Kindle Tips

Win $100 Amazon Gift Card from Lendle.me

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I am a fan of book lending sites like Lendle.me.  I updated the review a couple months ago.  Since then Lendle has undergone a change in ownership.  So far there are only minor changes.  The emails notifications have been updated.  And there is now a weekly email. Lendle has started a new Facebook Fan page … Read more

Review: Amazon Paperwhite Leather Cover

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Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Leather CoverI am not a big fan of covers for kindles.  In general I like to use them without a cover.  But the most common problem with kindle is a cracked screen and covers really can help with that.

Over the next three days I am going to review the three covers I have used recently.

I do not now own a Kindle Paperwhite.  But twice in the last two months I have helped a friend replace a broken kindle with a new Paperwhite.  That has given me several weeks to play with the Paperwhite and try out the covers.

The official Amazon Paperwhite Leather cover is a totally different type of cover from the covers that Amazon made for the first three generations of Kindle.  Instead of the elastic corners of the first two generations and the prongs of the third generation, this cover uses a rubberized plastic that is form fitted to the size of the kindle.  (In the picture to the side the outer line around the kindle is the rubberized plastic holder.)

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Misguided Copyright Protection

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I saw a quick post at BoingBoing today that linked to a short article on the Atlantic.  Both were centered around this shocking graphic of Amazon books sold by decade. A law professor from University of Illinois prepared this chart. What it is showing is that the expanding copyright has actually limited the sale of … Read more

Dedicated e-ink Ereaders Dead?

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Cnet has an alarmist post today about the death of eink ebook readers like the Kindle and the Nook.  According to a study by IHS iSuppli (original press release), after spectacular growth in the ereader market there will be a steep decline over the next couple years. IHS iSuppli says that there were 23.2 million … Read more

Cheapest SquareTrade Warranty for Kindles

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Warranties on consumer electronics are a questionable business.  I know many people that swear by them and many others that suggest they are a waste of money. Here is my personal opinion. For Kindles I always recommend getting a warranty from Squaretrade.  If you have a eink kindle the biggest problem is accidentally cracking the … Read more

Kindle FreeTime Unlimited

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The Kindle FreeTime Unlimited is now out.  It is unlimited access to books, tv, movies, games and educational apps curated and oriented to 3 to 8 year olds.  Amazon has removed all ads and disabled any in-app purchases. The price starts at $2.99 if you are an Amazon Prime member or $4.99 if you are not.  Kindle … Read more

How to Spot Fake Product Reviews

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CNet has a helpful article on how to spot fake product reviews.  It is oriented toward tech products and not books, but Amazon has a serious problem with fake book reviews.  For Bookwi.se, I tend to rank the free books that I post by number of reviews and how positive the reviews are. This is … Read more

Initial Thoughts On Kindle Fire 8.9

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Kindle Fire HD 8.9My sister-in-law received her Kindle Fire 8.9 on Saturday.  I have not had a lot of time to play with it.  But here are a few initial thoughts.

1) Feels much more polished than the initial Kindle fire. I have spent a good bit of time playing with the original kindle.  It always felt like a first generation product.  But the new Kindle Fire 8.9 is thinner, has a great screen, and just feels like a better product.

2) I stil don’t like the carousel interface. It is fairly easy to use, but it isn’t a great system.  I do not like that new books automatically show up in the carousel.  If the kindle fire is a shared device, then there are books that show up on the kindle as soon as you purchase them, whether you want them on the kindle fire or not.  If you are an adult and you share the kindle with your kids, it is likely that there are books that are appropriate for you, but not for them.  You can remove the books from the carousel, but you cannot prevent them from showing up initially.

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