http://kindle.amazon.
com. Once you sign in, you can see all your notes.
Just in case you don’t know these tricks.
While reading a book on your Kindle and finding a passage that you would like to highlight, use the 5-way button by
pushing it up until the vertical line is at the beginning of the text to be highlighted. (if the quote starts near the top of
the page, you can press it downward and the cursor will appear from the top of the screen) Press the 5-way left and
right to fine tune the beginning of the passage. Then press the five-way button in and the cursor will become a
forward slash. If the section ends on the next page, you can simply press the “next page” button. Otherwise use the 5-
way button to move the cursor downwards until you have highlighted the passage. Press the 5-way left and right to
fine tune the end of the passage. The passage will be highlighted in black with white letters. Then press the 5-way
button in to conclude the highlighting and you should see your passage highlighted by being underlined.
You can also use the cursor to find the definition of a word that follows the cursor. This is automatic and will occur
while you are highlighting passages.
Then connect your Kindle to your computer via the USB cable that came with the Kindle. It will charge your Kindle and
connect it as an external drive. On a PC, hold down the windows key and press E to open Windows Explorer. (It may
automatically open a dialogue to ask if you want to do this.) Find the drive assigned to the Kindle and open
Documents Folder. Open My Clippings.txt. There are two versions, open the text version. There you will find the
sections which you have underlined in your books. You can copy them and paste them into email or whatever.
You may also wait awhile for these highlights to be uploaded to Amazon and then retrieve them on-line. To do this, go
to http://kindle.amazon.com/kindle/list
You will have to sign in to access your notes.
Shift + Sym button to start and to stop Text To Speech (TTS). You have to keep Shift pressed down and then press
Sym. If you move the cursor to a location on the page, the reading will start there. Be patient, TTS takes about 10
seconds to start.
While TTS is on - Use Spacebar to Pause or Resume it.
While TTS is on - you can switch between male and female voices, and change voice speed by using Alt + Aa keys
and then using the 5 way controller.
While reading, you can press Menu to see what time it is as shown at the top center of the screen.
While on the Home screen (press Home to get there) press Alt+Shift+M - to start the MineSweeper game.
Press G during MineSweeper to go to GoMogu.
After you sign into Amazon and choose Kindle store to search in, type 'domain free books' (no quotes) into the search
field.
You can re-charge your Kindle 2 battery at any time, without using up its life. There is no memory and there is no ‘let it
drain completely before charging’ rule.
You should maximize by re-charging your Kindle 2’s LiPo battery when it’s at 20% charge left. The worst thing you can
do is let the battery completely drain out.
This will give you a list of free books offered by Amazon
Here are my favorite shortcuts. Note that Alt-X means you hold down the Alt button and while keeping it pressed down
press the X button -
Alt-B - Bookmark. Alternate: Press 5-way up or down to go to cursor mode, and then press 5-way twice.
Alt-Home - Kindle Store.
Press ’Menu’ button to see Wireless Network on top of the screen (top right), Time on top of the screen (top center)
and Memory Remaining on your Kindle 2 on Top of the screen (top left).
Alt+Shift+G - Screenshots. Hold down Alt and Shift buttons and then press G.
Alt+Shift+M - Start MineSweeper.
Alt-G to refresh the screen and eliminate Ghosting.
Alt+R = reload when in web mode
Kindle 2 Tip #3 - Change Spacing and Number of Lines Per Page
By using the Alt+Shift+ numbers 1 through 9 buttons you can change the spacing between the lines on the Kindle 2
and also the number of lines per page.
Press down the Alt and Shift buttons.
Keeping Alt+Shift pressed, Press a number button like 1, or 2, right up to 9 to cycle through the various spacing
options.
Kindle 2 Tip #4 - Pictures on your Kindle 2.
This is how to load pictures on your Kindle 2 -
Connect Kindle 2 via USB to your PC.
Go to the Kindle 2.
Create “pictures” folder on your Kindle 2.
Now create sub-folders for your photo albums.
Put in images into these sub-folders.
The images that you put into a sub-folder will become part of the photo album.
Unplug your Kindle 2 and go to the Home Page.
Press Alt-Z on home page to see photo albums among books.
When you select one of these photo albums, the experimental Image Viewer starts.
While you are viewing pictures in the Image Viewer:
Zoom In on the Picture - Q key.
Zoom Out - W key.
Reset Zoom Level for the Image - E key.
Toggle Picture to Actual Size - C key.
Toggle Picture to Full Screen Mode - F key.
Pan Photo if its larger than the Kindle 2’s screen - With 5-way controller.
Rotate the Image - R key.
Also, do not press the ‘1′ key in the image viewer as that brings up a bug.
Kindle 2 Tip #5 - Screen Saver Options for Kindle 2
Update:
Amazon.com Customer Service does not support or provide instructions for adding custom images to your Kindle to be
used as screen savers. However, should you choose to do this on your own it will not void your warranty.
At mobileread, they’ve come up with a way to change the screen-saver pictures. DO NOT use this if you are technically
inexperienced. This could cause problems as it is a hack/mod of your Kindle 2 -
Go to this page, and see Post #41 for directions and the code. Once Again, NOT RECOMMENDED unless you know
what you’re doing with code and are willing to risk your Kindle 2.
Kindle 2 Tip #6 - Access Free Kindle Books via Kindle 2
Courtesy CheseM at booksummit -
Kindle 2 Tip #7 - Restart Kindle 2 in 2 seconds.
Go to the Home Page.
Press the Menu button to go to the Menu.
Navigate to Settings and press 5-way to go to Settings.
Press Menu button Again.
Navigate to the ‘Restart’ option, and press 5-way to select it.
Kindle 2 Tip #8 - Delete a Book or item from your Kindle 2
Press the Menu button to go to the Kindle 2 Home Page.
Use the 5-way to go to the item you want to delete.
Press Left on the 5-way to bring up the Delete selection.
Press the 5-way to confirm that you want to delete the item.
Note: Books you have purchased are available in the Archive selection even after deletion - you can reload them.
Note: There are reports (that I’ll confirm in a week or so once I have my Kindle 2 in hand) that you can use the
backspace key to delete an item on the home screen. Whatever item the cursor is on.
Kindle 2 Tip #9 - Mp3 Player Shortcuts
Alt+Space - play or stop background audio.
Alt-F - Skip to the next audio track.
Note: When playing an Audio book, you can press Space to start or pause it.
Kindle 2 Tip #10 - Navigating within Newspapers and Magazines
5-way controller to the left - previous article.
5-way controller to the right - next article.
Press the 5-way - A list of sections within the periodical will appear.
On this Sections List page - Selecting the Number to the right of the Section Title will take you to a list of Articles within
a section.
Kindle 2 Tip #11 - Change the dictionary used by Kindle 2.
You can change the default dictionary used by Kindle 2 from the New Oxford American Dictionary to another Kindle 2
supported dictionary. Merriam Webster is supported (although it was out of stock/not yet available on April 4th - it had
been available in the past so not sure what’s going on - also, only buy the collegiate version - do NOT buy the pocket
edition as it has very few words). Please check before buying any other dictionary as it might not be supported.
Directions -
* First, press the Home button to go to the Home Page.
* Press the Menu button.
* Move the 5-way to underline ‘Settings’ and press 5-way to select.
* Press the Menu button.
* Move the 5-way to underline ‘Change Primary Dictionary’ and press 5-way to select.
* Move 5-way to select the dictionary you want as your primary dictionary, when it’s underlined press 5-way to select it.
Kindle 2 Tip #12 - Kindle 2 PDF Conversion
You can get all your questions on PDF conversion for Kindle 2 answered at this post on Kindle 2 PDF conversion.
There’s a video included to make things easier to understand.
Kindle 2 Hack #13 - Kindle USB Internet Hack from Jesse Vincent
You can connect to the Internet via a USB connection to a computer (rather than WhisperNet).
Kindle 2 Tip #14 - Kindle 2 Customer Support
To get help from Amazon Kindle Customer Service Team -
E-Mail: kindle-cs-support@amazon.com. Phone numbers -
* 1-866-321-8851 (if you are calling from within the US)
* 1-206-266-0927 (if you are calling from outside the US)
Kindle 2 Tool #15 - ePub to .mobi Tool by Jesse Vincent.
Jesse’s hack/tool to convert ePub files to .mobi format (which the Kindle 2 supports).
Kindle Tip #16 - Kindle Text Entry Shortcuts
You can use these shortcuts when entering Text -
Alt-6 for question mark ?
Alt-7 for comma ,
Alt-8 for colon :
Alt-9 for quotation marks “
Alt-0 for single quotation marks ‘
Kindle 2 Tip #17 - Search Shortcuts + Tips
You can use these shortcuts while using search (just enter @help in the search box) -
* @help - will show a list of supported commands.
* Instead of pressing your 5-way on ‘find’ you can move the 5-way right to bring up other search options i.e. your items,
Kindle Store, Google, Wikipedia, Dictionary and your notes (if you have notes for the particular book/item).
* In Kindle 1 you could use @web, @wiki/@wikipedia, @store, @time, etc. In Kindle 2, you’ll have to see what options
are available by using @help.
* @author - Narrow a search in the kindle store to a particular author by using the author’s name.
Kindle 2 Tip #18 - Recharge your Kindle Battery when it’s at 20%
Thanks to this discussion at Amazon Forums (courtesy Scott K), and the take-apart which does confirm that Kindle 2
has a LiPo battery, we know -
You can re-charge your Kindle 2 battery at any time, without using up its life. There is no memory and there is no ‘let it
drain completely before charging’ rule.
You should maximize by re-charging your Kindle 2’s LiPo battery when it’s at 20% charge left. The worst thing you can
do is let the battery completely drain out.
Do not recharge it to full every day. The battery is happiest in the >20% charge, <80% charge range (close to 80% is
better than close to 20%).
Always keep the phone cool (not extreme low temperature cold, just cool). High temperatures are bad for the Kindle 2
battery. As are extremely low temperatures.
Do read this post on taking care of the iPhone’s Lipo battery, and factor in that Kindle 2’s battery has a longer life so
the charge every day tip isn’t valid.
Kindle 2 Tip #19 - Navigate through the Home Screen’s pages
Jump to page ‘x’ on the Home Screen - Press the number ‘x’ on the keypad and then press the 5-way.
Also you can use the Next Page and Previous Page buttons to circle through the pages.
I’ll add on more tips as I find them. Also, I get my Kindle 2 this weekend when I can confirm all these tips myself and
also search out new Kindle 2 tips and hacks.
And you could also check out the Kindle Tips - Top 25 list that I had created for Kindle 1 for tips like reading blogs for
free on Kindle 2.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
Kindle Tips - Top 25 Kindle Hacks
Further thoughts on the Kindle iPhone experience
Amazon Kindle 2 E-Book Reader
When the Patient Is a Googler
Filed under: kindle 2 | Tagged
Kindle Tips – Top 25 Kindle Hacks
Posted on September 23, 2008 by switch11
This post is inspired by Igor’s post on Kindle Hacks and the Kindle Tips list at college degrees. The focus is on
covering the top 25 tips and hacks that will help you get the most out of your Kindle.
If you own a Kindle 2, please first see this post for Kindle 2 Tips – a lot of the shortcuts below don’t work for K2.
Kindle Tip #1 – Kindle Hacks from Igor
Igor’s Kindle hacks and the shortcuts he found are at the Reversing Everything Blog – Kindle Hacks. This post is the
source of most kindle tips and i’d recommend bookmarking it. A few of the best tips are -
Sleep Mode – press Alt + the text key (aA) as though you were waking it from sleep. Putting Kindle into sleep mode
also conserves battery life.
Display the time while reading a book by using Alt-T. You can also press the search button on any screen and enter
@time to get the time and the date.
Kindle Tip #2 – Free Books on the Kindle via PC
The best source for Free Books is at http://www.manybooks.net/ The Kindle compatible url is http://mnybks.net. I also
have a post listing free book sources that is arguably the best list for Free Kindle books.
Kindle Tip #3 – Free Books directly onto your Kindle.
You can download free books straight to kindle from a number of sources -
ManyBooks mobile site (Kindle Compatible).
FeedBooks – you have to download http://www.feedbooks.com/kindleguide and can then downloads books directly.
There is a help article, or you can use the mobile version of feedbooks (which is not as easy as using the book).
Munsey’s mobile site.
Kindle Tip #4 – View PDF files on your Kindle.
Rather than using the amazon experimental conversion which can be sketchy, Convert PDF files to Kindle format using
MobiPocket Creator on PC (choose the publisher edition), or using Stanza on Mac. Full details at my article on
converting PDF files for the Kindle.
You can also try PDF Hammer’s tool for editing PDF files in your browser.
Kindle Tip #5 – View blogs for free on the Kindle.
Please do note that blogs have a subscription fee to cover Amazon’s costs for the WhisperNet service. If a lot of
people start circumventing the paid route, there is a chance that the methods used might get blocked and/or charges
apply to WhisperNet. So if you must use free blog downloads, please use them in moderation -
BlogLines – Read RSS feeds using Bloglines.
FeedJournal – there is a nice article on getting blogs to your kindle for free using feed journal.
Kindle Feeder – please note that this is almost certainly illegal according to amazon’s tos. So i’d recommend using one
of the other options.
FeedBooks - you can create your own newspaper (multiple feeds) or feed (single feed).
MobiPocket Desktop – There are over 34k newsfeeds available through Mobipocket Desktop. The process is simple to
set up; you select the feeds, and set them to be downloaded onto your device. Downloading the feeds to your Kindle is
automatic. Although automatic downloads are specifically disallowed under Kindle terms. You probably have to use
MobiPocket Desktop 6.0.
Kindle Tip #6 – Google Maps and GPS
This is covered under Tip #1 – however it’s so good I have to list out details. You can get Google Maps and a GPS on
the Kindle using Alt-1 when in browser mode. The Kindle seems to have location-awareness in the CDMA module and
plots your current location on Google Maps.
Basic Options:
Alt-2 find gas station nearby
Alt-3 find restaurants nearby
Alt-5 find custom keyword nearby
Kindle Tip #7 – Official Help on the Kindle
Firstly, In case you are in trouble with the software or hardware of your Kindle, you may want to contact Amazon
directly via e-mail or phone. E-Mail: kindle-cs-support@amazon.com. Phone numbers -
* 1-866-321-8851 (if you are calling from within the US)
* 1-206-266-0927 (if you are calling from outside the US)
Secondly, using Kindle NowNow you can get direct human answers.
Kindle Tip #8 – Unofficial Help on the Kindle.
Forums at Amazon - If you don’t want to scroll through them all, this post on amazon kindle forum posts has a list of all
forum posts in Nov 2007, Dec 2007, Jan 2008.
You can also check out the Forums at BookSummit – i’m on it most waking hours and will get back to you immediately if
i have a solution.
Kindle Tip #9 – Guide Books for the Kindle
Personally reviewed and recommended – Kindle Tips and Tricks Guide by Brent Newhall. The Free PDF version of the
Kindle Fan Guide on your computer and see if you think the Kindle version is worth 5$ (I think it definitely is). Then
head over to the Amazon Kindle Store if you like and buy the Kindle version of the Kindle Fan Guide.
The Kindle store has two other kindle guide books – Decoding the Kindle, and Stephen Windwalker’s Kindle Guide.
Kindle Tip #10 – Audiobooks and Free AudioBooks
Listen to Librivox Audiobooks on the Kindle – LibriVox has over 1000 full audio books. A nice writeup on how to Listen
to audiobooks at reelsmart.
Kindle Tip #11 – Extend the Kindle’s capabilities with Gmail, Yahoo, and IM.
You can really benefit from the Kindle and WhisperNet by using the mobile versions of various mail and im services -
Use Yahoo Messenger at http://us.m.yahoo.com/p/messenger/.
Use Gmail at http://m.gmail.com - Help at reelsmarts article and Gmail etc article.
Use YMail at http://m.yahoo.com.
Use google reader at http://www.google.com/reader/m.
Use google calendar mobile version at www.google.com/calendar/m.
Kindle Tip #12 – Kindle Supported Formats and Converting Documents.
What formats does kindle support? A: 4 text formats – .azw (Kindle-specific), .txt, .mobi; and .prc. You can also convert
files in certain formats for use on the kindle – PDF support is experimental. Conversions are supported for Word ,
HTML, and 4 image formats - .jpeg, gif, .png, and .bmp.
Free Conversions to kindle format – If you send attachments to “name”@free.kindle.com, you can have files converted
and emailed to you, and then transfer the document to your Kindle. Formats that amazon will convert are Word DOC,
HTML, JPEG, TXT , GIF , PNG , BMP , PDF (experimental, results vary).
You can also (for $0.10 each) get Paid conversions sent straight to the kindle by emailing documents to
youraddr@kindle.com (attach the documents you want converted to your mail).
Kindle Tip #13 – Kindle WhisperNet Coverage Map.
Will you have WhisperNet on your travels? Here is the Amazon Kindle Coverage Map.
Kindle Tip #17 – Buying Books in Mobi format from non Amazon retailers.
Buying books in Kindle format from other retailers (although i’d recommend buying from amazon and helping them to
contine with free WhisperNet) -
Ebookmall
Fictionwise
ebooks.com – An update courtesy Dennis – Ebooks.com is DRM protected and technically while it is possible to do it
there are legal issues doing so. See http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/12/kindle-swindle-tag-campaign-from-
defectivebydesignorg/ for more info.
Kindle Tip #18 – Use Kindle as a journal and as a calendar (v. rough and basic functionality)
These are rough – To use an empty book as a journal (courtesy OlManRiveh at the Amazon Forums) simply create a .
txt file (with the name of your project). Have it converted and placed on your Kindle. Then add notes to the text file as
you wish. These notes can be edited as you wish.
There is a cheap Kindle calendar at the Kindle Store.
Kindle Tip #19 – Send Text Messages for Free from Your Kindle
Courtesy Woody Woodward at Kindle Korner (and via Kindle Chronicles) here’s a pretty cool tip -
Our Kindles have the ability to send SMS “TEXT” messages to cell
phones by using e-mail gateways. Any Web-based e-mail that works with
Kindle may be used for this. Simply address the e-mail to the 10-digit
cell phone number at the appropriate gateway.
e.g. for ATT cell customers 1234567890@txt.att.net
This is a (unverified) list of gateways for various cell services.
AT&T: @txt.att.net
Alltel: @message.alltel.com
Cingular: @cingularme.com
Nextel: @messaging.nextel.com
Powertel: @ptel.net
Sprint: @messaging.sprintpcs.com
SunCom: @tms.suncom.com
T-Mobile: @tmomail.net
US Cellular: @email.uscc.net
Verizon: @vtext.com
Virgin Mobile: @vmobl.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
Kindle 2 Hacks – USB Internet, Firmware updates
Kindle Links + News – early April
Kindle Mobipocket – Reading MobiPocket Books on the Kindle
Amazon buys out Stanza, may improve Kindle software
notes and highlight text on the Kindle itself. Now those annotations appear on your account at http://kindle.amazon.
com. Once you sign in, you can see all your notes.
Just in case you don’t know these tricks.
While reading a book on your Kindle and finding a passage that you would like to highlight, use the 5-way button by
pushing it up until the vertical line is at the beginning of the text to be highlighted. (if the quote starts near the top of
the page, you can press it downward and the cursor will appear from the top of the screen) Press the 5-way left and
right to fine tune the beginning of the passage. Then press the five-way button in and the cursor will become a
forward slash. If the section ends on the next page, you can simply press the “next page” button. Otherwise use the 5-
way button to move the cursor downwards until you have highlighted the passage. Press the 5-way left and right to
fine tune the end of the passage. The passage will be highlighted in black with white letters. Then press the 5-way
button in to conclude the highlighting and you should see your passage highlighted by being underlined.
You can also use the cursor to find the definition of a word that follows the cursor. This is automatic and will occur
while you are highlighting passages.
Then connect your Kindle to your computer via the USB cable that came with the Kindle. It will charge your Kindle and
connect it as an external drive. On a PC, hold down the windows key and press E to open Windows Explorer. (It may
automatically open a dialogue to ask if you want to do this.) Find the drive assigned to the Kindle and open
Documents Folder. Open My Clippings.txt. There are two versions, open the text version. There you will find the
sections which you have underlined in your books. You can copy them and paste them into email or whatever.
You may also wait awhile for these highlights to be uploaded to Amazon and then retrieve them on-line. To do this, go
to http://kindle.amazon.com/kindle/list
You will have to sign in to access your notes.
Shift + Sym button to start and to stop Text To Speech (TTS). You have to keep Shift pressed down and then press
Sym. If you move the cursor to a location on the page, the reading will start there. Be patient, TTS takes about 10
seconds to start.
While TTS is on - Use Spacebar to Pause or Resume it.
While TTS is on - you can switch between male and female voices, and change voice speed by using Alt + Aa keys
and then using the 5 way controller.
While reading, you can press Menu to see what time it is as shown at the top center of the screen.
While on the Home screen (press Home to get there) press Alt+Shift+M - to start the MineSweeper game.
Press G during MineSweeper to go to GoMogu.
After you sign into Amazon and choose Kindle store to search in, type 'domain free books' (no quotes) into the search
field.
You can re-charge your Kindle 2 battery at any time, without using up its life. There is no memory and there is no ‘let it
drain completely before charging’ rule.
You should maximize by re-charging your Kindle 2’s LiPo battery when it’s at 20% charge left. The worst thing you can
do is let the battery completely drain out.
This will give you a list of free books offered by Amazon
Here are my favorite shortcuts. Note that Alt-X means you hold down the Alt button and while keeping it pressed down
press the X button -
Alt-B - Bookmark. Alternate: Press 5-way up or down to go to cursor mode, and then press 5-way twice.
Alt-Home - Kindle Store.
Press ’Menu’ button to see Wireless Network on top of the screen (top right), Time on top of the screen (top center)
and Memory Remaining on your Kindle 2 on Top of the screen (top left).
Alt+Shift+G - Screenshots. Hold down Alt and Shift buttons and then press G.
Alt+Shift+M - Start MineSweeper.
Alt-G to refresh the screen and eliminate Ghosting.
Alt+R = reload when in web mode
Kindle 2 Tip #3 - Change Spacing and Number of Lines Per Page
By using the Alt+Shift+ numbers 1 through 9 buttons you can change the spacing between the lines on the Kindle 2
and also the number of lines per page.
Press down the Alt and Shift buttons.
Keeping Alt+Shift pressed, Press a number button like 1, or 2, right up to 9 to cycle through the various spacing
options.
Kindle 2 Tip #4 - Pictures on your Kindle 2.
This is how to load pictures on your Kindle 2 -
Connect Kindle 2 via USB to your PC.
Go to the Kindle 2.
Create “pictures” folder on your Kindle 2.
Now create sub-folders for your photo albums.
Put in images into these sub-folders.
The images that you put into a sub-folder will become part of the photo album.
Unplug your Kindle 2 and go to the Home Page.
Press Alt-Z on home page to see photo albums among books.
When you select one of these photo albums, the experimental Image Viewer starts.
While you are viewing pictures in the Image Viewer:
Zoom In on the Picture - Q key.
Zoom Out - W key.
Reset Zoom Level for the Image - E key.
Toggle Picture to Actual Size - C key.
Toggle Picture to Full Screen Mode - F key.
Pan Photo if its larger than the Kindle 2’s screen - With 5-way controller.
Rotate the Image - R key.
Also, do not press the ‘1′ key in the image viewer as that brings up a bug.
Kindle 2 Tip #5 - Screen Saver Options for Kindle 2
Update:
Amazon.com Customer Service does not support or provide instructions for adding custom images to your Kindle to be
used as screen savers. However, should you choose to do this on your own it will not void your warranty.
At mobileread, they’ve come up with a way to change the screen-saver pictures. DO NOT use this if you are technically
inexperienced. This could cause problems as it is a hack/mod of your Kindle 2 -
Go to this page, and see Post #41 for directions and the code. Once Again, NOT RECOMMENDED unless you know
what you’re doing with code and are willing to risk your Kindle 2.
Kindle 2 Tip #6 - Access Free Kindle Books via Kindle 2
Courtesy CheseM at booksummit -
Kindle 2 Tip #7 - Restart Kindle 2 in 2 seconds.
Go to the Home Page.
Press the Menu button to go to the Menu.
Navigate to Settings and press 5-way to go to Settings.
Press Menu button Again.
Navigate to the ‘Restart’ option, and press 5-way to select it.
Kindle 2 Tip #8 - Delete a Book or item from your Kindle 2
Press the Menu button to go to the Kindle 2 Home Page.
Use the 5-way to go to the item you want to delete.
Press Left on the 5-way to bring up the Delete selection.
Press the 5-way to confirm that you want to delete the item.
Note: Books you have purchased are available in the Archive selection even after deletion - you can reload them.
Note: There are reports (that I’ll confirm in a week or so once I have my Kindle 2 in hand) that you can use the
backspace key to delete an item on the home screen. Whatever item the cursor is on.
Kindle 2 Tip #9 - Mp3 Player Shortcuts
Alt+Space - play or stop background audio.
Alt-F - Skip to the next audio track.
Note: When playing an Audio book, you can press Space to start or pause it.
Kindle 2 Tip #10 - Navigating within Newspapers and Magazines
5-way controller to the left - previous article.
5-way controller to the right - next article.
Press the 5-way - A list of sections within the periodical will appear.
On this Sections List page - Selecting the Number to the right of the Section Title will take you to a list of Articles within
a section.
Kindle 2 Tip #11 - Change the dictionary used by Kindle 2.
You can change the default dictionary used by Kindle 2 from the New Oxford American Dictionary to another Kindle 2
supported dictionary. Merriam Webster is supported (although it was out of stock/not yet available on April 4th - it had
been available in the past so not sure what’s going on - also, only buy the collegiate version - do NOT buy the pocket
edition as it has very few words). Please check before buying any other dictionary as it might not be supported.
Directions -
* First, press the Home button to go to the Home Page.
* Press the Menu button.
* Move the 5-way to underline ‘Settings’ and press 5-way to select.
* Press the Menu button.
* Move the 5-way to underline ‘Change Primary Dictionary’ and press 5-way to select.
* Move 5-way to select the dictionary you want as your primary dictionary, when it’s underlined press 5-way to select it.
Kindle 2 Tip #12 - Kindle 2 PDF Conversion
You can get all your questions on PDF conversion for Kindle 2 answered at this post on Kindle 2 PDF conversion.
There’s a video included to make things easier to understand.
Kindle 2 Hack #13 - Kindle USB Internet Hack from Jesse Vincent
You can connect to the Internet via a USB connection to a computer (rather than WhisperNet).
Kindle 2 Tip #14 - Kindle 2 Customer Support
To get help from Amazon Kindle Customer Service Team -
E-Mail: kindle-cs-support@amazon.com. Phone numbers -
* 1-866-321-8851 (if you are calling from within the US)
* 1-206-266-0927 (if you are calling from outside the US)
Kindle 2 Tool #15 - ePub to .mobi Tool by Jesse Vincent.
Jesse’s hack/tool to convert ePub files to .mobi format (which the Kindle 2 supports).
Kindle Tip #16 - Kindle Text Entry Shortcuts
You can use these shortcuts when entering Text -
Alt-6 for question mark ?
Alt-7 for comma ,
Alt-8 for colon :
Alt-9 for quotation marks “
Alt-0 for single quotation marks ‘
Kindle 2 Tip #17 - Search Shortcuts + Tips
You can use these shortcuts while using search (just enter @help in the search box) -
* @help - will show a list of supported commands.
* Instead of pressing your 5-way on ‘find’ you can move the 5-way right to bring up other search options i.e. your items,
Kindle Store, Google, Wikipedia, Dictionary and your notes (if you have notes for the particular book/item).
* In Kindle 1 you could use @web, @wiki/@wikipedia, @store, @time, etc. In Kindle 2, you’ll have to see what options
are available by using @help.
* @author - Narrow a search in the kindle store to a particular author by using the author’s name.
Kindle 2 Tip #18 - Recharge your Kindle Battery when it’s at 20%
Thanks to this discussion at Amazon Forums (courtesy Scott K), and the take-apart which does confirm that Kindle 2
has a LiPo battery, we know -
You can re-charge your Kindle 2 battery at any time, without using up its life. There is no memory and there is no ‘let it
drain completely before charging’ rule.
You should maximize by re-charging your Kindle 2’s LiPo battery when it’s at 20% charge left. The worst thing you can
do is let the battery completely drain out.
Do not recharge it to full every day. The battery is happiest in the >20% charge, <80% charge range (close to 80% is
better than close to 20%).
Always keep the phone cool (not extreme low temperature cold, just cool). High temperatures are bad for the Kindle 2
battery. As are extremely low temperatures.
Do read this post on taking care of the iPhone’s Lipo battery, and factor in that Kindle 2’s battery has a longer life so
the charge every day tip isn’t valid.
Kindle 2 Tip #19 - Navigate through the Home Screen’s pages
Jump to page ‘x’ on the Home Screen - Press the number ‘x’ on the keypad and then press the 5-way.
Also you can use the Next Page and Previous Page buttons to circle through the pages.
I’ll add on more tips as I find them. Also, I get my Kindle 2 this weekend when I can confirm all these tips myself and
also search out new Kindle 2 tips and hacks.
And you could also check out the Kindle Tips - Top 25 list that I had created for Kindle 1 for tips like reading blogs for
free on Kindle 2.
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Kindle Tips - Top 25 Kindle Hacks
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When the Patient Is a Googler
Filed under: kindle 2 | Tagged
Kindle Tips – Top 25 Kindle Hacks
Posted on September 23, 2008 by switch11
This post is inspired by Igor’s post on Kindle Hacks and the Kindle Tips list at college degrees. The focus is on
covering the top 25 tips and hacks that will help you get the most out of your Kindle.
If you own a Kindle 2, please first see this post for Kindle 2 Tips – a lot of the shortcuts below don’t work for K2.
Kindle Tip #1 – Kindle Hacks from Igor
Igor’s Kindle hacks and the shortcuts he found are at the Reversing Everything Blog – Kindle Hacks. This post is the
source of most kindle tips and i’d recommend bookmarking it. A few of the best tips are -
Sleep Mode – press Alt + the text key (aA) as though you were waking it from sleep. Putting Kindle into sleep mode
also conserves battery life.
Display the time while reading a book by using Alt-T. You can also press the search button on any screen and enter
@time to get the time and the date.
Kindle Tip #2 – Free Books on the Kindle via PC
The best source for Free Books is at http://www.manybooks.net/ The Kindle compatible url is http://mnybks.net. I also
have a post listing free book sources that is arguably the best list for Free Kindle books.
Kindle Tip #3 – Free Books directly onto your Kindle.
You can download free books straight to kindle from a number of sources -
ManyBooks mobile site (Kindle Compatible).
FeedBooks – you have to download http://www.feedbooks.com/kindleguide and can then downloads books directly.
There is a help article, or you can use the mobile version of feedbooks (which is not as easy as using the book).
Munsey’s mobile site.
Kindle Tip #4 – View PDF files on your Kindle.
Rather than using the amazon experimental conversion which can be sketchy, Convert PDF files to Kindle format using
MobiPocket Creator on PC (choose the publisher edition), or using Stanza on Mac. Full details at my article on
converting PDF files for the Kindle.
You can also try PDF Hammer’s tool for editing PDF files in your browser.
Kindle Tip #5 – View blogs for free on the Kindle.
Please do note that blogs have a subscription fee to cover Amazon’s costs for the WhisperNet service. If a lot of
people start circumventing the paid route, there is a chance that the methods used might get blocked and/or charges
apply to WhisperNet. So if you must use free blog downloads, please use them in moderation -
BlogLines – Read RSS feeds using Bloglines.
FeedJournal – there is a nice article on getting blogs to your kindle for free using feed journal.
Kindle Feeder – please note that this is almost certainly illegal according to amazon’s tos. So i’d recommend using one
of the other options.
FeedBooks - you can create your own newspaper (multiple feeds) or feed (single feed).
MobiPocket Desktop – There are over 34k newsfeeds available through Mobipocket Desktop. The process is simple to
set up; you select the feeds, and set them to be downloaded onto your device. Downloading the feeds to your Kindle is
automatic. Although automatic downloads are specifically disallowed under Kindle terms. You probably have to use
MobiPocket Desktop 6.0.
Kindle Tip #6 – Google Maps and GPS
This is covered under Tip #1 – however it’s so good I have to list out details. You can get Google Maps and a GPS on
the Kindle using Alt-1 when in browser mode. The Kindle seems to have location-awareness in the CDMA module and
plots your current location on Google Maps.
Basic Options:
Alt-2 find gas station nearby
Alt-3 find restaurants nearby
Alt-5 find custom keyword nearby
Kindle Tip #7 – Official Help on the Kindle
Firstly, In case you are in trouble with the software or hardware of your Kindle, you may want to contact Amazon
directly via e-mail or phone. E-Mail: kindle-cs-support@amazon.com. Phone numbers -
* 1-866-321-8851 (if you are calling from within the US)
* 1-206-266-0927 (if you are calling from outside the US)
Secondly, using Kindle NowNow you can get direct human answers.
Kindle Tip #8 – Unofficial Help on the Kindle.
Forums at Amazon - If you don’t want to scroll through them all, this post on amazon kindle forum posts has a list of all
forum posts in Nov 2007, Dec 2007, Jan 2008.
You can also check out the Forums at BookSummit – i’m on it most waking hours and will get back to you immediately if
i have a solution.
Kindle Tip #9 – Guide Books for the Kindle
Personally reviewed and recommended – Kindle Tips and Tricks Guide by Brent Newhall. The Free PDF version of the
Kindle Fan Guide on your computer and see if you think the Kindle version is worth 5$ (I think it definitely is). Then
head over to the Amazon Kindle Store if you like and buy the Kindle version of the Kindle Fan Guide.
The Kindle store has two other kindle guide books – Decoding the Kindle, and Stephen Windwalker’s Kindle Guide.
Kindle Tip #10 – Audiobooks and Free AudioBooks
Listen to Librivox Audiobooks on the Kindle – LibriVox has over 1000 full audio books. A nice writeup on how to Listen
to audiobooks at reelsmart.
Kindle Tip #11 – Extend the Kindle’s capabilities with Gmail, Yahoo, and IM.
You can really benefit from the Kindle and WhisperNet by using the mobile versions of various mail and im services -
Use Yahoo Messenger at http://us.m.yahoo.com/p/messenger/.
Use Gmail at http://m.gmail.com - Help at reelsmarts article and Gmail etc article.
Use YMail at http://m.yahoo.com.
Use google reader at http://www.google.com/reader/m.
Use google calendar mobile version at www.google.com/calendar/m.
Kindle Tip #12 – Kindle Supported Formats and Converting Documents.
What formats does kindle support? A: 4 text formats – .azw (Kindle-specific), .txt, .mobi; and .prc. You can also convert
files in certain formats for use on the kindle – PDF support is experimental. Conversions are supported for Word ,
HTML, and 4 image formats - .jpeg, gif, .png, and .bmp.
Free Conversions to kindle format – If you send attachments to “name”@free.kindle.com, you can have files converted
and emailed to you, and then transfer the document to your Kindle. Formats that amazon will convert are Word DOC,
HTML, JPEG, TXT , GIF , PNG , BMP , PDF (experimental, results vary).
You can also (for $0.10 each) get Paid conversions sent straight to the kindle by emailing documents to
youraddr@kindle.com (attach the documents you want converted to your mail).
Kindle Tip #13 – Kindle WhisperNet Coverage Map.
Will you have WhisperNet on your travels? Here is the Amazon Kindle Coverage Map.
Kindle Tip #17 – Buying Books in Mobi format from non Amazon retailers.
Buying books in Kindle format from other retailers (although i’d recommend buying from amazon and helping them to
contine with free WhisperNet) -
Ebookmall
Fictionwise
ebooks.com – An update courtesy Dennis – Ebooks.com is DRM protected and technically while it is possible to do it
there are legal issues doing so. See http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/12/kindle-swindle-tag-campaign-from-
defectivebydesignorg/ for more info.
Kindle Tip #18 – Use Kindle as a journal and as a calendar (v. rough and basic functionality)
These are rough – To use an empty book as a journal (courtesy OlManRiveh at the Amazon Forums) simply create a .
txt file (with the name of your project). Have it converted and placed on your Kindle. Then add notes to the text file as
you wish. These notes can be edited as you wish.
There is a cheap Kindle calendar at the Kindle Store.
Kindle Tip #19 – Send Text Messages for Free from Your Kindle
Courtesy Woody Woodward at Kindle Korner (and via Kindle Chronicles) here’s a pretty cool tip -
Our Kindles have the ability to send SMS “TEXT” messages to cell
phones by using e-mail gateways. Any Web-based e-mail that works with
Kindle may be used for this. Simply address the e-mail to the 10-digit
cell phone number at the appropriate gateway.
e.g. for ATT cell customers 1234567890@txt.att.net
This is a (unverified) list of gateways for various cell services.
AT&T: @txt.att.net
Alltel: @message.alltel.com
Cingular: @cingularme.com
Nextel: @messaging.nextel.com
Powertel: @ptel.net
Sprint: @messaging.sprintpcs.com
SunCom: @tms.suncom.com
T-Mobile: @tmomail.net
US Cellular: @email.uscc.net
Verizon: @vtext.com
Virgin Mobile: @vmobl.com
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Kindle 2 Hacks – USB Internet, Firmware updates
Kindle Links + News – early April
Kindle Mobipocket – Reading MobiPocket Books on the Kindle
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