h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Where are amazon hiding the free ebooks these days? I got a kindle, no not a Fire or a Paperwhite, i got a kindle keyboard, a little retro I know, but it has the text to speech function which I wanted (none of the other models have this anymore) and is very lovely and shiny.

mini

Mini, you'll love that Kindle. Free books are available over on the Amazon web site in the US in a little paragraph in the right sidebar, a couple of inches down, under "Daily Kindle Bargains". You can search on the Kindle Store banner, which runs along the top, for "Kindle reads for under $3.99" (probably under £2, for over there).

Or, just do a search on the top of the Amazon.UK site for "Free kindle books". You might also try a place online and on Facebook, called "ENT" which lists free kindle ebooks, several per day. I *think* it's available for the UK.

Oh, and of course you can go to Project Gutenberg! LOTS of free books there, in the Kindle format.

Good luck and have fun -- maybe little Ronan will learn to read super early, if you're listening to books while he's having a nosh...

Space, if you've not got a Google account I recommend setting one up. You'll have to for all the apps etc, but it's so much easier if done in advance on a desktop.

Next top tip, if you stop using an app, just uninstall it. A lot of apps can keep running in the background as a service, the only real way to stop them is to uninstall them.

Next up, don't worry about all the permissions an app asks for if you trust the provider. The permissions are grouped together when coding, for example if I write an app that needs to check for and use internet connection, it has to ask for phone state permissions, which also includes call history etc. I never use them, but can't not have them.

T^hanks for the info! Fortunately, I already had a Google account, as I use gmail, and Chrome is my browser. Thanks for the tip on uninstalling unwanted apps...I had to download something called an ID pack, or Virgin Mobile wouldn't let my phone start up, and the apps included in their "Essentials ID" pack were mostly rubbish. Had to have their Account app, and a couple of others they insisted on, though.

That reminds me, install Opera Mobile as the default browser.

It pre-renders pages on their servers so only sends out what you need, ready formatted. This makes it a lot quicker and doesn't eat into data limits as much. Plus, it plays Flash movies.

Opera mobile is a nice browser. I like it.

But the functionality of shared bookmarks and being able to view tabs open on other devices means I mostly stick with chrome. Only really using Opera for Flash sites.

You know I am ocnstantly amazed at how many "tech" sites, that the owners must realise will often be accessed form IOS or Android still use Flash.

I mean I understand normal websites going for it, but tech orientated ones?

FB

I'm leery about installing another browser, I'm using the Android one, but can't uninstall the Virgin Mobile one, and it's almost inert! How good is the Opera browser, band width wise? My battery runs down at a ridiculous rate...and my data limit is fast approaching, after only 4 days. Data limit is 2.5Gb at 3G, then goes into Turtle mode - no word on how slow it will go. I have a battery app, but I'm considering trying that Juice defender one. And I did install the lookout security one, thanks.

I've installed several browsers including Opera, Dolphin HD and Chrome. I mostly just use Chrome lately.

Opera is one of the best for Data.

If you have 2.5gig a month that ought to be enough for most if you box a little bit clever with downloading apps and podcasts and stuff over wifi.

I usually use about 8-10 a month though given I pay top dollar for an unlimited package I make use of it!

FB

If you're on a data limit, the advice of using WiFi as much as possible is very good. Download all apps and check email when you're on a network that doesn't eat into your data limit. Also make sure that your email settings are to only download headers, not the full email and attachments.

Bandwidth wise, you can not beat Opera Mobile.

Note that (unless things have changed recently) Opera and Opera Mobile are distinctly different browsers.

My tablet doesn't feature cellular service, I'm WIFI only and I'm fine with that. If I was using my tablet professionally, I could better justify the exorbitant data rates US carriers charge for sub-par service.

What is it like over Pond? I pay £36 a month (about 55-60 $ I think) and for that I got my hand set free, unlimited data (with tethering included) unlimited texts and 1000 any network any time minutes.

Is it much more than that?

FB

Yeah... Your price is average for the cheapest plans here and they are quite limited on data (around 2-3Gb/month) and the actual rates are fairly poor compared to some places in Europe and Asia.

I currently use Virgin Mobile. I've got a grandfathered monthly rate of $25 (same plan now sells for $35). I get 300 talk minutes, unlimited text and data (but it will get throttled if I go beyond some certain limit). I'm still running on 3G so I'm even slower than most, however, If/when I get a new phone, which I will pay for up front as I don't like the 2 year commitments other carriers demand to give a discount on their phones, I can switch to 4G, but I doubt they'll let me keep my $25 rate.

Now, with that in mind, realize that this is as cheap as anyone can get a smart phone plan in the US. Most folks pay on average $60-80 I believe, many paying upwards of $150. And they're tied to 2 year contracts and still usually pay $99 dollars for their phones.

Jayze that doesn't compare to well to hear. If oyu are paying those sort of prices per month surely buying unlocked and sim free is the more economical option?

FB

Sim free isn't an option for me. The Sprint network that Virgin phones run on do not use sim cards. The phones are locked to the network.

Oh, here's another dastardly aspect of US networks. Every phone has an identifying serial number. Those numbers are obviously known to the networks. Phones can be tracked for location...

Yet, if your phone is lost or stolen the networks will not hesitate to activate a new account for that phone for either the thieves or whoever they sell your phone to. They just see stolen phones as more business.

Hmmm.... I guess there is a little something to say for the "big government" regulatory approach we have here then!

Villains here usually have to do some soldering to get stolen phones to work.

FB

We've got the same serial number in phones here. It *is* possible to get a phone bricked by phoning the network. They just don't tell everyone.

Baron, I've got the same plan you do, with the same carrier, but my monthly bill is $35. STILL cheaper than my friend's plan, where she pays $40 a month for a features phone (calls and texting only) with Metro PCS..

And, you have the same cap I do, 2.5Gb for 3G and 3.5Gb for 4G (less traffic on that so far). I recalculated my data rate, and I should make it to the end of my month with a bit to spare. VM doesn't cut your erm...data off at the limit, they just slow you down.

Crazy as it is, I don't have my wifi set up yet, but I learned that browsing Play over my computer cuts down on the time I was using doing the set-up. LOL!

Well th