Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Kindle Tips: Kindle for Android v4.4 is ready, should fix v4.3 problems and has enhanced features. Free Android App of the day (today only) is the popular The Bard's Tale, usually $3. More solid news of Amazon's coming streaming-video-(maybe games too)-to-TV gizmo. UPDATED

POPULAR $2.99 APP IS FREE JUST TODAY, Wed, 3/19/14

For those who may have missed it (I don't look most days myself), a popular app is the Free Android App of the Day today. It's The Bard's Tale"

And, while we're on the subject of Android apps, the noteworthy Tom Semple sent an alert the other day to the new Kindle For Android update v4.4 arriving finally, after some problems reported with v4.3, somewhat ameliorated by the response by a customer rep (to a customer) that explained which Android app users were most likely to be affected by the problem(s).

The latest Kindle for Android update v4.4 update released this week includes the following features and performance enhancements:
'
* Select additional fonts while reading
* Use the enhanced Table of Contents to search and navigate your book (if available)
* Enable and disable auto-brightness while reading
* Faster book cover loading
* Fixed sensitivity when using the volume buttons to turn pages
'

Amazon's own video-streaming gizmo said to be ready very soon, possibly early in April
CBS Moneywatch News has a details from two stories on this, from Wall Street Journal and TechCrunch.  It would compete with Google's Chromecast and Roku products but may be able to do even more.  Click the link to see a good description of what it would do and links to the original stories.

  Update - The Wall Street Journal article by Greg Bensinger is protected behind a firewall, but from time to time they allow access via Google Searches if you google the full title of the article.  Then the full article is shown in those cases.

Some additional details excerpted:
' ... Pricing remains unclear, though the people familiar with the company's plans said the device likely would come with incentives available to members of Amazon's Prime streaming video and shipping program.
...
Streaming video is becoming an important new arena for Amazon, as it battles for viewers with Netflix Inc., Hulu LLC and Time Warner Inc.'s HBO Go.
...
In recent weeks, Amazon has held talks with record companies and music publishers in hopes of creating an on-demand music-streaming service for Prime customers, people familiar with the matter have said.

Amazon has distributed a pre-production version of its streaming device to select app developers, and has indicated it will carry the Fire name Amazon uses for Kindle tablet computers, these people said... '




Current Kindle Models for reference, plus free-ebook search links.
US:
New Kindle Fire HD 7" 2nd Gen - $139/169
Kindle Fire HDX 7" 16-64GB - $229/269/309
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" 16-64GB - $379/429/479
- with 4G added: $479/529/579
Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16GB - 1st Gen $269 $229
  $299 Price rise ~2/24/14
- 32GB w/ no special-offers: $314
Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89
Kindle Touch WiFi - $99
Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi - $119/$139
Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi+3G - $189
Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free web
Kindle DX - $379 $199
UK:
Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £59
Kindle Paperwhite 2, WiFi
£109
Kindle Paperwhite2 3G, UK
£169
Kindle Fire Basic HD 8/16GB, UK
 from £119
Kindle Fire HDX 7" 16-64GB, UK
from £199. 4G/3G
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" 16-64GB, UK - from £329. 4G/3G

CANADA - Kindlestore, CDN-$
Kindle Basic, NoTouch - $79
Kindle Paperwhite 2 - $139
Kindle Paperwhite 2, 3G - $209
KFire HD Yr 2012 7" $214,  8.9" $244.
Yr 2013 KFires: HD Gen2, HDX line
India - Amazon India


*OTHER Int'l pages*
Kindle NoTouch Basic - $89
Paperwhite 2 WiFi $139, 3G/Wifi $209
KFire HD Yr 2012: 7" $214,  8.9" $244
Yr 2013: HD Gen2 + HDX line

Australia Kindlestore
France Boutique Kindle
Deutschland - Kindle Store
Italia - Kindle Store
Spain - Tienda Kindle
Brazil - Amazon Brazil
China - Amazon China [?]
Amazon Japan - Japan

  For daily free ebooks, check the following links:
Temporarily-free books - Non-classics
USA: by:
   Publication Date  
   Bestselling   High-ratings

UK: PubDate   Popular

The Kindle Daily Deal

What is 3G? and "WiFi"?       Battery Care

Highly-rated under $1
,  Newest: $1-$2, $2-$3
Most Popular Free K-Books
U.S. & Int'l (NOT UK):
   Top 100 free
UK-Only:
   Top 100 free

Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.

USEFUL for your Kindle Keyboard (U.S. only, currently):
  99c Notepad 1.1,   99c Calculator,
  99c Calendar,   99c Converter

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button

Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle


(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
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