KindleTwit Lets You Use Twitter From Your Kindle

A: In a mid-2010 software update, Kindle was outfitted with Facebook and Twitter functionality, allowing users to tweet out 140-character snippets of any book they were reading at the time. You know, inspiring passages for all of your followers to enjoy; using social media to build up some renewed hype for the classics.

Pushed out largely to satisfy some social networking maniacs that require access to their online accounts at all times, the Kindle's built-in Twitter update is minimal at best. It was meant to turn the e-reader into a multipurpose device without alienating the primary audience: those who want a convenient on-the-go experience that is similar to reading a traditional paperback.

Before the software update, Twitter users who tried to "tweendle" (yes, tweeting from the Kindle even had its own catchphrase back in 2009) had a terrible user experience: The system crashed more times than not when attempting to access Twitter's website from Kindle's mobile web browser and long tweets, even those under the 140-character limit, were often cut short for unknown reasons.

KindleTwit promises to help you overcome all of those difficulties. A site optimized for use from the Kindle web browser, KindleTwit allows you to post tweets into a simple text input box and send them out into the world. Using the site, you can also read through your Twitter stream and see if you have any new @replies. It's almost impossible to click-through to any links or media previews that other people send to you, and direct messaging has to be done using the traditional method (input: "D Username Message"), but the service covers all of the basics for those that just can't wait until TweetDeck loads on their iPhone.

Tools mentioned in this entry:

• KINDLETWIT

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