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So, I finally got a Kindle, with 3G because I don't have WiFi.
It came with NO instructions. The online instructions don't address simple things like how to turn it on and off, or how to turn 3G and WiFi off to read a book. There are no doubt other things I might want to do that aren't covered either. I don't have a tablet or a smart phone so maybe all this stuff is intuitive to those who do. I am very frustrated with it and thinking seriously about returning it.
How do I learn to use it? Do I have to buy an instruction book like with Windows?
Find the small button on the bottom edge of the Kindle and press it for about 1/2 second.
When your Kindle starts it will display an arrow of some sort, going left & Right. Take your finger and swipe it left.
Now all the start up instructions will appear, and all you have to do is follow along.
You will probably buy all your books from Amazon. We subscribe to Amazon Prime and there are tons of free books.
I'm confused without Wifi how do you use a kindle? I have kindle fire but need wifi to use. Do they have a new one out that is like the IPad?
Some of the older kindles were "3G" enabled like a cellphone, and came with lifetime free data use.
I have one of these but haven't used it in forever. It has the physical keyboard.
It's not as good as it sounds, since the kindle is an EXTREMELY slow web browser (because its e-ink, not LCD) and monochrome to boot. The newer ones might be faster but they're not going to come anywhere close to the responsiveness of an ipad. You could use a kindle 3G to browse available titles on the kindle and download them to read, or do some very basic searching i.e. Wikipedia if you're patient.
You can also connect your kindle to your computer via USB and download books that way. Some public libraries have kindle stations where you can plug in an download from their free ebook collections.
Mrs5150 has a Kindle and I have an iPad mini. World of difference with ease of use. iPad is easy and intuitive. The Kindle is a pain. Plus the ads!
She will get an iPad mini when her Kindle dies-it is starting to after a year and a half.
Return the Kindle.
TOTALLY disagree! iPads are awesome and they do way more than a Kindle. BUT for just reading they're inferior to a Kindle. They're not nearly as comfortable for reading as a Kindle. Kindles aren't backlit like a tablet and they're much easier on your eyes, and it's much easier to read a Kindle in sunlight than it is to read an iPad. So if all you want to do is read, keep the Kindle. Once you find a good set of instructions (as many have suggested, just google), a Kindle is extremely easy to use.
Amazon usually emails you some instructions when you buy the device (before you even have it). You might check your email for it.
All of the Kindle ereaders I have ever gotten came with like a one sheet instruction sheet that covered turning the device on and then when the Kindle boots up it will open its instruction book on how to use it. It will also be the first item in your library on the device.
Where the on switch is depends on the device - on a Paperwhite it is on the bottom near the power cable input. On a Kindle Voyage it is on the back, in the middle of the upper right quadrant.
All of these instructions are for a Kindle e-reader - there is also a Kindle Fire tablet and that is completely different.
I read a great deal and I MUCH prefer the ereaders for fiction, much better than tablets (like an ipad or Kindle Fire or Samsung Galaxy). I use a tablet for email, minor web surfing, music, music sheet software, audio books, games.
My old Kindle Touch has 3G and WiFi. WiFi overrides 3G if it's available. It piggybacks off my computer's WiFi. A really nice Help Lady at Amazon spent a good deal of her time upgrading it for me from 3G only.
Once a book is downloaded, you don't have to worry about having either. You don't need to be connect to read a book just to buy them. I have another old Kindle II and I can still read the books on them without being hooked up to anything. You can download books from your computer to your Kindle but it's kind of a hassle.
I got my instructions by searching Amazon's website and downloaded them onto my device. It was a hand-me-down Kindle so it didn't come with any kind of help and the person who gave it to me couldn't remember the basics as how to begin.
I love my Kindle. I've had an old version with keyboard for years. It's free to use, since I have wi-fi. (iPads cost $ to use, and more $ to buy) Amazon subsidizes my Kindle so that it is completely free. I download free ebooks, so cost to use Kindle is nothing. (I don't know if Amazon still subsidizes Kindles.)
Using a Kindle is not the same experience as reading a real book. It's not as enjoyable. But it's a good way to keep a lot of books w/o taking up space, and a lot easier to carry around.
Once you turn it on (after it's fully charged), you will find a USER GUIDE on your Kindle. That is your operator manual.
How you turn on the 3G, on MINE, anyway, is:
Press MENU
Press SETTINGS
There you will have to REGISTER your kindle
There you will have a place to NAME YOUR DEVICE
If you want to ever use wi-fi, that's where you enter your home wi-fi account info (WI-FI SETTINGS)
That where you set a PASSWORD for your device, if you want to do that
I don't think you have to set up 3G. The Kindle just automatically uses a nearby 3G tower.
That's where the version of the software loaded on your Kindle is identified, too.
Press MENU again to go back to menu.
Click on TURN WIRELESS ON.
Then click on SYNC & CHECK FOR ITEMS to see if there is a newer version of the software. NOTE: 3G MAY BE TOO SLOW TO DOWNLOAD UPDATED SOFTWARE. In order to do that, I think you have to get a ubs plugin, and plug your Kindle in to a computer, and download updated software directly from the computer into your Kindle.
You can set up categories for the different kinds of books you download. ("Nonfiction," "Financial," "Classic Fiction," etc.)
Amazon usually emails you some instructions when you buy the device (before you even have it). You might check your email for it.
All of the Kindle ereaders I have ever gotten came with like a one sheet instruction sheet that covered turning the device on and then when the Kindle boots up it will open its instruction book on how to use it. It will also be the first item in your library on the device.
Where the on switch is depends on the device - on a Paperwhite it is on the bottom near the power cable input. On a Kindle Voyage it is on the back, in the middle of the upper right quadrant.
All of these instructions are for a Kindle e-reader - there is also a Kindle Fire tablet and that is completely different.
I read a great deal and I MUCH prefer the ereaders for fiction, much better than tablets (like an ipad or Kindle Fire or Samsung Galaxy). I use a tablet for email, minor web surfing, music, music sheet software, audio books, games.
Thanks. I did read the very basic instructions they sent me for my Paperwhite and clicked on the links, but it didn't say where the On button was. There were no instructions at all in the box. I did finally find the On button myself and found fairly decent HowTo instructions on the Kindle itself, but first you have to know how to turn it on. LOL
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