Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Here's a neat Kindle tip

Just discovered that I can send Word documents to my Kindle 3 from my PC and, along the way, Amazon converts the Word file to text that looks like another book on my Kindle 3. I don't have to plug-in my Kindle to the PC to get this done. It's a wireless transfer from Amazon to the Kindle.

This works great for longer website posts, like from Slate, The Daily Beast, various magazines, etc. Any text item on the web that I want to take time reading. Instead of printing it on a piece on paper, I select the text from the website and paste it into a Word document and then, through the process below, I send it to my Kindle so I can read it at my leisure. Similar to printing it on paper, but saves paper and it's handier having it ready-to-read on my Kindle.

To do this, I first had to download some free software from Amazon. It loads easily on the PC (not yet available for Macs) and, once installed, all you do is save your Word file and then "right click" on the file name and select "send to Kindle." It immediately starts to upload. It's fast and that's it. Next time I pick up my Kindle, there it is, ready to read. To get the free software for your Kindle, go to www.Amazon.com/sendtokindle

This little trick is currently (March, 2012) not available for the Barnes & Noble Nooks. When this happens, be sure to let me know by sending an email to the address at the top of the page. Thanks.

I used the monochrome (black and white) Kindle 3 keyboard model. However, I believe the procedure I've described works on all Kindles, including the new Kindle Fire. If you have a Kindle other than the "3," let me know if this works on your unit, as I've described it.

The link below shows you what my Kindle 3 looks like and will take you Amazon so you can order it: