Retiring the Send-to-Kindle Feature on 3/31

Phil Gons (Logos)
Phil Gons (Logos) Administrator, Logos Employee Posts: 3,801
edited November 2024 in English Forum

Due to a combination of technical, legal, and permission issues outside our control, we're going to retire the send-to-Kindle feature on 3/31. You'll be able to use the service through the end of the month. After that point, it will no longer work. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause you.

Update: Books already sent to Kindle will not be affected by this change. You will be able to continue to enjoy them on your Kindle after 3/31.

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Comments

  • SineNomine
    SineNomine Member Posts: 7,043 ✭✭✭

    We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause you.

    I'm glad that I haven't bought a Kindle. I feel sorry for you for all of the flak that you will probably receive from upset users.

    we're going to retire the send-to-Kindle feature on 3/31.

    I imagine that you are about to update the page that you just linked to with a note that Send to Kindle is being retired.

    “The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara

  • Phil Gons (Logos)
    Phil Gons (Logos) Administrator, Logos Employee Posts: 3,801

    I imagine that you are about to update the page that you just linked to with a note that Send to Kindle is being retired.

    Yes. We'll be updating all of our marketing communication shortly.

  • David P. Moore
    David P. Moore Member Posts: 610 ✭✭

    all of the flak that you will probably receive from upset users

    I think it would be sad if that happens. It sounds like there is no other option for Logos, that their hands are tied. We' just need to be glad we have had it for this amount of time.

  • Michael Sullivan
    Michael Sullivan Member Posts: 87 ✭✭

    [:(]

    Is it possible to change to 100 page restriction on the export to word feature to make it easier for people to use Amazon's own "send to kindle" feature as a replacement?

  • Dan Francis
    Dan Francis Member Posts: 5,341 ✭✭✭

    There will be obvious blow back in that several people claimed to have upgraded to 6 for only this reason. It is not something I ever used and am perfectly happy reading my FL products on my iPad.

    -Dan

  • Mark Barnes
    Mark Barnes Member Posts: 15,432 ✭✭✭

    This is terrible news. I rely on that feature, and it keeps my buying Logos books instead of Kindle books.

    This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!

  • Robert M. Warren
    Robert M. Warren Member Posts: 2,459 ✭✭✭

    Betcha the Upload button for Personal Books is next.

    macOS (Logos Pro - Beta) | Android 13 (Logos Stable)

    Smile

  • William Gabriel
    William Gabriel Member Posts: 1,091 ✭✭

    Due to a combination of technical, legal, and permission issues outside our control, we're going to retire the send-to-Kindle feature on 3/31. You'll be able to use the service through the end of the month. After that point, it will no longer work. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause you.

    Noooooo!!!!!

    My only consolation is that it wasn't enabled on most of the books I wanted to transfer.

  • Bradley Ermeling
    Bradley Ermeling Member Posts: 4 ✭✭

    Will this only limit the sending of additional resources? Will resources already sent to kindle continue to work?

  • Phil Gons (Logos)
    Phil Gons (Logos) Administrator, Logos Employee Posts: 3,801

    Will this only limit the sending of additional resources? Will resources already sent to kindle continue to work?

    Great question, which I probably should have addressed in the original post. Once a resource is sent to Kindle, it will continue to work even after we retire the feature.

  • JT (alabama24)
    JT (alabama24) MVP Posts: 36,523

    Due to a combination of technical, legal, and permission issues outside our control, we're going to retire the send-to-Kindle feature on 3/31.

    Sigh. [:(]

    macOS, iOS & iPadOS |Logs| Install
    Choose Truth Over Tribe | Become a Joyful Outsider!

  • Erwin Stull, Sr.
    Erwin Stull, Sr. Member Posts: 2,793 ✭✭✭

    Betcha the Upload button for Personal Books is next.

    I, myself, doubt if the upload personal books feature will go away. I could be wrong, but it appears that the discrepancy between Faithlife and Amazon would be more legal than anything else. The personal book (PB) feature is exclusively Faithlife/Logos.

  • Floyd  Johnson
    Floyd Johnson Member Posts: 4,007 ✭✭✭

    U

    Due to a combination of technical, legal, and permission issues outside our control, we're going to retire the send-to-Kindle feature on 3/31. 

    [:'(]

    Blessings,
    Floyd

    Pastor-Patrick.blogspot.com

  • Lew Worthington
    Lew Worthington Member Posts: 1,636 ✭✭✭

    This is terrible news. I rely on that feature....

    Mark (or anyone else) -- If you have a moment, can you elaborate, please? I'm interested because I used the feature at first, but eventually found it redundant since I could access my FL resources in a FL mobile app.

    This question arises from more than mere curiosity. If there's a compelling reason to use the kindle in this way, I might spend a bit of time over the next 24 days or so taking advantage of the feature before it goes away.

  • William Gabriel
    William Gabriel Member Posts: 1,091 ✭✭

    Mark (or anyone else) -- If you have a moment, can you elaborate, please? I'm interested because I used the feature at first, but eventually found it redundant since I could access my FL resources in a FL mobile app.

    This question arises from more than mere curiosity. If there's a compelling reason to use the kindle in this way, I might spend a bit of time over the next 24 days or so taking advantage of the feature before it goes away.

    Personally, I prefer to read on a Kindle Paperwhite over a computer/phone/tablet. Nothing beats the Logos universe for research: notes, cross-references and everything else that falls under the umbrella of research. But when I need to simply read a block of text efficiently, the paperwhite experience is second to none.

    I did not find an efficient way to transfer highlights and notes back to Logos, but going through that process manually provides some good review.

  • Matthew C Jones
    Matthew C Jones Member Posts: 10,295 ✭✭✭

    alabama24 said:

    Due to a combination of technical, legal, and permission issues outside our control, we're going to retire the send-to-Kindle feature on 3/31.

    Sigh. Sad

    Double sigh.

    Logos 7 Collectors Edition

  • Mark Barnes
    Mark Barnes Member Posts: 15,432 ✭✭✭

    Personally, I prefer to read on a Kindle Paperwhite over a computer/phone/tablet. Nothing beats the Logos universe for research: notes, cross-references and everything else that falls under the umbrella of research. But when I need to simply read a block of text efficiently, the paperwhite experience is second to none.

    Precisely.

    If I want to read my Logos books on an eInk display, I'm now going to be forced to buy e-Ink Android devices and use the Logos app on there. That's going to cost me the best part of $200 [:(].

    This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!

  • William Gabriel
    William Gabriel Member Posts: 1,091 ✭✭

    If I want to read my Logos books on an eInk display, I'm now going to be forced to buy e-Ink Android devices and use the Logos app on there. That's going to cost me the best part of $200 Sad.

    If you find a good one, let us know about it.

  • MJ. Smith
    MJ. Smith MVP Posts: 54,692

    Sad as Kindle is my device of choice for many purposes. I suppose I should spend the rest of the month sending resources over.

    Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."

  • Bradley Ermeling
    Bradley Ermeling Member Posts: 4 ✭✭

    Thank you for clarifying. Just downloaded 93 items.

  • Mark Barnes
    Mark Barnes Member Posts: 15,432 ✭✭✭

    If you find a good one, let us know about it.

    I've ordered a Boyue T62+, on the advice of this thread. I know it won't be perfect, but it looks like it will have to do.

    This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!

  • NB.Mick
    NB.Mick MVP Posts: 16,159

    There will be obvious blow back in that several people claimed to have upgraded to 6 for only this reason.

    Actually, for me, this feature was one reason to buy a Kindle device last summer - reading stuff in glaring sunlight.

    Not that I did use this feature a lot, but I could have. This still is sad news.

    Have joy in the Lord! Smile

  • Robert M. Warren
    Robert M. Warren Member Posts: 2,459 ✭✭✭

    doubt if the upload personal books feature will go away.

    No, not for Amazon, etc. reasons. But, we have been told on the Android forum that syncing to mobile hasn't happened yet because of copyright/piracy concerns, rather than overwhelming technical issues. From that perspective, there is no difference between uploading a PB for desktop sync and uploading the same PB for mobile sync.

    macOS (Logos Pro - Beta) | Android 13 (Logos Stable)

    Smile

  • Christopher Engelsma
    Christopher Engelsma Member Posts: 70 ✭✭

    It's still very easy to send text to a Kindle.  Just a few extra steps.

  • Cromwell
    Cromwell Member Posts: 55 ✭✭

    This disappointing development raises this question:

    Are there any other features, advertised and purchased as part of Logos 6, that are liable to stop working?  Perhaps I am naive, but I thought that unless a feature was advertised as time limited (like two year access to Logos Books) then it should continue to function because it was purchased as part of a program.  I have purchased other software that became dated, but never stopped doing what it did when used within the OS for which it was designed.

    If the issue is Amazon, then could not an alternative be provided e.g. export as epub to our own HDD?

    If the issue is a particular publisher or books bought after the Logos 6 purchase, could not the functionality be retained for books purchased by a set date?  If the issue is not Amazon, then I don't understand how some ebook export feature cannot be retained.

  • Jonathan
    Jonathan Member Posts: 671 ✭✭

    Due to a combination of technical, legal, and permission issues outside our control, we're going to retire the send-to-Kindle feature on 3/31. You'll be able to use the service through the end of the month. After that point, it will no longer work. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause you.

    Update: Books already sent to Kindle will not be affected by this change. You will be able to continue to enjoy them on your Kindle after 3/31.

    I am guessing the following suggestion would be an impossibility based on my exegesis of your use of the words "combination of" and "permission issues." However, if this is an Amazon-only dispute, it would be nice if Logos considered enabling a create ePub feature.

  • Yasmin Stephen
    Yasmin Stephen Member Posts: 1,725 ✭✭✭

    I would be surprised if this had anything to do with Amazon. 'Technical' sounds like it's on Faithlife's end, and 'legal' and 'permission' sound like publsihers. My speculating little two cents.

  • GaoLu
    GaoLu Member Posts: 3,510 ✭✭✭

    Betcha the Upload button for Personal Books is next.

    <<SHHHHHHHHHHH!!!>>

    He didn't say nuthin'!

    I agree it is too bad to see Send To Kindle go away, but really, it's not very hard to do the old fashioned way.  What is lost other than a couple steps?

  • Liam
    Liam Member Posts: 1,439 ✭✭✭

    So bummed! I rely on this feature to send my books to the Marvin app. Will logos develop a send to ePub replacement feature by any chance? Or please put more reader friendly options in the Logos app.

  • Bernhard
    Bernhard Member Posts: 718 ✭✭✭

    I really appreciated the ability to use that function, but have been wondering how the publishers would allow Logos to offer it. The files do not have any DRM protection and it is trivial to convert them to any other e-book format and read them on any device. I certainly do not think that DRM is a good thing, but it was strange that the publishers would allow Logos to do something that they wouldn't allow other booksellers to do.

  • Floyd  Johnson
    Floyd Johnson Member Posts: 4,007 ✭✭✭

    Jonathan said:

    it would be nice if Logos considered enabling a create ePub feature.

     ... or create MOBI feature. 

    Blessings,
    Floyd

    Pastor-Patrick.blogspot.com

  • Francis
    Francis Member Posts: 3,859 ✭✭✭

    I too am quite disappointed that this feature will disappear. We will have to use less convenient means of doing similar things such as using the Kindle printer or convert to PDFand then use the Amazon convert service... 

    This feature was the reason I bought a kindle, although in the last months, the nature of my work has made me use it less. I will keep on following with interest the thread on e-ink tablets in hope that at some point, a good one will be produced.

  • Todd Hinton
    Todd Hinton Member Posts: 33 ✭✭

    Very disappointing news.  This was a great feature, and yes, a particular reason to purchase Logos 6.  It will be hard to reproduce a feature that is that useful in future releases of Logos.

    The good news is that purchasing books directly for Kindle will remain an attractive option.

  • danwdoo
    danwdoo Member Posts: 584 ✭✭✭

    Horrible news. This will mean most of my non-reference book purchases will be now be made at Amazon instead of Logos. I definitely prefer reading on an e-ink screen. Any hope we could see this return sometime in the future? This feature alone is worth paying for.

  • Francis
    Francis Member Posts: 3,859 ✭✭✭

    Whatever obstacles have led to this decision: I hope that FL is hearing what is being said here, business will be lost to the profit of Amazon.

  • Brian Losabia
    Brian Losabia Member Posts: 245 ✭✭

    The availability of the "Send To Kindle" function played a big part in my decision to purchase things like the C.S. Lewis collection, since I knew that I would enjoy reading those books on a Kindle. 

    This announcement from FL also sort of changes the way I feel about the Britannica Great Books of the Western World collection, as well.  I don't really want to read Huck Finn or Cervantes inside of the Logos GUI, and other than the Syntopicon, I was imagining myself mainly using the Kindle to read many of those works.

    [EDIT]: What's happening is sort of the reverse of a value add resulting from a new feature.  Instead of a new feature of Logos ADDING utility to a resource in our libraries, this feature subtraction is actually making purchased resources LESS USEFUL than they were before.  It could very well be removing utility which was present at the time of purchase of the resource.

    Sometimes publishers will change licensing agreements with Logos, and as a result certain resources will no longer be available for sale on the Logos website.  Anyone who owned the resource prior to the removal has, in the past, been "grandfathered", and has continued to have access to a resource that was rightfully purchased under an agreement which, for whatever reason, is no longer offered.  Would Faithlife be able to "grandfather" the Send To Kindle function for folks who owned and/or purchased resources during the time window when Send to Kindle was available?

  • Mark Barnes
    Mark Barnes Member Posts: 15,432 ✭✭✭

    Francis said:

    Whatever obstacles have led to this decision: I hope that FL is hearing what is being said here, business will be lost to the profit of Amazon.

    If the decision is genuinely necessary, one way of mitigating the negatives would be for the Android app to better support e-Ink devices. Even simple changes like supporting hardware buttons, and an e-Ink colour scheme would help.

    This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!

  • Mark Barnes
    Mark Barnes Member Posts: 15,432 ✭✭✭

    Would Faithlife be able to "grandfather" the Send To Kindle function for folks who owned and/or purchased resources during the time window when Send to Kindle was available?

    They've said that we can Send to Kindle until the end of the month, and anything that we send will continue to be available after the feature is switched off.

    This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!

  • Mark
    Mark Member Posts: 2,662 ✭✭✭

    one way of mitigating the negatives would be for the Android app to better support e-Ink devices. Even simple changes like supporting hardware buttons, and an e-Ink colour scheme would help.

    [Y]

  • John Goodman
    John Goodman Member Posts: 1,738 ✭✭✭

    I'm disappointed but not choked the main reason I use it is on my kindle fire because then I can use the excellent text to speech function. Please bring text to speech to the Logos Android app and I'm happy. This is one of the top uservoice requests anyway.

    גַּם־חֹשֶׁךְ֮ לֹֽא־יַחְשִׁ֪יךְ מִ֫מֶּ֥ךָ וְ֭לַיְלָה כַּיּ֣וֹם יָאִ֑יר כַּ֝חֲשֵׁיכָ֗ה כָּאוֹרָֽה

  • BillS
    BillS Member Posts: 3,805 ✭✭✭

    Will the Bible app still run on Kindle?

    Grace & Peace,
    Bill


    MSI GF63 8RD, I-7 8850H, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, 2TB HDD, NVIDIA GTX 1050Max
    iPhone 12 Pro Max 512Gb
    iPad 9th Gen iOS 15.6, 256GB

  • Mark Barnes
    Mark Barnes Member Posts: 15,432 ✭✭✭

    BillS said:

    Will the Bible app still run on Kindle?

    On the Kindle Fire, yes.

    This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!

  • Peter Bongers
    Peter Bongers Member Posts: 25 ✭✭

    Disappointing, but not earth shattering. There is a very simple and FREE alternative.

    1. Open desired resource in Logos;
    2. Select Print/Export, and select the sections you wish to export to Kindle;
    3. Under Export (lower right panel) utilize either "Save as file - Rich Text Format" or "Send to new document: Microsoft Word."
    4. If you exported as an RTF file open it in Word and save as a Word file, or open the Word file you created to begin with;
    5. Open the free Calibre E-book management program which you have previously installed;
    6. Load the Word file which you created from your resource into Calibre (either by drag-and-drop or clicking "Add books") then click the "Convert books" button on the Calibre tool bar at the top, making sure to select DOCX as "input format" and MOBI or AZW3 as ouput format;
    7. Now you have your resource in a format which you can send to your Kindle by attaching it to an email which you send to your device (it will be located wherever your Calibre library is located);

    It really is quite easy and straightforward, and as a bonus if there are any limitations to size, they can be overcome by simply cutting and pasting into a single DOCX document before exporting to Calibre / Kindle.

    Hope this eases the pain. [:)]

  • Mark Barnes
    Mark Barnes Member Posts: 15,432 ✭✭✭

    There is a very simple and FREE alternative.

    But:

    1. The 100 page limitation is a problem for most books.
    2. You don't get clickable Bible references (which is a huge plus over standard Kindle books).

    PS — My preferred workaround for the time being is to use the "Send to Kindle" printer driver, and to set the page size to the absolute maximum allowed (to work around the 100 page limit). An A2 paper size with smallest margins and smallest text will export around 400 book pages to Kindle. That's generally the easiest work around, I think.

    This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!

  • DMB
    DMB Member Posts: 14,162 ✭✭✭✭

    I wonder if Send-to-Kindle was even used that much.  No one seems terribly upset. Maybe Mark.

    I tried it when it first came out. But the Logos books got in the way of my Kindle religious book reading. So, that was that.

    I also wonder at the coincidence of Apple loosing its case last week.  A big smile on Amazon's face.

    "If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.

  • Peter Bongers
    Peter Bongers Member Posts: 25 ✭✭

    Mark:

    The 100 page limit can easily be overcome by simply copying and pasting into the same Word doc before you save and import to Calibre (as I indicated in the last paragraph of my post above) and you DO get clickable Bible references. I just did a quick conversion, then hit Ctrl-right click on the referenced in the document which I converted into MOBI format, and my open bible in Logos went to those resources, although right now I am on my laptop and not my Kindle DX.

    Peter

  • Justin Gatlin
    Justin Gatlin Member, MVP Posts: 2,189

    Put me on the list of people who bought a PaperWhite because of Send to Kindle. Pretty disappointed. It isn't a huge deal on its own because of the work-arounds, but combined with everything else which has happened in the last six months, it continues a steady erosion of trust. 

  • Fr Devin Roza
    Fr Devin Roza MVP Posts: 2,419

    I for one will be very sad to see this go. The Kindle files that Logos & Verbum create are far superior even to the original Kindle files that Amazon sells, as they include the Bible references. I really appreciate being able to read on an e-ink screen, and may end up getting an Android e-reader because of that now to run the Android Verbum app on it. 

    PS — My preferred workaround for the time being is to use the "Send to Kindle" printer driver, and to set the page size to the absolute maximum allowed (to work around the 100 page limit). An A2 paper size with smallest margins and smallest text will export around 400 book pages to Kindle. That's generally the easiest work around, I think.

    Unfortunately, in the current version of the Send to Kindle PC driver, this will send an A2 size PDF to the Kindle, which is not very useful, at least if you "Send to Kindle" directly from the Print/Export screen. 

    Here are the easiest steps I know of at the moment.This will create a fully native Kindle document, with a native Kindle table of contents, and working footnotes. Unfortunately no BIble link references that work on a Kindle e-reader:

    1. Make the font as small as possible. Choose Print/Export...

    2. Change the paper size to A2, and the margins to Narrow. Save the A2 document as an RTF file.

    3. Open the RTF in Word. Type Ctrl-A to select all. Then type Ctrl-Shift-F9 to remove all hyperlinks. The hyperlinks Logos and Verbum export won't work in the e-reader Kindle, so you should remove them to avoid problems and confusion.

    4. In the RTF file, add in the Heading 1, 2, 3 styles as needed to create a Table of Contents.

    5. At the very end of the document, insert a Table of Contents from the reference menu.

    6. Save as DOCX.

    7. Right click on the DOCX file, and "Send to Kindle" (having installed the "Send to Kindle" printer driver).

  • Steve Farson
    Steve Farson Member Posts: 341 ✭✭

    Yes, this is a major disappointment.  I bought Logos books, paying more, knowing I could read them in the Logos app and on my Kindle.