The Kindle Fire is a digital reader similar to Amazon's Kindle, but larger in size. This device is similar to the iPad in that it has multi-touch and screen rotation features. Unlike the regular Kindle, the Kindle Fire has a colorful screen. Kindle devices are usually difficult to use at first, but we'll give you some tips for using them.
Step
Part 1 of 4: Unpacking the Kindle Fire
Step 1. Start here if you haven't unpacked your Kindle Fire, but if you have, skip to the next section
Step 2. Open the packaging box
Take the Kindle Fire out of its box, then open the plastic wrap.
You should charge your Kindle Fire while you're setting it up
Step 3. Turn it on
To turn on the Kindle Fire, just tap the little round button at the bottom.
Tap and hold this button again to turn it off
Step 4. Sign up for a new account
In order to use all the features of the Kindle Fire, first sign up for an Amazon account.
Before signing up, you can still connect via Wi-Fi by tapping the Quick Settings icon (the little gear icon) at the top of the screen, then selecting Wi-Fi. Select the Wi-Fi network you want then tap the Quick Settings icon again, tap More, then select My Account to register
Part 2 of 4: Buying Content
Step 1. Access existing content
Amazon offers a large selection of books, newspapers, magazines, apps, music, movies, and TV shows for your Kindle Fire. To enter the store, tap the “Store” link at the top right of any Content screen.
To exit and return to the Content screen, tap Library
Step 2. Find the content you like
Within the store you can search for content by title, category, popularity, or recommendation. You can even try free samples of books, song clips, or movie trailers before deciding to buy them.
All magazines or newspapers provide a trial period that you can try before buying
Step 3. Retrieve the content
Your purchased content will be sent directly to your Kindle Fire via a Wi-Fi connection. Newspapers and magazines will be sent whenever a new issue appears, which is often available before going out of print.
If your Kindle Fire isn't connected via Wi-Fi when your subscription content has a new edition, that edition will be sent automatically the next time you connect to Wi-Fi
Part 3 of 4: Available Features
Step 1. There are many titles to choose from
Here are some of the features you can enjoy on Kindle Fire:
Step 2. Read newspapers and magazines on the Kindle from the Newsstand tab
Regular magazines and newspapers that you buy at Newsstand are stored in the Newsstand Library. There is also some interactive periodical content to enjoy, all stored in the Apps library.
- Magazine. Most magazines have two types of views: Page and Text. Page view shows pages that are similar to the printed version, and are stored in the Apps library.
- Newspaper. You can access the newspaper by tapping Newsstand on the home screen. To open a newspaper, tap its cover. When you first open the newspaper, a list of articles in it will appear. You can swipe up and down to browse through all the articles in the list, then tap the article you want to read.
Step 3. Read the Kindle version of the digital book in the Books library tab
You can read books by tapping Books on the Home screen. Tap a book on the shelf to read it. To move to the next page, tap the right part of the screen. To move to the previous page, tap the left of the screen. You can enjoy the following types of books on the Kindle Fire:
- Children's book. Children's books on the Kindle Fire now have a Kindle Text Pop-Up feature that will display text over colorful pictures. Just double-tap on the writing area, and the text will be enlarged for easier reading.
- The graphic novel of the Kindle's View Panel features. Double-tap anywhere to zoom in on it. You can also swipe right or left to be guided through the panels in the order in which the story is presented by the author.
Step 4. Listen to the MP3 collection from Amazon/Amazon Instant Music from the Music tab
Tap the song title to play the song. You can also create playlists in the Playlists tab.
- To play a number of songs-for example, an album, singer, or playlist-tap any song that falls into that category. All songs in the group will start playing, starting with the song you selected. Adjust the sound volume using the music player controls or by tapping the Quick Settings icon in the Status bar.
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You can add songs to your Music library in three ways:
- Bought it from the Amazon store.
- Upload music from iTunes to Amazon Cloud Drive via Amazon's Cloud Player website (www.amazon.com/cloudplayer).
- Transfer music from computer to Kindle Fire via USB. Note: You can only play MP3 (.mp3) and AAC (.m4a) files on the Kindle Fire.
Step 5. Watch the videos you rented or purchased from the Videos tab
The Video Store on the Kindle Fire provides over 10,000 movies and TV shows. Amazon Prime members get free streaming access to over 10,000 movies and TV shows.
While watching a video, tap on the screen to access the movie control panels, such as volume and pause buttons
Step 6. Read the personal documents already loaded into your device in the Docs library tab
You and the contacts you give permission to send documents to the Kindle Fire using the Send-to-Kindle email address. This address can be found in your Docs library under sort options.
To access private documents you move to your Kindle Fire, tap Docs on the home screen. You can load Microsoft Word (DOC, DOCX), PDF, HTML, TXT, RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, PRC, and MOBI files into your Kindle Fire and read them in Kindle format. You can also read documents in their original PDF format
Step 7. Find and download interesting apps from Kindle in the Apps library tab
You can search and purchase available apps on the Amazon Appstore by tapping Store > at the top right of the Apps library and heading to the Amazon Appstore.
- You can get great paid apps every day for free, browse popular free and paid apps, search for apps, or browse categories like New, Games, Entertainment, and Lifestyle.
- After selecting the app you want, tap the orange price button and confirm your purchase by tapping the green Get/Buy App button. Apps will be downloaded, installed, and stored in the Apps library.
- To uninstall an app, tap and hold its icon, select Remove from Device, then follow the instructions that appear on the screen. If you decide to reinstall it later, you can look for it in the Apps library under Cloud.
Step 8. Enjoy some innovative audiobooks (soundbooks) on your Kindle
Kindle Fire provides many sound books, both books that feature professional narration or full editions of books in sound form.
Step 9. Check email from Email app
Kindle Fire has an email app that allows you to manage multiple email accounts in the same or separate inboxes.
- To open this email app, tap the Email icon in the Apps library. Kindle Fire supports email from Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, and AOL, as well as most of the leading IMAP and POP email systems.
- Tap the Email icon in the Apps library to open the email setup wizard and configure your account.
- Note: This integrated e-mail application does not support corporate e-mail from Microsoft Exchange Server.
Step 10. Browse the internet with Silk app
Kindle Fire has Amazon Silk. Silk is available on Kindle Fire as well as Amazon Cloud.
- To access Silk, tap Web on the home screen. Silk has bookmarks, history and search features. When you open a new tab, a list of the pages you visit most often appears in the form of thumbnails. You just have to tap on the image to go to the page in question. To visit a new address, type the URL in the address box at the top, then tap the Go button.
- You can clear the history of the pages you have visited by opening the Settings menu and selecting “clear history”.
- To search the web, type the keyword you are looking for and then tap Go.
- To open another browser tab, tap the plus (+) symbol at the top right of the browser.
- The Options bar at the bottom of the screen contains the Home button, forward and backward arrows, menu icons, and icons for bookmarks.
- To view or add a bookmark, tap the Bookmarks icon from the list or grid view by clicking the sort icon at the top of the screen.
Step 11. Shop on Amazon using the Shop tab on your device
With this app, enjoy a convenient Amazon catalog shopping experience.
Part 4 of 4: Managing Content
Step 1. Download content from Cloud
When you buy content from Amazon, it is stored in the cloud so you can access it from anywhere. If you plan on going offline--for example, going on a plane--you can pre-download the content you want to enjoy.
Click the Cloud button at the top of the screen, and download the cloud-based content you want
Step 2. Import content
You can transfer various types of content to your Kindle Fire via the micro-USB connector, including music, videos, photos, and documents. To move content from your computer to your Kindle Fire, follow these steps:
- Connect your Kindle Fire to your computer using a micro-USB cable.
- Swipe the arrow on the screen from right to left to unlock the Kindle.
- Open the Kindle Fire drive (drive) from the computer. Your Kindle Fire will appear as an external storage drive on your computer. Please note that you cannot use your Kindle Fire device as long as it is connected to a computer as a storage drive.
- Drag and drop content from your computer into the appropriate directory, such as "Music" or "Pictures".
- When you're done moving files, tap the Disconnect button at the bottom of your Kindle Fire's screen, then unplug the USB cable from your computer as well as your Kindle Fire.
- Keep in mind that transferring files with the Kindle Fire can be slow. Be patient.
Step 3. Delete the content
To remove content from the Kindle Fire, tap and hold on the content icon to open a menu, then select Remove from Device.
