Amazon.com now sells more electronic books (e-books) than hardcover books each month according to a July 2010 quote from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. With this dramatic increase in the number of e-books sold each month combined with the new lower price of the Kindle 2, more and more readers are purchasing and reading e-books. But how does the book get from Amazon to a Kindle? And how much does it cost?
Different Kinds of E-Books
Amazon isn't the only e-book seller in the market these days. Borders and Barnes & Noble both offer e-books. Borders offer e-books that are readable on almost any e-reading platform while Barnes & Noble presents their e-book offerings in a proprietary format only readable by their Nook e-readers.
In addition to the e-books being sold by the big three bookstores many sites exist on the internet that offer free digital and electronic books that can be used on a variety of e-book readers including the Kindle 2. While the big three bookstores include electronic delivery of purchased e-books in the price, the books being offered for free online typically do not include this service. (The exception is the free books available for download directly from Amazon as free WhisperNet delivery is included when "purchasing" these free books.)
How Much Does It Cost to Downloand an E-Book?
For Kindle users who purchase books directly from Amazon there is no cost for delivery or download of the e-book. When purchasing a book from Amazon, such as Maile Meloy's Both Ways Is The Only Way I Want It, users select which device they would like the book delivered to and they can change which device a book has been sent to by utilizing the "Manage My Kindle" section from Amazon's My Account page.
Amazon has partnered with Sprint to provide their WhisperNet delivery service. Kindle users who are within a Sprint coverage area can have their Kindle books delivered directly, wirelessly, and at no cost to their Kindle device. For users who are not within a Sprint coverage area they may download the Kindle book to their computer and then connect the Kindle to their computer with the USB cable that came with the Kindle to transfer the book from the computer to their Kindle.
Either option is one hundred percent and absolutely free and costs nothing.
What If the Book Isn't a Kindle Book?
Amazon offers something called Document Management or Document Conversion Services for the Kindle 2. This service allows users to send documents or e-books to their Kindles over the WhisperNet wireless network for a small fee.
For users who wish to avoid this fee there is always the option to connect the Kindle to a desktop or laptop computer and transfer the file from the computer onto the Kindle utilizing a USB cable to avoid incurring any fees.
Amazon does not charge users without their knowledge for the document services they offer in conjunction with the Kindle. Kindle users must first add e-mail addresses to a safe list before those e-mail addresses are authorized and able to send files or e-books to the Kindle. Additionally, Amazon users have the ability to set a maximum charge for any one use of the document service so there are no nasty surprise charges or bills received. The default limit for the document services is $2.50 although users may change this to any maximum they are comfortable with, including $0.00 if a user does not want to use the service at all.
Amazon's Kindle e-Books are Delivered Free
As stated above, books purchased directly from Amazon.com have no delivery fee and there is no fee or charge to download them. The WhisperNet wireless delivery service is included in the price of the Kindle books and users within a Sprint network coverage area receive their e-books wirelessly. For users in an area covered by the 3G network books can be downloaded in a minute or less. Transferring e-books or documents via USB cable is always free with the Kindle 2.
One of the best features of the Kindle 2 is not having to worry about how much it costs to transfer a book to the e-reading device.
Tracey Carter - Tracey holds a B.A. in English from Hood College and is an avid reader, educator, blogger, and aspiring librarian.
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