- Using Amazon's Kindle Store
- Accessing the Kindle Store
- Finding Books from Other Sources
- Creating Your Own Kindle Content
- Using Search on the Kindle
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Creating Your Own Kindle Content
One of the most useful ways to take advantage of your Kindle is to create your own content. I'm not talking about writing your own books but using the Kindle's support for basic text files to store all kinds of information that you'd like to keep at your fingertips.
Create a text file on your computer that contains important information, and then transfer the file to your Kindle.
Address Book
Save a text file with your addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. Name the file Address Book, and it is listed close to the top of your Home screen when sorting by title.
If you want to take this tip to the next level, export your contact list in your email or contact list program as a text file (most applications enable this), and transfer it to your Kindle so that you have all your contact information available with a minimum amount of work.
Use the Kindle's search features to easily locate someone in your address book.
Shopping Lists
Save your shopping list to a text file and store it on your Kindle. It helps you to avoid forgetting items while you're at the store.
Your Medications
One of the questions doctors always ask is whether you are on any medications. If you take a lot of medications, it can be hard to remember all of them.
If you save a text file on your Kindle with your medications and your medical history, you can just pull up that file and hand your Kindle to the doctor or nurse instead of having to recite all your information. This helps to communicate accurate information and prevents other patients in adjoining exam rooms from overhearing your medical history.
This tip is also helpful when you need to relay medical information for children or pets.
Your Travel Itinerary
When you travel, you often have to keep track of a lot of information such as hotel reservation numbers, rental car confirmation number, flight information, phone numbers, frequent customer numbers, and so on. By saving all this information in a text file, you have that information right at your fingertips when you need it.
If you're traveling by car or truck, you can keep a file that includes all the interesting things you want to see along the way.
Study Notes
If you're a student, save your study notes to a text file on your Kindle so that you can study for that upcoming exam any time you have a few free minutes.
Meeting Notes
If you belong to an organization that generates meeting minutes, you can store those meeting minutes on your Kindle, so you can quickly access what happened in past meetings by searching the previous meeting minutes right on your Kindle.
Inventory List
Keep an inventory list of items on your Kindle. The following are just a few examples:
- Keep an inventory of items and box numbers when you move.
- If you are a collector, keep a list of all your items on your Kindle. It's not only helpful for reference, but also helpful for insurance purposes.
- Keep a list of your CDs and DVDs on your Kindle, so you don't unintentionally buy a duplicate while shopping at your favorite music or video store.
- Keep a list of your Kindle books. That way, you don't unintentionally buy a book you already own. Because the Kindle has no way to let you know which books were purchased from Amazon and are backed up in Your Media Library, note those books in your file as well.
If you'd like to share your own ideas with other Kindle users, feel free to email me at jwc@jimcobooks.com. Your idea might even be used in the next edition of this book. (Naturally, I'll be glad to give you credit if I use your idea.)