Part I – Internet Stuff
Since the release of the Kindle 1, subsequent Kindle 2, Kindle for iPhone and upcoming Kindle DX, there are a lot of apps, hacks and sites that help you get content to your Kindle or just make using the Kindle a lot easier. This will be the first of a series of articles about Kindle Utilities. I’m not going to re-list any of the free book sites, you can see my current list here.
I’ll try to keep coherent and not wander all over the place. Whenever I start to discuss this, my conversation ends up as complicated as one of John Madden’s football play illustrations. I think its because of the crossover of some of the utilites, but it may be my unorganized mind.
So here goes…
Internet based tools are (mainly) web-only tools you would use when browsing the internet on your computer. They may also be accessible when using the Kindle experimental browser, but I haven’t tested them, unless specifically mentioned. Some may be a little buggy or may have quirks, but all are generally good services.
Instapaper – (http://www.instapaper.com/) Instapaper lets you add a button to your internet browser toolbar. When reading news or other articles on your computer, you can then click the instapaper button and the service will email the article to your Kindle. You can also use this service for iPhone/iTouch delivery and/or just to save the article for later reading on your computer.
Feedbooks – (http://www.feedbooks.com/) The Feedbooks site has listings and downloads of free and self-published books for many different ebook readers including the Kindle, as well as to Stanza and their News Stand application. The Feedbooks site is compatible with the Kindle’s web browser. For me, its easier to use their downloadable file than the browser, but that requires a one-time transfer (via USB or email) of a file to your Kindle. Once this is setup, you’ll be able to wirelessly update the file and use it to download books. Downloading via the file will not incur the $ .15/MB Amazon email charge.
You can use the one-time file setup for news and blog feeds as well.
Kindlefeeder – (http://www.kindlefeeder.com/) Kindlefeeder is a website that lets you aggregate your feeds for a single download of multiple feeds. They have a free and paid service, with wireless or email delivery (email delivery to your Kindle will incur the $ .15/MB Amazon charge). The feeds can be automated or manual.
They have a new service (like Feedbooks) that lets you update your feeds wirelessly from the Kindle after the initial Kindle download.
Mysteria – (http://oscurapress.com/mysteria/cgi-bin/mysteria.cgi) Mysteria is a service that reads your Amazon Wish List and sends you an email when a book on the list has been Kindled.
