My Kindle Fire Read online

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  2. Tap a new subscription period.

  3. Tap Save Changes.

  Turning Off Auto-Renewal

  By default, subscriptions automatically renew when they expire. You can turn off auto-renewal.

  1. While viewing subscription details, tap Turn off Auto-Renewal.

  2. Tap Turn off Auto-Renewal.

  * * *

  Reactivating Auto-Renewal

  After you’ve turned off auto-renewal, you can turn it back on by tapping Turn on Auto-Renewal in the subscription details.

  * * *

  Changing Subscription Privacy Preferences

  By default, Amazon allows subscription publishers to use your name and billing address for marketing. You can choose what information you want Amazon to share with publishers.

  1. While viewing subscription details, tap Change Privacy Preferences.

  2. Uncheck items you don’t want to share and check information you do want to share with publishers.

  3. Tap to check Use These Settings for Future Newspaper & Magazine Purchases if you want to use your selections as the default from now on.

  4. Tap Save Preferences.

  Application Settings

  In some cases, you might need to force an application to close if it’s misbehaving. You might also want to clear data that an application is caching or storing. For example, if an app is behaving unpredictably even after you force close it and relaunch it, the app might have some corrupted data in its cache or database.

  You can force close apps and delete app data from the Application Settings screen.

  Force Stopping an Application

  If an app is causing problems on your Kindle Fire, or if an app hangs and becomes unresponsive, you can force the app to close. This is called force stopping an app.

  1. Tap Quick Settings.

  2. Tap More.

  3. Tap Applications.

  4. Tap Filter By.

  5. Tap All Applications.

  6. Scroll to locate the app you want to stop.

  7. Tap the app that’s frozen.

  8. Tap Force Stop to stop the app.

  9. Tap OK in the confirmation dialog to force stop the app.

  * * *

  Running Applications

  When you select Running Applications in Application Settings, you’ll only see Amazon apps. You won’t see any third-party apps.

  * * *

  * * *

  >>>Go Further: Should you Worry About Closing Apps?

  When you finish with an app on your Kindle Fire, you tap the Home button to get back to the Home screen. When you do this, the app remains running in the background. After a while, you might have dozens of apps that are running in the background on your Kindle Fire.

  On a laptop or desktop computer, you wouldn’t want to have a large number of applications running when you’re not using them, because those applications use resources on your computer and can slow it down and cause other problems. However, things are different on your Kindle Fire. The Kindle Fire’s operating system is designed to account for many apps running that aren’t currently in use. When you switch away from an app, it enters a state where it doesn’t do anything at all. Some apps are designed to periodically “wake up” for a second or two to check for content or to perform some other task, but they go back to sleep once that task is complete.

  The bottom line is that you don’t have to worry about apps running in the background on your Kindle Fire. They won’t use more battery power and they won’t consume resources like an application would on your laptop or desktop computer.

  * * *

  Clearing Application Data

  If an app is not working properly even after you force stop it, it’s possible that the app’s data are corrupt. You can clear an app’s data in Application settings.

  1. While viewing all apps in Application settings, tap the app whose data you’d like to clear.

  2. Tap Clear Data.

  3. Tap OK in the confirmation dialog.

  * * *

  It’s Not All Good: Clearing Data Clears Everything

  When you clear data for an app, you clear all settings and any other data that the app has stored. The next time you launch the app, it starts with the default settings. Make sure that you don’t clear data unless you’re sure that you don’t need any information that the app is storing.

  If you continue to have problems with an app after you clear its data, it’s possible that what you are experiencing is a bug in the app. You can look at the app’s page in the Appstore for Android to see if there is a way to contact the developer and provide feedback. Many Android developers are thrilled to get that kind of feedback from users, and most are willing to fix problems if possible.

  * * *

  Indispensable Apps

  Amazon includes 10 apps on your Kindle Fire when it ships. Some of these are great apps that you might find yourself using often, and there are other apps available in the Appstore that I consider to be indispensable. You need to download some of these apps from the Appstore, but all of them are free.

  I have no doubt that I’ve left out apps that you might find indispensable, so please feel free to suggest additional apps to share with readers on this book’s website at www.myamazonkindlefire.com and I’ll be sure to spread the word.

  Listening to Audible Books

  Audible is Amazon’s app for listening to audio books. There are more than 100,000 audio books and other programs available from Audible, and all are available from the Audible app on your Kindle Fire.

  You can shop for audio books within the Audible app, but the interface is awkward. I prefer to shop for audio books from within a web browser on my computer.

  * * *

  Audible Plans

  Audible plans do cost money. The cheapest plan is $14.95 per month, but you get one free audio book per month for that price. You can also save a little by paying for an entire year.

  * * *

  1. Launch the Audible app.

  2. Tap Sign In to log in with an existing Audible account or tap I’m New to Audible to create an account.

  3. After signing in, tap a title in your library to download it to your Kindle Fire.

  4. Although you can wait until it is fully downloaded, while a title is downloading, you can press play to begin playing it immediately.

  5. Tap Pause to pause playback.

  6. Tap the Bookmark icon to save a bookmark that you can return to easily.

  7. Tap Details for details on the audio book.

  8. Tap Chapters to see a list of chapters.

  9. Tap Bookmarks to see a list of your bookmarks.

  10. Tap the Menu icon for additional options.

  11. Tap Share to post onto Facebook or send an email to someone about the book you’re listening to.

  12. Tap Sleep to set a sleep timer that will stop playback of the book after a certain time period.

  13. Tap Narrator Speed to change the speed at which the audio book is played.

  14. Tap Quit to quit the Audible app.

  * * *

  Why Quit?

  I said earlier that most apps don’t offer an option to quit the app. The Audible app does, because any audio book that you are listening to will continue playing if you switch to another screen or another app. If you want to stop an Audible book from playing, you should either stop it from within the Audible app or quit the Audible app instead of just switching away from it.

  * * *

  * * *

  Returning to an Audio Book

  The Audible app saves your listening position so that you can return to the same point in your audio book.

  * * *

  Gallery

  The Gallery is a convenient app for viewing videos and pictures. There are other apps available for viewing multimedia, but Gallery is an Android staple.

  Copy any pictures you want to view to the Pictures folder on your Kindle Fire. If you want your pictures to show up in a named gallery in the Galle
ry app, copy the pictures into a folder by that name.

  1. Launch the Gallery app.

  2. Tap a picture, video, or folder.

  3. Tap a picture to view the picture.

  4. Tap and hold to select one or more pictures so that you can rotate or crop the picture.

  5. Tap the view icon to toggle between viewing all pictures and viewing pictures grouped by date and time.

  6. Tap Gallery to return to the gallery showing all pictures.

  Pandora

  Pandora Internet Radio is a service whereby you enter the name of a song or an artist and Pandora finds other songs that you’ll almost certainly like. It’s a great way to discover new music.

  1. Launch Pandora.

  2. Sign in or create a new Pandora account.

  3. Select an existing radio station to start playing that station.

  4. Tap the Menu icon and tap Create Station to create a new station.

  5. While a station is playing, tap Pause to pause playback.

  6. Tap Next to skip to a new song.

  7. Tap thumbs up to tell Pandora you like the current song.

  8. Tap thumbs down to tell Pandora you don’t like the current song and skip to the next song.

  9. Tap the station’s icon to return to your list of stations.

  * * *

  Buy Stuff You Like

  While listening to Pandora, you can tap the Menu icon and tap Buy to purchase the song or the album that you are currently listening to.

  * * *

  * * *

  Warning About Data Usage

  The Pandora app warns you about data usage when you first launch it. It does this because the developers knew that it was most likely to be used on Android phones that have cellular data plans. However, since your Kindle Fire uses Wi-Fi, you don’t need to worry about data usage unless your Internet service provider charges you based upon how much bandwidth you use.

  * * *

  ES File Explorer

  ES File Explorer is a convenient way to view files that are stored on your Kindle Fire. It’s the easiest way I’ve found to locate files you downloaded from the Internet, attachments you’ve saved from emails, and other files stored on your Kindle Fire’s internal memory. In fact, you can also use it to access files on other computers on your network.

  * * *

  Finding ES Fire Explorer

  ES File Explorer isn’t listed in your app library by default. You’ll need to search the Appstore for it.

  * * *

  * * *

  It’s Not All Good: Be Careful When Deleting or Renaming Files

  Because ES File Explorer enables you to see files that are part of your Kindle Fire’s operating system, it’s possible for you to corrupt your Kindle Fire if you delete or rename a system file. Be careful!

  If you do accidentally corrupt your Kindle Fire’s operating system, you can recover it by tapping Reset to Factory Defaults on the Device Settings screen. (See Device Information in Chapter 1 for details on the Device Settings screen.) However, resetting your device causes you to lose anything stored on the device that’s not backed up somewhere else.

  * * *

  1. Launch ES File Explorer.

  2. Tap a folder to see the contents of the folder.

  3. Tap a file to open the file in an app capable of viewing the file.

  * * *

  ES File Explorer and Viewing Files

  ES File Explorer includes ES Image Browser and other mini-apps that can view certain file types. When you tap a file type that ES File Explorer can view natively, you might be asked to pick a program to use to open the file. The choice is yours as it really doesn’t matter.

  * * *

  4. To view folders on another computer on your network, tap Local in the upper-left of the main screen.

  5. Tap LAN.

  6. Tap the up arrow to display the status bar.

  7. Tap the Menu icon and tap New.

  8. Tap Server.

  9. Enter the computer name you want to add.

  10. Enter a username and password to log onto the computer.

  11. Enter a display name if you want.

  12. Tap OK to add the server.

  * * *

  Opening Unsupported Files in ES File Explorer

  If you attempt to open a file type in ES File Explorer that isn’t supported on your Kindle Fire, ES File Explorer typically displays a black screen instead of displaying the file. In these cases, just tap Back to return to the interface.

  * * *

  9. Reading and Sending Email

  In this chapter, you’ll learn how to set up email accounts on your Kindle Fire, how to check your email, and how to send email. You’ll also learn how to deal with email attachments.

  • Email Accounts

  • Managing Your Email Inbox

  • Reading Email

  • Sending Messages

  • Working with Email Contacts

  Your Kindle Fire comes with an app for email and an app for managing your email contacts. You can read your email, send emails, and even view email attachments.

  Your Kindle Fire supports various email services including Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo!, and POP3 and IMAP servers. You can set up multiple email accounts on your Kindle Fire. You can then either access each inbox individually or you can use the unified inbox to see all of your messages from all accounts on one screen.

  Email Accounts

  The first step in using email on your Kindle Fire is setting up your email account. Kindle Fire supports basic accounts (Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail, and AOL) as well as IMAP and POP3 accounts that most Internet service providers offer their subscribers.

  * * *

  Check Help for Information

  While on the account setup screen, tap the Menu icon and tap Help for settings you can use for many common email providers.

  * * *

  Adding a Basic Account

  If you have a Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail (Windows Live), or AOL email account, you can easily configure it on your Kindle Fire.

  1. Start the Email app from the Kindle Fire’s Apps page.

  2. Tap Start.

  3. Tap your email provider from the list: Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, or AOL.

  4. Enter your username. (This is typically your full email address.)

  5. Enter your password.