Saturday, December 28, 2013

Your new Kindle. Now what? Get, thru' Saturday, Dec 28, a $5 app credit when downloading any app from Amazon's appstore. Quick tutorial for Paperwhite. Parental Controls MayDay demo (Kindle Fire HDX). Reviews from recent days.

The most recent news reports on tablets and e-readers tend to center around Christmas sales and what people do next, now that they have one of these or have updated to the latest.

Mayday - did it bring down Amazon's servers, as many expected?
No, the Amazon site served well here, although the goal is always a video'd customer representative available on your Kindle Fire HDX tablet within 15 seconds to help you navigate or even navigate for you or draw circles to show where you'd do it for yourselves.  Many unique features are found in 2nd layers of menus, so it's not as simple as some expect when their only experience is vanilla Android.

  According to Amazon's media releases, their average response time was 9 seconds.  While they didn't say how many calls came in, the response time still goes quite beyond what many expected from common sense and experience with Christmas server loads for new online-connecting gifts.

  They say they had thousands of reps fore-going Christmas celebrations with family and friends so they could be at our beck and call Christmas Day.

  Although Amazon used to be considered "just a bookstore" -- that was eons ago.  They now have been providing network infrastructures and services to companies like Netflix for some years and they do the web serving (hardware and software) for a myriad of large companies now, so they were more prepared than practically any other retail company would be.

  However, not every call was for help - one group called in to sing Christmas carols to the Mayday rep who got that cushy call :-) ...

  Here's a demo of a very long support call about parental-control features via Mayday, recorded by Slashgear.


TechRader: Amazon offers $5 Credit THRU' TODAY to anyone downloading an Android app from the Amazon Android app store.
' The retailers announced that from now until December 28, users who download anything from its app store will be rewarded with $5 credit (about £3.06, AU$5.60) toward a future app purchase.
We confirmed that this deal for Android and Kindle device users applies to customers worldwide by logging into Amazon.com and making any app purchase there.

For our international customers, they can get the $5 credit if they download an app from the Amazon Appstore via Amazon.com,” a company spokesperson told TechRadar today. '


Mashable: "What to do with your New Kindle Paperwhite"
Samantha Murphy Kelly steps her readers through how to get started and goes through some of the features available.  It's a good, brief introduction with illustrations.  The next one, below, is for those who may wonder if they received what is considered a really good e-reader today (in case someone bought it for them).


Forbes: "If Only Every E-book Reader were this good"
' The 2013 edition of the Kindle Paperwhite is, hands down, the best dedicated e-book reader out there. The display is clear and bright, the available content library covers all the bases, the battery life remains high, and the user interface is easy to use and doesn’t get in the way once you start reading. '


For newcomers to the Kindle or to this blog, here is a repeat of special book deals for December -- where to find them, etc.

DECEMBER 2013's Kindle Books deal, for $3.99 or less (See UK page below.)

I often highlight this monthly deal at or near the beginning of the month for those who don't know about it or might not remember.

For those who want to quickly look first at only the ones that are star-rated at 4 or above, I ran across Amazon's page for exactly tha.

  On the main monthly Kindle book deals page, separate categories are highlighted, using Amazon's usual horizontally-scrolling pick-lists, for the following topics highlighted on the main page. They link to "See all" at the bottom of each horizontally-scrolled category row [ I'm adding direct links to the full category listings ]:

  1. Editors' Picks used to be one of the categories, but I don't see that this nonth.
  2. History and by Avg Customer Rating
  3. Biography and Memoirs and by Avg Customer Rating
  4. Literary Fiction Deals and by Avg Customer Rating
  5. Religion and Spirituality and by Avg Customer Rating

This main monthly deals page also has, on the right, two vertically-scrolling categories:
  1. Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense highlighted + more in the linked full list w/ sorting options)
      Here's that fuller listing by Avg Customer Rating
  2. Romance and by Avg Customer Rating.

THEN, at the bottom of the new main monthly Kindle book-deals page, they offer the FULL current monthly listing, defaulting to sorting by "New and Popular" and there are 119 in all, currently, but the number may vary.

  Here is a direct link to that Full-listing (US), sorted by "New and Popular" for the month (and probably for any month, so
    it's a good one to bookmark if you just want to jump to that) and
    you can choose another sort option for this full listing, such as
        Avg Customer Rating or by Price: Low to High

These newer options do make it easier to find books of interest to you.

  The pricing for December's group of Kindle books ranges from $0.99 to $3.99, as is usual for this monthly deal.

  What you'll see on this special monthly-deals page (UK version is here) are new for December 2013.

(US Link: amzn.to/mkbooks-1to4,  UK Link: amzn.to/100kbooks-1to4uk)


FREE KINDLE BOOKS (Non-classics) for December (and November)
I've updated the "Temporarily-free books -- Non-classics" search results to show free contemporary Kindle books for DECEMBER, sorted by publication-date, as of Dec. 1, 2013.  There are only a few shown on the first day or two of any month, and these include pre-orders due that month.  On the first few days of the month, most of these are listed as "free preview" of whatever chapters chosen, some are short stories, and a few (overnight) not-entire-family-safe titles may show up.

  Here, also, are the current Search results for still free Kindle non-classics, by publication date during the last month (November).


The ongoing Kindle Daily Deals page
for any given day usually shows a lot of books since it includes children's books, a couple of genre-specific deals, and the monthly daily deals as well.


DISCOUNTS ON ACCESSORIES Amazon's current pages (some, ongoing) on accessories for Kindle e-Reader and Kindle Fire
  1. Up to 50% (higher discount than usual) on cases for Kindle eReaders
  2. Up to 50% on cases for Kindle Fire (Gen 2) and Kindle Fire HD tablets but NOT HDX tablets
  3. Accesdories for all Kindles, with some discounted.


If that's not enough, there are the Goldbox and Lightning Deals, especially active currently.
  And for the remainder of the holidays, Amazon's Year-End Deals



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 - $199 $169 (*Temp* 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


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


Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

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(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
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Thursday, December 26, 2013

Kindle Fire HDX and HD Tips: [WAS] *$30 off ANY HDX: 2 days*. $10 off 16GB Kindle HD 7" Gen2. Avoid v4.3 update for Kindle for Android. X-ray for Music. Recent reviews and points to consider. Display-test results for smaller and larger tablets from Apple, Google, and Amazon. UPDATED 12/26.


*NEW ALERT* came in while I was about to publish this blog entry on Dec. 22. (Remember that Prime member PRE-Christmas delivery was to end at Midnight EST, 9pm PST tonight (Sunday, 12/22). (Apologies for such a garish page then.)

As it was, UPS had a big failure on pre-Christmas deliveries, and Amazon, which did ship on time, has been giving some refunds on shipping costs due to the UPS problems.
I've updated the December 22 blog entry to December 26.

NOTE: Special Christmas sales cited here are ENDED, as of 12/31

Amazon is now on its "Year-End Deals."

THIS new discount itself ended Monday night Dec. 23 at 9pm PST and midnight EST - it WAS good for two days ONLY.


So, the coupon code above SANTAHDX, WAS on ANY HDX (including the 8.9" HDX finally -- as many have asked why the 8.9" HDX had not gone on sale -- and the 7" HDX tablets.

(STILL available as of Dec 26, 2013):
ALSO, Add 8 GB to the new Kindle Fire HD 2nd Gen's basic storage for $20 instead of the usual $30 - "for a limited time"



X-Ray for Music
To my surprise, the feature I've enjoyed most (suddenly seen while working on my laptop) involved lyrics scrolling down the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" sitting next to the laptop when playing music (with Amazon's Cloud Player or with the Music player on the tablet).

  The lyrics feature was/is for music I'd either bought from Amazon through the years or even uploaded and "imported" to our 5-Gig free file-storage area (which all customers, globally, are given, although non-US residents can't stream media from the US servers).

  The non-digital-rights-protected mp3's we upload that we get from other sources will get lyrics attached to them for scrolling (if we want) when the mp3 is from an album that matches a recording that Amazon sells.  And when we re-download them, to Kindle tablets, they'll have those lyrics availble if the publisher allows.  The publisher can decide, though, to stop including them depending on Agreements not renewed, etc.

  Mainly, I hadn't been expecting this feature when I first saw it.  But there it was, and being weird I love to sing along and found I didn't know half the lyrics.  Amazon negotiated agreements with quite a few of the music publishers to provide these lyrics, with the current line being sung, highlighted, in bolder face.

  It's made working more fun to have the tablet going, mp3-wise and not visually distracting me, and is just one newer feature but it did surprise me, as I thought the music I'd bought probably wouldn't be included for lyrics.   They're playable on the computer as well, of course, with the Cloud Player for Web.

 For those of you with a tablet from the new line (Kindle Fire HD 2nd Gen, HDX 7" or HDX 8.9"), any mp3 you play that has "[+Lyrics]" alongside the title will have the scrolling words (if you uploaded it to the Cloud -- and downloading it afterwards attaches the lyrics as well).
  You can read more about how it works on the Amazon XRay help page.

At any rate that's one feature of many with the new line of Kindle Fire tablets on Amazon's "Mojito" OS 3.1 based on Android Jelly Bean -- be aware that media streaming from Amazon U.S. servers is done for U.S. residents only, for the most part, but you can import/upload to the cloudplayer to get the lyrics attached, then download the mp3 to play it on your device that way.


MORE ALERTS
* Avoid updating Kindle app for Android - to v4.3 (released Dec 17), available at Google play for Android devices.  Too many Android device users have been experiencing problems with this upgrade, finding their books missing from the display or being unable to get the app to open books.  Can't know what percentage of users are affected.

  When I checked the Amazon's app store for the Kindle for Android app, Amazon itself is at least now offering only the older v4.2.0.151 version (which I have on my Android device and I've decided to not let it update).  Too many Android devices are set to automatically install updates, but I turn that off because I'd rather decide after others have tried the updates (from any app maker).

  Normally, I'd say at least you can 'remove' the updated app and install the older version from Amazon, but makers like Samsung have built-in versions that can't be removed.  In that case, I imagine Amazon developers are hard at work on a fix for this.

  So, if you have not installed it yet, although notified of the update, it is probably best not to install it.  There are rarer instances of people reporting no problem, depending on the phone or tablet they're using, I guess, and whatever compatibility situation is involved.

  Because it offers Collections and the option to turn publisher-choice of fonts Off, some had lept at the offer.
  This is an alert in case you'd rather not risk having to re-download your books if there is a problem and not be able to read them until the new update is out.


* Dec. 22 WAS the LAST day for delivery of gifts before Christmas Day (free for Prime members).
     The deadline for ordering was midnight EST that night (Sunday night) Dec. 22 and, as mentioned above, 9pm PST.

* Amazon's "THE BIG DEAL" returned - More than 500 Kindle books at "up to 85% Off"
     But that ends tonight also (Dec. 22).

     "The Big Deal" includes 500 Kindle books organized by category.  The books, many of which are quite popular, are priced between $1.99 and $3.99, with most of them $1.99 to $2.99.

     Expiration date once more:
     December 22, 2013.

     Amazon note:
"Individual titles may have additional territory restrictions, and not all deals are available in all territories. Amazon may modify the selection of books offered at any time."


Recent online reviews of and reports on the Yr 2013 HDX/HD2 tablets with descriptions of unique features
  These entries include Comments I made to somewhat misleading info in what are very good reports otherwise.

On the most recent blog entry, I cited the recent report from PCWorld and MacWorld's TechHive naming the Microsoft Surface Pro 2 and the Kindle HDX 7" tablet for top spots in the Top 5 products for year 2013

  While additionally listing the Top 50 for 20213, they link to their full review of the HDX 7", a review which is unusual in actually noting and describing software features that are unique to the Kindle Fire tablets and which give unusual added value that I don't see mentioned in other reviews.  Excerpts:
" ...beautifully designed tablet that climbs to the top of the 7-inch heap" [citing 2nd screen technology and the video tech support within 15 seconds from someone who can show you what buttons to press where].
[While pointing out the Enterprise capabilities for company IT services they say that this] ..."misses the point of the Fire HDX, which is to provide the best tablet for consuming books, music, and video."

[The writer does point out that the edges of the screen show a bit of dimming when the background is all white which is "barely noticeable" but a major complaint of his.]
"I have to say that it no longer makes any sense that the iPad forces you to launch an app before letting you read a book. Why doesn’t it..." [do what the HDX does]

"Amazon has come up with an answer to the question “How can we improve the user’s enjoyment of books, music, and video?” and the answer is far more impressive than adding storage or throwing in a sharper screen. It’s a feature called X-Ray" [which he goes on to explain in detail for various media-uses involved].

"The iPad has a huge content library of its own, but it also suffers from lock-in problems. The digital movies and books you purchase from Amazon are DRM-protected just like the stuff from the iTunes Store, but Amazon doesn’t limit you to playing them only on Amazon-brand hardware."
[He notes the lack of access to Google Play store (which is a decision of Google) but doesn't mention that other appstores like 1mobile carry more than 500,000 Google Play apps which the Kindle can just download and install if you check a Settings box to allow your device to install non-Amazon apps.  Amazon didn't wall this device as some think.

  See How to install non-Amazon apps for how to do this without any 'rooting' of the device or any modifications to the unit -- just a check-mark in a Settings box and getting any other app-store market app that is usable the way we use the Amazon store app.]
"I don’t know what Apple could do to enhance the iPad mini to make me recommend it over the Fire HDX, provided that the person asking my advice had little interest in productivity or gaming.  A 7-inch Fire HDX will give you a superior content experience and leave $100 in your pocket—which you can spend on books, music, and movies."

  Forbes review of 8.9" HDX today
"... An Unmatched Hardware Experience"
  Ewen Spence spent a week with the tablet.  Some excerpts:
" If your only concern is screen technology, the HDX 8.9 is the clear winner.  On every quantifiable measure, the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 is the device to beat."
  [He makes the usual point that it can't access GooglePlay store to get its Apps, but says that the Kindle tablets are not "Google-certified" and that the apps have to be "recompiled" to work with the Kindle tablets.  Well, not really.
  In 1.5 years I have not had any Google App fail to work and work well on my Kindle HD or HDX's.

  He knows that one can 'sideload' apps (better yet, directly load) to the Kindle devices but then says it's not a standalone tablet like the iPad Mini (which does NOT allow ANY app that is not Apple approved and in the Apple store).

  Again, to see how easy it is to use Google apps on the Kindle Fire HD or HDX, with a choice of over 500,000 of them, see How to install non-Amazon apps on a Kindle Fire HDX or HD tablet.  A store-app is no harder to install than any other app from your favorite app store and then you get other apps with it.  This is possibly the best-kept secret in the world of tablets.]
"Where Amazon has a huge win is of course in e-books, magazines, and periodicals. They have probably the largest accessible catalogue of current ‘digital words’, and they make good use of it in the Kindle Fire HDX."

I added to Forbes's Comments area:
  'By the way, you might like that personal docs and hand-rolled e-books not protected with digital-rights CAN be sync’d with your other Kindle-compatible devices and the annotations backed up on your personal password-protected web page at Amazon where you can copy or print them.'

  That's another unique feature most don't realize is there.

  I also added that we can use the BS Player app (available at 1mobile store), HD Video Player or Mobo Player apps (at Amazon's store) that tend to be able to play almost any video format there is.  Also:
" Issues around content and UI aside, watching on the Kindle Fire HDX is a wonderful experience, and is certainly the gold standard of the current crop of tablets.

  TechnoBuffalo reviews the Kindle HDX (Dec. 15]
Brandon Russell, also using it for 7 days, headlines this:
"Amazon Kindle Fire HDX Review: The Most Enjoyable Way To Consume."   Excerpts:
' Amazon has created an experience that’s right on the heels of its closest rival, the Nexus 7; in some respects, it’s even better.

... - it might even be the best small Android tablet this holiday season.  That’s because the Fire HDX is less of a device and more of a perfect ideal.

... It’s no fuss, little effort, with plenty of reward.  You might say it’s the People’s Tablet.

... [Re no access to GooglePlay apps store] Amazon does mitigate this slightly by adding some cool software flare, such as a cool app for parents, X-Ray features, and an incredible new tech support service called Mayday.

... a remarkable new tech support tool called Mayday. Basically,  Mayday is like Apple’s version of making a Genius Bar appointment, except you never have to wait in line or leave your house.  Everything is done right through your Fire HDX and FREE.

... Tech Advisors can change settings, download apps and do pretty much any tech support related issues you need done, step-by-step, like your own tech support personal assistant.

  I never ran into an issue Amazon’s Mayday couldn’t fix, and found that representatives were incredibly helpful and explained situations very thoroughly.

... The scale and ease of use of Amazon’s Mayday is absolutely incredible, and is a godsend for those aunts and uncles who have never used a tablet in their life.

... sports a ridiculous resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels. Colors are deep, viewing angles are terrific and everything is extremely crisp.  Anything you can possibly hope to watch, read and view looks wonderful—better to my eyes than any other small tablet screen on the market, including the Nexus 7 and iPad mini with Retina.

  It creates a more immersive experience, helping to emphasize what’s actually on the display while the device itself (mostly) fades away.

... You won’t find the Kindle Fire HDX to be slow, even with Fire HD content beaming into your eyeballs. As far as battery life goes, the Fire HDX lasts forever. Like, forever. I was consistently shocked at how much battery life it had after a day’s use — I mostly read books and watch movies — and actually found it lasted more like two to three days without needing a charge. I had to try and run the battery down, rather than worry about if I needed a charge.'

Amazon suspends unneeded tablet activity while you're reading, which is one reason the battery lasts as long as it does if you spend a lot of time reading.

About that display, the Kindle HDX 8.9" vs Apple's iPad Air and Google's Nexus 10 (Nov. 2013)
  Here are some links with much shorter excerpts.  The first links are to very detailed tests of all these displays by Displaymate, a company that specializes in this, and they have very high standards to be met
Displaymate's Conclusions on an ultra-detailed page of testing results that were summarized by many techsites recently.
' Most impressive of all is the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9, which has leapfrogged into the best performing Tablet display that we have ever tested, significantly out-performing the iPad Air in Brightness, Screen Reflectance, and high ambient light contrast, plus a first place finish in the very challenging category of Absolute Color Accuracy. '

CNet's Don Reisinger added, from a November testing of the smaller versions of these:
  "iPad Mini's Retina Display finishes last in small-screen review
   The Amazon Kindle Fire HDX and Google Nexus 7 drew higher scores in the DisplayMate shoot-out."

  "Apple was once the leader in mobile displays, unfortunately it has fallen way behind in both Tablets and Smartphones," DisplayMate wrote in its findings. "This should be a wakeup call."

There are other factors of course - The Apple apps are likely the best available collection (and if you have an iPhone you'd want to use the same apps, so you're wiser to go with an iPad or iPad mini in that case), and they have tended to run very smoothly although recent reports indicate there are problems as there are with other tablets.  The kicker is that their lowest-storage tablets tend to be more expensive than highest-storage tablets of their two main competitors, the Kindle Fire HDX and the Google Nexus tablets.

On the other hand, when you're paying a lot of money, it's also wise to consider these results.
TechnoBuffalo's Todd Haselton summarizes the smaller tablet testing before sending us over to the extremely detailed test descriptions and results:
' Additionally, DisplayMate only found “good accuracy” when it came to absolute color accuracy on the iPad mini with Retina, while the other two received “very good ” ratings.

  The Nexus 7 (2013) was inferior when it came to image contrast accuracy, however.  Overall, the Kindle Fire HDX 7 and Nexus 7 (2013) both received “very Good A-” scores while the iPad mini with Retina received a “Good B” score in the “overall” testing category.  Apple’s smaller iPad also suffered in relative maximum brightness, mirror reflections, relative contrast rating in high ambient light and other tests.

 DisplayMate found all three tablets were particularly weak in brightness decreasing at 30 degree viewing angles, but that the iPad mini with Retina had too small of a color gamut and a poor absolute color accuracy rating. '

WELL, that should gve an idea of how it goes.  The Kindle Fire HD/HDX line's main 'weakness' as reported is its lack of direct access to the Google Play apps store, but those who do just a bit of googling will know that those apps are easily available for and directly downloadable to the Kindle Fire HDXs and HD line and have been for awhile.  One can just google "how to install non-amazon apps on a kindle fire" ...


TIP - The excellent SMALL and portable AYL speaker(s) system is back but with an extension for more bass and gets good ratings by Amazon customers.

  I wrote about its earlier incarnation here and provided a little videoclip of that earlier version.


EARLIER articles here on the Kindle HDX and HD tablets -- they have thorough descriptions of what these tablets do:

  1. Overview of New Features
  2. Things to Know about the new features

  Those two articles have clarifications for some points that have puzzled some.



The image and table below are added so that you can compare the current Kindle Fire models specs and what each one has, to give you a head start on all the information at the product pages.

  Note that the Kindle Fire models in the table below are the WiFi-only models, and that they both have Dolby Audio Dual Stereo Speakers and Dual band WiFi, while the HDX model has dual antennas in addition.

Normal starting prices are w/ special offers that they say will offer more savings than Lighting deals.
Kindle Fire HD 7" - $139
  Basic "family" tablet, HD Gen2
8 and 16GB options
Display: 1280 x 800, 216 PPI
Ram: 1GB   No Mayday
No camera or mic (no Skype)
No HDMI-out: Use 'Fling' - No Miracast
Dual-core 1.5 GHz processor
Kindle Fire HDX 7" - $229
  'Personal' HDX tablet
16, 32 or 64GB options
Display: 1920 x 1200, 323 PPI
Ram: 2GB
Front-facing, 720p camera
No HDMI-out: Use 'Fling' or Miracast
Quad-core 2.2 GHz processor
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" - $379
  'Does it all' HDX tablet
16, 32, or 64GB options
Display: 2560 x 1600, 339 PPI
Ram: 2GB
Adds 8MB rear-facing camera
No HDMI-out: Use 'Fling' or Miracast
Quad-core 2.2 GHz processor





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


Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle


(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Kindle News: 1-day sale: Basic Kindle eReader $49, Today-Only. Amazon's Prime shipping delivery before Christmas for orders thru' Dec 22. A couple of Amazon drone reactions. Kindle Fire HDX shares top of PC World list of Top 5 products for 2013.



ONE-Day Sale. $20 off the Basic Kindle and a delivery guarantee before Christmas for Prime purchases thru' the night of the 22nd.


 The $49 price for the basic Kindle eReader is for TODAY Only (Tuesday), effective through midnight.  $20 off the Basic e-Ink Kindle - $49.00.

The e-Ink Basic Kindle is for basic e-book reading and it's NOT a touch screen device.  Any searches are done with an alphabetically-arranged keyboard which you navigate with a 5-way controller button, clicking it for each alpha character needed.  But it has good customer feedback from those who just want to read books and who don't take many notes or do many searches and it has features not found on e-Ink devices from other makers, especially for $49.
  Furthermore, it has the physical side buttons for Previous and Next page, a feature some e-Ink eReader users miss.  (Me, I'd miss the normal touch keyboard, but many rarely want to type or do searches.)

  Note that once you add a night light, it can still be $70 total for one, but it's still not close to the price of a Paperwhite 2 with built-in light.  It's lighter and if you don't need a night light for it, you get two of these eReaders for less than the cost of a Paperwhite 2 (which is currently $119).


Amazon Prime offers Free Shipping through Dec. 22.
Also announced today was Amazon's Free Holiday Shipping for Prime members through Sunday, December 22 for delivery before Christmas.  That's 5 days and nights remaining.
  "[Prime] Customers can order as late as midnight EST, Sunday, Dec. 22, to receive delivery before Christmas with Free Two-Day Shipping"

  Prime Program members do have free two-day shipping on most Amazon-sold and shipped orders year round, but the emphasis is that the packages will arrive before Christmas Day on Prime members' purchases made as late as Sunday night on the 22nd.
  They draw attention to "incredible deals" still findable on the Top Holiday Deals page.

They add that "Amazon Prime members can order gifts as late as midnight EST on Sunday, Dec. 22, for free delivery before Christmas and the media release has a reminder that if you're not a Prime member you can sign up to take advantage of the free shipping offer by visiting Amazon's Prime page with detailed information and FAQs.

  Also, they have a special price for ONE-day delivery for Prime members also, which I hadn't noticed, thinking it was $1 higher.  But that's available for $2.99 an order.


Speaking of fast delivery offers
Everyone's had fun with Jeff Bezos' announcement of a future Amazon drone delivery vehicle that will fly the apparently cluttered skies with your package for 30-minute delivery time if you live near an Amazon warehouse.  I saw a couple of fun takes on this that others might enjoy.   One muses on a type of item the drone might drop through mechanical error.

  It was at least a way to get a lot of buzz on Amazon on Cyber Monday when "the futuristic concept got 200,000 Google searches that day (later, on Thursday, there were at least 2 million queries for Amazon)..."

  Privacy concerns
  And there was a dire warning that was irony at its best from Google's Chairman, who wants a ban on Amazon's drones, according to a quote in The Guardian reported by CNN's Philip Elmer-DeWitt.

  Also interesting is Apple's statement on the differences between its business model and that of other businesses when it comes to privacy concerns.


Kindle Fire HDX shares the top of PC World's list for "Best of 2013"
PC World's headline caught my eye because the Surface Pro 2, which is my newish and addicting laptop tablet and now main computer, shared top billing with the Kindle Fire HDX 7" tablet in the Top 5 products cited by them among 50 that they're highlighting.  But more on the reception of the HDX line in the next blog entry.




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 (Basic) - $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 $169 (*Temp* 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


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
Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle


(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Monday, December 9, 2013

Kindle Tips: A ONE-day sale on the Basic e-Ink Kindle, new Kindle HD 7" 16GB, and new Kindle HDX 7" 16GB



ONE-Day Sale. 20% off the Basic Kindle, the new Kindle Fire HD 7", and the new Kindle Fire HDX 7"

 This is effective TODAY Only (Monday), effective through midnight.  20% off the Basic e-Ink Kindle - $55.20, new Kindle Fire HD 2nd Gen with 16 GB (not 8) - $135.20, and the Kindle HDX 7" (16 GB) - $183.20.

  Note that the Kindle Fire models are the WiFi-only models, and that they both have Dolby Audio Dual Stereo Speakers and Dual band WiFi, while the HDX model has dual antennas in addition.

Normal starting prices are w/ special offers that they say will offer more savings than Lighting deals.
Kindle Fire HD 7" - $139
  Basic "family" tablet, HD Gen2
8 and 16GB options
Display: 1280 x 800, 216 PPI
Ram: 1GB
No camera or mic (no Skype)
No HDMI-out, No Mayday
Dual-core 1.5 GHz processor
Kindle Fire HDX 7" - $229
  'Personal' HDX tablet
16, 32 or 64GB options
Display: 1920 x 1200, 323 PPI
Ram: 2GB
Front-facing, 720p camera
No HDMI-out: Use 'Fling' or Miracast
Quad-core 2.2 GHz processor
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" - $379
  'Does it all' HDX tablet
16, 32, or 64GB options
Display: 2560 x 1600, 339 PPI
Ram: 2GB
Adds 8MB rear-facing camera
No HDMI-out: Use 'Fling' or Miracast
Quad-core 2.2 GHz processor


The image and table above are added so that you can compare the current Kindle Fire models specs and what each one has, to give you a head start on all the information at the product pages.

If you're interested in this one-day 20% discount, here are MORE DETAILS that I put together earlier on the new feature enhancements on these two tablets -- they have thorough descriptions of what these tablets do:

  1. Overview of New Features
  2. Things to Know about the new features

  Those two articles have clarifications for some points that have puzzled some.


The e-Ink Basic Kindle is for basic e-book reading and it's NOT a touch screen device. Any searches are done with an alphabetically-arranged keyboard which you navigate with a 5-way controller button, clicking it for each alpha character needed.  But it has good customer feedback from those who just want to read books and who don't take many notes or do many searches and it has features not found on e-Ink devices from other makers, especially for $55.
  Furthermore, it has the physical side buttons for Previous and Next page, a feature some e-Ink eReader users miss.  (Me, I'd miss the normal touch keyboard, but many rarely want to type or do searches.)

  Note that once you add a night light, it can still be $90 total for one, close to the price of a Paperwhite 2 with built-in light.  But it's lighter and if you don't need a night light for it, you get two of these for less than the cost of a Paperwhite 2.

More later
  I'm pausing this blog entry here so I can get it off for the East Coast readers but will be adding a bit more on the Kindle Fire tablets and will do an update alert on Twitter and the Facebook page ( Link: facebook.com/kindleworld.andrys ).


Update
Consumer Reports' latest ratings reported by the Boston Globe today.
' Top electronics list

In its second annual list of Ten Top Electronics, Consumer Reports selected 10 standout products. They were chosen because each pushes technology or performance to new heights. Product highlights from this year’s list include:
...
Top-notch tablet. Amazon Kindle Fire HDX, ($230). The latest Kindle has one of the highest-resolution 7-inch displays available, great for watching videos and reading books and magazines.  New X-Ray features let you dig deeper into the videos you watch and the books you read.  Consumer Reports hasn’t fully tested the Kindle Fire HDX yet, but prior versions were top-rated, and this one looks promising.'


Today, Amazon announced new parental control features with an education-focus for the Kindle Fire tablets.  The controls can be done for weekdays and weekends, a curfew is set with "bedtime" and they assure that your education goals are met befeore the tablet can be used for games, etc."

The Kindle Free Time Unlimited feature (from $2.99/mo.) is getting "thousands of new educational books, apps, games and videos ... including Common Core Standard-aligned books, educational apps from developers like BrainPOP and Agnitus, and movies and TV shows from Sesame Street, PBS, Reading Rainbow and more."  The "... the update will be delivered automatically to any Kindle Fire tablet that has the FreeTime app in the coming weeks."


Amazon's "Top Holiday Deals" start today.
  Actually, the Top Holiday Deals page replaces the CyberMonday Week.


Kindle Edition of the blog
  By the way, I found out that the Kindle Edition of this blog did not receive a blog feed for 2 weeks because the blog size for 25 articles had exceeded the 512K size limit for feeds but I didn't get a feed-alert on that from Google.  A reader notified me, and I've whittled down the feed to the 21 most-recent articles per feed and it's working again.  Apologies to subscribers, especially since this happened during Black Friday and CyberMondy weeks.


Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle


(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Kindle Fire HDX 7" and HD7-2nd Gen tablets: $50 off [WAS] through CyberMonday on both models. Update 2


Well, they did it.  This is effective NOW and through Cyber Monday. $50 off the new Kindle Fire HD 2nd Gen with 16 GB (not 8) and the Kindle HDX 7" tablets.

  Note that the $50 off the HDX tablets is for all storage levels of the WiFi model. (Updated to clarify this is for the straight WiFi models.)

  ALL have Dolby Audio Dual Stereo Speakers and Dual band WiFi, while the HDX models have dual antennas also.

Normal starting prices are w/ special offers that they say will offer more savings than Lighting deals.
Kindle Fire HD 7" - $139
  Basic "family" tablet, HD Gen2
8 and 16GB options
Display: 1280 x 800, 216 PPI
Ram: 1GB    No Mayday
No camera or mic (no Skype)
No HDMI-out: Use 'Fling' - NO Miracast
Dual-core 1.5 GHz processor
Kindle Fire HDX 7" - $229
  'Personal' HDX tablet
16, 32 or 64GB options
Display: 1920 x 1200, 323 PPI
Ram: 2GB
Front-facing, 720p camera
No HDMI-out: Use 'Fling' or Miracast
Quad-core 2.2 GHz processor
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" - $379
  'Does it all' HDX tablet
16, 32, or 64GB options
Display: 2560 x 1600, 339 PPI
Ram: 2GB
Adds 8MB rear-facing camera
No HDMI-out: Use 'Fling' or Miracast
Quad-core 2.2 GHz processor


The image and table above are added so that you can see the current models and what each one has, to give you a head start on all the information at the product pages.

  In fact, since you need to decide in short time, if interested in this $50 discount, here are MORE DETAILS that I put together earlier on the new feature enhancements on these two tablets -- they have thorough descriptions of what these tablets do:

  1. Overview of New Features
  2. Things to Know about the new features

  Those two articles have clarifications for some points that have puzzled some.

Re this deal ending Monday night:
I'm just going to quote the press release here.  Later, I may add a bit. Just got back and saw this had been announced over two hours ago...


Cyber Monday Starts Early—Amazon Announces Two Unprecedented Limited-Time Deals on Kindle Fire Tablets

$50 dollars off two of our most popular tablets
Kindle Fire HDX 7”—normally $229—now just $179
Breakthrough price now even lower—all-new Kindle Fire HD 16 GB now just $119

December 01, 2013 08:06 PM Eastern Standard Time
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ:AMZN)—Amazon today announced two special deals on Kindle Fire tablets. Starting now and through Cyber Monday, customers will receive $50 off two of our most popular Fire tablets: just $119 for the all-new Kindle Fire HD 16 GB, normally $169 (nearly 30% off); and just $179 for Kindle Fire HDX 7”, normally $229 (over 20% off). These deals are available on Amazon.com while supplies last. Customers can order Fire HD 16 GB  [here] and Fire HDX 7”  [here].
“The new Fire tablets are the best tablets we’ve ever built—the reviews from press and the feedback from customers has been overwhelmingly positive”
“The new Fire tablets are the best tablets we’ve ever built—the reviews from press and the feedback from customers has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Neil Lindsay, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “We’re excited to be able to offer $50 off Kindle Fire HDX 7” and the all-new Kindle Fire HD 16GB for Cyber Monday.”
The new Kindle Fire HDX 7” features a stunning exclusive HDX display, a quad-core 2.2 GHz processor, twice the memory, and up to 11 hours of battery life, as well as exclusive new features like X-Ray for Music, Second Screen, Prime Instant Video downloads, and the revolutionary new Mayday button.
The all-new Kindle Fire HD includes an HD display, high-performance processor, dual speakers, exclusive features, and all the benefits of the Amazon ecosystem at a breakthrough price.



Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle


(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Kindle Tips: CyberMonday + many other holiday book deals - 30% off (up to $10) any Print book until midnight tonight, Dec 1 (Sunday). December's Monthly Kindle Books for $3.99 or less. Also, a section for $1.99 deals. Free non-classics by publication date + discounted-book alerts

Today, the leading offer of 30% off any one printed book for "CyberMonday" is good ONLY through TONIGHT at 11:59 PM, Sunday, December 1.

  Note that this holiday special is for printed books only and is limited to $10 off the highest priced book you order in a single purchase of books going at the same time to one address, using the coupon "BOOKDEAL" at checkout.

  Here are some of the "Terms and Conditions," with the most important details that I've boldfaced:

  * To use this promotion, you must enter "BOOKDEAL" at checkout under the
        "Gift cards & promotional codes" section to receive 30% off any ONE (1) book,
        with a maximum discount of $10 off.
  * The offer will only apply to the highest priced book in your order.
  * This offer is only valid on print books. Excludes Kindle eBooks and Audible Audiobooks.
  * The promotion is valid for a limited time only, from November 27, 2013 at 9pm PST
        to December 1, 2013 at 11:59pm PST.
  * Offer only applies to products sold and shipped by Amazon.com.
  * Limit one promotional code per customer and account.
  * The maximum benefit you may receive from this offer is $10.
  * Offer good while supplies last.
  * Offer is non-transferable and may not be resold.
  * This promotion may not be combined with other offers, including promotional certificates.
  * Items must be purchased in a single order and shipped at the same speed
        to a single address
.
  * Void where prohibited.
  * Shipping charges may apply to discounted and free promotional items.
  * Offer does not apply to Amazon Gift Cards.


BELOW the 30% off any printed book offer on the Cyber Monday page are several other Book Deals, which include Kindle books.  This includes a display of upcoming times for specific books.

And then right now there's "Cyber Monday Week's" Kindle books as well.  Amazon has the ongoing Kindle Daily Deals page linked, for some reason, as Cyber Monday Week, so I'm using that daily deal link, because that's what it is at the moment.

  In the meantime, they have a "Black Friday" special showing as a "Daily Deal" -- an offer of discount pricing on 25 Cinematic Books, presumably just for today, Sunday, Dec. 1.  This same link may show you, tomorrow, different books as Cyber Monday specials.


And now for the regular Monthly Kindle Deals

DECEMBER 2013's Kindle Books deal, for $3.99 or less (See UK page below.)

I often highlight this monthly deal at or near the beginning of the month for those who don't know about it or might not remember.

For those who want to quickly look first at only the ones that are star-rated at 4 or above, I ran across Amazon's page for exactly tha.

  On the main monthly Kindle book deals page, separate categories are highlighted, using Amazon's usual horizontally-scrolling pick-lists, for the following topics highlighted on the main page. They link to "See all" at the bottom of each horizontally-scrolled category row [ I'm adding direct links to the full category listings ]:

  1. Editors' Picks used to be one of the categories, but I don't see that this nonth.
  2. History and by Avg Customer Rating
  3. Biography and Memoirs and by Avg Customer Rating
  4. Literary Fiction Deals and by Avg Customer Rating
  5. Religion and Spirituality and by Avg Customer Rating

This main monthly deals page also has, on the right, two vertically-scrolling categories:
  1. Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense highlighted + more in the linked full list w/ sorting options)
      Here's that fuller listing by Avg Customer Rating
  2. Romance and by Avg Customer Rating.

THEN, at the bottom of the new main monthly Kindle book-deals page, they offer the FULL current monthly listing, defaulting to sorting by "New and Popular" and there are 119 in all, currently, but the number may vary.

  Here is a direct link to that Full-listing (US), sorted by "New and Popular" for the month (and probably for any month, so
    it's a good one to bookmark if you just want to jump to that) and
    you can choose another sort option for this full listing, such as
        Avg Customer Rating or by Price: Low to High

These newer options do make it easier to find books of interest to you.

  The pricing for December's group of Kindle books ranges from $0.99 to $3.99, as is usual for this monthly deal.

  What you'll see on this special monthly-deals page (UK version is here) are new for December 2013.

(US Link: amzn.to/mkbooks-1to4,  UK Link: amzn.to/100kbooks-1to4uk)


FREE KINDLE BOOKS (Non-classics) for December (and November)
I've updated the "Temporarily-free books -- Non-classics" search results to show free contemporary Kindle books for DECEMBER, sorted by publication-date, as of Dec. 1, 2013.  There are only a few shown on the first day or two of any month, and these include pre-orders due that month.  On the first few days of the month, most of these are listed as "free preview" of whatever chapters chosen, some are short stories, and a few (overnight) not-entire-family-safe titles may show up.

  Here, also, are the current Search results for still free Kindle non-classics, by publication date during the last month (November).


The ongoing Kindle Daily Deal page
for any given day usually shows a lot of books since it includes children's books, a couple of genre-specific deals, and the monthly daily deals as well.


DISCOUNTS ON ACCESSORIES Amazon's current pages (some, ongoing) on accessories for Kindle e-Reader and Kindle Fire
  1. Up to 50% (higher discount than usual) on cases for Kindle eReaders
  2. Up to 50% on cases for Kindle Fire (Gen 2) and Kindle Fire HD tablets


If that's not enough, there are the Goldbox and Lightning Deals, especially active currently.



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 $169 (*Temp* 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


  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle


(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

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