I just found out through our resident Tech Jedi Master (Jason Powell) that Amazon just released a Kindle application for iPhone. This is funny since i said just a week ago (after having to replace my Kindle and just having purchased an iPHone), "You know, i probably wouldn't really need my Kindle if Amazon ever made it possible to download .kdl (the encrypted file format Amazon uses for digitial book downloads) to my iPhone", and now, here it is! As a result, i thought i would just offer the following as my first blush reactions to the strengths of both.Kindle (pictured here on the right)
Okay, i don't have one of the nifty new Kindle 2.0's, and recently have harbored somewhat of a grudge against Amazon for their overall poor support of their product. They don't offer to repair or support difficulties (but they'll happily replace it for a mere $180), and the flimsy plastic construction of the 1.0 can't survive much more abuse than only the most delicate of handling. Still, the plus points are noteworthy. You can download books from anywhere in just over a minute, make your own notes and marks, and carry around a library of several hundred books with you all in a device that weighs only a few ounces. Plus, Amazon backs up whatever you order so that if you ever...say... drop your Kindle in the Brussels International Airport (ahem!) and it splinters into unuseable little plastic shards, you can have everything back up on your replacement Kindle without having to "re-buy" everything. Overall, it's a nifty little piece of hardware, and i'd give it 3 stars on a 5 star scale, with major drawbacks being a) cost of unit (a new Kindle will run you $350) b) availability of books (Amazon still doesn't have about 60% of what i want to read for Kindle, but they're adding to their library at a massively accellerated rate), c) fragile design and d) poor customer loyalty.
Kindle iPhone Application (pictured on left)
The iPhone application is FREE, first of all, which is great if you own an iPhone. Books are also displayed in color, which is fun, and if you're reading a downloaded book on your iPhone, it automatically tracks your "place" and syncs to your Kindle so that when you pick up your Kindle, it takes you to where you left off on your iPhone (and vice versa). That's all pretty cool! Plus, i don't think that you have to have a Kindle to use the iPhone app, though i'm still playing with it and am trying to figure out how you would do that. Downside is that a) you don't appear to be able to make notes and marks on the iPhone app (something i like to do on my Kindle pages), and the page turning is a little tedious (you have to "swipe" your iPhone screen like you do when you're viewing pictures or other documents) when you're only cramming about 150 words per page.
So, it's still under "review", but initially, i like the iPhone application and am pleased to see that Amazon didn't hoarde their file format or worry that releasing the application would hurt their hardware sales for their release of the Kindle 2.0.
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