"Free Kindle Download Question" Topic

Okay, downloaded my first Kindle book today (Devil's Wind).

Do I get to keep it or I have to read it in X amount of time.

Also, PAST (former) Kindle Free book offers…if I missed them…I missed out or:

"No, not necessarily, you can go snag them here."…you telling me where HERE is…in the nicest way possible of course.

Any and all help and advice appreciated.

Assuming you've bought it, it's yours to keep, on any device that can run a Kindle client. I read mine on my PC, on my smartphone and on my Kindle Fire.

Most offers are limited duration, but there are plenty of free books available, and Amazon's website has a list of free books.

G.

I've never had any of mine disappear. I think once the deal expires you are SOL, though (meaning if you want to DL it then, you gots to pay!).

This site: hundredzeros.com is good for finding the freebies. You have to be careful though, some of them are only free for Amazon Prime members.

I believe you are already familiar with Archive.org.

Thanks Goober and AT.

Yeah, I get almost all of my books via Archive and Google Free books, but I had downloaded the Amazon Kindle App for my NOOK during the July/August spate of Amazon Freebies mentioned here, but I've been so busy working on my book, that I forgot to register until today.

Ah well, at least I'm set for future Kindle Freebie offers from Amazon.

And a "Huge El Biggo Thank you" to all of you who alert us to the Kindle Freebies too! Very much appreciated!

Calibre is a good ebook organizer and has a extension that strips the DRM on the Kindle books. It may not be technically "legal" but IMO I bought the book I should be able to read it on any ereader.

Kindle's native format is the same as Mobi, which was a common format for the old Palm Pilot. If you download Kindle/Mobi books to your PC and don't use Amazon's 'free' wifi, they can't wipe the file from your device.

The last time they wiped a book via wifi they got tremendous bad press – they claimed that the copy they provided was in breach of copyright and eventually gave credit to the affected accounts.

I have many free Kindle downloads, from many months back, and none seems to have disappeared.

Do I get to keep it or I have to read it in X amount of time.

You're buying the books, not renting them.

I -think- if it's on your Kindle it's yours. The stuff in the cloud might disappear. BTW there are lots and lots of free e-books, but they are all classics (or just old;-)

Note that while the Kindle looks like a carefree portable device, it is quite delicate. It needs a thin sheet of tempered glass for the e-ink to work correctly and it is very susceptible to edge shocks or pressure. One day you look at it and the screen is !@#$ed and you have no idea why.

There's another category of free stuff besides old. Lots of new authors give away their work; lots more is just 99 cents. Check fantasy/science fiction n the Kindle store and then the "military" category; you can sort from price lowest to highest. I get a lot of stuff; some of it is crap and I don't read past the first chapter or so; a lot is okay, worth what I paid for it; and some is actually quite good.

2 years on my Kindle, over a thousand books on it from a varity of sources, has traveled overseas several times and still works perfect.

Just bought the Paperwhite model for my wife to replace the Kindle II she has as she wanted something without an external light to use at night.

Cannot go wrong with a Kindle.

Dan

P.S. I also down load copies of all my books, free or otherwise, from all sources, to my PC harddrive. Never lose them that way regardless.

Sorry Dan but your post really annoys me. Anecdotal evidence is meaningless. So the fact that you have traveled overseas with your Kindle for the last two years without problem is just as meaningless as the fact that in less than a year I took my Kindle out of my purse and found it looking like a bad Etch-a-Sketch (was replaced on warranty). But a little research will find that there are plenty of people with the same experience, often multiple times (so they knew what was what and still had problems). The Kindle is very nice, but it is fragile.

Well, I have a NOOK…multiples, including the original version…all of which work fine and look almost as now. Well the first shows some edge cracking where the recessed page turning buttons are, but otherwise they all look good.

Of course, I have mine in nice book cover cases. I have two for my HD, one for reading, the other a Blue Tooth Keyboard with a really nice, soft shell cover, but pretty much batter proof frame…turns my NOOK into a mini-laptop too.

So, IMHO, with the Kindle Amazon app, I have pretty much the best of all worlds out there.

Hew J., am I assuming that damage to Kindles can occur even if they're encased in some sort of cover?

Anybody ever have problems with the port that you plug in to to charge?My wifes is loose-it charges,but it is very finicky how you set it up to do so.

A case can probably help. But tempered glass is very susceptible to edge shocks, which are hard to prevent.

Never had a problem with the screen on my fire, an that is with a very clumsy five-year-old playing on it frequently. I do keep it in a case though. I did have issues with the port on mine, Skinkmaster. I got a replacement right away after contacting customer service.

Gee, Hew Johns, get a life. If my comments on the heavy use and lots of travel with my Kindle bothers you, your blood pressure must be something.

I was making a point that the Kindle can survive lots of use. Anecdotal evidence is worth saying in my example, just as you being able to say you smashed your's in your pursue because you apparently did not protect it. If nothing else, we now know that I take better care of mine (smile).

And yes, I do carry mine in a case (with built-in light that extends). Seemed reasonable to me as I was able to discern that banging, crushing or twisting a Kindle would be bad (smile). Mine has been in travel bags, brief cases, back pockets, shipped on and off of ships and planes, been powered by various forms of power (including a solar power unit when in places where there is no electricity) and gone through customs. Others have used it, including small children. No dropping into a pool however. Thousands of hours of use (I love reading).

Hope you have a great weekend and can relax.

Dan

Dan,
I don't have a problem with you sharing your experience. I have a problem with you implying that it is a universal experience and that anyone that has had problem has been careless. Since I am the victim you are blaming ("you smashed your's [sic]), it is doubly hurtful.

I didn't decide the Kindle was capriciously fragile because I had a problem with it. I did because I had a problem with it and then I and investigated with Google. (Yes I realize Google is about as familiar as soap to many a TMPer ;-) There is story after story of screen problems. The customer who pulled it out of a drawer after a couple of months and found it broken, the one who dropped it a few feet onto a pillow, the one whose cat walked on it =:-0. I expect healthy skepticism, but when you see one story after another, you realize these people are not making things up.
And there are any number of customer, who having replaced one under warranty, lost another in a few months.

I also found nothing on expected battery life, accurate sales figures, or anything resembling return statistics.
When they first came out, Amazon had a little video showing a drop test proving how robust they were. You can't find it anymore. That's because when users tried to duplicate it, it kept failing and the videos were showing up on UTube!

I did find a interesting article where a charity organization delivered a crate load to African schoolchildren, to see if they could overcome the "30 year old textbook" problem. It was a disaster, a year later a large percentage were broken. I also found a very slick warranty program, that would very promptly replace your broken unit, no questions asked, even though you damaged it <eyeroll>, but that cut you off cold one year after purchase. And there was Amazon's own advertising, which displayed it the back pocket of nicely filled blue jeans. Even the most ardent fanboys agreed that was a guaranteed breakdown.

But so what? I'm not here to spank fanboys. Just to give Andrew (and anyone else) fair warning that you have to be more careful with it than you might think. That's not a disservice to anyone.

Just to give Andrew (and anyone else) fair warning that you have to be more careful with it than you might think. That's not a disservice to anyone.

I'm very careful with my Nook, but yeah, I fully realize that anything can happen. I may be lucky or just good clean living, but so far, no broken platen screens for me.

Though…I think I'll stay away from Kindle's for that very reason!

Thanks, either way, Hew!