See something on the Web that you'd like to read later? There's now a feature on some sites that lets you send a Web page to your Kindle, so you can read the article later -- you know, on the beach, in your hammock or, more prosaically, on the train.
Amazon, logically, calls it the "Send to Kindle Button" and it's now available on The Washington Post, TIME, and the popular blog Boing Boing.
Unlike a smartphone app, this is not something you can download and use on any site. The button must be installed by the site operator, so it won't be available everywhere, at least not right away.
Amazon proudly introduced the button on its Kindle Daily Post, which was quickly peppered by comments from readers asking why, if the button is so great, it doesn't appear on the Kindle blog.
"Why don't you have a Send to Kindle button on this blog?" asked a reader named Devon. "Cool idea but same question as Devon," chimed in Stephen.
"Readability has had this for years now," said Jacob. "And it works on any site you want!"
Better browser?
Other skeptics might ask why Amazon doesn't simply build a better browser for the Kindle, one that would let users download any page they wanted but there was no reining in Amazon's enthuasiasm.
"Have you ever encountered news, blogs, articles and other content on the web that you want to read but don't have time to do so immediately? The Send to Kindle Button lets you easily send that content to your Kindle to read later, at your convenience," the company's blog burbled happily. "Just send once and read everywhere on any of your Kindle devices or free Kindle reading apps for iPhone, iPad and Android phones or tablets. No more hunting around for that website or blog that caught your eye -- just open your Kindle and all the content you sent is right there.
"The Send to Kindle Button is also great for those who want to collect content from the web to use in work projects, school assignments, or hobbies."
Some would say this is sort of like going back in time, back to the days when we clipped -- really clipped, with scissors -- articles out of newspapers and magazines and stuffed them away, planning to read them later. Most were never found again, of course, but that's another story.
Where's my paper?
Some Kindle addicts were perhaps rather find a way to get digital content they're already paying for without having to pay again to have it "Kindleized."
Newspaper readers, for example, who pay for home delivery and/or digital subscriptions to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and other papers are routinely assured that they'll have full digital access at no additional charge.
It's true that you can read the paper on your laptop, iPad and even your smartphone, if you have shockingly good vision. But on the Kindle? No one seems to know how to do this without paying $20 or so per month for the content we've already paid for.
Might be something the Kindle Daily Post could look into, no?
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