# Kindle - a few questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 14, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220 "2011-12-14T20:28:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/1 "2011-12-14T20:28:32Z")
I’ve been using the kindle touch a few weeks. It’s pretty easy to use. I just created my first collection and moved four books into it. 😃 I have a few questions. 1. My battery is already over half empty after two weeks. I charged it the first day. Amazon claims the battery is good for over a month. I haven’t been shutting it totally off. Should I turn it fully off? It goes into sleep mode if its not used for 5 minutes. Doesn’t sleep mode save battery power? 2. I bought an ad free version and paid extra. Why do I have an ad bar at the bottom of my screen? :dubious: My screensaver is an ad too. :rolleyes: Is this normal for ad free kindles? 3. I haven’t used archive yet. Where do my books go when they are archived? 4. Can I store my books on my pc and read them there too? ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/2 "2011-12-14T20:34:02Z")
1. Turn off the wireless - this will consume battery power even when it’s sleeping. Then you should be able to leave it on sleep and conserve charge. 2. I’m not sure about ad bars. The screensaver pictures on mine are - promotional for Amazon, I’d say, at least some of them. Not really advertisements. 3. ‘Archive’ will delete your book from the Kindle itself, but if you bought it from Amazon, it will still be on their servers and can be downloaded again over the wireless. 4. Yes. Look for ‘Kindle for PC app.’ (These answers are based on my non-touch 2nd generation Kindle.) ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/3 "2011-12-14T20:37:34Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > 1. My battery is already over half empty after two weeks. I charged it the first day. Amazon claims the battery is good for over a month. I haven’t been shutting it totally off. Should I turn it fully off? It goes into sleep mode if its not used for 5 minutes. Doesn’t sleep mode save battery power? Sleep mode should be fine. I’m not sure about the battery life. It depends on several factors. Battery life estimates are based on a ‘typical’ use scenario that may not be true in your case. Actually, the ‘typical’ use scenarios aren’t true for a lot of people. If you’re using it in long stretches for 2 or more hours a day and make tons of page turns every minute, for example, the battery will run down much faster. Also, you might just have a battery that’s not particularly good (though apparently it still lasts for a few weeks). > [@aceplace57](#): > > 1. Can I store my books on my pc and read them there too? You can download the Kindle program for your home PC and link it to your account. And you can make your own backup copies from there (the files will be in a proprietary format, though). I think the archived stuff is stored in the Amazon cloud, but I’m not sure about that. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/4 "2011-12-14T20:40:43Z")
I can’t say much about question 2 (I have a Kindle with ads and my old Kindle was from before ads were even an option) but for the others: 1. I never turn my Kindle’s power off either and generally get between 2 and 3 weeks, depending on how much I use my wireless. As I understand the technology, an e-ink screen doesn’t use much power at all except when it changes what it’s displaying (i.e. turns a page or goes from a book to the menu or similar) so I don’t believe the sleep mode really does much to save power compared to having a single page open, besides the fact that it freezes the control so you can’t accidentally flip pages when you don’t mean to. 2. Your archived material is stored by Amazon “in the cloud”. It can be re-downloaded at any time and your highlights, page markings and place in the book should be saved from before the archiving. 3. I don’t know about saving books on your PC, but you can read them on your PC with a Kindle PC program Amazon offers. As I said, I don’t know if the books are actually saved on your PC or in the cloud, but you can wirelessly sync between your Kindle and your PC program (i.e. read a few pages on the train home, sit down at your computer and pick up where you left off) assuming you have your Kindle’s wireless connected. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/5 "2011-12-14T21:10:06Z")
thanks. I’ll start keeping my wi-fi off to save my battery. I wonder if the battery can be changed? Or does Amazon just replace the unit? Hopefully the battery is good for a few years. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/6 "2011-12-14T21:14:33Z")
I have had my original Kindle (a [second generation model](http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Wireless-Reading-Device-Display/dp/B0015T963C/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1323897245&sr=1-5)) for about 2 years and it still seems to hold a charge about as well as it did when I first got it. I’m assuming the Kindle Touch’s battery will hold up about as well (especially given how much longer it lasts between charges to start with). ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/7 "2011-12-14T21:17:57Z")
I was hoping the kindle books would be cheaper than paperback. I quickly found out that’s only true for older titles. New releases don’t really come much cheaper on kindle. paperback $13.98 and the kindle $12.99 > **[Amazon.com: Pacific Glory: A Novel: 9780312599447: Deutermann, P. T.: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Pacific-Glory-P-T-Deutermann/dp/0312599447)** > > Amazon.com: Pacific Glory: A Novel: 9780312599447: Deutermann, P. T.: Books I’ll probably buy the paperback because I can trade it in at a used book store. I get 50% credit there on new releases. I read a lot of older books and the kindle version is several $ cheaper than paperback. That’s a nice savings. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/8 "2011-12-14T22:24:31Z")
So this is as good a place as any to ask: Is there a reason to keep your Kindle in sleep mode rather than turning it off? I have always turned mine fully off every time I stopped reading. I don’t know my exact battery life; I just charge it whenever it looks like the battery is getting low, which isn’t very often. Is there any reason for me to switch to leaving it in sleep mode? I only turn the wireless on when I’m purchasing a book. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/9 "2011-12-14T22:54:18Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > 1. I bought an ad free version and paid extra. Why do I have an ad bar at the bottom of my screen? :dubious: My screensaver is an ad too. :rolleyes: Is this normal for ad free kindles? Sounds like they sent you the wrong model, I’d contact Amazon for a replacement (or maybe they could credit you for the price difference between the models if you don’t mind the ads). ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/10 "2011-12-14T22:59:22Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > Is there any reason for me to switch to leaving it in sleep mode? It’s just a little more convenient - faster to start back up etc - I don’t think I’ve turned mine all the way off for as long as I’ve had it. Note the screensaver doesn’t use any power (the “E-Ink” display only uses power when refreshing the screen) and there’s no danger of the image “burning in” so there’s no real reason to turn it off. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2011, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/11 "2011-12-14T23:22:51Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > 1. I bought an ad free version and paid extra. Why do I have an ad bar at the bottom of my screen? :dubious: My screensaver is an ad too. :rolleyes: Is this normal for ad free kindles? If you go to the “Manage Your Devices” page at [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com), you can turn off (or on) the ads/special offers. [[QUOTE=Amazon.com](http://QUOTE=Amazon.com)] By unsubscribing, you will be charged for the price difference between your Kindle model and the corresponding Kindle with Special Offers model if your device was originally purchased at a subsidized price. [/QUOTE] If you ordered the more expensive, ad-free version, and they screwed up and sent you the “Special Offers” version, you may have to talk to Amazon; I would hope they could change your settings without charging you. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/12 "2011-12-15T14:09:29Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I was hoping the kindle books would be cheaper than paperback. I quickly found out that’s only true for older titles. > > New releases don’t really come much cheaper on kindle. > paperback $13.98 and the kindle $12.99 > [Amazon.com: Pacific Glory: A Novel: 9780312599447: Deutermann, P. T.: Books](http://www.amazon.com/Pacific-Glory-P-T-Deutermann/dp/0312599447/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1) > > I’ll probably buy the paperback because I can trade it in at a used book store. I get 50% credit there on new releases. > > I read a lot of older books and the kindle version is several $ cheaper than paperback. That’s a nice savings. Amazon used to have a policy that all Kindle books were $9.99 or less. One of the publishers (forgot which one) didn’t like this and threatened to pull _all_ of their books from Amazon unless they let them set their prices. (I think they actually did pull everything for a few days.) Amazon did agree to let the publisher set the prices. If you look their web site now, you will see a lot of Kindle books have a passive-aggressive note saying “This price was set by the publisher” on them. ---
**Author:** ![flex727](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@flex727](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flex727)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/13 "2011-12-15T16:11:44Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > So this is as good a place as any to ask: Is there a reason to keep your Kindle in sleep mode rather than turning it off? > > I have always turned mine fully off every time I stopped reading. I don’t know my exact battery life; I just charge it whenever it looks like the battery is getting low, which isn’t very often. > > Is there any reason for me to switch to leaving it in sleep mode? I only turn the wireless on when I’m purchasing a book. Why in heaven’s name would you want to wait for it to boot up every time you want to use your Kindle? The battery life would probably be longer using sleep mode than turning it completely off if you use it with any regularity due to the energy use during startup and shutdown. The only reason to EVER turn your Kindle off is if you’re not going to use it for over a month or in the very rare occasion that the software goes wonky and it needs a reboot. I see people doing the same thing with their iPads. You are giving up a huge amount of the utility of the device by shutting it off instead of letting it just sleep. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/14 "2011-12-15T17:05:52Z")
> [@tanstaafl](#): > > Amazon used to have a policy that all Kindle books were $9.99 or less. One of the publishers (forgot which one) didn’t like this and threatened to pull _all_ of their books from Amazon unless they let them set their prices. (I think they actually did pull everything for a few days.) > > Amazon did agree to let the publisher set the prices. If you look their web site now, you will see a lot of Kindle books have a passive-aggressive note saying “This price was set by the publisher” on them. I don’t understand why you call it “passive-aggressive,” but, yes, that’s the gist. E-books sold under the “agency model” have their prices set by the publishers, not just at Amazon but at Barnes & Noble and anywhere else that sells them. ([Here’s](http://ilmk.wordpress.com/2010/04/06/frequently-asked-kindle-questions-special-agency-model-edition/) one explanation that was posted soon after the practice began.) ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/15 "2011-12-15T18:38:03Z")
I called it “passive-aggressive” because it’s the only place on Amazon I’ve seen that particular note. (Music, for example, doesn’t say “This price was set by the record label”) It just looks to me that it is Amazon’s response to not being allowed to limit the price to $9.99; basically them saying "Hey, _we_ want to sell you this cheaper but _they’re_ making us price it this way. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/16 "2011-12-15T18:46:54Z")
Also, the games on Kindle are a bit of a battery drain (but fun). I’ve got the Kindle 3 and have all the free ones loaded up. The ones that are really worth it are: Every Word, Thread Words, and Pixel Perfect Puzzles. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/17 "2011-12-15T19:12:17Z")
> [@tanstaafl](#): > > I called it “passive-aggressive” because it’s the only place on Amazon I’ve seen that particular note. (Music, for example, doesn’t say “This price was set by the record label”) But on most products (including dead-tree books), Amazon _does_ set their own prices. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/18 "2011-12-15T19:31:22Z")
I got a email giving one last chance for a 2 year extended warranty. Normally I **never** buy them. Electronics are just too reliable. But the kindle is pretty fragile. knock it off a table one time and if it hits a tile floor then bye bye ebooks. I figured $39.99 was good insurance in case I screw up and drop it. Plus they offer a free battery replacement if thats needed. The extended warranty covers any physical disaster and a instant replacement. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/19 "2011-12-15T19:36:43Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > But the kindle is pretty fragile. knock it off a table one time and if it hits a tile floor then bye bye ebooks. That’s not my experience at all. I dropped my old Kindle about 4 feet onto asphault and it survived with only some cosmetic damage to the casing; the screen was fine and there was no affect on the functionality. Also, I know I’ve dropped my Kindle Touch from a couple feet up once or twice and it’s just fine (though I can’t remember when it was or on what it landed). ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220/20 "2011-12-15T19:38:18Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I got a email giving one last chance for a 2 year extended warranty. Normally I **never** buy them. Electronics are just too reliable. > > But the kindle is pretty fragile. knock it off a table one time and if it hits a tile floor then bye bye ebooks. I figured $39.99 was good insurance in case I screw up and drop it. Plus they offer a free battery replacement if thats needed. The extended warranty covers any physical disaster and a instant replacement. Waitaminute. . . the warranty covers accidental damage? What’s to keep someone from intentionally dropping their Kindle at 23 months and getting a new one? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-a-few-questions/606220.md?page=2)