I am already had a couple of people ask for my thoughts on Amazon's Kindle application for the iPhone. So after reading my first whole book on the app, I am ready to attempt a brief review.
Let me first say that I have never seen the need for an e-book reader before. In fact, I remember when the Kindle first came out, I thought it was a ridiculous price to pay for such a thing, especially when e-books aren't that much cheaper (if any) than paper editions. Now that I live in a country where it is difficult to find English language books (Ukraine), it has made me rethink my views on e-books. I won't share with you all of my thoughts on e-books versus paper books, but I will say that I am ready to convert to e-books. I think I would feel this way even if I lived in the U.S.
Now on to my thoughts on the Kindle app. To make this easier for me, I will just list my thoughts in bullet point:
Pros:
- It is free!
- It is super easy to get a book! All I have to is go to the Amazon web site and find the book I want to buy. I click on the button and confirm my payment options, then the book is sent to my phone. I open up my Kindle app on the phone and usually within 20 seconds the book is ready to read. I have only done this while connected to wifi, so I don't know how fast it would be through Ukraine's Edge service. If I had the actual Kindle 2 device and lived in the U.S., I could buy a book directly through the device anywhere I was at. You do not need a wifi connection because it uses cell phone signals. It is completely free to download a book; you just pay for the price of the book.
- You can insert bookmarks while you are reading.
- Each time I open up the application, it remembers how far I have read and goes directly to that page. If I had an actual Kindle 2 device, it would do this between the two devices. What I mean is that if I read 20 pages on my phone, then when I went to my Kindle 2, I would be on page 20. Then if I read another 20 pages on my Kindle 2, my phone would show I was on page 40.
- You can change the font size.
- The book I read had a lot of endnotes and each one was highlighted. I was able to click on the number and it would take me to the reference. When I was finished reading the endnote, I just clicked on the number again and it returned me to where I was reading.
Cons:
- The screen is small. I always joke with Lucy that I need some ointment for my thumb to keep it loose. With the pages being so small, I have to swipe the page A LOT! It really isn't too bad, but this is my way to tell Lucy that it would be nice to get a real Kindle device :)
- There is no way to make notes in the book. One thing I love about paper books is that I can underline and write in the margins. While this is possible with the Kindle 2 device, it is not possible on this application.
- When reading, I have no idea what page I am on. At the bottom there is a bar that allows you to scroll through pages and shows you basically where you are at in the book, but I haven't found where it tells you a page number.
- Another thing I like about paper books is that I can share it with my friends when I am finished reading. I have just finished reading a great book and would like to pass it on to others. As far as I know, I have no way of doing this other than passing on my iPhone. That isn't going to happen David and Rob!
- You can't buy newspapers or magazines on the application. This function is available on the Kindle device.
- Another thing that wasn't too big a deal to me, but was mentioned, is that you turn the pages by scrolling side to side rather than up and down.
So I love the ability to be able to get books in English on demand. I think the application is a good teaser for what the real Kindle offers. After using the application, I am ready to shell out the money and get the real deal....just need to convince Lucy first!
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