iReader Review

Welcome to the iReaderReview Blog which covers Kindle 3, Kindle WiFi, Kindle DX and future releases like Kindle 4, color Kindle, and Nook 2.

Our Mission:

  1. Help people decide whether a Kindle 3, Kindle WiFi, or Kindle DX is right for them. 
  2. Help Kindle DX, Kindle 3, Kindle WiFi and Kindle owners get the most out of their Kindles.

If you’re deciding which Kindle 3 to buy, do check out -

  1. Kindle 3 Review.  
  2. Kindle WiFi Review. 
  3. Kindle vs Kindle WiFi – It compares the Kindle 3 with the Kindle WiFi.

If you’re deciding whether to buy a Kindle 2, the three posts you must check out are -

  1. The Kindle 2 Review which includes pros and cons.  
  2. An analysis of Kindle 2 Owner Reviews that shows 86% of them very happy/happy with it.  
  3. The Kindle Review Video post which has videos reviewing lots of the Kindle’s features.

New User Guide:

The most popular sections and posts on the blog are -

  1. Latest free books and book offers at the Free Kindle Books section of the blog.
  2. A huge list of free kindle book sites and sources. Our most popular post.
  3. Kindle PDF Conversion Guide, and PDF FAQ + Video Guide.
  4. The Kindle DX Review.
  5. The Kindle 2 Review.
  6. Top 25 Kindle Tips. Some of these apply to K2 too.
  7. Top 25 Kindle 2 Tips.  

You can also find the latest speculation and news on Kindle 3 at the Kindle 3 section of the blog, and latest speculation on Apple’s eBook Reader at the Apple iReader section.

The  kindle review post links to all kindle reviews and also has comparisons of the various kindles. 

We are very user-driven and please do leave requests, feedback and suggestions.

About the Site & Money

This post should explain things. You can also check -

  1. Why No Ads? Because WordPress.com doesn’t allow them.
  2. This is how the blog generates money – http://ireaderreview.com/2009/05/22/how-ireaderreview-makes-money/ 
  3. How do I get my book reviewed? A: Sorry, no book reviews.
  4. How do I get my book deal or book offer or cheap independent book mentioned? A: leave a comment.

This Blog makes money via the Amazon Associate program – In Association with Amazon. Basically – Kindle Review is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

About Me

You can check out my profile page at BookSummit.  My name’s abhi. Switch11 evolved from listening too much to 18 and Life by Skid Row.

******** Old Blog Description + Mission

******************************************

To correspond with the impending new Kindle 2 release, I’m moving to V2 of the kindle blog.  

Kindle 2 Blog Mission: Be the best Amazon Kindle blog. ‘Best Kindle Blog’ means three things -

  1. Delight Existing Kindle and Kindle 2 Users - Provide information on free books for the Kindle, Kindle tips and tricks, information on getting the most out of the Kindle. Along with Kindle related news and Kindle analysis.  
  2. Inform Prospective Kindle 2 and Kindle 3 Owners – Provide the best reviews (and links to reviews), details on Kindle 2, a comprehensive listing of pros and cons, and the best data points to help you decide whether a Kindle 2 is right for you.  
  3. Help build a strong Kindle community – and help Kindle owners, authors, Kindle site owners connect and work with each other.

1. > 2. > 3. Please let me know if there’s a way we can do a better job.

************************************************************************

************************************************************************

Kindle Blog 1.0 About Description: My Kindle Blog is focused on four areas – providing the best content and news for the Kindle, the latest interesting amazon and news topics i find, being the official blog for BookSummit (a book lovers/kindle owners social network), and being a place where prospective kindle owners can get unbiased data to help them make a decision.

  2. Interesting News and Cool Things - there’s a lot i want to write about and what better place than my blog to write about it.
  3. Updates on a kindle 2 forum + social network for kindle 2 owners, booksummit, that i started after seeing the enthusiasm surrounding the kindle.
  4. If you’re making a decision to buy the Kindle, to help you make an informed decision. The most important post for that purpose is  The Kindle Decision aka the $400 Question – Should I Buy a Kindle?. This in turn draws data from a lot of other posts i.e.
    5. And many more posts to come.

Please let me know your thoughts and I hope you get a lot of value from this blog.

39 Responses

  1. Pete, on April 11, 2008 at 2:26 am Said:

    Question: Can I join the Kindle network with my Dell Inspiration Laptop?
    petetestart@yahoo.com

    Reply
  2. switch11, on April 11, 2008 at 3:19 am Said:

    i don’t really understand your question – do you mean access the kindle wireless internet (whisper net) with your dell laptop?
    or do you mean buy books ?
    I checked at Amazon and they only let people with Kindles registered buy a Kindle edition of a book.
    They do have ebooks that you can buy – you will have to go outside of the kindle store to the main amazon book listing.
    As for whispernet i can’t confirm it – however i would think its restricted to Kindles.

    You can ask at the Amazon forums.
    hope this helps …

    Reply
  3. Heidi, on May 5, 2008 at 5:01 pm Said:

    How do I contact you with Kindle news tips?

    Thanks,
    Heidi

    Reply
  4. Errol Lincoln Uys, on August 8, 2008 at 5:18 pm Said:

    Can’t find any place to conact you besides this link, so will post this query here:

    I will welcome any comments or suggestions on what I call the “Kindle Illustrated Guide” to my historical novel, Brazil. I’ve edited and uploaded the book to Amazon’s DTP but before publishing it, I want to ensure that my online material is “Kindle-friendly.”

    The Guide is on my website at http://www.erroluys.com/Kindle/KindleIllustratedGuide.htm It is in two parts and includes 250 images and captions, genealogical charts and maps. — The novel comprises eight parts and an afterword, links at the end of each of these book sections to the relevant parts of the Guide. The Guide, in turn, is linked to my web archives for Brazil, which includes the journal I kept on my four-month trek to research the novel. http://www.erroluys.com/BrazilTheMakingofaNovel_000.htm

    Not owning a Kindle yet, I’ve followed various suggestions on the forums and blogs. Two questions: 1) Do I have the best layout for Kindle users who access my Guide? 2} Kindle’s display is black and white – Should I convert all my images to black and white for optimum display? Or can I leave them as is?

    As an editor and writer who saw his first published story set in hot type, I marvel at Kindle and its role in the future of the “printed” word. No traditional book form can possibly offer a reader the kind of cross-platform that I’ve developed for Brazil. For the non-Brazilian reader, especially, the Guide enhances the narrative and offers totally new insights into a little-known world beyond the stereotypes of Carnival, samba etc. Of course, novel illustrations aren’t new – Dickens was using them in the 19th century! Back to the future!

    Errol

    Reply
  5. Amy Bennett, on October 16, 2008 at 3:23 pm Said:

    Hi,

    ITworld is giving away a Kindle. Here’s the url to the form for the drawing.

    http://www.itworld.com/free-stuff

    We have a relatively small audience so the odds of winning are good.

    thanks,
    Amy

    Reply
  6. rob stolzy, on December 3, 2008 at 8:00 am Said:

    Who knows anything about AMAZON plans and timelines for de-restricting Kindle’s geographic coverage? I live just across border from U.S. in Quebec. Because of this, no satellite support for WhisperNet, no quick downloads, etc. I.E. — the KIndle is no longer a Kindle! Far as I can tell: this issue also effects anybody on vacation or business travel who crosses a U.S. boundary.
    ~Rob

    Reply
  7. switch11, on December 3, 2008 at 10:11 am Said:

    Rob, I’m in vancouver. There are no international plans that have been revealed so far. In the UK the press have been predicting a kindle launch for over 6 months and nothing’s happened.
    I think Amazon do have international plans and the whole free internet issues is becoming an issue with the carriers. Also, don’t know if Kindle 2 will have support for technologies used by carriers in other countires.

    Reply
  8. John Hermansen, on December 17, 2008 at 1:22 pm Said:

    The Kindle phenomenon really seams to be taking off. Larry Golob posted about it today for the Global IP Solutions (GIPS) company blog http://gipscorp.com/blog/.

    Reply
  9. Ms. Flecha, on February 1, 2009 at 12:33 pm Said:

    I am trying to find out if you can use a Kindle to post on a blog – like can you use wordpress on it, for example? or just to read blogs? And how do you go about getting a blog available on Kindle? Thanks for creating this blog, tho, because I think there are bigger questions beyond the “$400″ dollar one, and you are finding the ways of digging into them – very cool

    Reply
  10. switch11, on February 1, 2009 at 1:20 pm Said:

    Ms Flecha – here are the answers

    1) can you use wordpress. I don’t know if anyone’s tried it. I’m in canada so can’t test it out for you. try the official kindle forum.
    2) read blogs – yes. you can get either paid subscriptions OR read it free – http://ireaderreview.com/2008/09/23/top-19-amazon-kindle-tips-do-you-get-the-most-out-of-your-kindle/ tip # 5
    3) check this page for how to get a blog available for kindle readers. Note that you must have entire posts available in your rss. https://www.amazon.com/gp/html-forms-controller/Digital_Periodicals_Sign-up

    Reply
  11. Vaughn, on February 5, 2009 at 2:43 pm Said:

    1. Storage capacity on 2.0 has SD been eliminated? if so, how does one increase capacity?

    2. I live across the border of San Diego but do come over often enough, which should allow for wireless downloads, upgrades etc. correct?

    3. Pricing and release? Is $249 confirmed? release 2/9/09?
    tks

    Reply
  12. switch11, on February 5, 2009 at 5:31 pm Said:

    Vaughn,
    I don’t know about storage capacity being removed.
    On your 2nd point – yeah you’re right. you can just come over to the whisper net coverage area to get updates, books, etc.
    3. The price rumors that I’ve heard are actually $399. And Feb 9th will probably be the announcement date. don’t know when actual release will be.

    Reply
  13. Sue Sanders, on February 10, 2009 at 2:11 pm Said:

    My husband and I have been the very proud owners of 2 Kindles since July last year. I have just received information on the new Kindle which looks amazing..along with all the specifications etc they mention that New York Bestsellers from Kindle sell for $9.99..I have noticed recently, I would say since the beginning of this year 2009, that many new releases are in excess of this figure
    Quote from your Kindle release
    ” New York Times Best Sellers and most new releases are $9.99, and you’ll find many books for less.”
    one example:Very Valentine (Kindle Edition)
    by Adriana Trigiani (Author) $14.03
    Very unhappy now

    Reply
  14. Pat Schubert, on February 21, 2009 at 3:57 pm Said:

    Is there any way we can get Amazon to set up a WISHLIST for Kindle owners? Lots of times I find a book I’d like to get, but the price is almost $15 and I’d like to wait til it gets cheaper=or until I’ve read a few more of the many pages of books I already have. I’ve had kindle 1 since Jan 08 and am now waiting for Kindle 2.

    Reply
  15. Jim Pedersen, on February 22, 2009 at 9:40 pm Said:

    Am I the only one who does not trust the ONE-CLICK PAYMENT SYSTEM? Any time you cannot see ALL the charges AND terms BEFORE giving your credit card number is cause for concern. This is going to be a problem I think.

    Reply
  16. Jenn, on February 28, 2009 at 7:48 am Said:

    Can you higlight on a kindle 2? I am looking into to getting a kindle 2 for school purposes. It will be a lot easier and ligher to keep all my articles on the kindle than carrying around pages upon pages of heavy books and paper, but I need to be able to highlight the important parts of the readings.

    Reply
    • switch11, on February 28, 2009 at 11:42 am Said:

      yes Jenn, you can highlight.
      The Kindle 2 User Guide has a section on annotations that explains this. There are various types of annotations available.
      Bookmarks — mark an entire page for later reference.
      Highlights — mark a passage on a page for later reference.
      Notes — add your thoughts about a passage.
      Clippings – Clip an entire section of a periodical, etc. and store in a ‘My Clippings’ file.

      Reply
  17. Hamilton, on March 11, 2009 at 6:12 am Said:

    Can you update/purchase books for your Kindle 2 using the USB port connected to a PC?

    Reply
    • switch11, on March 11, 2009 at 9:05 am Said:

      purchase – yes.
      i’m not sure what you mean by update a book? if you mean get previous purchases that you had deleted from your Kindle 2 – yes.

      Reply
  18. watducare, on May 5, 2009 at 7:03 pm Said:

    does kindle work outside the U.S?????

    Reply
    • switch11, on May 5, 2009 at 8:19 pm Said:

      whispernet i.e. wireless delivery of books and free internet doesn’t work. i use the kindle in canada and what you have to do outside US is download to your computer and then transfer to Kindle or Kindle 2 via USB.
      so it’s usable – however, no whispernet.

      also you must have a credit card with a us address to buy books.

      Reply
  19. Kim, on July 29, 2009 at 12:12 pm Said:

    Hello Abhi,
    I would like to talk to you about permission to reprint one of your blog posts in a newsletter i am editing. If you can contact me at the email address i supplied with this post, I look forward to hearing from you.
    thanks!!
    Kim

    Reply
  20. Jon Hovis, on August 8, 2009 at 9:12 am Said:

    I just found this site and as an author with a book available on kindle, I was wondering if there was a place to post news about a book that is available on kindle or one that is going to be published soon?
    Thanks so much,
    Jon Hovis.

    Reply
    • switch11, on August 8, 2009 at 11:13 am Said:

      Jon, the standard method is to leave a comment on any post, preferably one that has independent authors or free books listed. If it’s on a free book post or indie author post the post and the link to your book will be left intact.
      And then whenever the next free book or indie author post is done your book will be included. Preference is obviously given to books that are reviewed well. And to books that are lower priced.

      Reply
  21. Karl F Schuman, on November 6, 2009 at 11:06 am Said:

    I am mostly interested in a electronic reader for work documents, PDF’s and Word. What is the best inexpensive e reader for this purpose?

    Reply
    • switch11, on November 6, 2009 at 11:19 am Said:

      sony reader pocket edition supports PDF and Word and is $199.
      refurbished kindle 1 ($149) and refurbished kindle 2 ($219) are also options – however, you have to convert PDFs and Docs yourself or via amazon’s conversion service (free for files sent to your email address, 15 cent per MB for files sent straight to the Kindle).

      it’s a tough choice – however, any one of those three would be good.

      Check my review of the three – http://ireaderreview.com/2009/09/21/used-kindle-2-vs-used-kindle-1-vs-sony-reader-pocket/

      If you want PDF and Word support without conversion – pocket edition.
      If free Internet is more important and you’re ok with conversions – one of the kindles.

      Reply
      • Karl, on November 6, 2009 at 6:14 pm Said:

        Hi Switch11,

        Thanks for the quick reply and additional research information. I am leaning towards the Sony as we also use the library a lot but I have many PDF”S from Cisco that are 600 to over 1000 pages and I already spend too much time on my computer. I am a little concerned about the lack of search and I also would like to know how the graphics would look as there are many network diagrams in these documents. Do you know if you can jump to a section from the table of contents as I would hate to have to try to scroll through 1000 pages to find the information I am looking for?

        Thanks.

  22. Nicky Poggi, on November 10, 2009 at 7:00 am Said:

    I have a kindle and live overseas, my son had it in his backpack and when it took it out the screen was broken.I rang kindle in the U.S and they offer no support o/s. They mentioned if we are in the U.S I could buy a new Kindle 1 for $99. Apparently they get a lot of broken screens, they are very delicate.

    I will probably buy a sony or something else that has worldwide support and warrenty. ..even their international version has no warrenty outside the U.S.

    Reply
  23. J. Robert, on November 16, 2009 at 7:49 am Said:

    We have the Kindle, and love it. We purchased the Kindle cover at additional expense. It sounds like it was worth it considering the broken display story. On the other hand back packers in general are more likely to chuck the Kindle in their back pack with their sneakers and whatever else. Yes, you need to be careful with electronics. I will stick with Kindle especially because of free internet access and now internationally. I am purchasing a second Kindle–one for me, and one for my wife.

    Reply
  24. Clinton, on December 6, 2009 at 3:50 am Said:

    Is it possible to do crosswords on a kindle

    Reply
  25. midge holmes, on February 20, 2010 at 2:00 pm Said:

    How do you archive a kindle book that you have purchased and read?

    Reply
  26. drtaxsacto, on April 5, 2010 at 4:57 pm Said:

    Thanks, I discovered your site today while browsing for something on my iPad. I have used a Kindle since the first version. I will switch from Kindle to the iPad because of the extra features – but because Amazon updated their AP for the iPad I am as likely to keep buying content from Apple.

    Compared to a lot of other discussions on the Kindle v iPad – I think this site is informative and well done. Thanks.

    Reply
  27. williekbob, on April 7, 2010 at 4:55 pm Said:

    Thinking of buying a Kindle. What is the difference between 1 and 2? Besides price.

    Reply
  28. simon wood, on July 30, 2010 at 8:38 pm Said:

    Hi Switch11,

    I was interested in submitting details of one of my bargain books for mention on your blog. Do you have a procedure or guidelines for that?

    Thanks and all the best.
    Simon

    Reply

Leave a Reply