Qs about QuickOffice, Prime & other stuff

[KlondikeGeoff]

I got the Kindle 1st Gen on 1/08. It still works perfectly, but friends have been touting the better screen on new models. After reading it all, I decided to get the Fire, and am glad I did.

I've loaded several apps and it is super for reading.

1. The QuickOffice app came with it, but I can't get the thing to open to where I can actually write anything, let alone save a document. I touch the icon, and a screen opens with icons for the word, spreadsheet and database programs.

OK, that looks simple, so I tap on Quickword and I get a black screen with two items at the top:
Internal Storage
Recent documents

Tapping on the first gives me a list of other apps, none of which are helpful. Tapping the icons at the bottom are no help ether. All it seems to do is want me to upgrade to the Pro version.

One would assume opening a word program would give you a screen where you could begin typing, but no luck. Any idea of this can be used? If not, how can I get rid of it?

Any got a recommendation for a free word processing app that works?

2. I just want to delete this stupid thing, but unlike other apps I have downloaded, holding down on it gives only one option, "Add to Favorites." What is with this? No way to delete this that I can find.

3. I have downloaded several news links. I find that with some I can use the finger gestures to zoom in. Others don't let me increase the size. Am I missing something here?

4. The free month of Prime is nice, especially the 2-day free shipping, but that alone is not worth the price of getting it after the free one expires.

The only thing that would justify buying is the free library books. I looked through them, and despite the four and five-star rating for almost all, I can't find much of anything other than romance novels, fantasy novels and other novice authors' stuff. I scrolled through many pages, finding only one book (a computer novel that only we geeks would like).

I also did a search for several recent books that I would want, and none of them were in the library.

Anybody find this worthwhile? I think the user reviews may be fixed or phony, but in any case, I don't see much there. Am I missing something here too?

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

[Blossom]

Quick Office is just a previewer. You have to upgrade to be able edit Office documents. When the Fire first came out they gave the pro version away for free. I don't know of any free office suites for Android. You cannot delete default apps without rooting.

[jsh1120]

Geoff,

Blossom already answered a couple of your questions. Let me take a crack at some of the others.

Gesture control (such as zooming) is completely under the control of the app, itself. Some apps allow it, some don't.

As far as Prime membership is concerned, that's very much a personal preference. Our family purchases enough from Amazon over the course of a year to compensate for the $79 cost purely in shipping cost savings. So I view the free book borrowing and "free" videos as gravy.

I do appreciate many of the videos including the first season of Downton Abbey and I've found several books worth reading but not purchasing (Moneyball, for example.) I do agree, however, that it takes a bit of looking for books that interest me enough to read but not to buy. Otherwise, I've found that borrowing e-books from my local library has been a great benefit that doesn't involve Prime membership.

[Athens80]

Originally Posted by KlondikeGeoff

Any got a recommendation for a free word processing app that works?

Check out Kingsoft Office at the 1Mobile app store. If you're interested in it, then you'll want to learn how to sideload apps onto the Fire.

Also, the free content changes from day to day. The Amazon app store has a good casual game for free today and the MobileRead Deals forum is a great source for links to free ebooks and other content.

[KlondikeGeoff]

Originally Posted by Athens80

Check out Kingsoft Office at the 1Mobile app store. If you're interested in it, then you'll want to learn how to sideload apps onto the Fire.

Also, the free content changes from day to day. The Amazon app store has a good casual game for free today and the MobileRead Deals forum is a great source for links to free ebooks and other content.

Thanks all, and Athens that Kingsoft Office looks great. I have downloaded it, but not yet had a chance to explore it.

As a long-time computer geek, I hate to admit that I have to call customer service, but I broke down and asked them why I could not delete Quickoffice, and also Facebook while I was at it (I would not join them if they paid me). They said that some, such as these, are part of the initial program, and cannot be uninstalled. Why this is, they don't know, so am stuck with the damned icons in the Apps page. Worse things have happened to me. :-)