Transferring eBook Files from Your Computer to Your Kindle

Oct 21, 2011

Having troubles transferring your eBooks to your Kindle?

If you have document files in your PC or Mac you want to read in your Kindle, you can transfer them via the USB cable or use Amazon’s Whispernet via email, both free and paid. In any file transfer, the main consideration is having the file format that Kindle recognizes so you can read it.

EBook File Formats Kindle Recognizes

Ebook format compatibility

When you purchase and download eBooks or download other types of non-DRM eBook content on your Kindle, be sure the file format is supported. By default the Kindle reader supports the native Kindle format in AZW and AZW1, along with standard text (TXT) files and unprotected Mobipocket formats (MOBI and PRC). It also recognizes HTML, PDF and EPUB files for the latest Kindle, but the first Kindle does not. Kindle 2 DX does not recognize EPUB. Formats not supported will not display on your Kindle.

Transferring Files via USB

Universal Serial Bus

Macintosh and Windows users can easily download and transfer Kindle content and personal documents from their computers to Kindle readers via the USB connection. Once your Kindle is plugged to your computer, the PC recognizes the Kindle as a removable mass-storage device and the Kindle screen goes into USB drive mode as its battery gets automatically recharged by the computer. Whispernet service is turned off temporarily and your Kindle cannot function as reading device while you are in USB drive mode.

There are computer specification, though. Your Windows should be version 2000 or later, the Mac should be in OS X 10.2 or later while the USB can be in any iteration through an available port.

When Kindle is seen as a USB drive, your computer will show three default directories or folders under the Kindle mass storage device: Documents, Audible and Music. Transfer your documents or eBook files to the Documents folder. Kindle will only recognize documents if they are in the file format it recognizes, the files are in the Document folder and these are unprotected or DRM-free. After the transfer, you can retain the connection to charge your Kindle. But you can start using the Kindle’s Whispernet and reading function by ejecting or unmounting it from your computer to exit the Kindle’s USB drive mode.

Transferring files via Email

Transferring through the cyberspace…

You can convert your personal non-DRM documents in the approved file formats from your laptop or desktop computer to Kindle using the Personal Document Service offered via Whispernet. This is done by attaching these files to an e-mail sent to your Kindle’s e-mail address. A subject line in your email is not necessary. Your Kindle reader can only receive converted files from the email address you have specified on the “Manage Your Kindle page” in the Amazon site to prevent spam. Amazon can then transfer the converted files wirelessly to your Kindle for a schedule fee if it is in a WiFi range.

Approved document file formats that Kindle’s Personal Document Service can process and which you can attach in your e-mail to your Kindle’s e-mail address are MS Word (DOC and DOCX), structured web page (HTM and HTML), rich text (RTF), and Acrobat PDF files.

You can send documents in any of these documents for conversion in ZIP, provided the document when unzipped is not more than 50 Mb in size. In addition, there should be no more than 24 separate personal documents attached to the email, zipped or otherwise. Approved personal documents 5 MB and below are ready for wireless auto-delivery to your Kindle within 5 minutes per document, excluding local wireless downloading time depending on location and file size. Personal documents above 5 MB may take longer.

Fees for transfer via Whispernet are based on the file size submitted for conversion prior to zipping, your country, and from where you’re accessing Whispernet. They are charged only for documents successfully received wirelessly to your Kindle. Within the US, the charge is $0.15/Mb. Outside the S, the charge is $0.99/Mb where there is access to Whispernet. US citizens travelling outside the US also gets charged by the same amount.

If you prefer to avoid the email transfer fees, or if you’re not within WiFi rage, you can send attached approved documents in the e-mail addressed to “name”@free.kindle.com and the converted files will be sent to your email address configured in your Amazon account log in. You simply download the converted files via USB to your Kindle. Personal documents 5 MB and below are typically delivered to the “name”@free.kindle.com address within 5 minutes (per document). Documents above 5 MB may take longer.

Kindle Fire

Amazon Kindle Fire: Features Review

If you’ve missed our recent review of the latest Kindle Fire, click on the link below:-

The Good and the Not-So-Good about the New Kindle Fire

Related Posts

28 Free Software Development Roadmaps – Best Practices And Tips

28 Free Software Development Roadmaps – Best Practices And Tips

Use this guide to learn how product roadmap software can help you accomplish key business goals, including aligning your product strategy, syncing up your team, and driving alignment across your organization. These 28 free software development roadmaps can be used to ensure your next product roadmap is on track – learn about the best practices, pitfalls to avoid, and as a rough guide to create successful launches.

97 Free Resources, Tips and Tricks to Know Everything About Hackathons

97 Free Resources, Tips and Tricks to Know Everything About Hackathons

In this collection of resources, you’ll find 97 high quality articles, stories, tips, tricks, guides and videos on Hackathons catering to beginners, regulars, hackathongoers and hackathon organizers. The majority of the content here are online articles and videos, so very little downloading is required. Happy programming!

51 of the Most Entertaining Satirical News Websites

51 of the Most Entertaining Satirical News Websites

This is a list of satirical news websites which have a satirical bent, are parodies of news, which consist of fake news stories for mainly humorous purposes. News satire is a type of parody presented in a format typical of mainstream journalism, and called a satire because of its content. News satire is not to be confused with fake news that has the intent to mislead. News satire is popular on the web, where it is relatively easy to mimic a credible news source and stories may achieve wide distribution from nearly any site.