Igor Skochinsky has been doing some great reverse engineering on the Kindle ebook reader from Amazon. If you’re not familiar with the device, the Kindle is a paperback-sized Linux-based ebook reader. It has a unique virtual ink display that lends itself to reading text, and it’s bundled with a free cellular data plan which can be used for browsing or purchasing content from Amazon’s store over Sprint’s EVDO network.
In addition to obtaining a shell console—undoubtedly one of the more important tasks—Igor has documented a number of interesting keyboard shortcuts and easter eggs that haven’t been well documented on the device. There’s a basic photo viewer, a minesweeper game, and even a cell-based geo-positioning utility.
The photo above is from a post on the Interface blog, showing the handy results of hitting Alt-1 while in the browser. The Kindle will calculate your position based on cell triangulation, and take you directly to that location in Google Maps. Slick.
I haven’t seen a whole lot of talk on the subject, but it seems like the obvious hack here is getting the kindle to function as a free EVDO wireless modem for your laptop via the USB connection. This is essentially the first pay-once, unlimited access network plan that I believe I’ve ever seen. Anyone out there experimenting with this?
Igor Skochinsky’s Kindle Hacks – [via MakeFan] – Link
Kindle Easter Eggs: We have GPS! – Link
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