Kindlefish is Back! [Major Update]

The story so far is simple: Last year, I created a simple Kindle oriented Google Translate interface called Kindlefish. Last December, Google moved Google Translate to a paid service model and Kindlefish was broken. Two days ago, I started redeveloping the website and it's now up and running over at kindlefish.com.

The big news with this update is that it's completely new. From the ground up, this is a whole different approach and completely re-coded from the ground up. I'm still working on making the code more elegant, but for now it works on the Kindle Keyboard 3G. I will be rolling out fixes as we move forward and as K2/DX users help me debug the code for their particular browsers.

Everything has been redesigned, including the interface. You now get nice CSS based dropdown menus on the top and an even cleaner interface overall. If Kindlefish v2 was minimalistic, this new version is mnimlistc.  Interface options, such as input and output languages are now hidden when you're not using them and the "quick select" three languages has been jettisoned in favor of easier to use selector. I've reduced the amount of scrolling in this version, based on feedback from the older version.

Welcome back Kindlefish! After the break, a quick walkthrough of the new interface and website!

12/1/2011: The End of Kindlefish?

Recently Google decided to change the way the API for Google Translate works and, more importantly, to change it from a free service to a paid service. On 12/1/2011, Kindlefish will no longer work unless I start paying Google to use their API. The fee isn't that much overall ($20 for 1 million characters), but I will need to rework the site to update it to the new API and I don't earn any money off of Kindlefish.

If you are a fan of Kindlefish or would like to support the website and service, please consider donating by using the link below! If I get enough donations ($40?) to keep Google happy and pay for the coffee needed to rework (and improve) the website, I'll keep it up and running. Using the new API, Kindlefish will end up being more reliable than ever and continue being there for you whenever you need it.

Update: So far, there haven't been any donations. I've been happy to provide Kindlefish as a free service so far because Google Translate has been free for me to use, but at the moment it looks like Kindlefish will go down temporarily in order to assess whether I want to start paying for access to the new API.

New Kindles! Kindle Fire and Kindle Touch

Amazon just announced the latest generation of Kindle devices: The new Kindle, the Kindle Touch and the Kindle Fire! As a Kindle geek, I will be ordering these to get a hands on view when they come out, but for now these are looking like some great new devices! Which one suits you, will depend on your reading style and what you want out of the device.

Check out all of the new devices and a preview of them after the break!

Kindlefish - Update for K1/K2/DX Users

I just wanted to give an update on what's going on with Kindlefish and to clarify the situation for users of the Kindle 1, 2, and DX models. I've had some great help from Charlie Wallace of Encinitas, CA with getting Kindlefish to working on the K1, and recently my friend loaned me his DX Graphite to get to the bottom of what can be done for previous generations of the Kindle. Combined, it's given a clear picture about what's going on.

For users of the Kindle 3G, you can ignore this post. Kindlefish works for you. If you can see the site, you can translate! If you can't, it's a temporary outage of the website and not an issue with your device. :)

For users of the K1, K2, and DX, Kindlefish works for you two, but with one caveat: There is no support for languages that use non-Latin characters, like Japanese, Greek, or Russian, among others. Unfortunately, this is a limitation of the Kindle itself. ごめんなさい! I will keep an eye out for a solution, but the tools that would be able to solve aren't available through an API to the public from Google yet. If I see a work around, I'll put it in there. In the mean time, I've finished up a Kindlefish version just for you guys. It's available here.

A more permanent fix that you can do yourself is to jailbreak your kindle and install the expanded font support that Amazon left out (plus you'll get the ability to set custom screen savers!). The MobileRead Wiki has the details on how to do this, and there's another nice write up over here at howtogeek, but as with all unofficial modifications this comes with a disclaimer. Font and screen saver hacks seem to be very safe and easily reversible, but the usb networking hack comes with a more strongly worded warning. While these hacks should be safe, please do your research before hand!

Kindlefish has been tested and works on the Kindle 1 (B001), the Kindle DX Graphite (B009), and Kindle 3G (B006). 

Asian languages are unfortunately not supported by the device itself

Kindlefish ought to work on the Kindle 2 (B002, B003), Kindle DX (B004, B005), and the rest of the Kindle 3 family (B008, B00A) as well, but has not been verified. If you own one of these devices and can test it, please let me know by filling out this brief survey here so I can update this list.

Kindlefish - No Muss Translations for the Amazon Kindle

One of the best features of the Amazon Kindle is the ability to access the internet virtually anywhere for free. Since there is no touchscreen, the interface can be a bit difficult at times, but for simple errands like checking your email, reading up on something on wikipedia, or sending a text message with google voice it's great. For example, I step off the plane, switch on my Kindle and a few moments later I can send a SMS saying that I got there safely. It doesn't cost me a thing and it just works.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Kindlefish is back with a whole new look! Please read more about it here.

However, one thing that hit me the other day is that I should be able to use Google Translate on the Kindle to help me out in situations where I need to communicate a message, but there's a language barrier. The standard Google Translate page doesn't work for the Kindle and the mobile Google Translate page returns text that is too small to be easily read, and a little clunky for use on the Kindle.

So I fixed it. I present to you: Kindlefish!

Details and a walkthrough after the break!