The Complete 2012 User's Guide to the Amazing Amazon Kindle: Covers All Current Kindles Including the Kindle Fire, Kindle Touch, Kindle Keyboard, and Kindle (17 page)

Press Aa, then select the right-most Screen Rotation icon. This switches the five-way controller to the new orientation, but all the other keys and buttons work the same.

Once a web page is open, press the five-way controller to move around on the page. A cursor points to the currently selected object.

A zoom box may appear on some web pages. Click the five-way controller to zoom in. You can also press Menu and select “Zoom Out” or “Zoom In” from the pop-up.

To move around web pages, swipe the screen in the desired direction. To follow links, tap.
 
Use the Back button at upper left to go back to the previous web page.

To move around web pages, swipe the screen in the desired direction. To follow links, tap.
 
Use the Back icon at the lower left to go back to the previous web page. To zoom in or out, pinch-zoom, or tap the zoom icons at the lower right corner of the screen.

Navigate around a web page with the five-way controller. Most web pages are larger than the Kindle's screen. Your location in the web page is shown by the scroll bars on the right and bottom sides of the screen. Move the cursor to the edge of the screen, which will cause the page to scroll.

When the cursor is over an active element of the web page, it changes from an arrow to a hand. If the element is a button or a link, you can click it. You can enter text into text boxes as soon as the cursor changes to a hand.

Use the page turn buttons to move among multiple screens of a web page.

To reload a web page, select “reload” at the right side of the address bar, or press Return on the Kindle Keyboard and DX.

To exit a zoomed view, press “Back”.

To return to the previous web page, press “Back”. If you're at the first web page you've viewed, pressing Back takes you to the last place you were reading on the Kindle, just before you started browsing the web.

Press Menu and select “Enter URL” from the pop-up. Or, you can move the cursor until it points to the address bar at the top of the page. The address bar will be highlighted. Now type a web address (URL) and click.

You can bookmark any web page by pressing Menu and selecting Bookmark This Page.

To see existing bookmarks, press Menu and select “Bookmarks”. The Kindle comes with several bookmarks preloaded. On the Fire, tap the Bookmark icon on the bottom Menu bar.

You can delete a bookmark by moving the cursor to it and pressing the left button on the five-way controller. Click the center button to delete the bookmark.

To edit the name of a bookmark, press the right button on the five-way controller. Then click to edit the name.

Web links in books and other Kindle documents are usually underlined and are often marked with an external link symbol so you can distinguish them from internal links that move you around inside the book. To select a link, move the cursor until it points to the link and changes to a hand symbol. Then click to go to the link.

Article mode eliminates extraneous images and text from a web page and displays only the main article and its images for easier reading. Press Menu and select “Article Mode” to enter article mode. To return to normal web Mode, press Menu and select “web Mode."

While viewing a web page, touch the “Reader” icon on the bottom menu bar (a pair of glasses). To return to normal web view, touch the “Back” icon on the bottom menu bar.

As an example, here's how to check Google's Gmail on an E Ink Kindle. If you have a web mail account with another provider such as Yahoo or Hotmail the same basic procedure applies:

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Press Home, then Menu

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Select “Experimental”, then "launch browser"

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Press Menu again and select “Enter URL”

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Type “gmail.com” and click “goto”

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Navigate to the Username box and type in your Google user name

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Move down to the "Password" box and type in your password.

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Move to the "Sign In" button and click it

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When the Gmail home page appears, press the Aa key and select one of the landscape orientations to make it easier to read the Gmail screens

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Use the five-way controller to navigate around the screen as you would use a mouse, and click the center button to select an item

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When finished, press Home to return to the Kindle's home page

You'll probably find, as most users report, that the E Ink Kindle’s browser works well enough for reading e-mail but is not so good for typing lengthy replies. Remember though, it will work without a Wi-Fi hotspot (if you have a 3G Kindle), and the Internet service is free. If you plan to check Gmail often, you'll want to bookmark the page.

While viewing a web page, press Menu and select “Bookmark This Page”.

While viewing a web page, tap the Bookmark icon at the lower right side of the screen.

The Kindle Fire comes with an e-mail app that lets you receive and send e-mail from Google Gmail, AOL, Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, and most standard IMAP and POP e-mail systems.

To set up e-mail, go to the Apps library and tap the e-mail icon. You'll need your login name and password to set up your e-mail account. Alternatively, you can also use the web browser to check Gmail and other web-based e-mail.

You can view Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents that you receive as e-mail attachments by tapping the Open button next to the document you wish to view.

You can check your e-mail on the Kindle Keyboard, Touch, and DX by using the experimental web browser. For an example, see
Checking Gmail
.

Apps are applications that run on the Kindle Fire's Android operating system and extend the functionality (and fun) of your tablet. Many of the functions described in the chapters on the Fire can be expanded upon with apps. For example, you can view personal videos and photos with the built-in Gallery app.

To access your installed apps, tap the apps icon on the Carousel or Favorites. Or go to the Home screen and tap Apps to open the App library. Then tap the desired app to open it.

To access the App Store, tap the Store icon from the Apps library screen. Here, you can browse and search for apps. To buy an app, tap the orange Free/Price button and then confirm by tapping the green Get/Buy App button. After the app downloads, tap the Open button.

The new app will show up on the Carousel as a recently used item, and you can also access it from the Apps library by tapping Device to show apps installed on your Fire. To add the app to your Favorites, long-press the app icon and select “Add to Favorites.”

On Amazon.com, select “Appstore for Android” from the “Shop All Departments” dropdown at the upper left corner of the page. Then, under “Browse” at the left side of the screen,. Click “Kindle Fire Apps.” You can now browse through apps that have been released for the Fire.

If you want to search for a Fire app by name, follow the steps above to make sure you're in the Kindle Fire Apps store so that the search returns only apps that work on the Fire. A general search in the Appstore for Android will turn up many apps that are not approved for the Fire, and the only way to tell is to open the detail page for the app.

After you buy an app, Amazon says to go to the App Store on your device to install it. These instructions are incorrect for the Fire. To install the new app, go to the App library and tap Cloud. The new app will show up with a down arrow on its icon. If you don't see it, tap the Settings icon and then tap Sync. Then tap “By Recent” so the new app shows at the top of the screen. It will have a down arrow on its icon. Tap the icon to download it, then tap Install. When downloading and installation finishes, tap Open to run the app.

While you can install apps not approved for the Fire by going to Settings, Device, and turning on “Allow Installation of Applications”, there's no guarantee that untested apps will work on the Fire.

Long-press the apps icon, then select “Add to Favorites.”

Long-press the apps icon, then select “Remove from Device.” The app is uninstalled from your Fire but is archived in the Amazon Cloud. To restore an app, look under “Cloud” in the Apps library.

Amazon includes some free apps with the Fire. Most are in the Cloud and have to be downloaded if you want to use them. To see these apps, go to the Apps library and tap Cloud. To install an app, tap its icon.

Although it's very early days for apps on the Fire as many more are being added every day, here's a short list of some free and paid Fire apps that we've found fun or useful so far, in no particular order:

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Read It Later: Lets you save web pages to read later from the Fire or from your computer

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OfficeSuite Pro: This app lets you view, create, edit, and save Microsoft Office files, including Word, Excel, and Powerpoint

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Documents To Go: Another app to work with MS Office files

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Pandora: Internet radio customizable for your listening preferences

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Netflix: Netflix members can browse and search movies and TV shows, manage their DVD queue, and watch streaming video on their Fire
 

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Zinio: Lets you read single editions or subscribe to more than 5,000 magazines

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PicSay Pro: View , edit, and annotate photos

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SimCity Deluxe: The classic city simulator