Solution: Amazon has released a lite version of its Kindle e-reader on the iPhone
When Amazon released its Kindle e-book reader to the marketplace it was clearly hoping to bring about the kind of revolution that Apple sparked within the music industry when it launched the iPod.
The concept that anybody can buy and then read a book electronically via a wafer thin portable reader was a controversial one. Old school purists decried the move claiming that books could never be replaced, but early reviews of the Kindle suggested that Amazon was onto something and that the device was impressive.
But Amazon priced the Kindle at just shy of $350, which for many consumers is cost prohibitive. Sure, the books themselves are only $9.99 to buy so if you read a LOT you'll eventually break even, but ultimately will consumers buy a device that is priced at a similar level as some entry level desktop computers?
Eventually the cost of the Kindle will go down, but in the meantime if you own an iPhone you can get in on the action with the recently released iPhone for Kindle application.
In the interests of full disclosure, Amazon is one of my favorite companies. Their customer service is incredible, their marketing is simply awesome and shopping with them has always been nothing but a pleasure. With Kindle for the iPhone, they've once again launched an extremely useful product that has incredible potential to grow over time.So how does it work? Firstly, you download the Kindle For iPhone app from Apple's App store for free. Once it's installed, you can register your iPhone with Amazon and you're free to browse the entire Amazon Kindle book store catalogue.
You'll need to browse the store and make the purchase using your iPhone's Web browser (Safari) - there's no Kindle store built-in to the Kindle For iPhone app - but the whole process is extremely simple and intuitive.
The vast majority of books are priced at a respectable $9.99 and once you've made your purchase, it's transferred over your phone's 3G network to your device. My test purchase took about 45 seconds to appear on my iPhone. If you want to try before you buy, in most cases you can download a sample chapter to your iPhone for free.
Once the download has finished, you'll see your purchase(s) within a simple menu inside the Kindle For iPhone app. Simply click on the purchase and the book loads.
Two things to note here. Firstly, reading on the iPhone screen is a very pleasant experience. The typeface is crisp and clear and coupled with the bright screen I didn't suffer from a hint of eye-strain as I read my book during a 35 minute train journey. In order to turn a page you simply move your thumb across the screen either left or right and the page flips forward or back. Page turning is both snappy and responsive.
So what are the drawbacks? Well for me, they're all very minor. You can't flip your iPhone and read in landscape mode, but for me that really isn't a deal breaker. The screen is small and you'll find yourself turning pages frequently, but again after the initial few minutes of using it this soon becomes a non-issue.
But the best part is that the app is free and that you only have to carry around one device. I've been wanting to order a Kindle for some time now, but with this release for the iPhone I think I'll wait for a while.
2 comments:
wow - love this. was just looking at the kindle today but kindle for iphone is the best of both worlds.
I've been looking at a Kindle too but I've been really impressed with this iPhone app.
I'm onto my second book now and it's really very pleasant to read.....the only drawback is that all this reading makes me fall asleep on the train and almost miss my stop!
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