Yesterday, I got an Amazon Kindle and had some problems with it, mostly particular to the built-in wireless networking. I’ve managed to take a few steps forward–the device is now registered to me, not Shanna, and I’ve learned how to manually transfer files from my computer to Kindle via USB. More on that in a minute–first I want to talk some more about the networking.

Contrary to what I thought last night, Sprint’s EVDO coverage, on which Amazon’s Whispernet service is based, has excellent coverage in Lawrence (which makes sense, as Sprint’s headquarters are a mere 40 miles or so east of here). For whatever reason, though, I can’t maintain a decent signal. I was able to successfully connect long enough to properly register the device, but I still can’t connect wirelessly to Amazon’s Kindle store to buy e-books, e-magazines, etc. Customer support, here I come.

Meanwhile, I have managed to transfer a few files from my computer to the device. This requires a couple of steps. First, you must convert the file into Amazon’s proprietary e-book format. To do this, you e-mail the file as an attachment to a special address at Amazon and get your converted file in a minute or two. Then it’s just a matter of connecting Kindle to your computer via USB and copying the file over, just as if the device were a flash drive. Alternately, you can send the original file to a different special e-mail address, and Amazon will send the file directly to your Kindle for a “small fee” (which I think is 10 cents). As soon as I get networking going properly I’ll give this a shot.

The quality of the converted files is so-so. I sent two PDFs for conversion, and Amazon admits that PDF conversion is still in development and likely to be flaky. If your PDF is primarily text, you shouldn’t have a problem, but files with images may render strangely. PDF is a complex format so this may or may not be corrected eventually.

So, two steps forward and one back for my second day with Kindle. Again, post your questions and comment below and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Update: I have successfully connected to the Kindle Store. Stay tuned.

Tags: kindle