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Kindle App for iPad 1


macdunn

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Hi all,

 

I purchased a used iPad 1 three or so years ago at a very good price (because the new iPad III or something like that had come out).

 

I have been happy with it (as well as a used iPhone 3Gs which I subsequently purchased a year later for the same reason - the price was right), while ignoring Apple. One of the apps which I have happily been using is Kindle.

 

Unfortunately, something happened recently with my iPad 1 with my favourite (only) game - Scrabble -- and the only way I could get a clean install (of an earlier version of Scrabble which is still being offered for the iPad 1 running iOS 5.XX) was to Reset the iPad. I was able to then install a new copy of the appropriate version of Scrabble.

 

However, among the apps which got cleared is a compatible version (for the iPad 1 with iOS 5.XX) for Kindle! And, now, when I try to reinstall or download a new copy, I get the message that I need to update the iOS to 7.XX which as we all know is not possible.

 

I have done a Restore from iTunes but there is not a copy of Kindle there.

 

Any suggestions?

 

TIA,

 

-Mac- (my nickname, not my stated preference in computers)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for your reply, LilBambi.

 

What I consider frustrating is that some developers, such as the publishers of Scrabble, keep the last of an earlier version which is compatible for iOS 5 available. When I re-installed Scrabble, it said that the newer version required a newer version of iOS, however, they also then offered to install the last version which is compatible with iOS 5.

 

I am surprised that Amazon is so blind that they do not keep the last version available. It is not like they are hurting for storage space for earlier versions. It does not cost them anything to do so. Since I cannot read on my iPad 1, I have practically stopped reading Kindle books, so Amazon is losing revenue there.

 

The obsolecence of hardware, especially only five years old hardware/toys, is so frustrating. I say that with 30 years working in the field of software development, including companies like MicroPro (huh? - WordStar), Broderbund (Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?), Borland (Turbo C and dBASE (after they bought Ashton-Tate to go head-to-head against Microsoft)), and Novell (when they made and sold Netware, not Red Hat). Sure, fast and glitzy is cool, but why, other than increased productivity (and since when is glitzy important for business/productivity other than PowerPoint presentations where everyone takes a nap).

 

I guess we are going to start hearing about the Third World not wanting iPad 1 tablets because they are not compatible with available apps. And, yet the iPad 1 still has a high resale value in the used market. Heck, I just checked Amazon.com and there are new iPad 1s being offered for as much as US$589, though used iPad 1s are now down to the US$100 price point. Better dump it before anyone else finds out that it is no longer viable/usable.

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Guest LilBambi

You should be fine if you are not jailbreaking your iPad. You will get the latest version that works for you generally on your version of iOS. But there for awhile, it was not the case. Back when I had an older iPod Touch more and more apps would not work once they were installed.

 

Some on my iPhone 4S worked and some did not that were supposed to work on iPhone 4S. I am glad I now have iPhone 6. All work great now.

 

I would not jailbreak my iDevice. Makes them more vulnerable.

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"Should be fine" with my iPad 1 iOS 5.1? No offence but as the topic of this thread is, I can no longer get a version of Kindle for the iPad 1 (after having reset it for technical reasons and found that I did not have Kindle in the backup) which is the primary app I used the iPad with. I also lost a compatible version of my bank's app at the same time. But, I can still access the bank's website through a browser on the iPad, so I am not hamstrung (and I just check the account with the iPad, I do not do transfers and such, even though I could, on the iPad). But, if EA can keep an earlier version of Scrabble available, why cannot Amazon (and some, not all, other popular app developers). Rhetorical statement out of frustration. No reply necessary.

 

I like the portable technology, I like the apps which, for the most, I can get for it. As I already said, it is too bad there is such an obsolecence factor in our business.

 

Heh, heh (LOL), I still use an iPhone 3Gs which does have a functioning version of Kindle installed. I even read Kindle books on the iPhone 3Gs when I am waiting at bus stops. So, I do not intend under any circumstances to 'reset' the iPhone after this experience with my iPad 1.

 

The worst thing is how 'dependent' we have become for the technology in such a short period of time. I forgot my iPhone today when I went shopping in the close-by 'large' city using mass transit. Since I got the iPhone, I no longer wear a watch. So, forgetting it, I could not confirm the return schedule for the different bus and train routes and I kept looking around for a clock. I say that the technology is like 'golden handcuffs' - so long as it works (or is available), it is like gold. But, as soon as the tech goes out, we may as well be handcuffed, even if the handcuffs are made of gold.

 

After the Fukushima earthquake, when I was on an assignment in Cambodia, I could not reach my Internet provider in California for two days. I could, though, reach my provider in Germany, so not all was lost.

 

I forgot to say - I have no intention of jailbreaking my devices.

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Guest LilBambi

I love Kindle and it was still working on my iPhone 4S before I moved to the free iPhone 6 I got from Verizon Wireless.

 

All I had to do was trade in my working iPhone 4S to get iPhone 6 free plus an additional 1 GB per month free on the iPhone 6 above my normal package for 2 years and double data on the whole package unrelated to the iPhone 6 upgrade. I had a 20GB/mo as my only Internet in this rural area and now getting 40GB/mo for the same money. It still sucks compared to wired solutions like Cable or even crappy DSL, but it's twice what I was getting for $150/mo for data previously.

 

I hope to get an iPad one day. But want to get the new iPad Air if I can so it will work longer. I have had falling edge previously with Macs and it's tough to keep up to date.

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I have to ignore the business practices of Amazon in cutting prices so deep that traditional brick-and-mortar stores, especially bookstores, have been driven out of business, and say that I love Kindle as well. And this goes so against my grain since I originally started in the newspaper business. So, I believe in ink-on-paper.

 

Edited by macdunn
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Guest LilBambi

A friend of mine used to always save the older versions that still worked on his iPad/iPhone just in case a newer version was broken for his device due to being older. Just in case. I really didn't have room to do that.

 

I didn't do that and as time went on I had less and less apps working on my old iPod Touch 2nd Gen (that could not go to the newer version of iOS). This was before I got my iPhone 4S.

 

I felt the same way about Amazon, but had to concede that Kindle I loved despite what they do with their DRM sadly.

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Funny, on my Windows machines, I try to save all versions of installed software so that I can go backwards if needed. Comes in part from doing QA testing at Borland where it might be necessary to replicate the environment that a bug occurred in. I used to have an archive of OS and software back to the CP/M and DOS days, including a lot of 1.X versions of different programs, like dBase, Wordperfect and WordStar.

 

However, since I left the Macintosh world in 1996 (long time before iOS) because all of my clients had moved to Windows boxes, I am a relative neophyte with iDevices. And, therefore, do not backup old apps for my iPad and iPhone. That being said, I do have the older apps for my iPhone and do not intend to lose them, intentionally at least. I am going to check and see if a laptop has a backup of the iPad even though I usually used iTunes on a mini desktop box.

 

Yes, the value of Kindle is worthwhile to me as well as I have described.

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I have found where iTunes stores the downloaded program files for my iPad Gen. 1 --

 

C:\Users\MyUserName\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Mobile Applications\

 

MyUserName is the user name I use, if that is not obvious.

 

The version I have found (which will not install because I cannot upgrade my iPad 1 above iOS 5.1.1) is named Kindle 4.4.ipa (with a space between Kindle and 4.4.ipa). The Date Created (in Setails) is 5 Sept 2014, though the version which does not install is dated 14 Oct 2014 in the iTunes Store.

 

Would anyone have an earlier version of Kindle which runs on an iPad 1 which they would be able to send to me so I can see if I can replace the 4.4 version in the appropriate directory and thereby install it on my iPad 1? If we are successful, we may be able to save a lot of iPad 1 users from grief and frustration (and unnecessary replacement costs).

 

TIA,

 

-Mac-

 

Addendum: I have found a 2.9 version of Kindle on the Internet and downloaded it. As should be expected, it has the original purchaser's name and account data embedded as text. But, I am guessing that it is also encrypted somewhere in the .ipa file. I changed the person's data to my own. I then, after making a backup of my original Kindle 4.4.ipa file, deleted the 4.4 file, copied the 2.9 file over to the same location and renamed it to 4.4. iTunes found, but would not install it, saying that the computer running the iTunes installation was not authorised (though it is still logged in under my ID). Therefore, I suspect that the user data is also encrypted.

 

Not that I am traying to bootleg the program, after all, it is free, so I will share that you can open the .ipa file with WordPad (not Notepad, it is too large).

 

Anyway, I amm still looking at a solution or source for the earlier version of Kindle compatible with the iPad 1.

 

Edited by macdunn
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22:35 Central European Time, 13:35 Pacific Standard Time 6 Nov 2014 --

 

GOT IT!!!

 

First, I have gone through 3 backup HDDs and found 2 earlier versions of Kindle, though I do not know if they are for iPad or iPhone - Kindle 4.1.9 and Kindle 4.2 . That being said, neither of them would install on my iPad 1 (maybe they are for my iPhone 3Gs).

 

However, (have I mentioned that I am currently in Germany?) all of the versions which I have found are registered to / from my account at the Apple Store in the US, not to my account at the Apple Store in Germany (and the App Store account on my iPad is set to my German account). Now, I thought that maybe, if I changed my account on the iPad to my US account (getting confused yet?), one of the earlier version would install. Well, no, neither of them would install, regardless of which App Store account I set / reset my iPad to.

 

Now, here is the really crazy part, after changing from my German account to my US account and then back to my German account, I decided to see what would happen if I tried again to download / install Kindle, the version which needs iOS 7.X. Well, this time (I have treated mulitple times before I started this thread) when Kindle started to download / install, it displayed a dialog box saying that this version of Kindle required iOS 7.X. Do I want to download the earlier version which is compatible with my iOS (5.1.1)?!?!?! This is what has happened when I reinstalled Scrabble from Electronic Arts!

 

Well, a compatible version of Kindle has been downloaded, installed and opened on my iPad 1 with iOS 5.1.1! My cloud library is available. I am back in eBook heaven!!!

 

Now, a lot of my career in the field of software development has been as a software tester (Borland and Novell primarily). And, some of it has been white box testing - having a plan and following it. But, I have done a lot of black box testing which is stumbling through a program with no plan, just using the program like so many users may use it - blindly. And, this time, I got lucky, I guess, by changing my App Store between two different countries. Makes no sense to me, but really, I have been trying to download and install from the German store before posting this thread.

 

If anyone has the time and an old iPad 1 iOS 5.1.1 without Kindle installed, would you see what happens to you.

 

Oh, and I have immediately done a system Backup of the iPad.

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