# I've got a Kindle Fire. Now what? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 21, 2013, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-kindle-fire-now-what/656294 "2013-04-21T07:03:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-kindle-fire-now-what/656294/1 "2013-04-21T07:03:58Z")
So I have a Kindle Fire and I am just learning how to use it. I don’t have a router set up to create home wi-fi acces but I have been able to use the wi-fi at Mcdonalds. I want to put some stuff from Project Gutenberg on eventually but I don’t know what other apps I need. I’m not sure how to set the time correctly. It’s supposed to have a GPS but I did not see it loaded. I know people can jailbreak their iPhones, but I don’t know if I want to do that just yet. I can buy e-books from Amazon for it, I know, but do I plug it into my Dell tower to load pictures, and stuff from Project Gutenberg, Do I buy a USB cord or shouldn’t have gotten one? ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-kindle-fire-now-what/656294/2 "2013-04-21T10:44:46Z")
Yeah, the easiest way to transfer thing is to buy a USB cable and connect it to your computer. They don’t include one, but they’re easy to get (there’s no reason to get the official cable they sell, any one will do. [This](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002HMWQE2/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) is the one I bought.) With wi-fi, you can also use Dropbox and ES File Explorer to transfer stuff. The latter is a pretty handy app to have in general, also. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-kindle-fire-now-what/656294/3 "2013-04-21T13:13:32Z")
In addition to whatever you find out from Dopers, go to Amazon \> your account \> manage your kindle. Across the top of the page, you’ll see “discussions.” There are also manuals and everything you need to know. Spend some time there poking around. I love my kindle fire with the passion of a thousand suns. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-kindle-fire-now-what/656294/4 "2013-04-21T17:49:42Z")
> [@anya\_marie](#): > > I want to put some stuff from Project Gutenberg on eventually Some of the books available at Project Gutenberg are also available for free from Amazon (look for a price of $0.00), which might be more convenient. Aside from that, there are three decent ways of getting ebooks and documents from other sources onto your Kindle (Fire): (1) Connect it to your computer with a USB cable and copy files over by “dragging and dropping.” (2) Connect it to your computer and use the free Calbre program to send ebooks and documents to your Kindle. (3) Send an email to your Kindle with the document as an attachment. > [@](#): > > Do I buy a USB cord or shouldn’t have gotten one? I thought all versions of Kindle came with either a USB cord or a charger (you have to have at least one or the other to be able to recharge it); which one you get depends on which version of the Kindle you got. As **cckerberos** notes, the USB cord is fairly standard; you may even already have one that came with another device (like a cell phone). ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-kindle-fire-now-what/656294/5 "2013-04-22T06:53:07Z")
I do have a charger but I might need to buy the seperate cord to connect to the computer tower. It is a Kindle Fire. I’m not sure just yet how many books I want but I do want some. I have an Amazon account that gets used frequently, so I might buy stuff and go from there. I know my Mom likes Angry Birds so I want that too. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-kindle-fire-now-what/656294/6 "2013-04-22T07:44:58Z")
If you get Amazon prime, you can stream a lot of free movies and tv shows. The selection wasn’t all that great when I last checked, but that was a year ago (also I was comparing it to netflix mentally). They had a lot of offbeat stuff, like I could watch all 5 seasons of Daria. That was pretty rad. Also Angry Birds is a great game, there’s a lot of it available for free if you don’t mind ads. Just browse the games category and download anything that looks good, you can delete stuff if you don’t like it. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-kindle-fire-now-what/656294/7 "2013-04-22T07:53:35Z")
You might also find that you can borrow e-books from your local public library service. And I second the recommendation of Calibre - it’s really good. Have fun. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-kindle-fire-now-what/656294/8 "2013-04-22T11:18:44Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > In addition to whatever you find out from Dopers, go to Amazon \> your account \> manage your kindle. Across the top of the page, you’ll see “discussions.” There are also manuals and everything you need to know. Spend some time there poking around. > > I love my kindle fire with the passion of a thousand suns. 🙂 you are making me want one: can you be more specific about what you like with it? I dropped my first kindle and have been living with it since - just can’t read the upper right hand corner. clearly, I need a new e-reader but which one??! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-kindle-fire-now-what/656294/9 "2013-04-22T11:57:14Z")
Since this is about hardware rather than software, moved to IMHO from Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-kindle-fire-now-what/656294/10 "2013-04-22T13:21:02Z")
> [@cckerberos](#): > > Yeah, the easiest way to transfer thing is to buy a USB cable and connect it to your computer. They don’t include one, but they’re easy to get (there’s no reason to get the official cable they sell, any one will do. [This](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002HMWQE2/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) is the one I bought.) > > With wi-fi, you can also use Dropbox and ES File Explorer to transfer stuff. The latter is a pretty handy app to have in general, also. I know you have limited wifi access; but i find one of the easiest way to load my kindle is to simply email ebooks and and other files to [myusername@kindle.com](mailto:myusername@kindle.com). Also, regarding wifi; you get a Free App of the Day. Just go to the app store and look at the top banner. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-kindle-fire-now-what/656294/11 "2013-04-22T15:02:24Z")
> [@anya\_marie](#): > > I do have a charger but I might need to buy the seperate cord to connect to the computer tower. Do you have the Fire or the Fire HD? I have both (they were gifts). The regular Fire charger doesn’t have the USB connection. The Fire HD charger has the USB cable but it takes forever to charge that way. Seriously, it takes several hours. I’m using the Fire charger for the Fire and the Fire HD and it works great, charges quickly, no USB. So you won’t need USB for charging, but you’ll need it for downloading, if you don’t have WiFi access. Getting the Kindles was my impetus for getting WiFi. It’s a pain in the ass to download via USB. ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-kindle-fire-now-what/656294/12 "2013-04-22T17:55:04Z")
It’s the regular Fire --not the HD. I might get the upgrade later and I did buy some Kindle books last last night but mostly classics. Dickens for my mom, Anne of Green Gables for me, Sherlock Holmes. I need a list of stuff she likes too, because she’s hard to shop for. So in a bit, I will head out to use some wi-fi and download my boooks. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-a-kindle-fire-now-what/656294/13 "2013-04-22T20:21:02Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > Also, regarding wifi; you get a Free App of the Day. Just go to the app store and look at the top banner. Yeah, in case it needs to be said: you can shop online (i.e. on a regular computer) at [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) for Kindle Fire apps (including the Free App of the Day), as well as ebooks and other things, and then download them to your Kindle Fire at your earliest convenience whenever you have wifi access.