One of the most asked questions on the various kindle discussion forums is how to access your email using the Kindle 2's web browser. Using the built-in wireless Whispernet cellular network, accessing email via the Kindle 2 is very convenient when you don't have access to a computer or your smart phone.
The thing to keep in mind is that the Kindle 2 web interface uses a simple mobile browser best suited for text which is great for typical text emails. It is not so great for emails that are heavily formatted with html, graphics or attachments. Still, it works with most of the big "Free" email account providers and paid Internet service providers through their mobile-friendly pages.
Here are the following email providers (that I could test) and the correct URL email access page that will work on your Kindle 2.
Please contact me or post a comment if you know of any other email services that work on the Kindle 2. Thanks!
Remember back in the day when making a local call at a public phone cost you only ten cents? Those were the days and it seems that Amazon could still be reminiscing.
A very useful feature of the Kindle is the ability to email Amazon a personal document and have it converted to a Kindle compatible format for your viewing. They even give you a special email address to send your documents (i.e. YourID@kindle.com). Nothing fulfills your need for instant gratification then to see your document converted and wirelessly sent to your Kindle for your reading pleasure.
But there is a catch...
Amazon charges you ten cents for each emailed document that is converted and wirelessly sent to your Kindle. That might not seem like a lot but it can add up if you use this feature a lot like myself. Amazon accrues these fees until your balance hits $3 and then charges your credit card.
So you can do one of two things. Call someone who cares (just kidding) and continue to pay the fee or use the free email account (i.e. YourID@free.kindle.com). Sending a document to Amazon with this free email account will have it converted and you will receive an email notification to download it to your computer. Once downloaded you can transfer it to your Kindle via the USB connection.
It is up to you to decide if the convenience factor of wirelessly transferring of your personal docs is worth ten cents each. I like the ability of having both options.
Note: I did try to see if I could use the Kindle browser to retrieve the file directly from my web email account but it didn't work because the link is a redirect to the Amazon website and not a direct link to the file. I guess Amazon was too smart for that trick!
One of the biggest selling points of the Amazon Kindle reader is their Whispernet wireless network to deliver content. No other ebook reader currently on the market has this unique capability. Not only can the Kindle get its content uploads and upgrades wirelessly, you also have the ability to access the Amazon Kindle Store
too. This means you can browse, buy and download a Kindle book, newspaper or magazine anywhere you can access the Whispernet wireless network.
So how good is Amazon's Whispernet network? In the northeast tri-state area where I live, it is better than my Verizon coverage on my cell phone.
Click picture to enlarge
Amazon's wireless 3G network is utilizing Sprint's service which works very well in my area, although I cannot always connect at 3G speed. I have read that service can be spotty out in the mid-west and other areas. So, if you cannot get wireless coverage, you always have the ability to download your books from the Amazon Website and upload it to your Kindle 2 via the USB cable.
Check out the Kindle 2 Wireless coverage map below. Use this interactive map to enter an address to see what coverage is available.
Click Picture of Map to Open
I found it strange that the Kindle has a sleep mode but it doesn't really sleep. It will continue to use the wireless connection to download updates and subscriptions in this mode. It also displays different pictures while it sleeps. The Kindle 2 will go into sleep mode manually by sliding and releasing the power switch or automatically after 10 minutes of inactivity.
Interesting enough, the Kindle will go into sleep mode even if the mp3 music player is on with no interruption to listening. Unfortunately, you will need to wake it to stop the music. It doesn't seem to have any affect on battery life (unless the wireless is turned off). So essentially sleep mode is really just a screen saver. You would think there would be an option to set the time it automatically sleeps or turn it off entirely. So what do you think...is it a benefit or nuisance?
One new feature of Amazon's Kindle 2 reader is the experimental "Text to Speech" option or otherwise known as Read-to-Me. This feature is very interesting but still far from perfect when compared to listening to a typical audio book.
The Kindle 2 comes with two gender voices, a man and woman. The man's voice is selected as the default option and is the better of the two in my opinion. Both voices do sound a little synthesized but are acceptable to listen to. My other post has a sample audio clip so you can hear what the voice sounds like.
It would be interesting if there were more voices with different dialects similar to some GPS units. I know a lot of women who would like a nice British man's accent.
I was impressed how well it pronounced most words and how it paused longer at the start of a new sentence, paragraph and after even after a comma. I still felt the speed of the speech was a bit too fast. I would recommend setting the speech option to the slower setting.
To access the voice options, you must first start the Text-to-Speech in an open document. This feature can be started by pressing the "Menu" button or by holding down the Shift Key (up arrow) and press the Symbol Key (SYM).
You can change the voice options at any time during the Read to Me mode by pressing the Text key (Aa) and using the 5 way pointer to move through the options and to set them. Press either the Text key, Menu or Back button to close out the options screen.
Since Amazon still has this feature designated as experimental, I would assume that they will be making changes and enhancements in the future. In a future post I will discuss an idea where I think feature will be useful and possibly life changing for some.
