Showing posts with label software. Show all posts
Showing posts with label software. Show all posts

Kindle Tips: Software Update v5.6.1.1 for original Paperwhite 1 (US, UK) ... Info and tips on how to use the features



Amazon has announced software update version 5.6.1.1 for the original Paperwhite-1

The announcement, posted in the Kindle Forums, was for a "free software update available for the original Kindle Paperwhite.  This update adds features including Word Wise and Family Library that were previously only available on newer generation Kindle e-readers."

The software update includes "general improvements and the following feature enhancements"

Added text in brackets and emphases in boldface or italics are mine:

~Word Wise -For readers learning English and kids learning to read, Word Wise, available on many English language titles, makes it easier to enjoy and quickly understand more challenging books.  Short and simple definitions automatically appear above difficult words, so you can keep reading with fewer interruptions.
[Tip: Here's a page on HOW to use Wordwise, including how to turn it off or on.  The page explains that not all books are wordwise-enabled.  Here's a link to Amazon's listing of currently Wordwise-enabled books.]
  To learn more or to see the various meanings the same word can have in different contexts, just tap on the word to bring up a simple card with definitions, synonyms, and more.
  You can adjust the number of hints you see with a simple slider, dialing them up or down as you learn and grow.  See a screenshot.

~Family Library- With Kindle and Kindle reading apps, you can access not only your own books, but also books from the Amazon account of a spouse or partner.  See a screenshot
[Tip: Prime members that use a business name can share free 2-day Prime-shipping among 4 employees sharing the space.]
~Kindle FreeTime Unlimited - An all-in-one subscription for kids that offers unlimited, ad-free access to more than 5,000 age-appropriate books, videos, educational apps and games, for as little as $2.99 per month.
  [Tip: Freetime Info Links for specific Kindle devices:
  Paperwhite 1; later Kindle eReaders; and Fire tablets
]
~Expanded X-Ray for Books - X-Ray now makes it easier to explore as you read-quickly flip through all the images in a book, and use the new timeline view to easily browse the most notable passages.  See a screenshot.

~Deeper Goodreads Integration - Goodreads on Kindle makes it quicker to access and update your reading status and adds the ability to preview and purchase books without leaving Goodreads.  See a screenshot.

~Enhanced Search - Makes it even easier to find what you're looking for by combining and previewing results from your Library, Goodreads and the Kindle Store on the same page.  See a screenshot

~About This Book- See information about the book as you start to read, including its place in a series and author information, plus mark it as "Currently Reading" on Goodreads.  See a screenshot

These features will be delivered automatically as part of a free, over-the-air software update in the coming weeks, or you can visit [the Paperwhite1 software page] to download the software update [U.S.]...'  [the UK Paperwhite 1 owners page here]

I corrected some links in the original announcement on the forums.

It's good to see Amazon continuing to support the original Kindle Paperwhite (2012).




Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button


Kindle Tips: Kindle for IOS update version 4.4 released; Kindle Placeholders, Notes Export, Sync to most recent page read - across all Kindle devices and apps, Wikipedia Smart Lookup

   
The Kindle Forum has an announcement that Kindle for IOS, v4.4 is ready for download.

 Here's a copy of the announcement (Any bolded emphases are mine).

' Initial post: Jul 29, 2014 1:41:40 PM PDT
Megan H. - Forum Moderator says:
(AMAZON) (AMAZON OFFICIAL)
We're pleased to announce the latest version of Kindle for iOS is now available in the Apple App Store.

What's New in Version 4.4?

Kindle for iOS Version 4.4 provides several customer-requested features that make sync and navigation easier.

* Sync to the most recent page read - Any books you are reading on Kindle for iOS will now sync to the most recent page read across all Kindle devices and/or reading apps registered to your Amazon account.
  Customers can still manually sync to the furthest page read from the left navigation menu.

* Kindle Placeholders - Allow customers the freedom to explore other areas of the book without losing their current place. Jump directly to previous locations with "placeholders" on the progress bar.

* Notes Export - Studying for the next exam or writing the next term paper just got easier. Students can now export notes, highlights, and more to e-mail from their "Print Replica" textbooks, giving students easy access to their information.

* Performance and stability improvements

* Wikipedia Smart Lookup: Select a word and learn more from Wikipedia in the Info Card at the bottom of the page. '

Re the notes export
Remember that there's a way for you to export notes and highlights from any Kindle book, not just the "Print Replica" textbooks. Kindle-compatible device- or app owners have a personal, password-protected website that holds your annotations for each book.  You can view them by your most recent highlights (which are grouped secondarily by book) or you can choose 'Books.'
You can copy (for emailing or personal logging) and print sections from these.

How the Placeholder feature works
In the Kindle Forum, Sonja S., a Forum Moderator explains:
' In reply to an earlier post on Aug 1, 2014 7:22:18 AM PDT
Sonja S. - Forum Moderator says:
(AMAZON) (AMAZON OFFICIAL)
Hey Karen, a placeholder is a temporary bookmark, represented as a dot on the progress bar.
  Placeholders mark the current location and the previous two locations visited.
The "oldest" placeholder disappears after a reader visits a third page.

Placeholders are added when navigating the book by any method other than page swipe.
  When you jump to another page in the book - for example, with the help of annotations or table of contents - a placeholder is added to the progress bar.
  Tapping this placeholder will return you to a previously visited page.
  In this way, you can quickly jump back and forth between the current page you're reading and another page recently visited.

  Note that these locations are stored locally on your device, and do not sync across devices.

Let us know how else we can help! '


Kindle reading-app Update - Where?
Go to the page for download instructions.
If you have iOS 6 or above, the normal steps listed there apply.
The page has an "Important" section for those who are still on iOS 5.




Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button

Kindle Tips: Kindle for Android v4.4 is ready, should fix v4.3 problems and has enhanced features. Free Android App of the day (today only) is the popular The Bard's Tale, usually $3. More solid news of Amazon's coming streaming-video-(maybe games too)-to-TV gizmo. UPDATED

POPULAR $2.99 APP IS FREE JUST TODAY, Wed, 3/19/14

For those who may have missed it (I don't look most days myself), a popular app is the Free Android App of the Day today. It's The Bard's Tale"

And, while we're on the subject of Android apps, the noteworthy Tom Semple sent an alert the other day to the new Kindle For Android update v4.4 arriving finally, after some problems reported with v4.3, somewhat ameliorated by the response by a customer rep (to a customer) that explained which Android app users were most likely to be affected by the problem(s).

The latest Kindle for Android update v4.4 update released this week includes the following features and performance enhancements:
'
* Select additional fonts while reading
* Use the enhanced Table of Contents to search and navigate your book (if available)
* Enable and disable auto-brightness while reading
* Faster book cover loading
* Fixed sensitivity when using the volume buttons to turn pages
'

Amazon's own video-streaming gizmo said to be ready very soon, possibly early in April
CBS Moneywatch News has a details from two stories on this, from Wall Street Journal and TechCrunch.  It would compete with Google's Chromecast and Roku products but may be able to do even more.  Click the link to see a good description of what it would do and links to the original stories.

  Update - The Wall Street Journal article by Greg Bensinger is protected behind a firewall, but from time to time they allow access via Google Searches if you google the full title of the article.  Then the full article is shown in those cases.

Some additional details excerpted:
' ... Pricing remains unclear, though the people familiar with the company's plans said the device likely would come with incentives available to members of Amazon's Prime streaming video and shipping program.
...
Streaming video is becoming an important new arena for Amazon, as it battles for viewers with Netflix Inc., Hulu LLC and Time Warner Inc.'s HBO Go.
...
In recent weeks, Amazon has held talks with record companies and music publishers in hopes of creating an on-demand music-streaming service for Prime customers, people familiar with the matter have said.

Amazon has distributed a pre-production version of its streaming device to select app developers, and has indicated it will carry the Fire name Amazon uses for Kindle tablet computers, these people said... '




Current Kindle Models for reference, plus free-ebook search links.
US:
New Kindle Fire HD 7" 2nd Gen - $139/169
Kindle Fire HDX 7" 16-64GB - $229/269/309
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" 16-64GB - $379/429/479
- with 4G added: $479/529/579
Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16GB - 1st Gen $269 $229
  $299 Price rise ~2/24/14
- 32GB w/ no special-offers: $314
Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89
Kindle Touch WiFi - $99
Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi - $119/$139
Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi+3G - $189
Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free web
Kindle DX - $379 $199
UK:
Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £59
Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi - 
£109
Kindle Paperwhite2 3G, UK - 
£169
Kindle Fire Basic HD 8/16GB, UK - 
 from £119
Kindle Fire HDX 7" 16-64GB, UK - 
from £199. 4G/3G
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" 16-64GB, UK - from £329. 4G/3G

CANADA - Kindlestore, CDN-$
Kindle Basic, NoTouch - $79
Kindle Paperwhite 2 - $139
Kindle Paperwhite 2, 3G - $209
KFire HD Yr 2012 7" $214,  8.9" $244.
Yr 2013 KFires: HD Gen2, HDX line
India - Amazon India


*OTHER Int'l pages*
Kindle NoTouch Basic - $89
Paperwhite 2 WiFi $139, 3G/Wifi $209
KFire HD Yr 2012: 7" $214,  8.9" $244
Yr 2013: HD Gen2 + HDX line

Australia Kindlestore
France Boutique Kindle
Deutschland - Kindle Store
Italia - Kindle Store
Spain - Tienda Kindle
Brazil - Amazon Brazil
China - Amazon China [?]
Amazon Japan - Japan

  For daily free ebooks, check the following links:
Temporarily-free books - Non-classics
USA: by:
   Publication Date  
   Bestselling   High-ratings

UK: PubDate   Popular

The Kindle Daily Deal

What is 3G? and "WiFi"?       Battery Care

Highly-rated under $1
,  Newest: $1-$2, $2-$3
Most Popular Free K-Books
U.S. & Int'l (NOT UK):
   Top 100 free
UK-Only:
   Top 100 free

Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.

USEFUL for your Kindle Keyboard (U.S. only, currently):
  99c Notepad 1.1,   99c Calculator,
  99c Calendar,   99c Converter

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button

New Kindle Paperwhite-2 Tips: Update v5.4.2 brings long-awaited CLOUD Collections, GoodReads integration (US), Personalized Freetime profiles for parental control


NEW KINDLE PAPERWHITE 2 Software Update v5.4.2 with long-awaited feature enhancements

Kindle Paperwhite Software Upgrade to v5.4.2

  REMINDER: Even when here is no startling news, I respond to questions in the Comments areas of the blog entries -- and the Q&A entries are always shown in summary form and linked to, latest first, on the blog's right-hand column (used for information that's ongoing or for reference materials on topics of interest to many who visit the blog.  So check "Latest Comments" (in the info/reference column on the the right of the page whenever you're curious what people are asking and the responses made.

On to the latest Paperwhite 2 (the newest Paperwhite model) update 5.4.2 eff. Nov. 19, 2013.

  Devices involved: See Paperwhite 2 (US),   UK Paperwhite 2: here; Global Paperwhite: here.

Tne new, free software update available for Kindle Paperwhite 2 can be found [here] [U.S.]

    [Here's the UK-only software update page]

The software page explains how to check the software version currently on your Paperwhite 2.  I'm usually one of the last to receive software updates, so sometimes I do follow the instructions to do a manual download and install to my Kindle if the change is important to me.

This update automatically downloads and installs on the applicable Kindle Paperwhite 2 eventually; however, as mentioned, you can also manually download the software and transfer the update to your device via USB cable.

Here's what they describe for update v5.4.2 [Emphases mine]
* Kindle FreeTime
FreeTime lets you create personalized profiles for kids, and give them access to titles from your collection of books.  Kids can keep track of their personal reading progress and earn achievement badges. To learn more, go to Kindle FreeTime (US) or for UK: here).

* Goodreads on Kindle
    [For customers in U.S., Canada, Australia, and
     Int'l customers registered to an Amazon.com acct]
Connect with the world's largest community for readers from your Kindle Paperwhite. See what your friends are reading, share notes, and rate the books you read. To learn more, go to Find and Share Books with Goodreads on Kindle.

* Cloud Collections
Use Cloud Collections to organize titles in custom categories and store your collections in the Cloud. To learn more, go to Organize Your Content with Cloud Collections (US) or for UK: here.

As ever, note that keeping your Kindle always connected to a Wi-Fi network can drain your battery faster.  So, once you've got the update "over the air" or manually, put the Paperwhite back to "Airplane Mode ON" via the 'Settings' option on the Menu -- the option lets you toggle Wireless Off with the "Airplane On" choice.

  Amazon has not put the "Wireless Off" and "On" back on the front menu as they did earlier this year for the Kindle Touch, removing the confusing-to-many 'airplane mode' icon, which many of us wish they would do, as it is very inconvenient to have it on a secondary menu and many don't even know about the wireless-off feature, causing more battery drain and confusion over that.  Amazon: please do this someday; the Kindle Touch team has the right problem-avoiding idea.

  I realize Amazon prefers Wireless 'On' due to delivery of Special Offers but the battery-drain problem can occur when circumstances involve subscriptions that are downloaded regularly or due to a weaker connection that results from the distance from the router (or even due to a weaker router), in which case the device keeps trying to connect when a download is due (and that can be for the special offers that Amazon regularly needs to send for those who choose to opt for the less-expensive special-offers feature, or for chosen subscription deliveries.)

Only if you'd rather not wait -- DOWNLOADING and transferring the Update via USB
US:  Go to the Kindle Paperwhite Software Update v5.4.2 download section to get the instructions for the download and transfer to your Kindle via USB:
UK:  Go to the update and download area for the UK-only page

That's it for the latest software update from Amazon.




Current Kindle Models for reference, plus free-ebook search links.
US:
New Kindle Fire HD 7" 2nd Gen - $139/169
Kindle Fire HDX 7" 16-64GB - $229/269/309
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" 16-64GB - $379/429/479
- with 4G added: $479/529/579
Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16GB - 1st Gen $229
- 32GB w/ no special-offers: $314
Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89
Kindle Touch WiFi - $99
Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi - $119/$139
Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi+3G - $189
Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free web
Kindle DX - $379 $199 (*New* price)
UK:
Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £69
Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi - 
£109
Kindle Paperwhite2 3G, UK - 
£169
Kindle Fire Basic HD 8/16GB, UK - 
 from £119
Kindle Fire HDX 7" 16-64GB, UK - 
from £199. 4G/3G
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" 16-64GB, UK - from £329. 4G/3G

CANADA - Kindlestore, CDN-$
Kindle Basic, NoTouch - $79
Kindle Paperwhite 2 - $139
Kindle Paperwhite 2, 3G - $209
KFire HD Yr 2012 7" $214,  8.9" $244.
Yr 2013 KFires: HD Gen2, HDX line

*OTHER Int'l pages*
Kindle NoTouch Basic - $89
Paperwhite 2 WiFi $139, 3G/Wifi $209
KFire HD Yr 2012: 7" $214,  8.9" $244
Yr 2013: HD Gen2 + HDX line

Australia Kindlestore
France Boutique Kindle
Deutschland - Kindle Store
Italia - Kindle Store
Spain - Tienda Kindle
Brazil - Amazon Brazil
China - Amazon China [?]
Japan - Amazon Japan

  For daily free ebooks, check the following links:
Temporarily-free books - Non-classics
USA: by:
   Publication Date  
   Bestselling   High-ratings

UK: PubDate   Popular

The Kindle Daily Deal

What is 3G? and "WiFi"?       Battery Care

Highly-rated under $1
,  Newest: $1-$2, $2-$3
Most Popular Free K-Books
U.S. & Int'l (NOT UK):
   Top 100 free
UK-Only:
   Top 100 free

Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.

USEFUL for your Kindle Keyboard (U.S. only, currently):
  99c Notepad 1.1,   99c Calculator,
  99c Calendar,   99c Converter

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button


Kindle Quick Alert: Kindle for Apple iOS v3.9.2 is ready and should be installed before new Apple system update


Kindle for iOS v3.9.2
is ready for updating.

9to5mac.com's Mike Beasley reports that the new update is required before Apple users update to iOS 7

  If this isn't done before the new Apple iOS 7 is installed, then, Beasley warns, "this could cause users to have to login again and re-download their books."

  The Kindle app update is downloadable at the iTunes Store now.

  The Apple explanation there is displayed in FAINT purple and I personally can't read it.  What possesses web developers to make sure that the important text is barely seeable, much less readable? Is it just that it's an attractive color? Or, maybe, it's the idea that Apple users may be younger than most.

  Details of what the app does are linked to at this Kindle Apps page.




Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button