Perplexing, how do you actually use this thing?

[Kindler2]

Hi all and thanks for the forum here.

A friend recently published a book through Amazon and the book is available in Kindle form. I downloaded the free Kindle for PC the other day and bought several books which work fine. Later, totally by surprise, I got a 6" Kindler for Christmas.

So far I have been successful at charging it and turning it on, but that's it. I've haven't read a thing. I'm not much of a gadget person to start with and thought I'd try this forum to see if I can figure out how to use it. Here goes.

I read the hard copy of instructions and basically accomplished nothing. It mentioned registering it if it was received as a gift, but I don't see how to register it.

I see the control functions and they all seem to work but the five position scroll button.

I have tried to import my Kindle books from the computer without success.

I see a dictionary and a table of contents. I have yet to figure out how to even open the dictionary, much less scroll through the TOC and open information.

At this point I wish I would have just handed the package back and never opened it. I'm not much of a gadget person anyway, and before I resort to a quick sale on ebay to get rid of this aggravating thing I'd like to ask, in simple layman terms:

1) Does it have to be registered in order to use it? Are the functions dis-armed until it's registered?
2) How do I register it?
3) How does the five position scroll button work?
4) How do I transfer my bought Kindle books from the computer to the 6" Kindle itself?
5) Is this going to be worth it, or is it just another gizmo in the process of development and refinement to be aggravated with?

Thanks for any advice you may offer to help me actually use this thing.

[kennyc]

Oh My. Welcome to MobileRead. You certainly don't have to have it registered to use, but to access Amazon books you will. You can either go to the Amazon site itself with your PC and register by using the serial number or you can do it directly from the Kindle under settings (I believe).

The 5-way control is quite simple just a joystick up to move the highlight up, down, etc press it down to select the highlighted item.

To transfer books from the computer to the Kindle. I think you will have to download them again but specifically for the Kindle itself rather than for the Kindle4PC (though I'm far from certain about that)

I'm sure the duck (daffy4U) will be along who is a kindle expert.

Also on the Amazon site are Kindle forums and help and people and information..

[Mike L]

Kindler2,

I urge you to persevere. The Kindle is just like any other gadget. You have to invest a bit of time in learning your way round, but once you've got the hang of it, it's extremely simple to use.

Your first stop should be to visit the "Manage Your Kindle" page on the Amazon website. Go to the Kindle section of the page, and look for the "Manage Your Kindle" link on the left-hand side, under "Around the Store".

Actually, you should already have been there, because that's where you will have registered your Kindle for PC application.

Click on the "Register a new Kindle" link, and enter the 16-digit serial number from the back of the Kindle.

Next, scroll down the page. You should see a list of the books that you purchased for your Kindle for PC. In each case, select your Kindle from the "Deliver To .." dropdown. This will cause the book in question to be sent to the device.

(I'm assuming you are in Whispernet range. If so, make sure that Whispernet is switched on. That should be obvious from the little icon at the top-right of the Kindle screen. If you're outside Whispernet, you can still get your books onto the Kindle but it's a little more complicated.)

Once you've got the books on the device, you should see all the titles when you press the Home button.

To read a book, use the five-way controller. This is like a joystick. Move it down to get the pointer on the title you want. Then press the five-way controller. (It's a bit like using a mouse on the computer.)

The above should get you started. Give it a try, and come back if you need any more help.

[HarryT]

The one book that you need to read is the User Guide. This should already be on your Kindle.

[daffy4u]

There are videos on Amazon to help you.


Quick Start Video

3 videos on the Kindle "buy page"

Online Help Guide (not a video)

[desertgrandma]

Welcome to MobileRead, kindler2.

Here is a link to Amazons 'quick start' page. If it doesn't help, and you are still 'lost', you can use the "contact us" button on the right.....you'll need to sign into your Amazon account, and select the "call back" feature........almost instant callback Good luck!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...deId=200375430

[Kindler2]

Thanks for the suggestions. Here is an example of what I'm talking about.

I just turned the Kindle on. I then got to HOME. It shows two items; the Kindle User's Guide, 1st Ed, the New Oxford American Dictionary, and (0) Archived items. Every time I hit the five way scroll button it opens the Users Guide. Once I'm there, the scroll button doesn't scroll. I can hit NEXT PAGE to go through the instructions, but I can't scroll and highlight a section to go to. If I hit home again and try to access the Dictionary, it starts the same process over with the User's Guide.

I did hit the little button Aa that is supposed to let you set the Point Size and make the "print" larger or smaller. I tried to scroll through that too and make the point size larger. Every time I hit the five way scroll button it jumps back to the previous page.

What is the magic trick to the scroll button? The only thing it has done so far is to highlight the User's Guide. I haven't seen it scroll anything yet.

[HarryT]

I would respectfully suggest that you read the first few pages of the User's Guide. It explains how all the "navigation" controls work.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Kindler2

Thanks for the suggestions. Here is an example of what I'm talking about.

I just turned the Kindle on. I then got to HOME. It shows two items; the Kindle User's Guide, 1st Ed, the New Oxford American Dictionary, and (0) Archived items. Every time I hit the five way scroll button it opens the Users Guide. Once I'm there, the scroll button doesn't scroll. I can hit NEXT PAGE to go through the instructions, but I can't scroll and highlight a section to go to. If I hit home again and try to access the Dictionary, it starts the same process over with the User's Guide.

I did hit the little button Aa that is supposed to let you set the Point Size and make the "print" larger or smaller. I tried to scroll through that too and make the point size larger. Every time I hit the five way scroll button it jumps back to the previous page.

What is the magic trick to the scroll button? The only thing it has done so far is to highlight the User's Guide. I haven't seen it scroll anything yet.

I'm not sure what you mean by "scroll." There is no scroll. The 5-way lets you move between "links" or words (for dictionary look up) on the page. You use the next and previous buttons to change pages.

on the home page with the two items you should be able to toggle up (towards the top of the kindle) or down(towards the bottom of the kindle) on the 5-way (like a joystick) to highlight/underline one or the other of the two books and press in (like literally press the button) to select that item. DON'T PRESS IN ON THE BUTTON/CONTROL when you want to go up or down (or right or left)

The manual is also on line at: http://kindle.s3.amazonaws.com/Kindl...s_Guide_v3.pdf

read it there if you can't read it on your kindle.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I would respectfully suggest that you read the first few pages of the User's Guide. It explains how all the "navigation" controls work.

+++


.

[daffy4u]

About 1 minute and 40 seconds into the Quick Start Video they begin to explain how to use the joystick.

[Kindler2]

Most of things suggested above I had read before or tried before. After the last post I found the low-tech solution to the high-tech problem.

Like so many others I have an iPhone and a pocket size point and shoot digital camera. I had scratched the viewfinder on the camera because it didn't have a protective plastic covering, and when I got the iPhone I made sure I had all the scratch-proof protection I could get. It drives me nuts to scratch something new...or old...it's just one of those hang ups, and probably a good one. After scratching the camera I've had a big concern about keeping my other view finders protected.

Same with the Kindle and now you can figure out the rest of the story. I wouldn't take the plastic protective covering off till I found something to put the Kindle in to protect it. So...the toggle didn't work right because the plastic protector was still over it. Every time I "toggled" it, it was like pressing it down. To me it felt like I was moving it correctly, but this didn't transfer properly to the device itself. Once I took the plastic off I then discovered instantly how it works.

Now, I have it registered, the books have been transfered from PC to Kindle2, I can scroll, I can use the search feature, and I'm actually loving the thing now.

I'm going to see about a cover to put the whole device in. I still have this hang-up about scratching it, but after this episode I'm not sure I can find anything other than putting the original plastic film back over it and just cutting out a small hole for the toggle switch.

Now, back to the instructions to see if it will cut and paste.

Thank you all for your suggestions and patience. No wonder I was having trouble the rest of you weren't. It all centered on the toggle that wouldn't work because of the plastic film protector. Now I can actually spend a little time reading and learning the rest of it.

I wanted to be sure to mention this, as nutty as it sounds, because I'm guessing someone else is, or will be, going through the same scenerio. So, the next time we see a newbie poster with a similar problem, we can make sure they have taken the cover off! Or at least cut out an opening for the toggle switch.

Thanks again.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by Kindler2

I wanted to be sure to mention this, as nutty as it sounds, because I'm guessing someone else is, or will be, going through the same scenerio. So, the next time we see a newbie poster with a similar problem, we can make sure they have taken the cover off! Or at least cut out an opening for the toggle switch.

Thanks again.

It's not a rare as one might think. My 83 year old Mother did the same thing. I was trying to teach her via phone and it took the longest time to realize she hadn't removed the plastic cover either. I'd forgotten all about it.

[kennyc]

It's always something.....

Thanks for following up and esplanin'

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by Kindler2

Now, I have it registered, the books have been transfered from PC to Kindle2, I can scroll, I can use the search feature, and I'm actually loving the thing now. HOORAY HOORAY!!!

I'm going to see about a cover to put the whole device in. I still have this hang-up about scratching it, but after this episode I'm not sure I can find anything other than putting the original plastic film back over it and just cutting out a small hole for the toggle switch.

Now, back to the instructions to see if it will cut and paste.

Thank you all for your suggestions and patience. No wonder I was having trouble the rest of you weren't. It all centered on the toggle that wouldn't work because of the plastic film protector. Now I can actually spend a little time reading and learning the rest of it.

I wanted to be sure to mention this, as nutty as it sounds, because I'm guessing someone else is, or will be, going through the same scenerio. So, the next time we see a newbie poster with a similar problem, we can make sure they have taken the cover off! Or at least cut out an opening for the toggle switch.

Thanks again.

Hey........thanks for posting this. Like we all haven't done something similar.

I was trying to figure out why my mouse wouldn't work when I first got it. Kept trying to turn it on, made sure the batteries were fresh, got really frustrated.

Then realized the USB dongle (it was a tiny 1/4" one) was still in its little holder inside the mouse.

As for covers, please be sure and look at the Oberons. They are a little pricy, but gorgeous, made in the USA by a family owned company, and very well constructed......Enjoy your Kindle.

http://oberondesign.com/Kindle2.php