Amazon is the cheapest (if you have a Kindle). Sometimes books aren’t available there, then you can get them from other eBook sellers. Be careful, if you buy from most of the South African suppliers you will get a DRM protected book that can’t be used directly on your Kindle and you are going to have to go through a process of removing the DRM before you can read it. This can be done for ePub books, not for protected PDF books.

More info here :

Buying eBooks in South Africa

Converting your ebooks to read on your Kindle

If it is an unprotected (Non DRM, not protected with Adobe Editions) then you can convert it using Calibre. If it is protected, it needs to be cleaned up first, then converted with Calibre. If it is a protected PDF then you will be out of luck. Read more here.

Converting your ebooks to read on your Kindle

Yes. Sadly was live in Africa, therefore the books are more expensive. Normally the price difference is around $2 or so, but it can be more expensive. This is theoretically to cover the Whispernet delivery fees and probably also to pay local publishers. I know I get really irate at this, but when viewed objectively, and comparing the prices to loca book and eBook prices, Amazon is still way cheaper. Suck it up and pay the price.

There are ways to buy at USA prices, but this will require the use of proxy servers to hide your location, and may required the use of a foreign credit card. There are people who have managed to buy a few books in the USA store before Amazon detects the South African location and forces the more expensive books onto them. See what happens to you and make use of it.

We are zoned as Africa. Amazon advertises books to us that are available in the USA (and the rest of the world) at USA prices. When it realises you are in South Africa (normally when you add to basket) you will find that the price goes up, and often the book is not available. Sometimes if you wait a few months the book becomes available. Not too much else you can do unless you wish to fiddle with proxies and use foreign credit cards.

Yes, once you have set up your Amazon account and linked the Kindle, which they will kindly do for you automatically if you buy it on-line from Amazon. If your credit card details are stored in your Amazon account you can buy directly on the device. The book will then be delivered directly, via Whispernet for 3G (within a minute or two) or via WiFi when you are next in range. There is no extra delivery charge, it is included in the price.

This makes it great for people who are not all that comfortable using a PC, but can be a problem if your children are playing with the Kindle and accidentally buy a book (or ten) without your knowledge. There have been cases of Amazon providing a refund in these kinds of cases. Mail them. They have a really great refund policy and customer service is tops.

It is very easy to buy books on the Kindle when linked to your Amazon account with a credit card linked to the account. This can be a problem if your children are playing with the Kindle and accidentally buy a book (or ten) without your knowledge. There have been cases of Amazon providing a refund in these kinds of cases. Mail them. They have a really great refund policy and customer service is tops.

Kindle books are DRM’d. As far as I know, all of the books, even free books are DRM’d. Amazon allow you to link a number of devices to one Amazon account (multiple Kindle’s, your phone, iPad, tablet etc) and you can download your books to a number of these. You must however use the Kindle software on each and it will manage the distribution of the copies and keep you within the terms of licensing.

There is a way to remove the DRM that is described here. I haven’t tired it. It involves running various some tools (unswindle v7 and mobidedrm) and having Python installed as well as the PC Kindle application. I haven’t personally tried this yet (not had the need), if you give it a go let us know if it works for you. There are more tools and some DRM removal FAQ information here at Apprentice Alf’s Blog.

DRM is short for Digital Rights Management.

The general use of the term is for software and schemes which restrict the way in which you can use digital media. In the context of this FAQ, that means books.

DRM decides where you can read the book (which devices), how long you can use it for, whether you can lend it to someone else, sell it, etc. DRM is much maligned and many people (including myself) openly advocate against it. In the music world there were many DRM disasters with companies selling music, later closing down the shop and people finding themselves unable to listen to their music.

If you buy DRM content, you effectively are “renting” rather than buying use of the book as you are not in control of how you can use it, you may find yourself unable to use it at some point. If you are happy to buy the book, read it, and consider it disposed then all is fine and well. Given the choice of buying a DRM copy vs a non-DRM version, go without DRM always.

Read more on DRM at Wikipedia here.

Yes it does. The web browser is found under the “experimental” section. It is quite limited, but it does work. On a 3G Kindle, the browser uses the free Amazon Whispernet network. If you are in the range of your WiFi network, it will use that instead. With the WiFi only Kindles you need to be connected to your WiFi first.

The Kindle comes preloaded with a number of bookmarks to Amazon, Google and the like.

Don’t expect too much from the browser, but it does work and can be very useful if you are in a bind and need to look something up, or just want to catch up on world news.

Depends on your needs and budget. I would make sure to get the leather case with it. If that pushes the 3G beyond the budget, get the WiFi only version. Read full thoughts on my post here : Which kindle to buy as a South Africa.

Unless you absolutely have to have it on the spot, order it on-line from www.amazon.com. It’s cheaper, it comes quite quickly (around a week) via courier. Getting them local can be quite a bit more expensive.  Read full thoughts on my post here : Which kindle to buy as a South Africa.

There are games and applications available. They are listed in the Amazon Kindle stored, however, they are not available for Africa. I’m not sure when/if this will change.

I haven’t seen any ways of bypassing this and downloading the apps directly onto the Kindle but suspect there should be a way. If you know how, please share.

There are also some free “hidden” apps on the Kindle. See here.

The Kindle 3 has some hidden games. These aren’t available in earlier editions.

Minesweeper is accessed by holding down SHIFT + ALT + M.  When in Minesweeper is active press “G” to load GoMoku.

GoMoku is a strategy board game sometimes called Five in a Row. Press “M” to return to Minesweeper.

Press alt + shift + G to take the screenshot. Plug it into your PC via USB to download the screenshots.

Obtained from Geek.com

• alt + shift + G = screenshot
• alt + G = screen refresh
• alt + home = Kindle Store
• alt + top row of letters on keyboard = numbers 1-9

More that are useful when reading a document

• alt + B = add and remove bookmarks
• shift + Sym = Turn text to speech on and off
• set cursor down the page to start text to speech from there
• right arrow on nav controller = skip to next chapter
• left arrow on nav controller = skip to previous chapter

The reading application  is available Free from Amazon for a number of platforms.

• iPhone
• Windows PC
• Mac
• BlackBerry
• iPad
• Android
• Windows Phone 7

More information here Amazon.com.

No you don’t have to have a physical kindle,  but you do have to use the Kindle Application (on a Kindle or other device). A number of different classes of devices are supported including phones, tablets and computers.

The Kindle application runs on many platforms, the list is here : What platforms are supported by the Kindle reading app

Yes, once you have set up your Amazon account and linked the Kindle, which they will kindly do for you automatically if you buy it on-line from Amazon. If your credit card details are stored in your Amazon account you can buy directly on the device. The book will then be delivered directly, via Whispernet for 3G (within a minute or two) or via WiFi when you are next in range. There is no extra delivery charge, it is included in the price.

This makes it great for people who are not all that comfortable using a PC, but can be a problem if your children are playing with the Kindle and accidentally buy a book (or ten) without your knowledge. There have been cases of Amazon providing a refund in these kinds of cases. Mail them. They have a really great refund policy and customer service is tops.

Yes. It is a little expensive, but well made and fits beautifully. It protects your Kindle nicely, though is not waterproof , exposing the sides of the Kindle. This gives you the ability to charge it while still in the case. The case opens like a book and is very comfortable to hold while reading. The version with the built in light gives the ability to read in low light conditions. It connects through special clips to the Kindle and uses the Kindle battery. It isn’t the best reading light but does a fair job.

Yes you can. Detailed step by step instructions are found here (howtogeek.com). More info on jailbreaking here.

Most people do this so they can customise the screensaver (to remove the famous authors / personalities and put their own pics in). The jailbreak also lets you do a number of other hacks to the device.

In summary, if you want USB networking, new screensavers or new fonts, this may be for you, otherwise don’t really bother.

Most of the hacks require you to jailbreak your Kindle first. Once you have done that you can do various things, including :

• Screensaver and font hacks
• Load an alternate (better) music player
• Add a dictaphone option to record audio with the microphone
• Install an SSH client / terminal emulation
• HTTP server running on the kindle
• Notepad application
• Calculator application
• all sorts of other odds and sods

For more information on what else is available,  and how to do any of the above hacks, take a look at the thread over at Mobile Read. http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128704

The small screen on phones can make it quite off-putting even to think about reading a book. I tested it out a year or so ago on my Blackberry Bold 9000. The screen was smallish, not a bad quality, resolution better than the bottom of the line 8520’s that are so popular now, but nowhere close to the iPhones or modern android devices.

The reading experience was not a bad one. Nowhere near the same as reading on the Kindle device, but much better than expected. The font size is adjustable, the app takes up the full screen and single key presses move you onto the next page. The Kindle app can be set to synchronise your position in the book back to the server so you can switch between devices without losing your place. This is great, if you are stuck somewhere with some time to kill and don’t have your Kindle handy eg. Doctors rooms, airport, etc

I wouldn’t buy Kindle books through the app to read on a small screen device as my primary reader. Perhaps a 4″ + screen is big enough. Download the application, install it, buy a cheap book and see for yourself, you may be pleasantly surprised. I was.

The home page loads, slowly but it loads. Logging in is a bit fiddly, but you can log in. Things like notifications don’t work very well as it is difficult to select the notification icon with the direction pad and jumping from one icon to the next just doesn’t work well.

The home stream is tiny at default zoom level but just readable. So you can catch up with what is going on if you really need to. I wouldn’t recommend this for daily use, but in a bind it can certainly do the job.

The browser is fairly limited, it does however work better with some websites than others. You can try a site like http://kinstant.com/ which provides links to Kindle friendly content and sites.

There are some good hints and tips over at MakeTechEasier that can improve the browsing experience.

First, make sure it is properly charged. Then check the meaning of the status indicators : http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200505540&#status

Then try the trouble shooting here :http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_200510540_wifitroubleshoot?nodeId=200510540#wirelesstrouble

Try resetting it to factory state :

1. Turn your Kindle on
2. Go to the home screen (Press Home)
3. Press Menu and then scroll to Settings.
4. Press the Menu button again and select Reset to Factory Defaults

If none of that works, then you can return it to Amazon. Free if under warranty, cost you a nominal replacement fee otherwise.

The Kindle is Amazon’s branded e-book reader. It uses an e-ink technology so has a passive display that is very similar in nature to paper rather than the active screens of most laptops / electronics devices. This means that you can read it in direct sunlight just like a book, but at night you need a light otherwise the screen is just dark.

Read more about the Kindle and look at pictures of the various devices on Amazon’s site here. Watch the video, read the marketing blurb.

Trying to decide which Kindle is best for you? Read my thoughts here.

Some of these devices are now available for international shipping. Sadly, not the ones most people want. As of 11/12/2011 the following is the position :

• Kindle (not touch) : Yes : $109 – in stock
• Kindle Touch : No
• Kindle Touch 3G : No
• Kindle Keyboard :  Yes : Stock unavailable – no indication of when more stock available
• Kindle Keyboard 3G : Yes : $189 – in stock
• Kindle Fire : No

Tech Central has some more news on all of the devices as well as some commentary related to why they are not available in SA. Link here.

It is also interesting to note that the prices quoted for the e-ink tablets are the prices for the advertising subsidised versions, which have never been available outside of the USA. The price is increased (even in the USA) for the models without the adverts. When these models appear in SA expect them to much more than the generally talked about prices.

There have been rumours in the press this last week indicating that the Fire will be available in the UK early in the new year. Good to see some rollout, maybe we get it here eventually too.

Yes it does. The web browser is found under the “experimental” section. It is quite limited, but it does work. On a 3G Kindle, the browser uses the free Amazon Whispernet network. If you are in the range of your WiFi network, it will use that instead. With the WiFi only Kindles you need to be connected to your WiFi first.

The Kindle comes preloaded with a number of bookmarks to Amazon, Google and the like.

Don’t expect too much from the browser, but it does work and can be very useful if you are in a bind and need to look something up, or just want to catch up on world news.

There are games and applications available. They are listed in the Amazon Kindle stored, however, they are not available for Africa. I’m not sure when/if this will change.

I haven’t seen any ways of bypassing this and downloading the apps directly onto the Kindle but suspect there should be a way. If you know how, please share.

There are also some free “hidden” apps on the Kindle. See here.

The reading application  is available Free from Amazon for a number of platforms.

• iPhone
• Windows PC
• Mac
• BlackBerry
• iPad
• Android
• Windows Phone 7

More information here Amazon.com.

No you don’t have to have a physical kindle,  but you do have to use the Kindle Application (on a Kindle or other device). A number of different classes of devices are supported including phones, tablets and computers.

The Kindle application runs on many platforms, the list is here : What platforms are supported by the Kindle reading app

Lots, and the number is growing in number. Prices range from $0.99 to $4.99. They cover games (Monopoly, Chess, adventure games) and simple productivity applications (such as a notepad).

Don’t get too excited, you can’t buy from Africa.

Here is a link to the Top 40 just in case you want to drool a little (or laugh if you have an iPad / Android Tablet).

Yes you can. Detailed step by step instructions are found here (howtogeek.com). More info on jailbreaking here.

Most people do this so they can customise the screensaver (to remove the famous authors / personalities and put their own pics in). The jailbreak also lets you do a number of other hacks to the device.

In summary, if you want USB networking, new screensavers or new fonts, this may be for you, otherwise don’t really bother.

Most of the hacks require you to jailbreak your Kindle first. Once you have done that you can do various things, including :

• Screensaver and font hacks
• Load an alternate (better) music player
• Add a dictaphone option to record audio with the microphone
• Install an SSH client / terminal emulation
• HTTP server running on the kindle
• Notepad application
• Calculator application
• all sorts of other odds and sods

For more information on what else is available,  and how to do any of the above hacks, take a look at the thread over at Mobile Read. http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128704

The small screen on phones can make it quite off-putting even to think about reading a book. I tested it out a year or so ago on my Blackberry Bold 9000. The screen was smallish, not a bad quality, resolution better than the bottom of the line 8520’s that are so popular now, but nowhere close to the iPhones or modern android devices.

The reading experience was not a bad one. Nowhere near the same as reading on the Kindle device, but much better than expected. The font size is adjustable, the app takes up the full screen and single key presses move you onto the next page. The Kindle app can be set to synchronise your position in the book back to the server so you can switch between devices without losing your place. This is great, if you are stuck somewhere with some time to kill and don’t have your Kindle handy eg. Doctors rooms, airport, etc

I wouldn’t buy Kindle books through the app to read on a small screen device as my primary reader. Perhaps a 4″ + screen is big enough. Download the application, install it, buy a cheap book and see for yourself, you may be pleasantly surprised. I was.

While trying to find out about how one could download games from Amazon I came across “interactive game books”. Curious as to what these were I bought one. It is a free download in the USA, but we have to pay for it elsewhere in the world.

“Tic Tac Toe Kindle Game, 1 & 2 Player” by BluFi Canada.

This is really so bad it hardly counts as a game. I get the feeling that this isn’t an application at all, but a hypertext linked document that goes to the next page based on what you click, i.e. the game will be the same every time as if you click the same blocks it moves to the same pages.

So yes, it is a game of sorts. No, it isn’t worth a download (even as a free download) let alone costing a few Dollars.

I remember as a child having those “choose your own adventure” books. Perhaps something like that would work better in this format. Certainly not any kind of application which really needs to be a fully fledged app and not a hack trying to pretend to be one.

The home page loads, slowly but it loads. Logging in is a bit fiddly, but you can log in. Things like notifications don’t work very well as it is difficult to select the notification icon with the direction pad and jumping from one icon to the next just doesn’t work well.

The home stream is tiny at default zoom level but just readable. So you can catch up with what is going on if you really need to. I wouldn’t recommend this for daily use, but in a bind it can certainly do the job.

Ok, this seems an odd question at first.

To eliminate the obvious, a Drifta won’t ever work on an e-ink Kindle, so presumably the question relates to the Kindle Fire which runs an Amazon fork of Android.

The immediate answer to the Kindle Fire question is No, it is not a device whitelisted by DStv and only whitelisted devices will work with their software.

However, IF you could sideload / install a hacked version of the software onto the Kindle Fire, theoretically it may work. Don’t know of anybody who has done this yet. If you try please let us all know how you get on with this.

The reading application  is available Free from Amazon for a number of platforms.

• iPhone
• Windows PC
• Mac
• BlackBerry
• iPad
• Android
• Windows Phone 7

More information here Amazon.com.

No you don’t have to have a physical kindle,  but you do have to use the Kindle Application (on a Kindle or other device). A number of different classes of devices are supported including phones, tablets and computers.

The Kindle application runs on many platforms, the list is here : What platforms are supported by the Kindle reading app

Kindle books are DRM’d. As far as I know, all of the books, even free books are DRM’d. Amazon allow you to link a number of devices to one Amazon account (multiple Kindle’s, your phone, iPad, tablet etc) and you can download your books to a number of these. You must however use the Kindle software on each and it will manage the distribution of the copies and keep you within the terms of licensing.

There is a way to remove the DRM that is described here. I haven’t tired it. It involves running various some tools (unswindle v7 and mobidedrm) and having Python installed as well as the PC Kindle application. I haven’t personally tried this yet (not had the need), if you give it a go let us know if it works for you. There are more tools and some DRM removal FAQ information here at Apprentice Alf’s Blog.