Kindle Tips
Kindle South Africa has scoured the internet to source useful hints and tips to improve your Kindle's usability and answer some questions we often get asked. If you have a great tip you would like us to share with the rest of the Kindle community in South Africa, please email us to have your very own tip included. We'll aim to update the Kindle tips pages on a regular basis so please check back soon.
Kindle Tip #1. Surf the web
The Amazon Kindle has a built in web browser. It’s not the best, however it is more than adequate for reading the news on IOL, Wikipedia, Twitter, etc. Unfortunately you won’t be able to open multiple screens, it is thought that Amazon is working on it for the next generation Kindle. To access your Kindle browser push the Menu → Experimental → Launch Browser.
Kindle Tip #2. Play Games on your Kindle
You can find a hidden a copy of Minesweeper and GoMoku on your Kindle. To launch minesweeper, press Shift, Alt and M simultaneously. You can use the arrow keys to move up and down and use the button to select a mine.
To launch GoMoko, press G. Gomoko is an oriental came similar to the American Tic-Tac-Toe.
Kindle Tip #3. Ghetto Satnav! Get driving directions on your Kindle
If you bookmark maps.google.com/m/directions in your Kindle's web browser, you can use it to get travel directions if you ever get lost. Seeing as a wifi hotsport is not always at hand - the 3G model is best suited. Your Kindle can display Google Maps too, but the text-only version is faster to use.
Kindle Tip #3. Email documents or files to your Kindle
Each Kindle has a unique email address, and you can email compatible documents to your one by sending them to your Kindle. If you can't remember what it is, log into Amazon.co.uk and go to Your Account > Manage Your Kindle (or on your Kindle's home screen press Menu > Settings > Experimental. Amazon's site also enables you to create a list of approved emails: messages from addresses you haven't approved will be ignored. If you've got a 3G model and you're emailing documents to it, use the free.kindle.com address. This will send docs via Wi-Fi and you won't get charged as with the 3G version.
Kindle Tip #4. Kindle Frozen Screen? Refresh it
Kindle South Africa has received numerous emails about the Kindle screen being frozen and what to do. Well, before you contact Amazon Support, here is a simple solution to try. Press: Alt-G and that should refresh your Kindle's screen display. If the problem persists, Slide the power switch to the right and keep it there until the screen goes completely blank. Now it is completely switched off. Power it back on to see if the problem has been solved. In the case that it hasn't, please contact Amazon Kindle Support.
Kindle Tip #6. Sent pages on the internet to your Kindle
This is a clever little app. Instapaper is a service which would send any web page to your Kindle in South Africa so you can read it later. It is free to sign up and you can automatically receive your daily digest of articles delivered directly to your Kindle.
Here is a helpful video on how to install Instapaper to your Kindle. Kindle
Kindle Tip #7. Let you Kindle read your books - just like an Audio book
Unless the book publisher has not disabled it, your Kindle can turn your book into an audio book by reading it our loud.
To active this, hit the Text menu button (this is the one with the upper & lower case letter "A" on it) → select Text-to-Speech: Turn On. Shift-Sym then starts and stops the reading feature and the space bar pauses and resumes. (Also see Kindle Frozen Screen troubleshooting)
If you come across a word which you don't understand, simply use the arrow keys to move the cursor to it. A dictionary definition will pop up, making reading and learning new words a breeze. Press the Return key to see full definitions, and if you need yet more use the right arrow to highlight Search Dictionary. Press right-arrow again and you can make your Kindle search itself, the Kindle store, Google or Wikipedia. Pretty clever stuff!
Kindle Tip #9. Take a screen shot
Use Alt-Shift-G and this will take a screen shot of what is on your Kindle's screen at that moment. The file will be stored as a GIF file in your Documents folder.
Kindle Tip #10. Boost the battery
The Kindle has an amazing battery life but you can make it last even longer by turning the Wi-Fi or 3G off when you are not using it. By having these turned off while reading a book it will extend your battery life dramatically.