That Kindle Email address
You can have a personal file converted quickly and easily by attaching it to an email and sending it to your Kindle email address. This is a special email address that was "assigned" to your Kindle when you purchased it. It is only to be used to send personal files to so Amazon can convert them to Kindle format for you. You can see it in the Manage your Kindle area on Amazon.
Think of it as a personal email address for your Kindle that only you (or someone you approve) can send stuff to... an incoming only email address.
Your Kindle will be listed in the Your Kindle(s) area. If you have multiple Kindles, they will be listed with a different assigned email address to the right of each. Click the words Edit Info to change the names, or front part of the email address for each. You cannot change the @kindle.com part of the email addresses, but you can change the first part of the email addresses, as long as they are unique to your kindle account. For example, I tried to change the email address on my Kindle 1 to our daughter's name, but there was apparently another Kelly with a Kindle on Amazon. No problem... I just named it something else.
To lock in your changes, select Update Information to save and close the email change box.
When you send a file to your Kindle's email address, Amazon will convert it to something your Kindle can read, then send it via whispernet to your little machine. There is a small fee for this.
Fees for transfer of personal documents to the Kindle via Whispernet are based on the size of the file submitted (before compression if you use a .zip file), your country, and where you're accessing Whispernet. Fees will only be charged for documents that are successfully received wirelessly to your Kindle. (Personal Document Service is not available via Whispernet in Canada. Please see Sending Personal Documents to Kindle for information about e-mailing personal documents to your computer for USB transfer to your Kindle.)
From Amazon (as of May 9, 2010):
- Kindle (U.S. Wireless) user: We'll send personal documents to your Kindle via Whispernet while inside the U.S. wireless coverage area for a fee of $.15 per megabyte.
- Kindle (Global Wireless) user living in the United States: If you transfer personal documents to your Kindle via Whispernet while inside the United States, the fee is $ .15 per megabyte. When traveling outside the United States, a fee of $.99 per megabyte will apply.
- Kindle (Global Wireless) user living outside the United States: We'll send personal files to your Kindle via Whispernet for a fee of $ .99 (USD) per megabyte anywhere in the world you access Whispernet service.
Want to send documents for FREE?
You actually have two email addresses you can use for your Kindle. If you send the same attachment to your Kindle email, but change the @kindle.com to @free.kindle.com. The document will still be converted, but will be emailed to your computer to the email address associated with your Amazon.com log-in. Once you receive that file, you can then transfer it to your Kindle by connecting it to your computer with the USB cable. Not bad huh? For example... if you send a file to your kindle email address (yourself@kindle.com) it will cost you a tiny bit, but the file will be sent directly to your Kindle via Whispernet. The next time you turn your Kindle on, your file will be there, just like any ordered book. If you send a file to yourself@free.kindle.com, the file will be converted for FREE, then sent as a file attachment to the email address you have as part of your Amazon.com log-in. Then you can download that attachment and send it to your Kindle via your USB cable. Either way, it is a great way to have your files converted.What kind of files can you send?
RTF, DOC, TXT, and HTML files are files Amazon can convert easily. PDF and the newer DOCX files from MS Word are a bit iffy. My advice is to keep your document as simple as possible, and stick with the older .doc format or .txt files. You are more likely to have a better final Kindle file if you use these formats.
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