Kindle Paperwhite for Dummies (47 page)

Restart your Kindle Paperwhite using the menu.
Try restarting your Kindle Paperwhite through the menu system. Tap⇒Menu⇒Settings⇒Menu⇒Restart.

Perform a hard restart of your Kindle Paperwhite.
Hold down the power button for 45 seconds, and then release. Press the button again. The Kindle logo appears with a progress bar. When the restart is completed, your Home page is displayed on the screen.

Make sure your Kindle Paperwhite is fully charged.
Many users have reported a variety of issues ranging from books not downloading to problems with syncing when the battery charge drops below 25 percent. If you are having problems and the battery indicator is low, plug in your Kindle Paperwhite and let it recharge to full strength.

Contact customer service.
Amazon provides fantastic customer service for its entire family of Kindle devices. If the preceding tips haven’t solved your problem, call customer service at their direct toll-free number: 1-866-321-8851 (in the United States). U.S. Amazon customers traveling outside the United States should call 1-206-266-0927. You can also e-mail customer service or chat online with a customer service representative. Go to the Kindle support page at
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us/kindle-help.html?
for the necessary links, including information for non-U.S. customers.

Buy Great Gifts

You love your Kindle Paperwhite and so does your best friend. So what do you get your friend for a gift? An Amazon gift card or e-book!

You can send an electronic Amazon gift card, in any amount up to $2,000. You can select a design that’s specific to the Kindle Paperwhite or a design that reflects the season or occasion. Log in to your Amazon account and click Purchase a Gift Card to get started. To give a Kindle Paperwhite e-book as a gift, search the Kindle Store for one; then select the Give as a Gift option on the purchase page and go from there. You need to know the recipient’s e-mail address to complete either transaction.

Another great gift is a three-, six-, or twelve-month membership at Audible.com. A membership allows your recipient to buy audiobooks and synchronize them between an audio device and the Kindle Paperwhite for a combined reading and listening experience. To find out more, visit the Gift Center at
www.audible.com
.

Following are some other great gifts for fellow Kindle Paperwhite owners.

A plug adapter (the device ships with only a USB cord)

An extra USB cord

A cover, sleeve, jacket, or skin

A capacitive stylus to use on the touch screen

For more information on all these, see Chapter 8.

Convert a Friend

Most people who experience a Kindle Paperwhite become quite enamored with it and, as a result, want to convert their friends and relatives. Consider the following when trying to help a non-Kindle Paperwhite user see the light:

The Kindle app can be used on a computer, an iPad, or a smartphone.
The Kindle application is free, and versions are available for a computer as well as BlackBerry, Android, iPad, and iPhone devices. Reading Kindle e-books on a device with the Kindle app is a good first step to understanding the Kindle Paperwhite experience. With the app, a user can buy e-books from Amazon and create an archive of titles. (Realize that with the app, you’ll be reading on a device with an LCD screen. You need to have a Kindle Paperwhite or other Kindle e-reader if you want the e-ink experience.) If the user gets a Kindle Paperwhite, the e-books in the archive are available for downloading to the device. In addition, the app synchronizes among devices, so if you read a few pages on, say, your iPhone and then switch to the Kindle Paperwhite, it synchronizes to the last page read.

The Kindle Paperwhite is environmentally friendly.
Printed books require paper for printing, packaging for shipping, and trucks for hauling, which are all valuable resources that cost money and are potentially harmful to the environment. E-books, which consume a few electrons and are delivered via wireless, are an ecologically wise choice for reading.

The Kindle Paperwhite is hypoallergenic.
Many people are allergic to the ink used in printed books. Over time, printed books can become dirty or infested with dust mites, which are also potent allergens. E-books have no such irritants, so they’re a good choice for readers with allergies.