It took some cajoling, but my Kindle was finally able to connect to Amazon’s Whispernet wireless network. It’s been flaky, dropping in and out with no warning–but I’ve been able to properly register the device, connect to the Kindle Store, and download some sample content.

Working with Whispernet

The best advice I can give about getting Whispernet to work on a Kindle is be patient. You’ll probably have to turn off wireless access (via the control switch on the back), fire it back up, and then wait a few minutes to reestablish a connection. I’ll be in Chicago next week; perhaps an area with denser wireless coverage will help this matter. At any rate, this sketchy wireless capability is the most frustrating aspect of Kindle and something I hope Amazon addresses in future updates.

The Kindle Store

The Kindle Store is kind of like a subset of Amazon, optimized for browsing on the Kindle’s monochrome display without a traditional mouse/pointing device. Most titles have sample content available–generous samples, I might add. I downloaded the first chapter of Wikinomics and got an ample overview of the book. I was expecting four or five pages, tops, but got what would be at least 10 pages in the printed version–in other words, plenty of material to help decide whether or not to shell out cash for the book.

Speaking of cost: Most books I saw during my brief browsing session were priced at ten bucks. Some were higher. You can also subscribe to some newspapers, magazines, and blogs but I haven’t been able to keep a wireless connection active long enough to browse these sections.

How do you cite a Kindle-format book?

Kindle books don’t have traditional pages–what you see at any given time on the screen depends on your selected font size. So if you want to cite a Kindle-format book, how do you cite it?

This question of proper citation has been asked on Amazon’s customer support boards. Listing the book as a reference shouldn’t be much different than listing a regular, printed book. If you need to list a page number, Kindle recognizes “locations” instead of pages. This is something APA and MLA will need to address and formalize if and when the Kindle format grows in popularity.

Tags: kindle