Fundamentally the “Send to Kindle” software adds a “Send to Kindle” option to the Windows context menu in Explorer when you right-click on one or multiple files (I know, that’s what I thought too!)  At its most basic this is just what it does.  There are few other features however that make it a little more useful than a way to get files and eBooks onto your device a second or two more quickly than normal.

One of these is that the Kindle doesn’t need to be physically connected to your PC when you do it.  The files will be synchronised with your Kindle Cloud and downloaded the next time the Kindle is on with WiFi activated.  This means that if you don’t have your Kindle handy when you realise there’s a useful file you’d like on it, this isn’t a barrier.

The other way it is useful is with a “Print to Kindle” option that will allow you to send pretty much anything and everything to your Kindle through the Windows print manager.  This latter feature will be genuinely useful for many people though, oddly, Amazon don’t make a fuss of either this or the wireless sync and you have do some digging on their website to find them out.

By default the Send to plug-in supports .DOC, .DOCX, .TXT, .RTF, .JPEG, .JPG, GIF, .PNG, .BMP and .PDF files though the printing option will extend this considerably.  Printed documents are sent as PDF files.

You can download the Send to Kindle software from the Amazon website for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 and the Kindle apps for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch are also supported.  Amazon say that support for other devices and for the Mac will be coming soon.

The tablet, which has been rumoured for some time, would run on Google’s Android operating system which would be specially modified to get the best from Amazon’s Kindle eBook app, and to give the best full-colour eBook reader experience possible.

What we do know about this tablet is that it runs on a single-core processor with 6Gb or storage, a 7 inch screen, speakers, a micro USB post and, oddly, no cameras.  The new Kindle interface is rumoured to be reminiscent of Apple’s CoverFlow and the unit is expected to retail for around $250.

This will price it aggressively compared to other 7 inch tablets and with Amazon’s reputation for quality hardware already confirmed with the current generation of Kindle readers, should be widely sought after and very popular.

Personally I find Amazon’s choice of Android disappointing given the ongoing, and unanswered by Google, security concerns about the platform.  For being open-source however and light-weight it would remain the obvious choice given that neither Apple nor RIM are currently prepared to licence their tablet operating systems to third parties, that HP’s WebOS is currently hanging under a very large gallows axe and that Microsoft’s offering is not only far from finished, but probably wouldn’t be suitable for such a device anyway.

Currently the only direct competition to an Amazon tablet would be the Barnes & Noble Nook Color, which is scarcely available outside of the US.

It’s also possible that Amazon will use the event to announce a refresh to its current Kindle eReader range with possible additions including a touch-screen.

Whatever the outcome, as I mentioned previously, any Amazon tablet would almost instantly become a best-seller and would probably become the most-popular Amazon tablet around, besting the Samsung Galaxy Tab devices.  We’ll keep you informed of what Amazon announce.

You can, of course, read your kindle e-books on other devices too, but until now you’ve had to download an app in order to read a book on your iPad, or on your computer screen. There have been apps available for PCs, Macs, and every other conceivable device, for you to read your books wherever you may be. You can even read them on your iPhone if your eyesight is good enough!

But what was really missing in the Kindle armory was a web-based reader that could be run on anything capable of supporting a browser. With so much going on in “the cloud” these days, it was bound to happen sooner or later, and now you can read books from the Kindle Store, on anything with a web-browser. What’s more your Amazon account will automatically track the books you are reading and keep you up to date with your last read page, no matter what device you swap to.

There is another reason why Amazon has gone down the cloud-computing path however, and it has nothing to do with app-friendliness. By using a web-based platform for it’s Kindle store, the application isn’t regarded as a native program. In other words, it’s not a specific iPad app, or an iPhone app. By doing this, Amazon have avoided having to pay the 30% levy that Apple charges for any content sold through it’s devices. Apple announced plans to restrict the purchasing of products from applications running on their smart phones and tablets, and have prohibited links that allowed anyone to sell goods outside the Apple sales system. So Amazon has responded by building it’s Kindle app into a web application that runs on HTML5, and therefore bypasses the restrictions. Clever!

With Apple planning further restrictions in the future, many people are speculating that other companies will follow suit, and soon we’ll see more HTML5 apps being produced than native iPhone apps. It’s suggested that most companies will not be willing to bow to Apple’s levies, and will seek to develop new web based technologies to compensate for the loss of native apps. In the case of Amazon, why should Apple stand to gain 30% on every book sold via an Apple device? Many people see this as unfair, and they may well be right.

You can access the Amazon Kindle Clouder Reader here. Interestingly enough it is currently only compatible with Google Chrome and Safari browsers.

Applying a jailbreak to a Kindle is just a matter of hack and reboot. This does not apply to other devices, just Kindle devices. A Kindle jailbreak is actually quite safe, so users need not fear. To be on the safe side, backup all kindle files to an external memory device such as an external hard drive. The files can backup to the computer hard drive as well, but this does pose a minor security risk if any of the files kept on the Kindle are sensitive. The general rule is that removable memory devices are the best for backup. Usually files are not altered by this jailbreak but staying in the habit of backing files up is a good practice.

The Amazon Kindle has 23 default screensavers. Custom images and personalization is generally more fun though. This hack does not work on first generation Kindle devices. This demonstration is done with a Kindle 3 Wi-Fi basic. The mirrors included have been scanned for bugs and malware. The option to purchase premium versions, if desired, is offered, but the basic version works fine, there will simply be pop-up ads and a slower download time, both of which are negligible. Once again, this is safe and will not break the Kindle.

1. Download from one the four following mirrors. This is the jailbreak itself and one more application will be required later.

• http://www.filedude.com/download/T9i0ZJ9BSw29e7f8d4fb
• http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MQZXW2AE
• http://rapidshare.com/files/456856239/kindle-jailbreak-0.6.N.zip
• http://www.mediafire.com/?7abaaab8kxycv5c

2. These will be ZIP files containing the installers and uninstallers for all Kindle versions. The files are 48k. To find the correct Kindle Version, look for the suffix after the 0.6N. In this case, it is a Wi-Fi basic Kindle 3, not 3G:

3. Set the pointer over the “…” portion of the file name to check for versions in the suffix. In this case, it will be a suffix of “K3W_install.bin.” Connect the Kindle device to the computer. If the Kindle window does not automatically open, open it from the Computer menu. Just drag and drop the file into the Kindle root directory. Double click Kindle and drag/ drop:

4. Dismount the Kindle and from Home on the device, press the Menu Button > Settings > Menu Button > Update your Kindle.

5. The Kindle will take its time updating. There is a prompt requesting if you wish to continue. Click OK to start the update. The update is complete when a screen notifies that the update was successful. The Kindle will then restart. With a Kindle 2 there will generally be an error message. Ignore it and it will restart by itself. Everything will be fine.

6. The second phase of this operation is to install the Custom Screensaver Hack. This involves the very same steps as the jailbreak installation. After download, open the root directory and drag and drop the same way.

Drag and drop to the root directory. Find the suffix in for the version of the Kindle device being used. This time it appears after the 0.20N.

Follow the same steps as for the jailbreak update with the Kindle. Menu Button > Settings > Menu Button > Update your Kindle.

To add the screen savers, connect the Kindle again and look for the following menu:

1. The desired images will have to be modified before adding them to the screensavers file on the mounted Kindle device. The images will need to be formatted with an image editor such as Adobe Photoshop. The specifics of a Kindle device graphics can be found in the user manual, which is installed as a file on the Kindle itself. For the Kindle 3, the screen savers are 600×800 for the basic and 824×1200 for the DX. They will need to be saved in 8-bit grayscale as .PNG images. Results will vary depending on the original image. Several images can be added in a specific rotation. Remember to crop the image as well, since the Kindle has a different screen shape than monitors do.

That was the last step. The Kindle now has the ability to accept any screensaver image configuration desired. From this point, it just requires the image preparation as described and then a simple drag and drop to the screensavers file. Enjoy!

Words of caution: Please note that jailbreaking a device can have severe consequences. It can void the warranty or break the Kindle so that it needs repair. While it is unlikely that it happens if you follow the instructions, I want to be very clear that it is your sole responsibility. I’d also advise you to search on the Internet for newer versions of the Jailbreak files, especially if there is an extended amount of time between your visit to this guide and the time the article has been written.

The books can only be loaned once however and for a maximum period of 14 days.  You can read loaned books on a Kindle or in any Kindle App.  These are available for a variety of devices including Windows, OS X, iOS, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone.

Not all books will be available for lending, this will depend on the publishers providing permission for Amazon to do so.  There’s also precious little information on whether this will be a free service or what charges may be payable, again we can probably assume this will vary depending on the book and publisher.

This is an interesting move from Amazon and, while it was broadly expected at some point, it will be an interesting move to watch to see how it affects eBook sales.  It is widely considered that Libraries have been good for overall book sales in recent years, so will this move do the same for eBook sales?

You can read more at the Amazon website.

In this article I will show you how to install and use Calibre to manage your Kindle book reader. NOTE: I have written about Calibre before (but only covered managing books in the Sony ebook reader). See my article “Manage Sony Reader in Linux”  for more details.

Installation

Installation is simple as you will find Calibre in the standard repositories. So you will only need to issue a command like sudo apt-get install calibre. Or you can do the usual:

1. Open up your Add/Remove Software application.
2. Search for “calibre” (no quotes).
3. Mark Calibre for installation.
4. Click Apply to install.

You can fire up Calibre either from the command line (enter calibre) or from the Applications > Office menu. As you will know (from previous Ghacks Calibre articles), the interface is simple. I won’t go over that. But I will walk you through the new first run wizard for setting up Calibre to be used with a Kindle.

Figure 1

When you first fire up Calibre you will be asked to set up the application for your eReader. The first step you will see this in is shown in Figure 1. Make sure you select the correct version of the Kindle you own.

Figure 2

In the next step you will set up how Calibre can send books to your Kindle without the device having to be plugged in. You will need to know your Kindle email address in order to set this up. Figure 2 shows the information you will need in order to get this working. You can use Gmail mail servers if you do not have access to an smtp server. I highly recommend you test the email settings before you move on. Upon a successful email test, you can then click the Next button to complete the setup.

Sending books to your Kindle

Figure 3

Let’s say you have already added a bunch of books to your Kindle. You don’t have your Kindle attached to your computer but you want to send a few books anyway. If you open up your library and right click a book you want to send you can select the book to be sent to your Kindle email address (see Figure 3).

Yes, there are books on my Kindle written by me ;-).  As usual, the emailed book will only arrive to your Kindle if you have the Whispernet turned on.

Final thoughts

Managing your Kindle books is getting easier and easier. And thanks to applications like Calibre, the task only gets more seamless.

So Samsung decided to release its second Android phone in Russia. But news can never remain buried on the Internet. So we know that it is called the Galaxy Spica. This is the same phone that the rumors were calling the Galaxy 17500 Lite. Spica is the official name.

The press release says a lot of things, as usual. You know it has Android and that it runs on an 800MHz processor. But what it does not tell you is what version of Android it will ship with when it does. My guess is Android 2.0, because the release seems imminent. [read]

Then we have the T-Mobile Project Dark plans. After a long line of rumors, spy shots and leaked marketing material, the carrier finally unveiled its twin plans. And they are right on time too because their timeline was already leaked by the rumors.

So what are the plans like? Look above. There’s the $79 Even More Plus and there’s the $99 Even More. Those are the maxed out prices. They start from $49 and $59 respectively. The first one has no annual contract and the second one has a 2-year contract. [read]

Nokia in the meantime has brought out ‘Illuvial Special edition’ phones in Europe. These are normal Nokia phones with floral prints on the back, purple backlighting and purple/pink graphics in the UI. I still think of this tech industry practice of feminizing products as highly patronizing. Plus, companies tend to charge more for these frills. Et tu Nokia? [read]

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The app store is growing rapidly and is now over 85,000 apps. Ever since the $99 iPhones became available, everyone’s been buying an iPhone. And everyone who can is making an app and sending it in. Even the American stock exchange has its own app now.

Yes sir, NASDAQ has an app in the App store. It lets you check stocks and see live activity, which are quite obvious. What is not obvious though is the fact that it shows you live tweets about various stocks from StockTweet. Now that’s something extra that is worth having. Plus the App is very well-designed. [read]

Next up we have a remote app for …get this – starting your car. That’s right folks, now you can start your car from practically anywhere with a free iPhone app. The catch? You have to buy a kit for your car for this to work and Best Buy has the exclusive retail deal on it. You have two models available. One is for $299 (for cars that have the initial system built in) and the other for $499 (for the complete system). [iTunes link]

The next one is only half new because it was already launched in the US last year. Amazon has released their iPhone shopping app in the UK. This app lets you buy from Amazon through your iPhone. It connects you to your account and also allows you to use features like one-click ordering, etc. [read]

Another Amazon app is coming soon though. I am talking about the Kindle app that is headed for us in November. [read]

So I guess these two halves make one, except that you can only buy one half right now. But the US half is already available. So that makes one too. Okay, enough with the halves.

Amazon recently started exporting the Kindle to other countries, so I bought one. Amazon struggled to negotiate deals with European carriers, which was one reason why the Kindle was not already available to the European market, so instead, the Kindle roams from the AT&T network.

The features are fairly similar to those available to American customers. One can subscribe to and download newspapers, magazines and buy and and download books. One can’t, however, download the images inside the newspapers and magazines, browse the Web or subscribe to blogs. This is all down through a mobile internet connection, either 3G/GPRS.

The 3G coverage in my house is somewhat intermittent, although I still think it is just about tolerable. I find a 2G signal perfectly reasonable for downloading a book or browsing the Kindle store. I initially thought it strange that the Kindle lacks WiFi, unlike many of its competitors, but I have since realised that WiFi is unneeded.

As the mobile internet coverage is included in the purchase price of the Kindle, Amazon prevent users from browsing the web on it outside the US due to the high costs they would face. This would prove annoying to some users, although I imagine web browsing on the Kindle would prove clumsy, due to fact it’s black and white.

The Kindle can also play MP3s, so audiobooks, music and podcasts can be placed on it. I believe that you need to connect the Kindle to a computer to transfer them onto it. For books, magazines and newspapers, no computer is needed. Files can be coverted into Kindle format by emailing it to an address that will automatically send them to the Kindle (at 0.99USD/MB), by using a free Kindle email conversion service and transferring the files via USB, or by using software like Calibre. The Kindle handles the Mobipocket format, so you can get free public domain books from websites like Feedbooks and transfer them on.

The battery life is very good, due to the way text is displayed. E Ink, which the Kindle employs, has extremely low energy consumption. If you turn the wireless off, it can keep going for weeks without being charged. Charging takes a couple of hours, although the charger supplied is a US socket. It does charge via USB so this isn’t an issue.

It has a couple of other nice touches, too. One can annotate texts, have them read aloud via a text-to-speech feature (although this doesn’t work very well) and has a very attractive standby screen which rotates between different images of different writers and writing-related objects.

The International Kindle costs $260, plus postage and import tax. Altogether, mine cost around $340. This is equivalent to about £210 or €225; roughly the same as its competitors. The mobile internet is a big selling point which many competitors lack. They are only purchasable from Amazon.com, so any discounts or vouchers you may have for other Amazon sites won’t work. Also, books are only available from Amazon.com, so you pay notice the absence of the work of your country’s authors. I hope that eventually we will be able to relink our Kindles to our own national Amazon sites, although there is no certainty (or even indication) that Amazon will permit this.

The customers who have bought the books did receive a refund but were left puzzled and confused. Anyone who thought that ebooks with DRM were just like book purchases might now realize that they are not at all as Amazon and the publishers seem to have the power to remove books at any time from the user’s possession. Amazon responded to user questions with the following paragraph:

The Kindle edition books Animal Farm by George Orwell. Published by MobileReference (mobi) & Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) by George Orwell. Published by MobileReference (mobi) were removed from the Kindle store and are no longer available for purchase. When this occured, your purchases were automatically refunded. You can still locate the books in the Kindle store, but each has a status of not yet available. Although a rarity, publishers can decide to pull their content from the Kindle store.

Amazon states that is is unlikely to happen again. What users do need to realize is that it can happen at anytime. That’s a huge difference to books or other media that are purchased in stores. Once you bought it it is yours and no publisher or company in the world will come to your house to get the book back and give you a refund. Customers thinking about purchasing a kindle or any other electronic device that is making use of DRM should start thinking about viable alternatives that come without DRM. It’s better for them, their children and our future.

Feedbooks is providing a similar service. The only difference is that they -only- convert the RSS Feed of a website into a pdf document that can be downloaded without costs from their website. The whole process is as simple as it can get, paste a feed into the form, hit submit and download the pdf document at the end.

Feedbook provides A4 pdf downloads, Cybook & Sony Reader, iLiad (whatever that is) and custom documents. I was not able to explore the custom option further because one has to signup to create those.

Feedbooks provides a button that webmasters can embed on their website. I have not tried it yet but I guess it would be possible to use one of the many feed combination services to combine many feeds into one and paste that url into Feedbooks to create a huge pdf document from multiple feeds.

Feedbooks offers more than just this RSS to PDF service. Users can download e-books as well that can be sorted in various ways. I encountered some error messages from time to time when I tried to convert some feeds.