Thursday, February 12, 2009

Kindle 1.0 Tips & Tricks, Part 2

Using the Web Browser

The Kindle's browser is accessed from the Experimental menu. There are 2 browser modes: basic and advanced. Some sites (e.g. gmail) need javascript, so if you are having trouble accessing a site in basic mode, try using advanced mode with javascript enabled. Select 'Settings' from the browser menu to switch between modes. See Amazon's browser help page for more details.

Some Useful Sites

Gmail - http://m.gmail.com
Google Calendar - http://www.google.com/calendar/m
Google Reader - http://www.google.com/reader/m
Yahoo mail - http://m.yahoo.com/
Yahoo messenger - http://us.m.yahoo.com/p/messenger/
Manybooks - http://mnybks.net

GPS and Google Maps

Your Kindle 1 knows where you are! If you turn your wireless on and go to the web browser, you can do the following:
  • Alt + 1 - Pinpoint your location on Google maps
  • Alt + 2 - Find nearby gas stations
  • Alt + 3 - Find nearby restaurants
  • Alt + 5 - Find keyword nearby (e.g. enter coffee to find nearby places to get your caffeine fix)
Update: These mapping shortcuts do not seem to work on the Kindle 2.

Sending SMS Text Messages

You can send a text message from your Kindle to a cell phone. From any email client (e.g. gmail) in your Kindle web browser, address an e-mail to the 10-digit cell phone number at the appropriate gateway. For instance, to send to an AT&T cell phone number, address the email to 1234567890@txt.att.net. Here's a list of cell provider gateways -

AT&T: @txt.att.net
Alltel: @message.alltel.com
Cingular: @cingularme.com
Nextel: @messaging.nextel.com
Powertel: @ptel.net
Sprint: @messaging.sprintpcs.com
SunCom: @tms.suncom.com
T-Mobile: @tmomail.net
US Cellular: @email.uscc.net
Verizon: @vtext.com
Virgin Mobile: @vmobl.com

No comments:

Post a Comment