Author Deborah Dolen: My Favorite Amazon Kindle Fire Apps

As an author myself, I bought the Kindle Fire to start reading more and writing less.  This also puts me into other stimulating environments that do not include being perched in front of my PC 24/7.  I actually aspire to be able to walk my daily long walk, and read-and not get motion sickness.  I will report how that works out later-[it works out great early morning late evening on a known trail so you don't walk into anything.]  The unit comes fully loaded, and charged-just have your modem password handy.  It will accept most any head phones, so I am able to travel, watch a movie, like on NetFlix Instant and use my head phones. 

Another exciting attribute is the Kindle "glows" and you do not need to keep a light on to read in bed.  This is very liberating for anyone near by who actually wants to get some sleep. 

 Amazon Kindle Fire arranges your favorite apps by when you added them, not particularly by your most favorite on down. I can store about 30 apps in my main view. . ~Deborah Dolen

Another reason I am excited about Kindle Fire is because with the Kindle Fire, I get to familiarize myself with very foreign concepts such as a touch screen and “apps” in general. I find the iPhone and iPad intimidating because I never used them, and have always been a “Gates” girl.  In other words, IBM.  I never went Mac, (I hear if I do I will never go back) but now I can say I am “bi” thanks to the new Kindle Fire.  The Android technology is a Mac technology.

Beyond securing the actual Kindle Fire, there are accessories, yes, the accessories.  Did I mention the accessories?  I needed a sun glare screen, a snazzy cover for my Kindle Fire and of course, the keychain and T-Shirt.    None of this counts books I plan to purchase and subscriptions I plan to sign up for.  That is all OK, the Kindle Fire is worth it.  The selection of "free" books in the Kindle series is really impressive.  I plan to offer one of my books free on Amazon Kindle Fire soon, as a gesture of good will.  In part, because I am on there also seeing what is "free" first.  "Free" being the operative word here.  I did buy a hot pink silicone cover I use to protect the face of my Kindle when traveling for just a few dollars off eBay. 

Amazon Prime Membership - Its is very much worth the $79 a year. I notice I am reading more books than ever now because of the Kindle Fire -- and Amazon Prime Members are allowed to borrow enrolled books with no return date.  That basically means free books!  All of my books are enlisted in that program and it does depend on the author.  If a book is part of that program it will be very clear near the purchase button on the Amazon product page.  Kindle Fire purchasers generally get a 30 day free Prime Membership-so go book hunting in the Kindle store!

Seriously, regarding my favorite apps, let me start by pointing out Amazon Kindle Fire arranges your favorite apps by when you added them, not particularly by your most favorite on down. I can store about 30 apps in my main view.  Knowing this ahead of time, I had my apps selected before the new Kindle Fire was even in my hot little hands.  When I received my Kindle Fire I added my apps by my absolute favorite on down.  I found what apps are not offered to be quite amusing.  Google apps are not offered, although some IT writers are saying they are, in fact, offered.  Side note:  If I had to pick which corporate mogul should own the world it would be Amazon hands down, not Google.  I feel one day, it will come to that.

Bookmarking Using Kindle Fire

When reading you can bookmark using the Kindle Fire, (invoke the book mark by tapping the top right screen once) you should then see a blue ribbon appear. For non-book type materials, [such as web sites] ReadItLater Pro app is a $3 one time fee but I find worth it.  It book marks long articles on the web that you want to return to at a later time. 

Alarm Clock Extreme app is awesome and a $2 one time fee.  With Alarm Clock Extreme I can select what display I want to see, set alarms with music, set it for gradual volume fade-ins for a less jarring effect, and adjust the size of my snooze buttons.  For the harder to wake up peoples it can require simple math problems to stop the alarm. A Calendar app is usually another important accessory and there is an app for that.  I think Evernote offers a calendar though.

Free Apps on Kindle Fire

Free apps on Amazon’s Kindle Fire include Comics by comiXology, ESPN ScoreCenter, Pandora Internet Radio, The Weather Channel for Android, Words With Friends Free.  I think the Kindle Fire is a great gift for older populations who enjoy cross words, and word challenges to keep their memory sharp. If you want a fee service then the Pandora app is the answer and very well liked.   Pandora users do mention the commercials can be annoying-and if you pay a small monthly fee you can be commercial free.

Music on Kindle Fire

Beyond Pandora, if you really want to listen to music on the Kindle Fire, you can.  People who want to listen to music tend to join Rhapsody app for $10 a month because the Kindle Fire on has 6 gig of useable memory-(although it is sold as 8 gig total) even so, music is a lot of weight.  I only need a simple Mp3 for my alarm, and reading is the main specific goal of my Kindle Fire.  I need to also mention MOG, about the same price as Rhapsody, a lot of Kindle users prefer the MOG app for music.

Chat Apps on Amazon Kindle Fire

At the time of this writing, the Trillian app is pretty much the only option for sending instant messages from your Kindle.  Imo app is a great app that costs nothing and bridges chat from Google talk, Facebook, Windows Live Messenger and more. 

photo of Sarasota Bay by Brandon Clifford

Deborah Dolen on How Commercial Products affect us

Click here for my first article on Amazon Kindle Fire

About the Author

What I Love the Most about Kindle Fire is the ability to learn words I do not know, by touching the word for a second or two.  A dictionary comes up and I am able to study that word, see how it is used, and book mark the page if I am doing research.  I really wish this was around when I was going through college.  I could have saved a ton of time on my research papers, and most likely had more quality content.

My Favorite Kindle Fire Apps

Getting Connected with Kindle Fire

I find ensuring “connectivity” to be one of my most important app needs.  Any Internet browsing is going to be only as good as the Internet connection that is available. Kindle Fire uses 802.11b/g/n WiFi to connect to the Internet. A WiFi Analyzer app is really important for times the Amazon Kindle Fire is not attracting the best signal possible.  Post note-reception is always great, I have not had a problem at all.  My device always seems to know where I am.

Second most important to me is Apps for taking notes.  The Kindle Fire is not equipped with any type of word processing, (such as Note Pad) - nor is it meant for that.  Still a girl needs her notes. The AK Notepad app is a free and really helpful to just keep notes somewhere on your unit.  The Evernote app is also highly recommended, although I am not sure about a fee.  Evernote lets you take text, photo, and audio notes and sync them across multiple devices and the web.

 
The Bible was my first book loaded and I find the "Touch Bible" one of the best.  You can opt to see other interpretations and translations if you so choose, Greek being one.  There are a lot of free Bible apps.  It seems to come in everything but French, and I hope they offer French soon.

The Weather Channel app and the Netflix app are my tops apps I installed first-after WiFi Analyzer and Evernote.  Number one, The Weather Channel looks great on the Kindle Fire, and NetFlix looks pretty amazing also.  NetFlix can play any instant video selection on Kindle Fire.  I have not tried it.  I like the NetFlix App because I have Roku on my TV and can see what’s new at Netflix on my Kindle Fire. I can save anything that looks good in my Netflix Instant account que and watch it later on my TV. Good thing I like anything Michael Moore because documentaries seem to be the few interesting selections offered in Netflix Instant.  I can say I watched “A Perfect Host,” recently, a suspense movie, that is edge of your seat, twist and turn good kind of movie, which is the best kind of movie there is.

Deborah Dolen's Library A collection of Deborah Dolen's articles, books and public works.

Deborah Dolen's Journal Read here a free book about Aromatherapy.

Log Mein Ignition, is an app that has a one time fee of $29.95, and is one of the world's most popular remote access apps.  This app lets people access and control their PCs and Macs from a Smartphone or tablet, and was added in the Amazon App store after the Kindle Fire was introduced. With the LogMeIn Ignition app, Kindle Fire owners can benefit by borrowing resources from their PC or Mac to their lightweight, simple-to-use media tablet.  I had to purchase it because I have over 100 online accounts.

Actual periodicals I like include The Wall Street Journal and Reader’s Digest.  Reader’s Digest does have an app in the Kindle Fire store, I am still hunting for the Wall Street Journal app.  It is possible I will have to “side load” it.  Side load means go into “devices” and tell Kindle Fire you do want to allow in other unknown apps. Wired app is great, as Wired magazine was one of the first magazines to pay close attention to layouts, graphics and how it relates to portable media.  The app is free, a subscription to Wired is $19.95 a year at the time of this writing. 

Social Media Apps on Kindle Fire

I really like Facebook, Twitter, and use the Seesmic app to manage them.  LinkedIn and Tumblr are also available as apps in the Amazon Kindle Fire store.  -end-

World in Motion:  No time for Rugged Individualists by Deborah Dolen  talks about Eyjafjallajökull, global environment impacts on our life and the importance of food storage. http://deborahdolen.blogspot.com/2010/04/icelands-volcanic-eruptions-giving-food.html

People of the Corn by Deborah Dolen Discussion on how we are all basically made of corn right down to our DNA.  http://deborahdolen.blogspot.com/2010/02/people-of-corn-by-deborah-dolen.html

Just for Fun

AngryBirds, Hulu Plus, Atari’s Greatest Hits and Skype are getting rave reviews on all platforms when it comes to apps for Kindle Fire.  I do not use any of them so I cannot really comment other than the fact they are highly popular.  Since the Angry Birds is so popular, mentioned on just about every other review I have read-I am going to download that app and see just what kind of passive aggressive game they have going on. 

A new App I really adore is Words with Friends which is addicting word game that allows you challenge friends, family, or strangers and show off your superlative vocabulary and brilliant gaming skills. If my kids were young I would have had them play this game with me. 

Join Deborah Dolen on Facebook, Twitter, on on her working photo stream on Flickr! Amazon

Often sighted with her Katrina rescue dog Ringo Deborah lives on Sarasota Bay and enjoys all of the gifts the Gulf of Mexico has to offer, Donating to Wildlife is one of Deborah's biggest commitments, whether it is money, supplies, or her time. A graduate of Eckerd College, situated right on Tampa Bay, Deborah became interested in oceanography and how our water ways work.  Florida wildlife has a very intimate relationship with the Gulf of Mexico.   Deborah Dolen author lives in Bradenton, FL and is also very supportive of nearby Sarasota, FL and the artists in both cities.  You can see Deborah Dolen at Sarasota Farmer's Market or Bradenton Farmer's most any saturday.