kindle conversion help?: Off-topic discussion forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

Subscribe get a full year for only $23.95 Sample Free Test Drive—no strings attached

Jan. 23, 2012 11:39 a.m. donalson SuperDork

so i'm back in school and my mother-in-law felt I needed a Kindle touch... who am I to disagree right?... so far I love it... turns an 1000 page book into something you can read though while laying on the couch...

but anyway I'm getting LOTS of word doc. papers that I have to read and was wondering if anyone knew of a good way to convert them to kindle format?... I know I could convert them to PDF but reading a PDF is very akward on the 6" screen

so does anyone of a converter to the kindle format that will do this?

thanks mark
Jan. 23, 2012 11:50 a.m. pigeon SuperDork

I use Calibre for conversions for my wife's Nook. I think it'll do what you want, and it's free.
Jan. 23, 2012 12:09 p.m. oldtin SuperDork

Look up conversion tools for doc to mobi format. If you can't find what you need send me a pm
Jan. 23, 2012 12:10 p.m. Klayfish HalfDork

I'm going to piggyback on this as well. My wife asked about getting a Kindle. I see they have one that's $100 and then the Fire which is $200. Besides a color display, what's the functional difference between the two? Trying to decide if it's worth the extra coin.
Jan. 23, 2012 12:44 p.m. donalson SuperDork

thanks guys... i'll look into it... also looks like amazon will convert for free if I email the doc or something... need to look a little deeper...

to klayfish...

the $100 one is an E-reader... the $200 is a tablet... you can "root" it like you can android phones and turn it into a full on android tablet... the E reader has an amazing battery life (we're talking weeks or months) and the fire has a few hrs... but you can watch movies and stuff on the fire... I know they have both sitting out at target, walmart and i'm sure best buy or the likes if you want to look and compare... for reading you want the kindle...

if you want a kindle I can't say enough good about the touch... the built in dictionary is awesome (touch a word and it'll bring up the dictionary reference for that word)... I would go for the touch with ads ($99) and save the $40 over the one without ads. and splurge for the $60 cover with the built in light... i'm sure there are MUCH cheaper options out there but even had I bought it with my own money I think i'd have splurged for the cover...
Jan. 23, 2012 1:33 p.m. fromeast2west New Reader

Google Docs / gmail may be a good option to look at. Its great for keeping track of projects and coordinating small teams.

You should also be able to view and edit Word (and other MS Office) docs online with it.
Jan. 23, 2012 4:47 p.m. SupraWes Dork

Another vote for Calibre, sweet program!
Jan. 23, 2012 6:27 p.m. donalson SuperDork

got calibre... thanks a ton...

also did a little more reading and I can just email docs to my kindle email address and it converts them for me... found a PDF to word converter... should make these PDF docs easier to read lol
Jan. 24, 2012 7:26 a.m. foxtrapper SuperDork

Look around some more. There's a PDF to epub converter as well. As well an epub to whatever the format is that Kindle uses (forgot at the moment). I've found that better at the job than Calibre when it comes to getting books onto a Kindle. I love Calibre for my Sony reader, not nearly so much for my wife and sons Kindles.
Jan. 24, 2012 12:38 p.m. Xceler8x SuperDork

Calibre is the E36 M3e.

Emailing yourself documents through the Kindlefree address is awesome.

If you have a kindle check our www.deliverreads.com and www.instapaper.com.