Kindle Software For Business

Although I have not purchased an actual Kindle hardware device yet, I have been using the Kindle software for some time on my iPod. I purchase things from Amazon several times a year and I liked the idea of making my book purchases in electronic format.When I purchased my iPad, one of the first things I checked out was what the Kindle experience was like on the 10.1″ form factor…and I liked it! It was much easier to read a book and having the option of viewing 2 pages in the horizontal alignment or 1 page at a time in the vertical alignment really appealed to me.

In the back of my mind, I knew that the current version of Kindle supported PDF documents and just the other day, I made a download from my SafariBooksOnline.com library of some book chapters that I wanted to have available even if I chose not to keep the book on my bookshelf. I ended up with several chapters in PDF format and a light went on in my head. I asked myself, “Wouldn’t it be cool if I had those PDFs on my iPad so I could read them in Kindle!”

In the Kindle software on my iPad there was a note that gave me an email address with the instructions: “Send your personal documents to: blkknt_29@kindle.com.” (not the real address). I opened my Outlook, addressed an email and attached one of my chapters.  I waited for a few minutes and then tried refreshing the list of documents on my Kindle software. Nothing happened. While I was waiting to refresh again, I opened up my email and there was a message waiting for me from Amazon. They told me that they had received a PDF but the sender was not authorized to send PDFs to my Kindle device. It then instructed me to log on to my Amazon account and add the sender to my list of authorized senders and have them send the document again.

Well, I did as I was instructed, adding my email address to my authorized senders and then I emailed my document again. Within 2-3 minutes my document appeared on my Kindle list.

The document does not flow like a “kindle” book because it is a printed rendering of a full page of text and not a digital copy of text. So initially the text appears a little small, but you have a zoom feature that allows you to increase the size until it fills the screen. You page through the document in the usual way with a simple flick of the finger.

After playing around a bit, I went back to my Amazon settings and started to do a little reading. The page informed me that there was an alternate way that I could get the PDFs, Word documents, and Text files to my Kindle reader. By downloading their little Windows widget, I could get an extension for my windows desktop Explorer that would allow me to right click on any appropriate document and then choose the “Send to Kindle” command.

An Applet window appears and lets me set the Title and Author of the document, how I want it delivered (WiFi or Whispernet), what Kindle device to send it to, and whether I want a copy of it archived in my Kindle Library. Then with a single click, I can send the document off to my reader.

It takes just a few seconds to upload and then a minute or two for the document to be converted to Kindle format and then voila I have my document. Now I have a connection between my desktop computer and my iPad that allows me to load it with documents I want to review at leisure or in meetings and still have the flexibility of not carrying around my memory stick or emailing myself documents.

It is also easy to remove a document from the Kindle when it is no longer useful so I have no concerns about overloading my iPad capacity.

So, remember that Kindle from Amazon is more than a device that you have to purchase. It is a platform for delivering digital content to any of your devices that can run a version of the Kindle software. That includes your laptops, tablets, iPods and more.