The redesigned Kindle—or Kindle 3, as it's becoming known—is a superb device for carrying a library around in your pocket. But if you've already got an e-book collection on your computer, transferring those e-books onto your Kindle e-reader isn't a function that's been particularly well explained by Amazon. At least, not without being charged for conversion and delivery.
Here are two options for transferring e-books to your Kindle without incurring any costs. If you need to convert your e-books to make them compatible with the Kindle, do this before transfer. Guides on converting e-books and for getting the most out of your new Kindle can be found right here on Suite101.
Transferring Your E-Books To Kindle Using The USB Cable
A nice feature of the Amazon Kindle is that it acts as a mass storage device when connected to your computer via the bundled USB cable. No drivers are required to explore the Kindle directly from your computer.
Once connected, you'll see the Kindle displayed as a removable drive. Open it up, and drag-and-drop your converted, compatible e-books into the "documents" folder. There's nothing else in the way of categorization or organization that can be performed when connecting via USB, sadly, so just drop them all into the folder and arrange them into collections on the device itself.
This is a very simple and free method of transferring your own e-books onto the Kindle, with the only drawback being the requirement for your home computer whenever you want a new book.
Transferring Your E-Books To Kindle Using Email
Amazon is a little unclear about how it charges you for e-book transfers. To clarify on how the automatic delivery system works, Amazon charges you a small amount per megabyte for converting incompatible e-books when sending them--by email--over the 3G cellular data network (assuming your Kindle is equipped to receive data in this manner).
For instance, if you send a Microsoft Reader e-book (.LIT) to your Kindle's unique email address, you'll be charged for conversion and electronic delivery. By ensuring your e-book is compatible before sending, and that your Kindle is connected via Wi-Fi rather than the 3G cellular data network, you can avoid these costs.
Every Kindle has a unique email address. In order to send e-books to this Kindle email address you need to authorize any email addresses you'll be sending the books from, otherwise Amazon will block them to keep people from sending spam messages and files to your e-reader. Enter any email address you might use to send e-books to the Kindle in the "Your Kindle Approved E-mail List".
You can now send the converted e-books to your Kindle's email address as an attachment. You don't need to add anything to the email's subject or body: just attached the e-book you want to transfer to the Kindle and Amazon will push it directly to the device. You don't need to synchronize the Kindle to fetch the e-book. Just give it a few minutes and it'll automatically appear on your device.
There are no charges when using this method, so long as your e-books are compatible before sending, and your Kindle is connected via Wi-Fi rather than 3G.
Spanner Spencer - A full-time freelance writer, Spanner mainly focuses on games, TV, film, technology and entertainment topics. He's interviewed luminaries ...
