Top 5 tips for new Kindle users
Posted under: So you’ve got a fancy new Kindle eReader? You might be aware you can read books on it (I sure hope) but Kindles are capable of a bit more than simply reading books purchased from Amazon. Here’s a list of the top 5 things you should try after getting your new kindle.
Custom Wallpapers:
After using your Kindle for a while, the portrait of Emily Dickenson will start to haunt your dreams. Luckily, there’s a way to add your own custom wallpapers (though Amazon doesn’t officially support a way to do this). To add your own wallpapers you’ll need to “jailbreak” it, which is a pretty easy process. The Mobileread forums have the most upto date instructions on how to jailbreak your device and install the custom screensaver hack which you can find here.
Get Instapaper delivered to your Kindle:
Instapaper is an awesome online service for saving articles online to read later. It makes reading long articles on the web much more pleasant and allows me to defer reading some excellent writing for boring bus rides or quiet evenings. Since I read a lot online my Instapaper queue tends to really get backlogged. Thankfully the developer of Instapaper has set up an automatic delivery system for Kindle users. Using your free Kindle email address Instapaper can send a compilation of upto 20 unread articles automatically or manually on a set interval. Head to the Manage your Kindle page at Instapaper for instructions on how to set it up.
Kindle Optimized Websites:
You are probably aware that the Kindle has a rudimentary web browswer (If not check it out by going to Menu > Experimental > Launch Browser). Even though the browser is based on the Webkit engine (the same engine that powers Google Chrome and Safari) the browsing experience can be a bit cumbersome. Luckily there’s a tool called Kinstant (http://www.kinstant.com) that hat can optimize websites for the Kindle by simplifying the formatting. You can even bookmark your commonly visited sites to save you some typing.
Custom Firmware:
The Kindle has a pretty good list of supported ebook formats, but if you’re looking for support for a few more (epub, doc, djvu & better pdf support) some rather crafty Chinese programmers have created a custom firmware for Kindle called Duokan. It’s a bit of an involved installation process but it may be worth it you’ve got an extensive ebook collection in another format or can’t stand to see your personal electronics go un-tweaked (I’m guilty of this.) Check out this installation guide to get you started with the proper files and step-by-step instructions.
PDF Conversion:
Although the Kindle does officially support PDF files, the reading experience is far from optimal. Luckily the easiest way to convert your PDFs to a Kindle format is both free and simple! Amazon offers a conversion service for free! You can send documents to your kindle for free over wifi by sending an email with attachment to your name@free.kindle.com address (go Menu > Settings > Page 2 to check your “Device Email”.) To convert a PDF, attach to to an email and send it to your @free.kindle.com device email with the subject “convert“.
That’s it for now. What are some awesome tips you’ve got for Kindle users? Share it in the comments.
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Meet Derek
Derek Wilson is an undergraduate mechanical engineer at the University of Saskatchewan. He has a passion for technology, music and theatre. He's a natural problem solver with a knack for building wombat houses out of used leather belts.
Excellent post! I shall power my way through these links eventually
[...] device for offline reading). You can even go one step further and have it send articles to your Kindle to round out your reading [...]
I’ll definitely have to check these out.
I think you should mention Calibre though (http://calibre-ebook.com/). Definitely the best way to manage your books.
Colin, you are so right. Calibre is fantastic. I was gonna give some shout-outs at the bottom but totally forgot.