Covers and Sleeves for the New Kindles

Travelling with a bare Kindle is not a good idea- you need a protective cover or sleeve to protect it from damage. As I've mentioned before, tho two choices boil down to a cover, which lets you keep the Kindle protected while using it, or a sleeve, which you have to remove before using the Kindle. Which one you choose depends on how you use your Kindle.

I've always been a fan of the lighted covers for the E-Ink Kindles. Even though expensive, the convenience of a built-in light powered by the Kindle's battery made it worth it. Now, the impending release of the Kindle Paperwhite with built-in front lighting makes a lighted cover unnecessary. But Amazon has upped the ante with new covers for the Paperwhite and the new Fire HD tablets that wake up your Kindle when opened and put it to sleep when closed. These covers also serve as a stand, which is especially handy for watching movies or TV shows on the Fire.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Leather Cover

Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7" Standing Leather Case

Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9" Standing Leather Case

These are Amazon accessories- you can save money by getting approved Kindle covers made by other companies, and even more by buying a generic cover. But the selection will remain skimpy until the manufacturers design products to fit the new Kindle models.

Sleeves are a lower cost alternative to covers that you may prefer if you like to use your Kindle bare. I've always liked the extra grip I get from a cover, but that may change with the 8.9" Fire, which is likely to be hefty enough without the addition of a cover's weight and bulk. I'll have to wait and see.

Amazon makes basic zip sleeves for the E-Ink Kindles and other companies make sleeves for the Fire tablets.

Amazon Kindle Zip Sleeve

This sleeve fits the Kindle Paperwhite, Touch, and basic Kindle. I've used it with the basic Kindle and like it. I bought it primarily for hiking and backpacking when I want the Kindle to have more protection than a cover provides. A cover leaves the Kindle exposed on three edges, and for the dirty, often wet environment of a multi-day hike, I want the Kindle completely enclosed. In wet conditions I'll put the sleeve in a gallon zipper plastic bag for even more protection. This sleeve is also lighter than a cover.

Timbuk2 Plush Sleeve Case for Kindle Fire HD 7"

AmazonBasics Netbook Bag with Handle, Fits 7- to 10-Inch Netbooks, iPad, HP Touchpad

I have a netbook sleeve similar to this one that I've used with a 10.1" netbook. It should work well for the 8.9" Fire, and has room for accessories such as earphones and a USB cable and charger.

Speaking of which, Kindles used to come with a USB charger, but now come with just a USB cable. Since most of us have computers with USB ports as well as  USB chargers lying around, Amazon is probably right to assume that most of us don't need another USB charger. Computers and most USB chargers out out the standard 500 milliamps of current specified in the USB 2.0 standard, and that's enough to charge the E-Ink Kindles and the original Fire in just a few hours. But the new HD Fires have larger batteries to support those beautiful HD screens and faster processors, and take much ,longer to charge. For travel, you might want to get Amazon's Powerfast Charger, which charges all rthe new Fire's at a higher rate.

Amazon Kindle PowerFast Charger for all Kindle Fire Tablets

I'll follow up with hands-on comments once I've had a chance to use the new Kindles. As an avid reader on backpack trips, I'm especially excited about the Paperwhite. With its built-in front lighting and  eight week battery life, it should be the ultimate backpacker's reading device.

Cases for the Kindle Fire

Since the current crop of Kindles have been out for a while, there's now a large selection of accessories. This is the first in a series of posts on current accessories that are useful when travelling with your Kindle. I'll focus on the Fire, Touch, and plain Kindle (which I'll call the Basic).

One important trick- when searching Amazon for Kindle accessories, don't just search in the Kindle Store. The items there are "official" Kindle accessories- but there are many more in other departments, such as electronics, that are usually cheaper and often just as functional.

The most important item to have is a protective cover or sleeve. I prefer a cover so that I don't have to remove the Kindle to use it, and also I like the grip I get with a cover. If you prefer to use your Kindle bare then you may prefer a sleeve. Sleeves also have the advantage of working with other devices of about the same size.

For the Kindle Fire, I like the Kindle Fire Lightweight MicroShell Folio Cover by Marware. It's a bit pricey but very light while still being protective. The cover also folds back so you can prop the Fire up at a 45-degree angle in landscape mode for watching movies, etc. A much cheaper alternative is the Poetic 360 degree Rotary leather case. Although a bit heavier and bulkier than the Marware case, the Poetic case lets you prop up the Fire in either portrait or landscape orientation.

Because of the Fire's weight you may prefer to use it bare. In that case, the Timbuk2 Kindle Fire Plush Sleeve is a popular way to go. Another good sleeve is the SumacLife Neoprene Sleeve Carrying Case Cover. This case has a pouch for accessories such as earphones.

If you use the Fire bare or even if you have a case that props the Fire up, you may find a stand useful. Stands have the advantages of working with more than one device, so if you own a Touch and a Fire as I do, you can use it with both. Stands also let you prop a Kindle in either landscape and portrait positions at variety of angles. The Arkon Portable Fold-Up Stand works with everything from the smallest Kindles to a 10-inch tablet.

Hands On with the Kingston Wi-Drive

As I've said before, the Kingston Wi-Drive is a great way to add 16 or 32 gb of storage to your Kindle Fire. But I didn't own one myself until recently because I wasn't running out of space on my Fire. Now I am. Due to total immersion in a series of novels that I've been reading on my Kindle Touch, I've neglected my magazine subscriptions. Paper magazines have been piling up at home and digital mags have been filling up the Fire's memory.

Because the Wi-Drive user manual is not completely clear on the procedure used to connect the Wi-Drive to the Fire, I'll attempt to clarify.

Using the Wi-Drive usually consists of two steps- transferring files from your computer to the Wi-Drive, and connecting the Wi-Drive to the Fire via Wi-Fi. Of course, you can also move files from the Fire directly to the Wi-Drive, and vice-versa.

You can connect the Wi-Drive directly to a computer with the included mini-USB to USB cable, in which case the Wi-Drive shows up as a disk drive on the computer. Then you can transfer files back and forth via drag and drop with your usual file manager. Note that Wi-Fi is disabled while the Wi-Drive is connected to a computer so you can't use it with the Fire at the same time.


To connect the Wi-Drive to the Fire, first install the free Wi-Drive app (found in the Andoid Store on Amazon on your Fire. The turn on the Wi-Drive and wait until the blue Wi-Fi light is flashing (this can take a few minutes. Then turn on the Fire and tap the top right status bar to bring up the menu bar. Then 
tap Wi-Fi and tap Wi-Drive to connect to the drive. By default, the Wi-Drive has no password- but you should change this.


Now start the Wi-Drive app on the Fire. After a short time the Wi-Drive will be shown as well as local storage on the Fire. Tap on the Wi-Drive line to open the Wi-Drive. Tap on folders to open them, then tap on a file to open or play the file using the appropriate app on the Fire. Note that there doesn't appear to be a way to create new folders on the Wi-Drive from the Fire- you'll have to do that while the drive is connected to your computer. But by long-pressing a folder you can delete or copy it. Long-pressing a file name lets you delete or copy the file, as well as send the file via email. If you have the Dropbox app installed you can also send the file to your Dropbox folder, which gives you another way to transfer files between the Wi-Drive and your computer.


As mentioned above, by default the connection to the Wi-Drive is not password protected. You should use WPA-PSK security and a password to secure the connection. To do this, open the Wi-Drive folder on the Fire, tap the menu icon at the bottom of the screen, and choose "Settings". Then choose Wi-Drive Settings, select the encryption method (WPA is preferred), and enter your password. Tap "Done" when finished. You will need to restart the Wi-Drive and reconnect via Wi-Fi from the Fire, this time entering your new password.


You'll probably notice that when you connect your Fire to the Wi-Drive it loses its connection to the local Wi-Fi network. Fortunately your can use the Wi-Drive app to "bridge" the Fire to the local network. To do this, tap the Wi-Drive line to make sure you're in the Wi-Drive file system, then tap the menu icon at the bottom of the screen. Next, tap "Settings", select "Network Settings",  choose the desired Wi-Fi network, and connect. If the Wi-Fi connections is encrypted, you'll be asked for the password. In either case, the Wi-Drive will reset. When it restarts, your Fire should be connected to both the Wi-Drive and the internet via your local Wi-Fi network.

More Fire Without Wires

Tonido is another way to sync files from a computer to your Kindle Fire, other mobile devices, and other computers. Setup is really easy- all you do is download Tonido Server for your PC, Mac, or Linux homne or main computer and install it. Then install the free Tonido app on your Fire- it's available in the Amazon Android App store from your web browser or Fire app store. After you create a free account, anything you place in the Tonido folder on your computer appears in the Tonido folder on your Fire, as well as on any other devices or computers running the Tonido app or client software. The same occurs in reverse- any file you place in the Tonido folder on the Fire appears on your computer.

Of course, the computer running Tonido Server must be on and connected to the Internet, and your Fire or other device must be connected wirelessly in order for synchronization to take place. And you have to log in to your Tonido account to access your account and synchronize files. But other than that Tonido works seamlessly.

You don't have to be limited by the internal memory and lack of an SD card slot on the Fire either. The Kingston Wi-Drive is available in 16 and 32gb sizes and connects to the Fire via Wi-Fi. A USB port and cable allows you to directly sideload files from your computer if you wish.

In combination with productively software such as Documents to Go, ES File Explorer, and OfficeSuite Pro, the Fire has the ability to be a nifty little work tablet. And when you've done enough work to feel you've accomplished something, you can always relax with a movie or some music.

Kindle Fire Updates

Amazon has just released new firmware for the Kindle Fire, upgrading version 6.22 to 6.3. This is probably the most significant update since the release of the Fire. In additional to general but unspecified performance improvements, the update adds:

• Sharing of highlights and notes in Kindle books to other readers of the same book, and sharing via Facebook and Twitter. Sharing is a feature already enjoyed by users of the E-Ink Kindles.
• Book Extras is similar to the X-Ray feature available on the Kindle Touch. It provides a snapshot of the important characters and terms in the book. Like the X-Ray feature, Book Extras is not available for all titles.
• Personal documents that are converted and transferred via Amazon's email service are now archived in the Amazon Cloud, as are annotations. This is the same service already available to E-Ink Kindle owners. Note that personal documents side loaded directly to your Fire via USB cable are not archived in the cloud, and neither are annotations.
• Students can now buy thousands of print replica textbooks at deep discounts. These textbooks have the same color and formatting of their print editions.
• The Fire now has a "Reader" mode. This works the same as "Article" mode on the E-Ink Kindles- removing all extraneous content to allow you to focus on the main text of a web page.
• As requested by many Fire owners, the loan period for movie rentals downloaded to the Fire now starts when you first start watching the movie, instead of when it is downloaded. This allows you to stock up on movies before a trip without having to worry that they'll expire before you can watch them. Its another example of Amazon's focus on the customer.
• Faster reconnect of Wi-Fi when you wake up your Fire from sleep mode.

The upgrade will be automatically pushed to all registered Fires when they are connected via Wi-Fi over the next several weeks. If you want to update your Fire now, go to http://amzn.to/H14pM7 to download the update and transfer it to your Fire via USB cable.

Quick Battery Drain on the Kindle Touch 3G

Now that I've had time to put some more miles on my Kindle Touch 3G as a travel reading device, I've noticed that the battery sometimes gets depleted pretty quickly, even when I'm not using it. There are a couple of possible reasons for that.

One is leaving the Kindle on and closing the cover. That's a real no-no if you then stuff it in a bag, as I learned with the Kindle Keyboard. Until the device goes into sleep mode, any pressure on the cover could press keys and cause it to stay on and possibly do page turns. I know that happened with the Kindle Keyboard because I'd turn it on and find it was on a different page than where I left it.

Accidental key presses can happen with the Touch also, because of the Home button on the front. Every it gets pressed, the Home screen is refreshed, even if you're already on the Home screen. Of course, the solution is to manually turn the Kindle off with the power button when you're done reading. It's become a habit and now I turn the Kindle's off even when I'm just going to set it down.

The other cause of battery drain appears to be the 3G connectivity. I've noticed that when wireless is on and I'm in an area with little or no 3G service (and no Wi-Fi), the battery often loses half its charge in one day without ever being turned on. The answer is to make sure wireless is off if you'll be out of 3G and Wi-Fi range for long periods of time and don't have an easy way to charge the Kindle.

As a charter pilot, one of the places I often fly is Grand Canyon West, on the far southwest rim of the Grand Canyon. Cell coverage is marginal there and the Kindle Touch has no 3G or Wi-Fi connectivity. I'm usually at Grand Canyon West for about four hours at a time and I've noticed that the Touch loses about half its battery charge in that time- and I usually only read for an hour or two.

By the way, I haven't noticed such quick battery drain on the Kindle Fire. This is probably because there are no buttons on the bezel to be pressed by the cover, and also that the current Fire only has Wi-Fi, not 3G.

Kindle Software Updates

This is a quick look at the changes brought by the latest software updates for the current production Kindles since they were first shipped in late 2011. The Kindle Keyboard version 3.3 software and Kindle DX version 2.5 software have not been updated recently.

Kindle basic version 4.0.1

• Option to refresh page at every turn instead of every 5th page

Kindle Touch version 5.03

• General software improvements but no changes to the user interface or menus

Kindle Fire version 6.2.2

• Items can be removed from the Carousel, but only one at a time
• General improvements to performance and fluidity
• Full screen mode for Web pages

Two often requested features are landscape mode for the Touch- that's the main thing I miss from my Kindle Keyboard- and a way to remove the Carousel entirely from the Home page of the Fire. Amazon says that the touch screen implementation on the Kindle Touch makes changing the screen orientation difficult, but they appear to be working on it.

To me and many others, the Carousel seems completely redundant. Why not devote the Home screen entirely to the Favorites list, which the user has full control over?