Kindles, which one should I have?

This might be one of the most frequently asked questions:
First read AMAZON's compare chart 
Still hard to decide?

1. $139 Kindle Keyboard 3G:  This one is the third generation model. Before and during the blackfriday, there is $85 ( in target)  deal and $89 ( BestBuy )  deal.  It looks like K3 is too old, but actually not really. I have Kindle Keyboard WiFi and 3G and like both of them. If you prefer physical keys and need to travel very often, K3 3G is not a bad idea. One more thing, it has real 3G which means you may use internet where there is 3G network coverage in this planet. This is the selling point considering the new kindle family does not support the real 3G.
2. $79 Kindle: This most basic value 4th generation model delivers access to all Kindle books and sports a 6-inch screen. Books are delivered over Wi-Fi in under a minute. Ads are displayed when browsing new titles. It weighs under 6 ounces, holds 1,400 books and offers a one-month battery life which is only half of the Kindle Touch's.  It does support both tex-to-speech and  Portrait/Landscape mode. It does not have the keys as K3 keyboard, you have to resort to the soft keyboard. 
3. $99 Kindle Touch: Same screen size as the $79 Kindle  and adds touch-screen navigation, reducing buttons down to one for on/off. Wi-Fi for downloading, no ads, weighs 7.5 ounces, holds 3,000 books and has a two-month battery life. So it has as twice battery life as the basic kindle. Alert!!  kindle touch doesn't have landscape mode, if you read a lot of PDF files, this is not the good one for you. While kindle keyboard does have this feature. It might be easier for some to use the dictionary by touching and holding compared to the cursor moving on kindle keyboard.   It does support tex-to-speech but DOES NOT support  landscape mode.
4. $149 Kindle Touch: has 3G connection for downloading books when no Wi-Fi is available. It will not be able to browse the Internet without a WiFi connection. Users will still be able to use 3G to sync book and document purchases, but anything beyond Wikipedia will be off-limits  It’s slightly heavier at 7.8 ounces, but otherwise is the same as the $99 model.
5. $199 Kindle Fire: This is Amazon’s low-cost tablet and often is compared to the iPad. The Fire  allows users to browse the Internet in full color via Amazon’s “Silk” browser. It also offers access to Amazon’s Kindle Fire android marketplace. You may be able to install some of the third party non Amazon market android apps on it without even rooting. Like the $500 iPad model, the Fire offers Wi-Fi connection only — no 3G available. The screen measures 7 inches. Amazon claims it will hold 80 apps plus 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books. However, Amazon offers free cloud storage with all of its devices. The Kindle Fire weighs just under a pound at 14.6 ounces and offers 7.5 hours of video playback or 8 hours of reading and browsing time on a single battery charge. It is portable compared to those 10" tablets. Keep in mind, Fire is not the best device to read since it does not posses E-Ink technology.

In conclusion: 

• Physical keys, real 3G connection, book reader and frequent traveler ===> $139/(deal $85) Kindle Keyboard 3G
• Lower cost, lighter weight,  PDF documents to read  ===> $79 basic kindle
• Touchscreen, fewer PDFs to read, longer battery life, large amounts of books  ===> $99 Kindle Touch
• Need downloading books everywhere and use Wiki ===> $149 Kindle Touch    Not a good value 
• Reading PDF papers extensively ===> $379(deal $259) Kindle DX
• Doing more than reading, surfing internet, watching TV and video, reading magazines and newspaper in color, playing games, teaching kids, need portable and low cost tablet ===> $199 Kindle Fire

My fresh taste of Kindle Fire

I would say it is a great little tablet with excellent value considering its sweet price ( I got it in an even lower price).

• It is not as great as a kindle keyboard or the new 4th generation family as a book ereader without e-ink technology.
• I notice there are many complains about its no physical volume buttons, no cameras, no expansion slots etc.   
• Without the physical buttons is indeed a drawback. What I really want is one button (as the "U" button on Nook Color) which allows you quickly return to the home screen. If it had hdmi port, that would be great.
• Though there are not many  apps available, the number of the apps will continue growing as more and more people grab their Fires. I feel confident about Amazon's growth, its products as well. You just need those apps you really need. Do NOT forget Amazon offers one new paid app for free each day. Check it out here. 
• You CAN install some of the third party android apps on it without rooting.
• You will lose video streaming if you root it.
• It is portable and easy to carryout.
• If you really want to compare IPAD to FIRE, compare them by their Value=Performance/Cost. But sometimes, value seems less important than fashion, coolness, and following majority. AMAZON smartly chose not to confront its monster competitor face to face, but develop markets it can handle very well and armed with its own powerful "weapon"--rich contents.  I believe in the long run, Kindle fire (with its future series models ) will gain more and more market share.   

    Personally I like the review given by Zach Epstei.  Again, think in your own way.

PPTV for pad & CNTV Apps installed on Kindle Fire successfully

Apps "PPTV for pad" and "CNTV" had been installed and run smoothly on my new Kindle Fire. For those who have no idea about PPTV and CNTV, PPTV  is a leading online TV service offering both live streaming and video-on-demand of TV programs/shows, movies, drama, sports, news and entertainment video contents in China. CNTV ( China Network Television) is the online digital network archive for China Central Television (CCTV) in China. The smart phone version App of CNTV did not work very well (small screen) on 9.7" HP TP but works flawlessly on Kindle Fire. Please refer to the post " How to install non-AMAZON android apps on your kindle fire on this blog" for steps on how to install these two apps on your Fire.

How to install non-Amazon Kindle Fire apps on your Kindle Fire without rooting

Think again before rooting your Fire since you will lose the privilege of streaming video from Amazon. But you do not have to root in order to install third-party non Amazon Kindle Fire apps.

It is very similar to those steps to install non-Market android apps on HP TouchPad. First you need to change the settings (allow installation of third-party apps) on your kindle fire to "ON" , then install a free document viewing app such as   ES File Explorer.

Step 1:  Go to the settings of your Kindle Fire by tapping the top part of the screen. Click “More…” then select “Device.” Where it says “Allow Installation of Application,” change your Kindle Fire settings from “Off” to “On.”
Step 2:  Download and install the Amazon kindle fire free app such as "ES File Explorer".
Step 3:  Use  "ES File Explorer" to get access to the app file (*.apk) you'v already copied to your kindle fire and install.
You are done.

" Fight" begins about AMAZON Kindle Fire-Good or Bad?

First please read the Critics from NY TIMES   on Dec 11,2011
Now huffingtonpost fights back and argue one by one.
What is your opinion? Should you open the package or return? Think in your own way and based on your needs (and money)!!
Even I myself am still debating if I should open the box... oh well for this blog's sake, I will but... I am waiting NY TIMES fights back again...

Cool stuff for kindle users: "Send to kindle" browser extension

Push web articles to your Kindle---It is FREE!

Send to Kindle is a Browser extension for Kindle owners who prefer reading web content on their devices. It’s designed to offer a quick way for pushing web content to Kindle, so you can read articles or news later on your device.

In a plain language: when you find a relatively long article which is very interesting but do not have time to read now, you can use this app to send the content to your kindle and read it later.

Well, the experience of using this is not very impressive though, the original format is not kept well. At least, a good idea. This is just a start, it will be getting better, I think.

It is available for all mainstream web browser such as Chrome Safari, Firefox, Opera other than IE(?)

Get the " Send to Kindle " from here: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ipkfnchcgalnafehpglfbommidgmalan

How to get access to browser to surf internet in kindle keyboard?

To browser internet using your kindle keyboard, follow these steps:

1. Go to home
2. Configure your WiFi settings  Menu=>Settings =>WiFi settings =>Move cursor to your wireless networks enter password
3. Go back to "home" and press "Menu" again =>Turn wireless on
4. Menu =>Experimental =>Move five way controller to Web browser and "launch browser"
5. Now you will see the browser, enter web address and move cursor to the right side press "go to"
6. On the page, press menu => "Bookmark This Page" to save your featured website in your bookmarks.

How to configure your default location in kindle to avoid unrecognized characters?

You may find there are some unrecognized characters (displayed by squares) on your kindle when using foreign languages such as Chinese. Let's take Chinese for example.

1. Go to home by pressing "home"key.
2. press key "enter" 
3. ;debugOn      
4. ~changeLocale zh-CN
5. ;debugOff

Note: step 3-5 should be followed by pressing key "enter", also letter case is sensitive (Capital letters are strict).

After you'v done with these steps, you should be able to see no squares characters.

WebOS now becomes open source

Glad to learn that WebOS will survive by way of open source. I am impressed by its ease to use, swipe gesture features. Read more about this story from engadget.

Decode the resources of your favorite Android apps by android-apktool

Like your favorite Android apps and would like to make some changes but without their resources? Here is the answer:

Android-apktool

It is a tool for reengineering 3rd party, closed, binary Android apps. It can decode resources to nearly original form and rebuild them after making some modifications...

But be kind and respect the developers, do not use it illegally.
Also keep in mind that it does not always work perfectly.

How to use the "Text-to-Speech" feature on your kindle keyboard?

1. First make sure the Text-to-Speech is enabled ( you will see sth like " Text-to-Speech: Enabled " on the right side of the image of the book on AMAZON website)  for the book you want to read. If not, you cannot continue. 
2. Press the five-way controller to navigate the book, then press the center of the controller to open it.

A first taste of the lighted Kindle keyboard leather cover

Yesterday I got my new lighted kindle keyboard leather cover (with a sweet price $1*  for a brand new one but not from AMAZON) which fits the EReader perfectly.It looks nice and feel very solid. It's sturdy and comfortable to hold.  I am deeply impressed by the design and quality. It is much much better than the after-market cover I used before. I am sure it can protect kindle pretty well in case. Actually I once dropped my kindle accidently on the ground and the old cover failed to protect it, a dent and a crack (though not noticeable but annoying) formed. I wish I had this official cover from the first day. Now my kindle looks more like a book, and I can read without the regular light on. The light with the cover is good when you turn off the other lights, and  the uneven lighting issue is not a big concern. CoooooL! The freeze caused by hinges some reported does not occur so far.

UPDATED: Recently found AMAZON has used Kindle Lighted Leather Cover, Black (Fits Kindle Keyboard) for only $22.49, which is a decent deal. Do not be fooled by the "used", usually the condition should be very much like new. My experience with the third-party cover and light is very very bad and a total waste of money. 

How to install Android non-Market apps .apk on Android CM7

I am sure you need to install some non-Market apps .apk on your Android CM7. But how? Let's see:

1. Copy non-market .apk to SD card or in directory "donwloads" in WebOS.
2. In Android CM7, " Settings" =>"Applications" => check "Unknown sources" to allow installation of non-Market applications.
3. Download and install the free app "AndExplorer" on Android Market.
4. Use " AndExplorer " to browse to the folder  SDCard/downloads (if you copied your .apk file under directory " downloads " in WebOS ) that you copied.
5. Click "OK" and follow instructions to install.
6. If you want to uninstall an app " Settings" =>"Applications" => "Manage applications"=> Choose the app you will uninstall => Click "Uninstall" (upper right)

WebOS v.s. Android v.s. IOS

I would say all the three OSes are great. While I have more experience on the first two.

WebOS:  
Maybe the easiest one to use, even my two year old can handle it without any difficulty. She simply refused me to help her. Has maybe the best soft keyboard. Really like the swipe  feature of WebOS which lets you close unwanted applications in a simple way with just a swipe.

Android CM7:  
My two year old gets confused about it. More apps than WebOS. Easier to install non android market .apk apps with the help of such as AndExplorer. Desktop icons are too small and cannot be changed easily.
 
IOS: 
Looks pretty and cool. Easy to use and have so many apps. Price... TP to me, a better value with WebOS and Android dural systems.

How to reboot your kindle 3?

Your Kindle screen frozen or unresponsive? There is a chance that you need to reboot your kindle. Simply follow:

1. Locate and slide the power switch. Hold it for at least 20 seconds then release. The reboot (tree) screen will appear ( with progress bar ).
2. If not successfully, you should recharge your kindle for some time.

How to install Android Market on your CM7 Alpha 3 TP

Step 1: Install CM7 as instructed, be sure to include the moboot zip and the ClockworkMod zip;

Step 2: Boot into Android and connect the TouchPad via USB as an External Storage device;

Step 3: Download the Google Apps zip for CyanogenMod 7 from here, copy the zipped file to

             TouchPad;

How to install Android CM7 on HP TouchPad

First of all, do not be scared to do it! It is simply a 10 minutes or at most 20 minutes journey. Android rocks! You will not lose your WebOS, it is still there, what you have will be a touchpad with dural boot system:  Android+WebOS, you can swithch between easily.

Installation of Android CM7  Cyanogen Mod

Step 1: Backup all the important files on your TouchPad!!!

Step 2: Download CM7 Alpha 3, unzip it to your C drive root and put it in directory Android 
             C:\Android

HP Is reviving the $99 TouchPad firesale! Again but REFURB models at this time

Your memory is still fresh about the HP $99 touchpad fire sale? Missed it? Now it is coming again but with the REFURB ones at HP ebay store on December 11th at 6:00 p.m. Central time.According to the source on techcrunch.com. One of the sweetest things about touch pad is you may root and install android. Please follow this link to CyanogenMod for TouchPad Alpha 3 for detailed steps. It took me only about 15 minutes, so pretty easy. Android looks great and after installation of the android market, you have many many more apps.

Kindle keyboard shortcuts

I do wish there were number keys on the keyboard and it is not quite convenient to type numbers and other symbols on kindle keyboard. Similar to the shortcuts in using PC, a few shortcuts make using a Kindle even more convenient and can further enhance your reading experience.

Keyboard Shortcut	What It Does
Alt+Q	Types 1
Alt+W	Types 2
Alt+E	Types 3
Alt+R	Types 4
Alt+T	Types 5
Alt+Y	Types 6
Alt+U	Types 7
Alt+I	Types 8
Alt+O	Types 9
Alt+P	Types 0
Alt+B	Sets or removes a bookmark
Alt+Home	Goes to the Kindle Store
Menu button	Displays the time and available memory
Right on the 5-Way Controller	Moves to next chapter (when you are within a book). On the Home screen, pressing the right arrow on the 5-Way Controller brings you to the information screen about the book, blog, or other content that you are viewing.
Shift+Sym	Turns on Text-to-Speech
Spacebar	Pauses Text-to-Speech
Back button	Turns off Text-to-Speech
Alt+spacebar	Plays or stops MP3s
Alt+F	Skips to the next MP3
Alt+G	Refreshes the screen
Shift+Alt+M	Plays Minesweeper
Shift+Alt+G	Takes a screenshot of the current screen

Source: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/kindle-3-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

Organize your documents by creating collections

Do you put all your kindle books and documents on the home page without something like folders? Not a good idea. Follow the following steps to create Collections to organize your stuffs.

Step 1: Home=>Menu=>Create New Collection=>Enter Collection Name=>Save  You will see the
            collection you just created on the home page.

Step 2: Move cursor using 5-way controller to the book/file you would like to move and press the right
            arrow on the 5-way controller=>Add to Collection...=> Move cursor to the target collection and
            press the center of the 5-way controller to add. If you want to remove from the collection
            simply press the central button again. This is it!
            If you would like to delete one document from a collection, go to the collection and move
            cursor  to the document, press the right arrow on the 5-way controller, then select "Delete This
            Document".

Turn your non-KSO to KSO

Would like to have some sweet offers from Amazon such as half off the lighted leather kindle cover code but without KSO? No problem. Do the following to turn your non-KSO to KSO.

Step 1: Upgrade your kindle to V3.3
            Home=>Menu=>Settings=>Menu again=>Update Your Kindle.

Step 2: Go to your Amazon online account

To be posted: how to use Calibre to create your own .mobi kindle ebooks

Calibre is free and open source e-book computer software that organizes, saves and manages e-books, supporting a variety of formats. It also supports e-book syncing with a variety of popular e-book readers and will, within DRMrestrictions, convert e-books between differing formats （Wiki)

Coming soon ...

How to install Chinese Kindle Firmware " Duokan " on your kindle V3.3. 如何安装多看LITE 到最新KINDLE keyboard V3.3

This post is for those who would like to install the Chinese Kindle Firmware " DuoKan "  on their kindle 3G keyboard V3.3.
      You may find that the latest DuoKan Lite cannnot be installed on your Kindle V3.3 successfully. The ans. to this hassle is:
      Download and install " Lite1027.1642.rtm.zip "  instead of the latest Lite2011-12-02.C3177.rtm !!!  Latest may not be the best for you.
      Then following the steps shown in the following link:
      How to install " Duokan Lite" on your kindle 3G keyboard.
Please keep in mind of the risk of making your kindle a brick (though the chance is less than 1%).

6" Ebooks for teaching kids Chinese

I create these series books to urge my eight year old to learn Chinese by reading short stories. At this time, most of the ebooks with stories having 'Pin Yin', once the kids make progress, I will only leave a small portion of 'Pin Yin' in the books in the near future.

I personally think learning by reading is one of the best ways to learn a language.  

Hope you can benefit from these books.

1. 6英寸PDF电子书WORD模板    供有兴趣自己给孩子做电子书的参考
2. 认数字  （2岁小朋友用）
3. 认字母  （2岁小朋友用）
4. 说谎的放羊娃
5. 狼和小羊
6. 狐狸和葡萄
7. ...

You may download them by clicking "File" on the left corner on the page linked to, then choose " download original ".

More downloads can be found in the page of Chinese E Resource.

How to make your own 6" pdf file for your EReader

A word template you may use to create your own 6" ebook. Please click the download link below.


Word template for creating 6" pdf ebook.

To create Chinese stories with Pinyin (Not really for 6", this is for any size), simply follow these steps:

1. Download the Chinese WPS version WPS Office 2009. DO NOT use the latest WPS version or it
    won't work for this Pinyin plugin.
2. Download and install the Chinese Pinyin plugin 拼音居士.
3. Follow this link to see how to use it.

About this blog

I am the owner of three AMAZON kindles: kindle fire, kindle keyboard 3G and kindle keyboard wifi and one HP TouchPad. From the day I bought my kindle keyboard wifi, I have been thinking how to make best use of my kindle.

Conclusion: resource is the king!