Kindle for Mac - Amazon vs App Store

[gers1978]

The latest version downloaded from Amazon says version is 1.6.1. If you get it from the Mac App Store, it's 1.2.3.

Any idea what the differences are?

[DiapDealer]

1.6.1 adds the the ability to maintain and sync your collections between different apps and devices. That's probably the most noteworthy (visible) difference. And I think that maybe... periodical support (subscriptions) was added sometime after 1.2.3, but I'm not positive. I don't know why the app store would be so far behind.

[tlrowley]

And the app store version is currently the only one that works reliably on OS 10.7 Lion. I think the newer versions will work if you're updating the Kindle app, but if you're trying to get started with Kindle on Lion, you'll currently need the app store version.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

1.6.1 adds the the ability to maintain and sync your collections between different apps and devices. That's probably the most noteworthy (visible) difference. And I think that maybe... periodical support (subscriptions) was added sometime after 1.2.3, but I'm not positive. I don't know why the app store would be so far behind.

may we assume there's no issue with 1.6.1 and 'voldemort.4.5'?

[DiapDealer]

I'm not experiencing any issues with 1.6 on Windows. I've seen a few complaints from Mac users of the registration info not "taking." They have to re-register every time they fire up K4Mac, but I have no idea how common that issue is.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I'm not experiencing any issues with 1.6 on Windows. I've seen a few complaints from Mac users of the registration info not "taking." They have to re-register every time they fire up K4Mac, but I have no idea how common that issue is.

then i can assume that your comments about '1.6' include '1.6.1'?

[dmin7th]

For me, the older App Store version works with Lion (allowing me to register, sync, and retrieve my Archive), while 1.6.1 doesn't. I had to install the older version on two of my Macs last night. They had been running 1.5 on Snow Leopard without any issues.

[EldRick]

Where the devil does it store books? On Snow Leopard with 1.5 on, I was able to store my books in a directory of my choice, while they are nowhere to be found with v1.2.3 from the App store.

1.6.1 stopped working entirely on Lion (won't even register), so I cannot find my books to use within Calibre.

[EldRick]

OK - here's the dope. I'm pretty annoyed with Amazon about not bothering to update their Kindle for Mac application for Lion - they have had pre-release OS-X 1.7 for months to test with, and didn't get around to it.

The very old 1.2.3 version that you can install from the Apple App Store for free does function - you can register it, and can retrieve the Amazon books you paid for.

However, the stupid program tries to hide the books, which newer versions gave up months ago. They are located in a directory which is hidden on OS-X 1.7 Lion. It is yourname/Library/Application Support/Kindle/My Kindle Content/
You will find the books there in .mobi (proprietary) format.

You can unhide the /Library directory using the command described here: http://hints.macworld.com/article.ph...10704093233123

Once you can locate the book files, you can back them up without needing Amazon's approval, or import them into Calibre for library management or conversion for use with other reader devices...

[EldRick]

OK - here's the dope. I'm pretty annoyed with Amazon about not bothering to update their Kindle for Mac application for Lion - they have had pre-release OS-X 1.7 for months to test with, and didn't get around to it.

The very old 1.2.3 version that you can install from the Apple App Store for free does function - you can register it, and can retrieve the Amazon books you paid for.

However, the stupid program tries to hide the books, which newer versions gave up months ago. They are located in a directory which is hidden on OS-X 1.7 Lion. It is yourname/Library/Application Support/Kindle/My Kindle Content/
You will find the books there in .mobi (proprietary) format.

You can unhide the /Library directory using the command described here: http://hints.macworld.com/article.ph...10704093233123

Once you can locate the book files, you can back them up without needing Amazon's approval, or import them into Calibre for library management or conversion for use with other reader devices...

[EldRick]

Sorry for the duplicate post...

[KevinH]

Hi,

FYI: Direct from Amazon you can now download a Kindle for Mac 1.6.2 that seems to actually work with Lion. So you should not need the older AppStore version to get things to work under Lion anymore.

KevinH

[EldRick]

Confirmed - Kindle for Mac v1.6.2 works on OS-X 1.7 Lion, and allows you to store your books in an accessible directory of your choice, via Preferences.

[waggerslees]

1.6.2 crashes on startup on my iMac. Can I get an earlier version somewhere that will work?

Process: Kindle [30881]
Path: /Applications/Kindle.app/Contents/MacOS/Kindle
Identifier: com.amazon.Kindle
Version: 1.6.2 (1.6.32849)
Code Type: X86 (Native)
Parent Process: launchd [144]

Date/Time: 2011-08-17 12:10:20.887 +0100
OS Version: Mac OS X 10.6.8 (10K549)
Report Version: 6

Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGBUS)
Exception Codes: KERN_PROTECTION_FAILURE at 0x000000000000000f
Crashed Thread: 0 Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread


System Profile:
Hardware:

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac7,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz

[gers1978]

The Amazon web site download for K4Mac is now version 1.9.2, but the Mac App Store has the latest as 1.8.1. What's going on?