In any app that uses text fields and a keyboard, you can record text instead of typing it. For example, you can dictate an email message, a calendar event, and even contact information. Be aware that the Fire tablet’s voice recognition software is fairly accurate at recognizing common words, but it does not do as well with unusual names.

To purchase apps and games, you can use Amazon Coins and save money. Amazon Coins are prepaid credits that reduce the price of apps and games by as much as 10 percent. You automatically earn Amazon Coins when you purchase certain Fire tablet apps and in-app items, or you can buy Amazon Coins directly. Although Amazon Coins that you purchase do not expire, coins that you earn from purchases do expire 12 months after you receive them, and are used first when making purchases with them.

Before you try to use your Fire tablet, you should charge it. The box containing the Fire tablet also contains an electric power adaptor and a USB cable. The USB cable has a standard USB connector on one end and a micro-B USB connector on the other. The standard USB connector plugs into the electric power adaptor, and the micro-B USB connector plugs into the Fire tablet.

Using Quick Settings, you can configure commonly used settings. You can control the Fire tablet’s rotation and screen brightness as well as switch to Airplane mode, which stops your Fire tablet from searching for available wireless networks. You also can turn on Quiet Time, which stops notifications to your device, during the night or when you need to concentrate.

You can set alarms to notify you when a certain time occurs. You do not need to be viewing the Clock app; alarms will go off regardless of the app you are using or even if your Fire tablet is sleeping. You can set alarms that repeat at an interval you specify — daily, on weekdays, on weekends, or at a customized daily interval that you specify.

If your printer supports mobile printing — and most modern printers do — you can print documents, photos, web pages, and email stored on your Fire tablet. To do so, you must download a piece of software called a printer plug-in to your tablet and install it. You can print to any printer — those printers connected using Wi-Fi and those printers connected using a cable — as long as the printer is connected to the same network as your Fire tablet.

Using Amazon GameCircle on your Fire tablet, you can view leaderboards and compare your achievements and time played in a game with others. As you play GameCircle-enabled games, your profile gains experience points, levels, and badges. If your game is Whispersync enabled — the Whispersync logo appears when you launch the game — GameCircle syncs your game progress so that you can play on any GameCircle-enabled device.

You can listen to music stored on your Fire tablet or in the Amazon Cloud. As you listen to a song, you can use playback controls to take charge of your listening experience. If you stream music from the Amazon Cloud, make sure you have a strong wireless connection to avoid pauses while loading or playing music.

For easy access, you can add apps and content, such as books, to the Favorites section of the Home screen on your Fire tablet. When you open an app, it appears in the Home screen Carousel, which is a convenient location from which to reopen the app; this also makes the Carousel a very crowded place. As an alternative, you can add content to the Favorites section on the Home screen, thus making them just as easy to find and open but without all the clutter.