I could never understand why anyone would want to own an e-Reader. Then my grown children gave me a Kindle Touch and I have found ways to make it do for me much of what a smart phone or an iPad does for other people. One day it will replace my aging Sony Clie' handheld. I do not have a smart phone, nor an iPad. I have discovered my e-Reader is not just for reading books. (I am well aware there are other e-Readers and will make some mention of them, but my experience is with the Kindle Touch, so it will receive more attention.)
Much of what I discuss here will be old material to people who have had a Kindle for a couple of years, but will be very much appreciated by a new owner. Still, this will provide long-term owners an opportunity to share things they have learned. And, I may share something here others had not discovered.
Each Kindle model has slightly different features and a slightly different control mechanism for entering commands. Check to see which features your choice has before purchasing it. Amazon has comparison charts on its models. Go to the web pages for the other makes (Nook, Sony, etc) to compare their features.
Much of what I discuss here will be old material to people who have had a Kindle for a couple of years, but will be very much appreciated by a new owner. Still, this will provide long-term owners an opportunity to share things they have learned. And, I may share something here others had not discovered.
Each Kindle model has slightly different features and a slightly different control mechanism for entering commands. Check to see which features your choice has before purchasing it. Amazon has comparison charts on its models. Go to the web pages for the other makes (Nook, Sony, etc) to compare their features.
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1: The Learning Curve
I thought it could not be too hard to use a Kindle. The green line represents what I expected. But, there IS a learning curve made worse by the fact I somehow did not see the Kindle User's Guide that comes installed on every new Kindle. Still, there are some things I discovered, myself. I wish those were in the User's Guide, but were not. Do read the User's Guide. When I mention a Kindle learning curve to people who have one, they get a look on their face that says, "You sure got that right!!!!" The black line is what I and others I know have discovered.
Amazon has some good helps in its Kindle forums. Very knowledgeable people are good about giving good advice, both online consultants and other users.
Amazon has some good helps in its Kindle forums. Very knowledgeable people are good about giving good advice, both online consultants and other users.
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
You can try using a rubber or even the metal end of your pen next time you are holding a device with capacitive technology and you will notice that it doesn't work.
Thank you for a great instructable! Many people don't realize how usable thease devices can be :)
One thing worthy of note, is for those who for whatever reason are prone shaky hands, should try to make clunkier touches rather than light taps.
Having a shaky finger within the detection field can cause multiple signals of whatever command you were issuing, most notably skipping two or three pages by accident, or incorrectly registering a vertical swipe, causing chapter movements.
Your profile does not indicate clearly where you live, but I believe it is outside the United States. I know that a rubber in some countries is what we call an eraser in the USA. A rubber in the USA is a slang name for a condom. I once heard of a high school exchange student who perplexed and dismayed her host family when she said she needed a rubber. They wondered why she would need a condom. She was simply asking for an eraser.
Here a Kindle costs about U$S 250, that is a bit too much for me. An eReader costs about U$S 167, a little more affordable.
I had a generic Tablet PC, a bit better than the GPS in some features (not its manageability at bed!) but I broke the screen, and I am undecided to repair it.
Thank you for the comment. What you describe sounds like a lot of work. I hope prices are lower soon.
Phil
Thanks again for this detailed post.
Thanks for this show and tell!
I bought a Kindle touch just after Christmas and have been trying to find how to do some of these things EVER SINCE. One thing I found on my own was that if you copy music files into the "audible" file, then you can find them right on the main page. Just go to the Music collection on the main page and it will bring up all your selections. You play them by touching the name of the selection just like selecting a book the "doc" collection.
This is most certainly true! ;-)
I don't have the touch version, but I love my Kindle. I read a LOT and would have rolled my eyes at anyone preaching about ebook readers before I got one. Now I wouldn't travel/read without one. It's lighter, easier to carry and if I'm travelling abroad I can take 10 books with me without having to worry about if I have space. Love it, I'm definitely converted.
James