Also you have instant access to a dictionary and other reference manuals with a touch of a button. Not to mention the ability to browse and download best sellers, newspapers, and blogs on the fly.



If you want to conserve on battery life you can press Alt-A, and put your Kindle into sleep mode. If your reading and need to check the time press Alt-T, or press the search button and enter @time.

If you're unsure about where you are or where you're going? When in browser mode press Alt-1 and the Kindle will plot your current location on Google maps. Alt-2 will find nearby gas stations, and Alt-3 will find restaurants. You can use Alt-5 to create your own search.

You can also listen to free audio books on your Kindle and use online apps such as Yahoo messenger, Gmail, Google reader, and the mobile version of Google calendar.

Once you've found your way around the Kindle and have filled it up with those 200 book titles. You may discover that you have run out of room on your well stocked eBook reader. No worries. You can extend the storage capacity of your Kindle with a 4 or 8 GB SD or SDHC card.

Need a break from reading. Play a game of Mine Sweep on your Kindle. Here are the steps:

1. Go To Home Screen

2. Press Alt + Shift + m simultaneously

3. The game should appear, just follow navigational instructions on screen

4. Enjoy

The Kindle is also a picture viewer. If you would like to start a slide show, go to picture view mode and then press Alt + 0 this will initiate the slide show. You can use Alt + 1 to begin the slide show and Alt +2 to end it. It's also possible to initiate a slide show of any document just press Alt + 0 while viewing and take it from there.

The Kindle is one of the coolest gadgets out there, and eBook readers are definitely the wave of the future. Imagine college students not having to lug around tons of heavy books and skipping those 4 hour book store lines all together. Not to mention the cost savings and instant updates and corrections.

Books aren't going away but I think that eBook readers are going to become more popular and will quickly be part of the main stream. Imagine lying on a beach and browsing best sellers, actually deciding your vacation reading while on vacation instead of having to pack something that you hope will be interesting. Even Oprah is a fan of the Kindle. She says she likes to spend her Sunday morning reading the latest edition of the New York Times without even getting out of bed. EBook readers are definitely the wave of the future and the Kindle is a great beginning to this wave.