I just accidentally stumbled across a listing for the Kindle Oasis with the highly sought after Merlot cover shipping as soon as May 4th. The configuration available is the 3G plus WiFi model without special offers. Be warned,though – the price tag for the e-reader and cover is a whopping $379.99! Amazon is also offering a payment plan of five monthly payments of $76 to ease the sting. But, hey, if it is the cover color of your dreams, the May 4th delivery date is much more appealing than some of the June, July and even September dates being discussed on the forums.
Author Archives: Glinda Harrison
Daily Links and Deals: Barnes & Noble Should Carry Indie Books
Today’s stories include an opinion piece on Barnes and Noble’s refusal to carry indie books in their stores, stories about data caps, low income access and more. In today’s deals, savings on board games for Table Top day! Also, Amazon is having a limited time sale ($20 off!) on e-ink Kindles, just in time for Mother’s Day.. You can also get a Fire HD 10 for $50 off if mom prefers a tablet.
Daily Links for Monday, April 25, 2016:
Comcast customers hate data caps, but making customers hurt is all part of the plan (The Verge) Ouch! That’s just plain mean!
AT&T ‘Access’ connects low income homes to the internet for $5 a month (The Next Web) This program has a lot of fine print, but it is a good start in attacking the digital dived.
Why Electric Cars Ruled The Roads 100 Years Ago (Jalopnik) What’s old is new again, right? This is a fascinating look at the history of electric cars.
Roku CEO opposes FCC plan to open up cable boxes (The Verge) I have several Roku players that are still working, even thought they are older.I can see how Roku would not want cable competing in its niche.
Microsoft gives OneDrive users until July to shrink their storage (Computer World) The reduction in storage space promised last November will be a reality this summer.
Barnes & Noble Should Carry Indie Books (Digital Book World) Sadly, all writers are not perceived as equal. While B & N carries indie ebooks, shelf space is a different matter.
Deals of the Day:
Amazon’s selection of Kindle Daily Deals includes The Blessing Way (Navajo Mysteries Book 1) by Tony Hillerman for $1.99.
In Today’s Deals, includes up to 40% off strategy board games for TableTop day!
Just in time for Mother’s Day, Amazon has some deals on both e-ink Kindles and Fire tablets. First, you can get $20 off the Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite and the Kindle for Kids bundle. Amazon is also offering the Fire HD 10 for $50 off for a limited time.
Amazon is still offering savings on the Fire HD 6, and deals on pre-owned Fire tablets. I am also still seeing the option for 5 payments of $58 for the Kindle Oasis pre-order. Yes, it is still not too late to order one, especially with the basic black cover.
You can also take advantage of a trade-in offer from Amazon on your old Fire tablet.
The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is The Fight for Freedom by Marcus Ferrar for $1.99. The Romance Daily Find is The Selection (Selection Series #1) by Kiera Cass for $1.99.
Kobo’s Daily Deal is Girl Through Glass by Sari Wilson for $1.99.
Kobo is having a 30% OFF SALE on select ebooks with a coupon. Sale ends Monday, April 25, 2016.
iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes Three Truths and a Lie: A Detective D.D, Warren Story by Lisa Gardener for $1.99.
Google has a selection of Topsellers Under $10.
(A note on Daily Deals: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.
Many large promotions have discount pricing that is set by the publisher. This usually means that titles can be found at a discount price across most platforms (with iTunes sometimes being the exception). If you have a favorite retailer you like to patronize, check the title on that website. There is a good chance that they will be matching the sale price.)
Daily Links are interesting links I discover as I go about my online day. The frequency and number of links posted depend upon the daily news. I also post other, different links of interest on Twitter, Facebook, and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.
Amazon (Finally) Makes Announcement on Fire HD 8.9 deregister issue
Amazon has made an announcement about the deregistration and factory reset issue on the Kindle Help Community forum:
If you’re having trouble finding your photos, apps, or other content on your Kindle Fire HD 8.9”, please check your current registration status by swiping down from the top of the screen, selecting More, and then selecting My Account. If your device is not registered, tap the Register button and then enter your Amazon account information. After you register your device, you may need to download your content again. To learn more, go to http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201730090.
That link takes you to the Sync and Download Content to Your Kindle Fire page, There you will find instructions for syncing your content to your device:
To sync all content: With wireless connected, swipe down from the top of the screen to show Quick Settings, and then tap Sync.
The Sync Across Fire & Kindle Devices and Apps page implies that whether or not this restores bookmarks, highlights, etc., may depend on whether you have Whispersync enabled on your devices.
FYI: The Kindle Help Community forum is the one that is moderated by Amazon representatives. It is not the same as the Amazon customer forums where customers comment and attempt to help other customers.
Related: Did your Fire tablet just de-register … again? June 17, 2016
Daily Links and Deals: 400 years after his death, here are the books that likely influenced Shakespeare
Today, the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, his influence, books and a look at the film adaptations. Also, video games behind a paywall, universal languages and a browser with a built in VPN. In today’s deals, there is a Pebble Smartwatch and 14 bestsellers on sale across all retailer platforms.
Daily Links for Saturday, April 23, 2016:
White House now makes it even easier to petition the government (ReCode) The process of petitioning the White House has been somewhat convoluted. Hopefully, this will help.
Amazon locks top games behind a Prime paywall (Engadget) Do you find store exclusives distasteful? In this one, only a subset of store customers can purchase these games. What do you think?
Why a Universal Language Will Never Be a Thing (Motherboard) Do you speak Esperanto? Turns out that a universal language is more difficult than people thought for a lot of reasons.
Opera browser build adds a first: Free, unlimited VPN for secure surfing (PC World) This is still in beta, but it is a really interesting idea. I don;t know how it will play out with sites and services like Netflix that are blocking VPNS.
Disney, CBS, Viacom worry FCC cable box proposal would do to TV what iTunes did to music (The Verge)Probably a valid concern….
And for the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death:
400 years after his death, here are the books that likely influenced Shakespeare (Quartz) and William Shakespeare 400th anniversary: The BFI collection of film adaptations you can watch online (The Independent). All of Shakespeare’s works can be found at Project Gutenberg for free!
Deals of the Day:
Amazon’s selection of Kindle Daily Deals includes 14 bestsellers like The Martian, Gone Girl and more. (Note: all the major e-tailers are offering these today.)
In Today’s Deals, save 40% on select Pebble Smartwatches.
Amazon is still offering savings on the Fire HD 6, and deals on pre-owned Fire tablets. I am also still seeing the option for 5 payments of $58 for the Kindle Oasis pre-order. Yes, it is still not too late to order one, especially with the basic black cover.
You can also take advantage of a trade-in offer from Amazon on your old Fire tablet.
The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is A Stained White Radiance (Dave Robicheaux Series #5) by James Lee Burke for $1.99. The Romance Daily Find is Almost a Scandal by Elizabeth Essex for $2.99.
Kobo’s Daily Deal is The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood for $2.99.
iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes The Marriage of Mary Russel: A Marry Russell short story by Laurie R. King for $1.99.
Google is having a one-day sale on bestsellers. (These are the same bestsellers a Amazon’s Kindle Deal of the day)
(A note on Daily Deals: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.
Many large promotions have discount pricing that is set by the publisher. This usually means that titles can be found at a discount price across most platforms (with iTunes sometimes being the exception). If you have a favorite retailer you like to patronize, check the title on that website. There is a good chance that they will be matching the sale price.)
Daily Links are interesting links I discover as I go about my online day. The frequency and number of links posted depend upon the daily news. I also post other, different links of interest on Twitter, Facebook, and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.
Update to the Fire reset issue
There’s been a lot of interest in the post I wrote last night about the reports of owners of Fire tablets suddenly discovering their device had been deregistered without their knowledge. I did try to call Amazon today, but had technical problems and got disconnected. Here’s the latest on the Kindle Fire deregister/factory reset issue that I can glean on the situation at this time:
Amazon is aware of the problem which seems to be particularly affecting the Fire HD 8.9″. This seems to be a bug or a glitch in software, at least as far as the 8.9′” devices are concerned. If you go to contact Kindle support, you will see the following:
(Click to enlarge)
The message under the ‘Call me now’ button says:
If you’re experiencing an issue with your Kindle Fire HD 8.9″, make sure your device is registered to your Amazon account. You can check your current registration status by swiping down from the top of the screen, selecting ‘More’, and then selecting ‘My Account’.
There was an estimate of twelve minutes wait time to talk to Kindle support. That’s longer for Amazon in my experience. Given the long wait time, I think it is obvious that Amazon wants people to try to re-register their devices themselves before calling.
Several people reported the following response when they email or chat with customer service:
“We are sorry for the inconvenience you are experiencing. This is not we want our customers to experience.
In this regard, I would like to inform you that, the deregistration of your Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ Tablet is a known issue. As this is happening across many Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ tablets due a bug and our technical team is working to eliminate the bug.
This issue will be fixed in next 2-3 days. You need not worry about the content on your Kindle, as it will be safe in your cloud library and you can download them, once this bug is fixed in our server.
Thanks for your patience and understanding in this regard.”
One customer posted a different support response:
“Our servers were updated yesterday which seems to have introduced a bug causing devices to de-register, device which were connected to Amazon during this time got de-registered. But now the issue has been fixed.”
Some posters on the forums reported that they were instructed to re-register and then sync the device so that their content would reappear on the device. Others have reported being told that that they would have to manually download their books again. Some have reported being told that their libraries and apps would return within the next few days.
Many people have reported losing all their personal content, bookmarks, app data and email. Needless to say, a lot of people are upset with Amazon right now!
Amazon Kindle support definitely seems overwhelmed by the call volume. When I tried to call earlier, I was transferred to a support rep, then the call was disconnected. Amazon did not call me back (generally,they do if that happens) and it took an hour and a half for the ‘Did I solve your problem’ email to arrive. The follow up email read like Amazon thought I hung on on them, so it may be an indication of just how widespread this issue is. If re-registering doesn’t work, you may need to try to call Kindle Support.
Safety PSA: If you have to call Kindle Support,use the ‘Contact us’ button on the help pages to initiate your call. There have been a number of scams perpetrated where people Google Kindle support and get the phone number for a fake site. They are then told they have to pay for support for their device. Amazon does not charge customers for customer service.
My own personal issue was with a Fire HD 6. I am not sure if the other Fire device resets are caused by the same problem, because other than the device setting resetting to default, most of my data is now showing on the device. I am still investigating the problem, but will probably wait until Monday to contact support again.
Do you have any info to share on the issue?
Update 2: Amazon has posted an announcement on this issue. Post here.
Related: Did your Fire tablet just de-register … again? June 17, 2016
Daily Links and Deals: Why You Can’t Find Prince’s Music Online
Today, a story about the death of music icon Prince and the mark he left on copyright, a car that lets you know when you’re speeding and more. In today’s deals, there’s a JBL speaker and a a RAV power charger, as well as deals on Fire tablets and accessories.
Daily Links for Friday, April 23, 2016:
Why You Can’t Find Prince’s Music Online (Motherboard) We lost a legend in the music world yesterday, and he left his mark on copyright issues, too.
In Europe, Ford will read the speed limit signs, prevent your speeding (Techcrunch) Does this mean no more trying to talk your way out of a ticket?
Comcast now lets some customers watch TV sans classic set-top box (Ars Technica) This is cord cutting without cord cutting…..
Sites that block adblockers seem to be suffering (The Stack) This article seems a bit skeptical, but I don’t read or link to articles behind paywalls anymore.
Deals of the Day:
Amazon’s selection of Kindle Daily Deals includes the delightful sounding Flunked (Fairy Tale Reform School) by Jen Calonita for $1.99. It’s about a girl who lives in a boot who gets sentenced to a reform school with teachers like The Big Bad Wolf and Cinderella’s evil step-mother. That sounds like fun!
In Today’s Deals,there’s a JBL Flip Portable Stereo Speaker with Wireless Bluetooth Connection (Certified Refurbished) and a RAVPower 13000mAh Portable Charger.
Amazon is now offering the 8 GB $50 Fire in colors! Besides black, you can get blue, magenta and tangerine. The 16 GB version is only $20.00 more. And don’t forget to protect your investment with a case! There are lots of cases, covers and accessories to choose from for 50% off.
Amazon is still offering savings on the Fire HD 6, and deals on pre-owned Fire tablets. I am also still seeing the option for 5 payments of $58 for the Kindle Oasis pre-order.
You can also take advantage of a trade-in offer from Amazon on your old Fire tablet.
The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find today features 9 books for Earth Day, including environmental classic Silent Spring by Rachel Carson for $2.99. The Romance Daily Find is In the Dark by Sally Eggert for 99 cents.
Kobo’s Daily Deal is Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders by Neil Gaiman for $1.99.
iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes Tolstoy Lied: A Love Story by Rachael Kadish for $2.99.
(A note on Daily Deals: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.
Many large promotions have discount pricing that is set by the publisher. This usually means that titles can be found at a discount price across most platforms (with iTunes sometimes being the exception). If you have a favorite retailer you like to patronize, check the title on that website. There is a good chance that they will be matching the sale price.)
Daily Links are interesting links I discover as I go about my online day. The frequency and number of links posted depend upon the daily news. I also post other, different links of interest on Twitter, Facebook, and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.
Did your Fire Tablet just deregister itself?
I am reading multiple reports on the Amazon forums that some people are having problems with their Fire tablets somehow spontaneously deregistering from their accounts. Members are reporting that all their books, personal photos, documents and emails are being wiped off the devices.
Many of the reports seem to involve the Fire HD 8.9, but I did see one reporting the problem on an Fire HD 8 and another reporting the issue on a Fire HD 6.
It’s not clear if this is an update gone wrong or a bug. It does seem to be specific to the Fire tablets and not the e-ink Kindles. The tablets seem to doing a factory reset while in sleep mode. One forum member said that they called customer service and were told that Amazon is working on the problem.
I don’t keep very many personal items on my Fire tablets, but I do have a couple of apps that I have to install manually as they are not in the app store. I did notice that the Scribd app was missing from my Fire HD 6, as well as a couple of others. So, I will be calling customer service later today to see what’s up.
Have you had a problem with your Fire tablet?
Update: I posted an update to this issue here.
Update 2: Amazon has posted an announcement on the issue. Post here.
Related: Did your Fire tablet just de-register … again? June 17, 2016
What’s Your Fire Tablet Worth? Amazon is taking trade-ins
As I mentioned in today’s Daily Links and Deals post, starting today, Amazon’s is selling $50 Fire Tablet in colors. Both the 8GB and 16GB versions are available in blue, magenta and tangerine, as well as basic black. If you are looking to buy one of the new colors or a larger version and have an old Fire you want to get rid of, you may be interested in Amazon’s trade-in program for the Fire.
For a limited time, you can trade-in your Fire for an Amazon Gift Card and a coupon for a 20% bonus savings good towards the purchase of a new Fire Tablet. Simply identify your Fire, complete the paperwork and send it in. Once Amazon verifies the condition, you will get the gift card and bonus coupon.
Amazon is accepting trade-ins on both working and non’working Fires. Models acceptable for trade-in are:
- *Kindle Fire, 1st and 2nd generations.
- *Kindle Fire HD 7″ 2nd and 3rd generations
- *Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ Wi-Fi and 8.9″ Wi-Fi + 4G LTE
- *Kindle Fire HDX 7″ Wi-Fi and Kindle Fire HDX 7″ Wi-Fi + 4G LTE
- *Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ Wi-Fi and Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ Wi-Fi + 4G LTE
- Fire HD 6 Wi-Fi
- Fire HD 7 Wi-Fi
- Fire HDX 8.9 Wi-Fi
- Fire HDX 8.9 Wi-Fi + 4G LTE
*Note the name change: The earliest versions were referred to as Kindle Fires; later versions dropped the Kindle from the name.
There is a page where you can see pictures to help determine you model. I also wrote a post a while back on identifying your Kindle model which may help. Amazon Kindle customer service can help if all else fails.
You can apply your coupon to the following Fire tablets:
- Fire regularly $49.99
- Fire Kids Edition regularly $99.99
- Fire HD 8 regularly $149.99
- Fire HD 10 regularly $229.99
- Fire HDX 8.9 regularly $399.99
Several caveats on this deal. The time frame on the offer is extremely limited. Trade-ins must be completed by May 9, 2016, so if you are interested, you need to act quickly. Other limits, terms and conditions apply.
Also, be aware that the trade-in values are much, much lower than you probably could get on eBay or another venue: Amazon’s offer for a 1st generation Kindle Fire is $5 in either working or non-working condition. The value for a working Fire HD 6 is listed at only $11. The real value here is probably the 20% off bonus.
While Amazon has offered trade-in programs for the Kindle before, this is the first time I have seen one exclusively for the Fire.
Are you interested?
Note that Amazon has updated its Trade-in Program to include more devices. You can find more details in this post about trade-ins.
Daily Links and Deals: He Used the Internet—I Used the Encyclopedia
Today, stories include, a then and now look at the differences in the technology we use in college, a new way of paying bills online, a how to on removing malware and much more. In deals, A/V receivers, new Fire tablets in colors and accessories at 50% off.
Daily Links for Thursday, April 21, 2016:
Senate Library (University of London) Provides Interactive Shakespeare Timeline Online (Infodocket) This is great for fans of the Bard!
He Used the Internet—I Used the Encyclopedia (Huffington Post) An interesting look at the tools used in college, then and now….
Plastiq lets you pay any bill with your credit or debit card just by snapping a photo (Techcrunch) This sounds really easy and could change the way we pay bills.
ICYMI: These 7 words and phrases from the Web are heading into the dictionary (The Next Web) Acronyms from the online world continues to become more and more mainstream.
Mexico City is crowdsourcing its new constitution using Change.org in a democracy experiment (Quartz) This is a fascinating first. It will be interesting to see the results of this.
Your PC has malware! Here’s how to remove it (PCWorld) Do you know what to do if you get a virus or malware? There’s some helpful links here for diagnosing infections as well.
Deals of the Day:
Amazon’s selection of Kindle Daily Deals includes Named of the Dragon by Susanna Kearsley for $1.99 ans well as books by John Hart.
In Today’s Deals, there’s an Origami R5-01W General Purpose 4-Shelf Steel Collapsible Storage Rack with Wheels and a deal for savings of up to 50% off select Onkyo 7.2-Channel Network A/V Receivers.
Amazon id now offering the 8 GB $50 Fire in colors! Besides black, you can get blue, magenta and tangerine. The 16 GB version is only $20.00 more. And don’t forget to protect your investment with a case! There are lots of cases, covers and accessories to choose from for 50% off.
Amazon is still offering savings on the Fire HD 6, and deals on pre-owned Fire tablets. I am also still seeing the option for 5 payments of $58 for the Kindle Oasis pre-order.
The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is One Thing Stolen by Beth Kephart for 2.99. The Romance Daily Find is Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker for $1.99.
Kobo’s Daily Deal is The Last Child by John Hart for $2.99.
iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes Cubicles by Camika Spencer for 99 cents.
(A note on Daily Deals: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.
Many large promotions have discount pricing that is set by the publisher. This usually means that titles can be found at a discount price across most platforms (with iTunes sometimes being the exception). If you have a favorite retailer you like to patronize, check the title on that website. There is a good chance that they will be matching the sale price.)
Daily Links are interesting links I discover as I go about my online day. The frequency and number of links posted depend upon the daily news. I also post other, different links of interest on Twitter, Facebook, and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.
Daily Links and Deals – The Internet Really Has Changed Everything: Here’s the Proof
Today, a case study in how the internet has changed our lives, an opinion piece on whether the e-reader is about to make a comeback and news about how a deal with DC Comics means more digital availability. In deals, you can find watches, anime DVDs and a deal on an Anker portable charger.
Daily Links for Wednesday, April 20, 2016:
5 Gmail hacks that help you master your messages (PC World) Tips to help you get a lot more out of your inbox.
9 settings every new iPhone owner should change (CNET) These tweaks will improve the performance and battery life of your phone.
The Internet Really Has Changed Everything: Here’s the Proof (Backchannel) This is a long, fascinating introspective read. A journalist reflects on how technology has changed things his tiny, rural hometown.
Is the e-book reader about to stage a comeback? (The Bookseller) Interesting opinion piece on whether e-readers are really in their death throes.
DC COMICS Reaches New Deal For eBook Distribution Worldwide (Newsarama) There are a lot of comics coming! Overdrive also announces the comics are now available for libraries to purchase.
Deals of the Day:
Amazon’s selection of Kindle Daily Deals includes The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig for $1.99.
In Today’s Deals, we have men’s and women’s Stuhrling Original watches. Anime lovers, you can also get up to 61% off “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” and “Steins Gate: The Complete Series” DVD sets and an Anker PowerCore 13000 Portable Charger.
Amazon is still offering savings on the Fire HD 6, and deals on pre-owned Fire tablets. I am also still seeing the option for 5 payments of $58 for the Kindle Oasis pre-order.
The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is Fiesta of Smoke by Suzan Still for $2.99. The Romance Daily Find is The Bradens (Books 1-3 Boxed Sets) by Melissa Foster for $2.99.
Kobo’s Daily Deal is Jewels of the Sun (Gallaghers of Ardmore Trilogy, Book #1) by Nora Roberts for $1.99.
iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes Exiles in the Garden by Ward Just for $2.99.
(A note on Daily Deals: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.
Many large promotions have discount pricing that is set by the publisher. This usually means that titles can be found at a discount price across most platforms (with iTunes sometimes being the exception). If you have a favorite retailer you like to patronize, check the title on that website. There is a good chance that they will be matching the sale price.)
Daily Links are interesting links I discover as I go about my online day. The frequency and number of links posted depend upon the daily news. I also post other, different links of interest on Twitter, Facebook, and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.
The eBook Evangelist 