Kindle tips for travelers

by Meg Nesterov on


The iPad may be the current darling of techie travelers but some of us are waiting for the first generation kinks to be worked out and a decrease in price (or a sudden cash windfall) before taking the plunge. While still a “monotasker” compared to a tablet or laptop computer, Amazon’s Kindle is still a great tool to carry books on the road with a lightweight design and almost limitless capacity to store whatever travel guidebooks, beach reads, or other reading materials you desire. Combined with the easy ability to search within a book for a place name or keyword, a much lower profile than carrying a tourist map, and limited but free web browser, Kindle is a good choice for travelers. Here are a few other ideas beyond ebooks for your next trip:

  1. Google Maps are a fantastic resource when traveling, but lose their usefulness once you are without internet access or unwilling to pay for data roaming. Whether you download individual maps of city neighborhoods or get all fancy with creating your own Google Map of destinations and recommendations, having a “hard copy” on your Kindle is handy when you are offline and want to quickly locate that vintage store in Berlin a friend told you about.
  2. Many free PDF travel guides are available online including In Your Pocket and Arrival Guides. While not as extensive as a guidebook, they provide a few suggestions for where to stay, eat, shop, and what to do in many cities and often cover less-traveled destinations such as Eastern Europe. Lonely Planet has also introduced Pick and Mix chapters for purchase, perfect for when you only need a chapter of a guidebook rather than a whole country book.
  3. Create your own travel guide by saving magazine articles, blog posts, and web pages for your destination with content more recent, relevant and varied than any guidebook. Tote along Gadling’s guide to Paris’ Japanese quarter, The New York Times‘ 36 Hours in Copenhagen, or the Wikitravel page for Mumbai.

How to save documents for your Kindle: most Mac browsers have a Print to PDF feature and PDFs are easily read on the Kindle. PC users can download a program such as PDFCreator to save PDFs. If you have another format including HTML or a Word document (good if you are copying and pasting text), you can email to Amazon and they will convert and send back. Then you can add documents via the USB cord to your Kindle, simply drag and drop into the Kindle documents folder. While many files don’t have the same functionality as ebook format, you can zoom in and often search many of the file types.

While many of these documents can simply be printed, printer access is often scarce on the road and this method saves a lot on paper. Any other travel tips for Kindle? Leave ’em in the comments below.

Amazon Kindle joins ebook price war – drops to $189

by Scott Carmichael on

The Amazon Kindle (and ebook readers in general) are perfect for travel – they offer instant, often wireless access to online book stores, can carry 100’s of books in a single device, and their e-ink displays are easy on the eyes.

When Amazon launched their Kindle back in 2007, it cost $399 (and I bought one right away). Since then, the device has gone through several redesigns, making it smaller, and adding international wireless support.

And as of today, the device has one more change up its sleeves – a price drop to just $189. The drop is most likely the Amazon answer to a similar price drop by Barnes and Noble on their Nook ebook device.

At this new price, any hardcore reader/traveler should seriously consider the investment – it really will change the way you read, and in many ways, the Kindle is the best travel gadget a reader could possibly buy. You’ll find the Kindle over at Amazon.com, where you can also browse the assortment of Kindle books in their store.

M-EDGE Guardian case brings sun, surf and sand to your Amazon Kindle

by Scott Carmichael on

Like most high-tech gadgets, the Amazon Kindle 2 is not really at home on vacation – which is a shame, because it means you’d need to switch to old school paper books for some poolside reading entertainment.

Thankfully, case designer M-EDGE has a solution with their new Guardian case for the Amazon Kindle – a case that goes well beyond the normal level of protection.

The Guardian case actually lets you take your Kindle into the pool, and because it floats, you won’t need to go diving if you let it slip off your floating seat.

The Guardian case is waterproof up to 1 meter, and it features an anti-glare screen film. Four closing latches keep your device protected, and special cutouts allow access to most controls.

The M-EDGE Guardian case is available directly from the manufacturer for $79.99. The case comes in black, blue and red.

Beam N Read personal LED reading light review

by Scott Carmichael on

In the world of travel gadgets, simpler is usually better – and there is no better example of this than the Beam N Read personal portable LED light. The Beam N Read is a compact battery operated LED light that you wear around your neck. The product really isn’t much more than a strap, a couple of LED’s and a battery pack.

The Beam N Read is available in a version with 3 LEDs and one with 6 LEDs. The practical applications are endless – but I came across the product when I was searching for the perfect reading light to use with the Amazon Kindle.

Using the Beam N Read won’t require a user guide – you simply hang it around your neck, and turn it on. Even that part can’t go wrong – turning it on involves little more than folding the light up to the angle you want it.

With the 3 LED version (the BNR 3), a set of 4 AA’s will keep things powered for 120 hours – the 6 LED Beam N Read lasts 48 hours. The Beam N Read 6 comes with a magnifying lens and a light filter designed to make the white LEDs less harsh.

Using the Beam N Read in real life is where I realized that this simple looking product really performs perfectly – by keeping the design simple, the folks behind this product (ASF Lightware Solutions) managed to create what I consider to be the best Amazon Kindle reading light.

Of course, the uses don’t stop there – the light is also perfect for working on your laptop in your bedroom (or on a dark plane), reading a book in the dark or even for some extra light in your tent. The photo above is of a Kindle in a totally dark room – and the photo was taken without a flash.

Best of all, the prices are very reasonable – just $19.95 for the 3 LED version, and $25.95 for the 6 LED version. All in all a very simple and effective product. You’ll find more information about the product over at readinglight.com.

White Collar Travel: Four ways a Kindle can improve your productivity

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I’ve known several white collar folks who have spent their last hours in the office before a business trip printing off material to read on the plane. Laptop battery lives are never long enough, and nobody wants to waste it on reading. So, killing a few trees can buy a bit more in-flight productivity. This means filling a bag until it’s almost to the point of bursting, though, as well as having to lug around a few extra pounds. Once on the plane, paper is strewn across the tray table and become sdifficult to manage. It’s a colossal pain in the ass, but absent a better alternative, trafficking in paper is the best available alternative.

It doesn’t have to be this way any more – not with the Kindle.

For travelers, an e-reader like the Kindle (or similar products from Sony or Barnes & Noble) already eases the travel load by taking the books out of your bag and sparing you some space and weight. These devices can also alleviate the paper problem. The Kindle can handle PDF files, so you can catch up on the reports, white papers and other industry information you usually put off reading until the wheels go up. You recapture time lost to printing (for you or for your assistant), and you obviate the need to carry and sift through all that paper.

There are several other advantages as well:1. Getting through security
Nobody associates paper with inefficiency at an airport security checkpoint. It doesn’t set off any alarms and won’t get you a pat-down. But, when you’re extracting your laptop out of your bag, you could wind up pulling a stack of paper out with it, which you’ll have to shove back in there while people are waiting in line behind you … impatiently.

2. Waiting at the gate
The dynamic here is similar to the one on the plane, though not as drastic because you can spread out a bit. Even with more space, you’ll still have to find the paper you want and get it back into your bag, which isn’t life-changing, but it’s a headache you don’t need when you’re traveling.

3. You get more done during the flight
You lose time sifting and sorting paper when you’re on the plane – shuffling, stuffing, trying to make it all fit again. The e-reader is a single device that’s slim and easy to fold and slide. And, you won’t have to reorganize your documents when you get to the office or your hotel room.

4. Packing to go home
Doubtless, you’ll be able to jettison much of the stuff you printed for your first flight before you return home. But, you’ll probably print out a new stack for the new flight. The last hours of a business trip tend to be packed already, so you may not have time to do all the printing you want. Even if you do, it’s still another item on the checklist that you’d probably prefer to skip. With the e-reader, your to do list gets a little bit shorter.

Read more White Collar Travel here.